Evil

Chapter 3: How Could We Forget?

Phantom woke after another long night, but this time not at FentonWorks. The bed in his lair was better than the one in his own room, and he found he got much better sleep now as Phantom rather than Fenton. A ringing phone, however, woke him no matter what state he was in. And thanks to Tucker, his lair had perfect reception. He forgave him simply for the convenience of being able to answer with a thought- the call receiving right in his ear and transmitting through his voice.

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked rather groggily, not even bothering to check who had called him. Tucker's voice answered him.

"Hey Dude, another long night?"

"Something like that. What's up?"

"You are- and all over the place. If you haven't been on YouTube recently you should be- search 'PatMat Phantom'- then turn on the news." Phantom sat up abruptly, suddenly not so tired.

"What?"

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"Hey this is PatMat with another exciting episode of 'Theory of Games' doing something a little different- today we are diving into a topic we've all been dying to know about…" A still picture of Phantom popped up, looking quite terrifying. "What happened to Danny Phantom?"

Phantom watched from his lair's console with a mix of feelings- most of them terror and exasperation. The YouTuber, one with a respectable following known for theorizing about urban legends and video game lore, had hit the nail right on the head.

He tracked back the entirety of the restaurant's history- outlined every grizzly murder and mysterious disappearance- and theorized quite accurately about Danny's origin. He seemed to know about FredBear, about Phantom, and knew how they fit together.

And he just put it up on YouTube for the entire world to see.

The worst part was seeing himself pop up- video taken during his little class visit. A few former night guards were interviewed; their letters or video worked into the fifteen-minute video confirming everything just theorized. It was all rather impressive. And all rather devastating.

His own personal horror smeared across the internet.

When it was over he did as instructed, and turned on the news. Which didn't make his mood any better. The video had spun out of control- the local stations interviewing the day manager at the restaurant- national new media covering the legal messes the company had tried to cover up over the years. Even financial data coinciding with the murders at more than one location. Families of the missing children were interviewed- current patrons shown in outrage over the new information. In short it was a mess- and it all seemed to be circling right around Phantom and how he came to be.

And the underlying theme was as uncomfortable to Phantom as it was to those watching, listening, and reading along- people had died at the hands of ghosts; people had died at the hands of The Phantom.

And there wasn't any getting around that.

He shut off the news and the computer. There wasn't anything that he could do about it now- he'd just have to figure it out later. He stopped back at home long enough to say hello to Danielle and get a fresh change of clothes, and went back to work.

Valerie was already there, looking even less friendly than normal. Niles, the idiot was already bungling behind the packing line, packing orders that had yet to be ordered. Val gave him a dark glare and then pretended she hadn't seen him. It was going to be a rather uncomfortable day.

His manager kept looking at him; nervous glances from an already nervous guy. Danny tried to ignore him. The staff gave him a wide berth- and with the foul mood it put him in, it was probably a good thing. He ignored their stares, and mostly, their timid directions. He didn't even bother to wear a headset for Val and packed his orders one behind. Only Val, despite her acid looks at him bothered to get close.

"So, is it true?" She asked, working quickly beside him. They were both busy enough during the lunch rush that neither had the time to throw punches. Probably the safest place and time that they could talk about anything sensitive. She glared at him and Danny glared right back.

"Mostly." He grunted back.

"Time travel and all?"

"Yeah." Valerie snorted, stuffing food into a flimsy paper bag.

"Hypocrite. You're no better than any of them- you're even worse." She muttered.

"What, you're going to act all surprised?" Danny said sharply. "I thought that's what you've been saying about me all along, Red." He was a little surprised she didn't turn on him, hissing and spitting like a pissed off alley-cat.

"Is it just a ghost thing, or were you a crazy serial murderer before you died?" She spat back. Danny rolled his eyes and didn't respond. He didn't really trust himself to. He wanted to say something flippant back to her- but there wasn't much of a defense for that. His soul was still divided over it. One side screamed 'justified!' It remembered the pain and the rage. But the other side balked at the callous anger.

And yet he did not feel confused. It was that place- what he did inside those walls was not comparable to what he did outside them. The carnage as a result of his pain was justifiable- any above or beyond that was not. It was not terribly logical, and he didn't expect Red to understand. He wasn't sure any human could understand. But he did, somehow. Maybe it was hypocritical, but Red had collected her share of hypocrisy.

