Jack and Tucker waited out the rain. Once everything had cleared, they begun to scavenge the totaled assault vehicle. As Jack dug around the van in search for first aid, Tucker searched for any electronics that weren't damaged in the wreck.
"Nothing survived." Tucker finally declared sadly. It pained him to see the destruction of all of the tech that surrounded him, but he pushed the thought aside and checked on Jack, "Mr. Fenton?" He asked, "Any luck?"
"No." Jack sighed exhaustedly, "I..." he sank, "Forgot the first aid in the Speeder." he grumbled.
Tucker sank and sighed, "Okay..." he breathed.
"I'm sorry, son..." Jack apologized shamefully.
"No-" Tucker shook his head, "I'm dizzy..." he exhaled, "I'm not mad..."
Jack kept his eyes closed, trying to fight away a pounding migraine. "Okay..." he forced one eye open, trying to adjust to the 4PM light outside.
"But uh..." Tucker sighed, "None of the tech works..." he informed him, "Everything's destroyed. And I can't find my phone..." he said.
Jack nodded, "Okay." managed to open the other eye, trying to focus on the ground below him, "Do you remember passing any rest stops on the way here?" he asked, "Or at least before the rock slide?" he asked.
Tucker thought for a moment, "I think so. But it was a couple miles back."
Jack stood up, "We'll just have to try and make it over there. We'll call Maddie... or Jazz. Have them come pick us up in the speeder." he said. "Maybe we can have Vladdie do a sweep in the area."
Tucker nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He stood up and wobbled. "Oh geez-" he stumbled and grabbed the vehicle for balance.
Jack caught him, "I'm sorry this happened..." he pulled Tucker's arm over his massive shoulders.
"I'm sorry Danny ran off." Tucker said.
"It's not your fault..." Jack sighed and began walking, following the slope that lead back up to the highway they fell off of. "He..." he started, "I..." he slouched, not just because Tucker was leaning on him, "I don't blame him..." he said solemnly. "We... obsessively hunted him for four years. All that talk about ripping him apart molecule by molecule..." he shuddered, now that it was referring to his own son. "I'm... I'm glad I know now..." he said. Tucker knew his vision was poor at the moment, but he could've sworn that he saw that Jack's eyes were watering. "I just wish it wasn't like this..."
Tucker nodded in agreement. "He was planning on telling you... after graduation." he said. "He was just... scared you guys wouldn't accept him... Or..." He blinked, "Treat him as just another ghost."
"He's not just some ghost, he's my son." Jack argued, "Human or not, he's my own flesh and blood and I love him." He said, "I just wish I could apologize to him for everything that Mads and I did to him over the past couple of years." He took a deep breath, "He's been through a lot..."
"Way more than you think." Tucker nodded, then he pulled his eyebrows together, "Man, my head hurts."
"Mine too, kiddo." Jack watched up the slope, squinting against the light. "Thank you for watching over Danny..." he said, going back to the path in front of him. "I've done a terrible job at being his dad..."
Tucker sank, not able to disagree, but he didn't want to agree and make Jack feel worse. He sighed and just settled with, "You didn't know... He..." he sighed, trying not to accidentally kick Jack, "Well... when we find him, he'll tell you..."
"Up here," Jack started stepping up a slope, angled just right so they could walk up it without too much trouble.
"I can walk, Mr. Fenton." Tucker suggested.
"Tucker, you're eighteen, call me Jack." Jack said firmly, he knew it was out of respect, but Tucker was practically family, as was Sam. He let Tucker stand on his own, holding onto his arm to keep him balanced.
"Right..." Tucker found the proper footing to keep going. His head began throbbing again, "I love Danny and all, but I'm gonna kick his butt when we find him."
Jack nodded in agreement, "You can bet his mother and I are going to give him the lecture of a lifetime for this."
Tucker smirked, "I'll be there to see that."
"Don't start getting so smug, son, you and Samantha are in for it, too." Jack's tone hardened.
