Danny got up, helped Sam to her feet, and turned to face Mr. Lancer, who had come in just in time to watch the healing. "You two," he said, his voice shaky, "come with me."

When they reached the office, three people met them at the door. Danny and Sam shared a surprised look, as they followed Lancer into the office Valerie Grey, Tucker, and Jazz in tow. Lancer sat down, his face pale. "Now I know you think I'm a stiff," said Lancer, "but I brought you here for a good reason," "and what about them?" said Danny, eying his sister, Valerie, and Tucker. "they are here, because they were standing outside my door, and I recognized in them the fact that all three know whats going on here, as do I – Invisobill." 'god, do I need a publicist' thought Danny, and Sam responded in his head with a giggle 'yes, you do.' Only then did they realize that all four of the other people in this room knew Danny's secret. Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Lancer silenced him with a look. "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Fenton, I have no intention of giving your secret to the public. When I saw what you did back there, and knowing you as I do, I know you are no criminal, and, to the matter of what you did back there, in healing Ms. Manson, I respect you greatly as a person for doing what I think you did, which was save her life, at great risk to your own." He said this with question in his voice, unsure if his theory was correct. Danny and Sam gave him a nod, confirming his suspicions that he was right. "further, as to what happened to Dash, although I do not wish to do this, I must give you several detentions, and in doing so, stop rumors from circulating that I know something the general public does not, and preventing school board inquiry in my leniency on your punishment for fighting in school, and destruction of school property. Don't worry, I can assure you that you will not be in detention with Dash, since he will be suspended for a good long time, before he even gets a chance to serve his detention for earlier this morning, and I will also see what I can do to allow visitors – " he eyed Sam and smiled quickly " – while you serve your detentions. You are dismissed. Mr. Fenton, I suggest you escort Ms. Manson home, you both look like you could use the rest of the day off."

When they got out of Lancers office, Danny turned a stunned look on Valerie, who had put a hand on his shoulder from behind. "hey, Ghost boy, truce?" "Danny stammered for a while "I'm not saying I like you, but what you did back there, made me realize something. All ghosts may be bad, but half ghosts just might be halfway decent." At that, she walked off. "Jazz, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off doing your internship as a councilor?" "I am! I figured you might need someone to cover for you, so I decided to do my internship here." "Thanks Jazz…oh great, now I owe you two!" as Jazz walked off, they finally turned to their third best friend. "finally! I thought you two had forgotten I existed, the way you've been ignoring me! And whats with the holding hands thing? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a coupl – " he stopped when he noticed they were ignoring him again, staring in each others eyes like people who had never seen the sky before, and were dumbstruck by its beauty. "aww, I was wondering when you two'd get together!" Tucker exclaimed, and bear hugged them both. When they finally broke from his grip (not an easy task, since tucker had taken up wrestling) and got their wind back, Sam asked, "tucker, what are you doing here? You're not due back until the end of the week." "I know, but one day in, and I knew the place just wasn't right for me, so I came home." "yeah, well here's your schedule – have a nice day!" said Danny, handing Tucker a piece of paper with their daily schedule on it. He then scooped Sam up into his arms, went ghost, and flew straight through the ceiling.

When they landed in Danny's room, they kissed anew. Since they bonded, everything was a new experience. Every touch was a new kind of ecstasy. When they came up for breath, Danny looked down at Sam, and his heart exploded with sadness. Through their touch, they spoke each thought. 'what's wrong?' 'I just realized just how close I came to losing you… and it was my fault for provoking Dash into hitting you… I knew he wasn't rational, I should've thought of the consequences.' He continued to cry. He buried his head in her hair, inhaling the scent of lilacs that emanated from her. He would mark every smell, every taste of her for all time. He would never let her go. He would die first. He clutched the girl he loved for support, and she stroked his back, calming him. "it's okay, I'm here now, it's okay." When the crying ceased, they fell into a fitful sleep, lying together, sharing the dream of two in love, seen through their connection to each other.