He didn't feel like having that argument. Especially not with a restaurant full of onlookers. Red would get over it. Or she wouldn't. He'd just have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

She mostly didn't speak to him for the rest of the day, save to make demands. Which suited Phantom just fine, mostly. She did, however, manage to burn him four times and lock him in the freezer. By the time the shift was over he'd convinced himself that the Red Huntress was crazy and Jazz's little class trip was a bad idea. By the time he returned home, he was certain.

Dani was nowhere to be found- which wasn't a great sign. If she had retreated to higher ground already, then he didn't stand much of a chance. The house was unusually quiet, and he was tempted to head for the hills before the explosion became inevitable. His mother was not in the kitchen, and his father was not in the living room, however, he picked up the sound of the television coming from the lab.

He sighed to himself. He probably should have talked to them before work. He probably should have talked to them before the shit hit the fan. Sure, his parents knew the story- but he'd left out some of the graphic details. And maybe a key point or two. In any case hearing about it from YouTube and social media rather than him wasn't going to put either of his parents in a good mood. And Jack was having a hard enough time already.

"Mom, Dad?" He called down the stairs. He could definitely hear the television now- the local news recapping the rumors the internet had already circled. Something about 'mysterious disappearances' and a 'secret ghostly vendetta'. The sound was not encouraging.

"We're down here, Son." His mother called back. She sounded less than happy. Jack didn't answer at all. Phantom grit his teeth, he was going to have to go down there and face them eventually.

His phone rang in his pocket, and he recognized Jazz's ringtone. He was at once terribly happy for the delay and dreading what his older sister would have to say. He silently wished for a ghost attack like he never had before, and answered the phone.

"Hey Jazz."

"Danny! Have you been on the internet today?" He sighed.

"Yeah. And so has everyone else in the world, apparently. Valerie would have killed me today if she thought for a minute she'd have kept her job if she did."

"Well, Mom and Dad have been too. Are you home?"

"Just got home, actually. Mom didn't sound too pleased with the whole thing."

"She's not." Jazz said, sounding a little nervous. "And Dad's pretty pissed. I was going to tell you to steer clear for a while, but I guess I caught you too late."

"Yep. But that's the story of my life today."

"Mom already called me." Danny sighed through the phone. It was one thing for his parents to be unhappy, but if Jazz was telling him to steer clear- it was not the problem he was used to dealing with. It made sense- just like Valerie, Jack and Maddie had a lot of preconceived notions about ghosts. They were willing to give him some wiggle room, but crime scene photos and pleas from concerned family members were a graphic reminder of what they were really dealing with.

He was a ghost, and that was suddenly becoming abundantly clear.

"What did she say?"

"A lot about 'thinking you were different' and wondering why you 'didn't tell them anything'."

"I did tell them."

"But you didn't confide in them Danny. You gave them the outline but you didn't go into gory details. There's a viral video dedicated to a body count! Ghost experts all over the country are weighing in- Mom and Dad's colleagues are calling you the most prolifically dangerous ghost in the world. It's one thing to say 'people died' and it's another thing to show them the pictures of the blood on the floor. They have pictures of the suit laying on the ground, covered in blood- and some guy telling the whole world that it's you in the suit. Danny, everything suddenly got real for the entire world- and Mom and Dad were not the first people to learn about it."

Jazz was right- and he felt even more like an ass. Danny wasn't sure if he was glad Jazz called to warn him, or angry that she had to make things complicated again. But it was probably good at least one of them was thinking clearly. Jazz always had a good head. Which begged the question, how was she dealing with all this?

"Why aren't you mad at me right now?" It was her turn to sigh into the phone, and she was quiet for a moment.

"Danny, I know more about ghosts than I like to admit. But I know even more about you. Whether it's your ghost nature or not doesn't matter to me. I'm dealing with all of it- I'm just doing my best to remember first that you're my little brother. And I'm pretty sure that this whole thing is my fault for making you give that speech."

"I'm just glad you said it first." They both chuckled a little and then paused for a moment.

"Well, I should probably get down there and face the music." Danny said.

"Just explain things to them one step at a time. When they yell- don't yell back. Just let them say what they need to say. Call me later."

"I will." They said their goodbyes and Danny reluctantly hung up the phone. There really was going to be yelling, and he was not very optimistic about the next couple of hours. He really wanted to crawl back into the bed in his lair and forget about the looming problem. But instead he opened the door and started down the stairs.

