Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note (9/1/2020): Ok, this is the last chapter I'm going to do for a while so I wanted to make it count! And the story has been a bit doom and gloom lately so I wanted to give this chapter some hopeful highlights to make up for it. Plus I wasn't sure how to continue from where I left off with Valerie saying goodbye so I decided to go ahead with the time skip.

And in case its unclear to anyone this is about a week later give or take a few days after the previous week ended and this whole mess went down so Sam and Valerie are still being forced to play clean up duty and won't be allowed to go to the dance this weekend which marks the second week since their fight. As for Vlad and Danny, well this is something I wanted to include in the story so now seems about a good a time as any so I hope you'll enjoy the little cliffhanger at the end! Because after this I'm gonna take a short break but still, thank you so much for inspiring me with the views and reviews to keep me motivated to keep working on this story!

Chapter 20: In A World Without You

3rd Person POV

Their time to say goodbye to Danny had come and gone and before they knew it, it was almost just like when he left Amity Park the first time because of the empty rift he left behind in their friendship. But this time the reason there was this rift between them is because of their immense guilt from pushing Danny away so thoroughly by making the same mistake twice. Tensions were still high between the two remaining friends so in order to avoid saying something they'd regret, Sam and Tucker kept their distance from each other for the time being to sort out their feelings about all of this.

Unfortunately, seeing the once inseparable trio broken at last made them easy targets for bullying by those who found cruel pleasure in making them suffer more than they already were because of their own actions. At least, that's what they attempted to do but Sam and Tucker were so despondent and indifferent to everyone else that the appeal of mocking them for losing Danny quickly wore off. After all, teasing someone who refuses to react is hardly entertaining...

Besides, seeing the usually strongly opinionated Sam Manson take the goth thing to a whole new level by going full emo and sitting alone staring at listlessly out a window during class or ignoring when anyone talked to her aside from a teacher was really unnerving, even for them. Tucker wasn't much different although he was doing the exact opposite and keeping himself focused on his schoolwork or working on personal projects with his favorite tech but you could still see how lonely and detached they felt about everything now without Danny there as the glue that held the group together.

As for Valerie, she kept her promise about staying out of their way and doing her own thing. But truth be told she was starting to get really worried about them, and yes, even about Sam. Plus she knew it would hurt Danny when he found out that their friendship had practically fallen apart in his absence.

Danny would no doubt blame himself for it along with everything else which isn't fair to him or to them. It's something Sam and Tucker needed to work out for themselves. Because friendships like any other relationship aren't meant to be one-sided and if their friendship was really meant to last, it's up to them to fight for it instead of expecting Danny to keep putting in all the work himself.

Valerie tried to do take responsibility for her part in their fight but when it came to Sam at least it was like talking to a wall whenever they had to stay after school together to begin cleaning the storage room. And during a few of those sessions, Valerie was interrupted by a ghost and she had to rush off which only put Sam in a worst mood since she hated having to cover for her when the gym teacher stopped by to make sure they were still doing their job. At one point, Sam got so fed up with it that she did most of the cleaning herself to get it over with and then told Valerie she owed her one.

At first Valerie was a bit insulted by that accusation and argued that this was probably how they used to make Danny feel acting all ungrateful for working much harder than they were to keep everyone safe, but at the same time, Valerie admitted that Sam did have a point. It was kind of strange that these many ghosts were trying so hard to get past the ghost shield around Casper High until Sam told her they were probably looking for Danny once the rumor spread to the Ghost Zone that he was back in town. Obviously he wasn't here anymore, but it would take a while before they caught on that the only one left fighting ghosts right now was Valerie.

Oddly enough, even though they said they weren't going to try to be friends once they started talking more about how to deal this problem the two girls agreed to a sort of truce and decided that it wasn't worth arguing over who did what to Danny now that he was living with Vlad. Surprisingly, Sam even followed Valerie's advice to talk to Tucker about everything now that she had calmed down and apologize to him so at least they could be friends again because at this point all they had was each other and Danny wouldn't want them to stop talking to each other.

And when Tucker heard what Valerie said to Sam, he thanked Valerie for talking some sense into her since he admitted that even though he wanted to talk to her he wasn't really sure how to approach his friend again after snapping at Sam like that and telling her he needed some space then practically ditching her. In the end, as hard as it was to be apart, the distance helped them put a lot of things in perspective like how they might still have their differences but Sam and Tucker still cared about each other too since they've been friends for so many years. And they agreed that it was high time for them to start making serious life changes and grow up a bit so their attitudes changed after that as well.

Obviously they still hung out a lot but sometimes each of them took some much needed time to themselves where Sam would be reading a book in the shade of a tree while Tucker worked on programming some new feature into his PDA. That being said, their friendship had still been dealt a serious blow and Valerie wasn't the only one who was wondering if they'd stay friends in the next year or so. Jazz wondered about that too and asked them about it once but all they would tell her is that they owed it to themselves and Danny to at least try to do better from now on and not fight over every little difference between them.

