Chapter 38: Our Desperation

Chapter 38: Our Desperation

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"If falling into desperation worked to make things better, then I would say, 'Let's all jump into despair.' But it doesn't help. The only way to truly find meaning and fulfillment is to look at the disaster, the pain, the difficulty, and know with complete certainty that good can come from this."

Yehuda Berg

Fourth in the Obsession series

The Struggling Warrior presents…

When I was very young, I often heard about the golden age. The time where the greatest of heroes stood tall. Together, they fought off evil and brought peace to the world.

In this period, no group shined greater than the Phantom Family. Completely united, they faced against foes and challenges that would have made every other family crack and fall apart.

For so long, they stood tall. They inspired and gave hope to keep living through the most troubling of circumstances. Even to this day, the symbol of the Phantom Family is synonymous with hope.

Dusk's enemy knelt before him defeated. Soul Shredder was pointed right at the strange fighter's neck. The ghoul didn't dare move his blade away from his foe's neck. The previous fight had been one of the strangest, most chaotic, and dangerous conflicts he'd had in a long time. If he gave the prisoner any room to move, it might very well be his end.

That's what he thought, at least, before he looked to his foe's eyes. While the alien's appearance had thrown him off during the fight, the strange look in his enemy's eyes made him think twice about his usual tactics.

"I see…" Dusk muttered to himself because he wasn't sure if the strange being in front of him could even understand him, "Causing all this destruction while having eyes like those…"

He instantly knew what he needed to do. Another second of thought wasn't even necessary. Dusk quickly removed his sword from his foe's throat and brought it above his head. Then, with a roar, he brought the Fright Knight's legacy down to the defeated enemy before anyone could react. Unlike his previous swings of Soul Shredder, though, he didn't intend use the weapon's special ability. No, this time, he was aiming for one clean cut.

Soul Shredder cut its target in half with ease.

Eventually, though, the time and challenges took their toll. With each new enemy that arose, a member of this family would fall.

Still, they did not give up. They persevered and used the memory of their fallen as motivation, and the enemies always fell before their might.

Unfortunately, this could not last forever. There are only so many people in one family, after all. Soon, their numbers began to dwindle until only a few were left. But they remained tall under the banner of the head of the family, Danny Phantom.

Spirit felt warm nervous sweat roll down her body. Her Premonition was screaming at her from dozens of different intentions all at once. She had never experienced such a strange mix of intentions from a voice that were all so similar. While her mental power was being assaulted, her body was trapped by different knives pointing at her all across her body and a long thorned whip that was wrapped around her.

"Why hello there~"

A mature adult woman's body draped itself across Spirit's back, ignoring the blades and whips. Spirit felt a lump grow in her throat as hot breath hit her ear. The intentions dancing off the woman behind her were too wild to understand.

"How rude…You're supposed to say hello back, sweety~"

Spirit flinched as manicured hands began to grope her body. A wet tongue moved across her jaw and left a trail of saliva in its wake.

"How rude, but I'll forgive you," Thorn worked her way around to make eye contact with Spirit, "After all…you are the woman my son loved enough to give his life up for, right?"

Phantom was the cornerstone of the family. As long as he stood strong, the Family and their allies would always remain strong. With so much pressure and cracks, however, the cornerstone eventually will shatter.

The day came where the Phantom was asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. He did so without hesitation. All of his power, his dreams, and his obsession were all sacrificed to defeat Nekron the Reaper. He sacrificed himself to give the world one last chance.

This sacrifice would ultimately be in vain. For without him, the Phantom Family could no longer exist. Broken and full of despair, they separated and chose vastly different paths. This was when the golden age ended.

Dusk felt the cold metal of the gun press against his forehead. Even if he wanted to use his intangibility, it wouldn't work in this instance. All he could do was look forward to the person threatening his life.

"No…"

The image of the gun holder suddenly became blurry. It was at that moment that Dusk realized that he was crying. His legs suddenly gave out on him. Soon, the ghost was kneeling. Yet the gun continued to be pressed against his head.

With his body numb and his mind blown, Dusk could only let his tears fall. He tried to speak, but his words only came out in an incomprehensible sob. This continued several times before he finally managed to get his words out.

