Chapter 7

They moved slowly in a pack, ghosts, humans, and halfas alike. Danny was at the forefront, leading the group, with Sam, Tucker, and Emily close behind. The halls of Casper High seemed empty and desolate, and a breeze came in through a stuck-open window, ruffling Danny's hair as he turned to face his army.

They were a ragged and unusual assortment of soldiers. Some, like Tucker, Sam, and Emily, were there because they were truly devoted to Danny and his cause. Others, like Vlad, had to be bribed to be there. Danny stood back and surveyed his ragged soldiers.

Wulf was there, a ghost wolf that had the ability to claw a portal into the ghost zone and human world at will. He had been grateful to Danny, Tucker, and Sam ever since they had freed him from ghost jail months ago. His ghost and animal instincts would be a great help in the battle.

Another ghost there was the Dairy King, a very friendly and mild-tempered ghost who was obsessed with all dairy products. Danny wasn't sure if he'd be much help, but it was good to have as many people, ghosts, and halfas on his side as he could.

Many ghosts were there for the sole purpose that they enjoyed tormenting humans, and they would have no one to torment if all humans and halfas were eradicated. Among these were Ember, Skulker, and Box Ghost.

"There would be no one to hear my music if there were no humans!" Ember had said, playing a chord on her guitar.

"I would have no prey to hunt!" Skulker added. And of course, the Box Ghost had said simply,

"I am the Box Ghost! BEWARE! The human world has a great assortment of square and rectangular boxes that I can use!" After shushing the Box Ghost for about the millionth time, Danny spoke, his voice echoing through the empty halls.

"I would like to remind you guys that this is very dangerous. We're dealing with a group of ghosts who would like nothing more than to eliminate all of us. For us humans and halfas, that means losing our lives. For you ghosts, that means possibly spending the rest of your afterlife in ghost jail. I am your leader, at least for now. If I should be wounded or..." Danny gulped, a lump in his throat "...or killed during the battle, your leader will be Emily. I trust all of you guys to listen to her."

"Hey!" Sam's angry voice rose above the muttering of the patchwork army. Danny knew exactly what she was so angry about.

"Sam, I'm sorry. But Emily's a halfa, the only other halfa here I can trust." Danny shot a glare in Vlad's direction, who merely smiled maliciously. Sam nodded.

"I understand." she said softly. Only Danny could see the hints of hurt and jealousy in her eyes.

"Now one last thing I'd like to tell you is-" Danny started, but was interrupted by the Box Ghost.

"I am the Box Ghost! BEWARE!"

"Shut UP!" Danny roared, yanking the Fenton Thermos out of his pocket. "Do you want to spend the battle inside the Fenton Thermos?"

"Nooo!" the Box Ghost wailed. "Not your cylindrical contraption of doom! I shall flee!" And he did flee, flying away to seek some cardboard boxes to bring him comfort. Danny stared angrily after him for a moment, then resumed talking.

"As I was saying, the last thing I want to tell you is...I'm sorry. Ghosts, I'm sorry for defeating you so many times. Halfas and fellow humans, I'm sorry for anything I ever did to you. I think you guys have a right to know-and some of you already do-that the only reason Vlad Masters, a.k.a Vlad Plasmius, is here is because I bribed him. If we both make it through the battle alive...I'll have to join him. I don't know what you're planning, Plasmius, so I can't tell you what will happen to me. But I'll never forget all of you and what you did for not only me, but the entire human race." There was a smattering of applause at this last statement, but the applause was cut short by a brushing sound growing louder and louder. The Purists were moving slowly towards them.

"Here they come." Danny said firmly, with resolve. "Let's get 'em."

Soon the two masses collided, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Ghosts and humans alike were thrown backwards, blasts of light crisscrossing the halls. Windows shattered, and the sound of breaking glass was only another instrument in the cacophony of doom.