Tucker's smirk vanished faster than Danny made the decision to run. "Y-yes sir..."
They reached the highway, fortunate that the slope wasn't as high as they initially thought it was.
Jack thought about the look on Danny's face after he'd shot him, staring blankly at the ground as he walked. His disoriented son had wobbled and clutched the side of his head from the burning pain as the blood trickled down his chin and neck. That was going to be a nasty scar he was going to have to face for the rest of his life. He processed it for a moment. He did that.
He shot him.
Danny got hurt and flew off with open wounds. Both shots should have been fatal.
Jack slowed to a stop. Those shots would've been fatal. He looked up, staring off into the empty space passed Tucker's head. "Oh my god..."
Tucker turned around and looked at Jack, seeing the expression that he wore. "Uh... Mr. F- er- Jack?" he called and turned to him.
Jack's sky blue eyes darted back and forth, eventually lowering to the ground as the colossal man dropped to his knees, "I..." he held his head, "I could've killed him..." he shook, "I could've..." his voice had lowered to a whisper. "I hurt him... and..." his voice broke.
"Jack?" Tucker knelt by him, "Hey- Jack!"
"I shot him, Tucker..." Jack confessed, "I shot my own son..."
Tucker sank, not wanting to say it was okay, "Jack- you didn't know. You... wouldn't have known." he said.
"I should've..." Jack said firmly, angry at himself, "I could've killed him... because I never bothered to make the connection..." he growled, tears escaping his eyes, "I was too caught up in my ridiculous obsession that my son almost paid the price with his own life." He said, "I hit him twice, Tucker. Twice. One in his ribs and the other on his head. I hit his head!" he snarled at himself, "How-" he choked out a sob, "He must hate us..."
"He doesn't hate you." Tucker sat down, "He loves you guys a lot." he said, "It might not seem like it sometimes. But he's really protective of that secret. He knew the risks." he fiddled with his hands, "Which is why he did it. And... like I said, he's scared that you guys would hate him." he explained, "Danny's a lot smarter and a lot more mentally prepared than people give him credit for. I mean- he fights dead people on a near-daily basis. And those hits? Do you have any idea of what kind of beating Danny can brush off in his ghost form? Sure, in his human form he gets exhausted faster, but I've seen him get thrown through buildings." he chuckled. Then he cleared his throat, "Not that that's funny or anything..." he took a deep breath. "He's just shaken, that's all. He's not always going to see you guys as ghost hunters, he's going to see you guys as his mom and dad. Sure, you guys are Dr. Jack and Maddie Fenton, but you were 'Mom' and 'Dad' first."
Jack rubbed his eyes, "I certainly hope so..." he forced himself back up. "Sorry about that..."
Tucker smiled and stood, "Don't sweat it." he said, "It's... a hard thing to process." he said, "My nerves were shot when the accident happened."
"I'm sure..." Jack continued walking.
"Sam felt worse." Tucker started to grow distant, "She..." he sank.
"Tucker?" Jack turned to look at the teen.
"...convinced him to go in..." he confessed, "Sh-she didn't think it'd hurt him." Tucker said, "H-he was... convulsing... like he was having a seizure... getting him to breathe was hard enough, then we had to keep him calm and quiet at the same time? Nobody was home at the time except for us, you and..." he caught himself before saying Mrs. Fenton, "Maddie... you two were out. Jazz was tutoring. We didn't know what to do." he sank, "Sam thought she killed him. We didn't think he was going to survive."
Jack looked down. "I'm... I'm sorry you kids had to deal with all that. That you were alone."
Tucker shook his head, "But hey- I'm friends with a superhero now." he said optimistically, "I'm one of his sidekicks." he managed a smile, trying to shove the image of Danny's violently shaking body out of his head. He looked ahead, "Hey- the rest stop!" he cheered, picking his pace up to a trot, then to a jog. Jack followed close behind.
"Please tell me there's a payphone." Jack sighed exhaustedly, as he laid eyes on one, he laughed in relief, "Thank god..." he came to a screeching halt inches away from the payphone, scrambling for his wallet.