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Danny lay in old bed and stared up at the ceiling. He mostly wanted to fly off to the ghost zone and forget the whole thing. But he was a little afraid to do just that. The human part of him feared if he kept running off every time he and his parents had an argument, one day he might not be welcomed back. His ghost half was beginning to wonder why he cared.

But of course, he still did. So he locked himself in his bedroom while his mother and father stomped around and grumbled to themselves downstairs. The conversation had not been pretty- but he liked to think that he kept his composure. His father had not. In fact, half of what Jack said he didn't even understand. His mother didn't even yell, which was even more frightening.

Dani was still absent. Pretty smart of her overall, but it also meant that he had no idea how she felt about the whole thing. She was a ghost too, surely she'd understand the way that the rest of his family did not. With Nocturne as her mentor, she'd better.

He closed his eyes and carefully scanned his territory for her, both in the living world and the ghost zone. He could feel her trail passing out of his scope hours ago. Probably about the time she found the video on YouTube. He sighed. He could call for her, she could usually sense when he was reaching for her, but he didn't want to force anything. She would come back to talk to him when she was ready. Or when she thought it was safe to be around his parents again. For all he knew they'd already tried sitting her down and making her explain it all to them.

Danielle didn't need to be interrogated, especially by an angry Jack. If their opinion of Phantom had changed, then it was possible their opinion of Danielle had changed. He hoped that he hadn't put her through that. Then again, she was tougher than he was and they all knew it.

It hurt- to hear them yell and see the disappointment on their faces. It hurt to see the anger. But he felt strangely numb about it. Perhaps he'd always known it was going to come down to a shouting match. He was learning slowly but surely that Phantom cared less and less about what his parent's thought and more and more the problem to be solved. Right now the problem remained to be seen and that was the toughest part.

The shit may have hit the fan, but he'd yet to see exactly how big the mess really was. He was a little afraid to call Sam, and he'd already talked to Tucker. Jazz was dealing with it, but Red was pretty pissed. People involved directly with the restaurant weren't going to be very happy, and all those people who once defended him against doubters were going to have to rethink things.

He knew how quickly he could go from hero to villain in the eyes of the public- but never before had he done anything to earn it. He'd earned it now, and he was still deciding how he felt about that. He shook his head and tried not to think about it. There wasn't anything that he could do now. All he could do was wait.

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Danny teleported directly to the nasty Burger for the third time that week. Valerie's sensor wouldn't appreciate it, but he didn't care. The mess spread further than he'd imagined, and he found himself dogged from one end of Amity Park to the other. Some protested- some wanted an autograph.

They had flocked to the pizzeria as well. Business was booming- when protestors didn't shut them down first. FredBear was padlocked in his cabinet to prevent wandering customers from getting at him. They hired more guards to prevent idiots from breaking into the store after hours, and his time spent wandering the halls at night with his friends was now more stressful than relaxing. People took pictures through the windows, and pressed their faces to the glass hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

Mary loved the attention, but he did his best to keep her out of sight anyway. He probably would have been better off keeping his past to himself in the first place. The spirits didn't really understand the difference, and he didn't feel the need to explain things. But his frustration and exasperation seemed to filter down into the rest of the collection.

Bonnie became even more proactive- in fact he hardly left the door. Chica took to staring hard into the camera in an attempt at psychological warfare. Foxy got a lot of exercise. But Phantom and Freddy did their best to hang back. They all had minds of their own, but his influence kept them from taking the game to its final end. Another disappearing act was stress that he just didn't need.

"Would it kill you to walk?" Val called as he snuck invisibly into the kitchen. He sighed as he appeared beside her, startling his manager, but not the Red Huntress.

"It might." He said. "Have you seen those people out there?" Red rolled her eyes at him. The lobby was busier than either had seen it in a long time, but the 'customers' were spending more time craning their necks to look into the kitchen than eating.

"Why is it that every time you show up, I have a bad day?" Danny frowned.

"Your miserable personality?" He said a little hotly. She frowned back. The place was too busy to get into it, but he had the feeling she'd be finding him again later to finish their conversation. And he wasn't going to enjoy their time together.

"Uh, Dan?" The manager interrupted before it became a 'thing'.

"It's Danny." He replied.

"Someone's asking for you." He gestured to the front counter.

"Who?"

