It was a grand battle that he wasn't sure he would win. Unlike Danny, Shade had no bargaining chip to keep Vlad Plasmius in relative check. All he had was the people of Amity Park, and their sudden realization that the ghost attacks got worse when he left. The well-wishers were still visiting the room to apologize and leave "Get Well Soon" cards by his bed.
"Ghosts aren't supposed to get hurt this bad," he groaned.
Jazz scoffed and shook her head. "Well, lucky for you, you're still human enough to feel it." Privately, the boy disagreed about the "lucky" part, but a quiet knock at the door kept him from voicing it. His sister conversed for a few moments with whoever was there, then asked, "Are you feeling up to two more visitors?"
"Anything to get rid of the boredom!" he exclaimed gratefully. He was beyond amazed when a familiar black boy in a red beret entered, followed closely by a goth girl in black and purple. "Sam and Tucker?" he asked before he caught himself. They weren't the ones he knew.
Jazz slipped out and closed the door behind her before they walked up. They stared at him uncertainly, so he joked, "I don't look that bad, do I?" He was pleased to earn a small snicker from Tucker.
There a slight pause, then Sam blurted out, "You saved my mom and dad, you know."
Shade blinked, wondering what she expected him to say. He was certain he saved a lot of people, but he had been rather too caught up in saving himself to pay much attention. Fortunately, Tucker came to the rescue. "I think what Sam's trying to say is, she's sorry for calling you a poser and being mean to you." The girl nodded almost miserably. "And…I'm kind of sorry for letting her."
"Hey, you did it, too!" Sam exclaimed, cringing slightly as she remembered their audience.
"Well…" Shade began, a sly smile on his face. "I might forgive you if you distract Jazz and find me some ice cream or something. I'm so sick of hospital food!"
The two kids stared for a moment, nonplussed by the completely unexpected response. Tucker was the first to break; he stared laughing and pulled Sam away with promises of Reeses Pieces.
Danny stared up at the imposing structure for a moment before going inside. It wasn't the first time he'd been there, but he still felt as though he was intruding on some kind of sacred ground. Or something. "Clockwork?" he called out. His only answer was a sudden and resounding bang. He was half tempted to turn and go; he had only dropped by because he was in the Ghost Zone anyway, taking Skulker home as per his mother's promise.
He felt a brief moment of satisfaction at that. Maddie may have promised not to send the little ghost home without his armor, but no one had said anything about how many pieces it would be in. Danny was relatively confident that he wouldn't be dealing with Skulker for a long time.
"Ah, hello, Danny!" Clockwork exclaimed from somewhere above. "My apologies. I expected you, but your older self has been unusually troublesome of late."
"He's not going to get loose, is he?" the boy asked worriedly, drifting up to join the ghost.
Clockwork smiled slightly. "I wouldn't worry about it. So tell me. What brings you to see me this time?"
Danny was about to point out that Clockwork already knew, but he decided not to. "I just want to say that if Shade ever needs help, I want to go and help him. I kind of feel like he's my responsibility."
"Well, if that's what you wish, I'll see what I can arrange," the Master of Time allowed. "However, do recall that you had no one to guide you."
"I had Sam and Tucker," Danny pointed out. "Shade doesn't have anyone."
"Don't be so certain." Clockwork guided him to the viewing sphere and let it reveal a stark white hospital room in which the ghost boy's double laughed and joked with a handful of people, some of whom he had never even seen let alone met. "He drove Plasmius away, at last. I was beginning to wonder about him, actually, so I suppose the Guardians did him some good."
Danny stared for a few moments after the sphere went dark, then nodded. "Okay, but still! If he needs me, I want to be there."
"Of course." As Clockwork watched boy go, he wondered idly if that sense of pride he felt was anything like Maddie must have.
A/N: Next up: A Step Too Far. I don't know how well it's going to turn out, though. Just warning you now.
Thank you to all you nice people who have taken the time to review. I'd like to especially thank Pen, Random, and darkflame for going out their way to review every new chapter. It really means a lot to me that you care so much.
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to say a truly heartfelt thank you?