Tucker smiled and leaned against the wall for a moment, "I'm going to the bathroom." he panted and turned on his heel.
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"So Frostbite was a friend of Danny's?" Maddie asked, scrolling though the ghost database. Jazz sat on Danny's bed cross-legged and watching her mother disregard Danny's privacy once again. Her curiosity seemed to overrule reason. But with everything that had been going on, it was the best thing that she could do. Anything else would just lead to trouble.
"I guess." Jazz shrugged, "I don't think I've ever met Frostbite." she said, "I don't go to the Ghost Zone."
Maddie continued reading, then looked down at the alerts bar, seeing that Sam had caught yet another ghost. She knew that Sam did this with Danny and Tucker almost like it was her profession, and it turned out that they had captured more ghosts than she and Jack ever had. She sighed, "Lunchtime." she sighed and clicked the monitor off. "Can you call Samantha and have her come back for something to eat?" she asked.
Jazz took a deep breath and rose an eyebrow, pulling a phone from her pocket, "I doubt she'd come home easily." she said, "She's still mad at the boys."
"What's that got to-"
"It's her way of venting." Jazz answered for her. "She's not mad at us..." she typed something in her phone, "She just needs some time to herself, I guess." She tapped a button and tucked her phone away. "She's doing a good job though." she managed a smile.
Maddie stood up and retrieved her own phone, "I should probably check on your father, too." she dialed and started down the stairs. Her eyebrows furrowed when Jack's phone went straight to voicemail. "Strange..." she dialed again, going straight to voicemail. "Hey, Jazzie- can you call Tucker? I think your father let his phone die again."
"Got it." Jazz called behind her.
Maddie retrieved a bowl from the cabinet and began on a salad, making a couple sandwiches on the side.
"Mom...?" Jazz walked in, holding up her phone. Though the speaker, she could hear a short dial tone repeating.
Maddie gave her a strange look, "Is that Tucker's phone?" she asked.
Jazz nodded, "His phone must be destroyed..." she looked back down at her phone. "Something happened."
"Maybe they don't have signal." Maddie suggested. "I'll call Vlad."
Sam walked into the house, sighing loudly with exhaustion and plopping herself down in a chair. She set the thermos on the table and propped her feet on another chair. Her arms hung tiredly at her sides as she leaned her head back, letting out a groan of relief.
"Feel better?" Jazz asked, "I imagine you must've caught every ghost in Amity Park by now."
"Not Cujo." she sighed. She opened her violet eyes and squinted at Maddie as the conversation on the phone intensified... on Vlad's end.
Maddie had grown speechless. Her eyes stared in space, wide open. There was a rockslide on the hill... The guard rails had been knocked out... the assault vehicle was engulfed in flames. It had to be some nightmare. Maddie's breath hitched and she covered her mouth, "No..." she breathed.
Jazz turned around and saw Maddie's body trembling. "Mom?" she asked, "Mom, what's wrong?" she moved the phone from her ear, hearing a faint "I'm so sorry, my dear..." before the call ended. "Mom, what happened?"
Maddie slumped down to her knees and dropped her phone into her lap, "T-They're..." she stared unblinking, only looking at the left false panel under her kitchen sink. Her heart pounded in her ears, her ribs felt constricted. "They're gone..." she said absently. "There... was..." she trailed off, "Rockslide..."
Jazz watched her. Then it hit her- Yes, Danny was missing, but her father and Tucker were... "Wait..." she furrowed her eyebrows, "Wait, wait, wait, rockslide?"
"Are they okay?" Sam asked, sitting up. "Jazz? Mrs. Fenton?"
"The van was pushed off the hill..." Maddie said, "Vlad said the assault vehicle was... there was... fire..." she said still distant. still processing, her eyes watering. Her phone rang, but her eyes never left the false panel. Jazz had glanced down and found it was from an unknown number. "Neither of them... They're..." she exhaled sharply. "Danny's gone..." her hands clawed into her pant legs. "Tucker's gone... My husband's..." she let out a quiet sob, "My husband is gone..." Her screen went black and the phone stopped ringing.
