Hi again friends! The holidays are always a fun time to play catch up on your writing - at least when you're not in a food coma due to tryptophan.

Thanks again to my reviewers and followers!

Previously In The Love We Had Before: When the actions of Danny and Amor attract Infe's attention, he strikes back and exploits an unexpected weakness against Danny.

Chapter Eight

"Danny...Danny, come on wake up…"

Amor was shaking him gently but his pleads were rather more insistent. Danny groaned, feeling his brain wake up slowly, like he'd been asleep for days. He felt groggy and incoherent, detached almost, like he wasn't fully in his own body. Maybe he wasn't, maybe he'd projected himself high above the clouds, watching the city in ghost mode. The thought was dreamy enough to almost put him back to sleep.

That is until Amor shook him again. "Open your eyes, kid."

He did, and immediately regretted doing so. The streetlight overhead pierced his vision as if it was shining three inches from his face, not eight feet up. Pain lanced through his head and then spread to the rest of him, reminding him of every single bump and bruise he'd received lately.

"Oh, thank love. You had me worried," Amor said as Danny batted weakly at his hands.

Shielding his eyes from the light, Danny tried sitting up and the motion felt stiff and heavy, like gravity was attempting to pull him back down. He rolled his neck and stretched out some of his limbs, testing his muscles. At some point, he'd reverted back to human mode, but he'd half expected that.

"Anything broken?" Amor asked quietly.

"No."

He just seemed incredibly tired, like Infe's spell had drained him completely of energy and then some. His heart was pounding an uneven rhythm in his chest. It was a mental struggle not to curl up and sleep for days; he could literally feel the weight of his eyelids.

"That's some sort of miracle. You just fell over a hundred feet."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Danny admitted. He climbed shakily to his feet with Amor's offered hand. Looking around, he noticed the streets were eerily empty for how busy they typically were. The coined-phrase "ghost town" seemed appropriate and on cue, some garbage skittered across the asphalt, caught by a short gust of whistling wind. Infe was nowhere in sight, which gave him the creeps too.

"What happened?"

He stumbled and Amor caught him by the elbow. Suddenly the graze Infe's arrow had given him exploded with heat. The blaze ran through his blood like wildfire, causing his skin to flush and heart to beat faster.

"Whoa," he murmured, feeling like his head was spinning.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Where's Infe?"

Amor hesitated for a second, biting his lip. "He got away. I'm not sure where he went. Probably to go create more havoc."

"He got away or you let him get away?" Danny demanded, feeling a new type of heat take over his brain in the form of anger.

Amor took a step back, giving him a once over. His fingers ran across his bow nervously, as if he was afraid he might have to use it. "That cut on your arm was one of Infe's arrows, wasn't it? He infected you."

"Did you ever stop to think that this might just be me a little annoyed that you lied to me?" Danny shot back.

"I never lied to you," he insisted.

"Oh, I forgot that withholding information isn't lying. Were you ever going to tell me that you can read my mind? Or that you can control my emotions?" He kicked at a rock and it skittered away towards the sidewalk, loud in the silence that followed.

Finally Amor said, "My aura puts off calming vibes, yes. I honestly can't help that. I'm a creature of love and peace. It helps when I'm trying to help out couples who are agitated. Also, I technically can't read your thoughts. I can read your memories, especially the happy ones. Moments where you feel proud and times that you cherish fondly. But I can do that with anyone. It's easier for me to talk to a person if I can remind them of a time when they felt good, something comparable they can associate their current situation with. Infe does the opposite. He seeks out the nightmares, the bad things. That's what makes him so powerful. Fear. Doubt. Anger."

He said anger with a pointed look at Danny, who glared back at him. "Why didn't you say that from the beginning?"

"Would it have changed anything? Do all the ghosts you come across reveal all their powers at once? I think you had a feeling from the moment you met me anyway. I told you about your first real alliance with Valerie within the first five minutes of our meeting. I told you about Italy when no one else knew. Tell me honestly you didn't already assume?"

Some part of him thought that Amor was being perfectly reasonable. But it was being drowned out by an irrational fear that Danny still couldn't trust him. Amor hadn't revealed much since he'd first come through the portal, always shrouding his plans until the moment before they were implemented. Always coming up with something new and unexpected.

