Alrighty here's an update! One chapter left! Sam waking up, wedding, and coronation all in one go after this! Woot!

Disclaimer: I am Ash... not Butch.

-Ash


Chapter 4

Sam allowed her boyfriend to drag her across the park with a groan. He glanced back at her and cocked a brow. "Danny, if I had known we were going for a mile hike then I would've asked you to fly us there."

"Ssshh…" he hushed her, "this is important."

The raven haired girl let out a huff with a roll of her eyes. "Are you sure, or are you just trying to be a pain?"

"It's important."

"Fine."

Danny continued to pull his girlfriend towards the hill she was all too familiar with. She no longer wanted to ask questions. He had something up his sleeve, and she wasn't sure what it was. He pulled her under the tree where she had shared her first kiss with her as Danny Fenton. The spot where he had given her the class ring basically as a promise ring. She stared at him as her pulled her down to take a seat next to him. She sucked in a breath when he grinned.

"I think I've given you long enough to think about everything," he gently slipped the ring off of her finger. He lightly tossed it up and down in his hand with a grin. "So what's your answer?"

"Are you taking the ring back if I say 'no'?"

"I'm not that much of a jerk."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you going to say 'no'?"

"I'm not that much of jerk," she replied in a mocking tone.

He snorted at her and squeezed the ring tightly in his hand. He sighed before boring his eyes into hers. "Sam, you can't be my girlfriend anymore."

She stiffened and stared at him. "You—wait. What?"

"You can't be my girlfriend anymore. With all of this ghost king stuff happening, our relationship has to change."

The gothic girl gritted her teeth and growled at him. "You're such a—!"

Danny's smile stopped the words from escaping her lips. He slipped the ring back on her finger. "You're my fiancé now. I'm not taking 'no' as an answer."

"I'm so considering saying 'no' because of the stunt you just pulled. Did you want to punch me in the gut too, or is almost breaking my heart enough?"

"So what I'm hearing is that it's a 'yes' because you're going to forgive me? You have all right to hit me if you want," Danny replied cheekily.

Sam raised her fist. "I plan to fulfill that promise." When she swung towards his shoulder the boy immediately turned it intangible. Her fist flew through him, and he grabbed her by the waist when the momentum of the failed assault took her forward. After he caught her he smirked at her aggravated face.

"I didn't think you'd actually try to ruin me."

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, I will be your queen."

The ghost boy beamed at her response. He grabbed her by her cheeks and pulled her in to their first kiss as an engaged couple.


Two Years Later

"How long has your mom been planning this wedding? Since you were born?" Danny asked as he gawked at all of the pictures splayed out in front of him.

Sam scoffed at him as she slid some of the pictures across the table. "No, but at least since you proposed though."

"Which proposal: the real one at graduation where I gave you a real ring, or the one when I was a dork on a hill with the class ring for the second time?"

"Dork on a hill."

"Well damn, that's like two years ago."

Sam gave a shrug. "She plans for everything. I guess she took it seriously."

He eyed the designs in front of him. "You don't actually like any of these, do you?"

"They're dreadful."

"They're so—pink."

Sam chewed her lip before clicking her tongue. "So what're we gonna do?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure? Do we get to get married like normal people or does this have to be a ghost thing too?"

"Aren't I going to be infected with ghost DNA by the time we get married?"

"Yeah—it's, kinda, a requirement?"

The goth girl hummed thoughtfully as she slid more of the horrendously gaudy designs towards Danny who found the next group of pictures just as cringe worthy as the ones he had seen previously. She glanced up at him. "Am I going to get ghost powers?"

"Sort of? I don't exactly know what all happens. I know once I'm declared king then my powers will fully mature, and I'll be completely all-powerful," he paused with a shudder, "which is terrifying. But for you, I'm not exactly sure what happens. I know you'll get basic ghost abilities for self-defense. I'm not sure if that's it though."

She gave a sigh. "Our lives are going to get crazy."

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod before sucking in a harsh breath. "At least you're not the one protecting life as we know it."

"Well," she snorted. "That's true, you've got me beat there."

Danny stared down at the ugly pictures in front of him before glancing up at Sam shyly through his bangs. "You're sure about this?"

