Early update! Early update! (don't get used to this). Anyway, thanks for understanding about the length of the previous chapter. And thank you very much for all your comments. They are truly much appreciated. I hope you enjoy this update.

Crappy title, but it fits this chapter, as you'll soon find out. Oh, and when I say Danny, I mean the human Danny, Fenton. His ghost half will be referred to as Phantom at least throughout this chapter, savvy?

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. (This is getting repetitive…)

Chapter 12: Me, Myself, and Eirene

(Eirene or Irene - the goddess of peace in Greek Mythology)

Phantom smirked. "Go ahead. Give it your best shot".

Glares locked, the boys just stood in front of each other as if they were in some kind of duel. Fenton couldn't help but feel uneasy with the ghost's cocky smile. He didn't show it, though. Danny's face kept a determined expression on it. He was definitely eager to end all this.

Moving his fingers anxiously around the lid of the Thermos, the human boy quickly threw himself to the ground, rolled to the side, and aimed the cylindrical container towards the one who, sadly, was now his enemy.

By attempting this move to protect himself from any attack, Danny momentarily lost sight of his ghost half.

Fenton's eyes went wide. "Where the hell did he-".

"Go?" a voice behind him asked and Phantom made himself visible as he kicked the boy's stomach. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you," he continued as he gave Fenton another kick. "At least not until I end with your miserable existence".

Danny attempted to stand up and aim the Thermos once again towards the specter. He held it firmly and activated it as he rolled to lie on his back. "How do you know you're not going to be stuck in here forever if you kill me?" he taunted as the blue beam emanating from the container missed the ghost.

Phantom smirked once again as he prepared another blast for Fenton. "Maybe because I know that the only reason we're stuck in here is because we're two people trying to control one body. But if there's only one…" he paused as he fired his ghost ray. Fenton, who was on his feet now, ducked as the beam missed him. "See my problem? So, even if you do lock me in that ridiculous Thermos, you won't have me contained enough to sneak back to reality. It's pretty useless. You might want to consider killing yourself if you don't want me to do the honors".

With a fierce glare, Danny simply stood in front of the specter. He clenched his fists, feeling his blood boil in anger as he heard the venomous words the white-haired boy spat.

I can't believe THAT was once my ghost half. Did I have all that darkness inside of me? No. Whatever Phantom is now, it is only my fault. He shouldn't have gone to hide far away from me. He shouldn't have been alone with the dream eater after he told me the truth. But, is he far from saving? He is serious about killing me. Maybe I should try to hold him back while I think of something. The stunt with the Thermos didn't go as planned, but all I need is a little back up to make it work.

He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat as his facial features relaxed. "You're probably right, but I promised myself I wouldn't give up on you again. I already made that mistake once". His right hand was now hiding behind his back. "And I'm sorry". He tightened his grip on an object he summoned. "For this!" he finished as he fired an ecto-gun that (finally) hit Phantom on the chest.

The ghost fell to the ground with his upper torso aching. There was still some smoke where the weapon had left its smoldering mark. He remained motionless as Danny slowly walked towards him with his gun prepared. Suddenly, Phantom laughed. He sat up and looked at Fenton with an amused look on his face. His cackling started dying down as he spoke. "You do realize that's the second time you make that mistake, don't you?"

The blue-eyed teenager shot him a nervous glance. "How so?" he dared to ask.

Phantom now floated a couple of inches above the boy. "Because if you can alter this plane's reality, so can I," he told him in a confident tone that chilled Fenton to the bones.

Oh, crud. How didn't I see that coming? What the heck is he going to do now?

Before he could say anything, Danny started feeling heavy and began to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the triumphant smile of his ghostly alter ego.

My head hurts. What did he do to me?

Danny groaned and tried to open his eyes as soon as he started to regain consciousness. He could feel he was resting on a hard surface. Once his eyelids allowed him to see his surroundings, he realized he was in fact lying on the middle of a street.

