Lost

Phantom couldn't breathe. He couldn't feel. His body was nonexistent, mind a swirling mess of pain and fear. And anger. He couldn't shake the pure, unadulterated rage, and quite frankly, he didn't want to. That monster, that thing, had attacked Danny, and he was livid.

"Where are you?" Phantom called out into the darkness that bathed his senses. "Show yourself, you coward!"

"In due time," it was Dan's voice this time, deep with a tone of pride. "Everything is going according to plan, my little pawn."

"I'm not your pawn," Phantom's voice crackled with pure power.

"Oh, I'm afraid you don't have a say in the matter yet," Dan laughed from all around him. "But don't worry. In due time, you'll be begging to join me. And maybe I'll just let you, if you're a good little ghost."

Before he could respond, Phantom's senses were flooded with pain. The laughter around him intensified, sending shooting tendrils of agony into his thoughts. Images of Danny swarmed him. Danny in pain. Danny broken. Danny in pieces, scattered. Phantom let out a gut wrenching scream, trying desperately to shake the horrors from his mind. He couldn't, though, and Dan continued his onslaught relentlessly.

"How does this...work?" Sam asked uneasily, hands in Danny's as he looked at her. "I mean, with Phantom...and..."

Danny watched as she cried lightly, moving to wrap his arms around her quickly. They were alone in his room, everyone else having gone to bed for the night. Little did they know they wouldn't be seeing Danny in the morning.

"Shh, it's ok," Danny's white-gloved fingers stroked her hair as she let loose a small sob. "I'll be ok, I promise."

"B- but Dan has him, right?" Sam sniffled into Danny's chest, shaking lightly. "How can you- you can't just- we're here to help you. You told- told everyone else you'd let us help you."

Danny nodded. After he woke up, he'd explained that Dan had Phantom somehow, but had assured them he'd wait until the next morning to make a move. The moment Sam and Danny got ready for bed, however, he knew he couldn't wait. One residual nightmare later and he was getting ready to go, despite Sam's efforts to keep him there.

"I know, but..." Danny's mind fluttered back to the nightmare he'd just had. It was almost exactly the same as his one just prior, but this time, Phantom had tried harder to fight. Not for himself, but for Danny. He couldn't just stand by and let the ghost get hurt for him, not after watching that. "Phantom is in trouble."

"Why does that even matter?" Sam's words were sharper than Danny had expected. He tensed hard, and Sam pulled away a little to look at him, arms still around his waist.

"What the fuck, Sam," Danny's tone held a dangerous edge. Sam pulled herself away from his embrace carefully, gulping hard and shaking her head slowly.

"I...you know what, I was going to apologize, but I'm not really sorry. Why does it matter? Y- you're going to risk your life for him? Really?" Sam sounded hurt, eyes brimming with tears.

Danny hissed a breath in, his heart hammering hard. He was so angry. He'd never been this angry at one of his friends, let alone his girlfriend. "I can't believe you actually just said that."

"Why—"

"What is wrong with you!" Danny was yelling now, frost and electricity coating his entire body. Phantom may have been gone, but his power remained. "Phantom, he's—"

"Going to be ok!" Sam yelled back, stomping her foot in frustration. "You said so yourself, so why—"

"He's a part of me!" Danny's voice echoed off the walls dangerously. His chest heaved with heavy breaths, both teens stilling from the sudden outburst. He took a labored breath, then another, calming down just slightly. "Imagine, for just a second, that someone cut a piece out of your soul. Now imagine they stole it."

Sam's anger dropped, eyes flashing with pity. "I—"

"And you say that doesn't matter?" his voice was sharp. "Hah. Ok. Nice to see how you really feel."

"I just, you two have been fighting, and I thought—"

"Yeah? Well you thought wrong," Danny laughed bitterly, hand lingering over his cores. "I'm going. I can feel that he's close, but he won't be for long. This needs to happen now."

Sam gulped, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry."