Jazz could only take their word for it since she didn't see them as much anymore because she only had half-days at Casper High now. And as expected she used that spare time to her advantage by getting ready to submit applications for college once she graduated, got a job, and used whatever time she had let to spare to take care of her parents. They were slowly getting better and keeping themselves busy even though they missed Danny too, but without their usual tinkering in the lab like before it was really hard for Jack and Maddie to figure out what to do with themselves at first...

They were so used to be scientists first and in some ways, they couldn't wait to start working in Axion Labs the following Monday since Vlad had delayed their first day at work in light of Danny's meltdown which resulted in a relapse and left him comatose for the past week now. At the same time though, they were apprehensive about it which comes as no surprise given how strict Vlad was going to be with them and holding Danny's parents to the same standard as his other employees. That's why Jazz suggested that they should try picking up a new hobby or maybe reviving an old one, and this idea went about as well as expected.

Jack decided to really get into his needlepoint projects while his wife Maddie decided to focus on resuming her combat training and even started going out for jogs with Jazz each morning or they did yoga together and other workouts. It was a nice feeling actually, having something normal for them to do together as mother and daughter for once. Unfortunately for Jack, since his hobby was a bit more one-dimensional and he was used to blathering on about ghosts and explaining how their inventions worked to Danny and his friends, Jack told them he felt sort of left out. That's why Jazz started making a habit of making snacks for her father whenever he felt down and sometimes they even cooked together since she was pretty good at it. Maddie joined in too and one time, all three of them wound up making cookies together and Jazz made sure to take lots of pictures to send to her brother.

According to Vlad, Danny was going to be waking up any day now which came as a huge relief to everyone and lifted their spirits. And even though Sam wasn't allowed to contact Danny because of the restraining order, Jazz made sure to let his friends know that he was going to be ok. That helped ease some more of the tension between the three of them a little too, but it was painfully obvious that until Danny woke up and they knew for sure it wasn't going to be that easy for them to let go of what put him in a coma in the first place.

All they could do now was keep trying to get through each day hoping Danny would pull through and find in in his heart to forgive Sam and Tucker for their part in what happened. But knowing him, he probably had already forgiven them even if Danny himself didn't know it yet. That's just who he is. And now everyone in his life finally understood what a big impact he had on their lives, how he made them better people. Now it was their turn to return the favor by making the most of his sacrifices and not giving Danny any reason to give up anything else for them ever again...

Danny's POV

The first thing I noticed when I slowly became aware of my surroundings and opened my eyes was how soft and familiar my bed was. I also felt the comforting warmth of Maddie-the-cat curled up in the crook of my arm, purring contently. It was dark, and I still felt sleepy and lethargic but more than that I was beyond confused. When did we...get back to Wisconsin?

The last thing I remember is- well actually, scratch that, I didn't really remember much of anything apart from helping Valerie when we discovered something new and shocking -pun intended- about her battle suit which I kinda expected to some degree since I knew Technus was involved. I wasn't expecting how it gave her a telepathic link to the suit and something at least close to electrical powers to make up for the lack of ectoplasm in her blood to fuel the suit and help it repair itself. But after that I...I couldn't remember anything after that and that really bothered me.

I was pretty sure Vlad hadn't done anything to mess with my memories, but I wouldn't put it past him if he thought it was for my own good. At the same time though I didn't want to make Vlad feel bad or make it seem like I was doubting him so I decided to just ask him what happened the next time I saw him. Besides, maybe I was just too tired to remember right now and it would come back to me eventually. All I knew is that SOMETHING must've happened to make Vlad bring me home before I had a chance to say goodbye to everyone one last time.

Still, despite not knowing how we ended up back here I felt a sudden rush of relief sweep through me when it hit me that we were finally out of Amity Park. I knew staying there was going to be hard but it surprised even me how much being there seemed to trigger me and not all of it had to do with Dan. Sometimes when a random ghost appeared nearby and my ghost sense would go off, my knee jerk reaction was to go ghost and take care of it. Thankfully Vlad was there to keep me grounded, literally, and so was my sister.

I was about to nod off again when Maddie-the-cat noticed I was awake and meowed at me, rubbing against my side affectionately and I smiled, petting her soft white fur, "Hey Maddie, did you miss us? I'm sorry we've been away for so long."

She meowed happily again but I frowned, I didn't expect my voice to sound so hoarse so I tried to prop myself up so I could get up and grab a drink or something but it was really hard to move. My arms felt weak and shaky so eventually, I gave up and laid back down. Maddie-the-cat didn't seem to mind though and settled back down close to my side, purring loudly. I felt a little dizzy from the effort of sitting up so I closed my eyes again, waiting for it to pass. Too bad closing my eyes again turned out to be a one-way trip back to snoozeville though.