"Well the designs aren't that great, but I think we could change them up a little bit. Add some black and make things a little more torn—of course you'll have some input too. But if-"

He held up a hand. "Not the wedding details, Sam. Everything." Her fiancé shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Your life is going to be completely different. I know the Observants promised that we could still live in Amity Park, but I'll still have to be in the Ghost Zone a lot. I just want to make sure that you can handle being alone from time to time, getting ghost powers, and having to deal with ghosts more than we already do. Is all of this really okay with you?"

"Danny, I want to be with you. No matter what that takes. And honestly, I wouldn't mind going to the Ghost Zone with you if that's allowed and okay with you?"

His blue eyes bloomed. "I'd love that."

"Problem solved."

The ghost boy smiled gently at her. "I love you."

Sam grinned and confidently crossed her arms. "I know you do."


Danny stood before the council with nervousness vibrating his bones. His fiancé next to him sensed his discomfort and took his hand gently. She smiled lightly at him. "This is what it's going to take for us to be together, you know that. We're getting married in a week. Everything is going to be fine."

His casted his eyes down only for Sam to cup his cheeks in her hands and forced him to look up at her. "But what if—what if I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "We know that just comes with the territory. This is so much bigger than us. It's going to change our lives, but at least we still get to have a human life too."

"Are you sure that this is what you want?" he asked as his eyes bore into hers.

"If I hadn't wanted to marry you don't you think I would've dumped you by now?"

Danny gave a snort. "That's reassuring."

"It'll be okay. I'll be okay."

"Phantom." The two flinched at the new voice and turned their attention to the Observant hovering above them. "Are you ready to begin the ceremony?"

He sighed through his nose. "Yes. As ready as I'll ever be."

"Shouldn't I be saying that?" Sam quipped.

The ghost boy shot her a glare before turning his attention back to the Observants. "How, exactly, do I do this?"

"You bite her neck and you release just enough venom to transform her, but not enough to kill her."

Danny gulped. "Great," he glanced back at Sam. "How much is too much?"

"Your body will know."

"Thanks that's—helpful," he murmured with sarcasm oozing from his voice.

"Danny Phantom, are you ready to make this woman your chosen?" the Observant announced.

He gave a nod. "I am."

"Sam Manson. Are you prepared to take on the task of protecting the Ghost Zone?"

"Yes," she replied with confidence.

The Observant raised his hands. "May the ceremony commence!" he bellowed.

The ghost boy sucked in a breath with a hiss. He stared at his beloved intensely before she smiled with a bob of her head. Danny cringed at the fact that she was so calm about the situation. He was about to puncture her neck, and put ghost venom into her body and she wasn't even phased. He sighed and allowed his body to relax.

He gently grabbed Sam by the shoulders and guided her down to the floor with him. If she collapsed as Clockwork had warned, then he definitely wanted her to have less of a fall if he was too dazed to catch her. Danny let out a quivered breath. "Okay—I can do this."

"I'm going to be fine," she insisted.

Danny opened his jaws and the sharp canines sprung out of their hiding place to a point. He ran his tongue across the new appendages. It had been a while since his gums had swollen up, so he hadn't needed to release any venom recently. He guessed his body had been saving up for this moment. Instincts or something.

He tenderly pulled Sam's sleeve down her shoulder and began to lean in. Danny squeezed his eyes tightly as his breath touched her neck. He couldn't help but be completely terrified. He noticed Sam's shudder, but wasn't sure if the cause was nervousness or him breathing down her skin. He chose to ignore it.

The ghost boy pressed his lips to her neck in order to comfort her before sinking his canines into her neck with a grimace. God, he didn't want to hurt her. His fangs pricked her skin and his venom naturally began flowing into her. Danny merely clenched his eyes shut and waited for the process to be over. Sam's breathing began to slow, and he nearly felt his heart stop. Suddenly the flow of venom stopped abruptly, and Danny had to be careful not to rip his teeth out of her neck. He pulled away before his beloved's body slumped forward onto him. He caressed her cheeks and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You're so brave…"

Her body became immersed in glowing green energy. Danny blinked in surprise and he glanced up at the Observant who had monitored the ceremony. His eyes became full of concern when Sam didn't move. "Is she okay? Did I do something wrong?"