Danny let a few tears fall, wiping them away hastily. "Yeah, ok."

The door flew open, revealing Valerie, Tucker, and Jazz. The yelling must've drawn them to Danny's room. "What's going on," Jazz sounded angry. They must've overheard Danny's plans.

"I'm leaving now," Danny watched as his sister's gaze hardened into a glare, "to help Phantom."

"You can't—" she started yelling.

"Yeah?" Danny cut in, smirking sadly at her before sending Sam one final glance. "Watch me."

And with that, Danny flew through the ceiling, letting intangibility guide him through the solid surface. Closing his eyes, he let his cores whirl, tugging him in Phantom's direction. He opened his eyes, breathing in the cool evening air. "Don't worry," he breathed the words quietly, "I'm coming."

"Why didn't you get us," Jazz hissed the words, pacing and wringing shaking hands in front of her.

"I didn't—"

"Sam, he's gone!" the elder teen yelled, voice shrill against even her own ears. "Can't you get that through your thick skull? He's gone and he might not come back!"

"Don't you think I know that!" Sam yelled back, face red as hot, angry tears fell to her lips. "I tried to- to get him to stay but he- he wouldn't!"

Jazz's pace stilled, entire body shaking furiously. "We could have made him, he isn't thinking straight—"

"Made him?" Valerie spoke, voice hardly a whisper. The other teens turned to her, watching as her eyes narrowed on Jazz. "And how does that make you any better than your parents?"

"How dare you—" Jazz threw voice at her.

"You think you know what's best for him," Valerie was too calm, her voice hardly rising, "but really...if you made him stay, you'd just be controlling him. Isn't Danny the only one who really knows what's best for himself?"

Jazz's anger deflated as she stumbled back, falling to the bed. Her hands balled into fists around the blankets, heavy breaths falling around her. "Y- you're right."

"Sorry," Valerie sat down next to her, face devoid of emotion. She grabbed Jazz's hand, and the human contact helped the redhead to stop shaking so much.

"Thanks," Jazz breathed the word. She felt horrible. "For not letting me...be like them..."

"We have to go after him, right?" Tucker asked, anger rising in his tone. "We can't just let him go out there alone! He- that's Dan."

Nobody answered, both Jazz and Valerie sitting in their own disbelief. Sam was crying, hands covering her mouth to keep the sobs in.

"We...we have to help him, right?" Tucker looked around at them, voice falling as the realization set in. "Right?"

Again, there was no response. Tucker pulled Sam into a wordless hug, letting her shake and sob into his shoulder. Jazz squeezed Valerie's hand back. Nobody knew what else to say, so they just stayed there for a while, not saying a word.

"You're positive he's back?" Meg asked uncertainly, watching as Wes smiled wide at her.

"Yeah, it's him! His ecto-signature was picked up a few hours ago, just outside of the park," the redhead explained quickly, turning the screen of his laptop towards her.

Meg considered Wes' excitement. Since Danny's secret had been revealed, he'd worked his way into the core of Team Phantom. He was the only one who had caught on before the big reveal, even if he had expressed it like a rambling idiot.

The rumors he'd tried to spread always died out, and she was pretty sure Danny never actually knew about Wes' shenanigans. When the asteroid incident happened, and Danny's secret was finally out in the open, the younger teen had been ecstatic. He'd gone around at school bragging about his accomplishments, finally breaking out of the social rut he'd driven himself into. Now, people trusted him, though Meg wasn't so sure. She didn't doubt his intentions, but his methods could get to be a bit...extreme.

"And he's coming this way?"

"Yeah," Wes shuffled a little, smiling wide. "Why do you think he's coming back?"

Meg frowned, studying the screen that identified the ecto-signature as Danny's. "I don't know. Tucker didn't mention anything about a visit..."

Wes' face fell, realization sweeping his features. "You think something's wrong?"

"I don't know," Meg shook her head, "but I know you can't assume anything. Let's prepare for anything."

