Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Danny Phantom.

Chapter Six: Papercut

Sam, Tucker and Jazz headed over to Sam's place to talk about the fight they had just seen occur. The moment Sam closed the door behind them, Jazz burst out into sudden sobs. Tucker patted her on the back, trying to calm her down.

"I had no idea anything like that was happening to him!" Jazz wailed out. "If only I had seen it coming, I could've, could've done something!" Sam bit her bottom lip.

"I feel the same way, but it's happened, and we can't go back. What we need to do is try and sort this all out now, and maybe get Danny back. He may not be the same as before, I doubt he'll ever be the same, but we have try and least find a small part of the old Danny in him and get him back before this goes on too much longer!"

"Thing is, how do we find him?" Tucker asked. Sam's mind replayed the conversation she had gone through with Danny. 'I actually hung around in your attic for a while, Tucker's too.' "…And after a fight, he may need a brief moment of rest…" Sam muttered faintly. She whirled about, running for the steps. She paused, looking back to Tucker and Jazz, motioning for them to follow with one hand, one finger over her lips with the other hand. The other two looked confused, but followed none the less. As they went upstairs, Tucker glanced out the window, seeing the outside sky was dark with clouds, and as they passed another window, he saw it was starting to rain.

After reaching the top floor, Sam went to a door at the end of the hall, quietly opening it. Some stairs led upwards, another door at the top. Repeating the shushing motion, she turned and headed up them as carefully as she could. Jazz and Tucker followed suit. Jazz bit her bottom lip, realizing Sam thought Danny might be in her attic. Why would he be there? If he was trying to avoid them, why hide near them? She gave her head a little shake. Some dust from the walls around them was settling on her blue pants and black shirt, and she repressed a sneeze.

Sam slowly opened the door to the attic, squinting a little to try and see. Sometimes a few slits of light would come through the windows, filtering through the pulled down the mini-blinds, but with the darkened sky outside, there was none. Moving ahead carefully, Sam peered around some boxes, Tucker and Jazz doing the same. There sat Danny, in his ghost form, one hand over his shoulder.

"…Damn rocket, got me more then I thought…" He was heard to mutter. He took one white-gloved hand away from his shoulder to look at it, green ghost-blood smeared over it. With a sigh he closed his eyes, and two white rings washed over his body, leaving behind his human self.

His messy black hair fell into his icy-blue eyes, and even as a human, his skin looked oddly pale. He wore slightly baggy, navy jeans over black boots, and his torso was covered by a white dress-shirt, the top few buttons undone, the cuffs at the sleeves unbuttoned and folded back. A stain of red was beginning to stain the right shoulder of his shirt. He grumbled incoherently, before tensing suddenly. He turned his head ever so slightly, looking about.

"Who's there?"

Sam, Tucker and Jazz drew back behind the boxes, sitting, holding their breath. Faint footsteps were head and they seemed to walk right in front of them. However, nothing was there. Sam risked a glance around the boxes, seeing nothing. She turned her head to look at Tucker and Jazz.

"I-I think he's gone."

"No I'm not." All three yelped at the voice. Danny appeared, sitting in front of them, still in his human form. Sam wanted to smack her forehead. She had forgotten Danny could go invisible as a human. Danny smiled widely, closing his eyes briefly, before looking over at Jazz. He now looked startled, blinking. Jazz stared back, before letting out a wail and throwing her arms around her younger brother.

A few seconds after this happened Danny had phased through her grip, getting up. He was frowning slightly, as the other three scrambled to their feet. After a moment of staring, Danny sighed, shaking his head, walking around to his original spot in the attic- near an old couch.

"You shouldn't be here Jasmine." Jazz blinked in surprise when Danny used her full name. Sam noticed Danny rummage in a box behind the couch, before pulling out a small first-aid kit. Opening it, he sighed a little.

"Damn, almost out of supplies…" Jazz stepped towards her brother, brow raised.

"Danny, have you been stealing?" It was blunt and straight forwards. Danny didn't even look up.

"I do what I have to, to survive." Tucker frowned, looking oddly serious.

"Danny, you were kind of reckless- people nearly got hurt in that fight!"

"So!" Danny snapped out with a snarl. "I'm public enemy number one! Might as well act the part! And besides, nobody did get hurt! It's no big deal!" He set the first aid kit aside, unbuttoning his shirt. "And I'm gonna take of my shoulder, so feel free to go or stay, doesn't matter." He growled out. Sam, despite of herself, felt a slight blush go to her face. Danny took out a roll of bandages, and after shrugging off his shirt, began to wrap it around his shoulder with odd ease.

"Danny, how often have you done this?" Jazz asked suddenly, watching her brother. Danny shrugged his unharmed shoulder in an off-hand manor. His eyes, though averted from them, seemed to flicker slightly, as if he was struggling with something internally. Taking a small pair of scissors from the medical-kit, he snipped the gauze and put the rest away. Standing, he pulled his shirt back on.

"Now, is this going to turn into twenty questions?" Danny asked tieredly. "'Cause I was going to get some rest, but if it is, I'll go somewhere else. Heck, I may have to anyway because you know I'm here."

"Danny! You have no idea how much pain mom and dad have gone through!" Jazz exclaimed. Danny had looked away in that moment, but when Jazz said this, he whipped his head around to look at her.

"Jazz, you just don't get it do you?" He bent his head, hair shadowing his eyes. Suddenly his shoulder shook a little as he began to laugh. He then tossed his head back, laughing louder, before finally quieting and looking at his older sister, smiling in a crazed manor. He stepped over to her, and Jazz realized he was barely a half-inch shorter then her. "I, don't, care."

Danny turned away, taking a few steps to Tucker. Chuckling, he slapped a hand onto his old friend's shoulder.

"Tucker, thanks for acting the concerned friend, but you can stop it now. I'm fine, I can hold my own. Get on with whatever you feel like doing with your life." He then went over to Sam, putting a hand on both of her shoulders. He looked at her a moment, and the crazed smile seemed to soften a little.

"Same for you, Sam. I'll still be around, maybe drop in for a visit or two." He leaned forwards suddenly and kissed her forehead.

"Right now, however, I have to pay an old friend a visit." Danny frowned, eyes flickering green a brief moment. He then smiled again, hugging Sam, then stepping away and striding over to the window. Sam snapped out of the slight stunned position she had been in.

"It's a full-blown storm out there by now! You can't go out there!" Danny smirked, turning into his ghost form.

"I've been in worse." He then turned his head to the window, opening the blinds with one hand. Like Sam had said, the rain was pounding down now, and the wind was howling like some enraged beast. "See ya." With a two-fingered salute, he vanished through the window, and into the storm beyond. Sam looked wildly out the window into the storm, but found she couldn't see anything. She looked over her shoulder to Tucker.

"B-by 'old friend', you don't think he meant-?" Jazz looked confused, but Tucker understood.

"I, think he did Sam, I think he did."