I cannot take all of the credit for this chapter. My close friend and history aficionado, who goes by u/Thunda792, was extremely helpful in the writing of the battle scene in the second half. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

xxxxxx

One Week Later...

If it were not for the scent of cinnamon in the air, Tara would have continued in her nightmare. She abruptly opened her eyes, yet took her time to come to terms with her reality.

She was not in her own bed. She was not in her own room. This was not her dresser, nor her desk where she did her math homework.

For the past week, she had been living as if she did not exist. She maintained a low profile, never leaving the cabin, not even for groceries. Her eyes glanced back at the photo of her parents holding her when she was a baby. She had not heard from her parents in a week. She wondered if they were even alive.

"Tara! Breakfast!"

She sighed, then rolled out of bed.

Tara entered the kitchen to find her best friend making french toast.

"I had the same dream again, Nessie," Tara said.

"Again?" Vanessa said, handing a heaping plate over to her friend.

Tara nodded. "Yeah. Nothingness. Laughter. Then eyes."

"How bizarre. Well, I mean, good thing it's just a dream, right? Maybe it's just all of your anxieties manifesting into one big dream."

Tara cut into her breakfast. "I don't know. It feels like it's more than just that...This is really good, by the way."

"Thanks. My Dad loves..."

She paused for a moment, stifling tears.

"...when I make...french toast, too."

There was a pregnant silence between them.

"Could you, uh, maybe wake Megan up?"

"Sure," Tara whispered as she stood from the dining table.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"I got it," Tara said.

She sprinted for the front door and looked through the peephole.

A red beret.

Tara sighed and opened the door.

"You're here early."
"Had to make sure it was early enough so nobody would see me leave the house. Also had to get your supplies," Tucker said as he held up four plastic bags.

"Nice, thanks! Come in."

He quickly walked inside, and Tara shut the door behind him.

"How are you?" he said.

"Nervous. On high alert. Same old, same old. How about you?"

"Also nervous, but for different reasons. I've got a couple of exams coming up, but I also have a bunch of bills I have to make decisions on. Compared to you, though, it's nothing. I'm not an interdimensional refugee."

"It's not nothing. Everyone's got their own struggle. Sounds like you've had a hard week so far."

"How's Vanessa?"

"She's hanging in there. Keeping herself occupied with cooking, cleaning...we used to divide the work equally, but lately, she's been kinda taking over everything. I think it's her way of dealing."

He nodded. "And Megan?"

"She's been coming out of her room a little more since Sam visited her on Monday. And she really likes all those science kits you gave her. Thanks for that."

"It's no problem. I'm just glad she likes them."

They grew silent. Tara shuffled her feet; Tucker looked around the room.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about the groceries!" Tara said, taking the bags from him. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just let you stand around with those heavy things! That was so rude of me."
"No, it's totally okay."

"Do you want to, uh, stay for breakfast?"

"You know, that's really nice of you to offer, but I do have to be getting back to my office. And my chauffeur is waiting for me, since I can't drive yet."

"Yes, of course. Right. Um, well...have a good day."

"You too. See you soon."

Tucker went in for a hug but stopped when he realized Tara couldn't lift her arms with all of the bags. Instead, he opted for a wave, then left.

As the door closed behind him, Tara grimaced.

"That was awkward, Tara, why are you so awkward?…" she mumbled to herself as she dragged herself back to the kitchen.

"Hey Vanessa!" she said as she made her way to the dining table, plopping the bags down on it. "We've got food!"

Tara looked at Vanessa, who was standing with her back towards her.

"Uh, Nessa? You okay, girl? I just said we got food."

Vanessa slowly turned around.

Perched on one arm was Angel. In Vanessa's other hand was a letter.

xxxxxx

Deep in the ghost zone of the future, four patrols, with a bare minimum of jungle between them, moved stealthily on Skulker's Island. Danny Phantom walked near the front of one of the diamond-shaped patrols, leading the group of ghosts; Sam was a few feet behind him.

They advanced in silence, each scanning the area around them for any possible ambushes.

Sam hustled up to Danny.

"I just got a message from Tucker," she whispered once she got close to him. "West side is secure. They're waiting for us on the other side of the island."

"Tell him I said 'good' and to stay safe. We'll set up camp soon and meet up with him in the morning. Thanks for the update, Sam."

"I don't want to stop for the night right now. Let's move to the edge of this crappy little island; then we can rest and take Dark Danny out by tomorrow night."

"I want to get home too, Sam, but I can't wear everyone out. Then we will be too tired for the final battle. We need to be at our best."

Sam sighed and looked up at the green, swirled sky. Since Dark Danny learned of The Resistance, he had sent his allies flying all around the Ghost Zone, eliminating anyone who might pose a threat to them. This led the Resistance to go to ground, where they could keep a small footprint and use the terrain to their advantage. Although this slowed down their progress, the new plan did keep more ghosts safe.

"Stay behind me," Danny said, dragging Sam back to reality. "If they find us, they'll target me first, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I want to protect you, too."

"Save yourself if you can, Sam."

She grabbed hold of Danny's arm. "I'm not leaving you behind."

Danny kept looking straight ahead, trying to make it look like he had not heard her, but Sam insisted.

"For better or for worse, Danny," she whispered. "I wasn't just saying that. I meant every word."

Without glancing back, Danny reached for Sam's hand. He lifted it up to his lips, kissing the back of it.

"Incoming!"

They spun their heads back to look at the Resistance member who shouted the warning, then saw them.

"Get down!" Sam yelled while dropping to the ground, pulling Danny with her. Danny quickly surrounded the two of them in a green bubble, shielding them from the ghost blasts that came directly their way.

As the bubble shuddered above them, yielding and weakening slightly as it absorbed every blow, Danny glanced behind them.

An entire horde of Pariah Dark's ex-soldiers zoomed down from the sky. As they landed, they began shooting their ghostly weapons at any Resistance member they could spot.

Danny saw one World War II ex-soldier aim his rifle at a Resistance member who was running for cover. The ghost soldier fired, and before Danny could shout out a warning, his comrade was on the ground, clutching his abdomen in agony as ectoplasm oozed out.

"These guys are stronger than when I fought them last!" he yelled, sensing the bubble becoming thinner and thinner.

"We need to help them!" Sam shouted.

A bellowing roar came from up above them. They screamed as the point of a ghostly viking spear penetrated their protective bubble. The shield, finally strained beyond its limits, violently discharged its remaining energy outward and sent the viking flying.

Danny pulled Sam to her feet.

"Cover me!" Danny barked as more enemy ghosts began to surround them.

Sam whirled around to cover Danny's back. She raised her ecto-rifle and racked the charging handle. "You got it!"

Green beams of energy arced through the air. Danny blasted a row of ghosts coming towards him with a repulsion field, sending them hurtling backwards. Sam took a different approach; she methodically snapped out her shots one by one, like a metronome, with deadly accuracy.

It was not enough. The more of the ghost soldiers Danny and Sam blasted, the more came plunging from the sky to overwhelm the dwindling defenders.

"Danny, there's too many!"

"We have to get out of here, we…"

But before Danny could finish his sentence, the tidal wave of ghost soldiers reached them.

The two screamed as they were engulfed.