"Some blonde girl. She said she knew you." He sighed heavily and snuck a peek at the crowd. Of all the people looking, he knew none of them personally. The 'blonde girl' however waited for him at the counter. He recognized her as vice-president of an overly devoted fan-club. Which was not as cool as it sounded.

"I'm not here." He said. "If anyone asks for me, I'm not here today." The man shrugged and left them alone.

"So we're just going to wait for them to storm the counter?" Valerie asked, giving him a hard stare. Danny frowned.

"Well if I could make them leave me alone, I would. It's not my fault some smart-ass with a YouTube account outed me to the whole world."

"See that's funny, because I seem to remember watching video of you explaining the whole thing!"

He left early and conspicuously, hoping that might alleviate the crowd. He swept into Sam's bookstore, but she had a fair amount of Phans on her hands too. Showing up wasn't going to make it any easier for her. Tucker was busy and Dani was scarce. He wasn't terribly excited with the idea of returning home just yet either- things had become terribly icy at FentonWorks. But the ghost zone had not seemed to change.

He was spending a lot more time in his lair now that he was being followed around town on a daily basis. His territory in the ghost zone was expanding as the land of the dead became more accustomed to his presence. Certain ghosts considered it a refuge now, and he had a fair following. Only the ghosts didn't mob like fangirls or hold up signs like earthly protestors. He was starting to appreciate their sedate directness that characterized most ghosts.

He 'googled' himself again, for the countless time that week, and was less than happy to see even more articles, posts, and videos than before. He was now considered a 'celebrity' and stumbled upon fanfiction of himself. In other words, life as he knew it was crumbling. Not just for Fenton, but Phantom as well. And he hadn't yet decided how he was going to deal with it.

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Phantom returned to the restaurant early, to check on the robots while they were functioning. He'd already had to make another repair earlier that week, and he was running out of parts. The robots were on stage, as usual, but the crowd was on the outside rather than the inside.

Protestors had shut them down again, and this time they were less than peaceful. A group of men and women, a little older than the gangs Phantom was used to seeing crowded the entrance. They carried signs reading: 'where are our children?' and 'murderers'. The glass was smeared with handprints and red paint.

Phantom watched the full parking lot invisibly from just inside. The staff inside huddled in the kitchen, afraid of staying after closing, and just as afraid of going outside. The protestors had painted accusations across the windows and doors in red. The cleaning staff refused to go within view from the windows, and on stage, quiet, still, and calm his friends waited for the children to arrive.

"Frank, it's almost time to close, and I'm not staying one second after closing. Just open the doors and let us out." One young woman, overly thin and unnaturally blonde sat on the front counter by the register and looked sternly at the balding night manager. 'Frank' wiped at his forehead with his sleeve.

"No one's going out there until the cops get here." Frank said. But he glanced nervously to the stage anyway. "They'll be here soon, and then we can all get out of here. Don't worry about closing anything… corporate says we're going to be closed tomorrow anyway. So let's just hang tight and we can all sleep in tomorrow." His words carried through the whole restaurant, and Phantom could feel the spirit's disappointment. His life was not so tied up in the pizzeria as theirs was.

Still attached to the suits, they remained behind when he was able to move around. They could come when he called, and he was always able to reach them, but as long as the suits remained- so did his collection. The walls and machinery were steeped with them.

But they were also steeped with good memories, along with the bad. Phantom remembered his own horror, and the horror of those that came to join him, but he also remembered the other children. Little ones that smiled and laughed- that returned over and over again. Some even came back with their own children. Not everything had been lost. And when the lights were on and children laughed and smiled, they allowed themselves to forget about the pain.

He'd stalked night guards that didn't deserve what they got. Men and women who had done no harm to himself or his friends- and he justified it. But children were sacred, and there was no justification for harming a child.

Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy were sad, and he was sad for them.

He checked on Foxy, on found Pirate's Cove cordoned off. Foxy was still behind his curtain, but standing a little off center with a few more tears in his fabric skin. Apparently he was getting plenty of attention too. FredBear was in a slightly better way- though still locked up. He stood on his own now. Danny replaced the pins that had kept him immobile. The bolt was far too stripped and the joint it went to so locked up he couldn't replace it. Phantom hung it around his neck on a string instead. He didn't want to forget.

Save for the protestors and fearful staff huddling in the kitchen, everything was ready to go and where it should be. He decided not to show himself, and waited for the staff to clear the building, and his friends to start moving.