Danny awoke alone, and afraid. He was dreaming a dream of Sam, as she was of him, when he was torn from it unexpectedly, when her presence left his reach. They could no longer communicate, but he could still faintly sense her emotions. Fear. Fear was present, and he hated that feeling from her. Whoever took her, he would find them, and, he thought, his eyes glowing the gold orange again, he would destroy them. He then heard a rumbling coming from downstairs. "The Fenton Portal!" Danny went ghost and phased himself downstairs just in time to see the doors to the portal burst open 'this is weird, nothing is supposed to have the power to open the portal from the inside!' when the smoke cleared, out stepped a vision out of Danny's past. "Skulker." "I see you are no longer a child, ghost child. I suppose I should just call you prey from now on." "I haven't got time for this, Skulker. I need to find –" "your beloved? It seems my employer has already put his plan into action… I am not here to hunt you phantom, but to distract you from your goal. However, since you have proven a worthy opponent, time and time again, I will make you a deal. If you beat me, I will tell you who I am working for, that you may find your beloved." "Fine. And if I should fail?" "Then you become the hunted." At that, Danny charged. As he reached Skulker, the huge ghost hunter suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Danny. "You have indeed gotten stronger, but with the technological advances that Technus made to my suit, and the alterations to my mind made by my employer, I can move faster, be stronger, and do more than even you. At this rate, your beloved will be lost to you" at this, Danny's anger erupted, and it fueled the fire of his power.

His eyes glowed golden orange, so bright it left Skulker dazed, and three rings appeared around Danny's body. As the two that were on top and bottom moved up and down his body, the center one grew as it remained stationary, until it covered his whole form. The shell of golden light exploded, and there stood a new Danny. Skulker glanced at his wrist computer. "I don't understand it, his power readings are almost equal with mine!" he smirked, "almost." Danny charged, all self control cast to the winds. He swore he would destroy the one who took Sam, and if Skulker got in the way of that, he would go down as well. He pounded into the hulking brute with all his strength, the gold rings of energy encircled his entire arm this time, striking him in a fierce uppercut that sent the big ghost reeling. "Tell Me Where She Is!" he said, annunciating each syllable with a fist. At the last, Skulker got his bearings, and caught the punch. "You can't win ghost boy" Skulker kicked Danny across the face, knocking him sprawling, but Danny got up twice as fast as he went down. He charged in again, and with a two-fisted swing, knocked Skulker through the back wall of the basement, putting a huge hole next to the Fenton portal. It was a good thing Danny's parents were out at a ghost hunter's convention until tomorrow. When Danny stepped out of the hole, Skulker appeared behind him, and zapped him with a device Danny recognized all too well. The Plasmius Maximus, a device used to short out the powers of ghosts, designed by none other than Danny's nemesis;

"Vlad Plasmius…" Danny coughed, as he was knocked to the ground by the power of the small device. "that is correct, Danny," said Vlad's voice, coming from the hologram projected from Skulker's wrist computer. "and I'm sure you'll be happy to know that, by the time you escape Skulker's clutches, which I am sure you are all too capable of doing, your "Sam" will be long gone, and I'll have a hybrid apprentice under my control. One who will be just as strong as you." "Sam, no!" "There's no escaping me ghost boy, you will never see your beloved again, and my power will reign supreme as the greatest hunter in any world!" Skulker cackled, dementedly. 'Alright Danny, time to be rational again.' Danny coached himself, 'You can't use your normal ghost powers, you can't use the strength based ones triggered by anger, so what else is there? Dammit, Sam, wherever you are, I need you to help me now… Of course!' That was it. The way to beat Skulker was within his grasp. Danny stood up. He smiled. "ha, ha, hah– hey, what's so funny?" Skulker looked slightly ticked off that he didn't have time to finish his maniacal laughter. "oh, nothing, just that I know exactly how to beat you now." At that, he let emotion fuel him. He let his love for Sam flow through him again, like it had the day before. He let his calm resonate out from his center, and suddenly, he felt the change begin. As the blue light cascaded over his form, the three rings appeared, and when they were gone, Danny could feel anew power rushing through him. "So your eyes are blue this time. It doesn't make you any stronger than before." Skulker smirked, which was a bad move because, within the next millisecond, Danny was on top of him, smirking right back. "That may not be what makes me stronger," he summoned up an ectoplasm blast, "but this does!" he threw the blast at Skulker, which, because Danny didn't know what his new powers were, failed miserably. The blast never left his hand, and stayed in ball form, resting in his palm. Skulker smirked again, and aimed a swing at Danny's chest, which, because one of Danny's new powers was extreme speed, also failed miserably. Danny dodged and rolled straight over Skulker's head through the air. When Danny's hand closed over the ectoplasm ball, it changed, much to both their surprises, into a katana-like energy sword. "A sword huh? Cool!" said Danny, easily avoiding a blast from Skulker's ecto-cannon "good thing I watched plenty of Japanese anime when I was younger. I probably wouldn't know how to use this if I didn't." Danny knew that if strength against strength led to a standoff, then strength against speed should do the trick. Luckily he was right. The sword, plus his speed, cut straight through Skulker's armor, and the fight ended abruptly. As the real Skulker, a small green blobbish thing climbed out of the robotic armor head, Danny placed the sword between its beady eyes. "now, as to our deal…" "oh, right, the gateway to Vlad's torture chamber/laboratory… you'll find it in the ghost zone yellow pages under door 666. but, I should warn you, my employer does things in a very timely fashion, and his brainwashing experiment was due to start twenty-five minutes ago, but, if your link with the soon to be ghost girl was really that strong, you would have already known that." The little blob smiled evilly. "thanks." In a flash, Danny was already gone. He entered the ghost zone at hyper speed. 'Hang on Sam, I'm on my way!'

