Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

There were secrets that even Danny wasn't privy to when it comes to Tucker and Sam. Like Tucker knows that Sam kissed Danny once when they were eight and she thought he died from falling off the monkey bars even though he had just fainted. Sam could still remember the first time Tucker got kicked in the shins was when they were ten and he tried to hit on Jazz while waiting for Danny to come downstairs. Unspoken promises were made to each other countless times because their secrets were either too embarrassing or they made delicious blackmail against each other in the numerous arguments they enacted behind Danny's back. The pair stared at the scene in front of them for it would soon become yet another secret that was shared between them, but this time it was for Danny's sanity and not their own pride.

Smoke rose from their dearest friend while the Ghost Portal swirled shades of green majestically before them. If the basement hadn't had a blue tint to it their stillness would've induced a negative picture burned into the back of their minds along with the guilt of killing their best friend. Danny was a negative version of himself. They had no idea what they were dealing with. His hair was white but his suit was white on black rather than the black on white that had hugged his body before the explosion. Sam felt horror fill her; an experience that would become familiar to her over the years but would eventually wane as her battle instincts would instill a sense of driven fearlessness in her. Tucker was in a similar state but his dropped jaw was a fear indicator that Sam's body did not copy. He couldn't scream out or move an inch for the sake of his first real friend. Movement released the two from their frozen state.

"Danny!" A flustered Sam was the first one to race over to her long-time crush as Tucker soon followed. Danny squeezed his eyes harshly as he slowly sat up with the help and tenderness of his friends. Sam allowed her eyes to become glossy but refused to let them fall in the presence of her two favorite boys, "We thought you were dead! I'm so sorry; I shouldn't have convinced you to go in their. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

"Quiet, your rambling is causing my head to ache." That didn't sound like something Danny would say to anyone even if he wasn't a morning person. Sam backed up immediately and sheltered her beret-wearing friend behind her as she wielded one of the ecto-guns that she grabbed off one of the lab counters. Even if she had no idea what she was doing or if the gun actually worked she sure looked threatening to anyone even ghosts but not to this thing before her. She glared as he began to laugh in mischievous and bemused way that was so unlike her Danny. His eyes still hadn't been visible to her but obviously he had seen her predatory stance; sweat coated the palms of Sam's hands as it shook subtly, "Who are you and what have you done to Danny?"

Tucker couldn't possibly stare down this beast like Sam so he stared at her instead. To anyone else she seemed levelheaded and prepared to do anything that was necessary; to Tucker, she was the same scared little girl who clung to Danny and him when her parents found out that they helped her paint her room black when they were seven.

Then the monster opened his eyes to give them a piercing stare with his luminescent green eyes as if he was determining whether or not to kill them for sport or take the trouble to tame them to be pets. Queasy feelings made Tucker urge to fall to the ground and spew the contents of his stomach. The only thing that stopped him was the thought that Sam was about to shoot at a man who bore a freaky resemblance to their best friend and—as Tucker knew—Sam's one true love. Shakily, he reached out and gently pushed down Sam's clasped hands that were squeezing the gun a little too tightly; a look of confusion crossed her face as she stared at him but his pained expression showed her an answer. The Danny-look-alike gave them a deep frown as if he was told the meaning of life but had forgotten what it was. A feral growl escaped his lips, "You two are not very much fun. I do not appreciate being here on the filthy ground of the Human Realm."

He spat out his disdain and Sam whipped her head around, seething, "What's wrong with humans, ghost?"

"I rather like humans, they are quite amusing, but as I have currently no control over this body I am anything but amused." He retorted back coolly. Then his eyes glowed dangerously and they tensed in fear for they knew that they had unleashed something powerful unto the world. Sam glared before helping him stand; he eased into a smirk, but remained slightly wobbly, "Why thank you, gorgeous."

Sam grunted under his weight and looked at Tucker to help her move him towards one of the lab chairs. As he sat down he looked at them, like really studied them before giving a little noise of recognition, "Amazing, could it possibly be you, Max?"

"Excuse me?" Sam's weary impatience was understandable. Fake Danny gave a little laugh, "It must be, I didn't recognize you under all that make up. You despised the life of a debutante before you were vanquished by your grandfather to live a lifetime among humans and to suffer as—oh my, I was not supposed to tell you that."

Confused as ever, Tucker sputtered, "What are you talking about, ghost?"