However, come eleven o'clock it seemed that they were all settling in for the long haul. Frank was still on the phone with corporate, sweating more and more each minute, and the rest of the staff- three women and another man were growing more and more anxious. The crowd outside the doors had not only not disbursed, but was growing larger.

It was both a clever and cruel plan. The crowd, despite the vandalism had remained peaceful yet threatening enough that the staff didn't want to leave. With their folding chairs and painted signs they had made themselves right at home, preparing to wait out the staff inside. The company might have been able to cover up the random disappearances of an occasional night guard- but when the entire closing staff got a taste of their own medicine, then it was going to be real hard to put a lid on the whole thing.

Phantom had never tried to hold back the entire collection at the same time before. He could keep them finishing the game, he could direct their movements when he needed to. But to tell them all to stop entirely. Certainly he could, if he had to. But it seemed cruel. They waited for a very long time for their six hours of freedom.

With any luck he wouldn't have to change the rules of the game. The cops would show up just in time, break it all up and everyone would get the day off. The collection would have control of the restaurant for a few hours and they'd be back to normal in a week or two after it all died down. Phantom just had to make sure that he didn't do anything to keep the spectacle stirred up. Once it was frustrating, but now corporate's ability to keep things quiet was what he was counting on.

"Well, we're stuck." Frank said, shuffling from the office with a grim look. "Corporate says to stay put. The cops should be here any minute and then we'll be able to get out of here." They all craned their necks around the corner to glance at the stage, where the animatronics had naturally not moved.

"I'm sure it's all just some kind of weird urban legend." The other man said, but he did not sound convinced. The women rolled their eyes at him and Frank loosened his tie.

At eleven thirty it was getting rather serious. Frank called corporate several times, but they were not returning his calls. The other employees were getting skittish and one woman was just barely holding back tears. The protest had escalated to a riot. News vans parked themselves outside. Phantom left the robots long enough to assess the situation outside.

It was a tailgate party outside the restaurant. In the warm air people were sleeping in lawn chairs despite the noise. The outside of the restaurant had been defaced with red paint. People crowded, yelling in shifts. A woman with a bullhorn led their rhythmic cries of 'we want our kids back'. Reporters stood in front of cameras with very serious looks, interviewing protestors or setting up shots for live feed. He recognized a local weather man interviewing an older couple.

"We had a wonderful time, right up until we were about to leave. We called for her for hours, but Dorothy never came back." The woman was crying, but her husband was holding together. A man beside her gave them both a sympathetic look.

"I lost my brother too." He said. "He came for a job. He was really excited about finally getting back on his feet. Three days later we couldn't get ahold of him anymore. We haven't seen him since, and I know they know what happened to him."

The place was a mad house, and Phantom hovered invisibly over them to scan the crowd. Surely with a gathering so large the police would have shown up without even a call… He scanned the crowd for the boys in blue and what he found did not encourage him. They had come, but led by none other than Sergeant Clarence D. Booker who was making a point to be as visible as possible.

"We recommend that the employees of the pizzeria sit tight while we resolve this issue." He said to reporters. "So far these people have been demonstrating peacefully. Their permit expires at midnight. Until then they are well within their rights."

So that was the plan. Srgt. Booker was pretty clever. With all the news coverage anything strange happening would happen on live television. Once the proof was out there the company would have no choice but to come clean.

He could feel the collective emotion swirl all around him. Their indignation, entirely justified and righteous fueled them. He wandered through undetected. The young and old gathered under the parking lot lights and waved their signs at traffic.

Where are our children?

No more cover-ups!

Danny Phantom killed my son!

That one was the hardest.

"I hate to think of what happened to him- what he must have felt. He was only seven years old."

"He tried to tell us that something was wrong, but we didn't believe him. And now he's gone."

"We miss her so much. She was our whole life. My son had to grow up without his little sister."

"I still don't know what happened to my bid sister. She left for work and that was it. They said that she never showed up that night- but I don't believe it for a second. Not anymore."

"I can't believe it. We used to think Danny Phantom was our hero. But after all this happened, I can't believe we were so stupid."

"He's a monster- he just finally showed us all what he really was."

"We knew it all along. He's nothing more than an evil ghost."

