"Danny!" Interrupted Tucker, the first one to fully come to his senses. Danny whipped around to see his two friends rushing towards him. His ghost form vanished and he sat there, dumbfounded at what he had just done. They both tackled him in a hug and that seemed to shock everyone else into motion.

"Phantom of The Opera!" Lancer exclaimed. He rushed over, offering Dash a hand. Dash took it and Lancer struggled to pull the boy onto his shaking feet.

"Fenton- I-" Dash began to speak but cut himself off. Danny barely heard him anyways, dealing with his friends' concerns.

"You scared the heck out of me!" Sam said, but her words lost their menace when Danny saw the shaking in her shoulders.

"Hah! I told you all!" A certain Wes Weston shouted.

"What the hell, man?! They almost just died." Tucker was fuming. If looks could kill, Wes would be in the Ghost Zone by now.

"Kinda hard to do that a second time, Tuck." Danny said with a small smile. Tucker turned his look to his best friend, but it wasn't nearly as venomous as the one he gave Wes.

"Ok, you're making jokes so you're fine." He stood abruptly,

"Well excuse me, princess. I'm just a little in shock that I almost died the other half of the way." Danny was truly in shock, and it seemed that the only brain cells that were sticking around in his skull were his 'sarcasm' and 'weird reference' ones. By large his brain was just refusing to compute what was happening, except for realizing that he was royally screwed, of course. No, that was very clear. Crystal.

"Okay, yep. Tucker was right." With that, Sam stood as well and stood up. She, at least, offered Danny a hand up.

"On a scale of one to ten how screwed am I?" Danny asked, eyes clenched shut. He refused to look at the class behind him.

"I'd say a nine, because that's how many phones are pointing in our direction." Tucker replied. Danny just groaned in response.

"Fen- Danny, thank-you." Said Dash shakily. Danny lifted his gaze from Tucker's boots to see Dash standing a few feet away, leering slightly to the left and seeming as though a slight breeze would blow him over. It was an odd look to see on the football player.

"If you haven't noticed helping people is kinda my shtick-" Danny began to reply before Sam promptly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Danny, are you dead?" Shouted Paulina, in all her social awareness. The question hit Danny, like a shock to his nervous system. His left hand burned, the phantom pain overriding the throbbing in his ribs from being yanked over the railing. But Danny's two brain cells fired up and he replied after just a moment.

"Only as much as Schrodinger's cat," He shrugged, appearing nonchalant when really his brain wanted him to go curl up in a corner with a nice weighted blanket for at least a week. His core, however, felt the need to assuage his people, to relieve their concern. There were two conflicting voices trying to take over, and it was starting to give him a headache.

"That- didn't answer my question." Paulina said. But she didn't get another response as more questions were asked of Danny.

"Are you ok?"

"How are you a ghost? Are you really Danny?" Asked one suspiciously.

"Will you sign something for me?!"

"Are you even human?" Questioned a classmate in a disgusted tone.

"Okay shut it all of you. In order: One, not really. I almost died a second time, what do you expect? Two, ghost portals are no joke. And of course I'm me, no ghost could copy this face. Except maybe Amorpho but that was one time. Three, now is really not an appropriate time for that kinda thing. And four; yeah, duh. I'm just… human plus." Danny rubbed the back of his head, feeling very awkward at everyone staring at him. So instead he turned to Dash, a ticked-off expression on his face.

"What the heck were you thinking, Dash? You almost just got us both killed. If you had grabbed anyone else you might be dead at the moment, and I don't want to have to deal with your ghost for eternity." Danny wanted to be angry, wanted to be furious even. But the expression on Dash's face looked like a kicked puppy and it just made Danny feel guilty. The tension melted from his shoulders as he looked at Dash, really looked at him. His face was pale, and he had his arms wrapped around himself like he was holding on for dear life. His expression was one of pure surprise, and Danny realized what was going on just a moment too late.

