"Let me go!" Saliva mixed with blood flew from the boy's mouth as he struggled against the chains, the shackles cutting into his skin and drawing out a mixture of crimson and ecto blood that coated the bindings and made them slide around his wrists. "You can't do this to me, let me go!"

His voice was hoarse, his throat begging for water that they refused to give. But he wouldn't stop, he couldn't. If he kept shouting, kept pleading and begging and crying, maybe they would free him. Maybe those devils dressed in white would find a shred of decency in their blackened souls and let him go back to his family.

"You don't get to decide what we can and can't do, ghost boy."

A harsh voice echoed from behind him, the boy's head straining to look around in desperation. It wasn't easy, not with the way they'd kept him locked down, the bindings tight around his wrists and ankles with a collar around his neck that sent an electrical charge shooting through his broken frame every few minutes to keep him docile.

Around his waist was the worst though, a belt they'd designed to keep the boy from transforming and using his abilities. He wasn't quite sure how it worked, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't change himself back and he couldn't phase himself out of his chains. Whether they wanted more access to the ecto blood that ran through him or they just couldn't bear to look the fourteen year old in his human eyes he wasn't sure.

In front of him, drenched in the blinding glow of a spotlight was a pristine table that reeked of chemicals, bleach and formaldehyde burning his nose and stinging his eyes. Beside the table sat a tray holding scalpels and saws and jars, both empty and filled, with colored liquids.

He hadn't allowed himself to look there for very long, each time he did the panic rose in his throat and threatened to drag him into a frenzy he was afraid he wouldn't be able to pull himself back from.

"Please, don't do this. I just wanted to help that's all, I swear."

Struggling to stand upright instead of hanging by his hands, Danny could feel the presence of the men behind him.

"You call what you did helping? You're a menace, nothing more than a glorified corpse. You go against every law of nature and then some. You weren't helping anyone but yourself."

The voice scoffed, heavy footfalls sauntering forwards as one of the men came into view. Danny wasn't sure what he'd expected, but somehow the man still wearing his spotless white suit and dark shades was the last thing he'd have thought.

"It wasn't my fault, I didn't ask to be like this, to be some freak!"

He screamed, his voice cracking as tears dripped down his face and fell to the tiled floor below.

"You expect us to believe that?"

He moved fast, fingers tightening in snow white hair as the teenager's head was yanked up, pain shooting through his skull and tingling down his neck.

"I have a family."

He whispered, his swollen lip quivering as the man gave him a twisted smile.

"You did; until they gave you to us. Just threw you away like the disgusting trash you are." Letting go of his hair, Danny's head fell, his teeth clenching as he stifled a sob. He wasn't lying. His parents hadn't accepted him, they'd just let them come and take him away. At least that was their final act of kindness, he supposed. They weren't the ones about to cut him open. "Don't act like you feel emotion, Phantom. Ghosts can't feel."

"I'm only half ghost, you jackass."

Danny spat, lifting his head as green eyes glared at the devil incarnate.

"Watch your tone with me, boy."

He warned, walking over to the small tray and picking up a scalpel, holding it up to the light. Swallowing thickly, Danny watched as he walked back over to him.

"You're right though, of course. You're only half ghost. How does that work, anyway? Half alive yet half dead. See, we have a theory we're working on." Kneeling down next to the boy, he looked up at him and held up the scalpel. "We think that you're more ghost than human. That your human half is a disguise more than anything else. Just a way to survive, hide amongst the masses."

"I go to school, I have friends, a sister, a life."

"That's ironic, coming from a ghost."

He snorted, reaching up and pressing the tip of the scalpel against the halfa's bicep, the point digging in as Danny ground his teeth.

"You'll kill me then, is that it? To get your answers? Will you be satisfied when my blood is all over your hands?"

He demanded, thrusting himself forward as the chains rattled, electricity sparking through the collar and racing through his body, taking what little fight he'd gathered out as he slumped back, the shackles digging into him once more as he hung limply from the chains.

"We have no plans to kill you, Phantom. You're going to have a very long, and probably painful, existence." He explained, digging the scalpel in further now as a mix of red and green blood began to trickle from the boy's arm. "What we learn from you will kick start so many things. Hell, we might even find a cure to some disease while we're at it. Who knows what treasures you hold?"

