Danny was tired.

It wasn't the usual all-nighter type exhaustion he was used to, nor was it the weary ache he felt after waking up after a particularly bad gym class. It was the deep seated, crippling exhaustion someone felt after staying up for a week on end, the pain of strained muscles and stress induced headaches pulling you to bed so you could sleep. Or die. The kind of tired you felt when you wanted everything to just freeze and wait for you to catch up.

Needless to say, the past few days had been rough. Ghosts, both old and new, had been popping up more and more often. Sometimes he felt like he couldn't go an hour without having to go stop some disaster. His body was covered in bruises and littered with cuts, not that his parents noticed. He was lucky he hadn't broken any bones. But as it was, he would be fine. He'd been fine before, through bruises, breaks and everything else life had decided to throw at him. This was nothing.

Still... it was all adding up. He couldn't take it much longer. Even Sam and Tucker were doing far better than he was; they weren't on patrol every single night, and they weren't actually fighting as much as he was. Their grades were better, though still not exceptional, and neither of them looked like they were going to collapse at any moment, or like a skeleton with skin stretched over the bones like he did. He was nearly failing every class. He was all but dead on his feet. He couldn't take it anymore.

He couldn't live like this. He couldn't keep going to school and doing other normal things while also fighting off the ghosts that escaped from the Zone. Couldn't do homework without a government agent breathing down his neck. Every new day felt like it was just a step closer to his ultimate demise. He acted like he was okay. He smiled and joked with his friends, he did his best to keep up appearances. He wasn't just avoiding the problems, or the lectures he was sure to get from Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. They seemed to know something was off already, especially Jazz, but she had stopped pressing him for answers.

Maybe he'd snapped at her one too many times…

But no, he wasn't just hiding it for his own sake. He was doing it for them. He didn't want them to worry or feel guilty. He didn't want them to have to deal with his problems when they all had their own already. He could handle this, he'd been dealing with it since he'd gained his powers. He was going to have to deal with it for the rest of his life. Well, unless they managed to get the ghost problems solved permanently, which would actually be pretty great.

Without the constant attacks, he'd actually be able to take a break. Too bad that was never going to happen.

So, yeah. Danny was tired. But… it hadn't really caused that much of a problem until today. Sure, his grades were failing, his thoughts were slow and erratic, he was twitchy and always two seconds from either lashing out or breaking down, but… he could handle all that. It wasn't ideal, but he could deal with it. Even if he did mess up and something went wrong, he could always fix it. He could always solve the problem. Until today, at least… the day where he couldn't fix anything.

Danny yawned, heading straight for his bed as soon as the door to his room was closed. The day had been long and hard, and he wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep and forget everything for a while. There had been multiple ghost-related incidents, ranging from Skulker to Technus to the Box Ghost, along with two essays and a test. He'd gone out with his friends, avoided Jazz, and dodged around his parents latest ghost destroying invention. The new ecto-gun they'd designed actually seemed like it could be dangerous, if they could use it right. He might want to steal it from them later, just in case...

Really, it'd just been a full day, though that was nothing new. He collapsed onto his bed, eyes slipping shut as he sunk into the soft mattress and soaked up the warmth from the pile of blankets and pillows he was laying on. His muscles finally let themselves relax, and his mind slowed.

It was these moments that he yearned for the most. The times when he could just take a break. Nothing to do, no walls to keep up. He could rest. Recover. But of course, the world loved to ruin them. A wave of cold flowed through him, a faint trail of blue smoke slipping from his mouth. He groaned, sliding from the bed onto the floor and glaring out the window.

"Really?" He muttered, "Can't you guys just give me one night off?"

He pulled at the cold, icy core in his chest, letting twin rings of light invelop him and change him from human to ghost. He wavered, even from his place on the floor, head light. Everything felt like it was spinning or tilting or something, the ground unsteady beneath him. He hissed through clenched teeth, steadying himself as he stood up.

When he could keep himself from tipping over, he grabbed the thermos from his bedside table, feet leaving the ground as he floated to the wall and phased through it. He peered around outside, quickly catching sight of the cause of the disturbance. He paused, frowning. He couldn't recall ever seeing her before. Great, just the thing he needed. Another new threat.

She was tall, with blue-grey skin and short, blue hair. Her clothes were torn and worn, but they were obviously expensive. She was zipping along the street, house to house, peering through each window for a moment before moving on. He blinked in surprise as she moved one side of the street to the other in a blur. She was fast.

"Hey!" he called, floating over to the house that she was currently looking into. Maybe if he was lucky, she wasn't here to cause trouble, and he could just talk to her and then be on his way. She turned, looking up at him. And... okay, that was just horrifying.

