A/N: It hasn't been that long, right? Right?

Okay, it's been four years. I am so so sorry. I wrote this story when I was fourteen and I'm seventeen now, but a few fics on my watch list updated after multiple years and I'm not letting this puppy go down as dead, so let's do this. (The first part of this chapter was written a few years ago, but the second half and all future chapters will be written currently. Apologies if my style changed.)

This chapter is a bit short, but the next is when we get into the stuff that I'm the most excited about! Hope some of you are still sticking around to see it.

They'd settled into a routine. Danny would show up first, beat off the ghost, and if he needed help, Dib would come in. Dib had gone back to eating in the corner alone, though- or at least as alone as he ever could be. Danny figured he just didn't want people to think he was nuts for talking to himself all the time.

However, it didn't take long for Team Phantom to catch on that Danny had picked up a new sidekick.

"All right, who is it?" Sam clunked her salad container down, staring at Danny. He looked back at her.

"Who's who?"

"This 'Mirage' character. Who is it?"

"Yeah," Tucker dropped down next to her, pulling a piece of lettuce off his burger. "I was wondering that too."

"Well…" Danny hated leaving them out of the loop, but he wasn't sure how well they'd react to someone else knowing. After all, Jazz herself wasn't taken that kindly, and she was his sister. "It's a friend, that's all. He's just getting started."

"So it's a he," Sam mused. "Gee, I wonder-" Her eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean it's-" The girl's head whirled around, to the corner where Dib was settled.

"Got it in one." Danny stirred his soggy mashed potatoes, jabbing at a lump to break it into pieces. "He's actually pretty good, but-"

"Dude, how do you know he won't turn on Phantom?" Tucker asked, leaning closer and brushing his tray with one sleeve.

"I was getting to that." Danny sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. "Well… he figured it out."

"He what?" Sam dropped her fork. "How?"

"He got into trouble, I was nearby, I had to help, and he just… put the pieces together, I guess." Danny glanced at Dib, who was chewing viciously on a sandwich. "We agreed on a truce. I'm showing him the ropes, how ghosts work in Amity, then he's going to strike off on his own. Sort of like Val, but, y'know, without the 'trying to waste me' part." Sam and Tucker glanced at each other.

"Danny, there's no way you know you can trust him." Sam said urgently, placing a palm on his wrist, but he pulled back a little. She slid her hand back, staring at it for a moment as if it was a hunk of steak.

"I just… he trusted me with something, okay?" Danny could sense a fight brewing. "I don't want to break his trust, so he won't break mine. He has everything to lose. I have a lot too. Will you guys trust me with this?" Sam looked rather like she'd smelled something bad, squinching up her nose, but finally nodded.

"I guess. But I still don't like this."

"If you're sure…" Tucker shrugged. "I trust you. But be careful, dude." He moved his head slightly to the right, and when Danny shifted his gaze Valerie was poking at her food.

"This is different…" Danny muttered, before standing up. "I'm… not that hungry."

As he moved to dump his tray, a sick feeling settled into the pit of Danny's stomach, like by gaining an ally he was stretching the trust he had with his best friends. When he sat back down, Tucker immediately launched into something about a new game, and Sam was nibbling on a piece of tofu, rolling her eyes. Danny could still sense tension in the air, and he knew this conversation wasn't over yet- not by a long shot. But for now, at least, there was a bit of peace he immediately grasped at.

"Hey, something wrong?" Dib asked. Danny had beaten off Ember and she was resting in the thermos, but Dib had grabbed his arm before Danny had a chance to fly off.

"Nah, I'm fine."

Dib let go of him. "Well, if you're sure." He paused. "I'm not ticking anyone off by helping you, right?"

Danny froze, and Dib quirked an eyebrow. "I got it, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it." Danny gently hit Dib in the shoulder, and Dib started rubbing it.

Danny laughed. "Ember hit you what, three times? And that's what hurts?"

"It hurts because that's where she hit me." Dib muttered.

"Hey, chin up. You'll get used to it." Danny smiled, and after a moment Dib smiled back.

"I'd better, or Zim'll never shut up about how often I'm hitting the floor instead of the ghost."