An ExTrA cHaPtEr! Yay! I'm going to go ahead and use this to try to answer the reviews I've been slacking on. The extra chapter is below the reviews.

Before I start, I figure this is a good place to remind everyone that I am not Butch Hartman, nor am I Nickelodeon, and I do not own Danny Phantom in any way, shape, or form.

I'm going to start with reviews from chapter 157, because I think that was the last time I actually answered any.

Unlucky Alis: Yep, this is me! :) I'm glad you like my 'throw in everything that crosses my mind' plotting. But, yes, the overall purpose of this fic is to squish in as many DP plots as possible, although I haven't quite worked out how to get them marooned on a deserted island yet. :P

lenasmith106: (157) It took a while for them to be sure, didn't it? (158) You'll see more of Dan soon. I'm still kind of torn on what I ultimately want for his arc, because what he's done really would be unforgivable in real life, but, on the other hand, even in-story it didn't really happen. So... We'll both have to see, I guess. :) (159) He'll be doing better soon.

fictionaddiction1: (157) Thank you for your support. I'm almost done with 179 now, so I should have plenty of buffer for when I turn my focus to Ectober and NaNoWriMo. (158) Thank you! School is going okay, but, you know, busy. (159) I teach middle school science. I'm only half time, but setting up those labs takes a lot of work. :D Are you a teacher as well? I know I've encountered a couple on here, but I can't quite remember who they were.

Anne Camp: (157) That's a solution I hadn't considered! It would be funny to see, though. (158) I'm not sure what I did that crossed the line? The cliffhanger? I mean, I'm pretty sure I did worse than that back when Valerie shot Danny in the face, but okay... (159) Jack and Maddie will show up soon, but not much is happening with them, so they're out of focus.

vampireharry the 2: Thank you for reviewing! It makes a big difference.

17: (157) Eheheh... I've... not written the fight with Issitoq yet. I keep stalling... and getting distracted by shinnies... (158) Yes... Clockwork and Dan... The plan is coming together nicely... *Evil laughter* (159) Thank you! I'm really happy you've stuck with reading and leaving comments for so long. I hope that the story continues to make you happy.

Potkanka: (157) Yes, a nightmare isn't too bad of a thing. He's not being melted, though, not exactly. It's more along the lines of incorporating real sensations into the dream, like when you go to bed with your hair wet you dream of swimming. And, yeah, pustule is not a word you want to run an image search on, yikes. (158) I'm glad you're excited! I'm excited, too! A lot of what I've written so far was leading up to this. You picked up a bunch of clues I left about what will be coming later. Dan's stay in the thermos, which is designed to contain ectoplasm and spectral energy, did weaken him. He's still significantly different from Danny in appearance, of course, and older-looking, so people mistaking him for Danny won't happen. I'm not quite that cruel. Almost, but not quite. :) (159) Yes, I'm terrible about not giving Danny breaks, but I am writing him a nice long one right now! In chapter 179. Hehe. For tech levels in Mattingly, I'm kind of thinking that steampunk with added electricity might be their end aesthetic.

Benjamin Goldberg: (111) Yes, they are the same cat.

ObsidianBlackCat: (157) I liked the joke, it sounds like something Danny might say. But, yeah, Issitoq really doesn't have any idea what's coming for him. (158) Channeling Mr Lancer, I see. All of you guys have such great ideas, but you'll have to keep reading to find out what happens. :)

Stormgate: (157) My update schedule right now is once a week on Fridays, with an optional bonus chapter on Sundays. I am planning on finishing, eventually, but I've still got a whole bunch of plot threads and stuff I haven't addressed, so I don't know when that will be. I like to keep at least a month's worth of buffer at any time, though, so if I do self-destruct and can't write anymore, or need a hiatus, you'll have good warning. Unless I die, or completely lose internet access or something, which, I mean, is always a possibility. Thank you for reading!

Illusn: (158) This fic is kind of set in the Danger Zone as far as Danny is concerned, isn't it?

Richard1081: (158) Thank you! Those two are kind of hard to write, sometimes.

DarkFoxKit: (158) Is the reference to Undertale? I only picked the game up a week ago, myself, and I think I've had time to play for all of an hour, but from what I've heard of the game, that sounds like something that might be said. That's a really good idea, with the more junior Observants. Just like with Dan, I haven't completely decided how to handle Issitoq. It's useful to the story, and for the sake of pun, to have the Observants be, as you said, villains with a single narrow perspective, but deviations from that would be an interesting thing to explore.