Emily's ghost crutches were a huge help in the battle. Photon blasts and ectoplasmic blasts shot out of her crutches and merged together to create a super-blast that took out many Purists at once. Intangibility was both a bonus and a hindrance. The Purists all had the capability to become intangible. The three halfas on the other side, Danny, Emily, and Vlad, plus the ghosts, still couldn't make everyone intangible. As a result, there were many wounded on the human's side.

Soon the dust and confusion became so thick that people and ghosts could no longer see who they were shooting at. Blind shooting became a problem when everyone stopped shooting at the enemy, and started accidentally shooting people on their own side. Some of the ghost weapons that Danny had snitched from his parent's lab lay abandoned on the tiled floor, the humans who had been shooting them lying helpless and bleeding next to the weapons.

Eventually the dust cleared enough for Emily to see that the Purists were retreating. She turned around and said to the nearest person, which happened to be Sam,

"Sam! We did it! The Purists are retreating!" Sam turned around and observed that the Purists were, indeed, retreating. All feelings of jealousy put aside, she hugged her friend tightly. Suddenly, she realized something.

"Wait a sec." she said, her indigo eyes scanning the halls. "Where's Danny?" Emily realized that Danny had not been seen since the beginning of the battle. She looked around, and spotted Danny...but not like she had hoped.

"Oh...my...god." Emily whispered, tears flowing down her face as she and Sam rushed to Danny's side. He lay unmoving on the cool floor, his face pale and his eyes closed.

Sam grabbed Emily and shook her hard by the shoulders. "Emily! You've got to use your healing powers. Please..." she pleaded desperately. "Please save him." But Emily was getting up slowly.

"Where are you going?" Sam demanded. Emily shook her head sadly.

"I will not heal him. I love him too much to heal him, and send him into Vlad's clutches. Maybe death is better for him." Emily turned around and started slowly walking away, but Sam caught her by the arm.

"Wait, Emily. You love Danny?" Emily turned around, her hazel eyes clouded in puzzlement.

"Yeah...why?" Sam had a look of dawning comprehension on her face.

"I love Danny! That's why I was so jealous of you being the leader if...well, if this happened." Sam waved a hand vaguely over her love's body. Emily's expression changed from disbelief, to passion, to resolve.

"Then I should heal him...for us. For both of us...for all of us. For you, for me...and for Danny." Sam nodded solemnly.

Emily threw her crutches down haphazardly and knelt at Danny's side, starting to massage him slowly. What was left of the army looked on anxiously as her hands became intangible and slid through Danny's battle suit and through his skin. Sam's tears and Emily's tears mixed together to create a salty, flowing river.

"Wake up, Danny." Emily pleaded softly as she massaged him. "Please, Danny, wake up. I love you, Sam loves you...you have so many people who care about you so much. Please, Danny, I'm begging you, just wake up. We'll find some way to get you out of this mess with Vlad, I promise. And I don't make promises lightly. Please Danny, wake up...wake up...wake up."

Danny's eyes, which in his ghost form were green, opened slowly, and then blinked a few times to bring Emily's face into focus. He smiled.

"You know, this is about the millionth time you've saved my life." he whispered hoarsely. "I should start charging you."

"Danny! You're alive!" his two lovers cried joyfully. As Danny was helped to his feet, an elated cheer rose up from the remains of the army. Danny embraced both Sam and Emily.

"I've figured it out now." he told them. "You can love more than one person...and I love both of you." The roaring cheer grew louder and more joyful as Danny kissed first Sam, then Emily. As the each of the girls savored the touch of Danny's lips upon their own, a sneer cut like a knife through the cheering crowd.

"Oh, how I hate to interrupt this joyful reunion." a voice said sarcastically. "But I do believe we have some unfinished business, Daniel."

And everybody looked to see the source of the voice. There stood Vlad Masters, with an evil smile on his face.

A/N: Wow that was a long chapter-for me anyway! It rivals my longest chapter that I had in Karenna's Legacy. Anyway, how'd you like it? REVIEW! Oh, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!