Danny Phantom: Two For One - Part 2

                                                               Danny Phantom: Two for One
                                                                                   Part 2
                                                                                 By Aaron

“But…what’s going on?” Danny thought out loud, still somewhat perplexed. “I don’t get it.”

“If your family was here, they’d probably say something lame, like, ‘The sum total of your memories and experiences may have been combined with the ghostly properties of your ecto-contamination to create an independent consciousness’,” Ghost Danny explained. “But I think we both know the truth is so much simpler than that.  I’m just everything you keep buried…everything you want to hide from the world…that is, until you need to use it for something.”

“So…all my power upgrades…that other transformation…that was all you?” Danny deduced, becoming more astounded by the moment.

“All those moments when you weakened or didn’t pay attention…all those times I was able to claw my way out,” Ghost Danny replied. “Of course, you always just managed to shove me back down again.”

“I don’t believe it…Vlad was right,” Danny whispered in amazement before shaking his head and remembering where he was. “But we don’t have time for this now.  Vlad’s got us trapped in this freaky dream world.  We’ve got to figure out a way to wake up.”

“And what a surprise, here you are asking for my help because it’s CONVENIENT,” Ghost Danny complained. “And THEN what?”

“Huh?” Danny asked, his confusion returning.

“I said, ‘THEN-WHAT’?” Ghost Danny answered angrily. “Say you win.  You wake up and get to go back to your nice, happy little life and what happens to ME?  I get to stay here, trapped in this dark little corner in the back of your head…until you FEEL like letting me out?”

“Did you EVER think of me as anything more than just a TOOL for you to use…or a TOY for you play with?” Ghost Danny continued, his rage growing by the second. “You know, that is until I didn’t make your life EASIER anymore.  And what did you do THEN?  You just tried to throw me away like trash…like I never meant ANYTHING!”

“Well, the way I see it,” Ghost Danny concluded, his eyes glowing brighter and his fists blazing with ecto-energy as he gazed into Danny’s eyes, “the only dead weight that needs to get dropped around here…is YOU!”

“WHOA!” Danny just barely jumping out of the way as Ghost Danny launched a full power Ghost Ray blast in his direction. “What was THAT about?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?  I’m running the show NOW!  I think I’ve proved that I can do the job A LOT better than YOU can,” Ghost Danny announced before launching another pair of Ghost Rays in Danny’s direction.

…  …  …  …

Out in the waking world, Vlad’s eyes widened in welcome surprise as Danny spontaneously transformed into his ghost form.  But a second later, a second GREEN transformation ring surrounded Danny’s body, slowly splitting apart to reveal Danny’s second transformation underneath.

“Yes,” Vlad whispered triumphantly as his voice rose to a yell. “It’s working…IT’S WORKING!!!”

…  …  …  …

Back inside Danny’s mind, all Danny could do was run as his ghost half continued attacking him with endless streams of Ghost Ray energy.  While Danny had managed to stay ahead of Ghost Danny’s attacks, he knew, deep down that he was only delaying the inevitable.

“This is nuts!  How am I supposed to fight back if HE’S the one with all the super powers?!” Danny complained over the sounds of the onslaught before a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. “Wait a minute…if this is a dream world…then maybe I can…WHOA!”

Unfortunately, Danny didn’t get to finish this thought as he tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face.  And sensing victory just seconds away, Ghost Danny could only laugh wildly.

“Try and dodge THIS!” he cackled, putting everything he had into his final attack, intent on blasting Danny to atoms.

“Pleaseletmeberightaboutthispleaseletmeberightaboutthispleaseletmeberightaboutthis…,” Danny uttered to himself as he shut his eyes tight.

Having no time to test his idea out, Danny could only throw out his hands, concentrating as hard as he could to make something happen.  And luckily for Danny, something did. Because before Ghost Danny’s blast could reach him, it struck a glowing force field that mysteriously appeared around Danny and exploded harmlessly into nothing.

“WHAT?!” Ghost Danny shouted in shock and anger.

“Huh…cool.  You’d almost think I actually KNEW what I was doing,” Danny remarked in relief before concentrating again.  And within seconds, his body burst into a blinding light, only to have him emerge seconds later, wearing the armor of GHOST BOY, his avatar from the video game, “Doomed”.

“Okay,” he announced, producing two laser pistols as he responded to Ghost Danny’s scowling face with a confident smirk. “NOW, we’ve got us a party.”

