K so this didn't quite get out as quick as I had wanted. I rushed through the first part cuz I was so excited and then hit a writer's block at the end lol.

Also, I'm getting a lot of story alerts and favorites. Please, if you like the story let me know. Reviews are the nectar that keeps us writers going. And trust me, I tend to get a lot of writer's block, so the reviews help push me into gear.

Disclaimer: I own a cat, a gecko, three fish tanks and a few betas. Sadly, I do not own DP.

*LINE BREAK* - had to add them in since this site won't let me do my usual line breaks anymore.

"Hopeless, I'm falling down,
Filthy, I can't wake up,
I cannot hold on,
I will not let go.
Worthless, it's over now,
Guilty, there's no way out,
I cannot hold on,
I will not let go."

"Hopeless" by Breaking Benjamin

*LINE BREAK*

Chapter Ten: Reluctant Acceptance

Danny growled and put on speed. "That conniving little…" The teen cut off his thought as he swerved to miss a building. "That shadow ghost was a distraction so he could get to my dad!"

Just the thought of anything happening to his dad sent a trill of rage through him. He balled his fists and willed himself to go faster, his wake swaying trees, moving trash cans and setting off car alarms.

He wasn't far now and his speed was cutting the time significantly. His scowl deepened with each passing second and he continued to push himself. "Faster!" Each second wasted flying there could be his dad's last.

"Just think, if Vlad wastes your father, I could be free."

Danny growled again, determined to ignore Dan's voice. He would NOT turn into him! No, he wouldn't, he'd make it in time.

Another few blocks and he'd be there! He could already see the Fenton Work's satellite on top of the house. A spark of hope shot through him, but was soon replaced with fury when Vlad came into view.

The entire Fenton family was outside. The fight was causing a huge commotion, and half the block was standing at their doors observing.

Jazz was still on the stairs but with no weapon. Maddie and Jack were fighting hard to keep Vlad from cornering them against the house. Maddie had the ever present Fenton Bazooka and Jack carried an ecto gun and his beloved Jack-o-Nine-Tails.

Danny's rage grew and he gritted his teeth, allowing blue energy to form in his hands. At this speed, there was no stopping, so he opted for the obvious choice. Well, obvious to him.

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"Jack, keep Jazz safe." Maddie shouted as she tried to get herself around the back of her foe. She had realized, quite suddenly, that this ghost—whom they only knew as the Wisconsin Ghost—wasn't going after her. In fact, all of his attacks seemed to avoid her. She was hoping to use that to her advantage and sneak behind him.

That plan didn't work, however, as Vlad turned and encased her in a shield. Her eyes widened and although Vlad couldn't hear her, he could clearly tell she had just called him a bastard.

He merely grinned at the infuriated woman and returned his attention to his real target: Jack.

The lumbering oaf was covering Jazz, ecto gun at the ready. He charged the gun and fired, but Plasmius dodged it easily. A few more shots like this and Vlad grew tired of the game.

"Enough!' he shouted. "I'm done playing charades. Now die!"

His hands started to glow red with energy. He gathered as much as he could as an evil grin spread across his pale face.

Inside her bubble Maddie screamed at Jack to take Jazz and run, but the shield prevented any sound from escaping.

Jazz was frozen in fear. Her father looked behind him and smiled reassuringly even though he realized this moment may be his last. His daughter could only stare at him like a deer in headlights, tears running down her cheeks. She couldn't believe Vlad was really going to kill them.

The red-head clutched her father, knowing that even if they ran, Vlad would simply follow. They would not get away.

Their foe cackled madly, reveling in the fact that this moment was finally here. He would finally get rid of this moron and be able to console Maddie as Vlad Masters and make her his bride. And with no pest of a daughter or brat of a son, Maddie would be all his.

The red ectoplasm flashed brightly and he lifted his hands to release.

Jack and Jazz held each other, waiting for the inevitable while Maddie screamed in anguish from her shield. She lost her son, she couldn't lose them too! She'd never survive.

But just as the red energy began to flare, their entire foe disappeared.

Maddie stared in confusion. A black, white and blue blur had slammed into Plasmius at full speed and sent the older ghost careening down the street.

Jack and Jazz looked up a few moments later when the blast never came, only to see Danny Phantom hovering where the enemy had been.

"Danny!" Jazz exclaimed, ecstatic to see her little brother.

The teen gave no indication of hearing her. His focus was solely on the enemy who was now picking himself up out of the dent in the pavement he had made when he hit.

The shield around Maddie dissipated and she scrambled to her family on the steps.