Jazz sat in disbelief, "No... that doesn't seem right. Is... is he sure?"
Sam thought for a while and leaned on the table, she had an hard enough time trying not to lash out since Danny took off, but now Tucker... gone? She shook her head, it didn't sound right.
Maddie's phone began ringing again. Jazz took the phone off Maddie's lap and answered it, "I'm sorry, but this isn't a good time."
"Maddie!" a booming voice exclaimed from the other end.
Jazz furrowed her eyebrows, "No, this is Jazz. Who is-?"
"Jasmine! It's Daddy! Let me talk to your mother."
Jazz let out a sigh of relief, "Okay." She tapped Maddie's shoulder, "You'll want to take this one."
"Hello?" Maddie answered with a shaking voice.
"Maddie! It's Jack! Listen- Tucker and I-"
"Jack! Oh thank god." she gasped, "Oh thank god..." she repeated, "Are you okay? Vlad said that he saw the assault ve-"
"Yeah, we're okay." Jack confirmed, "We're a little shaken. We both might have a little bit of head trauma, but we'll live. I promise baby, we're okay."
Maddie smiled and looked back at Sam and Jazz, "They're alive. They're okay." she sniffled and wiped her eye.
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As Tucker made his way back to from the bathroom, he passed a couple sitting at a table, both covered in dirt and badly sunburnt, he couldn't help but to overhear their conversation.
"I still don't believe that James would wander off without his bag." the woman held her head.
"At least Danny would have his, right?"
Tucker paused, debating whether or not to interrupt their conversation.
"Yes, but that's not the point." the woman grumbled, "James knows better than to wander off, especially with people he just met. He doesn't know Danny."
Tucker decided it was worth a shot.
"Can we help you?" the blonde husband looked up at the teen.
Tucker nodded and turned to them. Both of them focused on him, realizing that he had been eavesdropping, "Um..." he started, "Sorry to butt into your conversation..." he held his hand out, "My name is Tucker Foley."
The husband and wife each took turns shaking Tucker's hand and gave him their names- Kurtis and Evangeline Richards.
"Sorry, we're actually in the middle of an important discussion." Evangeline said, her tone hardening.
"I understand." Tucker nodded, "But... I'm actually looking for someone. I couldn't help but to catch that you recently met someone named 'Danny', right?"
"Correct." Evangeline confirmed.
"Would it be a Danny Fenton, by chance?" he asked.
Kurtis shrugged, "He never gave us a last name."
Tucker nodded, "Um... He's..." he pulled out his wallet and dug out a picture of him, Sam and Danny, "This one here." he pointed at Danny. The three were sitting on the hood of Jazz's car, each smiling at the camera.
"Yeah! That's him!" Evangeline confirmed, "He was in pretty bad shape when we found him."
Tucker's body built up with so much excitement that he would've exploded. "Hold that thought!" he turned and ran to Jack. "Jack! Jack! Jack!"
"Tucker, Tucker, Tucker, Tucker!" Jack exclaimed right back, "What?"
"These people saw Danny!"
Jack's eyes filled with hope as he was towed to the Richards couple by Tucker. He greeted them, "You folks have seen my son?" he asked with hope.
Evangeline's body tensed, "Are you responsible for that awful burn on his face?" she stood up.
Jack's body grew cold, "Uh-" he stammered.
Kurtis remembered what Evangeline had told him, standing up with her, "What did you hit that poor kid with?"
Tucker jumped between Jack and the angry couple, "Wait! It's a long story! H-He's in the ghost hunting business! Danny got caught in the crossfire and freaked out!" He quickly explained, "Please..." he looked at Evangeline with pleading turquoise eyes, "I just want my friend back..."
Evangeline couldn't bear the look in Tucker's eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Okay..." she looked up at Jack, "Keep better track of your child." she scolded.
