~Chapter 6: Breakdown~

~Danny's POV~

I opened my icy-blue eyes only to be engulfed by the perpetual darkness surrounding me. It was completely silent except for my own subtle breaths. Fast-moving footsteps were in the distance, growing louder with each passing second. However, I soon realized that they weren't growing louder- they were getting closer. I felt panic seize me and my breathing quickened . I took off running from whoever it was that was pursuing me.

"…Danny…" A voice from the dark called.

The single voice then split into two distinct tones.

"Danny…" Whispered a female's voice.

"Danny…" Whispered a male's voice.

The droning voices were distorted, so I couldn't recognize the voices that were speaking to me. After they started saying my name, I picked up my pace.

"Danny…"

"Leave me ALONE!" I yelled.

The footsteps were rapidly approaching.

"Danny…"

"Get away! Get awa-!"

I suddenly lost control and my balance, and I tripped. I fell backwards onto a tiled floor. I gasped as I impacted the ground. It felt like all the air inside my lungs was sucked out with a high-powered vacuum. It was right then and there when I saw a neon-green light glowing in the darkness  advancing towards me. That green light split in half and came even closer at a faster rate. I tried to gather my sense of direction, but it was too late. The lights were now shining in my eyes. Behind them, I made out the shadows of two figures.

"Well well. We finally caught up to you…"

I recognized that as my mother's voice.

"M-mom?"

"Don't you DARE call her that, ghost!" the other voice commanded.

Dad's voice.

"D-dad?" I asked. I was so lost and confused.

"What's going on?"

"Stay right where you are," My mom said.

"Don't even THINK about trying to escape, ghost boy. We have you cornered. There's no escape for you…Not this time."

The green lights I finally realized were actually their ghost-hunting bazookas. Mom powered hers up. Dad did the same with his, and both of them aimed their weapons at me.

"W-wait! What are you doing?" I questioned. "It's me, Danny! Your son!"

Mom glared at me.

"You are NOT my son, you filthy ghost! Not anymore!"

"W-what?"

"To think we trusted you! And yet you were Phantom this entire time?
You rotten, lying, ectoplasmic FREAK!" Dad yelled.

"No, d-don't! Stop, Please!" I begged.

Mom and dad placed their hands on the trigger.

"DIE, DANNY PHANTOM!"

The guns fired a single beam of ecto-energy that was directly pointed at my heart with no warning whatsoever. This was the end.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"BOOM!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

I sat up in a cold sweat panting like a dying animal. I placed my hand over my bare chest and attempted to calm my pulsating heartbeat. My breaths were quick and inefficient in inhaling oxygen to my starved lungs, and my heart must have been going at two-hundred beats per minute.

"What was…?" I wondered.

I scanned the area around me. I was at home in my room. I pulled off the covers and got out of bed. I walked over to the window and placed my hand on the cold glass.

"Was it…just a dream?"

Rain droplets fell from the sky outside and formed parallel lines that streamed down the glass. A brief flash of lightning flickered and thunder followed.

"BOOOOM!"

I jumped, still startled from the dream. It was the very same one that I'd been having for the past week. Calling it a dream was an understatement. It was more of a nightmare. Ever since the dissection, I was always afraid of my family turning on me once they discovered my secret. I sat at the foot of my bed and rested my forehead on the palm of my hand. I was still very shaken up, so my entire body was quivering uncontrollably. I desperately tried to keep it together, but it was a good twenty minutes before I was finally able to relax. I glanced over at the digital clock resting on my night stand. The glowing numerals read three-thirty AM. I decided I would try to fall back asleep. I crawled back into my bed and got under the covers.

"BOOOOOMM!"

I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the nightmare. I soon surrendered myself to the darkness and entered the world of dreams once more.

I got up the following morning around six-thirty. I groggily slipped out of bed and began to get ready for school.

"What day is it, again?" I wondered.

I looked over at the calendar. It was Monday. Ugh…I hated Mondays. However, this one was an exception because next week was the last week of school.

"Ten days left of school. Thank God." I said to myself.

I grabbed my books and homework and shoved them in my backpack. I threw on my usual white t-shirt, jeans, and I pulled my shoes on. I quickly brushed my messy black hair in the mirror, then headed downstairs.

"Morning honey." My mother said.

She was in the kitchen standing in the middle of the room. I nodded and smiled weakly at her. She handed me my car keys and my leather jacket.

"Have a good day at school." She said.

"Thanks, Mom." I replied as I put my jacket on.

My mom smiled.

"Bye Danny, I'll see you soon."

My mom hugged me. I hugged her back, but from my point of view, there was no love between us anymore. Those same hands she used to embrace me in this moment were the very same ones that dialed that life-changing phone call the day my whole world turned upside down. My parents and I had no relationship anymore. It was always the same routine everyday. At most, I only said two or three things to them daily. I let go of my mom and went out the door.