Half her face was covered by a mask, silver that gleamed blue in the light, with short slits littering it around where her eye would be. The other half looked awful. Her eye was sown partially shut, and what he could see behind the lid was torn apart. Her cheeks had been cut and sewn up again, crossing from the cuts into the ends of her lips, imitating a smile. Little scars speckled her face, longer and darker ones poking from behind her mask. He paled. What on earth had happened to this ghost?

"Child," she said, nodding to him. Her voice echoed slightly, adding a slight waver to her tone. She looked around, frowning as much at she could. "Have you seen… no, no. That's cheating. They would be so very upset if I asked you."

She turned away from him, zipping along to the next house. He blinked. That had been… interesting. At least she didn't seem violent. But the last time a ghost came looking for something, it had ended badly. Actually, now that he thought about it, every time something like this happened it ended badly. And who was the 'they' she was talking about? Was it a group? A person? He trailed after her.

"Um, miss? What are you looking for?" He asked, peering into the window she was currently looking through. Everything looked fine. She glanced at him, or, well, she might have? It was hard to tell.

"Cheating, child." She moved on to the next window. He followed.

"Then I won't tell you where to get it, if, uh, I even know." He offered. She didn't respond. Come on, all he wanted was to be done. Couldn't she work him at least a little? "Look, this town? It's mine. I need to know what you're here for."

She finally turned to him, managing a frown at the expense of tearing her face on the strings of her stitches. A bit of ectoplasm dripped slowly from the new tear in her skin.

"Child," she murmured, "not only is it cheating, but if you knew, they would be very upset with me. I cannot tell you."

With that, she zipped to the other side of the street. He growled, core pulsing with energy. He flew over to her again.

"Okay, lady," he started, "look. You don't have to tell me exactly, just tell me you aren't stealing or hurting anyone or damaging anything, then we can both move on from this."

She slowed slightly, allowing him to fly by her side as she continued down the street..

"You are just as stubborn as they told me you would be." She said. She didn't even try to quiet her voice. But, stubborn was practically a complement compared to some of the other things ghosts had called him. "Phantom- that is your name, isn't it? It is what they told me."

He waited for a moment before he realized that she actually wanted an answer.

"Uh, y-yeah, I guess. It's Danny Phantom, but most ghosts just, um. Call me Phantom, yeah." Gosh, he was tired. She nodded.

"Danny." She paused, as if filing the name away. "I cannot tell you what you want to hear. They do not appreciate lying."

His core pulsed, blood running cold. He knew it. He'd hoped that he wouldn't be right about this, but of course she was here to cause trouble.

"So what are you doing? Are you going to hurt someone? Take something?" He demanded. "You need to tell me, and you need to leave."

She stared at him. Probably.

"I am not here for that, as far as I know. They told me to find V-... someone. They said I would know what to do then." She turned away. "Whether that is servitude, murder, theft, warning, spying, or something else entirely, I know not. So while I can't tell you I am not here to hurt someone, it's just as likely that I am to be helping them."

He hesitated. If there was even a chance that she aimed to cause harm to something in his town, then he couldn't let her go. Her target …the name started with a v? Vlad immediately came to mind, but it would be hard to even think of looking for him here. If you wanted Vlad, you'd go to his new mansion or town hall. Whoever it was, though, he couldn't let this ghost get to them. But… if it turned out that she was here to help… shouldn't he let her?

"...who is 'they'? Who are you listening to?"

"They don't appreciate being known."

"Sounds like they don't appreciate a lot of things."

She smiled. At least, he thought she did. Maybe that was just the stitches.

"They do not. But they are my employers. Now," her voice hardened, "will you let me complete my objective, or are we to fight?"

He paused. He didn't want to fight, honestly. And she might be here to help someone. But if she was going to hurt someone…

"How about," he started, tentative. She tilted her head. "How about I come with you. No helping, no cheating, just. Following. And when you know what you're here for, you tell me, and then we decide."

It wasn't exactly ideal, he wanted to go home, but he didn't want to fight yet, or risk stopping her from helping someone. She hesitated, face pinched, before sighing.

"Alright then, child." She said. "Come with me."

It was a very uneventful flight. The ghost he was following, Alkadih, apparently, wasn't very talkative, leaving him to trail after her. Her way of searching seemed to be peering through a window before moving on. Occasionally she would stop in a random spot in the street or a park, seeming to be trying to feel something. After a moment or two of staying still, she would bolt in a seemingly random direction and continue the search through the windows.

He was left to follow, stop, and follow again. He almost nodded off while waiting for her several times, somehow, in the seconds he got to stay still. She'd gently suggested that he go and 'hibernate', but he'd refused, and she quickly dropped the subject. He was actually starting to regret that decision now...

He started just trailing after her blindly, not paying any attention to where they were. Everything was just a blur, and he barely managed to keep himself moving after her. It was all just the same dull grey. That is, until he felt her hand wrapping around his throat from behind him, searing cold. He jerked away, whirling around to face her. She just floated there, looking sad.