The voices floated all around him. It was all familiar- his mother and father had said the same things to him a few days ago. It was all said in anger, but they meant what they said. These people all around him meant what they said too. He didn't blame the Booker's for wanting answers and being angry. Terry deserved his fate, but his family probably didn't deserve their loss. He looked around at all the men and women. He knew their children. They were all waiting there in the restaurant.

He called to the collection and felt them stir all around him. Dorothy found her family, and told Phantom all about them. He remembered Dorothy- he had watched her end. She cried and clung to his empty suit until her murderer pulled her away from him. If he had been able to reach out and save her, he would have.

Dylan found his mother among the crowd. She was quiet, but she waved her sign like the rest with a hard and strong resolve. She was a single mother, a hard worker, and a determined personality. She never stopped looking for Dylan, and he never stopped believing that Mommy was still out there waiting for him. He'd died before his mother even knew he was missing. Phantom had felt it, but by then had not been able to see.

Chris was a night guard and recovering addict. He lasted four nights before he lost power. He played the game very well- and was not bitter when he joined them. He loved the children. He found his brother and whispered all about him. He had thought his family had all given up by now.

There was a lot of sadness in swirling over the restaurant. A sadness that he knew quite a bit about himself. Perhaps it was the clock striking midnight. Perhaps it was Mary whispering in his ear. Perhaps it was the memory of little Dorothy clinging to his still suit while she died- but he didn't care much about the publicity anymore. They were waving their signs and shouting their mantras through bullhorns but it changed absolutely nothing. Maybe they lost their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. But he gained friends of his own. Their loss was his gain. It may not be the paradise that they had wished for their loved ones- but it was no longer hell either. He made sure that they were happy here with him.

Mary loved attention- and with news cameras all around and a large audience she was excited. Phantom knew that he should hold her back- nothing that happened in front of cameras would be good for them. But the children were happy to see what was left of their families. The spirits, stirring to life in the pizzeria whispered in his ears.

Are there children outside?

Who is in our kitchen?

So much noise out there…

Wake up! It's time to play the game…

Phantom returned to the restaurant just in time to prevent disaster. The suits were already moving toward the kitchen where the staff huddled in fear. Mary, invisibly, giggled and let her tinkling music box tune float down the hallway. One of the women had already begun to cry, and Frank was sweating hard enough to shrivel up.

"That's enough." He said, appearing in the kitchen just as Foxy dashed across the dining room to the kitchen. Most of the staff shrieked at the sound of his voice. The animatronics, closing in, stopped where they stood. For a moment they all just looked at each other.

The night manager and his staff huddling close together between the pizza oven and a prep table, the four robots in a wide circle around them, and Phantom standing between them. They had avoided the windows and the cameras- but here were five witnesses that surely understood now what was happening around them. Eventually they would walk out of here and tell those cameras what had happened the moment the clock read twelve am.

"We aren't going to hurt you." Phantom said, very calmly. The staff glanced at the robots, at Phantom's long claws and exposed jaws. Mary whispered again, and he knew that she was right.

They were afraid of him; they would always be afraid of him. Maybe what the world needed wasn't teddy bears and lullabies. Maybe the world just needed a healthy dose of terror.

They wanted their kids back?

Well, they hadn't really gone anywhere.

For a moment the two opposing sides stood there, staring at each other and a distinct crossroads became painfully clear to Danny Phantom. Something about changing not just for himself but in the eyes of others. Something about secrets that couldn't be kept forever and choosing between the ones he volunteered and the ones that slipped away from him.

Maybe the mistake had been not in spilling his guts, as Clockwork recommended, but not being willing to change himself in the eyes of the public. Because now the change had come, and he was no longer in control of it. The Danny Phantom that Amity Park knew would feel hurt and slink away to hide until his image could be restored.

But that image would be a lie- and he'd probably never get it back. The part of him that once resided in that yellow suit really disliked the thought of losing that control to whomever decided to take it away from him. Right now a very bald man who sweat too much had more control over his life than he did.

Mary was right, and so was Clockwork. He would feel much better once he introduced himself. Phantom reached over and touched Bonnie, his intangible claws tugging the spirit out of the suit. The robot darkened and slumped, and the spirit was free. Bonnie's true visage peered back at them- half deranged rabbit and half exposed mechanics- but entirely terrifying. He touched each of the robots and pulled the spirits out one by one. The abandoned suits remained still and inert, but the spirits circled slowly; bared metal teeth glinting and eyes glowing.

