Hi again! Thanks to everybody who read and reviewed yesterday, and as promised here's the first real chapter.

So the way I'm doing this, each chapter is gonna be one day, with the date as the chapter title so it's easy to keep track of where we are in the timeline. This chapter is mainly to establish the setting and explain a bit about the war and what's been going on between the end of the series and my current timeline.

And... action!

-October 30-

"Morning, everyone."

At the sound of the voice, Sam looked up suddenly toward the foot of the staircase, noticing everyone else in the room do the same. She smiled upon seeing the person standing there. "You know it's almost five o'clock in the evening, Valerie," she teased, chuckling. "You sleep well?"

"Well enough," Valerie replied as she nodded to Tucker, who waved from where he sat at one of the computers, and walked over to the table where Sam was rifling through some simulation diagrams. "How are things going here?"

"Same as ever, unfortunately," Sam answered somewhat dejectedly. "We haven't heard from the front line in a while, and two of the Intel teams are still out scouting in the Ghost Zone." She tossed the paper she'd been examining to the opposite corner of the table and picked up another. "Your dad said he had something to talk to you about, though. He's over at the security panel, as usual."

"Sure," Valerie offered, stretching and yawning. "Thanks, Sam."

As Valerie strode toward where her father was working, a sudden creaking sound filled the room as the doors of the Ghost Portal swished open. Sam, Valerie, Tucker, and everyone else in the room turned as one once again to see two people, or to be precise one human and one ghost, enter through the Portal and close it behind them. They both looked tired and were breathing heavily.

"Jazz," Sam greeted her as Jazz sat down in a chair against the wall. "What happened?"

Jazz unlatched the Velcro strap on each of her black and white gloves, before removing them and tossing them into the box next to her chair with the words 'Hover Gloves' (a defensive weapon designed by the Fentons to enable flight in normal humans) scrawled across the front. "We were scouting in the North-western Quadrant after a tip we'd heard from a ghost near the enemy base, when we ran into a bunch of wild animals that sort of looked like saber-toothed tigers. We fought them off for a while but there were too many so we ran. Unfortunately we lost track of Team Gamma in the confusion, but as is code, we didn't go back for them. Hopefully they made it out okay, too."

"You lost them?" Sam repeated, growing worried. "Well now that you guys are back safe, we should go and look for them. Maybe they need help."

She started to walk toward the Portal, but Wulf, the other half of Intelligence Team Alpha, stepped in her way, holding out his hand. "Bad idea," he said in his thick Hispanic accent (Tucker and Mikey had been teaching him to speak English over the past few years, and he had made remarkable progress. He was able to understand almost all of what the rest of them were saying at important times and could form full sentences when he needed to. He typically preferred, however, to speak in as few words as possible to get messages across).

"Wulf's right, Sam," Jazz asserted, standing up again. "We don't want to risk the enemy finding our base. Besides, Team Gamma knows what to do. I'm sure they'll be back in no time."

Grumbling, Sam crossed her arms across her chest and sat down heavily on a cold, metal chair at the nearest table. Jazz and Wulf looked at each other before sitting opposite her at the same table, sighing in exhaustion. As Jazz lay her head down on the table, the sound of footsteps from the top of the basement stairs echoed across the room, and a few of the inhabitants turned to look as three new visitors descended into view.

Sam rose to her feet again upon recognizing them. "Danny," she said in relief, smiling and jogging over to him as he, Kwan, and Paulina discarded their weapons and other accessories in their respective bins in the corner.

"Hey," Danny replied, grinning as Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Before she did so, however, he caught a quick glimpse of the distraught expression on her face. "Is something wrong?"

When Sam didn't reply, Jazz stood from her chair once again and Danny looked over to her. "We lost Intel Team Gamma exiting the North-western Quadrant of the Ghost Zone," she answered simply, eyeing Danny warily as she spoke. And just as she'd feared, upon hearing the news, Danny paused for a second before walking straight for the Ghost Portal, his jaw set and a determined look on his face.

When Danny was a few steps from the Portal, Wulf caught up with him from behind, grabbing each of his arms and lifting him off of the ground.

"Let me go, Wulf," he said sternly, though not trying to break free. "I'm gonna go look for them."

"Can't go," Wulf replied in just as stern of a tone, shaking his head vigorously. "Too dangerous. Against code."