…  …  …  …

Out in the waking world, Sam and the others were still charging to Danny’s rescue.  It didn’t take long for Jazz, Tucker and G to catch up to Sam and Valerie’s head start.  But Sam was far too focused on holding on to Danny’s location that she was hardly flying at her top speed.

“We’ve got to be getting close,” she announced to the others. “I’m starting to pick up on what Danny’s feeling now.”

“Is he okay?  He’s not in danger, is he?” Tucker called back over the roar of G’s motorcycle.

“I can’t tell.  It’s still kind of fuzzy,” Sam answered, “It…almost feels like he’s in the middle of a fight.”

“Then we’d better not chance it! Let’s floor it, people!” Valerie responded, picking up speed along with the others.

“Excuse me,” Jazz inquired, from behind G, getting his attention by gently tapping on his shoulder. “I know we haven’t been formally introduced or anything, but I’m just curious.  That whole, ‘being able to feel each other’ thing that they can do…do you know, exactly, how they’re doing that?”

“I’m not really sure.  It isn’t an ability I possess,” G answered simply as they rode on. “But if it’s what I think it is…even if I DID have that ability, I’m not sure I could explain it in a way that would make any sense to you.”

…  …  …  …

Inside Vlad’s lab, Vlad continued eagerly awaiting the results of his experiment.  Danny was still in a state of mid-morph towards his altered form, but the green rings that signaled the transformation seemed to be almost immobilized, splitting further apart, then coming closer together.

“Secondary transformation appears to be in a state of flux, my one and only,” one of the two Maddie Holograms reported, as they both continued monitoring Danny’s readings intently. “Transformation at 53 percent…55 percent…48 percent…52 percent…”

“It would appear young Daniel is still doing everything he can to stave off the change,” Vlad observed before a confident smirk crossed his face. “But then, how much longer can he hold out?  He’s only human.”

…  …  …  …

Inside Danny’s mind, the battle with his ghost half was well underway, as both sides continued trading blasts back and forth, with neither giving an inch.  Using his dream state to his advantage may have given Danny the tools he needed to fight back, but it still didn’t offer him a clear advantage.  Only the one who had the stronger will was going to emerge victorious in this contest.

“Would you knock it off, already?!” Danny shouted after dodging a pair of Ghost Danny’s blasts while tossing a volley of his own. “We don’t have time for this!”

“Stop saying ‘we’!” Ghost Danny argued, pressing his attack. “It’s not going to be ‘we’ for much longer!”

“Come on, who are you kidding?!” Danny replied, still trying to talk his way out of the situation as the fight went on. “We both know you don’t want this!”

“Stop talking like you know me!  You don’t know anything about me!” Ghost Danny hollered, blasting Danny’s laser pistols out of his hands.

Another pair of Ghost Rays sent Danny flying through the air and landing flat on his back.  Sensing his victory, Ghost Danny charged in for the final blow.  But Danny Fenton wouldn’t be undone quite so easily as Ghost Danny was stopped in his tracks by another blinding flash of light.  As the light faded, Danny became visible once again, only this time, safely encased within the confines of the Fenton RV.  And now it was Ghost Danny’s turn to go flying as Danny let him have it with everything the RV’s arsenal had to bear.

“Oh I don’t huh?!” Danny yelled back as Ghost Danny struggled to pick himself up. “Then why did you bother helping me all those times when I needed it?!  You had plenty of chances to let me twist in the wind, but you didn’t!”

“That’s because anything that happened to YOU, happened to ME!  What CHOICE did I have but to fight for you?!” Ghost Danny objected as he whirled around, his eyes blazing with anger.

Sensing Ghost Danny’s attack, Danny once again unleashed a barrage of weaponry from the Fenton RV.  But Ghost Danny wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice as he surged ahead, dodging every missile and laser at top speed before reaching the RV and tearing through the windshield and firing inside.  Within seconds, the Fenton RV filled to capacity with searing Ghost Ray energy and exploded, throwing Danny clear by the blast and sending him bouncing and rolling along the ground to a stop.

“But now that we’re in here…now I can fight for ME!” Ghost Danny bellowed in victory as Danny lay motionless on the ground. “And with YOU gone, all that’s going to be LEFT is me!  No more of you ignoring me!  No more of you using me!  No more of you trying to erase me…!”

“NO…MORE…YOU!”

…  …  …  …

“Transformation at 78 percent and rising, Lamb Chop,” the second Maddie hologram reported as Danny’s transformation inside Vlad’s lab appeared to be nearly complete.