"What is he doing here?" she asked.

Jazz smiled nervously. "I called him, Mom. And it's a good thing I did. That ghost almost…" she trailed. Jack hugged her closer for comfort.

Maddie looked back at Phantom. Anger surged through her at remembering their confrontation earlier, but she stamped it down for Jazz's sake.

The green-eyed Phantom was in battle ready stance, his hands glowing with blue energy and body poised to take action. The burn mark Maddie had given him hours earlier was still evident on his chest. But his stance was proud and nearly awe inspiring as he faced his rival without fear. It made Jazz realize just how much her little brother had grown up.

Vlad pulled himself to his feet and spit out a few pieces of asphalt. He glared daggers at the boy a few yards away and observed the teen. The normal cocky attitude was gone, replaced by something else. Vlad couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the boy had changed. He seemed more like an adult than a 16 year old child.

One thing was for sure: the boy wasn't playing games. This fight was all serious. There would be no holding back from either of them, and Vlad had a feeling that if he lost, Danny wouldn't just let him go.

Frankly, Vlad wanted to pound the child for the sudden hit he had just taken. But something in the boy's eyes held him back.

Danny kept his eyes glued to his opponent. He ignored his family; he wasn't sure he could face his parents after this afternoon. Besides, if he focused on the task at hand, he could ignore the voice in his head.

"What are you waiting for? Take him out! Just like you did that shadow ghost. How dare he touch our family?"

Danny's gaze hardened. He refused to gratify Dan with a response. Instead, he set his sights forward.

"I won't let you near them." Danny said venomously. The shear confidence and willpower behind the words startled even Jazz.

"Why do you even care, Phantom?" Maddie countered before she could stop herself.

"Mom!"

"Mads," Jack started. "Please. If it wasn't for him, Jazz and I wouldn't be alive right now."

Danny spared a quick glance in their direction. Pain briefly flashed in those emerald orbs, but it passed quickly, not willing to show weakness in front of Vlad.

"Mom," Jazz pleaded. "Stop, you're hurting him."

Maddie remained quiet. Jack was right about one thing: Phantom had saved their lives. Why, she didn't know. But she was willing to let him do what he came for.

Vlad grinned. "Yes, Phantom. Why don't you tell them why you're here?"

The energy in Danny's hands sparked brighter—a sign of his growing anger. "I already told them." He snapped.

The elder hybrid nodded slightly. "I see. Is that where that nasty little burn came from, little badger?"

Danny snarled, tired of talking, and shot off like a bullet at Vlad. The bachelor managed to dodge in time and grabbed one of Danny's arms, spinning him around and into the brick of a house.

The impact left the teen dazed. He stumbled from the hole he left and leaned against a light pole until he regained his vision.

Vlad looked on with mild amusement. "Careful, dear boy. At those speeds you could really hurt yourself."

"Are you going to let him get away with that?" the voice mocked.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut. "Shut up!"

Plasmius cocked a brow at the boy's strange expression. Mentally shrugging, he found himself not caring and charged an ecto blast in his hands.

Danny shook his head to focus and just in time. Lifting his arms out of more of an instinct than actual thinking, a blue shield took the force of the blow. He was knocked back a few feet, but was otherwise left unharmed. Dropping the shield he flew forward and allowed energy to form in his hand.

Vlad moved to dodge but his adversary predicted the move and landed a powerful punch to his head. The older hybrid held his jaw and descended a few feet to get his bearings. Giving his jaw an experimental movement, he winced. "Well played, my boy. I see you're honing your skills."

Danny crossed his arms in defiance. "Well, dying and coming back as a fully fledged ghost has a way of making you stronger."

There it was again, Vlad was sure of it! Danny's eyes held an unknown emotion in them.

Before Vlad could figure it out, Danny made the next move. The teen lashed out with a very strong ecto blast, the energy arching from his hands and across the distance at lightning speed. Vlad barely had time to put up a shield. It was, however, in vain. The powerful blast was too strong and his shield failed, sending the man flying into the asphalt once again.

Jazz cheered from the sidelines and even Jack smiled. Maddie kept quiet, observing the scene with reserved judgment.

"Danny, stop!"

The sudden voice made the family turn. Sam was running down the street. The Goth cursed herself for not taking the time to grab a jacket before leaving the house, but finding Danny was too important to turn back for one.

She panted heavily from the exertion and stopped a few yards away from Vlad, only to collapse on her knees from exhaustion.

"I told you to stay put!" Danny shouted. He was angry, but it wasn't directed towards her, although he was irritated at her inability to listen.

