Hello! Thanks to RhodeCamelot, I have discovered why this sometimes does not move up the update queue! It turns out that it happens when a fic is updated twice in a twenty-four hour period. I'm going to try to space my updates so that they don't do that, but no guarantees. If it happens again, I'm just going to call it THAT THING, and move on.

In other news, I'm probably going to skip tomorrow. I've been suffering from a combination of writers block and the need to write lesson plans.

StormFen: Yeah, I picked up on that when I was doing my pre-posting proofread. I do think that Pitch Pearl can be cute, but it wasn't really my intention here. It was more a result of wanting Echo to be affectionate with Danny, because we all know that Danny needs more affection, and Echo not having any sense of personal space when it comes to Danny, because he kind of sort of is Danny, and ghost possessiveness. There's not actually anything sexual or romantic going on, but I decided not to change it, because it worked in-character. I'm sorry to disappoint you if you were hoping for romance.

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Chapter 44: Bitter Medicine

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Mr Lancer was worried about Daniel.

Although, honestly, he had been worried about Daniel for quite some time. Sleeping in class, skipping class, the bruises hidden under long sleeves, skipping lunch, rarely turning in homework... These had all conspired to paint a sinister picture. Knowing the truth was...

Not as much of a relief as he had thought it would be.

Actually, Mt Lancer wasn't sure that it didn't make it worse. Knowing. Knowing that his small, timid, gentle, clumsy student spent all his time fighting ghosts, protecting the city, pulling people from fires and car wrecks, catching buses that went off cliffs, and, worst of all, running from ghost hunters. From the GIW. From those 'Extreme Ghost Busters' and 'Scaredy Cat' people. From his own parents.

Then there was this. This thing about causing the apocalypse. Mr Lancer honestly couldn't imagine Daniel doing anything like that on purpose. He had difficulty imagining Daniel doing anything immoral on purpose. The one thing that Mr Lancer knew about for certain that Daniel had done that could be considered morally wrong was cheating on the CAT, and he hadn't followed through on that. Actually, when he had confessed to it, he'd acted like the world was ending. Like he had expected to get a much worse punishment than having to retake the test. Like he had committed some kind of crime.

He looked sick, too. Ill. That might be expected, considering how his own parents had attacked him. With that weapon, the Mortifier, and whatever that other thing was supposed to be. But... Knowing now, reading between the lines, between the lies...

Mr Lancer had to wonder if Phantom- if Daniel- was really starving, really dying. He had to wonder if the way he kept zoning out, staring into the distance, and dozing off meant anything.

Mr Lancer was worried about Daniel.

And he didn't know what to do.

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Danny shuffled back into the cabin. As soon as he was full, he had started to crash. Again. He had been alright before dinner (did it count as dinner or a really late lunch), but as soon as he was full, he'd started dozing off.

He was tempted to lean into Jazz, or Tucker, or Sam, but they had to be just as tired as he was, and he didn't want to aggravate his temperature issues. Which, he suspected, were getting worse. He had waited until the spaghetti (courtesy of Rebecca and Kwan) was stone cold before eating it.

Danny yawned hugely, and rubbed his eye. At least he wasn't passing out while walking, like he had last night. (Night? Day? The clocks in that bedroom, while calming, hadn't been helpful in determining the time.)

Oh. Echo and Fractal were there, in the cabin. Sitting on the bed. With a bottle of something that glowed so brightly green that it was almost white. Wisps waited expectantly on every surface. Danny could taste the energy in the air.

"Uh, Echo, Fractal," said Sam, "what's going on?"

"This is the thing we were talking about earlier," said Fractal.

"The thing that can help," added Echo.

"What is it?" asked Tucker, poking Danny in the back so he would move forward and Tucker could get into the room.

"Purified, high-energy ectoplasm," said Fractal. "These guys helped us charge it," he said smiling at the wisps.

"Is that safe?" asked Jazz, squinting at the bright bottle. "It isn't going to make him bounce off the walls, is it?"

"I'm sure that it's going to have side effects, if that's what you mean, but all medicine does."

"Well, if it's going to help..." said Jazz, glancing on Danny. "Danny," she said, "are you alright?"

Danny shook himself out of his daze. "Hm? Yes. Just a lot of... Calmness." He waved his hand in the air. "Sleepy."

"Oh," said Fractal. "Yes. We asked them to do that. We were hoping that would counteract the hyperactivity."

"Yeah, because this is literally an energy drink," said Echo. "Closest thing to liquid energy in the Realms or on Earth. That we know of, anyway."

"This isn't going to turn out like the caffeine disaster, is it?" asked Sam suspiciously, even as she stepped closer.

"Don't you trust us?" asked Echo, miming a blow to his heart.

"About as much as I trust Danny when it comes to his health."

"Hey," complained Danny. "I'm not that bad."

"You're that bad," chorused Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

Fractal cleared his throat. "We aren't looking for a 'quick fix' with this. We're trying to give his core what it needs to repair itself."