The next morning, or maybe it was noon now I opened my eyes and tried to sit up again and thankfully it wasn't as hard this time. At least, not until I noticed all the medical crap I was hooked up to. Now, where have I seen this before..? Talk about deja vu! I snickered to myself before leaving it at just sitting up this time instead of unhooking myself from any of it since I knew Vlad would flip if I did.

Still, sitting up helped clear my head a little and now that the sun was shining it was much easier to tell that yes, I was back in my room in Vlad's castle back in Wisconsin. I couldn't see any sign of Vlad though which worried me since the last time I was bedridden he hardly left my side so I wondered what was going on. I tried not to psych myself out though and was debating about whether or not to call him when I saw my phone sitting next to me on the end table when-

"Daniel?" Vlad asked in disbelief, looking both stunned and relieved to see me sitting up in bed with my eyes open.

"Nope, sorry, you've got the wrong guy," I teased to lighten the mood, "I'm just a figment of your wild imagination fruitloop."

Dropping the act, Vlad walked over to me at a brisk pace and wrapped his arms snugly around me in a tight embrace and I felt his shoulders sag in relief too as he replied softly, "It's so good to hear your voice again little badger. I'm so glad..."

Still confused about why he was acting so timid, I hugged him back and then asked, "It's good to see you too but, what...happened to me? Why did you bring me back here while I was sleeping?"

Pulling back, Vlad sat on the edge of the bed and asked in all seriousness, "Before I tell you that, what's the last thing you remember?"

Gripping my head and shaking it slightly I thought really hard about it then answered, "Honestly, I don't remember much at all. I remember helping Valerie and you telling us that stuff about her battle suit upgrade and why it was making her a living lightening rod and then I stepped out for a bit to give Sam and Tucker a call to let them know she was ok since she kinda rushed to meet up with us in Axion Labs in a hurry. The rest is a big blank."

Sighing heavily, Vlad explained, "I was afraid that might be the case. Truth be told you...well you got into an argument with your friends and then your powers went out of control as a result much like the time they broke into my mayoral mansion. You've been in a coma for about a week now."

My eyes widened in shock and I blurted out, "No way! Are you serious?!"

"Quite serious," Vlad nodded, looking like he wanted to say something else but decided against it and after putting his hand to support the back of my neck again and rub the growing anxiety away he continued, "As you can imagine I was not happy about this because it was unfair of them to put you in that position again when you're still carrying a lot of baggage concerning everything you've been through this year. That's why I brought you back home or your own safety without saying goodbye to your friends and family again since you had obviously reached your breaking point which as I feared became very hazardous to your mental and physical health.

"What happened the night before in the hotel, the heated argument between you and your friends, combined with your sleep deprivation in general, we're extremely lucky you didn't hurt yourself or anyone else. In the end, however, you really needed the rest one way or another. And in order to recuperate from the sudden energy loss, your body shut down all your other senses to give that to you that chance after you pushed yourself too far and exhausted yourself by subconsciously using your ghost powers in human form while under great duress. That being said, you're feeling better now I trust?"

"Well, sort of," I admitted, still trying to take in everything Vlad just told me. "To tell you the truth I'm actually really thirsty. I was thirsty last night too but didn't have the energy to get up and by the time I did when I opened my eyes a few minutes ago and realized I was hooked into heart monitors and stuff, I didn't want freak you out by unplugging something by accident before letting you know I was ok. Speaking of which, what time is it anyway? Or wait, I guess the better question is what day is it?"

"It is about 11:00 am on Sunday," Vlad answered with a warm smile, "And yes, I would imagine so which is why I came to check on you once I finished a few things. I was working on some adjustments to the castle's security system to keep myself busy and going over your school records one more time. I wanted to wait until you regained consciousness to unpack the rest of your belongings. Either way, I'm glad your finally awake little badger, I was hoping you would wake up soon since your ecto-energy levels are stable again. So to celebrate your return from dreamland why don't we have breakfast together? Just remember to choose something light since you only just woke up."

Rolling my eyes at his last comment and unhooking myself from the heart monitor now that I basically had Vlad's permission to get up, I pulled the blankets off so I could sit beside him once he moved his hand to support my back since I was still a little unsteady. Taking a minute to think about what I wanted to eat and to focus on reorienting myself, I turned to Vlad and told him I was kinda craving an omelet with biscuits and gravy. In response Vlad told me he'd have them make a lighter gravy just to be on the safe side since he didn't want to upset my stomach, but Vlad agreed to have the chef make it right away because he figured I could really use the protein.