The Observant shook his head.

Danny glanced at his fiancé then back to the Observant. "…then why isn't she moving?"

"Her body will put her in a natural sleep while the ghostly energy takes over her body."

He gave a snort. "Wish I could have just slept my ghost powers into activation too."

"She will be fine. You must take her home for rest before your marriage ceremony."

Danny hugged Sam to his chest with a relieved sigh. He cocked his head back up towards the Observant. "Speaking of which, you guys aren't going to be there—right?"

"We're required to witness the ceremony."

He clicked his tongue. "Can't you witness from Clockwork's lair? Instead of at my very human wedding?"

"I'll see what can be done, your majesty."

He flinched at the title. "Yeah, thanks."


After Sam was laid down to rest in her room, Danny decided that he needed more answers. He decided since the Observants weren't very talkative he'd go to his mentor that was: Clockwork.

The elder ghost placed a hand on the young adult's shoulder. "She will be fine. The process has been corrected since the last time."

"Wait. 'The last time?' What does that mean?" Danny asked with a cock of his brow.

As his form shifted to that of a child, Clockwork placed a thoughtful hand on his chin. "Oh yes, the Observants didn't explain that to you, did they?"

"No. They just said 'Hey! Bite your girlfriend! Kay thanks!' and that's it," he murmured sarcastically.

Clockwork chuckled at his comment. "Pariah Dark ruled without a queen because it wasn't understood that humans could be half ghost at that time."

He blinked in confusion. "You've lost me."

"Pariah Dark fell in love with a human that he tried to make his queen. He used the venom to try to turn her into a ghost, but instead he used too much to the point that she became all ghost. Humans can't become full ghosts without dying. So basically he used so much venom that he tore her out of existence. That's why he went on his tirade and tortured all ghost. It was because he was angry. But now we understand that half ghost/half human hybrids can exist. So essentially that is what Sam becomes on a milder scale."

Danny merely stared at him as his mouth fell agape. "Ya know, that probably would have been nice to know from the beginning. Like two years ago—like before I bit Sam."

"Sam will be fine."

"But—Clockwork I could kill her!"

"Danny," the elder ghost taking a sterner tone as his form shifted again. This got the younger ghost's attention quickly. "Sam will be fine. I can assure you."

The ghost boy chewed his lip with a nod. "Okay. I j-just—thanks. I trust you."

"As you should," he replied with a smile. Clockwork paused in thought. "Have the Observants told you of the new ability you will gain after your coronation next month?"

"Ah, no," Danny said with a shake of his head. He then shrugged. "They just said I would mature."

The ghost of time sighed. "They take far too long to explain everything."

He snorted. "You're telling me."

Clockwork let out a chuckle. "You're going to become a part of the Ghost Zone. Such as, you'll be able to sense when anything is happening. Good or bad."

"Hmm… now that is something I can work with."

Clockwork eyed the young man. "That power is how you're able to be the Ghost King to begin with."

"Woah, what?"

"Have you never noticed how you and Vlad had so many more abilities compared to the rest of us? You are both so much stronger than other ghosts, yet you two aren't even full ghosts. It's because when you turned into half ghosts, you both absorbed some of Pariah's energy through the portal."

"Wait—r-really? I have some of the Ghost King's energy? That's insane," Danny stated with a shake of his head.

"It's quite interesting, actually. Why do you think Vlad was after the crown and the ring? He found out his potential. I'm just unsure who slipped him the information sense I was under the impression that only I and the Observants knew this," the ghost of time replied as his form shifted.

"That's worrying."

"Well I trust that you'll take care of it when the time comes. I wasn't worried. You are much more powerful than Vlad, anyway. When he was turned into a ghost only his face was hit. So even though he became a half ghost through the accident, he didn't absorb as much energy as you did. Your entire body was in the portal so you got so much more power, which is why you're the most powerful ghost in existence now. That energy is also how you were able to reenact your ghost DNA when you had given up your powers."

"Someone should have sat me down and told me all of this when I was fourteen. Where was my ghost guidance counselor?"

Clockwork gave a chuckle. "Just don't abuse your new powers."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"I know you wouldn't."