With a steady hand, the man slid the scalpel down the length of his bicep as Danny screamed, his body tensing as the knife cut through skin and muscle and allowed his blood to flow freely. Pulling the blade out at his elbow, the man stood, carefully placing the scalpel on the tray and retrieving an empty jar. Unscrewing the top and holding it beneath him, Danny's blood dripped into the container.

"You're.. sick.."

Danny panted, his vision blurring as pain burned through him.

"Not sick; curious. There's a difference."

"Yeah? Go to hell."

Spitting at the man, green blood spewed towards him, speckling and staining his white jacket in droplets as he froze, placing the jar stiffly on the floor.

"I could've been civil about this."

He said slowly, the ice in his tone enough the freeze an ocean as Danny swallowed, his fists clenching against his bindings.

"I don't think you know the meaning of that word."

The halfa's voice rasped out as the man rose, stalking over to the tray and picking up a medical saw.

"What, you thought I wasn't being kind? That just then I wasn't being gentle?" He demanded, stalking over to the boy and tilting his chin up with the tip of the blade. "You're about to see what happens when I'm angry."

"Just don't get your suit dirty."

Danny smirked, his eyes flashing as their eyes locked for the briefest moment. The next Danny's eyes were closed, unwilling to look as the edge of the saw dug into his chest and cut down the length of his abdomen. His screams echoed off the walls, his mind swimming as he rode the waves of pain and agony and suffering over and over again.

He could feel every slice, every cut, every piece of fileted skin that was pulled away from his body. He could feel the man's hands inside his chest, breaking apart his ribs and squeezing his organs. Fire danced behind his eyelids and tears of blood trickled down his cheeks.

He'd only wanted to help, he'd only wanted to make a difference. All that time he'd been dancing that line between life and death, but all life had brought him was unending agony and now all he wanted was death. Kill him. Please, just end his suffering. Put an end to it all please.

Just

Let

It

End

Danny awoke with a scream he could only barely contain, his body jolting up from his stack of newspapers as he stared across the pitch dark truck, his breaths short and ragged. His hands were trembling as he ran them through his hair, sweat gathered on his face as looked up at the ceiling of the truck and tried to breathe. Just breathe.

Tears burned at the back of his eyes as he curled into himself, his arms wrapping weakly around his knees as he tugged them close to his chest. The smaller he was the harder he was to reach. That was how it worked, right?

Blinking rapidly, he stared into the dark until his eyes began to adjust, able to make out the faintest shapes of the other stacks of papers littered throughout the cab. His heart continued to race, the dream fresh in his mind as he grimaced, his fingers running down his chest and feeling for the slice that had felt so real. So painful.

Tucking his head against his arms and staring at his lap, he clenched his fists and gripped his knees tighter. It was just a dream, nothing more. Just a nightmare. He was used to those, it was nothing new. He just needed to calm down and relax. But that was easier said than done.

With every bump of the road the boy was jolting, looking up in fear and anticipation. The Guys in White, they'd find him, they always did. They were getting closer and closer and they had already shown what they were willing to do to get him in their grasp.

Standing up and pacing the small area he had claimed as his own, the boy was tempted to go for a flight, just to breathe the fresh air and not feel so trapped. But he was exhausted, that was the third nightmare he'd had since trying to sleep and each one ended up being worse than the last.

He'd barely gotten any rest, and then there was the fear that if he did go off on his own that the Guys in White would find him and he'd be captured, leaving his friends and his parents trapped and at Freakshow's mercy.

Falling against the side of the truck and sliding down to the floor Danny buried his face in his hands, tears falling fast as he fought to silence the sobs, the halfa desperately trying to keep his breakdown silent.

Sam and Tucker had their own problems, and they were exhausted after the day they'd had. Between the Op Center blowing up and them running, and then the Cruiser blowing up and them running, they needed their sleep. Besides, what could they do?

He couldn't tell them how scared he was, they needed him. They needed him to find the gems and to defeat Freakshow. They needed him to stay strong and save their families. They needed him to not be an emotional wreck at every turn.

Choking back another sob, Danny's shoulders shuddered as he carefully covered his mouth with his hand, forcing his next hiccupping breath out as quietly as possible.

God, everything was such a mess. He wanted to see his family so badly, he wanted to hug his parents and have them be excited and happy to see him. He wanted them to tell him that they were proud of him, that they were okay with what he was and that they still loved him.