"I know, but they could be in trouble. I'm not just gonna—"

Just then, the Portal screeched open and, to everyone's relief, in flew Youngblood and Johnny 13.

"Are you guys okay?" Jazz asked as the Portal doors closed tightly behind the panting pair of ghosts that had just entered and Danny let out a visible sigh of relief. "Wulf and I lost track of you somewhere near that forest. We looked for a few minutes, but we were still being chased so we couldn't stick around for long."

"Yeah, we're fine," Youngblood answered grudgingly, brushing himself off. "Those stupid lion things had us cornered by a cliff side. We managed to fight 'em off eventually and get out, but by that time you guys were long gone."

"We figured you'd made it back safe so we made straight here," Johnny continued, leaning against the wall and straightening his jacket. "Looks like we were right. So nothin' to worry about."

"That's good," Danny said, shaking his head. He then turned his neck to look at Wulf behind him. "Can you put me down now?"

Wulf jumped slightly and smiled sheepishly, before setting Danny safely on the ground. "Sorry," he offered, as Danny grinned and waved a hand in reply.

"Jack Fenton to Control Center," a voice suddenly came over the intercom from the op center. "Status report."

Danny shook his head and looked down in exasperation. His dad just loved to sound official. "Hey, Dad," he replied simply. "Front line… hasn't gotten anywhere." Paulina and Kwan caught his eye from the corner of the room, sending him an inquisitive glance. He jerked his head to the side just barely, silencing them.

"That's too bad," Jack's voice said after a moment's pause. "Unfortunately we don't have anything new for you either. But keep at it! We're bound to make some progress one of these days!" Danny smiled. As immature as his father was, you still had to admire his optimism. "We'll get back to you if anything comes up."

"Oh, and Danny, honey," Maddie's voice sounded a second later. "Don't forget to clean your equipment and put everything in its rightful place. A clean control room is an efficient control room!"

"Yeah, yeah," Danny groaned, a small smile spreading across his face. "Sure thing, Mom." After his parents seemed content with communication for the time being, Danny made his way over to the computer cluster and stood behind Tucker's seat. "Any progress on the new shield?"

"Not really," Tucker answered, spinning his chair to face Danny, a tired expression on his face. "We're trying, but we just can't find a way to improve the current model. But I know there's a breakthrough coming, I can feel it." Tucker grinned, his inner tech geek enjoying the challenge regardless of the apparent lack of an available solution.

"If anyone can do it, Tuck, you can. Like my dad said, keep at it."

"Will do, man."

After that, Danny went next to the security panel where Damon and Valerie Gray were monitoring activity near the base. "How's it going?" he inquired as they turned to greet him.

"Well," Damon began, facing back toward the monitors. "Central security is holding out, though I don't know for how much longer. The shield's getting weaker by the day. It's helped a lot that you guys have been able to keep the ghost army from getting too close, though."

"Yeah…" Danny replied with a frown. "Well Tucker said that he thinks they're close to a breakthrough on the shield. If we can get a new one up I'll feel a lot better about this."

"You and me both, Danny," Damon answered seriously, his eyes scanning the monitors.

After wishing them luck as he did with everyone else, Danny made his way back to the corner near the foot of the stairs where Kwan and Paulina were tidying up the equipment they'd brought back and proceeded to help them.

"Danny," Paulina began after a moment of silence. "Why don't you say something?"

He looked up at her. "What?" he asked, though he knew to what she was referring. At that moment, however, he noticed Sam sneak silently away up the stairs, and became immediately distracted.

"You can't keep making everyone think that—"

"Can you guys finish this?" he said almost as an aside as he stood and walked toward the stairs Sam had just ascended. He heard Kwan and Paulina grumble a reply, but as his mind was elsewhere he didn't think on it for long.

Danny found Sam in the living room, lying on the sofa. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep. Still, rather than ask her what was wrong, he sat down quietly on the arm of the couch nearest her head and waited until she was ready to talk. Danny knew Sam better than anyone, and one of the things he'd learned over the years was that she wouldn't talk unless she wanted to. So it was usually best to be patient and wait until she started the conversation.

"April thirtieth, two-thousand eight."

Danny looked at Sam, his eyebrows creased in a frown. "What?"

