A loud bang split the sky and was quickly followed by the crunch of concrete. Danny could just barely make out the base of the clock tower, let alone the clock itself. Yet somehow, the sniper was able to see him. That didn't come as a surprise, but it did make his life considerably more difficult. He stood, took a breath to center himself, and…

The lights went out. "I'm not afraid anymore…" whispered the little boy. Danny felt a small hand tightly grasp his own to lead him forward. He heard gunfire as the sniper tried to find him in the darkness, then even that stopped. After several nerve-racking minutes, his invisible guide vanished again, and the darkness with him.

"Thanks!" Danny called. A child's laughter echoed faintly in response.

The fog was every bit as thick as it was anywhere else inside the tower. A receptionist's desk lay broken in half nearby, the receptionist herself trapped beneath it. The boy quickly diverted his attention to stare around him, not that there was much to see. He turned quickly as something screeched nearby; somewhere, the squealing noise of a metal blade being dragged along the floor heralded the presence of slayers.

"Millions…" he muttered, nodding vaguely. "Everyone in Hollywood is going to want this script. I'll be rich."

Are you there, amante? Did you come at last?

Danny didn't answer. She probably wasn't close enough to hear, anyway.

I've missed you. I'm so lonely. The only voice I hear is mine, now…

Now, what did that mean? Her earlier panic had been replaced by a despairing kind of resignation.

I know what hate is, now. I never knew before. It's kind of funny. All this time, I thought I did. All this time, I mistook your hatred for love.

Something was definitely wrong with Silver. He wasn't overly inclined to care what happened to her, except that it might have repercussions that would be fatal for his friends and family.

And right on cue, the thought of them brought up their images lying on the floor in a large pool of blood. He forced his eyes away, but it didn't stop the relentless barrage in his mind. Silver threw hallucinations at him as another woman might throw dishes at a cheating boyfriend. Clearly, she was close enough to see.

His breath in ragged gasps from barely restrained tears, he dropped to his knees. "Please!" he begged. "Just stop! I'll do anything you want; just stop it and let them go."

No, amante, she replied, with a sneer on her usual term of "endearment." That's far too easy. I know exactly what you think of me, now. Your other half explained it quite thoroughly. I don't love you anymore, and I'm going to win this game. And then, I'll make your madre pay for this.

Danny yelled and jerked back as still-bleeding stump that had once been her hand appeared inches from his face. She seemed faded, wane. Her chains, which normally swayed and weaved like living things, hung limp around her. Her "voice" may have been angry, but her expression was hurt. Suddenly, her eyes focus on something behind him. In the split second before she vanished, they were filled with fear and dread.

Then he heard the muttering. "Yo odio tú."

Danny lunged to his feet and ran forward, but the fog meant that he couldn't see very far ahead. Not knowing where to run, he slammed into a wall and fell backwards to floor. The world might have spun around before his eyes, or it might have been the swirling haze. It didn't really matter anymore.

"I had a little birdie, and her name was Enza…" Meryll sang. She was so pretty as she carved a mongoose into her hand gun.

"Do you miss your mom?" he asked. She just giggled and shook her head. "But why not?"

She looked around, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Because she's not dead," was the whispered reply.

"Then why did they have a funeral, Silver?" he pointed out, hoping to talk some kind of sense into his friend.

She waved her chisel dismissively. "Because they're stupid and don't know any better. They think just because your body dies, it means you're dead."

He scratched the side of his and tried to make sense of that statement. Failing that, he finally asked, "But it does, doesn't it?"

Meryll rolled her eyes and pointed the gun at his head. He didn't bother to flinch; he knew it wasn't loaded. After a moment, she tapped the side of her head and grinned. "Mother lives up here now. She won't ever leave me alone again. You won't leave me either, will you?"

"Of course, not."

"Promise me. Prove you'll never leave me alone."

As he stared down the Mongoose's barrel, he suddenly found himself wondering if it really was unloaded. They said she killed that boy, that it was an accident. But how did you cut someone's head off with an axe by accident? She was his best friend, his only friend, and she scared him more than his father. He nodded slowly, then shifted so that he was on one knee. That's how one of the prisoners had told him it was done.

"When we're old enough, will you marry me?"

The great black eye that filled his vision finally moved away. "I knew you would ask me one day," she said with a happy sigh.

She was his friend, and he wanted his father. A beating would have preferable somehow.

"Leave him alone!" yelled a familiar voice. The dream and darkness cleared slowly cleared to allow Danny the sight of green energy blasts actually driving Diego away somewhat. "Run, you moron!" the ghost commanded, barely sparing him a glance.

