Last chapter, everyone! Thanks for reading and commenting, and I hope you enjoyed!
Jazz and Tucker managed to kick their way through the green Ghost Zone air and get to the Specter Speeder. Jazz tightened her hold on Sam and nodded to Tucker. The boy released his hold on Sam and took the Speeder's keys out of his pocket, unlocking the speeder. He waved Jazz forward, and she kicked towards him. Tucker got into the Speeder and took hold of Sam again. The two awkwardly dragged their unconscious friend inside and buckled her in. Jazz closed the doors, and Tucker raced to the front seat. He started up the Speeder and prepared to activate the shields to protect them but froze at the sight of it.
It was like a black hole had opened up right in the center of the castle causing the entire thing to collapse in on itself. The roof caved in, and the walls buckled inwards.
"What're you waiting for, Tucker?" Jazz shouted, marching up to him. "Activate the-" She finally saw what Tucker was staring at. After a moment of staring, Jazz shook her head to get herself to focus and slammed her hand down on the button that activated the shields.
As the rest of the castle imploded, debris pelted the green shield. The two teens flinched with each hit. Tucker glanced back towards Sam. As the Speeder rocked from side to side, her head was sliding from one direction to another where it hung.
Jazz didn't know how long it took, but eventually, the hammering debris ended. The castle was gone. The pile of rubble that remained looked like a complicated, disassembled Lego set. Several bricks were gliding downwards, falling off the edge of the small patch of land the castle used to rest on. The fires couldn't be seen, and smoke was gliding upwards, coming off of the red debris. Jazz didn't care. Not about any of it. Danny never came out.
The older teenager dropped down into the co-pilot seat and switched the control of the Speeder over to her. She dropped the shields and rushed forward. "Woah!" Tucker exclaimed as he was pressed back into his chair. "Careful!"
"This thing has sampling graspers, right?" Jazz demanded.
"Well, yeah, but I don't think it's-"
Jazz found the button for it and hit it, extending two graspers and guided them over the boulders.
Vlad waited a few moments more after the terrible sounds of destruction and collapse had stopped. He looked up to find that the pieces of broken stone had completely buried them. The only thing that kept them safe was the pink dome he had placed around them. He didn't know how far they were buried. If he removed his shield to turn intangible or blast the boulders away, it could collapse before he could do anything.
He glanced down at Daniel. If he wasn't so close to the boy, he would say that he was calmly asleep, but his eyes were moving vigorously under his closed eyelids. He must be dreaming. Maybe remembering. Hopefully that latter.
The stones shifted above them, and Vlad concentrated fully on his shield, reinforcing it. It was the strongest shield he had ever produced, even though he was still in human form. The green light of the Ghost Zone peeked through a sudden gap in the rocks, and that gap grew wider and wider. Eventually, Vlad could see the whole picture. The Specter Speeder had it's sampling graspers extended and was gradually removing the boulders one or two at a time. Now that he could fully assess the situation, Vlad broke his shield and pushed it outwards in a ring around him and Daniel. He pushed his hands slowly outwards, moving the shield away from them both. The shield shoved the debris away, and once it was far enough away from them, he dropped the shield all together.
"Is he okay?" Jasmine's voice demanded through the loud speaker aboard the Speeder.
Vlad nodded. "He's alright. Unconscious, but alright. I think he hit his head."
Vlad called forth his powers and transformed. He got to his feet and then bent down to pick up the boy. Vlad held him close to his chest and glided up from the ground. He phased through the bottom of the Specter Speeder and landed on the floor inside.
"What happened?" a small voice wondered.
Vlad glanced behind him as he gently placed Daniel on the floor. Samantha had awoken and was looking around confused.
"You got knocked out," Tucker began. "Then Danny let out his Ghostly Wail, and the whole place went down."
Jasmine dropped down onto the floor and took her brother's pulse. She couldn't help but smile and chuckle in relief at the strong heartbeat that greeted her fingertips.
She didn't remember making the decision to do it, but she did it anyways. She wrapped her arms around Vlad. "Thank you for keeping my brother safe," she breathed.
Vlad tensed at the girl's embrace. When she let go, Vlad cleared his throat. "We should get him home. It's almost sunrise."
Tucker transferred control of the Speeder back to him and was about to turn around when he spotted something floating off to the side. It must have somehow survived the wreckage: the red scepter's mould. Tucker readied the Speeder's guns and delivered a powerful blast to the mould, shattering it to pieces. He looked back at Sam, Vlad, and Jazz. "Just in case," he said.
Tucker pulled the Speeder into the Fenton Works lab and shut it down. "You two head on home," Jazz invited as she took Danny into her arms. "Thanks for your help."
"Of course, Jazz," Tucker dismissed.
"He's our friend. We wouldn't miss the chance to help him even if we were locked in jail," Sam added.
"Jazz?" a new voice called. "Jazz, is that you?"
"Crap! It's my mom!" Jazz gasped. "We must've woken her up coming back in!"