"That's the day this war started," she clarified, opening her eyes and meeting Danny's gaze. "Exactly thirty months ago today. Two and a half years we've been doing this." She fell silent again, her gaze rising to the ceiling.

Danny's eyes dropped as he sighed. "It's been that long already?"

Sam smiled mirthlessly. "Doesn't feel like it, does it? It's amazing how fast time can fly when you're having so much fun." The sarcasm in her voice was almost sad, as she shook her head and sat up. She looked at Danny with serious eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can take this. It's the same thing day in and day out. I just…" Her voice faltered somewhat as she seemed to choke on her words. His expression softening, Danny got up and sat next to her on the couch, putting an arm around her and pulling her into him. She took a deep breath as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know it's childish, but I just want things to go back to the way they used to be. We're kids, you know? We're supposed to be enjoying these years, hanging out, having fun… Not fighting for our lives. It's just so… wrong."

"I know," Danny agreed, having thought the same thing countless times over the past two and a half years. He was sick of this war. They all were. But try as they might there seemed to be nothing they could do to stop it. All they could do was watch as it slowly contributed to the increasing destruction of all of their lives. Every chance he got he tried so hard to think of a way to stop what was happening, any possible method of making peace with the opposing ghost army. But whatever he tried always failed. He hated the war, the fighting, the way it affected everyone, the way they were all forced to grow up so fast and to take on so much responsibility. He hated the way they lived in constant fear – fear of losing the war, fear of death. But most of all, he hated the fact that he was powerless to do anything for the people who'd trusted him all this time. They all had followed his lead, believed in him, and there was nothing he could do to ease their suffering. "But it's like my dad said. If we just keep at it, we've gotta find a way to end this someday."

A small smile appeared on Sam's face. "He's been saying that for over two years." Danny smiled back as Sam laughed and stifled a yawn.

"Hey, you should get some sleep. There's not much going on right now, so it's a good time to take a rest." He squeezed Sam's shoulder. "You need it."

Yawning again, she sat up straight and wrapped her arms around Danny, who returned the embrace. "You're right. I'll see you in a few hours." With an encouraging smile, she rose from the couch and made her way up the stairs without another word.

After she'd gone, Danny stood as well and strode lazily to the window, leaning his shoulder against the cold glass and staring out at the outside world. The sky was gray, as it had been for as long as he could remember anymore. Rainless, but always gray. It cast a dull light on the streets and houses below. Nothing glowed with sunlight like it used to, and only pale shadows provided cover from the darkness. It looked as though the world itself was sad, depressed that this war had gone on for so long and taken so much life out of everything and everyone.

The last remaining ghost shield in commission still stood around Fenton Works, acting as a last defense if any of the opposing army were to get too close. It wrapped around the building on all sides, so that when you looked out a window it was as if you were watching the gray world through a thin, green film. A film that would flicker every so often, growing more and more feeble with age. It was obvious by looking at it – it wasn't going to last for long. And when it was gone, there would be no final defense. Not to mention the fact that it was getting increasingly more difficult to keep the ghost army back. They had certain advantages over the living that made fighting them an often impossible task. Humans tired in time after continuous battle, ghosts took a lot longer to wear out. Humans needed food, water, and sleep. Ghosts required none of these things. And obstacles like fatigue and hunger were starting to become common among the human army with each passing week. Danny hadn't said anything to anyone, but their front line had been pushed back another few yards that day. They were losing ground, and fast. He wasn't sure how much longer they could keep the opposing side back. If they didn't get a new shield up soon, there would be no way to protect their main base. And if the base was captured, the war was over.

"Danny?" a voice came from behind him, causing him to jump and jerk away from the window.

"Mom," he said with a sigh upon seeing her standing below the chute to the op center. As she walked toward him, he relaxed and leaned back against the window again.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with concern upon seeing his tired expression. "Other than the obvious," she added with a small smile.

After a moment of indecision, Danny told his mother about the battle today, how they'd lost even more ground, and about his reservations of whether or not they'd be able to hold on for long.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner," he apologized, glancing out the window and watching the dark clouds move sluggishly by. "But I didn't want people to get more worried. I know it's immature, but I don't want them to lose hope. Even if that means I can't always be completely honest with them."