"Anything?" Wes asked lowly, tone taking a dangerous edge. Meg tensed, his determination making her a bit uneasy.

"...Yes, get everyone up."

Danny was pulled in Amity Park's direction, the realization of where he was going spurring him to speed up. Dan was bringing him there for a reason, and he didn't exactly want to know why. He had convinced himself that this would be a quick rescue mission — he wasn't ready for a confrontation yet, and neither was Phantom.

At the thought of his ghostly counterpart, Danny picked up his speed, flying faster towards Amity Park. He was still beating himself up for getting so mad at the Phantom. Of course he didn't want to fill Danny in on the gory details of the nightmares. If the rest were anything like the two he'd re-lived, then he was surprised he'd been able to handle them as long as he had. Danny didn't know if he would have been able to handle them, especially with everything going on around him. He just wished Phantom would've at least told him.

He stopped at the park in town, his cores spinning wildly. He was close, metal tainting his taste. Dan was also close, and his cores alerted him to the fact.

"Looking for me?"

Danny's entire body froze, literally. Frost sprung over his entire form, crackling hard with a series of pops as electricity wove itself around the ice. He turned around quickly, coming face to face with Dan in all his flaming glory.

"Give him back," Danny growled, low and powerful as the crackling around him intensified.

"Oh, what, this little thing?" Dan held up a dark orb, procuring it from thin air. Deep in the center, Danny could see a silver flash. Phantom was calling out to him, trying to say something but falling short. Danny's cores twisted in agony, his form doubling over for a moment.

"Wh- what are you doing to him?" Danny gasped, straightening up quickly.

"This invention? It's got our little friend trapped. Neat, isn't it?" Dan's smile was sickly sweet, voice slithering through the air too calmly.

"Let him go," Danny seethed, fists clenching around growing green energy. "It's not him you want. I'm the one who beat you. He has nothing to do with this."

"That's where you're wrong, Danny," Dan smiled wide, tossing the orb carelessly between his hands. "He has more to do with all of this than you could possibly hope to comprehend. Your insignificant human mind is too small."

Danny shuddered at the monster's words before straightening his stance. "You think he's capable of evil, but you're wrong. He won't — neither of us — will turn into you. Never again."

Dan laughed, surprising Danny by tossing the orb in his direction. The halfa caught it easily, watching as it floated between his hands. Wide eyed traveled between the light-consuming sphere and the monster before him, heart beginning to race.

"You're confused. That's ok," Dan's smile turned into a fiery grin. "You never have been good at chess, little badger."

Before Danny could even think to respond, Dan lunged forward with blinding speed, grabbing him by the arm and watching his large palm as it wrapped all the way around the teen's forearm. Danny yelled out in pain, body writhing beneath the monster's burning grip.

"Relax, Danny," Dan winked, sending more heat to his hand and smiling as Danny cried out again. "This will all be over soon enough."

Dan pulled Danny down through the ground, hand ever present on his forearm even as they phased through the dirt. They fell into a large cavern, one Danny recognized. He also recognized the faces looking up at the duo, the entirety of Team Phantom apparently having gathered for a late night meeting. Dan kept them suspended above the crowd, hand still burning Danny's flesh. The scent was sickening, and the halfa had to work to keep from choking on it. The pain was already making him nauseous.

"Danny Phantom!" someone — it was Wes, Danny realized — called from the crowd, tone oblivious to the true weight of the situation. "He's back! You're back, and you brought..."

"Run!" Danny yelled through clenched teeth, trying unsuccessfully to get away from Dan. His grip tightened at the attempt, heat searing his skin with a sickening sizzle. Danny cried out again, other hand going tight around the orb out of instinct.

The crowd below him murmured in concern, tone shifting quickly. Meg, who was at the podium, hefted an ecto-gun, aiming at Dan with blinding speed.

"Let him go," her voice was loud and steady, expression brimming with determination. "You're surrounded and outnumbered. Give up."