It was dark and raining. The moon was shinning above him as well as a couple of streetlights. He sat up and noticed a huge amount of rubble a couple of feet in front of him. He also saw a sign that read 'Under construction' which only meant one thing: Danny was in front of the building he destroyed with his Ghostly Wail.

No way. I'm awake?

Still in shock, he stood up and started heading towards the end of the street. He feared changing into Danny Phantom after all the things that happened in his head. He shivered at the thought.

Just as the tired boy was about to reach the corner, a huge vehicle made its way towards him. The frontal lights blinded Danny as it came closer. He recognized the metallic monster once the lights were turned off.

The Fenton RV? Mom and dad must have detected the paranormal activity in this part of the town.

Danny just stood there. As soon as the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle came to a stop, two figures came out of it. One was a woman wearing a blue hazmat while the other was a male in an orange suit similar to his partner's.

The man, also known as Jack Fenton or Danny's father, ran in the direction of the boy, with a bazooka in his hands. "Freeze, ghost!" he said as he aimed his weapon at his own son.

The woman, who was in fact the man's wife and went by the name of Maddie Fenton, aimed a similar weapon and prepared to shoot the same target her husband had. "Don't dare to move!" she yelled at the now confused teenager.

Danny gulped and held his hands up defensively in front of him. "Mom, dad, it's me. Danny. You can lower your guns now," he said in a calm voice, trying not to provoke the two ghost hunters who had him as a locked target.

Both adults didn't seem to care. They kept their weapons up as their glare on the boy intensified. "We know," Maddie simply replied. The cold that emanated from her words froze the teenager.

They know I'm their son and they still have guns pointing at me?

"Then why do you want to shoot me?" he asked with fear tainting his tone.

"We know what you are," Jack answered. "We finally found out your big secret, Danny boy".

"What?" the teenager exclaimed surprised.

Maddie walked around her child with her gun still pointed at him. "You're just a freak. An abomination," she said with rage on her expression.

Danny pleaded with his eyes. "Mom?"

His mother interrupted him from whatever he might have wanted to add. She shot him a disgusted glance. "I can't believe my own son is such a disgrace. Half a human. Half a ghost. A creature that doesn't belong in either world. An atrocity that has no place with the living nor the dead. If you were a full ghost, then at least you could have a chance to fit somewhere," she exclaimed as she continued walking around her son.

Tears began to roll down Danny's cheeks though the rain covered them. He didn't expect them to find out about his secret without him telling them. Much less had he expected them to react like this.

"I can explain-" he began.

This time, Jack cut him short. "Quiet, ghost! We're done with your lies and excuses".

Danny turned to face his father. "Dad, please-".

"It told you to be quiet!" Jack yelled once more. He gave his son a nasty look while the teenager sobbed now on his knees. "Don't worry. We will take you out of your misery once and for all," he finished as he aimed at the back of the boy's black-haired head.

This can't be happening. How did they find out? Why are they acting like this? I have to be dreaming. This has to be another illusion.

Phantom.

Get a grip, Danny. Mom and dad would never say anything like that to me. I know I might freak them out if they ever discover my secret, but they're my parents. They love me and they will eventually accept me.

Phantom.

He's messing with my head. The two figures standing next to me are just images created by him to bring me down.

Trying to calm himself down, Danny stopped crying and slowly got up. He turned around to meet the two enraged adults. He stood there serenely and analyzed his parents' features.

They didn't even have that much anger in them when they tried to hunt me as 'the ghost boy'. As Danny Phantom. Sure, they wanted to get rid of me, but their determination and fury was never this intense.

Those are not my parents. They can't be them.

Before Danny could express his thoughts towards the two imaginary figures, a female voice screaming behind them caught the trio's attention.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton! Wait!"

"Don't hurt him!" someone else cried.

"Mom, dad, stop!" another voice yelled.

Danny and his 'parents' turned around to see three teenagers running towards them. They were Sam, Tucker, and Jazz (respectively).

As soon as Jazz reached them, she hugged her brother. "Danny! Thank God you're alright! I thought we were late!" she said between sobs.

Sam and Tucker embraced him as well. Maddie and Jack didn't lower their weapons while this happened. "We didn't want to believe that was really you," the Goth girl exclaimed.