“Yes,” Vlad shuddered in anticipation. “We’re so close…don’t stop now.”

…  …  …  …

“You’re right…”

“What?” Ghost Danny uttered in surprise, not only at the fact that Danny was still able to speak, but that he would say any such thing.

“I said…’You’re right’,” Danny groaned as he struggled to get to his feet, still not turning to face his ghost half. “Everything you said, it was all true.  I DID take you for granted.  And I DID treat you like a burden.  I never bothered to try and find out where my powers came from.  I never even THOUGHT about it.  I always just went with it.  I didn’t give you the respect you deserved.  I get that now.  And believe it or not…I’m sorry…”

“…But you know what?  There’s something YOU don’t get, either.  I didn’t even get it MYSELF until just now.”

At that moment, Danny whirled around as a familiar device appeared in his hand, encasing him in the armor of the Fenton Peeler.  And before Ghost Danny could react, Danny fired his weapon.  The blast washed over Ghost Danny like an unending tide, doing as it was designed and peeling away his ghostly form to reveal Danny Phantom underneath.  But Danny kept firing and Ghost Danny could only cry out as yet one more layer was ripped away.

After seconds that felt like an eternity, the attack stopped and Ghost Danny opened his eyes.  But when he looked down at his body, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  It was only after he looked back at where Danny had been standing that he saw a mirror standing in his place.  And when he looked at the mirror’s reflection, that was when the reality hit home as he saw Danny Fenton’s face staring back at him.

“Take a look,” the reflection of Danny spoke, “You may want to talk like you’re someone else, but at the end of the day, this is still who you are.”

“Oh please, this is your best shot?  Some pathetic, ‘we’re the same’ line?” Ghost Danny shouted at the animated mirror.

“Why not?  You said you were built on me, remember?” Danny replied from inside the mirror. “That just makes us two sides of the same coin, right.  That’s why trying to get rid of you that time didn’t work.  How could I get rid of a part of myself?  We NEED each other.”

“Come on out of that mirror and I’ll SHOW you just how much I need you, you…!” Ghost Danny started to protest.

“Still a little slow on the uptake, aren’t you?” Danny interrupted. “You know, you may have my memories, but you haven’t learned from them.  Because if you had, you’d remember what I never forgot…”

“…without me…you won’t be ‘you’ anymore.”

Just then, a sick, twisted grin splashed across the face of Danny’s reflection as his eyes turned blood red.  His body grew and bulged as his skin turned blue and his hair turned to white flames.  And to ghost Danny’s shock, what was once the reflection of Danny Fenton staring him back in the mirror was now the terrifying image of Dark Danny looming over him.

“YOU’LL BE ME!!!” Dark Danny bellowed, cackling with laughter as he smashed out of the mirror and tromped toward Ghost Danny.

Instinctively, Ghost Danny threw out his hands to fire a pair of Ghost Rays, but realized too late that he was still in the form of Danny Fenton.  And with no time to change, all Ghost Danny could do was hold up his arms defensively and shut his eyes tight as Dark Danny slashed at him with a venomous snarl…!

It would be several more seconds Before Ghost Danny would open his eyes, realizing that nothing had happened.  But when he DID open his eyes, he was in for yet another shock as he found himself inside the body of Dark Danny.  But when he tried to do any more, the body refused to respond.  It was as if he had no control over it at all.

“And the worst part is, you won’t even realize it’s happening,” Danny’s voice could be heard echoing through the darkness. “Then what do you think happens after that?”

Just then, Dark Danny whirled around to see a parade of mirrors in front of him.  A second later, an image began to appear in one of the reflective surfaces, revealing Tucker and Valerie, regarding him with friendly smiles.

“Hey Dude, what’s up?” Tucker greeted, flashing a quick “peace” sign.

But Dark Danny simply growled in disgust, his fists blazing with ecto-energy.  And with Ghost Danny trapped inside, he found himself helpless as Dark Danny raised his arms.

“What are you doing?! DON’T!” Ghost Danny cried out in shock as Dark Danny fired, shattering the mirror with his Ghost Rays and leaving Ghost Danny completely stunned.

“Go ahead.  Lie to me,” Danny’s voice again echoed from the shadows as another image began to appear in a second mirror. “Tell me you don’t care.”

“Look, Danny’s home!” Danielle announced happily as she emerged in the glass alongside Jazz, Jack and Maddie, all flashing loving, joyful grins.