But his nightmares were so real, and his fears that they'd come true even more so. What would he do if his parents didn't accept him? Would they really throw him away, hand him over to his enemies just because of what he was? It wasn't his fault, and if he could go back in time, part of him would never have stepped foot into that stupid machine. Maybe then the ghosts wouldn't be wreaking havoc on Amity Park. Maybe the Guys in White were right, maybe all this was his fault.

Huddling in the corner hidden behind a partial stack of papers he buried his face in his arms again and pulled his legs up close. Small, unimportant, unnoticeable. Geez, when had he become such a mess?

He used to revel in his powers, used to enjoy going out every night and kicking some ghost butt. Hell, even running from his parents was an adrenaline rush he'd craved once in a while. And then Jazz found out and he'd felt less guilty about keeping things from his parents and it was nice. Everything had sort of settled, and he was happy.

But then things just went downhill before he knew what was happening. The attacks were constant, his grades fell even further, he was getting less and less sleep, and his parents were becoming more and more insistent on capturing his other half.

His dream had dissolved into a raging nightmare that he couldn't wake up from, and now things were getting increasingly worse. Danny couldn't even remember the last time he'd managed to get more than two hours of sleep at one given time.

He survived, he managed, mostly in part to his ghostly half he was sure. He didn't need as much rest as a full human, not as much food or water. At least that's what he told himself. Because there wasn't time anymore. Not enough time for friends and family and school and sleep and homework and ghost fighting.

So he had to cut things out. And he justified it by reminding himself that he was a hero. That he saved people. That Amity Park needed him. But was that even the case anymore? Since the beginning all kinds of ghost hunters had popped up all over the place. Now telling himself that he was needed felt more like a reason to force himself to keep going than anything else.

Wiping his face and sniffling, Danny stared across the truck blankly, a numbness washing over him once the tears were done that mixed with weariness. His eyes burned and his body felt sluggish, but his mind was running nonstop.

They only had one more gem left to get and then they could find Freakshow. The little weasel wouldn't be so hard to beat so long as they made sure to keep the gems from his grasp, but it was still a day to go at least.

By the time they got the gem and found a way to contact him, and then made their way back, the three days would be gone by then. Would he keep their families alive for the promise of the gems, or would they find out it was all for nothing?

The sound of papers rustling stole his attention as Danny caught his breath and stared through the darkness, watching a form turn over and settle back down. Sam.

That was just one more thing he hated himself for; dragging his friends into this mess. He shared everything with them, and even if they hadn't been there during the accident, he knew without a doubt that he'd have shared his secret with them the first chance he'd got. But this was different.

They were always involved in the fights, but the ghosts he fought rarely pulled low blows and left them alone unless they directly involved themselves. But the Guys in White didn't care. If they hadn't gotten out of the Op Center in time, they'd have died. And he couldn't live with that. He couldn't lose them, not like that. Not because of him.

And not before he had a chance to figure things out with Sam. Those shared looks and those little moments that existed just between them. They felt so strange, yet happened so naturally. They were best friends, so he never wanted to ask her if she felt the same way, there was just too much to ruin. But he'd also kick himself if something happened and all those questions were left unasked, and more importantly unanswered.

Sighing softly, Danny shifted where he sat, tilting his head against the cool metal of the truck as his thoughts bounced and twirled and banged around on the inside of his brain. He was just beginning to consider another attempt at sleeping again when he felt the truck slow down, slower and slower still until they were at a dead stop.

Panic rushed through the halfa as he stood, the truck suddenly lumbering on again as he fell back against the wall only to slow once more a few moments later. Taking a breath and turning into his ghostly half, the light that surrounded him was blinding in the darkness, and he heard his friends groan at the rude awakening.

Ignoring them and turning himself intangible, Danny poked his head through the side of the truck and squinted into the morning light, looking around as the truck slowed to another stop at a red light.

Ducking back inside, Danny found his friends up and ready, though Sam's ponytail was a bit lopsided and Tucker held his glasses rather than wearing them. Grabbing their arms, Danny carried them out of the truck right as it started driving again and deposited them on the empty sidewalk.

"Good morning I guess."

Tucker grumbled, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Are we close to the convention center?"

Sam questioned, stifling her own yawn as she rubbed at her eyes.

"Uhm, I'm not sure."