Twenty minutes earlier, in the lair of Vlad Plasmius,

Sam awoke alone, and afraid. She was dreaming a dream of Danny, as he was of her, when she was torn from it unexpectedly, by a ghost that she and Danny knew all too well – Vlad Plasmius. Now she was locked in a small room, alone, without Danny… her Danny. Even after so little time apart, she missed him so. What if he was in danger, or in pain? She could feel his fear for her, however faint, from their distance apart. She was so absorbed in her thoughts of worry, she failed to notice the entrance of a certain mad human-ghost hybrid. "he will come to save you, you know, but by then it will be far too late. Here. Put this on. It will aid in my experiments" he tossed her a jumpsuit, similar to the one Danny wore as Danny Phantom. Suddenly, she was swept up in the torrent of rage – Danny's rage, she knew. His power gave her strength anew. "I will never aid you. Ever." Aah, but I think you will, my dear Samantha, I think you will. And just in case, I'll even give you an ultimatum. If you survive, and somehow manage to beat my brainwashing device, you'll be a hybrid, just like Danny, and, if you succeed in escaping my control, maybe that will even bring you closer together." At that, he left. A few seconds later he opened the door a crack and peeked in, "of course, should you refuse, I'll just have to put it on you myself, and I don't think you'll like that." The door closed, and she was alone again. She knew she didn't want to put the suit on, but she definitely didn't want Plasmius putting it on for her. 'Oh, well.' She sighed. When she had dressed, she went to the door, and found it unlocked. She went through, and found her arms and legs almost immediately bound in a harness of Vlad's invention. "that, my dear, is the Plasmius hybrid harness. Designed to hold human-ghost hybrids, modified to radiate my influences through the "harnessed." It's sort of like a brainwashing – err… thingy. But, never mind, on to the Plasmius portal."

As Vlad began walking, the harness hovered in tow. "In case you'd like to know, I am going to make you a hybrid, and, at your moment of vulnerability, wipe your mind clean of your past, and, of your love for Danny Phantom. You will be the ideal apprentice to learn all I have to know. Now, on with the experiment!" the harness secured itself in what appeared to be a much more sinister looking version of the Fenton Portal. Sam could feel tears of sadness and fear running down her cheeks. "Oh, Danny, I don't want to lose you… I don't want to forget my love for you…" she hung her head, her tears falling to the floor. Suddenly, he could feel the warmth of his love flowing through their link. She felt the blue glow of his strength well up within her, as if to say 'I'm here, I'll protect you.' And she knew he would. He would never let harm come to her, he would never let her go. He would love her to the end of time. 'Danny will find a way to save me' she thought, her confidence swelling with the love Danny had given her, 'but while he is fighting for me, I can't let him down. I have to fight. For Danny's sake, I have to fight this!' she began struggling against the harness. Suddenly, a blast of green light surrounded her, and she felt the cold searing of death against her skin. She felt that half death course through her, changing her. She also felt the influences of the harness, but Danny's love forced it back, protecting her. 'I know you'll always be there for me Danny. I love you.' 'And I love you.' She could suddenly feel the link become much stronger, as if he was right there holding her hand. Her bonds broke, and she felt the warm embrace of the one she loved holding her close. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck, as they flew away from the charred remains of the ghost zone portal. She felt her feet touch the ground, as he placed her on the floor.