I was sitting quietly in my math class as Lancer passed back our final exam scores.

"Cool, I got a C!" Tucker exclaimed. "I didn't fail!"

"Nice job, Tuck." I commented.

Tucker smiled and did a thumbs up.

"Well, I got a B+." Sam said proudly.

Tucker stared at her wide-eyed.

"How in the hell did you get a B+?" He asked with amazement.

"It's called studying, Tucker. You should try it sometime."

"Gee, thanks, Sam…" Tucker muttered back.

"Well I'm just saying…"

I smiled at their petty argument. Tucker and Sam never seized to make me laugh.

"Impressive work, Mr. Fenton. VERY impressive, I must say."

I looked up at Lancer who handed me my test. On the top of the paper was an A written in red pen.

"A perfect score on a calc exam? That's something you don't see everyday…Very well done." Lancer remarked.

Tucker's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"WOW, man!" he said. "Since when were you good at calculus?"

I shrugged and took my test from Lancer.

"Thank you." I told him.

Lancer nodded and smiled. He then resumed passing back tests.

I came straight home after dropping off Sam and Tucker as usual. My mom opened the door and greeted me as I walked inside.

"Hi, honey. How was school?" she asked.

"Fine." I responded. " I got a hundred on my math final."

"Really? Wow that's great, Danny!" she said proudly.

"Yeah, I guess…" I muttered.

I walked upstairs to my room without saying anything else. I really didn't feel like talking. Once I got to my room, I pulled out my books, sat at my desk, and looked over my stuff.

"Let's see, I've taken both my world and calc final,"

"That just leaves my English final on Wednesday and then the physics final on Friday."

I shuffled through my binder and pulled out the review sheets from my English and physics classes. I studied my physics first. I reviewed the formulas and made sure I knew how to utilize each and every one. I was so buried in my studies that I didn't even realize my sister's voice coming from my doorway.

"Danny!"

"Huh?" I turned and looked over at Jazz.

"Oh, hey Jazz," I said. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to advise you that mom and dad left for the night, so its just us again." She said.

"They're going out again?" I asked.

My parents had stayed out all night every night ever since I escaped from the Guys in White. They were busy fighting and catching the exponentially increasing number of ghosts that plagued the city recently.

"They wouldn't have to constantly leave us all night if SOMEBODY wasn't shirking their responsibility." Jazz said.

"Gee, I'm sorry Jazz. I'm sorry that I was so busy recovering from being TORN APART last week to deal with the ghost problem!"

I huffed and turned back to my studies.

"Danny…I…I'm sorry," Jazz immediately apologized.

"I know that you're still traumatized from what happened last week. It's no wonder why you haven't been patrolling like usual. I should have thought before I spoke…"

I looked over at Jazz once more.

"It's okay Jazz…" I replied softly.

Jazz came into the room and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Although, I must say I'm really proud of you. You've really been picking up your grades."

"Yeah well, my education gives me something to distract myself. It eases the pain."  I responded.

Jazz smiled.

"Well, If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be downstairs packing."

"Packing?" I asked. "For what?"

"Mom didn't tell you, did she? Danny, I'm leaving for Yale tomorrow. I start my summer courses next week."

"Wow, you're leaving already?"

"Yep." Jazz replied, her signature smile plastered on her face.

"But don't think this means that I'll stop checking on you and making
sure you haven't done anything stupid."

I laughed and hugged her.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, sis."

Jazz smiled and left the room.

"Good night, little brother."

***The following night, evening time***

~Still Danny's POV~

Tuesday of this week was the first time that I ate dinner with my parents in awhile. Jazz had already left for college, so it was just us three. We had a warm chicken dinner that my mother had spent the whole day making. I picked up a small piece of meat and ate slowly. I then put my fork down and leaned back in my chair.

"Eat more food, Danny," Mom said. "You're skinny as a twig!"

"I'm fine, mom," I said. "I'm not that hungry anyways. No appetite."

Mom sat across from me and looked at me with a concerned expression.

"Danny? Are you sure you're all right?"

"Of course," I replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well for starters, you barely touched your food."

"Like I said, I'm just not that hungry." I replied.

"You haven't been eating that much for the past week, Danny,"

Mom put her hand gently on my shoulder.

"Is something bothering you?"

I shook my head.

"No, its okay, really."

Dad looked over at me.

"Danny, you've been acting very strange. You're not eating, you look like you haven't slept in weeks, and all of a sudden you're getting these really high scores on your tests." Dad said.

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"So what? I'm doing better in school. What's the big deal? Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

"We are happy and we're very proud of you," Mom said.

"We're just worried about your recent change in behavior, that's all. Could you please tell us what's going on?"

"Nothing…" I lied.