The half-human teenager was confused as he let his sister and friends hug him.

No. This can't be real. It can't be. Then, that would mean that mom and dad actually want to send me to whatever comes after the afterlife. No…

"What happened?" is all that Danny could ask.

The four teenagers separated from their embrace and sheepishly faced the young half-ghost. "We were kinda talking out loud about your secret and your parents sort of found out about everything," Sam explained softly.

Danny's eyes went wide. He faced his parents with tears threatening to come out again. "Then, you really want to kill me?" he asked in shock.

Maddie and Jack continued glaring at the boy. "Of course, Danny! Think! How else did you expect us to react? You're not just any ghost. You're that ghost kid! The one who has spread so much fear and destruction in Amity Park!" Mrs. Fenton replied heatedly.

Danny raised his hands in exasperation. "But I have only been trying to protect this town ever since I got my powers! I have never tried to-"

"Stop lying! What about everything you have done in the past few weeks? All the innocent people who lost their homes? What about those who even died because of you? Do you have any way to explain all the mess you made?" Maddie questioned her son once more.

Danny was at a loss of words. He really didn't know what the heck she was talking about. He shot his friends a confused look, begging them to explain.

His dark-skinned friend spoke. "You really have no idea of what you did, do you?" he asked. Danny shook his head and Tucker sighed as he pulled out his PDA. "You have to see it for yourself".

He clicked a button and handed it to Danny so he could see several video clips. In each and every one of them, the infamous Danny Phantom was wreaking havoc all around Amity Park. He saw the scared faces of several students at Casper High as he blew up the whole school. He saw how he tried to kill his own teacher, Mr. Lancer. He gasped as he saw in the next scene how he succeeded to not only murder the bald educator, but also several people he knew well like Principal Ishiyama, Dash, Kwan, Star, Mikey, Nathan, Paulina, and a few other classmates. Another scene then showed how he also terminated the life of Valerie's father as he tried to protect her from the ghost boy.

What have I done? Did I try to pretend none of that happened by trying to believe that I was actually under the control of a dream eater? Did I really do all of that?

No. That has to be Phantom again.

Everything's so messed up. Something is definitely wrong with the both of us.

Still too shocked to speak, Danny once again fell to his knees and looked at a puddle that began to form in front of him. In it, he saw his reflection. But it was not really him. He now had white hair. A black and white jumpsuit replaced his clothes. And instead of his icy-blue eyes or even his glowing green ones, he had a crimson gaze.

No. He really must have taken over me. That's why I don't remember anything.

If Danny had actually looked at his clothes or hands instead of the vague reflection in the puddle, he would've noticed that he was really in his human form staring at a ghostly image on the water.

But he didn't. He fell for the illusion created in the liquid mirror. He now believed he was in his ghost form even when he wasn't.

"Danny!" a cry of help called behind him. He turned around only to see a giant ghost snake holding his friends and his sister tightly in its grip.

"Jazz. Tucker. Sam. No!" He tried to run, but he slipped on the watery floor and fell with a splash.

Those two seconds he spent on his fall, were used to the advantage of the ghoulish creature to break the bones of its preys. The bodies of the three teenagers collapsed motionless on the wet asphalt.

Danny's eyes widened. "NO!"

He then heard two weapons warming up. "Did you see what your stupidity has caused, ghost boy?" Maddie asked. "Our daughter is dead because of that monster! She and the others are dead because of you! That snake was your fault as the rest has been," she finished with an enraged tone.

"But I never meant any of this to happen," Danny sobbed. He was soaking wet but the pain he felt didn't allow him to care.

"You have to be destroyed atom by atom," Jack now spoke.

"Don't I get to say good bye first?" the voice of none other than Valerie Gray came into the scene. She was wearing her normal clothing as she approached her former classmate, love interest, and friend. "I at least deserve to see him suffer after all the agony he caused me," she said bitterly.

"Valerie, please. You don't understand," Danny started to defend himself once again but the girl slapped him. The boy had to turn his head by the force of the slap. His cheek began to show a ruby shade of red on it.

