Sorry for the long wait for this chapter - I've been really busy. Don't worry though! I promise to have at least a new chapter every month (or sooner) from now on (I'd make it every week...but breaking promises is just..not nice).
THANK YOU to my awesome reviewers! And CM: I don't mind that you share my story, as long as people know it's mine:), and thanks for the great review (you're right about Sam, I might have to change that)
For everyone with questions about DP, which i don't have time to answer, goto the online Danny Phantom guide at TV Tome
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Disclaimer: I don't own DP, but this story is mine! All MINE! Precioussss...
"Glad you two were able to grace us with your presence today," Lancer said, his left eye twitching. Then his eyes rolled upward and he began talking to the ceiling.
"Why do my students refuse to appreciate the benefits of a high school education? What, oh what indeed, is going to happen to the world of tomorrow? With such apathy, such indifference, such listlessness…" here he glared at an unfortunately unconscious student in the back row… "Oh, the humanity!"
Everyone sort of glanced at each other with a worried look. Except for those sleeping. It seemed as if the lovebirds' late entrance had set off a time bomb, and now everyone was suffering. They glared at Danny and Sam, who were still oblivious to what was going on around them, as Mr. Lancer continued his pent up rant.
"'Crime and Punishment'! Is there nothing I can do to get to you? Nothing!" He had fallen down to his knees and was reaching for something above the students' heads, presumably his sanity.
The classroom was utterly silent. Someone coughed, and then the uncomfortable silence resumed, weighing heavily on everyone in the room.
And then Lancer lowered his gaze until he was looking at the floor, completely defeated.
"If only you all cared about learning as much as I care about teaching…" he sighed and then stood. He turned around to face his desk and gather his composure.
He didn't notice the green mist that seemed to permeate the room, coating the floor like a carpet. Neither did Danny or Sam, although Danny was starting to shiver.
Danny just ignored everything, thinking only of Sam. And then…something changed. All of a sudden the dreamy ponderings of his mind were sharpened. Not dulled…just overshadowed by something else…for the moment.
Danny sat up straighter in his chair and leaned forward. He turned to look at Sam, who blinked at him, as if she had just woken up. Then they both looked expectantly at Mr. Lancer, along with every other student in the class.
When Mr. Lancer turned around to look at his students, he expected to see the regular glazed-over too-tired-to-learn dull sheen in their eyes. He expected to see a few of them maybe sitting a little straighter after his explosion. He expected to see one or two of them snoring gently in the back.
What he did not expect was the entire class wide awake and eager, leaning forward and alert with a light in each and every eye. But that was what he saw.
He actually stumbled backward in his shock.
"Lord of the Rings!" he exclaimed, slamming into the blackboard and staring, almost fearfully, back at his students. His students. Who actually looked as if they deserved that title.
Was it possible? Well, wasn't this what he had wanted? Their interest? Lancer wasn't sure what was going on, but he decided to make the best of it. He was starting to have more confidence in his own abilities. He cleared his throat and loosened his tie.
"Well, now that I've got your attention, everyone turn to page 94 in the textbook. We're going to explore the ramifications of Hester's actions in her village…"
There was a great rustling of paper as everyone opened their books, and Lancer couldn't help but smile.
Meanwhile, Tucker was wondering how in the world he was going to stop two psychotic ghosts without Danny's help.
He had used his PDA to gain control of all the radio stations in Amity Park (he still wasn't sure how he was able to do it…his PDA was pretty sweet though), and so all that was playing on every station was his new and improved Ember music. Hopefully that would get people off the Ember-induced craze.
He had also been catching Desiree's ghost minions with the Fenton Thermos since morning, but it seemed like there was no end to them. He would catch two, then four more would appear out of thin air, and he would have to go racing after them.
He was sweating profusely, and it wasn't even noon yet. Flying was a lot of work! It didn't look so difficult from the ground, but all the muscle power he had used to propel himself forward at insane speeds was starting to take its toll.
And Tucker was starting to feel…not himself. It was the same as last time…when his ghost powers had transformed him into a raging green ghost, just like Desiree's minions. Technically, he guessed he was a minion, since it was Desiree's power that gave him power. But he wasn't at her beck and call, not by a long shot. And this time around he would keep it that way – he was going to stay 100 percent in control.
…Right after his nap. He dropped to the ground after catching his last ghost, clutching the Thermos to his chest. All he wanted to do was sleep.
