Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Dark Danny." Sam growled. The older, evil version of the boy they were currently trying to save floated lazily in front of them.

"Relax, Samantha. You'll sprain something. Ah, is that hatred I see in those lovely purple eyes of yours?"

"Don't call me Samantha." Sam said through clenched teeth. "I thought we gave you a life sentence in the Fenton Thermos?" Dark Danny smirked. It was never good when your enemy smirked.

"Patience, Samantha. I got let out for good behavior."

"And you've come here to torture us?" Sam asked with something rather like malice. The older Danny, surprisingly, shook his head.

"As tempting as that might be, I have better things to do than torture my former friends. No, I came to help you on your quest to find Danny's heart, of course." Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Emily, who had remained unusually silent throughout the whole conversation, beat her to it.

"Cut the crap. Why are you really here?" Dark Danny dramatically placed a hand over his own heart.

"Why, Emily, I'm shocked. You really believe that my reasons are not the most truthful?" He was clearly enjoying every minute of this, and it infuriated the teenagers standing in front of him. And that, of course, made it all the more enjoyable.

"And what cause have you given us to trust you? Nearly destroying Amity Park doesn't give you a very good reputation, you know."

"Ah, but I'm not here because I care about my younger self. Rather, the opposite. If Danny dies, then his older self will never exist. In a nutshell, I'm not here because I care about Danny. I'm here because I care about myself." There was a pause, and then he added: "Since my youth I've gone deeper into the Ghost Zone than anybody else. I know more about the Ghost Zone, and the ghosts who live there, than even the ghosts themselves. I know shortcuts, secret lairs, and how to avoid unfriendly ghosts along the way. If there's anybody who can help you find the Heart Snatcher, and get back Danny's heart, it's me." The three friends considered him for a long moment, and then Sam spoke.

"Would you mind giving us a few minutes to consider this?" The smirk on Dark Danny's face grew even wider.

"Not at all." he replied. Sam, Tucker and Emily crowded together in a football-style huddle, ironic considering that none of the three of them could, or ever would, play football.

"Should we trust him?" Sam murmured. Emily shook her head.

"I have a bad feeling about him. Any enemy of Danny's is an enemy of ours. Besides, can you imagine how Danny would kill us for trusting his evil older self once he's back in his right mind? Personally, I don't want to risk it."

"But he's our last hope!" Sam protested. "How else are we going to find Danny's heart? I'm not going to let Danny die just because we were too stupid to trust the one person who could help us!"

"But our last hope just happens to be a person-"

"-ghost."

"-person, ghost, whatever, the point is he tried to kill all of us once, who's to say he's not going to do it again? I do not want to die!" The argument escalated into a shouting match between the two girls, with Tucker furiously trying to keep the peace to no avail. Eventually, Dark Danny had to step in.

"I hate to break up this fascinating discussion," he said lazily, sarcasm dripping from every word. "But you're going to have to make a decision eventually. If you don't want my assistance, then I'll leave you to your bickering." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" all three of them screeched. Dark Danny slowly turned to face them, a self-satisfied smirk spreading slowly across his face.

"Yes?"

"We trust you." Sam blurted out.

"We don't have much of a choice." Emily grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway, just help us find Danny's heart. It doesn't mean we like you, or that anything's changed between all of us, it just means that we'll accept your help."

"I'm glad you children came to your senses." Dark Danny said quietly. "Now, follow me. We have a heart to find."

A/N: Yes! Yes! Yes! I finished! I finished the chapter! twirls about in jubilation It took me long enough, but I finished it. I'm going to be leaving for camp on Saturday so this will probably be my last update before the contest deadline, unless a miracle occurs and I'm able to get a chapter written in the six days before I leave and/or in the three days I'm home between sessions. Enjoy!