"Danny, that's not true and we all know it." Dad said.

I got up from the table and pushed in the chair.

"I'm not feeling too well. I'm going to go lie down on the couch for a while."

I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I sat down and rested my head on a pillow sitting on the sofa. In the kitchen, I could hear the clanking of silverware on dinner plates. My parents were discussing something, but I could only gather partial snips of their conversation.

"Jack…he's not getting any better…"

"I know, Maddie…"

"…Is he still traumatized from…?"

" Well, what else? But I've never seen him act in this manner…"

"…Neither have I…but…what does it mean?"

"I don't know…but I do know it's not normal…"

I didn't have to hear the conversation in its entirety to know that they were talking about me. I buried my head into the pillow in an attempt to block out the sound, whimpering as tears of defeat rolled down my face.

"What's wrong with me?" I wondered.

"Why is everything falling apart at the seams as I can do nothing besides watch helplessly from afar?"

I laid there in that same position for a long time lost in thought. I pondered through my list of options: Tell them my secret, continue to hide it, or run away. Running away seemed like the easier of the choices, but where could I go? I was too terrified to tell them I was half-ghost on account of the nightmare, and trying to keep the secret was killing me from the inside.

I finally sat up with my hair hanging in my face. My eyes were puffy and red from crying. I finished rubbing the tears from my eyes just as my dad barged into the room excitedly.

"Hey Danny!" He said. "Check this out! I'm sure it'll cheer you up!"

"What?" I asked.

Dad turned on the TV and frantically changed the channel.

"What's the big deal, dad?"

"It's the news! They're talking about Danny Phantom!"

"Shit…" I thought. This wasn't going to be good.

"The Guys in White have a huge announcement about the ghost-boy! Watch!"

A reporter on the screen began talking.

"And so, the Guys in White discovered a dark secret that Phantom has been hiding from
everyone for the last four years since he started appearing in Amity Park."

Mom came into the room and handed me a glass of water.

"Here, sweetie, drink this."

I nodded and took the glass from her. I drank as my hand holding the glass quivered.

"Danny Phantom is only half-ghost!" The reporter exclaimed.

"He's also half-human!"

I spewed the water out of my mouth and coughed.

"And even though the ghost boy escaped before his identity could be revealed, the Guys in White have more tests planned once he's recaptured!"

Another man on TV began to talk.

"Already, many have begun preparing to search for Danny Phantom in order to discover who the ghost kid really is."

My dad then shut off the TV. I continued to stare at the screen in total disbelief of what I just heard.

"I always knew there was something odd about Phantom, but I never would've guess he was half-human…" Dad said.

I shakily put down the glass and wiped my mouth.

"Y-yeah…go figure." I replied softly, my voice and tone cracking.

"Well, it would explain why he's so human-like," Mom said.

"I always knew that Phantom was hiding something."

Dad stood up proudly and confidently.

"No matter, though! I'll catch that ghost boy and rip him apart myself!"

I cringed. That struck a nerve-BIG TIME. I bowed my head and clenched my hand into a fist. I gritted my teeth together to prevent myself from yelling.

"Come on, Maddie! Let's go!"

Dad left the room and went into the lab.

"Dad, I-"

"I've got some brand new ghost-hunting equipment that'll be just perfect for hunting him down!" Mom said.

Mom followed him into the lab. Shortly after, they came upstairs in their hazmat suits, their ghost rays in their hands.

"Let's catch Phantom and tear him apart molecule by molecule!" Dad exclaimed.

"We'll be the first to discover his human identity!" Mom began.

"And if he won't give us any answers, we'll beat the truth out of him!"

My parents continued their arrogant and boastful chatter about tearing ME apart; About ripping ME apart all the way down to the molecular level ; About torturing ME until I fell apart to nothing. My emotions began bubbling up like an active volcano.

"That ghost won't know what hit him once I'm through with him!" Dad said.

"I can't wait to–"

And all of a sudden, I exploded.

"ENOUGH!"

I then violently got up from the couch and threw the glass I was holding against the wall. It made a ringing noise that resonated into the air as it shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Mom and dad turned to look at me in shock.

"Danny!" Mom yelled. "What's the matter with you?"

"Why did you just do that?" Dad asked bewildered.

The water that was once inside the glass trickled down the wall slowly. The fragments of the glass reflected the light that shone from the crescent moon outside. They began to shimmer brightly.

"I'VE HAD IT!" I yelled.

"I am sick and tired of hearing your constant threats, complaints, and all this other bull shit about Danny Phantom! That's ALL you ever talk about anymore!"

"What's wrong with that, son?" Dad asked.

"I thought you really enjoyed learning about ghosts. I thought-"

"No, DAD," I interrupted.