KKVixen: (158) I don't know. Some people are just like that, I guess.

Asilrettor: (158) They'll pop up again in the next few chapters. Not much is happening to them, though. They're just hanging out at Libra, waiting for the trial.

Jatynzel: I love getting your hearts. :)

Flyingmoose07: Thank you! The market was fun to describe, even if it sadly didn't have much bearing on plot.

mountainelements: Thank you! I am planning on having the Harmonians show up again, though it might be a bit before I do. You came in at a good time because I'm just starting up a new arc!

FireHowl: Thank you for your compliments! And, wow! Three days is really fast to read through this whole giant thing.

Oof, that was a bunch. I hope I got everybody, and answered all the questions you asked. Thank you all for reviewing!

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Chapter 160: Operation

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When Danny woke, he felt better. Which was weird. He'd been expecting to feel worse. He blinked up at the dark canopy over the bed. Was he at Sam's house?

He shook his head. No. He was in Mattingly.

"How are you feeling, Daniel?" asked Pandora, from her position to the side of the bed.

Danny turned, his elbow sliding over a chunk of wet ice. He hoped he wasn't ruining the bed with all this water. He paused, frowning. Ghost ice, created ghost ice, shouldn't melt unless the creator willed it.

He pulled the chunk from beneath the sheets. "What's happening?" he asked.

Pandora raised an eyebrow. "Even ghost ice will melt when exposed to ghostly fire of equal or greater power. Especially when attention is taken off of it."

"Oh. Yeah." Danny had known that. He'd dealt with that effect in battle. He had just forgotten. He laid a hand over his hot stomach. "Am I on fire, then?" he asked, freshly disturbed.

Pandora hesitated. "I do not believe so. It is my understanding that the flames are confined to the amulet."

Danny relaxed a little, and thought back to Pandora's original question, which he had not answered. "I think I'm feeling better, actually."

Pandora nodded. "The others seem to be almost done with their preparations," she said. "Would you like to go down and see?"

"Yes," said Danny, scooting to the edge of the bed. "Enyeus and Meda got here okay, then?"

"Yes. Not as swiftly as we had hoped, but yes. This terminal of the Architect's Gate had broken free of the Goblin Market entirely by the time they got through, and it was going fast enough that they had some trouble matching speed with Mattingly." She shook her head. "That's going to be trouble to bring back, if they bring it back at all. Would you like some help?"

Danny had been staring at his foot, flexing his toes. They felt weird. Actually, both of his legs felt weird, like they were sort of asleep, but not really.

"No," he said, standing carefully. "I'm fine." He looked around and found what he was looking for. "Bathroom first, sorry."

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It turned out that Danny was too wobbly to walk long distances by himself. Long distances being, in this case, just down the hall. His legs weren't working properly. They didn't move the right way, and they kept tripping him up. It wasn't a lot. Everything was just half a centimeter off, if that, but it was enough.

He kept a firm grip on one of Pandora's lower hands, while she used the upper one to steady him by his opposite shoulder. He tried not to let this scare him.

They came to a room that had been made very clean and bare, with a high table as its only furniture. It had also been made bright, with lamps that burned blue and gold with something that definitely wasn't oil or gas. Dr. Iceclaw was there, directing the placement of machines. Dora and Ellie were there, wearing clean white smocks with short sleeves, listening to the instructions. The Elysians, and a number of Dora's people, were setting things up.

"Great one!" Iceclaw exclaimed when he saw Danny. "We aren't quite ready for the procedure. We need to get a few things into place yet." He gestured at a machine being brought in through another door. "I could start some of the preliminary scans, though, if you don't mind all the, hm, activity."

Danny knew Iceclaw was really asking him if he minded all the people listening.

"No," said Danny. "It's fine. Let's start."

Iceclaw nodded and indicated that Danny should sit on the table. Pandora lifted him up.

"So, first," said Iceclaw, "has anything changed? Do you feel any different?"

"I feel a little better, actually," said Danny, "except that my legs are weird."

"Really? Weird how?"

"Like they're sort of asleep, and wobbly," said Danny.

Iceclaw felt down along Danny's legs, and hips, and asked Danny questions to figure out where the effect started, and where it was strongest. He looked worried.