"That's enough." Phantom said again, and all eyes snapped back to him. Freddy huge and lumbering rubbed against him like a large cat, begging for attention. Phantom scratched him under his chin, and the spirit growled his appreciation.

"I think we'll play a different game tonight." They shook themselves and made grumbling noises as he sent them their instructions, specifically directions not to harm the employees. "By the look of things out there, you're in for the long haul tonight." Danny said. The huddling workers stared at him unsure if they should feel fear or relief. "They won't hurt you, you know."

"What are those things?" Frank managed to squeak quietly.

"Our friends. You know them- Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy." Foxy was hobbling closer, his hook- hand tapping on the tile floor of the kitchen as he sniffed at Frank and the others. They stiffened as he leaned closer, looking very much like the fox he was supposed to be. "I told you, they won't hurt you. You can come out here with us if you want, or you can hide in here- it's up to you. But they aren't going to hurt you as long as I tell them not to." Phantom didn't wait for them to respond, he turned and stalked away, the spirits following him with one or two curious glances back to their visitors.

It was time for some real fun- something new. Mary giggled in his ear and he let her materialize. She sat herself very gently on his shoulder and let him carry her to the dining area, where the windows were filled with protestors, even in the dimly lit parking lot.

The ghosts in his collection had never really had the chance to act like the ghosts of the ghost zone. They communicated only because they were connected through the collection. They materialized rarely and separately, if at all, and many did not have to power to do so on their own. But his continued time in the ghost zone had made them all stronger, and had given them the same capabilities as the ghosts Danny was used to dealing with. It was a good chance for them to get used to using it now. They didn't have to huddled and hide. Maybe they weren't truly free of the restaurant- but they certainly were free enough to have a little social interaction once and a while.

A lot of people were going to be very mad about what he was about to do- but at least he wouldn't be hiding it anymore.

Mary leaned close and whispered in his ear. A few people outside had noticed the movement as Phantom sat himself one the stage, Mary on his shoulder. She crossed her little legs, the white

A lot of people were going to be very mad about what he was about to do- but at least he wouldn't be hiding it anymore.

Mary leaned close and whispered in his ear. A few people outside had noticed the movement as Phantom sat himself one the stage, Mary on his shoulder. She crossed her little legs, the white tulle under her black dress spilling over his shoulder. She kept a little hand on his head, and smiled wide. She thought it was the perfect time for a party. She waved at the growing crowd, her rich blonde ringlet curls bouncing by her ears. The cameras started flashing, and Phantom knew there wasn't any going back now.

"I think a party sounds like a great idea." He said and Mary giggled. She leaned over and kissed the top of his head, then hopped off his shoulder and cartwheeled down the aisle. Phantom called to the spirits and they filtered into the dining area amid the gasping of the protestors outside and the flashing of their cameras. Mary cuddled Foxy's long nose as the crowd looked on.

He stood on the precipice once more- he could see the plummet, but not the landing beneath. He had stood there before and would again. Mary turned and winked at him. Phantom took the plunge and launched over the edge.

The music began over the P.A system- shaking the windows and turning heads in the parking lot. A sad, orchestral melody. Phantom opened up and let the entire collection pour out into the restaurant. The protest turned riot through the flash of cameras and press of faces against the glass.

Don't mind the noise outside the door,

It's just The Phantom, nothing more. Mary took a theatrical bow for the crowd. The children lined up to wave and smile- a few recognizing family and friends.

No need to give yourself a scare,

When you glance and no one's there. The adults stood behind the children- waving sadly to those who were looking for them.

Dorothy's mother screamed and pounded on the glass. Dylan's siblings stood beside her and wept. But neither child looked unhappy.

It's not your fault, I felt this rage.

Just a child, about your age.

But something drives me to this place, I can see him in your face.

You'll never know the Hell I've seen. No one asked to be any closer to their family. No one asked to speak to them, no one asked for a message to be passed. They knew better than he did that their old lives were a phase long since gone. The interaction with it was only a novelty. And Phantom felt it too.

Eternity was a lot longer than a lifetime.

Don't fight what's coming,

We can't fight back the urge inside

It's dark and you're afraid of the devils that come out at night. The spirits romped happily among the ghosts like excited dogs. And even those whose lives were ended by them, were not afraid.

They had their own private party, and the living were not invited. Mary pulled him into the fray, put her tiny heels on his clawed feet and insisted he dance with her.