"Okay, okay," said Danny. "Guys. Really. I've eaten ectoplasm before. I'm half made of ectoplasm. It'll be fine." He made his sleepy way to the bed, sat down, and took the bottle. It seemed to flutter under his fingers. It was magnetic. Attractive. It promised sustenance that the meal he had just eaten lacked. "Why can't the wisps give this to me directly, though?" he asked absently, turning the small bottle over between his fingers, humming a translation of the question to the wisps.

"They've been trying," said Fractal. "You're not absorbing very well. This will go directly into your body."

"Okay," said Danny. He spun off the cap. "Hope this works." He raised the bottle to his lips, tipped it back, and drained it.

"So," started Sam.

"Oh wow," said Danny, putting the bottle down with a shudder. "Oh. Wow." He crossed his arms over his stomach, hunching over. His eyes were bright, swirling green.

"Danny, are you-?" Jazz reached out to Danny, but he jumped up, and started pacing, seemingly not even noticing her.

"Oh wow," he repeated. "Oh wow. Oh no. Oh no. No no no no no..." The words morphed turned into a high pitched whine that cut out just before it got physically painful to listen to. The shadows had shrunk into little fetal balls.

"Danny," said Sam, trying to get his attention. She put a gentle hand on his arm. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Little brother," said Jazz. "It's okay, it's just us. You're okay."

"Deep breaths, Danny, deep breaths," said Tucker.

His next whine might have had their names in it. Then Danny sunk to his knees, withdrawing into his own fetal position. His next words were muffled. "I'm bad." Echo made a strange, deflated sound, and then uncurled, clutching the edge of the mattress with shaking hands.

"Danny," said Jazz, starting to rub his back, describing little circles with her hand, "you're not bad. Why would you think you're bad?"

"I'm bad," repeated Danny. His thoughts were racing, spinning, oh, Ancients he was out of control, he should have known what he was doing was wrong, he had known, he had just ignored it, he was horrible, he was awful, he was bad, bad, bad. "I'm bad."

"Danny, you're not bad," started Tucker, uncertainly. "You're like the best person I know. Who else would forgive me after all the stunts I've pulled?"

"I'm bad, I did bad things. Bad, bad, bad things." He sobbed. "I cheated. I'm bad."

"Cheated..?" Sam exchanged glances with the other two. "You... You're not still... Danny, you didn't do it. It didn't happen."

"I'm bad," insisted Danny. "I cheated to get them to say yes, I lied. I..." He trailed off as wisps descended to land on his back and shoulders. Sam and Jazz worked together to untangle Danny's hands from his hair. Tucker awkwardly took over the back-patting. "I lied. I'm a liar. I'm a cheater. They trusted me and I cheated and I lied. And I- I couldn't even say what I did, I couldn't say anything I can't tell the truth when it's important, when it's not important when it- I hurt people. Ancients help me. Ancients... This is my fault because I-" he cut off.

"What, for dying?" demanded Sam, angrily

"Yes."

"Danny, you're not a liar. You tell us the truth."

"No I don't. I lie to you too. I'm bad."

"About what?" asked Tucker, scandalized, before Jazz sent him a glare.

"The nightmares," answered Echo in a strained voice, as Danny shuddered and moaned. Jazz wrapped her arms around her little brother, and he clung to her. "We lie about those. We lie about the blood and the pain. We lie about re-gifting presents. We lie about what happened in the futures that never happened. How much we remember. We lie about singing in the shower."

"Oh, Danny, we already know about all of that."

"You do?" asked Danny.

"It would be hard not to," said Jazz.

"Oh," said Danny. "I'm sorry." He sniffed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Y-you shouldn't have to deal with me." He sniffed. "I'm sorry. I'm a mess. You shouldn't have to deal with me and my freak outs and my craziness and-and-" He looked up at Jazz with wide green eyes. "Do you think they know?"

"Who?"

"Mom and Dad? What if they know, 'cause you know, and they just- and they hate me and that's why- They hate me oh, Ancients."

"Breathe, Danny. Mom and Dad don't hate you. They just don't understand you."

"Okay," said Danny. "Okay. I'm sorry, Jazz."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. You're okay."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm sorry, Tucker. I'm sorry. For- for making you deal with this."

"Hey," said Tucker. "It's like Jazz said, you don't have anything to apologize for. We want to help you."

"Yeah," said Sam. "That's what we're here for."

Danny hiccuped. "You're too good. I don't- I don't deserve you."

"No way, Danny, that's you."

"Oh, heck," said Echo suddenly. "Why now?"

"What?" asked Sam.

"They're coming."

"Who?"

"Here, into bed, pretend to be asleep. Fractal," said Echo to the shadow who was bleeding blue from under his glasses, "go somewhere else." Fractal made a pathetic, crooning noise, and vanished. "Hurry," urged Echo, lifting Danny up, and tucking him into a bed. He glanced at the door, grimaced, and then vanished himself.

Maddie and Jack appeared in the doorway minutes later.