Dan turned both of them towards her, smiling sweetly. "Oh, aren't you a little spit fire. You remind me of an old friend of mine, you know." Dan looked down at Danny, who was still struggling against the rippling pain. "Tell me, is Valerie still playing dress up? Still the...what did she call herself...Red Huntress?"

A series of gasps cascaded across the crowd as the realization hit. Meg's aim faltered before she steadied herself again, eyes never leaving her target.

"You have until the count of—" she began.

"You wouldn't want to shoot your namesake, now would you?" Dan pulled Danny in front of himself. Again, Meg faltered, face still somehow expressionless. She must have been putting on a mask.

"Don't listen to him—" Danny started, cut off my Dan's twisting hand over his smoldering flesh. He cried out again, aura flickering dangerously.

"Looks like I need a little more than heat to keep you in place, huh?" Dan chuckled idly, smiling too wide down at the halfa. "Maybe a little Panic Attack will keep you contained."

Before Danny could make another move, Dan sent the attack up his arm. His cores twisted in terror, grinding against one another painfully. His scream was long and crackling, filling the cavern and causing the entire structure to shudder. He had to reign it in, had to because if he didn't, the entire cavern would cave in. He couldn't wail, despite the fact that he was in pain and it hurt and oh god how could anything hurt that bad? Danny's vision faded in and out with his pulse, the panic spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"Let go of him!" it was Dash's voice that rose above the rest, loud and booming above the growing panic in the crowd. Meg's aim wavered, concern painting her features. She was starting to crack. This wasn't good.

"Why should I? You all should be thanking me!" Dan's tone was that if someone with a sinister plan. "Didn't he tell you what you're facing? Don't you know who I am*?"

"Don't!" Danny seethed through his panic, and Dan chuckled, sending another wave through the teen's exhausted body.

"It's too late, Danny," Dan's voice was dripping with poison. "It's time they know that I'm you."

The crowd murmured lowly beneath the pair. Meg's gun fell to her side. This really wasn't good.

"That's right, Team Phantom!" Dan's voice echoed across the cavern, effectively shutting everyone up. "Your precious namesake isn't who he says he is. He turned into me, in a different timeline. I — Dan Phantom — destroyed my world, and now, I'm going to destroy yours."

"Stop it!" Danny was sobbing, voice crackling with pure power. He'd squeezed the black orb into pieces at one point, though he was having a hard time thinking about that in the moment. It took almost all of his concentration not to let the energy escape him. He knew how to get away from Dan, but that would require releasing the pent up power within his chest, and he didn't know if he'd be able to shield his peers from the fallout.

"He," Dan shook Danny in front of him, resulting in another volley of yells and groans, "becomes me. Simple as that. Still think you can still trust him?"

"I'll never- I didn't- it's different now, it's different and—" Danny tried to rasp out, only for Dan to somehow tighten his steely grip further. He groaned in pain, darkness seeping into the edges of his vision. His concentration was running out, and he was dangerously close to letting loose.

"He's evil, just like me," Dan's tone was almost singsong as he waved Danny in front of him like some sort of cruel flag. "That's all he'll every be. Sure, he may imitate human emotions pretty well, but the human Danny you all know and love died the day he stepped into that portal. He's gone, and all that's left is this monster."

Danny's vision faded to black, but his body straightened, a familiar presence returning to his consciousness. 'Phantom!'

'I'm back, buddy,' Phantom breathed the words into his mind, the reassurance that followed easing him into the darkness. 'Let me take it from here.'

Danny would have responded if he could have, but the panic twisted his mind, sending him reeling within his own body. If not for Phantom's support, he would have already gone completely limp. With one final shot of terror, Danny slipped into a dark dream, mind dissociating from the world around him.

Hey all! What do you think?

So, we get a little more elaborate Wes, and Phantom's back! How do you all feel about Dan? What do you think he's planning?

Thank you, as always, for the favorites, follows, and reviews!

Until next time,

~Ash