"Evie, it's not fair to tell him that, remember?" Kurtis awkwardly nudged Evangeline's side.
Evangeline froze and sank, "Right."
Jack looked at the two, "Uh... is something wrong?"
Evangeline sat down, leaving Kurtis to explain. Kurtis sighed, "Well, the thing is... Danny's not here. We're not sure where he went."
Tucker's body ran cold, his defensive position lowered to where his arms hung at his sides.
"You see- this morning, he and our son were gone. Carson Grey, our group leader had told us that Danny knew how to get to the Lake Michigan and wanted to get a headstart. Apparently James went with him." he explained, "But my son wouldn't wander off without his bag."
"I'm starting to think Carson is full of shit." Evangeline grumbled. "I don't understand how a man as inconsiderate, insensitive, and impatient as him is qualified to walk a bunch of people out into the wilderness on a cross-country hike." she growled.
"Our best bet is the lake. Unless..." he looked at Jack for a moment, then he sighed, "No... our best bet is the lake."
Jack and Tucker looked at each other. "Hey- think we could see what your son looks like? Just so we know who we're looking for?"
Kurtis retrieved his wallet and showed the three of them in a small photo. James had his arms slung over the backs of his parents' shoulders with a wide ear-to-ear grin, freckles littering his face. "The kid in the middle."
Tucker smiled, seeing a faint resemblance in James' relationship to his parents that Danny had with himself and Sam. He glanced at Evangeline, "He looks exactly like you."
Evangeline smiled, "Thank you sweetheart."
"I'm going to call my wife real quick." Jack rushed back to the payphone and dropped the change in the payphone.
"Hello?" Maddie's voice answered.
"Baby! I think we might've found Danny!" He announced excitedly.
"Really? That's- oh m- Where?"
"Lake Michigan." Jack said, "Apparently he found this hiking group led by some guy named Carson Grey and he made friends with a kid about his age. They took off this morning to the lake."
"Okay, I sent Vlad to your direction, what do you-"
"Tell him to meet us at the lake." Jack instructed, "We'll talk to Danny and make sure he's okay. By the time Vlad gets there he..." Jack thought for a moment. He took a deep breath, "I hope he'll talk to me..." he said, his tone had shifted significantly from optimistic to doubting.
Maddie was silent for a while. "Have Tucker speak with him first." she advised. "Maybe he can talk some sense into him?"
"Time to keep moving!" Carson announced loudly. "We're burning daylight, I'd like to reach the lake tomorrow morning!" he called out.
"Probably." Jack confirmed, "We gotta get going." he said, "Have Vladdie meet us at Lake Michigan tomorrow morning, okay?" Taking note of Carson's earlier shout, "I'd like to learn a little bit more about this group that met Danny, see if he's said anything to them."
"Be careful, sweetie." Maddie sighed with concern.
"I will, baby." Jack smiled, "We'll be home soon. Hopefully with Danny."
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Maddie nodded, "Preferrably." she said.
"I'll see you later, Mads." Jack said before hanging up.
Maddie sighed in relief. Sam and Jazz had made their own lunches and were eating. She looked at the two girls that were always there for Danny when he needed them. "I'm going to call Vlad again. I'll be back, okay girls?" she smiled, "They might have found Danny." she beamed.
A collective sigh of relief washed over the table. They were relieved enough to hear that Tucker and Jack were alive and okay.
Maddie left the room and called Vlad.
"Yes, my dear." Vlad greeted. Static crackled over the phone- he was most likely flying.
"Jack and Tucker might have found Danny." she said. "They found this hiking group and they said they saw him- he was with them." she explained.
"Great! Where are they? I'll go get them!" he offered. The static stopped- indicating that he'd stopped so he could listen.
"Well-" she paused, "They said he was at Lake Michigan. Er- that he'd gone to the lake with one of the other hikers."
"Okay." Vlad accepted.