Before he could voice this, his phone rang and the sound blared through his ears, causing his annoyance level to rise again. "What?" he snapped as soon as he answered.

"Whoa, hello to you too grouch potato," Jazz greeted. "Everything okay?"

He tried to take a deep breath, knowing internally his older sister didn't deserve his temper. "Sorry, Jazz," he said with difficulty. "What's up?"

"I've got some good news. We pinned down Technus long enough to get some real info about Cupids and Wreckers. He was very monologue-y but we got the idea."

"And?"

"Wreckers are definitely legit. I think Technus might actually be afraid of them. Maybe the whole Ghost Zone is from the way he was describing them. Amor was right, they're pretty evil. They used to be employed by the Ghost King but when his reign was toppled the first time, they scattered. Technus told me that a lot of them were rounded up by Warden Walker and imprisoned but he said some of them escaped into our world. So that got me thinking."

"Okay…?"

"I'm getting there, I promise. Danny, I checked in our friendly neighborhood Guys In White to see if they've got any Wreckers in their cells and guess what? They're missing a prisoner. Turns out they've had Infe in their custody for the last six months. He recently escaped during some kind of transfer."

In his head, Danny tried to line that up with what Amor had told him. Had Amor known Infe had been captured by the Guys In White? He imagined the answer was probably.

"Either way, I think this is our guy. The Guys In White actually told me to approach with caution. Seems like this ghost has a lot of people spooked."

"Can't imagine why," Danny murmured, still feeling the ache in his chest.

"But I have more news, if you're interested," Jazz continued.

Danny glanced behind him at Amor, who seemed to be half-listening, half-trying-not-to-be-nosy. They were still alone in the street. He looked away, and sighing, he said, "What's that?"

"We think we may know where Infe is camped out. Mom and Dad scouted the area yesterday on their usual patrols and found some strong energy building around that creepy house on Maple Street. You know, the haunted house one?"

"Yeah. What do you mean energy? Like an ectostorm?"

"Maybe. You know how the Fenton Spectrometer works. It pings a lot because Amity Park is full of ghosts. According to Mom and Dad, this particular reading went off like a siren. But when they went to investigate the house, they didn't find much. Maybe he wasn't there. Something is using ghost energy there though."

This relayed information just annoyed Danny more. Why hadn't his parents told him they had picked up on that yesterday? What if it had been a huge threat? Did they really think he was that unnecessary? Why would they tell Jazz and not him?

Sighing a second time, Danny rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand and tried to think of more important issues. "How do you know it's Infe?"

"Deductive reasoning. Amor said that Wreckers are like poltergeists, right? What better place for a ghost to hang out than somewhere that's already filled with ectos? It's worth a second look. If I'm wrong, well... I'm not wrong."

"Jazz, you're probably right. But we'd still be walking into a ghost's lair and we-"

"I've got it all worked out, relax. I even called in reinforcements because you know, if the ghosts are a little paranoid about Infe, that speaks volumes to how paranoid we should be. Wanna meet up there in an hour? We're gearing up now."

"Jazz, wait…"

Another voice in his head piped up with, "She's your sister, trust her." Like he had a thousand times before. Jazz was always so smart and thought about all the angles Danny didn't. He had to believe she had their best interests at heart, from their safety to how powerfully charged a weapon was. No detail missed. Everything planned to a t. Everything he was absolutely bad at.

"Good job, I'll see you in an hour," he said instead, and hung up the phone.

He turned around and there was a flash of light as he transformed into his ghost mode, his eyes to the sky. "We're going after Infe," he told Amor as he visualized his flight path from Woodrow Street to Maple. A map of the city from overhead appeared in his brain. It wouldn't take him that long to get across town if he flew but the thought of expending that much energy didn't sit well with him. He was still exhausted from the fight with Infe.

"You found him?"

"Jazz did. Or at least she found out where he's been hiding. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be there. Then we can catch him."

"Danny, let's talk about this for a moment. You can't go after Infe alone."

"I won't be alone, that's why I said we. My sister has a plan. We'll get Infe and you can go back to romancing and good deeds," he told Amor, using plenty of sarcasm to convey his point.

"Do you really think that's all we're doing here?" Amor asked softly.

"I'm not a Cupid, okay? I think it's great that you help people, really, I do. But I don't see the world like you do, in colors and feelings."

Amor frowned. "You don't get it."