"YOU'RE the one who is OBSESSED with tearing apart and dissecting ghosts, not me. I just wanted to be a NORMAL kid with NORMAL parents, but I guess I don't even deserve THAT! I am so DONE with this goddamn SHIT!"

Without thinking, I headed for the door.

"Danny, where are you going?" Both my parents asked, completely hysterical.

"ANYWHERE BUT HERE!"

I ran out of the house slamming the door behind me. I never dared to look back.

~Maddie's POV~

It all started outas a nice, quiet evening until my son, Danny, had a total mental breakdown in the living room. After his outburst, he fled the house while slamming the front door as hard as he possibly could behind him.

"Jack!" I yelled. "We have to go after him!"

"Right, let's hurry!" He said. "He couldn't have gotten that far!"

Jack and I ran outside after Danny. We followed him down the street, but then it became too dark to see clearly. Once we got to the end, the street split in two different directions.

"I'll go right, you take the left side." I told Jack.

Jack nodded and went down the road. I ran down the other road as fast as humanly possible. I then finally saw a figure in the darkness.

"DANNY!" I shouted. "DANNY, WAIT!"

"NO!" I heard him yell back. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I continued to pursue him down the long street. We were now close to City Hall. I ran past the building as well as the giant statue of Danny Phantom holding the Earth up in his hand. I saw Danny stop to catch his breath up ahead, so I ran faster to catch up to him.

"Danny!"

"Shit…" He muttered.

I slowed down and walked up to him.

"Danny, what was all that about?" I asked him calmly.

"Nothing, just GO AWAY!"

Danny tried to get away, but I grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, LET GO!"

"No, Danny! Tell me what's wrong, please!"

Danny only glared at me with a hurt expression.

"I can't tell you ANYTHING!" He roared.

I could of sworn I saw his eyes change to a glowing green, but when I blinked, they were blue once more.

"Yes you can...I'm your mother Danny. You can tell me anything."

Danny didn't say anything; He just continued to struggle out of my grip.

"Danny, stop this! Just tell me what's bothering you so much!"

"NOTHING! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled again.

"I DON'T WANT TO LIVE AT HOME ANYMORE! I'M RUNNING AWAY! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

"Danny, you're still a CHILD! You can't just leave home!" I yelled back.

"I am NOT a child, MOTHER. I'm EIGHTEEN years old! I can do WHATEVER the hell I want and you can't do or say ANYTHING about it!"

"Eighteen or not, you're still too young too leave home. You're still in high school! Besides, you won't survive on these streets alone! Trust me Danny, I know!"

Danny then pulled his way out of my grip and was now free.

"You don't know ANYTHING about me!"

Danny ran past some more buildings before turning down a dead end street. I continued to follow him knowing that he wouldn't be able to get away once I caught up with him. I suddenly stopped when I saw a glowing white ring appear around my son's body. This ring became two and went up and down his body. His raven-black hair was now a radiant white. A black and white jumpsuit replaced his white shirt and raggedy blue jeans, and those green eyes I thought I saw before were glowing brighter than ever. I also noticed that sections of his uniform were torn and shredded, and tons of stitches covered his body.

"D-DANNY?"

Before I could reach him, Danny flew off into the night sky. I fell to my knees in total shock. I had just witness my son-my own son-transform into Danny Phantom. It was like I had just been punched in the stomach. But then suddenly, it all made sense. The behaviors…the insomnia…the growing distance between us…

"Danny…"

I felt like the worst mother on the face of the planet. My own son was the half-ghost that was plastered all over the news, and I didn't even realize it was him. Worse yet, I had called in the government and ordered them to take him away. I then recalled the stitchings I saw on his chest, side, and arm.

The pain he must have endured, both physically and mentally...Every slash, every incision...each one more agonizing than the next...

"D-Danny, I'm s-so sorry!"

And prior to all of this, Danny was subjected to witnessing that heinous conversation between me and Jack about tearing apart the ghost boy, when we were really talking about tearing HIM apart.

I continued to whimper and I felt like an idiot for not realizing the truth sooner. How could I have been so stupid? Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom…It seemed so obvious, so why hadn't I picked up on it? The sudden shift in behavior? How he was always late coming home? Why he always seemed exhausted? Why couldn't I put the pieces together? On top of that, I hated myself for being so blind by my bitter hatred of ghosts to see past Phantom and realize he was my son all along. Jazz was right after all. Danny was a hero. He protected Amity Park despite those who despised him. He saved the entire earth for pete's sake, and even THAT wasn't enough to convince me! I still found some way to bear a grudge against him, and I condemned myself for it.

I stared up into the cloudless sky where I last saw my son before he took off. A gentle breeze blew some leaves on the street. They made a brushing noise as they moved across the ground swiftly. The moon shined brightly above as the stars surrounding it twinkled.

"I'm so sorry, Danny. Please forgive me…"