"I believe," said Dr. Iceclaw, "that the reason you feel better is because you finally caught up on your sleep. That's good."

"But?" prompted Danny.

"But," said Iceclaw, "I think the reason for the odd feeling in your legs is damage to your silver cord. Don't worry too much, though. It should be able to repair itself once we remove the amulet."

Danny didn't miss the 'should,' but nodded anyway. Iceclaw pulled over one of the machines, and started the scans. Ellie and Dora came over to watch, and distracted Danny by talking about what had happened in Mattingly since they had last visited.

"This cannot possibly be right," muttered Iceclaw, pouring over the scan results.

"What is it?" asked Pandora, mildly.

Iceclaw looked up. "I would have thought it impossible," he said, "considering how old and powerful the artifact is, but you have partially succeeded in digesting it."

Danny knit his eyebrows together. "I thought that was the problem, though. That I unraveled some of what was in the amulet, and it got tangled up with my stuff."

"Yes," said Iceclaw, "but you hadn't actually consumed any of it, yet. Not any of its fundamental portions, in any case. Some of what it was radiating away, yes, but not it's actual structure... You had pulled some of that out of the amulet, the container, but I had assumed it would, ah, pull back in. Artifacts are often resilient. I do not think it will, now."

Danny looked down at his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry I broke it."

"It's fine, Sir Phantom," said Dora. "Considering how many times Aragon has tried to steal it, I have been trying to find a way to destroy it myself."

"Okay," said Danny, feeling less guilty. "Is- Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked Iceclaw.

"Neither," said Iceclaw. "Simply rather unbelievable." He shook his head. "What you are feeling in your legs is because of damage done to your silver cord. One of the strands from the artifact is completely wrapped around your primary strand leading to your legs. It has melted and deformed. Again, it should be able to repair itself once we get the amulet out, but I won't be able to see the extent of the damage until then."

"Okay," said Danny.

"As for your core, it has been able to heal some of the damage it took earlier. The portions of the amulet you have absorbed are energy-rich, so that might have actually helped, in that regard."

Danny nodded.

"It is still significantly damaged, just not as much as it had been when I scanned you earlier. Even when we take the amulet out, you should not strain yourself. Minimize your power usage."

"I know," said Danny.

"He's just not sure that you'll remember," said Ellie. "Or that you'll pay attention. We tend not to, you have to admit."

"Yeah," said Danny. "So, um... How are we going to do this?"

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Ellie watched as Danny was lulled to sleep by the efforts of Pandora, and a rather foul looking concoction made by Dora's doctor. Dr. Iceclaw had stressed the importance of Danny being completely asleep before they started working on him. They waited a few minutes. Danny's breathing slowed to almost nothing.

Iceclaw attached a pad to the center of Danny's forehead, and feathery silver patterns appeared on his skin. Pandora put two of her hands on Danny's shoulders, and his body went transparent. Like this, he looked like he was made of very clear, fine, glass, his organs spots of color, all shot through with curling silver lines. The amulet was clearly visible in Danny's stomach. Ellie couldn't see any of its ectoplasm, it just looked like a necklace to her, but apparently Dora could.

"Remember," said Iceclaw to Ellie, "do not touch his core. We do not want to move it, or irritate it further."

"Right," said Ellie, nodding. She floated over Danny, so that she would be out of Iceclaw and Dora's way.

"Just enclose it, keep it from lashing out," continued Iceclaw. He and Dora were pulling on special gloves that would allow them to touch Danny's and the amulet's silver cord, which was normally intangible. "Keep any stray strands from touching it."

"Yes," said Ellie. "I've got it, I've got it." Intangibly, she dipped her hands into Danny's chest, and slowly moved them to cup around Danny's core. It felt small, and dense with power. She could feel it twitch, almost imperceptibly, anxiously. She sympathized, and tried to think soothing thoughts. Neither of them liked being trapped.

Iceclaw then touched Danny's side, and clear ice spread over him. This would keep him cool while Dora and Iceclaw worked. Dora would be coaxing the amulet's strands to loosen, and Iceclaw would be using a series of special tools (that all looked like forceps to Ellie), to manipulate Danny's silver cord.

Iceclaw was very nervous. He was worried that Danny would lash out at him, even unconscious, because Danny didn't know him very well, and ghosts tended to react poorly to people they didn't completely trust messing with the most intimate (and usually intangible) portions of their anatomy. Hence Ellie's job.

