A/N: I really don't have much to say except thank you for waiting. It's cool to know that I'm yet to hear someone getting pissed off because of that little promise I haven't been able to keep ever since I made it way back in the second chapter. I apologize for the long wait as of this point - I've recently gotten over a really bad stomach virus.
Disclaimer: Title based off a lyric by Dan Fogelberg. I got tired ofthis being in the summary...
You came here to read, didn't you? Excuse me while I let the fifteenth chapter take over my notes...
Chapter 15 - The Heart of the Matter
The last thing Valerie had remembered was that she was sheltering her best friend's fallen body from the rain...
But then there was something she was sensing, or rather, two things she was sensing.
For one, it felt as if the deluge had subsided a bit...sure, it was still thundering, and it was raining with an intensity that she hadn't experienced in a while, but for some reason it didn't seem to have the same force as before...
The second sensing, however, seemed like an impossibility altogether...in fact, she didn't even recognize it at first, but then it became absolutely unmistakable.
Valerie felt the faint beating of Danny's heart...
What?
She wasn't sure about what was happening...or rather, she had no idea...
...he had fallen from over 100 feet...no one could survive a fall like that...
...as much as she wanted this to be, this couldn't be possible...this wasn't possible...he wasn't...?
Slowly, her head turned toward Danny's face...and the impossible had occurred...
Her own heart racing, she let out a strangled gasp and put a hand to her mouth, as her green eyes locked with his open blue ones.
"Danny...?" she whispered, wondering if this was actually happening. "Oh my God...Danny?"
He tried to speak, but finding no strength to do so. Instead, he acknowledged her quiet whispers with a slight smile.
It was more than enough. The girl lifted the top half of his body from the ground and basically cut off his breathing with a bear hug. "DANNY!" she screamed, but at the same time, filled with some leftover sorrow. "Danny...you're alive...I can't believe it...YOU'RE ALIVE!"
A searing pain flew through Danny from not only the hug, but from the endless cuts and bruises he had received earlier from the rose bush he had previously fallen onto. He knew he must have damaged one of his shoulders, as well...
Valerie wasn't helping the situation at all, as she was currently cutting off his oxygen supply and also irritating the wounds...
"Valerie..." he choked out, trying to breathe. "...yes...OK...nice..." He gasped, trying to recover oxygen. "...please...I can't...breathe..."
She continued the death hug. "You're alive..."
And Danny found his strength. Though it was really painful, he found the ability to move his arm into a position to support himself.
As he did this, however, it was like Valerie's excitement suddenly and completely turned back into sorrow as her hug loosened a bit from Danny's chest. She then started crying on his shoulder...which happened to be the damaged one.
And it stayed that way for about thirty seconds. It was just them, in the middle of the rain, wondering who was going to make the first move or statement. No one seemed to be doing anything.
That was, until Valerie started speaking in a different tone.
"...What was wrong with you? Why did you do this to me?" she said, breaking down on him.
She leaned more weight onto his shoulder, as her tears fell at a faster rate.
"What possessed you to...? ...Why did you...? How could you...?" She was so upset that she couldn't finish her sentences.
"I'm sorry..." he tried saying, but it didn't seem to be of any use. She just fell into an even worse form of shock as she continued crying.
More pain, both physical and emotional, continued flooding into his system. But soon enough, Danny found the strength to finally place his good arm around her shaking, rain-drenched body, consoling her.
"...It's OK, Valerie...it's OK..."
Valerie's sobs stopped abruptly once again as she looked at his arm, and then repeated his words.
"It's OK?" she asked, lifting her head and facing him. "Just like that, out of the blue, it's OK?"
Before Danny knew it, she left his side, causing him to lose support. He fell backwards on the grass once again, a bit stunned. Forcing himself up with his miserable arms (which hurt like hell), he turned around as he watched her walk to a spot some ten feet away.
It was then she showed her true colors of the situation.
"IT'S OK? Why the HELL did you decide to jump off a building like that? You thought that was OK? Why did you do that to me?"
He should have known that this was coming...
"Valerie, I didn't know..."
"It's OK that I finally know that you're that half-ghost that ruined my life? It's OK that I find out that you were attempting suicide by jumping off that damn building that I spent one miserable week in? It's OK that I was crying over your what-I-thought-was dead body, and suddenly you come back to life? You expect me to believe that everything's OK?"