"Danny, where are you?" he growled, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Oh, right…in school. Like a good little boy." He scowled and then looked up at the sky. "Well, we're going to have to change that."
He leapt into the air again, this time heading toward Casper High School, a determined look on his tired face.
"I'm still pissed off about the hypocrisy in that village," Sam was saying vehemently, as she ripped into her tofu bean curd breadless sandwich. "Everyone sins, right? But Hester has to wear hers on her outfit 24/7, for everyone to sneer at. And it's not just her sin. Where's the father?"
She shook her head, a strange light in her eye. Everyone in Lancer's class was still talking about The Scarlet Letter. Even those that hadn't picked up the book, like Dash and Paulina, were critiquing the finer points of Hester's needlework or Pearl's demonic attributes.
Danny grinned at Sam, then leaned forward to be heard over all the noise in the lunchroom.
"Yeah, don't those villagers know you get what you deserve when you die? They weren't such good Puritans, not that I'm defending Hester. She was so guilty."
"Well she's already getting what she deserves with Pearl," Sam laughed, and then stopped, with a nonplussed look on her face.
"Hey…why are we still talking about this? We've never talked about Lancer's books outside of class before."
Danny shrugged, a strange gleam in his eye.
"That just shows how great we are together, pumpkin."
"Did you just call me…"
Sam's breath caught in her throat and she almost choked on the bite of 'sandwich' she had taken.
Danny had reached over and was touching her lips with his fingertips.
"We can talk about anything we want," he murmured, his eyes bright. "But if you don't want to talk…" A wolfish grin spread across his face. Sam swallowed and turned bright pink at Danny's knowing look.
She felt like her lips were burning where his fingers touched her. Time seemed to stand still as she looked into Danny's blue eyes, deep and dark with a glimmer of green beneath the surface. He stared at her, the draw of his eyes pulling her closer to him until she felt like she was lost within the gravity of his gaze.
Her face grew even hotter. She couldn't take this any more, it was like torture. Exquisite torture, but still.
So she grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him towards her, grinning at the startled look on his face as he stopped just inches away from her.
"Now you're talking, stud muffin," she smirked before crashing into his lips in a fiery kiss.
"Wha – ah…mmmm…" Danny was making unintelligible sounds against her heated lips, and Sam smiled as she deepened the kiss.
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"Hey!" Someone grabbed Sam's shoulder and yanked her away from Danny.
It was like a cold wind tearing at her, and Sam felt the loss of Danny's heat with a shock.
She whirled around, wondering who had such a strong grip to hurt her shoulder like that, and who would have the nerve to grab her like that.
"Tucker!" Danny yelped, leaping over the table and grabbing a fistful of Tucker's shirt. "What the heck do you think you're doing? Don't shove Sam around like that!"
Tucker smirked and turned intangible, releasing himself from Danny's grip. He stepped back and smoothed his shirt down, his eyes glowing an alarming shade of green.
"No Danny, what the hell do you think you're doing, wasting time here when you know Ember and Desiree are on the loose?" Tucker snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've been working my butt off all day to stop them, and what have you been doing? Making out with...with your 'pumpkin'!"
"Hey!" Sam shouted. Tucker ignored her.
"Yeah, that's right, I heard everything," he went on. "And something definitely stinks." He followed Danny's eyes to the remainders of Sam's lunch and sneered. "And no, it's not Sam's garbage."
"Hey!" Sam shouted indignantly. Tucker ignored her, looking pointedly at Danny.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but don't you think we should continue this conversation somewhere…a little more private?" Danny said, his voice leaden and his eyes flickering green.
Tucker and Sam realized how quiet the lunchroom had become. Everyone had abandoned conversation in favor of seeing what looked like Tucker's jealous rampage over Danny and Sam making out. Who knew Tucker had the hots for Sam all along? But obviously, Danny and Sam were meant for each other, so unless hell was freezing over, pigs were flying, or gold was shooting out of his derriere, the geek didn't have a chance.
Tucker coughed and nodded at Danny. They casually walked into the hallway, as if they had all the time in the world. Sam followed close behind them until they got to the boy's locker room. The boys walked in silently, and after only a moment's hesitation, Sam rushed in after them.
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Tucker had slammed Danny against a locker, and was gripping his shirt.
"Now," Tucker grinned, his eyes greener than ever. "What stinks?"
Danny glared at Tucker, going intangible and getting some distance between them.
"You do," he spat. Sam rushed over to Danny and grabbed his arm, looking worriedly at Tucker.
