Chapter Text
A boy rests in the palm of a giant. Mere hours ago, the boy, who walked the line of both life and death, had fought the giant, the Lord of the Dead. The boy had nearly won, but fell to his own mortality. The skin of the living had shed itself from the boy, who the King quickly claimed for himself as more than just another subject, but as his child. The boy’s fading soul accepted the King’s fire without hesitation, for it could not rest until those it fought for were truly safe, that they had been PROTECTED. The King had noticed during their fight just how desperate the boy had been to win, to keep his humans alive. Such raw emotions would be all too easy to take advantage of to ensure the boy’s obedience. It is all too easy, really. Pariah Dark grins wickedly. Soon, he will reclaim his empire, and all that is rightfully his will bow before the ruler of the Infinite Realms and his unquestioningly faithful heir, who the very name of will strike fear and panic into his father’s foes…
When Danny wakes up, the first thought in his mind is: I’m dead. The lack of heartbeat tells him so. Usually, even in ghost form, Danny can hear both his heart and core at the same time, but now, it’s just the latter. Thankfully, the shock hasn’t set in yet. Speaking of which, there’s something wrong with his core. The buzzing chill is gone, replaced by a roaring and crackling fire, one that is getting hotter and hotter and-
“OOOOOAAAHH!”
The howling shriek of his Ghostly Wail comes out instead of the intended scream of pain, resulting in more pain. Danny can barely think through it all. But still, he has to fight through it. He has to protect Amity Park, he- He failed to stop Pariah Dark. The king is still free, and he’s going to destroy Amity Park and… Danny lets out a whimper as his core and senses go into overdrive. Clockwork wouldn’t save his family from his evil future self only for them to die a few weeks later, right? Right?
savethemsavethemsavethemprotectprotectmyhumansminemineminesafenotsafedangerdangerfamilyfriendsdanger
Danny’s thoughts are cut off by a deep voice speaking to him. “Calm yourself, child. Your humans are mostly unharmed. I do not understand why you concern yourself over those who despise you, my son.” It’s those last two words that snap Danny back into focus (sort of, everything is still spinning in his mind) as his eyes trail upwards towards Pariah Dark, who looms over him as Danny sits in the palm of the Ghost King’s hand. Danny narrows his eyes, putting on a false bravado. Show no weakness, his instincts tell him, his core rumbling with satisfaction when he gives the Ghost King a snarl, grinning as he quips, “Do I look like you’re my daddy? Cause I sure don’t see any family resemblance,” before he registers the sound of his voice, which is horrifyingly unfamiliar. Even as Phantom, his voice had always sounded fairly human.
Now, it sounds not only deeper, but also warped and twisted, echoing with an inhuman reverb. Danny slowly places his hand to his throat, trying to ignore the growing fear as his clawed hand trails down his neck. Was his skin always this pale? He knows for sure his hair was not this long when he- Died. Dead. He’s dead. Danny’s dead. He died. The realization makes him feel hollow. The boy turns towards Pariah Dark, asking the king in a quiet whisper: “What do you want from me?” The king lets out a dark chuckle. “It’s quite simple. I want you to be my child. My heir. We are already connected as father and son seeing as your core was so eager to accept my power for survival.”
The ghost boy feels numb. He can’t think. There’s a wind howling in his ears. All he can focus on is keeping Amity Park safe. Protect them. Do whatever it takes. You have no humanity left to preserve. There is nothing stopping you from doing what is necessary. “You said Amity Park is safe as of right now. If you want me to be your heir, return Amity Park to the human world and let the humans be. In exchange, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I won’t like it. But as long as you leave humans alone…” The cold haze is comforting. It makes him feel less like his alternate self. He smiles, his teeth jagged and sharp. He knows what he has to do. He doesn’t want to do this, but he HAS to. He has to keep them safe. They can’t die they can’t die they can’t DIE-
He starts to laugh. He’s laughing. The world is empty and cold and blank and he laughs and laughs and laughs. It’s like the world’s worst joke and he’s the punchline. It’s too hard to think about it, so he laughs instead. He can’t understand why. All he can understand is PROTECT AMITY PARK.
His hand finds its way to his chest. Sam’s symbol. She made it for- She made it for Danny. It doesn’t deserve to be associated with whatever he does next. Neither does Phantom. He won’t taint their legacies like his other self did. The thought makes it all too easy to rip off the logo of someone who isn’t here anymore. As far as the world can know, Danny Fenton and Phantom are both no more. What remains is a promise, and if it can only be upheld by a monster…
”Then I see no reason for me to try and argue, ‘Father’…”
…then at least he’ll be a monster who kept his promise. He’ll be a prince of death and war. A bringer of fear and panic. If the King of Ghosts is Mars, and the Fright Knight is Deimos…
He’ll be Phobos. Phobos Dark.
As the King expected. It was all too easy. Taking back his kingdom of the dead is all but inevitable.