"Valerie..." Danny said, trying to stand, but couldn't find the ability to do so. "I'm sorry..."
"YOU'RE SORRY?" she exclaimed. "You're only sorry for doing one of the most stupid things I have ever seen in my life? Do you have any idea how much I felt, watching you fall from that height, and me, trying to catch you before you fell, just to miss?"
"You don't understand..."
"YOU'RE the one that doesn't understand!" she yelled, now in hysterics. "Everything you did...every lie, every action, every method of deceit I can ever think of...when I saw you, sprawled face-up after you hit the ground...I couldn't believe that all of this was connected to you! You were that person! The one enemy I had...the one friend I had...the one person that meant everything to me...the one person I wanted to kill day after day...everything! It was all you, falling from over 100 feet, hitting the rose bush...lying there, UNCONSCIOUS!"
She turned away from him, crying harder than ever as the rain continued to fall.
"Things are not OK, Danny!" she yelled. "I don't even know who you are anymore! I can't believe that every single day, it was you that -"
"It was me? What did I have to do with this?" he said, cutting her off.
"YOU were the one that destroyed everything!" she yelled. "And you were the one that I could ever trust! And lastly, this has hurt me the most! YOU were the one that had to come to the top of this building and jump off of it..."
"SAM AND JAZZ WERE CLOSE TO DEATH!" he somehow yelled, cutting her off.
Surprised by his sudden outburst, she turned in his direction.
"IS ALL THE BLAME ON ME? DON'T YOU EVER CONSIDER OTHER THINGS? LIKE YOU, FOR EXAMPLE?"
Valerie, still stunned, could not answer.
"THAT'S THE DAMN PROBLEM WITH YOU! YOU NEVER LET PEOPLE SHARE THEIR SIDE OF THE OPPOSITION! IT'S ALWAYS YOU! DO THINGS ALWAYS HAVE TO BE CENTERED ON YOU?"
It took a lot of energy for Danny to say that. His voice was struggling through that mess, and it seemed to have exacerbated the pain within him.
His anger rose a bit as he somehow transformed into Danny Phantom, making Valerie twitch again.
"Do you think I've always meant to keep this from you? Did you ever consider how much pain that I felt, having to keep this secret day after day? And it was especially to you?"
Valerie wanted to say something in retortion herself, but remained silent as Danny continued yelling.
"I never wanted any of this to happen...I never meant for that ghost dog to come barging in on your father's work and completely destroy everything in sight...I absolutely, without a doubt, regret that one day of my life! Nothing that happened to you was any of my fault! What I tried doing was controlling it, but that stupid dog was too strong! It destroyed everything in its path to find a stupid toy, which happened to be in an old dog kennel at Axion, your father's work!"
"I was hoping that you'd keep an open mind to everything, but you never gave me any of that! You wanted to kill me, that very minute you knew of my existence, just because I happened to be the one that you saw! For months after that, I had seriously been wishing that I had never gone after that dog at all! All of this probably would have never happened!"
"And I hated you!" he continued yelling. "You were that same girl in the beginning that was always proud and arrogant when you were rich, but now that you were poor, I'm yet to see some sort of difference! Sure...one time I liked you...but then you show me these colors that I've been yet to see during these past weeks! It was like freshman year all over again!"
Unable to stop himself, Danny then flew right in front of her. "IN FACT, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, RIGHT? YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN AFTER ME, SO HERE'S YOUR FREE SHOT! GO AHEAD!"
He planted his feet on the ground and outstretched his arms to the sides, leaving himself vulnerable.
"C'MON, VALERIE!" he said, seeming to egg her on. "GO AHEAD! TAKE THAT GUN OUT OF YOUR POCKET! TAKE YOUR SHOT!"
Valerie could only stare at him. It was what she always wanted...to get the number-one enemy on her list...and he was right in front of her, waiting to be blown to bits...
But that person was Danny...the person she had feelings for...
Struggling...struggling...the two oppositions trying to win over the other, but everything ended in a stalemate.
Instead, she just backed away in fright, scared of anything that he could do to her...
The spirit in her fighting had currently vanished. Only her fears remained. No tears, no anger, no desire to destroy...
Only fear.
And those fears were all directed towards one person - Danny.