Sam sighed through her panting. "I'll repeat…what I said…when you said that…" she said between breaths. "Like Hell!"

Danny set his jaw. He didn't want her here. Wait, he stopped, why didn't he want her here?

"She'll interfere with our fight! You need to waste the demon!"

Danny grabbed his head, causing a few rather confused looks in his direction. Since he joined the fight, several more spectators had joined the audience.

"Get out of my head, you Bastard!"

Dan chuckled. "Face it, you want her gone too. Without her, you can finish him."

"I'm not like you!"

Sam furrowed her brow at her best friend. He was clutching his head and growling to himself.

"Finish him!"

"I won't kill him!" Danny shouted unintentionally. His family and a few spectators were startled while Sam looked on in sorrow. The only thing she could conclude was that her friend was going through some kind of inner turmoil. She just didn't know it was Dark Dan.

Vlad, meanwhile, was quite anxious. Did he really hear that right? He couldn't have…could he? The boy had always been for the people and couldn't hurt anyone, but there he was fighting with himself about killing Vlad!

That was all Vlad needed. The emotion he saw in Danny's eyes earlier was no longer a mystery. "Daniel, what happened to the shadow ghost?" he asked apprehensively, his voice barely above a whisper.

The teen froze, the question shaking him to the core. A vision of the ghost bursting and then evaporating flashed in his mind. Pure panic spread through his very being and the only thing he could hear was the horrible scream of the shadow ghost right before it died.

Sam could see the terror in her friend's eyes. She needed to get him to calm down. "It's in a thermos!" she lied.

Vlad turned to her, the look on his face clearly relaying that he believed no such thing. However, the pleading eyes of the Goth kept him from prying any further. He gave her a stern glare before returning his attention to the boy a few feet from him.

Jazz also didn't miss the conversation. She didn't know anything about a shadow ghost, but if the mere mention of it was enough to nearly drive her brother insane, something bad had to have happened. She had a bad feeling that it had something to do with whatever he appeared to be fighting with.

Danny finally had enough of the voices and enough of the guilt! He set a hard, almost murderous glare upon his enemy, making Vlad's blood run cold. For the first time in a very long time, fear actually flashed in his eyes.

Danny's eyes began to glow and Sam freaked as she realized what it meant. "Danny no!" she pleaded.

The teen ignored her and his whole body began to glow. Next to him, two copies appeared. As the glow vanished, all three Danny's flew at Vlad.

The hybrid ducked and made his own copies quickly from years of experience. Each Vlad had a Danny to fight with and in the fray, the real ones were lost.

Sam knew she couldn't stay there anymore; she was too close to the fight. Making sure to give the fighting copies a wide birth, she ran to the steps where the Fenton's stood. At this point, most of the audience had receded back into their homes afraid for their lives.

"Sam, what's going on?" Jazz grabbed the Goth's shoulders forcing her to look at the red-head.

Sam shook her head, tears threatening to fall. She couldn't tell them. They would think he was a monster.

Jazz became stern and shook the raven-haired girl. "Sam, I need to know! He's my little brother!"

Maddie turned a harsh glare on her daughter. "Don't tell me he's brainwashed you both?"

"I'm not brainwashed!" Sam shouted, pulling out of Jazz's grasp and jabbing a finger in the woman's direction. "He's my best friend and your son! But you don't care! All you tried to do while he was alive was hunt him down and dissect him!"

Jack remained quiet, clearly affected by her words. Maddie however, became enraged. "That…thing is NOT my son! It's impossible! You can't be human and ghost!"

"He was Mom." Jazz's voice was soft and full of pain. It was enough to make Maddie stop short of her next hurtful words. "Remember the accident with the portal a few years back? And after that, how he would disappear all the time and was tired all the time; his grades started to slip and he always avoided your ghost weapons. The accident turned him half ghost. He was tired from all the ghost fighting."

Jack's eyes were wide. He may have been a simple man, but he wasn't stupid. He was so blind then, but now it all made sense. He glanced sadly at his wife.

Maddie remained quiet and set her jaw. She huffed and crossed her arms, turning away from them all and back to the fight.

After a final worried glance to her mother, Jazz once again turned her attention to Sam. She was determined to get the truth. "Sa-" she was cut off by a sudden thunderous boom.

The whole family ducked as a Danny copy hit the cement next to the house, sending concrete in all directions and causing the copy to dissolve.

The real Danny lost focus on the Vlad he was chasing to growl and take off after the Vlad that had caused the impact. He threw a strong blast in his foes direction, hitting him square in the back, triggering the clone to disperse.