"Dash!" He shouted just as the jock collapsed, eyes rolling back in his head as he fell backward into the dirt. Sam - the one of the group who had the most first-aid experience- rushed forwards into step beside Danny, both kneeling next to Dash's prone form. Tucker stood behind them, concerned but knowing that this wasn't exactly his area of expertise. Danny could hear him typing away, though, and presumably, he was looking up more about how to help Dash. Sam leaned in to check his breathing.

"Hey Kwan!" Danny shouted, causing the a-lister to startle. He was near the edge of the crowd which had formed around Dash, and people parted to let him get closer.

"Did Dash eat any breakfast? Has he been drinking water?" Danny asked.

"Uh- yeah, he had like three waffles. We had a competition of it. He forgot his water bottle so he's been drinking out of mine though." Kwan's brows were drawn, concern clear on his face.

"Mr. Lancer, I think we should get Dash back to the bus." Sam called, fingers on Dash's neck to check his pulse. From the short distance Danny could hear Dash's heartbeat, and it was steadily slowing down to a more normal pace.

"He either passed out from heat or shock, and in any case it would do him good to get out of this heat." That seemed to spur their shocked teacher into action and he leapt to take charge.

"Give them space," He demanded, students shuffling to step back. Everyone noticeably avoided the edge, spreading out rather than getting closer to the side of the chasm. It made Danny inexplicably happy that they all avoided the danger for themselves, even when he should be distraught because Dash was unconscious. Danny shook his head, instead trying to focus back on the situation at hand.

"Shouldn't we leave him be until he wakes up?" Lancer looked unsteady himself, unsure what to do with a student that suddenly passed out. Sam shook her head.

"I took first aid last summer. It was likely dehydration and shock combined that made him faint, and being right in the sun laying on hot rock definitely isn't gonna help." Sam sighed.

"Danny, can you carry him?" She asked, suddenly looking Danny's way. His first instinct was to deny, to say there was no way he could physically carry someone twice his size. But they had all seen him carry Dash minutes ago, so that was a lost cause. Everyone was staring at Danny again, as though they had realized he was there again. This had all gone much more haywire than Danny had expected.

"Could you all please stop recording? I have my reasons." He shouted, addressing his fellow students. Danny didn't dare comment on what exactly it was he had his "reasons" for, in case none of them caught the incident itself and were only getting the aftermath. Everyone seemed surprised to be addressed, and many phones were hurriedly shoved into pockets and bookbags. It was only after the last one disappeared that Danny slipped his arms under Dash's knees and neck. With minimal effort, Danny hauled Dash into his arms. Murmurs of surprise spread throughout the crowd, but Danny tried his best to ignore them. Sam started off for the bus, Tucker and Danny in toe behind her. Soon enough everyone followed and Mr. Lancer took the lead. The group was surprisingly somber, partially because the closer they got to the bus the more people there were, people that could easily overhear any conversation. Danny dreaded what would happen once they got onto the bus. How would they all be traumatized by what happened? How many of them would have nightmares that they were the one who tumbled over the edge?

Dash didn't stir during the entire trek, which both concerned and relieved Danny. Relieved, because he didn't have to deal with Dash waking up to being carried, and concerned because it was never a good thing when people who fainted stayed out for very long. But his breathing and heartbeat remained constant, so Danny tried to concentrate at least a little on trying not to trip over his untied shoelaces. Part of him wanted to say to heck with it, transform and fly Dash to the bus. But there was no good way that could end, so he stumbled along.

Danny stood in the middle of his classmates, so as to shield Dash from any prying eyes. They clambered onto the bus and Danny claimed a seat in the front of the bus for Dash, laying him across it. Danny took the seat right behind where Dash laid, keeping a wary eye on him. Danny couldn't hear his heartbeat now, but his breathing was regular. The bus was hot, and Mr. Lancer went to start up the AC. He had an extra set of keys, although the bus driver was nowhere to be seen. Probably in the gift shop or the bathroom. As the door closed behind the last person who boarded all eyes turned to Danny. He really didn't want to have to deal with this. He just wanted to go home, to curl up under his covers and forget that any of this had happened. But his bed was currently hundreds of miles away, so that wasn't exactly an option. Luckily for Danny, he had a pair of awesome friends.