'You alright?' he asked, 'fine, I think.' She said, and then she opened her eyes. She was staring into, not the familiar glowing green ones, but a new pair, glowing azure, filled with love, and definitely Danny's. Then she saw the shock in those beautiful eyes, the sadness, and then the rage building. Only then did she notice her own reflection in those eyes. Her eyes were green, her hair white, the colors of her jumpsuit white and black, where they had been black and white. She gasped in shock. She was a hybrid, just like Danny. "Vlad! What have you done!" his eyes now glowed golden orange, and she felt the rage building in him. The rings passed over them both, and she felt her anger building at his touch to match his own. When she opened her eyes, they had taken on a magenta hue. "Nothing but bring you two closer together, my dear boy!" Plasmius said with a laugh. "Of course, the main purpose of this scheme was to tear you apart, and that part seems to be working perfectly. Now come, lets have tea." Danny was on top of him the minute Vlad turned his back. Before Danny could land a blow, Vlad spun around, eyes glowing red, and caught Danny's hand. "I said– " he threw Danny to the ground – he had clearly become much stronger; "Lets Have Tea." Plasmius stormed out. "Danny!" Sam's eyes went from pink to deep violet, glowing with love and concern. She helped him up. "Sam… I, I…" tears began to run down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry…'what has he done to her…'" his eyes flashed with the angry gold again 'I'll kill him for what he's done. Never mind the consequences. I will tear him apart!' he did not realize she could hear his thoughts through their touch. She leaned in and kissed him softly. She stroked his hair, softly telling him it would be okay. "We're together now… and we'll never leave each other again. Now we both have the strength to stand by one another…" he looked up, his eyes blue with love once more, but with a glint of something else in them – a passion, a lust. He kissed her hard on the lips, and began his journey down her cheek, and across her neck. He reached the crook of her neck. He caressed her collarbone with icy kisses, eliciting gasps of pleasure from his partner. 'I missed you so much. I need you Sam…' his hands wandered her back, as hers did his.

He was slightly disappointed, due to the seamlessness of the skintight outfits, they couldn't reach each others skin. He needed to touch her. She needed to feel him. They so desperately wanted contact. Needed it. 'Danny, I was so alone… I never want to feel like that again." They went out of ghost mode together, and finally were able to feel each others warmth. They caressed each others skin. Raw emotion clouded judgment. Danny's shirt was cast aside; Sam's was not far behind. They each relished the feeling of their lovers touch. Danny's kisses trailed down the exposed flesh above her bra, her hands clutched the ground for support. The world was spinning out of control, and neither cared at all. They wanted this, needed this. They needed…needed… Danny stopped suddenly, his hands left their place working her bra clasp. He sat up, grabbed his shirt. "We need to stop Vlad. There'll be time for this later. I love you more than life itself, but we have a responsibility to the world of life. We are its protectors. Vlad has something cooked up, and I can tell it's more than just a plan to destroy me or my dad. Whatever he's up to, it could endanger the world we live in, and we can't let that happen. Besides," his eyes narrowed, the golden glint in them again. "I've got a score to settle, and I couldn't allow myself to be with you with a guilty conscience." They dressed, and went where the saw Vlad exit the lab twenty minutes earlier.