Danny said, looking around them at the street and shops. Turning around, the boy froze, his mouth falling open as he stared up at a large billboard above their heads. Instead of displaying a trailer for an upcoming movie or some weird new product meant to remove hair and get rid of body order at the same time, it was a picture of him.

A photograph of Danny Fenton, staring back at him with bright blue eyes and dark black hair. And then as if someone flipped a switch the picture changed like he did, a light moving over his face until his ghost half was the one staring at him, all in its white haired and green eyed glory.

"This is bad.."

He mumbled, tuning and spotting a line of posters covering a bus bench, all with one of the two different version of himself on it.

"Uh, Danny?"

Sam was beside him, pointing towards a bus as it rounded the corner, a massive sign displaying him once again stretched across the side.

"Wow, you're a star."

Tucker observed, pointing to a sign in a shop window that had large, pulsing letters that read 'Identity Of The Ghost Boy Discovered'

"We need to go.."

He said, turning around and nearly crashing into a woman. Stumbling back and muttering an apology, a bright flash of light went off in his eyes, dazing the halfa as Tucker caught him before he fell back into the road.

"Over here! Danny Phantom, over here!"

Out of nowhere people began to flood around them, everyone clambering towards the boy as cameras went off in his face and microphones were shoved against him. Voices were going off in every direction, mixing together into a muddled form of sensory overload that left the boy stiff in his spot, his arms raised to cover his face as Sam and Tucker began to push and shove back at the masses.

Panic was rising in the boy's chest, the realization that any one of the dozens clambering around him could alert the Guys in White to their location. He felt like throwing up, but he didn't have enough food in his stomach to even make it worth it. Dropping his arms and grabbing his friends' wrists, Danny turned the three of them intangible and fell through the ground.

He heard Sam yelp in surprise, the lack of notice his only choice to leave the crowds behind as they fell further and further until they were falling into the subway station below. Letting go of his friends as soon as they hit solid ground, Danny stumbled back against a payphone booth.

He could hear the blood roaring in his ears, his heart racing in his chest as he wondered how long it would be until they showed up. How long before the next attack. How long until-

"Danny?"

Heat flooded through him. Her hand was so warm. His body always ran cold, colder than any normal person's might, but she was warm and gentle and her eyes were-

"Danny, are you alright?"

She was standing next to him, her hands on his arms as she stared up at him, concern laced through her lavender eyes while her lips formed a worried line.

"I'm fine." He managed to force out, focusing on the way she had managed to ground him. So many questions, never the right time. "We just gotta find a train headed for the comic book convention without drawing any attention."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the halfa felt someone behind him.

"Dude!" The voice spoke loudly, making the boy flinch as he turned, not quite sure what exactly he was looking at. "Great costume!"

It was like staring at some warped version of himself from a really far off distant reality. The boy in front of him had red hair that covered half his face and drooping eyes that looked as if he'd been doing a recreational activity frowned on by most in the bathroom before uttering his statement.

His outfit was what threw him off though, the jumpsuit a crude design that matched his own. Black and white, with a crooked 'P' stitched into the middle of the chest. The kid sauntered off, seemingly satisfied with his remark as Danny's gaze followed him, moving around his friends to see lines people had formed while waiting to board the train, with over half of the group dressed like either him or Sam.

Tall girls with blonde and brown hair styled in high ponytails and wearing checkered skirts and high combat boots littered the area, while every third guy was showing off his styled jumpsuit to a group of friends.

Glancing down at his hands, Danny stared at the faint white ethereal light that glowed off him and realized why the boy had felt the urge to comment. Compared to everyone else, his was the best. Granted his was the original, but still.

"I think we found our train."

Tucker grinned, stepping forward as his eyes scanned the crowds.

"Is this as weird for you as it is for me?"

Sam mumbled next to the halfa as Danny felt his head bob.

"What's that old show you like, you know, where the weird stuff always happens?"

"The Twilight Zone?"

"Yeah, this is totally a Twilight Zone moment."

Sam snickered at his comment as Tucker looked back at them with an annoyed expression.

"What, no Tucker's? Am I not geek worthy?"

Raising his arms in anguish Danny felt himself smiling, running his eyes through the crowd once more to see if the boy was right.

"Over there!"

A barking voice that sent shivers down Danny's spine pulled him from his search, his blood turning to ice in his veins as he turned his head, eyes widening in fear at the two men that stood near the entrance of the station.