"Okay," Sam started, taking charge.

"You guys aren't all going to mob him, get it? We're gonna do this in an organized way. One question per person, so make it count. Only talk when one of us calls on you, get it?" Sam ordered. Tucker stationed himself in the aisle seat next to Danny, and Sam in the seat behind them. All of their classmates took their seats and no one said it should be done any other way, so the questions began.

"How are you Phantom? Did you replace the real Danny?" Asked Star. Danny sighed.

"Somebody already asked that one. But yes, I'm actually me. I've always been Danny and always will be. There was an accident in my parents' lab that I'd really not like to elaborate on. Also before you ask, no, they have no idea." No one spoke, but Danny could see the uneasy looks on his classmates' faces.

"I didn't die, I promise. I'm still alive. That sounds like something a dead person would say but I promise it's the truth." Numerous hands were still in the air and Danny pointed at Sarah, a strawberry-blonde girl who was practically jumping up and down.

"Can you change into Phantom for us? Or show us ghosty stuff?" Sarah gasped.

"Can you really fly?" She finished off, stars in her eyes. It… kinda weirded Danny out a bit, to be honest. A glance at their faces showed that Sam and Tucker thought the same. Honestly, he should've expected somebody would ask, though. Resigning himself to his fate, Danny transformed. One moment Danny Fenton was sitting in a bus seat, wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt, the next Danny Phantom sat in his place, wearing a suit with his infamous emblem splayed across his chest. Black to white and blue to green. It was quite a stark contrast.

As soon as the rings disappeared everyone seemed to lose their minds. Many clambered over seats and friends alike to get a closer look at Danny, and it made him really want to turn invisible. No one would blame him if he did, would they? She had asked to see ghostly stuff. With a bit of a smirk, Danny stood, so as to be in full view, then vanished in the blink of an eye. He floated out of his seat slightly, mostly so that he could watch for everyone's reactions.

"What the hell?" Shouted Mia, looking around wildly. Danny watched as they all wondered where he'd gone, but the concerned looks on both Sam and Tuckers' faces encouraged him to return to the visible plane. Danny couldn't hold back his laughter.

"You should've seen your faces." He chuckled. He always felt more confident in ghost form, and seeing how nobody clambered to get away from him he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he could actually handle this.

"You did ask for something ghostly after all, and that is like the most passive thing I can do." Danny said almost offhandedly. The stares continued, but that was to be expected. At least people were trying to get closer, seemingly content with watching him from their seats. Danny suddenly realized how high he'd floated. He could almost reach the ceiling if he stuck a hand up. He floated himself down slightly and chose to sit on the back of the seat.

"Mikey?" Danny asked, inviting the nerd to speak.

"Where do the ghosts come from?" he asked, curious. That was an easy one.

"As sci-fi as it sounds they're from another dimension called the Ghost Zone, or as the ghosts call it, the Infinite Realms. It's where everything was taken that day when there was a shield over the entire city. Some come through by natural portals." Danny didn't really know how much they knew about the portal in his basement, so he tried to skirt around it with the mention of natural portals.

Tucker called on Kwan next.

"Thank-you for saving Dash." He said in a quiet voice. The mood swiftly changed with his expression of gratitude. It reminded everyone what had just happened, stealing away the almost jovial atmosphere and replacing it with something akin to horror. This wasn't a game, two of their classmates could have died. It wasn't like a ghost attack, where they all knew Phantom would swoop in and save the day. If Dash had grabbed anyone other than Danny, or even nobody at all, he could have very well fallen to his death before anyone could react. If Danny hadn't been who he was, they would both be nothing but splatters at the bottom of a ravine.

And that scared them. They faced death head-on just about every day of their lives, but never in this way. Instead of death screaming in their faces about boxes, it had almost stolen away two of their classmates.

Dash, of course, chose that moment to wake.