Sam shoved Tucker back into the Speeder, and the two ducked down onto the floor of the cockpit to hide.
"I'll take Daniel up to his room," Vlad offered, holding his arms out.
Jazz had the awkward exchange of passing the grown man the long and thin fourteen-year-old, and then Vlad turned them both invisible.
"What're you doing up this early, Jazz?" Maddie wondered, her face coming into view from the stairs.
"Just couldn't sleep," she said. "Decided to pace the house till I got tired again."
Her mother nodded. "Then I must've just heard you because I thought I heard the Speeder's engines."
Jazz shrugged. "Maybe you dreamed it?" she suggested.
"Maybe." Maddie held out her hand. "Come on up back to bed."
Jazz nodded and took her mom's hand. Maddie led her daughter back up the stairs, and Sam let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "How on Earth did we pull that off?" she muttered.
Tucker huffed suppressed laughter. "No idea."
Danny sighed peacefully and stretched out his legs. It took him a moment to remember what happened, but once his brain had processed it all, he shot upwards faster than a springed mouse trap.
"Calm down, Daniel," a calming voice greeted. "You're just at home, in your bed."
He looked towards the voice and found Vlad sitting in the chair at his desk.
The next second, the door to his room burst open, and Jazz barged in. "Are you okay?" she demanded, closing the door behind her.
Danny's brain seemed to be slow, but he remembered. He remembered Christmases and birthdays and New Years. He remembered those stupid sibling fights over toys, the TV remote or personal space. He remembered Sam and Tucker and all of their trips to the mall, movies, and arcade. He remembered the ghost fights and his battles with Vlad, but those battles didn't seem to matter right now. Vlad had put aside his pride to help him. He didn't lie to his family and try to keep him as his sick, twisted son.
It was all so overwhelming that his eyes began to burn.
Jazz rushed forward and instantly embraced her brother. "It's okay, Danny," she whispered over and over. In any other moment, Danny would have shoved his sister off, but he didn't care to do so this time.
The door to Danny's room was forced open again, and Vlad instantly turned himself invisible as a result. Maddie and Jack bolted inside and saw the siblings embracing each other. "What's wrong, Danny?" Jack asked.
"Are you okay?" Maddie added.
Jasmine released her brother and sat down on the edge of his bed. Danny sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I…" he sighed. He looked up at his parents. "I-I remember."
"Really?" Maddie and Jack both exclaimed.
"Do you really remember, Son?" Jack wondered, kneeling down and putting a hand on Danny's shoulder.
Danny nodded. "Yeah."
Vlad silently sighed and stood up. He walked to Daniel's window and phased through it, transforming in mid-air. He had lost his chance. He built up as much of a relationship as he could with Daniel in the time he had, but now that he remembered everything, surely the boy wouldn't want him around at all now. He guessed that all that was left for them was to go back to normal.
After breakfast, Danny managed to convince Sam and Tucker's parents to get the two friends out of school so that he could see them. He knew that he just saw them yesterday, but he remembered now. It would be less like meeting them for the first time and more like seeing them for the first time in a long time. It wasn't long before the two appeared at his front door.
"Danny!" they shouted, rushing in so quickly that he didn't have time to get out of the way, and they all went down onto the floor.
"Careful!" Maddie scolded.
"Sorry, Missus Fenton," Sam laughed as she and Tucker got off of Danny.
The three friends helped each other up, and Danny looked at Sam. He couldn't explain this feeling inside of him now. It was a new one. Not something he ever felt for her before.
He cleared his throat. "How's your head?" he whispered.
Sam shrugged. "Fine." She massaged the back of her skull. "Still hurts, but it's alright."
"Hey, guys?" Jazz called. "Can you meet me downstairs?" She gestured through the doorway that led down to the lab.
The three of them nodded. Tucker picked up Danny's crutch and passed it to him. Since he woke up this morning, Danny was feeling infinitely stronger. Since the obelisk released the rest of his soul, his regenerative ability must have been able to fully reactivate. He was mostly using the crutch to comfort and assure his parents, but there was a small part of him that was still afraid that he would fall over as he carefully descended the stairs to the lab.
"What's up?" Danny wondered when they finally reached the lab floor.
Jazz held up a Fenton Thermos. It was dented all over, like the ghosts inside were trying to force their way out. "Let me out!" Walker's distinctive voice ordered.
Danny rested his crutch against one of the examination tables and took the Thermos from Jazz. Danny slammed it into the Ghost Portal's receiver, releasing the ghosts. The Portal's doors opened as several ghosts in body armor were sucked back into the Ghost Zone. The white blob that was Walker forced itself to a stop. Walker's form fully solidified, and he pointed harshly at Danny. "I'll get you, Phantom Punk," he threatened. "I swear to you, that I will one day bring you fully into the afterlife, and then I'll take even that from you."
Danny slammed the button on the side of the Portal, instantly closing the doors. "Yeah," he sighed. "I'm sure you will."