"Nothing that concerns you as of yet, King—." Sam glared at him and he heaved a deep sigh, "I suppose I should introduce myself to you."

"Nope, I don't really care. I just want my best friend back." Sam's snarky response didn't put off his ego in the slightest. In fact, he gave a little chuckle and shook his head, "You must be Max. Any other would quake in fear before me and die at my hand if they had insulted me as you had. Nevertheless, I am Durante Xavier Lysander Gerard Phantom LXXVII, Crown Prince of the Distant Realm. You may call me: Dante or Danny Phantom. Don't worry about your dear lover he won't remember this conversation after I sleep."

"So you're saying that he's suffering from a split personality?" Sam had ignored him for the most part but hadn't tuned him out completely for fear that she'd miss something immensely important. She was lucky she had thought ahead before listening to the ego-maniac drone on. Phantom gave her a bemused smirk before answering, "I suppose so, gorgeous."

"I have a name." The feminist growled at the imposter occupying Danny's body. Tucker glared at him while he chuckled, humorlessly. These actions and this tone of Phantom's were so alien to the body of the blue-eyed dork they had befriended. Cold-sweat made Tucker feel clammy and sick like when he first ate and threw up one of Sam's tofu corndogs after losing a bet with the Goth girl. Amethyst eyes glared stonily at the glowing and nerve-wracking green eyes; she finally snapped, "Get out of Danny's body."

"You never told me your name," the Prince teased. For some reason, he felt oddly comfortable around these humans but then again they were reincarnations of some very close friends of his. It was almost a relief to know that they would never be fully separated even not matter how they die, appear, or are vanquished. Though it pained him that the way his friends had been destroyed in their latest afterlife had caused them to forget who he was. Momentarily, he wondered if the boy's body resembled his in any form. He frowned deeply and wondered if that was the reason why his friends couldn't recognize their dearest companion. At least, he got to keep his nickname from what he could tell. Finally, curiosity overtook him and he looked directly at the woman who was once the princess of a great realm before being disowned for wanting to marry him; she spoke fiercely with that regal tone of hers, "My name's Sam. Call me Samantha and I'll end you; well, your afterlife at least."

He chuckled at her slightly abashed look that reminded him strongly of the first time she met him, I am Marjorie. Call me Margie or anything besides Max: your life will be forfeit.

"What's so funny, Phantom?" She resumed aiming right between his eyes. Dante snarled at this before her friend forced her to lower the gun once more. A downcast look crossed her eyes as pain momentarily scarred her features. He became amused once more, "You care for the boy whose body I inhabit do you not?"

"Why should you care?" Her answer was confirmation enough. The two boys shared a smile. Maybe, their personalities hadn't changed so much. Then the other boy's smile turned weak and confusion clouded his eyes before looking away from Phantom. It took him a full moment before jealousy encased him. This boy, he realized, held the heart of his former lover and future Queen. It wasn't fair that he was dead and the boy had the luck of living with this dark-haired beauty until the day they died. A dark smile then overtook him. The dark-skinned boy gulped nervously and Sam was apprehensive at all his sudden mood swings, "I have decided; I will stay here in this boy's body."

"No, you aren't! Give us back Danny!" The bespectacled boy proclaimed. Dante smiled, "Of course, of course, I am just going to stay here in the back of his mind until he goes insane and I get the chance to have my beautiful Max back."

"Sorry pal, but I'm not Max and I don't belong to anyone," Sam glared venomously. With a cluck of his tongue he gave them a dementedly joyous smile that was dangerously close to Danny's, the only difference was the feral look in his eyes that betrayed the innocence that Danny's had. Phantom rose and precariously approached the only mirror he could see in the vicinity; a gasp escaped him. The boy had the same exact structure as he did when he was younger. The only problem was the ghostly eyes and hair. He grinned; maybe he shouldn't be as jealous as he was before. Then again, going through puberty once more was a less than pleasant aspect to go through. He walked shakily towards the young faces that he could tell were replications of his only friends. A smirk ghosted across his face before it was replaced by pain and he collapsed into the position he was in when he woke up.

"Danny!" The young teen heard as he awoke to Sam's cries. Groggily, he was helped up, "Wow, what happened?"

The Goth and the Geek shared an unseen look. Another promise to keep a secret from Danny was formed and this time they weren't happy to keep it.

AN: I hoped you enjoyed this and I do hope you'll review.