"Jack and Tucker are going to hike with the group to the lake and learn a little bit more about them." she said, "Jack wanted me to have you meet them there tomorrow morning."
"Can do, Maddie." Vlad confirmed. "Do you know what trail it is so I can track it down?" he asked.
"Jack didn't tell me." she pinched her nose. It probably would've been a good idea to have gotten that from Jack. "He said the guide's name was Carson Grey, though."
Vlad was silent for a moment, "That name sounds familiar..." he trailed off, "Okay, I'll head home and do some research and a little packing." he said, "I imagine Jack and Tucker didn't walk from that wreck unscathed."
Maddie nodded, "And Danny was hurt before he took off, too."
"It's settled then." the static started back up, "We will speak again shortly." he said.
"Thanks, Vlad." Maddie smiled and hung up. Relief and nervousness flooded her body. Her family was okay and alive. But there was still the possibility that Danny wouldn't want to come home. The thought scared her, though she wouldn't blame him. She took a deep breath and started back for the kitchen. The girls still needed to know what was going on.
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"Jus' keep breathing... Jus' keep breathing... Jus' breathe... please keep breathing..." Danny chanted, curled up on himself and rocking slightly. His forehead resting on his knees and he hugged his legs and rocked himself back and forth. The silence was killing him. James had been completely unstable. The only sound amongst the silence was his ragged and uneven breaths. James was sick.
Very sick.
Danny knew it wasn't even his stomach that was upsetting him, he knew that his injury- at some point- had gotten infected. Nobody told him James was injured. Nobody had told him what had happened. Danny had a very good clue as to why. "C-Carson..." he growled and shivered. It was the middle of May, but he was freezing. He'd use the blanket, but James needed it more than he did. He figured he was probably cold from the shock or just out of plain fear.
The sky was dark now, and hardly any light showed through the several trees covering the mouth of the cave. Danny's normally-blue eyes shone a bright, neon yellow-green, illuminating some part of the cave as he looked up. Thanks to this, he was able to see in the dark a little bit better. Fortunately there hadn't been any animals that had caught interest in the strange light. In fact, they seemed repelled. Any that had walked by glanced in and trotted away, or ran off.
He wondered what Sam, Tucker and Jazz were up to. Or his parents. He quickly shook his head to rid the thought of them possibly hating him as much as they did when he was just 'Phantom' to them. If he wanted to know how they felt- or at least how his father felt, he'd have to remember the look on his face. After he fell to the ground and involuntarily changed back. His vision was blurred, so it was hard to tell. But after everything had cleared, his father looked at him in horror and in total disbelief.
Danny wasn't sure as to what it was- either his father was shocked that he shot his own son, or that he was Phantom. The Ghost Boy. The quote-unquote "Public Enemy #1". He pondered this in silence and took several deep breaths, the confusion and contradictions of his own thoughts swirling in this stomach and making him nauseous. Then he paused, his body growing cold and nausea disappearing in an instant. Silence.
He snapped his attention over at James, who hadn't make a noise in- now that Danny thought about it- quite some time. "James?" he called, "Hey- James!" He didn't want this to be the fourth time he'd have to revive the unconscious teen, but instead relief washed over him when James took a deep breath at the sound of his own name.
"W-wha..." he panted, "Why's..." he breathed.
"I'm right here." Danny carefully put a hand on his shoulder, hoping he wasn't going to accidentally surprise him and make him go back into shock.
"Danny..." James groaned, "It's so dark..." His voice was distant, and his breaths didn't sound too much better.
Danny hadn't been too concerned about it just as long as he was breathing... but the pungent smell of the blood blossoms still lingered. He himself was having difficulty breathing, and his lungs burned just a little bit. He shook his head and replied to James' comment, "We're in a cave. There was no way I was moving you anywhere else. Especially back to the group with Carson." Danny growled at the name. "What's his problem?"
"He's..." James let out a weak chuckle, "He's a ghost."
Danny paused, feeling like a moron for not figuring it out earlier.