Dora slid in a wire from one of the machines, and when it touched the amulet, the amulet lit up with a golden aura. The aura spread out, and limned the otherwise invisible strands belonging to the amulet.

"Alright," said Iceclaw. "Let's start here."

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In an effort to stave off the issues that boredom would bring, Mr. Lancer and Jazz conspired to volunteer everyone to help with repairs as soon as they were rested. It wasn't something that was widely appreciated, but they did realize that helping would get them back to Elysium faster, and everyone agreed that being in Elysium would be better than being stuck on the ship, so they weren't too upset.

Overall, most of them were spending their time piecing together their experiences in the Tower, trying to get as much information about the Ghost Zone from Jazz, Sam, and Tucker as possible, and talking about Danny. Jazz didn't mind any of these but the last, but, on the other hand, they also weren't causing any trouble.

They seemed to have finally processed that Danny was Phantom, and all that implied. This was a mixed blessing, at best. Some of them, like Rebecca and Dale, didn't seem to entirely grasp the danger Danny was always in, just because of what he was. Elliot kept grumbling about how people called him a liar. Tiffanie had, for some reason, decided to blame Danny for both her failed relationship with Dash, and her father leaving Amity Park two years ago. Ricky had decided that all the ghost portals (and other weirdness) in Amity Park were Danny's fault. He wasn't really wrong, but he wasn't right, either, and he had gotten sort of hostile. Meanwhile, Dash and Paulina had gotten downright depressed. Paulina was barely talking to anyone. Nathan, Mikey, and Lester were half-convinced that they were in a comic book origin story, and were asking if Danny would like any more sidekicks.

(Sam and Tucker, despite occasionally calling themselves sidekicks as a joke, weren't particularly pleased with the implications behind that question.)

(Jazz was more concerned with what might happen if they were told no, and decided to try their hands at heroics by themselves.)

It was a mess. Jazz wasn't sure how she was going to untangle it.

Compared to that, the ropes she was currently working on were a piece of cake. Especially since she had a lot of extra hands to hold them with. Fine manipulation had been a bit difficult at first, but the Elysians had been more than happy to help her, especially the ones who had gone into the tower with her. They had experience with adapting to extra limbs. Most of them had been human once, and they had chosen to change their body plan.

"Hey, Jazz."

"What is it, Dash?"

"Do you really think Danny doesn't hate me?"

"Yes, I really do." In the two or three days since they'd been on the ship, Dash had asked the same question a dozen times. At least.

"But I beat him up so much..."

Jazz's hands stilled. She turned to face Dash fully. "What do you want me to say? I mean, he didn't enjoy getting beaten up, but he had other things to think about."

"The ghosts?"

"Yeah. The ghosts." Jazz started working at one tightly pulled knot.

"But, before that? Before the ghosts? Did he, he must have..."

Jazz thought back to the year before the accident, when Danny had been in middle school, and she had been a freshman. She hadn't really known Dash then. She hadn't been as aware of what was going on with Danny, either.

"I don't know," said Jazz. "It was a long time ago." She wasn't making any progress on the knot. Her fingers were too thick.

"Oh," said Dash. "Yeah. I guess it was."

Jazz abandoned the knot momentarily. "Please, just talk to him once we all get back. He'll appreciate the apology, but he really doesn't hate you, so stop worrying about it. Please."

"I can't. I just found out that I've been calling the coolest dude ever a loser for, like, years. He's never going to want to see me again."

Jazz suppressed a groan. Groaning at this point would probably be damaging for Dash's psyche, or something. She wished she had her books, some reference material, something.

"I doubt that's even crossed his mind as an option. Dash, trust me when I say that what Danny wants the most is for all of us to be safe and happy, so just, I don't know, reflect on your actions, or something. Try to be nicer to people. Stop beating up Mikey. Don't beat yourself up."

"I'm not beating myself up!" said Dash, offended. "I'm not some kind of wimp!"

Jazz flashed what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I know. What is it you're supposed to be doing?"

"Oh, uh." Dash looked down at the planks in his arms. "Yeah. I'm supposed to be taking these downstairs."

"You'd better go do that, then."

"Yeah, I guess."

Jazz sighed in relief as Dash left, and returned her attention to the knot. Maybe she could shrink one of her spectral hands small enough to get into the knot.