With rage boiling in his eyes he twisted and set his lethal gaze upon the real Vlad. The green-eyed teen willed his other copy back to him and his eyes once again began to glow.

The older hybrid was frozen. His teen opponent had never been this hard to beat, nor was he ever so quick to anger. The boy's power truly was remarkable.

Sam once again found herself fearing for the older man. She had to get the real Danny back! Without a moment's hesitation, she fled from the stairs and bolted to her best friend.

"Sam, no!" Jack reached for the Goth but missed her shirt by inches. The Fenton family looked on in trepidation as Sam put herself in the line of fire.

The only thing running through the girls mind was stopping Danny before he did anything more he'd regret. She skidded to halt in front of Vlad and stood her ground even as her best friend charged electrified energy in his hands, the power bouncing from hand to hand in a dazzling display.

"Danny, stop! This won't accomplish anything!"

The power kept building.

"Remember what you said to me? You don't want to become him!"

The Goth realized with horror that her friend could not hear her words. He was so concentrated on his enemy behind her that he saw right through her. The teen noticed vaguely as the voice laughed maniacally, egging his host on.

"Finish them! Kill them both!"

A grin spread across Danny's face and in that instant released the blast, the energy cackling and spreading like cob webs across the distance.

Several screams shot through the night air, but none as loud as Sam's fear-filled one. It enough to snap Danny back.

The teen shook his head. "What the…?"

The scene before him seemed to play out in slow motion. In reality, a few seconds had passed, but Danny's lightning quick reflexes and ghostly instincts kicked in a power he had never used before: teleportation.

In a split second he was in front of his best friend. He wrapped his arms around her and erected a shield, but even his own shield didn't hold well against the sheer power forced by his wrath. It exploded around him and sent both teens rushing past the ducking hybrid and into the asphalt.

"Danny!"

"Sam!"

The Fenton's rushed from the steps but stopped short as the ghost began to stir.

Pebbles and other debris rained down around Danny and Sam. He was able to protect her from the blast, but had been unable to turn them so he could hit the ground. He pushed himself up, realizing he was on top of the Goth. He groaned in pain, his hazmat suit torn and burned from the blast, electrical energy still occasionally arching over parts of his body.

Looking down at the girl below him, his eyes frantically searched for any sign of life. Gently, he placed a hand on her cheek and was relieved to feel her breathe beneath him. But the sight of her still made him wince.

His body hadn't been enough to fully protect her from his power. Her face was scratched and bruised and burns snaked around her arms leaving ugly scars. God only knew what damage the landing had caused.

"What have I done?" He whispered. "I don't…I don't even remember."

"Shame you had to wake up before she died."

The teen closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Sam's. "Go away, please."

Dan chuckled, but otherwise kept quiet.

Hot tears trailed down the distraught boy's face. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything! The last thing he remembered was fighting with Dark Dan over killing Vlad. Then he simply blacked out.

"Daniel…"

The tired voice prompted Danny to lift his head, setting his eyes on the battered hybrid.

"Are you ok, my boy?" Vlad asked his voice for once truly sincere.

The green-eyed boy shook his head. "What do you care? Just go home, Plasmius."

The older man sighed, defeated. Whatever was going on with the boy was clearly due to his death and his transition to full ghost. Vlad didn't know what it was exactly, but he knew it was making the lad much stronger and unpredictable. He made a mental note to avoid the teen for now and flew off.

Danny lowered his head again and reassured himself with the sound of Sam's steady breathing. He hadn't killed his best friend. That was all that mattered.

The sound of cautious footsteps startled the teen, making him swiftly roll off his friend and crouch in a defensive stance.

Jazz held her hands up to keep her brother calm. "It's ok, Danny. It's over."

Said ghost shifted his eyes nervously between the three humans, not really afraid they would hurt him, but more convinced that they would not accept him now.

Jazz put her arm out to signal for her parents to stop and moved forward on her own. Danny calmed down a bit and returned his gaze to his Goth friend.

"I hurt her…" he stated softly.

Jazz bit her lip, trying to choose her words carefully. "That's not you Danny. You'd never hurt anyone."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

The words sent icy chills down the red-heads spine. He sounded absolutely sure of it.

The young ghost carefully lifted Sam and pulled her into his arms. Her top was torn from the pavement and her back was sticky from blood. He stared at her with such tenderness that Jazz just couldn't believe her little brother could do anything but help people.

Danny grazed his pale fingers against his friend's cheek, brushing hair from her face. "I don't remember anything." He stated suddenly.