"What was that?!" He demanded, adjusting his posture into a more defensive stance. "I thought we had a deal!"

She bowed her head and put her hands together, almost looking like she was praying. Or begging.

"Forgive me, Danny. Our deal has come to completion."

He looked around wildly, taking in the empty field around them. He could see Amity Park a little ways off, on the horizon. He was sure it was Amity. He would always recognize his town. Why had they left it, though?

"Why are we here? What happened to telling me what you were going to do?"

She cocked her head.

"I found my target. I am going to kill her." She said, still looking guilty. "But we had a deal. I always honor my promises. I didn't want our fight to cause any destruction to that town, and you were rather content to follow me away from Amity. It's a nice place. You've done well with it."

He shoved away the pride that crept its way into his core at her praise of Amity. This was important. She was going to kill someone. He needed to stop her. But first...

"So you keep promises? What happened to telling me? What happened to that?"

"I did tell you. You just didn't respond." She said softly. "I thought I could subdue you without causing too much harm. I'm not here for that."

"Well, you're going to have to get past me to get back to Amity now. Sorry, Alkadih, but I can't let you finish this job."

She raised a hand, sickly green energy wrapping around her fingers. Ectoplasm leaked from her one visible, damaged eye. When she spoke, her voice was pinched.

"Then I'm sorry as well, child, but you will both die tonight."

Danny struggled to lift himself from the ground, arms shaking. He didn't feel tired anymore, at least. Instead he just felt pain. Joined with the lingering effects of his tiredness, which were still there, even if he didn't feel it, his injuries did a good job at keeping him down. His head spun and his thoughts were staticy. It was too cold and hot all at once.

There was a deep gash in his left side, the newest injury. He hadn't gone intangible or contorted his body fast enough. Ectoplasm and blood swirled together and flowed from the gaping hole where flesh should be. It was pretty, to his addled mind. He coughed, the tang of iron, copper, and the bitter spice of ecto energy on his tongue.

Bruises and cuts and gashes littered his body, but the injury in his side was the worst. This was one of the worst injuries he'd ever received in a battle. It didn't cut him in half or anything, and it didn't go deep enough to come out the other side in his back, but it was close. Blood flowed from the wound, refusing to stop or even slow. His vision swam and spun, little flecks of black digging into his eyes.

Alkadih landed in front of him, battered and tired. That last hit had been a cheap shot, but she'd needed it. She fell to her knees, panting despite not needing to breathe.

"You… You are better than they said. You are better than most."

He groaned, reaching to his core, trying to summon enough energy to get up, or blast her away, or something. He couldn't, instead collapsing back to the ground. It should've been hard and uncomfortable, but it just felt soft and welcoming. His eyelids were heavy. He couldn't think.

"I am truly sorry, Danny." A voice whispered, distant and underwater. Why were they so far away? His eyes slipped shut. A hand gently rested on his back. And then came the pain.

He screamed, throat raw. His back arched in agony, and he tried to pull away. He couldn't, the hand just dragged him back, tearing him apart. It hurt. Why did it hurt so much? He opened his eyes, and it took so, so much effort to get them to stay open as he struggled on the ground. He caught sight of her, finally, and he wailed. His core was almost depleted of energy, but he kept screaming, even after she was knocked far away. Her mask slipped off her face, and in her eye he saw his death. Both of them. The accident, in the lab. And one that hadn't happened yet. She was going to kill him, here in this field.

He stared into that one, undamaged eye, and saw her other target. Valerie. Of course it was Valerie. In the vision, she was dead. Strung up from the ceiling fan in her apartment. Eyes sewn shut. Mouth open, blood leaking out from her lips. He froze.

"Valerie." The sound, for it was more a sound than a word, was ragged. A whisper. A whimper.

She was going to kill Valerie. And the other ghosts would destroy his town. Something in him broke, then, and he was suddenly there, on top of Alkadih, his hand, not intangible, through her stomach. He reached, pushing through ectoplasm and bone until his hand wrapped around her core. She screeched, a blood curdling, primal sound. She wailed in agony, more than he'd felt, he was sure, as her form wavered and contorted.

And without pity, he crushed her core.

She froze for a second, body flickering, before fading away.

His strength left him then. He collapsed, jostling all his injuries as he did so, and laid there, unmoving.

He could still see Amity Park from here.

He could still get back.

But he was so tired.

He could rest here, for a while.

The grass was soft.

Twin rings enveloped him as his consciousness faded. After the bright light went out, his eyes, still focused on his town, slipped shut. He lay there, human, bleeding, alone. But it would be okay. He had bandages in his room. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz would be able to take care of him. They were amazing. They were his. He'd go to them. Just, after he got some sleep. He just needed some rest.

He would fly back home tomorrow.