She never thought that it would be herself taking the retreat when they got face-to-face. But because of everything else she currently knew, she found herself powerless and fearful...she lost the strength to do anything else.
Sensing her anxieties, Danny decided that he'd gone a little far. Letting the ghost form disappear behind his humanity, he felt the horrible pain rising through his body again in his mortal form. He dropped to the ground on all fours, still unable to stand.
But the eye contact never changed - a thin line that seemed to connect their eyes, as Valerie's retreat came to a slow stop.
Another silence followed, as they just continued staring at one another. It was like a stand-off, but both sides were equally losing. Both were already stricken with some sort of emotion, and it had already worn each of them down.
He broke the silence as he talked about the original subject.
"I cared about them," he continued, his own voice parched from yelling, and now starting to go shaky. "Listening to the doctor's speech upon how they only had a twenty percent chance shot at life...it was too much for me...and my parents fighting with Sam's parents...they were already angry at me because I failed to watch over Jazz..."
His head hung down as he broke off the line of sight with his alter-ego semi-arch nemesis.
"Don't tell me I don't understand," he said. "You had no clue what it was like, having all the damn answers to all the panicking questions around me, and having to keep it all in!"
He paused for a second more, then stated quite clearly, "Sometimes...I feel like I'm my own enemy...I can never find a break anymore...it's as if I'm doomed even before I start..."
A teardrop fell from his eye as he continued supporting his upper body with his arms. It was as if he couldn't feel them anymore because he was so cold. His entire body seemed to be numbing with exhaustion.
And he didn't seem to care anymore. Whatever she was going to do, whether it was take out her gun and blow his head off, or walk away from him, he just awaited her reaction.
But he had one last thing to say. "Please listen...if there's any part of you that is listening to me..." he said. "I'm sorry for all the things that happened...but I had to tell you...that's my side of the story..."
And with a slight pause, he added, "...just, whatever you do...make it quick..."
Perhaps returning wasn't a good idea...what was she going to do?
It remained silent for a few moments as he glanced up to see Valerie still standing in her spot, almost ashen white from the ordeal...he had no clue what she was thinking.
His stomach did a nasty flip-flop as he watched her move her arm and reach into her pocket...
Danny broke off his glance again and looked down on the ground, another tear falling. That pocket was one of her favorite spots to hide one of her guns...
He listened to her footsteps on the wet grass...she was coming closer...
Then came the surprise. Valerie had knelt beside him, and started using the object she had taken out of her pocket on the corner of his eye.
It was a handkerchief.
"No...Danny...don't be sorry..." she said, resting her palm on the teen's shaking back.
He raised his head. "What did she say?"
Though she didn't repeat what he wanted to hear, he completely forgot the question by the time she made her second move.
When they made eye contact again, it lasted for less than two seconds. It was because Valerie suddenly threw her arms around him again, starting to cry once more on his throbbing shoulder.
"I'm the one that should be sorry," she said through tears. "I never listened to you...I'm so sorry..."
Unable to understand his current situation, and a bit surprised from the current revelation, Danny put his arm back around her and leaned in closer.
"I'm sorry about Sam and Jazz...I'm sorry I never listened...but I hate you for jumping off..." she kept saying over and over again. It was as if she couldn't help it.
"Yes..." he said, his own voice trailing off. "I was dumb...I'm sorry...it was stupid..."
"There are some other people, you know..." she said, finally letting go of words and only sobbing. "Others..."
"I know...there are others..." he said, letting her cry.
And once again, nothing else happened between them. Valerie was sobbing on Danny's shoulder and he was doing his best to console her.
At the same time, he was wondering how he was ever going to explain it all...
But one thing was for sure...Danny knew things would never be the same again. There were so many things to tell...
For a time, Danny believed they were alone outside...
Little did he know...they weren't.
Someone was watching them...a forgotten figure...
And laughing, the figure flew out into the open and just stared at them for a long time, before she finally spoke.
"Oh please..." said the one watching. "Can you two get any sappier? You're making me sick! But then again, that may be good for me!"
Distracted, Danny and Valerie looked up.
Flying above them was Spectra...in a very young form.
"You!" cried Danny. "Not you again!"
"What can I say?" said the ghost of misery. "I just never seem to go away...like those burning emotions of yours!"
Valerie started screaming. "WHO'S THAT?" she yelled, amidst her frightened wails.