But Silver was afraid of Diego, wasn't she? His legs didn't want to support his weight, but he managed to get his feet and stumble towards the elevators. Behind him, something screamed, a chilling noise that almost made him loose his conviction again.

Oh, who was he kidding? He lost that a long time ago. He'd been running more or less on autopilot since Killjoy's pet slayer dropped him into the basement.

He didn't pay attention to the silence behind him until a remarkable imitation of his voice asked scathingly, "You don't honestly think the elevators are working, do you?"

"L-leave me alone," he stammered, trying to sound brave. There was a pause, and an upside-down, white-haired head dropped into his field of vision.

"Dude, would you relax, already?" Phantom demanded as his human half yelped in fear. "She's gone!"

"Gone where?" Danny asked, trying to slow the rapid pounding of his heart. And more importantly, did he believe that? He wanted to. Certainly, the expression of scathing mockery was not one she would normally wear. Of course, it wasn't one he would normally wear, either.

On the other hand, neither of them were quite themselves.

Phantom shrugged and drifted over his head. "You think I care? The only reason I'm still here is you. Now, hurry up. It's a long way back up there, and I can't phase through anything."

Danny glanced around fearfully and hastened to catch up. "You don't care about everyone else?" That thought was kind of scary.

The ghost shrugged again. "Not really."

They climbed in silence, and Danny stared at his feet. He was a bit disillusioned by his ghost half. For some reason, he had been expecting the overly-heroic Danny Phantom who had appeared last time he split himself. That time, however, he had wanted his personality to be split like that. This time, he just wanted Silver gone.

That had worked out real well, hadn't it?

He wanted to know what his ghost half had done to her, but he was almost afraid to ask. He knew he would find out anyway when they became one again, but he wanted to know right then. It was important. Sadly, it would have to wait.

Phantom gasped in something that was probably anger and started blasting into the fog. Danny could just make several souls beyond him. He trained the light on them; a few shrieked and vanished. Many were simply annoyed. Some he had met; some he hadn't. One in particular he recognized as having been one of her last victims. He vividly remembered seeing the man's body hanging limply in a tree, a last ditch effort to escape the monsters on the ground.

His other half laughed lightly and flashed him a grin that was, at last, more teasing than mocking. "Not too bad for a human."

Danny scoffed. "Hey, I'm a Fenton, remember? That beats a ghost any day."

Somewhere along the way, beating off the Malice became a lighthearted contest. They were surrounded by the moaning, reached things, but the simple fact they were together again made it a little easier to bear. Slowly, the Malice started to thin out. Unfortunately, he quickly realized why.

Something grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tried to pull him out Diego's reach. "Why are they all after you?" Phantom demanded. He blasted the Malice and rolled his eyes. "What am I saying? You're alive; of course, they're after you."

Danny was a bit too distracted to answer.

"…And this is the electric chair, where Horace died," Meryll was saying. "He died the day I was born."

"Wow…" Kev breathed. "Can I sit in it?"

"I don't think you should do that," he interjected uncomfortably.

The white haired girl laughed brightly. "You're no fun! Let's play executioner! Kev, you can be the victim."

The condemned child hooted with joy and jumped into the chair while Meryll led him into the control room. "You're not really going to do it, are you?" he asked, shaking slightly.

She laughed; she actually laughed. He couldn't believe it. "Are you scared?"

"I just don't want him to die."

There was that laugh again. He couldn't help but shudder; it made her sound…insane. "He's not going to die," she replied in exasperation. "I told you. He'll be here with me like everyone else."

He couldn't stop her. Worse than that, he wasn't sure he wanted to. She was the boss, after all.

He swam back into awareness to the sound of his other half complaining loudly. "Wake up, already! Look, it's gone! Just get up!" He sounded a bit frantic.

"I'm back…" Danny muttered, rubbing his eyes. He almost would have preferred the darkness. Not the images, of course, but the cool dark. His head was pounding. "How long was I…out?"

Phantom laughed mirthlessly. "Out? Yeah, that's about right. About a minute. Just long enough for your flashlight to get broken." He displayed its shattered remains. He glanced behind him and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "We may have a minor problem." Danny didn't actually need an explanation. He could see two gorger captains behind the ghost.

Darwin had driven off the Malice.

"I'll keep them busy," Phantom continued. "You get upstairs."

"But-"

"Just go!" He abruptly turned away to yell something at the gluttonous creatures. Danny hesitated a few moments more, but he knew his other half would be stuck protecting him if he stayed. He ran.