“No, wait!” Ghost Danny shouted helplessly as Dark Danny surged forward with a wild yell, reducing the mirror to shards and splinters with a single swipe of his hand.

“Tell me it doesn’t matter,” Danny’s voice continued to taunt as one more image appeared in yet a third mirror.

“…no…” Ghost Danny shuddered in pure terror as he saw the reflection that awaited him next.

“Tell me you’re willing to give it all up,” Danny’s voice sounded again, as it was Sam who would appear inside the mirror’s reflection.

“You’re the love of my life, Danny Fenton,” Sam uttered from behind the glass, her eyes welling up and her lips curled in a smile that showed nothing but pure, unrelenting joy.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Ghost Danny screamed as Dark Danny roared and charged ahead, smashing his fist through the reflection of Sam’s face and destroying the mirror with a ghost ray blast which bathed the entire area in a blinding flash of light.

…  …  …  …

“Transformation at 32 percent and dropping, Cuddle Bug,” the first Maddie Hologram reported as Danny’s alternate transformation appeared to be almost undone.

“I have eyes, blast it!” Vlad shouted at her before turning back around and looming over Danny’s sleeping form. “Don’t you do this to me, boy.  I’ve come too far to let you take this from me now.”

…  …  …  …

Inside the dreamscape, Ghost Danny was now free from the prison of Dark Danny, back in the body of his human form.  But as he found himself on his knees, surrounded by the shards of broken glass that represented his family and friends…even his one true love…he was, in no way, free from his grief.  All he could do was stare out at the destruction laid out in front of him and wallow in his guilt.

“No…no no no no no…,” he groaned, hanging his head sorrowfully.

Just then, one more mirror appeared right in front of Ghost Danny, catching his attention and causing him to look up.  Inside the mirror, the reflection of Danny had returned.  And his own somber expression told the whole story, revealing that what Ghost Danny had just experience was a fear that Danny, himself, had long been living with.

“Have I got your attention, yet?” he asked plainly, while Ghost Danny could only look up at him with pained eyes.

“…I just don’t want to go away again…,” Ghost Danny pleaded weakly.

“You don’t HAVE to,” Danny replied. “I already told you, we’re two sides of the same coin.  Maybe it’s time we started acting like it,”

“So what do you say?” Danny added, holding out his hand with a welcome grin. “Want to come see how the other half lives?”

At first, Ghost Danny wasn’t sure what to think, only pensively starting to raise his hand to accept Danny’s offer.  But after several agonizing seconds and before he could talk himself out of it, he found himself reaching into the mirror, grabbing Danny’s hand and holding it tightly.

…  …  …  …

“It worked…IT WORKED!” Vlad shouted to the rooftops, jumping for joy and clicking his heels as Danny laid out before him, now completely in his alternate ghost form. “Now the REAL fun begins.  Unlock the restraints.”

“Vlad Darling, are you absolutely sure that’s a good idea?” the first Maddie Hologram inquired uneasily. “Given the clearly unstable nature of this form…might it not be best if we…?”

“…All the more reason that we not be seen approaching from a position of hostility.  It will only cause him to react with aggression,” Vlad interrupted. “Besides, if he does get out of control, it will be no difficult task to put him under again.”

Uncertain, but obedient, the Maddie Holograms did as they were told and released Danny from his bonds while Vlad remotely deactivated the dream band.  A few moments later, Danny would open his flashing green eyes and sit up, slowly looking around the room.

“Greetings,” Vlad announced his presence, trying to disguise as much of his nervousness as he could as Danny turned to face him. “Just out of curiosity, do you…recognize me?”

Danny didn’t respond to Vlad’s question.  He merely stared blankly with a pair of blinks.

“So far, so good,” Vlad muttered under his breath as his confidence grew and he began to speak more boldly. “Well, you may not know me, but I’ve LONG been an admirer of YOURS.  I think your power is nothing short of phenomenal.  But just imagine what you could be capable of if you had the proper guidance…guidance that I, of course, am willing to provide.”

“Side by side, there’s no limit to what the two of us would be able to achieve.  Stick with me and I promise, anything and everything you want will be yours,” Vlad continued to push, even going so far as to hold out his hand. “And who knows?  Given enough time…you might even begin to think of me as…Father.”

Again, Danny offered up no reply.  He simply stared at Vlad’s outstretched hand with the same blank expression.