Let's make this easy,

Soon you'll haunt these beasts you've hated

No need for sleep tonight-

Sweet dreams are overrated. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, but ignored it- Phantom had a good idea of what it was going to say, but even if he regretted his decision, it was far too late now. Mary danced with some of the night guards, who regarded her with careful smiles. Danny knew he could trust her to win over anyone. A man he remembered blubbering like a child at the sight of the marionette now swung her in his arms happily. He swept Dorothy up when he came to him, though her mother still pounded on the window. The girl didn't seem to notice how upset she was.

He took turns with each of the children, patting them on the head, or holding them up above the throng of the collection to see the crowd better. He remembered when they were added to his collection- and he had been there to comfort each of them when they came. The children were his friends, and it was time that the living world understood that they were inextricable. The quagmire of souls lost and taken had become something that they could not pry apart. Perhaps it was not what they wanted for their loved ones. Once, he would have called it Hell- but it was his hell, their hell. The time had come for them to stop playing by the rules of the living, and start playing by their own.

He'd fully realize his decision after the fun was over.

I'm just a whisper, in the void

No one's there, you're paranoid.

I'm just a trick of your own mind,

Blink your eyes once and you'll find

I'm just a ghost inside your head. His phone was going crazy, and he didn't care. The cameras were live, the show had begun, and Mary cartwheeled and tumbled for her audience.

Don't fight what's coming,

We can't fight back the urge inside

It's dark and you're afraid of the devils that come out at night.

Let's make this easy,

Soon you'll haunt these beasts you've hated

No need for sleep tonight-

Sweet dreams are overrated. He let the adults move up to the window as the children played among themselves and with the spirits. They looked for their families with more interest than the children, but they did not ask to get any closer either. They had just a little more trouble letting go- but Freddy, the lumbering spirit rubbed against them like a fat housecat for attention. They were no longer at odds. The whole collection was a cohesive unit now. Almost, anyway.

Terrence Booker kept himself separate. He had taken him like the others, but the memories had not faded just yet- he was still new after all. Like a select few, Phantom was reluctant to let him close to the children. Part of the collection or not- evil had a way of tainting the things it touched. With the rest of the night guards getting close, he did the same. It didn't take long for the Booker's to catch sight of their lost son, and for hell to break loose outside the doors.

You can't wake, from this dream

No one can hear you screaming

So hold on for the ride, I'll take you with me tonight

This nightmare, this prison, inside these suits we live in

Don't fear me, together, we'll have sweet dreams forever.

Phantom hit the landing hard, not quite prepared for the immediate repercussions of his actions. Someone screamed from the kitchen, and glass shattered. He smelled the smoke, but didn't see the fire right away. The smoke, however, filled up the restaurant quickly, scattering the crowd. The employees escaped almost immediately after the parking lot was cleared, and the chaos of the night was suddenly plummeted into an eerie silence.

He knew that it would happen. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he would face this decision, and soon. He just hadn't known it would be so soon, and by his own doing. The restaurant was burning down.

Mary flew into his arms and whispered to him. The children gathered around and pleaded with him to save it. Their home, their prison, the last thing in the living world that held them here. And his own flash of panic said the same.

FredBear- he had to save the suit.

He let to collection disappear. It would be easier without their help. He hopped quickly to the parts and services room, and tore the lock off the cabinet, swinging it open violently. The smoke was filling the room, but he didn't notice. The sprinklers were engaged, but he didn't care. He reached for the suit and the nagging thought he'd tried to ignore returned.

It was time to let it go. He condemned them all- including himself to this prison so long as the building stood. So long as the suits existed. The collection would never be free until it was all destroyed. It was the last one left, and the only thing that kept them from achieving their potential, the only thing that kept them trapped. He was a ghost- and this was how he was made a ghost- but he was still human too. That part of him could see it clearly still. And it was time that he let go.

Phantom grasped at the stripped bolt suspended from a string around his neck. He'd never forget. None of them would. But as much as he needed to show himself to the world tonight, he also needed to free himself. This had always been the plan. It just hadn't been his plan.

It hurt, to tear himself away. But the time had come. The building was empty, no one would get hurt, and it was a better time than any. He teleported out and watched the smoke fill up the building. He watched the flames grow even under the spray of the sprinklers, and the windows shatter from the heat. His home was inside. He'd spent years inside the familiar suit. It was his friend, his shelter.

FredBear burned, and Phantom cried.