"What are you talking about?" she said.
Tucker shook his head, as if to clear it. His eyes dimmed. He looked worn out.
"It's so obvious," Tucker finally said, pointing at them both. "You're not yourselves – you're under a trance."
"Well, duh," Sam snorted.
Tucker blinked. "So you know. Well then what are we waiting for! We've got to get you back to normal so Danny can help me fight the ghosts!"
Danny wrapped his arms possessively around Sam, his eyes still flashing green.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "There's no way I'm getting rid of this trance if it means Sam and I will have to break up."
Sam's eyes shone suspiciously. She stroked Danny's arms with a happy sigh that made Tucker want to hurl.
There was nothing else for it. He was going to have to do something he might regret very shortly.
"Fine," he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "But Danny, I need your help, I can't do this alone."
Danny released his grip on Sam and looked away.
"I – I'm sorry Tuck. I'm not leaving Sam alone. I would never forgive myself if…"
Tucker was on him before Danny knew what was happening. His eyes were neon, his teeth were bared, and he was going intangible.
Right through Danny's body.
He said a short prayer that this would work as he pushed his way through layers of skin and muscle, until he hit something radiant with light.
It was so bright that Tucker was blinded for a moment, and then he saw what he was looking for.
A dark shadow, latched on to the brightness, pulsing and growing and dimming everything it touched.
Tucker snarled and raced at the shadow, wrapping his ghostly arms around it before it had a chance to shrink away. It was colder than anything he had ever felt, a coldness that was seeping into his arms, freezing him to his invisible bones.
He gasped but kept moving forward. He had to get this thing out of his friend, he had to keep going.
Through layers of muscle…then skin…and finally Tucker was in the locker room again, gasping and letting go of the frozen darkness as Danny fell to the floor unconscious.
He reached behind his shoulder blades and grabbed the Fenton Thermos, twisting it open even as he lifted it from its strap.
With a shriek, the shadowy thing was sucked into a blast of ectoplasmic blue light, and Tucker slammed the lid back onto the Thermos, panting.
It had all happened in seconds, but it seemed like a lot longer to Tucker. He leaned forward and grabbed his knees, trying to catch his breath and regain his strength. Why was he so tired?
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Sam was watching him in silence, a strange feeling growing inside of her.
She tried to shout to Tucker, to tell him that something was wrong, but a pressure was clamping down on her chest, an icy embrace that was freezing her from the inside out. So different from Danny's embrace.
Sam struggled for a moment but she wasn't strong enough. Her shining eyes frosted over in a look that was very much faraway, even while it focused inwards. She felt herself truly falling, losing control in a way that she had never thought possible. Her amethyst eyes quickly darkened, her pupils widening until they swallowed all the light that had been there.
When Tucker finally looked up at her, Sam's black expressionless eyes were fixed on him. Her pale lips curved upwards to reveal pointed teeth, and Tucker blanched.
He cursed under his breath. Of course there was a ghost thing in Sam too! Why had he forgotten that?
Because I wanted you to.
Tucker jerked, beads of sweat forming on his brow. That voice…it had just spoken inside Tucker's head. And it was terrifyingly familiar, a low, guttural, animal growl that he was sure he had heard before. It was suddenly feeling very cramped inside his body.
He started panicking. What was he going to do? He had seen the shadow working to extinguish Danny's light. Now it looked like a shadow had smothered Sam's light, and there was one inside of him too!
There's nothing you can do, came the voice again. Tucker trembled, his mind racing.
"No," he refused, his teeth clenched. "I won't let you take over! You can't control me."
Oh no? The voice sneered. Let me prove you wrong.
And then a blanket of ice seemed to be smothering Tucker, much colder than the touch of Danny's shadow had been. He struggled against it even as he fell forward onto the cement floor.
Sam calmly stepped backward to avoid his falling body, staring down at him with her dark empty eyes.
"NO!" he screamed. And then the darkness choked him, silencing him. It seeped upwards and darkened his eyes until he was blind. He was pushed down so far into himself that he lost all sense of perception, and as he lost consciousness, the darkness took control.
Tucker stood up calmly, brushing off his clothes as he looked at Sam. His eyes were now just as empty as hers.
There was a moan from somewhere below them.
Tucker and Sam looked down at Danny, who was just starting to regain consciousness on the cold locker room floor. They glanced at each other with feral grins before focusing again on the ghost boy.
...wow, another cliffhanger. don't review too harshly...I don't take kindly to flamers. But please review!
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