Jazz crouched beside the pair and started to inspect the younger girl. "I'm so sorry Danny. But it looks like you saved her life. She has some cuts, bruises and burns, but she should be ok."

Jack cleared his throat, causing his children to turn their attention to him. "We have the gear to patch her up. We can take her inside and tend to her."

Jazz smiled. "That's a good idea." She said, but noticing her brother's apprehension, she placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. Don't worry."

The nervous teen nodded and stood, carrying Sam bridal style. He cautiously followed his sister and father, trying his best to ignore the glare from his mother.

Once inside, Danny carefully set Sam on the couch, mindful of the burns and scrapes on her back. The girl unconsciously winced, making Danny feel all the more guilty.

"Jazz, grab the supplies from the lab. Get the first aid kit, the burn kit, and the suture kit." Maddie ordered. With a nod from her daughter, Maddie then turned to fetch a wash cloth from the linen closet. She soaked it in cool water and gruffly moved Danny aside so she could clean the debris from the girl's wounds.

Danny stood nervously, unwilling to go very far from Sam's side, but not brave enough to move closer to his untrusting mother.

He gave a quick glance to his father, only to notice a small smile from the large man.

Not exactly something he was expecting.

Before he could comment on it, Jazz returned from the lab with three totes of various sizes. She placed them next to her mother and turned to Danny. "I think we should call Tucker. He'll be mad if you don't tell him."

"Right." In truth, he hadn't even thought of calling Tucker. Everything happened so fast, and besides…he wasn't exactly proud that he had hurt his best friend.

He sent one last worried look at Sam before hesitantly heading to the kitchen for the phone. Picking up the phone and pressing the familiar buttons was almost nostalgic.

A few rings sounded and right as Danny was sure Tucker wouldn't answer, a groggy voice responded. "'ello?"

"Tucker…can you come to my house?"

"Danny?" his dark-skinned friend sounded a little more awake at the request. "I thought you were at Sam's?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when you get here, but Sam…she's hurt." The guilt threatened to overcome the teen ghost.

"How did that happen?" Tucker was fully awake now and worried.

"Like I said, I'll tell you when you get here."

"Ok, dude. I'm on my way."

"Thanks, Tuck."

The line went dead and Danny hung up the phone. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He racked his brain but it didn't matter. The memory of his fight just minutes ago would not surface.

"Danny?"

The teen jumped, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion into the kitchen. He flipped around and came face to face with his father. "Did you get hold of Tucker?"'

"Yeah…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Look…uhh…Mr. Fenton," the boy faltered, the words foreign on his tongue, "I just want to get back to Sam."

Danny tried desperately to brush past the larger man, but Jack placed a solid hand on his shoulder and pulled him back a little.

The ghost gulped and refused to meet his father's gaze. After the rejection he had suffered earlier and after what his father had just witnessed…there really would be no acceptance.

Jack gave a heavy sigh, a sign of his fatigue. But he knew the boy before him was just as exhausted. "We'll take care of Sam." He started. "Just sit down and rest a while…son."

The last word his father uttered shocked Danny. His eyes shot to the larger man in astonishment. He was afraid of the emotions that would be hidden in those eyes, but what he anticipated, he didn't see. The only look Jack was giving him was one of love and recognition.

Jack brought himself down to his son's level and smiled. "I'm not the smartest person but what Jazz said makes sense. I tend to make a lot of mistakes, but the biggest mistake I ever made was not noticing everything you were going through before you died." The last words were strangled as the man tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

Danny sniffed, his own tears brimming at his eyes. "Dad?" he said, almost afraid and yet hopeful.

"Yes, son. I believe you."

Those words were all Danny needed. The boy flew up and threw his arms around his father. Jack returned the gesture and was startled at the cold feel of his son's body. It only served to depress him. Though his son was here with him, Danny would never be the lively young teen he once was.

With another heavy sigh, Jack let go of his only son. "Don't worry. I'll talk to your mother."

A nervous look once again flashed across the boy's face. "What if…"he faltered, rubbing his neck again. "What if she never believes me?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know, son."

At the teen's dejected look, Jack smiled reassuringly to him. "I'm sure she'll come around. You know her; she's stubborn as a mule! It may just take some time."

"Right." Danny wasn't entirely convinced, but just the fact that his dad accepted him was enough to put him on cloud nine. He smiled broadly at his father and for the first time since his death, he felt hopeful.

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Ok sorry for the late update. This was much longer than planned and longer than my usual chapters. PLEASE review and let me know if you liked it!