James heard the hesitation in Danny's voice. "Real good at hiding it, isn't he?" he scoffed weakly.
Danny shook his head, "Wait- you're no better. You're a ghost, too." he snapped.
"Yeah... and?" James mumbled, his eyes barely parted open, glinting silvery white flecks in the hazel irises of his eyes, making them appear bright gold. "Wha'bout you?"
Danny looked over, then looked down, "Yeah... I probably shouldn't be one to talk..."
"'nd your folks are ghost hunters?" he asked, a weak laugh escaped him, "No wonder you don't wanna go home..." he winced, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.
Danny's eyebrows pulled together in concern.
"What happened?" James asked, seeming to be enduring the pain.
Danny took a deep breath and looked ahead, "I was out ghost hunting-"
James cut him off with laughter, "You, a ghost, hunt ghosts?"
"Might as well do something." Danny flinched, "Anyway, my parents were out too. They didn't know..." he sank, "They didn't know." he gripped his shoulder, ignoring the burn of a few twigs that stuck to his sleeve. "My mom was distracted. So it was still my dad after me. He didn't see that it was me until..." he trailed off. then he sighed, "That's what happened..." he confessed, "My dad shot me... without even knowing it was me. He hit my side first, then he hit my head. That's when he found out. I crash landed and changed back. Dad saw everything, and..."
"And... you ran off." James deduced. "It makes so much sense... Why you wouldn't talk 'bout it..." He grunted in pain again.
He looked down and listened as James fought over the oncoming wave of pain. He ran his hands through his hair, scratching as he brushed back and wincing when his nails picked at the scabs and burns on the left side. He took a deep breath. "You need help..." he sighed. They needed help. "I've had to use CPR..." he trailed off, listening carefully. Mom could help- no... no, Jazz.
Not even Jazz. Sam...
Sam and Tucker definitely. They were the ones he could trust with this. They'd believe anything they'd tell them.
"Three... three times..." he continued blankly, listening to James' wheezing.
"I... miss my mom..." James rasped, "And Dad..." he said shakily.
Danny gripped a handful of his sleeve in one hand until he was sure his knuckles could lock before he was able to let go, "S-so this was... this was your secret... huh?" his hand trembled.
James forced a smile, "I had... I'd run away too..." he forced out. "It... it only made things worse..." he grunted and writhed, "They were never mad..." he said, his voice was beginning to shake. He was getting worse. "Just scared..." he chuckled, "I was some sort of vigilante..." he swallowed hard, "...some sort of vigilante back at home... In Arizona..." he said, "My friend helped me- my friend Katska... he helped me learn my powers..." his voice sounded a little more rushed, or panicked. Danny wanted him to stop. "One day, there was an accident..." he shook, "They found out, I ran off..." he confessed, "But where else could I go? I was sixteen..." James asked. "I had to go back and face them." he was on the verge of crying, but exhaustion was clear in his voice, "They just wanted me to be more careful..." he sniffled. "They just wanted me to be more careful." he repeated, gasping at this point, trying to catch his breath.
Danny realized he was hyperventilating. Whatever had happened... whatever the 'accident' was, James still had a hard time getting over it. This was post-traumatic stress. Danny jumped up and held onto his shoulders. "James, come on, I need you to stay with me." he urged.
James took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, "Danny- I never ask for help... but please..." he took another deep breath, "Please... Get my folks away from Carson..." he said, "We have to do something about Carson..." he gasped, "I can't fight him alone..." his voice broke, "Not alone..." he repeated, "I don't want to lose my parents too..."
Too? Danny's thoughts paused. Did James lose someone before? This 'Katska' person, maybe? Something had happened.
"Please, Danny..." James begged, his voice was barely a whisper now, he wasn't hyperventilating anymore, but he was passing out again. "They're all I have left..."
The small cave was silent again. James' golden eyes faded out as they closed.
This was the deciding factor. Kurtis and Evangeline had no idea their son was so hurt, and Danny knew it. James' injury was infected and had gotten him sick.