"The biggest headache I've ever had so far," Danny responded, breaking away from Valerie. "She's been the main reason every single kid around Amity Park seems to have a never-ending depression following them around. She feeds on teen misery...she fed on yours...she is the reason you ended up in the hospital that one day..."
"Misery?" asked Valerie, quickly putting two and two together. "Misery...glowing green..." Then she turned in the ghost's direction. "Then that was YOU! You're the one that's been telling me that Danny's no longer my friend!"
"Well," said Spectra, "there had to be some way that I had to get that out of you...but it was a legitimate reason for doing so, wasn't it?" She laughed again.
Danny looked at Spectra with all the ferocity he currently held. Spectra was one of the main reasons that everything was currently out of order...the one who riled up Valerie and attacked all the kids at the school...
And the one who forced his evil half out into the open...
Tucker was right...even if it was himself that let his anger take control, there wasn't really anything he could do about it. Human emotions were inescapable...Spectra just had to find some way of harping on them.
And that was even if it led to disastrous results. In his mind flashed Sam's and Jazz's smiling faces...and he was still trying to work out the clue that Clockwork had given him.
But he did know that there was one thing...there was time to set things right again.
And the first thing he had to do was to get rid of this ghost.
Rolling out of the way of one of Spectra's hand blasts, Danny yelled to Valerie, "Run! Get out of here!"
"No!" she cried, running over to him. "You're already injured! And she...!" she said, acknowledging Spectra, "...she was the one who did most of this..."
"You can't..." said Danny. "Sam and Jazz are already on my conscience...and I'm not adding a third! You're not fighting her...you haven't faced her before!"
"No way am I letting you face that ghost alone!" said Valerie.
"But - " Danny started to say, but was cut off when Valerie grabbed his shoulders and pushed him out of the way before Spectra could get a hold of either of them. She then took a gun out of pocket and fired at Spectra, which hit the ghost in the back and blasted her even further away.
Out of harm's way, Danny recovered from the quick rumble, looking with a curious and surprised glance at Valerie, who was panting.
He couldn't believe it...she just saved him...
"Danny..." she said, glancing up at him. "...if you won't let me do it, then we'll work together...let me help you!"
He could only stare back in shock...she was looking at him with the same ferocity in her eyes that she showed in the past when it was just them fighting.
Now everything was reversed - she was now asking to help him in a ghost fight...this was going by way too quickly...
Precious seconds ticked by, but they seemed like minutes, as Valerie awaited an answer.
"I'm sorry about everything, but please...right now...LET ME HELP YOU!" she screamed out. Her life seemed to depend on it.
She watched as Danny continued looking at her sadly...she didn't care what he could be thinking...she had to help him...in his weakened state, he probably wouldn't be able to do it...
She wanted his desperately to say that he would...
But as the last moment faded, she watched him put his head down, turn around on his knees, and transform into Danny Phantom, flying off.
Valerie's head hung down...it looked like there'd be no other way out of it...
But then she felt something resting on her shoulder. A bit startled, she glanced at it and found that it was a hand, which was covered with a silver glove.
It was Danny's - and as she looked up at his face, she was pleased to see that he was smiling.
"All right..." he said a little hoarsely, extending his other hand down to help her up. "Let's tear this ghost apart...together."
Valerie couldn't help it as a smile formed on her own lips. She wasn't sure if he had accepted her apology, but she knew, at least by looking at his hand, that there was hope there.
She grasped his hand, pulled herself up, and positioned herself in a stance where her face now wore an expression of anger, her battle face.
In a flash of light, Danny watched as Valerie's mechanical suit appeared, turning her into the ghost hunter he had always hated to fight.
But now she was fighting with him.
When the jet-sled came out of her shoes, he asked, "You ready?"
"Only if you are," said Valerie, smiling.
Because they were under the bright light streetlamp, Danny could see through the mask.
Valerie smiling underneath that battle mask of hers...laughing slightly, he knew that it was something he was going to have to get used to...
"All right," he said, when she was ready. "Let's go!"
"Gotcha," she said. Working with someone who was once her enemy...this was going to be interesting...
Valerie's sled kick-started with some flames, and they were off together, side-by-side, after the specter.
A/N: Heh heh...is this partnership going to work, or will Spectra get the better of them? Review, please...