"I've had enough of your lies. You only wanted to see me hurt, huh? Didn't you, ghost? Tell me, are you happy now? Are you glad that I have lost everything that mattered to me and that you were the only one responsible for that?" Valerie yelled furiously as she pushed the boy back to the ground when he began to stand up.

This really can't be happening. My family, my friends, the town. It's just too much. This can't be real.

And what if it isn't? I've been fooled before. What if none of this is real? What if Phantom's just tricking me? What if he's just using these sick mind games to get rid of me.

He looked at the limp bodies of his friends where the snake that disappeared had once been. He saw his parents' weapons. He saw the expression on Valerie's face. He looked at the demolished building not far behind him.

Everything happened so fast. He knew exactly which cards to play and how to use them against me. He caught me off guard with all these events happening at once. He knew my worst fears. He knew how terrified I am of my parents' rejection, about putting my loved ones in danger, about hurting them with my secret, about becoming an evil being, a monster.

He knows my worst fears because they are a part of him as well, just like he is a part of me. Or was.

He could've killed me instead of doing all this charade. But maybe this is his way of telling me that he's not really convinced about getting rid of me. Maybe he's having second thoughts. Maybe there's still some trace of humanity left in him, just as there was a bit of his strength and determination left in me before he told me what was going on in this crazy and made-up world.

I made a promise. I said I wouldn't give up on him and I'm not going to do it. There has to be a way to bring him out of the shadows. Maybe if I just taunt him enough to see what he's doing wrong…

Danny ignored the three people who were surrounding him and stood up. Valerie wasn't strong enough this time to push him down. The trio screamed something at him but he just kept ignoring it. He walked away from them and headed to the fallen construction site, to the place where he 'woke up'.

"I am right here! Why don't you come to face me yourself? Why do you have to play these stupid mind games?", he yelled, not caring about the thunder that now traveled through the sky with its mighty roar.

As he finished saying this, a figure began to appear at the same time that the three ghost hunters faded from view. The newcomer chuckled while he floated a couple of feet above of the boy.

"I guess your half of our brain is not as stupid as I thought," Phantom said mockingly.

Danny gave him a smug smile though he was secretly sighing in relief. "And sadly, I guess your half of our brain is not as creative as I thought," he countered. "I mean, come on… a ghost snake? You kinda overdid it there. I have to give you credit, though. You almost made me believe that my own parents hated me. And the rain? That was classic. It even suited the mood," the human boy mocked back. Phantom only smirked at his counterpart's comments.

"You also have to admit I had a good point to make there," the ghost exclaimed as the landed in front of the boy.

"Oh, yeah? What was that? I practically missed it," Fenton replied.

"The point was to show you what your life will be like if you even think about going back to the real world. You'll have to face the rejection of your parents, your friends will be in constant peril, and it's all going to be your fault. You put their lives at risk the whole time". Phantom snorted, "some hero you turned out to be. You are destined to hurt the ones you love. You don't belong to the real world anymore".

Fenton rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, because letting you go instead of me will really make things much better for everyone," he replied sarcastically.

Phantom eyed the boy curiously. "How do you propose we end this, then?" he asked with certain amusement.

"Well, it's simple. What if we both just go back to the real world?" Danny offered.

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "You are seriously delusional. Maybe I affected you worse than I thought".

Fenton dropped his challenging act and put his serious look on his face. "You know we belong as one being. One mind. One soul. We are a team, remember? We work things out together. We are one and the same. That's why I probably understand why you are so full of rage. Because I dismissed all of it. By choosing to believe a fantasy in which I had the perfect life, I forgot completely about you. I started sending you to oblivion, as you once put it. I didn't stop to consider that even if it was all a dream and you really didn't exist, you are still a part of me as I am a part of you".

The red-eyed ghost boy shifted uncomfortably on his feet but didn't say a word nor did he lower his gaze. He just listened.