"I…I don't…"

"What's wrong, Joel? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"J-Jason…I-It c-can't b-be…I…I saw your body…"

The unmasked Red Hood glared down at the defenseless ghoul. Shaking his head, he did the only thing he could in this situation. He pulled the trigger.

The world didn't stop on their accounts, though. Problems continued to pop up. Old enemies regained power while new enemies arrived. Slowly, the world began to burn as the heroes failed to rise to the challenge of fighting against the heavens.

Eventually, it got so bad that the world had to call out for the Phantom Family once more. They begged and pleaded for help against foes and situations that they couldn't possibly beat. None of their cries were answered.

The Phantom Family was no more. They had given everything they possibly could give. No secret hero was there to save the day as the world burned from the alien invaders.

Spirit was desperately clutching at her head. She had never felt that before. There was so much pain. It was an agonizing pain that seemed to stab into her very soul. The only thing that existed around that was the deep desire for the pain to come to an end.

But then…there was nothing…

As a ghost, Spirit was very well acquainted with death. This was different, though. There was peace in death. There was comfort. All that existed now was a lingering cry of complete suffering. Then, nothing. It was the pain of being completely erased into nonexistence.

Tears ran down her face. She clenched her fists so hard that her nails pierced her skin. A low hiss escaped her lips. This was sin. This was unforgivable. This needed to be punished. Dark thoughts ran through her mind. Images of cutting off limbs flashed through her mind. That was right. This didn't call for death…

She was going make the person responsible for this wish for death.

The world burned as different species raged war against each other. Earth was the prize everyone wanted, and in their violence to obtain it, they destroyed it. All that's left is decaying rock and the moon that orbits around it.

It was on that moon that I lived most of my life watching as the planet my ancestors called home continued to fall apart. I felt shame and despair each day knowing that I could do nothing to help like my family did. For I was the last remaining member of the Phantom Family.

I am their Legacy. I am all that is left of their hopes, dreams, and sacrifices. Each day I tried my best to uphold their memories, but it couldn't last. Humanity was holding on by a string as it was, and when that string was finally cut, I knew what I had to do. I had to go back. Back to the time where the fires first began to rage, and answer the calls for help.

The sound of her hand smacking his face sounded throughout the area. In her rage, she moved without thinking. Dani's fingers tingled from the force of the blow but her target was a lot worse. His pale cheek was now an injured red filled with shame and regret.

"How dare you…" Dani felt tears pool in her eyes, "You should have been here! If you were here, then none of this would have happened! Why?! Why did you have to run off for so long?! We needed you! He needed you!"

Joel did not turn to look at her. His face stayed pointed where she slapped it. His dull eyes looked forward to the object of the day's despair.

"You! You…" Dani chocked out a sob as she collapsed onto her adopted brother. He caught her protectively in his arms, "I should have been here. I should have done something. We…We're terrible siblings. We should have helped him. He was weak, and we just abandoned him. He…He never would have done that…"

Tears began to leak from Joel's own eyes, "No…He wouldn't have…"

"We…We need to fix this…Somehow…"

"We will," Joel's eyes never left their target. It hurt him more than anything he had ever experienced. No wound or loss could compare to this. His family's hope was gone in an instant, and the stone before him was just a terrible reminder of that.

Daniel Fenton

April 19, 1995 – March 26, 2016

A Hero

Dusk. Spirit. Phantom. Plasmius. Four halfas about to be made five.

My name is Luna Fenton.

I will go back.

I will save the world.

I will prevent the dark future the only way I possibly can.

I will rebuild my family, and together we will do whatever is needed to save the world. Even if we have to become the villains that this world will curse.

Because this is my…our…the world's…

"I understand now. Sometimes, people must die for the world to be made better."

"He can't be dead! He…He just can't be!"

"When was it exactly? When was it that I started hating being a superhero?"

"What do I want? That's easy. I want to make my father proud of me."

"We're just a bunch of freaks and losers, aren't we? Just a bunch of outcasts that no one cares for anymore…"

"Oh, please keep screaming. It just makes this so much more enjoyable."

"You…You're a monster! A monster with no pity! How can a man once called a hero be so cruel?!"

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't just want to give up and die."

"Traitor is a strong word. Just because you're all a bunch of sheep doesn't mean I have to be."

"It's all for the betterment of mankind."

DESPERATION