To avoid overexerting myself on an empty stomach though, Vlad offered to teleport us straight to the kitchen. And after we did that he helped me settle into a chair next to him when I told him I didn't want to eat in my room since I've been stuck in my bedroom at Fenton Works and at the hotel for ages so I really wanted to sit at a real table again and eat with someone. Besides, it seemed to make Vlad happy to have some company again since I've been out of commission for the past week.

I'm just glad that he told me the truth when it would have been just as easy to not say anything about what happened and leave it to my imagination how I ended up in a coma. But again, at least it was a temporary one, and as crazy as it sounds, crashing like that actually helped me catch up on the sleep I've been missing out on lately, and since I didn't have a single nightmare I didn't end up tossing and turning so much and waking up just as tired as before. I still couldn't remember exactly what happened but since Vlad told me no one got hurt, including me, I figured that was probably for the best.

I felt bad for making everyone worry about me so much though, and I can't imagine what Sam and Tucker must be thinking right now. Valerie was there according to Vlad though so I hope I didn't freak her out too much. Still, as much as I'll miss them I felt much better getting away from it all, even if it wasn't under the best circumstances...again. But maybe now things could go back to normal now that I don't have to hide anymore. Now that we were home again Vlad promised he would help me get ready for school and we could start training again after I rested for a few more days.

I was about to argue that I've had more than enough sleep when Vlad reasoned, "Daniel, you know what I mean. You need to give yourself a chance to properly relax and unwind. And given all that's happened it's not too much to ask for you to do that. Besides, even though I want you to relax we still have a few things to take care of such as unpacking your belongings and giving you a full medical exam so I can prescribe some anti-depressants just to make sure your anxiety levels go down."

Putting a hand on my shoulder, his expression oddly serious, Vlad also told me, "There's something else too. Something very important we have to do..."

Feeling anxious because of the way he said that I swallowed and asked sheepishly, "Ok...? And that is?"

Smirking widely at me all of a sudden like a Cheshire cat he replied, "Why celebrate your welcome home party of course, what else? Remember dear boy, you're not just Daniel Fenton anymore, you're my god-son and as such, it would bring me a great deal of joy to share that special moment with you in a meaningful way. I may not have been able to adopt you as my son...but we're family now. And I want to treasure this momentous occasion by treating you to a very special outing once everything else is in order."

"Geez," I scoffed, playfully punching him in the arm, "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were going to tell me something super serious just now."

"Well, to be fair it is somewhat serious," Vlad teased in return, "After all, I've been dreaming of this moment ever since your parents signed you over to my care but so many things were getting in the way. I can't help myself. Now that you're safe and officially living under my roof, I want nothing more than to create new memories with you now that we don't have to hide your presence in my life anymore. There will be downsides to this fame of course, but the perks as you've seen before will greatly outweigh them. You'll see."

What he said reminded me of something else that's been on my mind that I've been meaning to bring up so while looking Vlad in the eye and actually being serious I said, "Hey Vlad? If you don't mind...there's actually someone I really want you to meet before we do anything else. We might not be able to find him but, I think it'll be good for us. I promise to take some time to rest before we do that so, is that ok?"

Now it was his turn to be confused at Vlad leaned back in his seat, looking at me quizzically, "Of course Daniel. Although I must admit I'm at a bit of a loss, who on earth could you possibly want me to meet that I haven't already? After all, I assume said individual is a ghost correct?"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something he asked, "Does this by chance have anything to do with the strange ghost I saw when I destroyed Dan's core with the ecto-inhibitor gun?"

"Oh, so you have seen him then," I nodded to myself, not even remotely surprised since that sounds just like Clockwork to show up right when he needs to to get the right gears moving or something like that. "Anyway yeah, that's the one I want you to meet. His name is Clockwork, the Master of Time. And...I don't know why but I feel like I really need you to know the full story behind how I found out about Dan the first time and he can explain things way better than I can. That...and I kinda hope he has a message from the other version of you that helped me see that there was some good in you when this all started. It would mean a lot to me."

"For you Daniel, I'd be more than happy to meet this Clockwork," Vlad replied, looking thoughtful again, "And with a name like that...I suspect he's part of what made all this possible. I just hope he doesn't have any more unpleasant surprises in store for us in the near future."

Laughing nervously I commented, "Don't jinx it, Vlad, because it's possible that he already knows this is going to be a long road for both of us. But I wouldn't have it any other way because I'm glad we're together now. It's something I always wanted too, ever since we met, just not if it meant I'd lose my family, which I haven't. I wanted someone in my life that could help me figure out all this stuff about my ghost half and could help me when I need it too. So now I just happen to have that and a really cool ex-villain god-father that's half-ghost just like me and has finally given me a place where I can be myself. And now we can to be honest with everything in our lives since we're not enemies anymore. It's a nice feeling, and totally worth all the trouble getting to this point."