“Can you…even understand me?” Vlad asked, fearing that this new form may have left Danny too mentally stunted to contemplate or reason.

Just then, Danny’s face looked up at Vlad with a dark frown.  A second later, a burst of ecto-energy from Danny’s ghostly aura caused Vlad’s dream band to explode off his ear.  And before the Maddie Holograms could react, Danny whirled around, firing a pair of Freezing Ghost Rays from his eyes that encased their control panel in ice, deactivating them both.

Acting quickly, Vlad lunged forward while Danny was turned away from him, Trying to plant a second Dream Band that he’d had hidden in his other hand.  But without even turning around, Danny’s hand shot up and grabbed Vlad’s wrist, holding on so tightly that Vlad couldn’t break free and surrounding his entire hand in a ball of ice.  A second later, Danny would finally turn back around, staring Vlad dead in the eye.

“Sorry Vlad.  Mindless, Brain-Dead Danny isn’t here today,” he announced with a smirk, pulling Vlad in close, face to face. “And you already got me what I want.”

“Oh Fluffernutters,” Vlad groaned as Danny smiled wide and pulled back an eager, blazing fist.

                                                                                  WHAM!!!

Outside, Sam and the others had just arrived at an abandoned, privately-owned warehouse two towns over.  Confident that this was the place Vlad had taken Danny, they all readied themselves to move in.

“Alright, this is it,” Valerie declared, “Everybody ready?  Let’s go…!”

“Wait!” Sam called out, her eyes widening in shock.

“Sam, what is it?  What’s wrong?” Tucker immediately asked as everyone’s attention immediately turned towards Sam, who was frozen in place.

“I’m-not-sure,” Sam replied as she stared out into space, her voice just as stunned as her expression.

Just then, Vlad’s body came smashing through the wall in front of the group and hurtling past them down the street.  Before Sam and the others could make any sense of what that meant, Danny would emerge from the dust wafting out of the hole in the wall, still in his altered form.

“Oh…now that’s REALLY not good,” Jazz remarked, as everyone remembered all-too well what happens when Danny was in that state.

Just then, Danny heard her words and turned his sights to Sam and the others, who had no idea what was coming next.  But when he actually smiled at them, they had even LESS of an idea what to expect.

“Oh, hi guys,” Danny called over with a playful wave, “Just give a minute, okay?  This won’t take long.”

With that, Danny burst down the street, taking off with such speed he kicked up a small force wave that everyone felt slam into them.  But Sam and the others were too perplexed by what Danny’s sudden cheerful demeanor to really notice.  Everyone, that is, except G, who simply stared off in the direction Danny had gone with a grim expression.

“Okay…what just happened?” Valerie exclaimed, simply saying what everyone else was thinking.

Just then, the roar of G’s motorcycle caught everyone’s attention.  As they turned around, they already saw him riding off at top speed in Danny’s direction.

“Hey, where is HE going?” Tucker blurted out, causing everyone else to start off after him.

Farther away, Danny had caught up with Vlad and was already continuing the fight by plowing his fist across Vlad’s cheek, knocking him back.  Desperate for control, Vlad split himself into four clones, hoping to overwhelm Danny with sheer numbers.  But before Vlad could even think to attack, Danny split into two, himself, and came in from both sides, slamming all four clones together and causing them to merge back into one Vlad.  Danny would then combine himself and follow up with a roundhouse kick that sent Vlad flying through the wall of another abandoned building.

“Pfff!  Same tired old tricks!  Don’t you have anything NEW?!” Danny taunted.

Danny would get his answer as Vlad launched a sphere of Ghost Ray energy out of the hole in the wall.  Danny was quick to act as he slammed his ecto-charged fists into the blast and actually ripped it in two, causing it to explode in the street on either side of him.  But the blast was merely a distraction for allowing Vlad to get in close, as he flew towards Danny at top speed, sending a screaming punch directly at his head.  Luckily, though Danny was initially caught by surprise, his increased speed and reflexes allowed him to easily counter the attack, slamming his fist square into Vlad’s with crushing force.

The force kicked up by the collision of the two powers sent both Danny and Vlad flying back to either side of the street.  Vlad crashed into the wall of the building he’d just emerged from while Danny collided with a pile of uncollected garbage that was still lying on the sidewalk.  But despite the demeaning position Danny found himself in, he still couldn’t help from suddenly laughing in amusement.

“Well, that’s certainly an interesting reaction,” Vlad remarked as he struggled to pick himself up. “Mind letting ME in on the joke?”