Danny took a deep breath and continued. "By pushing you aside, I let you start to feel neglected. I don't blame you for not wanting me any more. For trying to get rid of me. But you have to know that I now understand that even before the accident, you were the voice that encouraged me to do my best. You were the one who helped me gain the necessary strength to confront all types of dangers. Even if it just consisted on running away from Jazz after I sneaked into her room to read her diary".

That's when something Danny hadn't expected, happened. Phantom chuckled lightly, but in a sincere way. He actually found the comment amusing enough to forget that he wanted to kill his human half.

Fenton used this opportunity to keep on going. He felt he almost had his ghost half out of his 'trance'.

"You're just as vulnerable as I am. Do you really think that life will be much better if you take full charge of our mind? That it will be somehow easier? The fears you showed me are also a part of you. You can't escape them. If you think you'll be free of our cumbersome secret identity when you become a full ghost, you're wrong. I guarantee you that you will be ashamed of showing yourself in public if my parents are around. Your parents.

"We're not two different people. We just had our personalities divided. But I know there's still some humanity in you as there is a ghostly side in me. And I know all this because your part of our personality, your part of our brain taught me that. Together, we are complete. If you get rid of me, you will be empty for the rest of your afterlife. You won't even have an ambition as a ghost. You'll be wandering without course, without a real unfinished business. You will be stuck. And it's going to be a horrible existence and you know it.

"When our future evil self was created, he needed of someone else to feel complete. He destroyed everything but, did it make things any better for him? Did he really feel anything close to success? Do you want to be THAT?"

Phantom narrowed his gaze and took a step closer to Danny. "You think you're better, then? That you know everything that happens on this side of our brain? You're a fool. You know nothing! You have no idea about anything!" he snapped back at the human boy.

Danny didn't even flinch. He just looked at Phantom sadly. "I'm not better than you. I know that if I beat you and go back to the real world on my own, I'll be missing a huge part of me. I'll be just as empty as you would be. And I don't know what it's like for you to stay hidden the whole time, to have to deal with everything else I can't handle. I really don't know what it's like. But I do know that we always manage to figure things out together. I've already told you: we're the same. That's how I know you don't really want to kill me. That's how I know that we can fix this mess and return to our own reality together".

The ghost boy stared into his eyes for a couple of seconds. Danny noticed that his eyes were now a paler shade of crimson. As if the rage had been slowly taken away. After those seconds, Phantom closed his eyes as he fell on his knees to cry. He held the boy's legs tightly as he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he said between gasps, ironically though, since ghosts don't really need to breathe.

Fenton kneeled to his side and hugged Phantom. He also began to cry with his ghost half. "No, I'm sorry. This was all my fault since the beginning. If I had never tried so stubbornly to live a normal life, none of this would've happened. YOU are part of my normal life. Not being a half dead hybrid almost killed me completely," he said between sobs.

Phantom stopped for a second and turned his now green gaze towards Fenton. "I know we are a complete goofball, but that was one of the cheesiest remarks your half of our brain has ever said," he said in a disbelieving tone.

Both teenagers laughed as the tears continued to roll down their cheeks. They hugged once again and both of them felt like they were phasing into one another. Both of them closed their eyes as the rain engulfed them in its darkness.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Danny yelled as he felt a burning sensation on his chest. He opened his eyes and met the nocturnal sky without a single cloud showing. He noticed he was once again lying on the floor so he sat up with a bolt.

He rubbed his eyes. He felt the numbing feeling in his whole body disappear. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed that it hadn't rained at all. He was at the same old spot on the middle of the street. The demolished building was still in front of him.

Then, he glanced to his right to meet a familiar figure who said the two words Danny had been longing to hear since the first day he opened his eyes from his imaginary coma.

"You're awake".

So… what did you think? I hope you liked it :o) This one came out early because I really worked non-stop on this and I didn't want you to wait all week to read it. I felt kinda inspired so I seriously hope it keeps you interested enough to read the rest of the chapters.

There's still more to come. It's not over yet. I'll try to write the next one before March 18th.

Save Danny Phantom from cancellation! Check at the bottom of chapter 8 for ways to help.