Danny needed to go home. It was fact. James' life depended on it. He stood up, the flash of the two white rings illuminated the cave, scaring off whatever animal that had wandered close, attracted to the noise that James had been making. He wasn't going back for him... or his parents, but for James. He scooped the unconscious teen -blanket and all- into his arms, ignoring every burning aspect of residual blood blossoms or the cuts, scrapes and burns from earlier. Once James was settled, Danny kicked off and flew homeward.
His heart pounded in his chest, ringing loudly in his ears. The pounding was drowned out by the wind blowing past. He looked down and got a quick glance at how pale James had grown. "James, can you hear me?" he asked.
No response. Not good.
Danny sighed, "Sam is going to kill me..." he exhaled. Amity Park was a lot closer than he'd anticipated; just across the lake. It took him no time before he found his house. He went intangible, only so he wouldn't be seen. The cityscape was familiar and comforting, yet unnerving at the same time. He missed it in the two days he'd been gone. Though he'd planned on being gone a little bit longer. He was not mentally prepared to be home so soon. He was nervous. He took a deep breath and peeked into his bedroom window. The streets were quiet, which was good- it meant it was late and most everyone was in bed. Which was likely that Mom was in bed. He hoped.
His room was void of any life. He was thankful, even though he ran off, he still didn't want anyone going through his room. He phased through his window and carefully laid James on the bed. He quickly and silently rummaged through his closet to look for some new, clean clothes. James needed to get rid of the clothes still littered with blood blossom sticks and dead leaves. Danny had blistered his fingertips trying to pick out what he could.
He turned around and heard his computer ping. Ghost hunting? Good to know they were still doing that at least. Danny glanced at it bitterly. Then he rolled his eyes and sat James up, getting absolutely no cooperation from the unconscious halfa. He pulled off both shirts and decided it'd probably be easier to take care of his injuries if he wasn't wearing a shirt, so he laid him back down after tossing the blanket aside. He hesitated in trying to take of James' shredded jeans. He took a deep breath, "He'll thank me later..." he quickly (and awkwardly), pulled off the jeans and replaced them with a pair of his own pajama pants. He sighed and phased through the door, heading to the bathroom and washing his hands quickly. He retrieved a first-aid kit and rushed back to his room, as silently as possible. He looked James over, not knowing where to start. He needed Sam for this. The computer pinged again. Danny rolled his eyes, checking the time on his clock. 4 AM.
"Shouldn't they be in bed?" he asked in a whisper and shook the mouse, finding the database on a totally different screen than what he'd left it on. "Who went through my computer?" he asked quietly. He froze, thinking he might have heard someone moving in the house. He exhaled and crept over to lock the door. It was just the air conditioning. He went beck to his computer and clicked on the alerts, SM_THERMOS: SKULKER CAPTURED. Danny took a deep breath, "Geez, guys..." he sighed and right clicked on the notification, a small menu showed up, 'Ignore', 'Disconnect', 'Show Location'.
Danny clicked on 'show location' and the screen flashed, showing him a map. "There." he jumped up, "Don't go anywhere." He shoved the contaminated clothes into a garbage can and tied the plastic bag shut. He shook his head and unlocked his door, opening it and preparing to step out, forgetting comepletely to be silent. He stopped dead in his tracks as his heart began pounding. Of course she was awake. Of course he had to have someone with him. Of course he walked out into the hallway with glowing skin, white hair and a black and white jumpsuit. "M-Mom!"
**Busted! So I BS'd the first two thirds of this chapter. Basically everything over the phone and on Maddie's end. Had a weird morning that resulted me to go home from work on the account of an anxiety attack. But anyway! Let me know what you think, please. I had to put a ton of the 'XXXXXXX's because I'm trying to separate the transition a little bit better. I tried leaving a double space between paragraphs, but this site was editing them. I even tried '*****' and '^^^^^^'... I guess X's will have to do. I don't have much else to say, so stay awesome folks!**