“The joke IS you,” Danny chuckled, plucking a banana peel off his arm before snapping to his feet and dusting himself off. “Come on, all this time you’ve been ragging on my dad for being a screw-up, but look at YOUR track record.  Has any one of your schemes ever ACTUALLY worked?  Even now, you tried to turn me into some kind of attack dog and all you managed to do was make me better.”

“But for how much longer?” Vlad taunted, even though his voice still held a hint of contempt as he pointed as the wisps of vapor emerging from Danny’s shoulder. “It seems you have to pay if you want to play in that form. How many seconds do you think you have left before your body gives out?”

Danny regarded his shoulder with a blank expression.  But his confidence seemed unshaken as he turned back to Vlad with a smirk.

“Then I guess it’s time I stopped playing with you and got serious,” he replied as he took a defensive stance and readied himself, waving Vlad over to start the next round. “Think you can handle it?”

Angered by Danny’s insolence, Vlad ignored his weakened state and charged in to attack.  But as Danny prepared to strike back, a bolt of electrified Ghost Ray energy struck Vlad in the side, sending him bouncing along the street before rolling to a stop.  Danny found himself surprised as well as he turned to see that G had arrived on the scene, just a few feet away.

“Huh…I have been waiting WAY too long to do that,” G remarked with an amused chuckled before dismounting his motorcycle and stepping in between Danny and Vlad, “Relax kiddo, I’ve got this.”

“So…you fancy yourself the boy’s protector, do you,” Vlad remarked as he picked himself up, feeling more confident that any time he spent fighting this newcomer would certainly run out whatever time Danny still had left in his advanced state. “You should pick your opponents more carefully.”

“Oh please.  You can barely keep up with HIS True Ghost Form…,” G replied, nodding his head over his shoulder in Danny’s direction.

Just then, to both Danny and Vlad’s shock, an all-too familiar green ring appeared around G, splitting apart and revealing a new transformation.  Within seconds, his Ghostly aura became electrified and his body emerged coated in an sparking, crystalline substance.  It covered his forearms, shoulders, elbows knees and calves, almost like armor.  It even formed around his gun, making it look larger and more powerful.  But the most striking form was around his head, as it took the shape of a motorcycle helmet, shaped like a giant skull.

“…You think you can handle MINE?”

Incensed that someone new had shown up with Danny’s ability, Vlad let loose with a searing stream of Ghost Ray energy.  But G remained unfazed as he lifted his powered-up six-shooter, the chamber within spinning wildly.  And with a single pull of the trigger, he unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of electrified ghost Ray bolts, tearing through Vlad’s Ghost Ray like paper and striking him repeatedly, stunning him to the ground.

“Oh, and for the record…I picked you VERY carefully,” G continued, with his gun still trained on Vlad. “In fact, I picked you a long time ago.”

“Well…that’s certainly cryptic…but interesting…,” Vlad groaned as his body still spasmed with electric shocks. “…And just who ARE you, exactly…?”

“I’m your Ghost of Christmas Past!” G shouted as he prepared to fire again.

However, Vlad wasn’t about to give G the satisfaction of another attack as his body disappeared in the middle of the street, revealing itself to be nothing more than a clone.  He must have split himself off as a distraction to escape after Danny kicked him into the building before.  Running over to the spot where the clone had vanished and looking out at the nearby rooftops, G’s aggravation was clearly apparent.  But he soon had to admit that he had more pressing concern and growled as he swallowed his anger.

“Next time, Old Man,” he muttered, reverting to his previous ghost form and holstering his weapon before turning his attention back to Danny. “And you!  You need to change back RIGHT NOW!”

“Relax, everything’s cool,” Danny replied, twirling around slowly. “See?  I’m fine.”

“No, you only THINK you’re fine,” G argued. “Trust me, you need to change back.”

“Oh alright,” Danny protested as he reverted back. “But I really don’t see what the problem i…!”

Danny never even got the chance to finish his thought as his legs buckled and he fell to his knees.  All of his muscles felt like they were on fire.  He was desperately gulping air and his heart was pounding as if he’d just run 10 miles.  In fact, he was so exhausted that he couldn’t even maintain his normal ghost form, reverting back to his human state.  G, meanwhile, wasn’t the least bit surprised at the sudden change in Danny’s physical health as he simply nodded in response.