"No, I think you're right," Maddie agreed after a moment, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. "If people start to get anxious, they won't be able to keep at it. And the last thing we need now is for people to give up." She also turned to look out the window, her gaze distant, as if staring at some far-off location that no one else could see. "We've made it this far on guts, nerve, and determination. And I intend to stick with it until we find a way to end this war." Danny smiled, knowing his mother was right. Then suddenly she turned to face him again, the distant look in her eyes immediately replaced by the same motherly gaze he'd seen so many times before. "But in the meantime, you should try and sleep a little. It's getting dark, and I know you've been fighting for almost five days straight."

"I can't," Danny started, taking a step back and shaking his head. "I have to stay—"

"You're not needed right now, Danny. And you need your rest, too. So come on, upstairs."

After realizing it was useless arguing with a concerned mother, he gave in and said goodnight to her, before disappearing up the stairs and into the dark hallway.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The walls and windows of the dark house did little to silence the ever-present sounds of war coming from all over the city. As Danny lay awake in the bed he used to sleep in night after night, his ears were filled with shouts, explosions, ecto-gunfire, and a whole mess of other unidentifiable noises. The din was muffled by the wall of brick between him and the outside world, but the resulting dull roar only served to make the sonance more ominous. It wasn't a soundtrack one could easily fall asleep to. Although, Danny noticed, that didn't seem to be a problem for Mikey, who was currently snoring loudly from his place on the floor a few feet from the bed. Not that this angered him at all. It was common for multiple people to sleep in the same room at the same time. After all, each of the rooms in his house and a lot of others now served as resting areas for large groups of people. There were a number of such homes around the city which many families shared.

While something every human needs to survive, sleep was nothing like the routine it once had been for the people of Amity Park, and likely the rest of the world as well. The fighting never stopped, which meant that some people had to be awake to fight it at all times. That was why so many people often shared one bedroom: it was rare for more than two or three people to use it at one time.

Danny, however, didn't like to sleep. Because he was half-ghost, he didn't tire as quickly or as often as other humans, so he would often stay up and fight for as long as he could. The longest he'd gone without sleep since the start of the war, he remembered, was ten days. But though he didn't like to accept it, part of him was still human. And that part needed rest, so sooner or later he would have to get some sleep. But going to bed was something he hated more than anything else lately, because he never knew what would happen while he was asleep. He couldn't possibly know what would be different when he woke up, or if he would wake up at all. It was the helplessness that came with sleep of which he was truly afraid. Sometimes, when he'd lie awake at night, listening to the symphony of sounds outside those walls, he wouldn't be able to help but think that maybe things would be easier if he were more than just half ghost. He wouldn't need things like sleep, and would be able to keep on fighting and protecting everyone. But that thought would never last long. His rational side would soon kick in and remind him that the bad of that situation would likely outweigh the good. It wasn't something he should ever even consider.

A short while later, when sleep had almost overcome him, a particularly loud snore from the soundly sleeping Mikey made Danny jump violently and sit up straight in bed. The dim green glow from the ghost shield outside the window cast eerie shadows across the dark walls of the bedroom. He could see Mikey lying on the floor, his head at least three feet from his pillow and his entire left side protruding from his sleeping bag. Danny smiled inwardly and shook his head at the sight, before turning to glance out the window at the dark, cloudy sky. He wanted more than anything to fly out to the battle right then and help, but his aching body held him back. If he went out there now, he would probably only end up getting himself hurt, and maybe others as well. As he lay his head back down against the soft pillow, a yawn escaping his lips, he tried to clear his mind of all the worries that had taken firm root in it since the war had begun. As Sam had said earlier that day, it had been exactly two and a half years they'd been fighting in the Immortal War. Two and a half years of suffering, of turmoil, of fear and anger, of sadness and hate. Two and a half years of struggling for their lives, of hoping and praying each and every day that that day wouldn't be their last. He was tired of it. They were all tired of it. And it was time for something to change.

So there you have it. Seems like life's gotten pretty tough, huh? Well if you think that's bad, wait and see what's gonna happen in the next week, heh heh... (And if you're wondering where the prologue fits in, you'll have to wait a bit for that. You'll see eventually, though, heh heh)

I'll probably update this once a week or so, depending on the kind of reception it gets. As always, let me know what you think and I'll update faster!

Later, gators!

-oMM