They entered a room with a long table, and three chairs, two empty on one end, the other turned away from them at the other, but clearly occupied. They entwined their fingers, grasping each others hands tightly for support. When they sat down, Vlad turned, placing a small wooden box on the table. "Now then, Danny, Samantha, do you know why you're here?" "You kidnapped Sam to lure me into a trap where I would be defeated by my love for her, why else?" "Aah, Danny, you insult me! Do you really think I would rely on such a simple plan to succeed?" "No. I'm sure you've got quite a few other evil plans waiting in the wings." It was clear Vlad's attitude was trying Danny's patience. Danny said as much. "Spit it out Vlad, your trying my patience." "Very well Danny. You see, I had some idea that you two would defeat my brainwashing scheme, but I made Samantha here a human-ghost hybrid anyway. Why? Well, I'll tell you. You two love each other very much, don't you?" the two lovers looked into each others eyes, their love quite evident in that look. "Did you really need to ask?" said Sam, sarcastically. "well, in that case, have you considered what would happen, if you two, would, perhaps, want a child?" they stumbled on his words. Before they could answer, he continued. "I'll tell you what would happen, chaos!" he slammed his fist on the table for effect. "you're both half ghosts, having a child would create a monster with more power than the two of you combined!" he smirked with satisfaction. Danny still eyed him with hatred, but Sam clearly feared the prospect of what he had just said. "Such a creature would destroy the world! And it would be because of you. Your love makes it inevitable. Your need to be together makes it fate." He chuckled evilly. Sam buried her face in Danny's shoulder. He stroked her back, saying "lies. You couldn't know this. Don't worry Sam, no small words from a deranged madman will ever tear me from your side." "I know, but what if he's right?" "Oh, but I am. Consider it, why do you think I brought you two here, really. Don't worry, I wont let you work your tiny brains to death over the answer. The reason is, I was planning to breed the two of you, to create that super-ghost." "You wanted to breed us, like dogs!" Danny exclaimed, his rage growing stronger, "That's low, even for you, Plasmius." "Oh, don't worry yourself, Danny. That plan, sadly, has fallen through. My new plan, involves the remarkable item sitting here in front of me." He motioned to the box he had put on the table. "Tell me, have you ever heard the tale of Pandora's Box?" Sam gasped, Danny gave him a dumb look "uh, no." he said. Vlad put a hand to his temples, massaging them frustratedly. "Let me help you then. Greek mythology; Zeus gave a box to a beautiful, but dangerously curious girl, told her not to open it, knowing full well she would open it anyway. She did, and out flew several particularly nasty spirits." Sam interrupted, "along with two or three really good ones, who rounded up the other spirits, and –" it was Vlad's turn to interrupt "faded out of existence. They never returned to the box, but became a part of the hearts and minds of men. You two in fact contain a particularly strong strain of one of them in you – love. This is what gives you your bond. But, since I have found the box, even that won't save you, because I plan to open it, releasing the spirits to aid me in conquering the world of the living."

After a long moment of silence, Danny spoke up. "Wow, you must be dense, telling us your entire plan." Vlad grinned. "I tell you my entire plan, Danny, because there is nothing you can do to stop me." At that, he flipped open the box, and nothing happened. Danny smirked. "Wow, that was really… useless." "Oh no, Danny!" Sam said, finding it hard not to laugh, "what ever shall we do! Vlad's become as strong as the Box Ghost! How will we stop him now?" the two collapsed off of their chairs, clutching their sides with relieved laughter. Vlad was not happy. Suddenly, the room got just a little darker, and a lot colder. An eerie green light seeped from the box… an evil light. Sam and Danny could both feel it. 'Sam, we have to get out of here. That's evil. Pure evil.' 'I'm right behind you Danny.' 'I'd really prefer you were in front of me, Sam.' they crawled out on their hands and knees. As they left, they felt a deep rumbling run through the room. "Who has freed us?" "I, Vlad Plasmius, have freed you from your prison." "Then make your request. If we deem it a worthy one, we may fulfill it. If not, you will die." "I want power. Power enough to take control of the world of the living, and rule it like the king I was destined to be." "A reasonable wish… granted." A blinding flash lit the area, and Danny grabbed Sam, sheltering her as they were blown through the walls of Vlad's estate. Danny took the full brunt of the blast, and was knocked unconscious. When Sam revived him, and his vision cleared, he found them sitting in a huge crater, the sky blackened by an evil haze, Sam's face darkened by tear stains. "We failed, didn't we?" she looked mournfully up at the sky, before burying her face in his chest. He held her close. "No, not yet. We're still alive, and we can still stop him. We will stop him." Danny pulled out his cell. He dialed his other best friend. "Hey, Tucker, liste–" "what the hell's going on man! Plasmius is over here, and he's destroying everything! Valerie and your parents are trying to help out, but its not going well! Where are you guys!" "We're on our way!" Danny turned to Sam, "we're going to need some extra speed for this." He pulled her into a kiss, and went ghost. Their love allowed them to transform to the speed side of their ghost powers. Their eyes opened, hers deep violet, his gleaming azure, and then closed again, as they forgot the world in their passionate embrace. They broke away, and sped for Amity Park.