Author's Note: See previous chapter.

"Ow…man, my head."

"Danny!"

Danny blinked, wincing at the pain in his head. "Are you all right?" Sam asked, her lavender eyes filled with concern.

"Besides feeling like someone just hit me in the head with a hammer?"

"Yeah…besides that."

Danny sat up and frowned. "I feel fine. Are we in the Ghost Zone? What happened?"

"Well, you'll never guess. I showed up to help- future me. Tucker was there, too, and… Valerie. Then, Dan said we were finished, and we ended up here. I think he must've used Clockwork's staff to get us here, so a better question might be when are we."

Danny nodded, his head hurting too much for him to really care what Sam was saying. "What's with the weird bracelet, Danny?"

Danny looked down at the silver bracelet on his wrist. "Oh. It's…there's something we need to find that is found in the future. It's a shard from a mirror."

"We need to find a mirror?" Sam asked.

Danny shrugged. "Clockwork wasn't really clear. I suppose we need to get out of here first. Your parents have been frantic."

Danny stood and morphed into Danny Phantom before lifting Sam off her feet. "Did…did he hurt you?" Danny asked.

"No…" Sam muttered, looking away from him and shivering.

"Sam?" Danny asked.

"I'm all right, Danny," she said, clenching her teeth together tightly. "Drop it, ghost boy."

"Okay," Danny mumbled.

Danny continued flying when Sam said, "I'm sorry. I'm just tired…and hungry."

"Well, we can fix that- assuming my dad hasn't eaten everything in the house."

Sam chuckled. "I think this is us," Danny said. "I hope…I hope we end up in our time."

Danny and Sam emerged from the portal into the Fenton lab, which looked…well, exactly like it always had. Danny grinned. "This looks…right."

"Did you not expect it to look right?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Not in the mood, Plasmius. What do you want in here anyway?"

"Oh, Jack just insisted I look around," Vlad replied, smirking. "What are you wearing?"

Vlad stepped closer, and Danny tensed, standing protectively in front of Sam. "I've seen that before."

"Huh? This?"

Danny held up the time medallion, and Vlad shook his head. "On your wrist."

"You've seen it? Where?" Danny asked.

"Why would I tell you?" Vlad asked.

"He kills you," Sam interrupted.

"Who?" Vlad asked.

"In the future. I saw it. Danny kills you."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's why you're going to help us find out where you've seen that bracelet before," Sam replied, "Because if we don't find what we're looking for, you're going to be killed."

Vlad laughed. "You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious," Sam replied darkly.

Vlad frowned. "What's in it for me?"

"Danny, what's the date?" Sam asked quietly.

"The- the date? It's April…April the sixth. Why?"

Sam stepped around him and right in front of Vlad. "A month then? I've been missing a month?"

"I'm sorry," Danny whispered. "I didn't know…I just woke up one morning, and you were gone."

Sam appeared to ignore him. "I was locked in a warehouse for a month, and it was pure torture. Do you know who did that to me? It was Danny- evil Danny. Well, 'Dan' happens to be Danny's ghost side and your ghost side. I saw him literally rip you apart- right before he killed Danny's parents. If you think I'm going to just stand by and watch that happen to him when I know you can help us, you're wrong. I'm not going to go through that again, and I'm not going to let anything happen to Danny."

"S-Sam?" Danny whispered. "Please, what happened? I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

Sam's gaze softened a little when she looked back at Danny. "It's not your fault," the girl replied. "So are you with us, Plasmius, or not?"

Vlad looked at the two of them calculatingly. "How did you get here? Maddie and Jack are just fine."

"He can control time," Danny replied.

"Then, he'll probably be after you. I wish you luck," Vlad said.

"He'll kill you, too," Sam replied. "You know he will."

"Sam, let's get you home," Danny said. "Your parents missed you."

"Not until he agrees to help us," Sam said.

"Please…just say yes," Danny said.

Vlad smiled suddenly. "Very well, Daniel. I shall help you. Be at city hall tonight at eight."

"Thank you"

Vlad shrugged. "So what are you going to tell your parents, Samantha?"

"That…we can't tell them the truth," Sam said, looking at Danny.

"We'll say… you were kidnapped- by ghosts and…then…"

Sam smiled slightly. "And then Danny Phantom saved me. It's close enough to the truth."

Danny nodded. "Yo, Vlad, are you in there?"

Danny grabbed Sam and phased through the ceiling. Sam leaned her head against Danny's chest and sighed. "Are you…?"

Danny looked at her, and she didn't look hurt, but Danny couldn't shake off the feeling that something must've happened. After all, when he'd seen her through the screen in Clockwork's lair, Dan had slammed her into a wall. "Danny, don't beat yourself up over it. I think Dan already beat you up enough."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah…I'm going to have this headache for a while."

Soon, they arrived at Sam's house. "Do you want me to carry you in?" he asked.

Sam snuggled closer to his chest. "Please?"

Danny nodded, and they phased through the door. Sam's mother sat at a desk, her forehead lying on her slender arms, her auburn hair looking unusually disheveled. "M-mom?" Sam asked weakly. "Mom?"

Sam's mother raised her head, and her eyes widened with shock. "SAM! Oh, it can't be, but it's really…Sam."

Sam's mom stepped forward as if in a trance, to run her hand through Sam's hair. "Sam…"

"Mom, I- I'm sorry."

Her mother shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "What happened, honey? Your father…I'll call him and let him know you're all right. We thought you ran away."

"No, I didn't! I- I would never. I was kidnapped by…"

"The ghost boy," Sam's mother interrupted, seeming just to notice who held her daughter in his arms.

"Danny Phantom, actually."

"Yes, he…he saved me," Sam replied, "From some evil ghosts."

"Thank you," Sam's mother said. "Thank you!"

Danny shifted awkwardly on his feet as Sam's mother hugged them both at once. "You're more than welcome," Danny replied. "I'm just glad Sa- she's safe."

He carefully set Sam on the floor and smiled. "Stay out of trouble now," Danny said. "Your friends and family would be very sad if something bad happened to you."

"I'll be careful," Sam said.

"Oh, your friends! They've been just frantic! That Fenton kid just couldn't believe it, and that Foley kid…you know, I ought to call them- and your father. Yes, I should."

Sam's mother left the two of them alone in the room. "Sam, I want you to stay away from me. Dan will be after me."

"You know he'll be after me, too," Sam said. "I won't abandon you now, Danny. Nothing you say can make me leave."

Danny put a hand on the side of her face and leaned forward. "I wonder…do you…do you remember kissing me?"

Sam raised her head and nodded slowly. "Yes. Why?"

Danny smiled ruefully. "I was proving to myself it really happened. No one in our time seems to remember the asteroid incident."

"I remember it."

Danny nodded, and there was a loud ringing. "Your phone!" Sam gasped.

"I gotta go!"

Danny phased through the front door before answering his phone. "Hello?"

"Oh, is this Sam's little friend? The Fenton kid?"

"Oh, yeah, it's Danny."

"Well, she's back! Sam is back!"

Danny smiled. "That's wonderful," he said. "I'm very glad she's back. I'll come see her as soon as I can."

"Oh, she'll be so excited! Bye!"

Danny shook his head and hung up. Normally, Mrs. Manson looked at him as if he were a piece of gum on her shoe or something. Sam's father was les-than-pleasant, also. Danny looked down at the bracelet gleaming on his wrist and sighed. Clockwork, I hope you knew what you were doing, because I have no idea what to do now.

***

Author's Note: Yeah, I ended the last two on rough cliffhangers, so I thought I'd end this one more nicely. Things sort of pick up from here.