"Oh, really? Let's just add that to the list of things I don't get."

"If Infe is affecting you this easily already, going up against him is a bad idea. Let your family handle this. You're going to get yourself hurt."

"Why, because I have a broken heart? Something else you failed to mention, by the way," he said, walking away from Amor.

"Danny, your heart isn't broken. It's conflicted and that's worse. Infe knows this, he can read it just as well as I can. Infelicitus is the very embodiment of unrequited love and chances never taken nor given. He's going to use that against you every chance he gets."

"Conflicted?" Danny shouted. "You think I'm conflicted? You said it yourself, I know what my heart wants. It's Sam that needed space to figure things out. I don't even know what that means but I'm pretty sure in every movie and book out there, it's never a good sign. And you wanna know what's worse? I don't even know what I did. I have no clue why she's mad and doesn't want to talk to me. I'm too stupid to figure it out. She's been away for three weeks having the time of her life without me, while I'm stuck here wondering what I could have done. My dad tiptoes around the subject, my mom pities me, and everyone keeps asking if I'm okay. Well, guess what? I am fine. Everything is just fine!"

He yelled the last part into the empty street, throwing his hands out for emphasis. Invisible energy shot from his fingertips and hurled towards a parked car, tossing it up into the air. The blue sedan rolled several times on the street before coming to a screeching stop in front of the theatre.

Horrified, Danny glanced down at his hands. To his surprise, Amor came to stand next to him and a strange giggle escaped the Cupid's lips.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"I didn't… I didn't mean to do that. I don't understand. I'm not telekinetic. I don't think I am," he admitted, feeling guilt and inexplicable nerves sink into his stomach.

"Infe uses his arrows to infect people with rage. They carry the rage with them until they reach a breaking point and well, explode. Usually it's verbal. Apparently with you it's a mixture of both."

"Swell."

Amor pointed to his arm. "Look."

Confused, he looked down to see that the injury caused by Infe's arrow had almost vanished, the only evidence that anything had happened being the rip in his suit. It didn't even hurt anymore.

"The infection ran its course," Amor explained. "Luckily this time, only the car took the beating. Sometimes other people aren't so fortunate. They take it out on each other."

"I really screwed up that car," Danny said, cringing.

"That's an easy enough fix." His eyes glowed a faint pink color and he raised his hands as if he was conducting an orchestra. The broken vehicle floated up into the air and there were several ear-shattering screams of metal as it twisted and turned but eventually returned to its normal shape. The glass windows repaired themselves and then the car even parallel parked itself, the doors locking with a chirp.

"Whoa, you can do that?" Daanny asked, impressed.

"Cupids are master mechanics. We excel at fixing things, whether it's a car that's been busted up or mending a broken heart."

Danny glanced away, feeling exposed even if he knew Amor had probably glimpsed the memories of him and Sam long before he'd let loose and screamed all his problems at him. He hadn't talked about it to anyone really, besides telling his family about the situation. He hardly liked admitting it to himself.

"I made a promise to you that I'd help you get back what your heart wants," Amor pledged. "That hasn't changed. Just give me some time."

His heart skipped a beat but this time it wasn't as painful. "Thank you. I-I'm sorry for blowing up at you."

"No apology needed, really. I've heard a lot worse, trust me. You weren't wrong. I haven't been telling you everything. I wasn't sure how much I could tell you. But now I'm an open book. Ask me anything."

Something had been worrying Danny ever since the phone call with his sister. The thought that ghosts like Technus and Walker might be afraid of Wreckers reminded him of his battle with the Ghost King. He had to know what he was up against. He asked, "Can we defeat Infe?"

"Together? With your family and friends? Possibly. Alone? No. He's too strong. You've seen what he's capable of. Not just with his arrows, but with his powers as well. He's going to continue to feed off fear and doubt but we may have slowed him down with the things we did today. He might be feeling some blowback. If we have to fight, now would be the best time to do it."

Amor sounded confident and Danny knew that would have to be enough. "Okay."

"And Danny, I know you're powerful but - "

"I'm weak against Infe's attacks." He looked down at his hands and charged them with ectoplasmic energy. "But I don't have to get close to Infe. I can keep my distance."

Amor handed him his Fenton Thermos and smiled. "Alright. Let's go get him."

Get ready for some action in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!

Kat Day