“Told you,” he remarked soberly before pulling a bottle of water out of his coat and handing it to Danny. “Here.  Trust me, it’ll help.”

Danny needed no encouragement to pop open the bottle and start gulping back every drop he could.  G, meanwhile, simply sat down on the curb beside him to make sure the worst was over.

“Aw man,” Danny rasped, still trying to catch his breath. “I feel like…What HAPPENED to me?”

“Pretty obvious at this point, don’t you think?” G answered. “I think you figured it out when you heard me say the words, ‘True Ghost Form’. You already know what I’m talking about, right?”

“So…when I change like that…,” Danny deduced, “…You’re saying that I become…”

“…One hundred percent pure, home-grown, bonafide ghost.  Gives you access to everything you have,” G explained, finishing Danny’s thought. “The problem is, at the end of the day, you’re STILL just a HALF ghost.  There’s only so much of it your human body can take.  So you have to learn to pace yourself.  I know you feel like a million bucks and it doesn’t seem like anything can hurt you.  But if you can’t feel pain, your body can’t tell you that anything’s wrong.  If I hadn’t shown up at that last second, well…he probably would’ve pushed you over the edge just by BREATHING on you.”

“Okay, good safety tip,” Danny agreed, suddenly feeling quite foolish for believing he was so invincible before.

“Well, your friends should be able to look after you from here,” G noted, patting Danny on the shoulder before standing up to leave. “I’d better get going.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Danny called over to G as he walked away. “I kinda feel like I’m getting short-changed here.  You still haven’t told me anything about who YOU are.”

“Let’s just say I know what it feels like to live on both sides of the track, too,” G answered as he hopped on his motorcycle. “Besides, it’s not like you’re never gonna see me again.”

And with that, G roared off, with Danny in no shape to go after him.  Not that he could afford to, however.  He had family and friends to wait for.

…  …  …  …

“Danny!” Sam yelled as she flew towards him, with the others close behind.

“Hey guys!” Danny greeted, still sitting on the sidewalk. “I’m over here! I…Mmmph!”

Danny didn’t even get a chance to finish his thought as Sam slid in, grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his in a long, firm kiss.  Tucker, Jazz and Valerie merely rolled their eyes and looked away as the moment played out.  Not that Sam would have cared if anyone watched.  Danny was the only priority at the moment as she held the kiss longer and longer before finally breaking away and planting quick, firm pecks on his lips and cheeks.

“Danny, are you alright?” she asked desperately as she threw her arms around Danny’s neck and hugged him tightly.

“Sam, relax.  It’s okay,” Danny responded, managing to pull away just enough to press his forehead against hers and look into her eyes with a warm smile. “Trust me.  It’s okay.”

“Danny…I’ve never seen you DO that before,” Jazz uttered in awe, recalling what they all just witnessed. “I mean, every time you’ve gone into that transformation, you’ve ended up being…But this time…How did you figure out how to control it?”

“I didn’t,” Danny answered with a shrug. “I guess you could say…I just made peace with myself, that’s all.”

“Oh…,” was all Jazz could say in reply as she and Valerie merely shrugged at each other, neither one of them having any idea what Danny’s response meant.

“Yeah, but you’re looking a little frayed around the edges, Dude,” Tucker noted. “Are you sure you’re gonna be good to fly.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Danny answered dismissively. “I just need a few more minutes.”

“Good…because I think our ride just ditched us,” Tucker remarked at the absence of G, whose departure had left Team Phantom with even MORE questions than answers.

…  …  …  …

A couple of days later found Danny and the others more or less where they came in…all sitting around Tucker’s desk in the Mayor’s Office.  Sam, however, was still dubious about Danny’s claims that he was alright.  The emergence of this “True Ghost Form” was still so new to everyone that no matter how many times Danny tried to assure her, she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Danny, are you sure you’re alri…Mmmmph!” Sam’s question was cut off as Danny snapped in and placed a long, tender kiss on her lips, causing Sam to reach up and tug on his shirt.  Another soft peck followed as Danny pressed his forehead to hers.

“There.  Now…are you going to stop asking now?” he responded jokingly, looking into Sam’s eyes.

“Mmmm…not if you going to start answering like THAT,” Sam answered with a tender grin before nuzzling against Danny’s nose and adding a few gentle pecks of her own.

“Oh, would you two get a broom closet already?” Valerie complained.

“Let them get it out of their systems, Valerie,” Tucker replied, tapping on his tablet. “Tanya’s gonna be here any minute.  Besides, maybe it’ll get Sam off Jazz’s back about the whole Vlad thing.”

“She didn’t TELL anybody!” Sam continued to complain while Jazz sat in silence. “I mean, come on.  There are some things you just don’t keep secret!”

“Oh really?” Danny argued. “Anything you’re planning to tell YOUR parents anytime soon, ‘Miss Tasma’?”

“…Shut up,” Sam sulked in response after a brief pause, even though she couldn’t help but smile as Danny placed a few soft kisses along her cheek. “Ooooooohhhh alright, she’s off the hook!”

“Thank you,” Jazz acknowledged, feeling as though she finally had the right to speak in public again.

Just then, Tanya walked in the office.  Closing the door behind her, she once again turned around so no one would see the freaked out look on her face.

“We have SO got to get rid of that secretary,” She shuddered under her breath before turning to the matter at hand. “So…anyone keeping up on current events?”

Pulling the morning paper from the stack in her arms, Tanya tossed it onto Tucker’s desk.  On the front page, the bold typing revealed a single ray of sunshine that just might have spelled hope for Tucker’s campaign.

                                                                     STAND BY YOUR MAYOR!
                                            AMITY PARK TOP COP QUASHES RETIREMENT RUMORS,
                                   PLEDGES SUPPORT TO FOLEY AS POLITICAL OPPOSITION GROWS

“No way…You got his endorsement?!” Tucker exclaimed as Tanya merely grinned and shrugged in response. “Well, this is GREAT!  See, THIS is why I hired you!  So…what happens now?  Where do we go from here?”

“Right now, nowhere,” Tanya answered. “We’re still going to have meetings and come up with strategies.  But at this moment, we’re going to put the actual campaigning on hold.”

“Are you sure about that?  Because that doesn’t sound right to me,” Tucker responded with some confusion. “I mean, we’ve got momentum now.  Shouldn’t we be running with this?”

“Getting an endorsement from the Chief of Police DOES give us a lot of momentum.  But you have to understand, with the number of people we’ve got crawling out of the woodwork for this election, you’re just not going to have the stamina to take on all comers.  You’re going to have to let them spend a couple of weeks, knocking EACH OTHER out,” Tanya explained. “Right now, the best thing you can do for your campaign is let everyone see you doing your job.  Because the more all those other guys look like just a bunch of lunatics who want to take over the asylum, the more YOU’RE going to look like the guy who actually BELONGS here.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense, when you put it that way,” Tucker replied with a shrug.

“Well, I’m SO glad it meets with your approval,” Tanya joked before tossing a confident grin in Tucker’s direction. “Hey…trust me, okay?  We’re gonna WIN this thing.”

Picking up on Tanya’s assurance, Tucker continued on with the meeting as planned.  But as he and Tanya were discussing strategies, Jazz found herself oddly uncomfortable.

“Hey,” she whispered over to Danny, Sam and Valerie. “Is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling that we’ve forgotten something?”

Danny and the others found themselves looking at each other for a moment, then staring off into space thoughtfully.  Until Jazz had mentioned it, it never even occurred to them.  But now that they were thinking about it, it seemed as though there truly was something they’d forgotten to take care of.  If only they could remember what it was…

…  …  …  …

The wreckage of Vlad’s lab was little more than a darkened husk when a single beam of light flashed through the room.  Scanning every area intently, Skulker floated around, looking for anything he might be able to salvage for his recent trouble.  Vlad may have neglected to pay him for his services in his latest scheme.  But when it came to someone like Vlad, he could always be counted on to have one thing on the surface…and two more hidden beneath it.

“Hmmm, not much left,” he observed, assessing the damage.  “Still, there must be SOMETHING here that a hunter of my talents can make use of.”

Continuing his search, Skulker’s had happened to brush up against a wall and trigger a nearby power switch, bringing the entire lab to life.  And among the powered up devices were the two Maddie Holograms, who were back online, now that the console Danny had frozen was thawed out.

“Ecto signature that does NOT belong to our Beloved Vlad has been detected!” the first Hologram declared.

“Security protocols are now in effect!” The second Hologram announced.

At the Hologram’s command, steel walls came down from the ceiling completely sealing off the lab.  Anti-ghost lasers burst forth from dozens of compartments all throughout the facility.  And as Skulker found himself lit up by dozens of targeting lasers, only one thought could escape his lips at that moment…

“Oh, butter tarts.”

                                                                                  The End