Shuffling back a step, Danny couldn't breathe. His lungs were crying out for oxygen but it was like he'd forgotten how to take a breath. He was lightheaded and his stomach was churning. This wasn't a nightmare anymore, this was real life, and they'd found him yet again. They were so close he could see the guns hanging at their sides and the cruel looks twisting their faces. They were going to grab him, they were-

"It's okay." The words were soft, spoken barely above a whisper right next to his ear as Sam's hand slipped into his, her fingers tightening around his own as her other hand tugged lightly at his arm. "We need to go."

She urged, twisting her body around until he was looking at her instead of them. Somehow the warmth was in her eyes, too.

"Yeah."

He nodded, following his friends as they wove in and out of the crowds, ducking behind groups of teenagers and stumbling around luggage.

"Okay, spook boy, it's all over."

The voice was further back, and the boy dared to look over his shoulder as one of the Guys in White grabbed ahold of a boy and turned him around, the white wig shifting off the boy's head.

"Paws off! This suit's handmade!"

The boy snapped, pulling away from the men as Danny smirked, feeling Sam's hand tighten around his as they boarded the train. Tucker led them around another group until they found seats at the window, the trio quickly claiming them as theirs.

Settling down, Tucker began to rifle through his bag, a few comic books and the thermos poking out the top as Danny looked out the window. He could see the men grabbing random kids and searching them before reaching for the next, the group dwindling down as the train filled and the doors slid closed, much to the boy's relief.

"Look."

He told his friends, motioning out the window where the Guys in White had finally turned their way, staring directly at the ghost boy and his friends. Mustering up a cheeky smile, the boy gave a slight wave that his friends mimicked, waving at the government men as the train pulled out of the station and left the threat behind.

Settling back once again, Danny looked down at his and Sam's hands still intertwined. Turning to the girl, her eyes were on her shoes and her face had turned a scarlet hue.

"Thanks, you know, for pulling me out of it back there."

He said, his hand turning to lead as their grip remained intact.

"Yeah, of course. Couldn't just leave you."

She answered flippantly, their hands still not moving.

"Well-"

"I-"

They spoke together, their eyes flitting up to each other before back down again, Danny's face warming as well.

"You don't have to pretend you know, not with us."

She said quietly as Danny looked up, her eyes still on her shoes as he glanced at Tucker who had started a lively conversation with his seatmate about one of his comics.

"What?"

"I know they scare you. They scare me, too." A weight settled in the boy's stomach, his head turning away as her fingers tightened around his. "I could hear you last night. You were muttering in your sleep, you were.." She didn't finish the sentence, something he was grateful for. "But you can talk to me. Or Tucker. We care about you Danny, you don't have to go through all this alone."

He couldn't speak, the lump in his throat was too big. And even if he could, what could he possibly say to her? That if he could go back he'd protect her better? That everything that had happened had taken so much more out of him than he'd ever thought possible?

Or that all these kids on the train with them were quickly becoming too much because they were a reminder to him. A reminder that at the end of the day these were just costumes. That they could change and go back to their regular life and that this whole thing would just be a fun little adventure in their mind.

That that was a reality he could never have, that the whole thing was sickening because while they pretended to be him, they couldn't possibly realize what it had taken to be that way. That they were all alive, while he was half dead.

Suspended in time, half in the real world and half in the afterlife, constantly battling people and entities from both who wanted to hurt him and the people he loved. It wasn't as if he could tell her the truth about what he'd been thinking. He couldn't tell her that the longer time went on the closer to his ghostly half he felt and the further from his human half he drifted.

He couldn't tell her that his nightmares were consuming him and that the only time he didn't have them was when he was in his ghost form, because he could go longer without sleep then. He couldn't admit that sometimes being a ghost was so much easier than being human, and sometimes when it got really bad, he would pretend that's all he was.

But he wanted too. He wanted to so bad that it hurt. He could feel it all bubbling over and he wanted to tell her everything. But when he opened his mouth, only one thing came out.

"I know."

He felt defeated. He hadn't even had the biggest fight of them all yet and he felt completely done. And yet that warmth persisted, Sam's hand holding his though silence had fallen between them. Their hands together amidst the chaos and the jumbled nerves and the panic.

Maybe he couldn't tell her all the things that he so desperately wanted to say, but as he squeezed her hand and clung to it like a life preserver, he hoped that some of it might convey to her in that way.

A/N

Okay, listen. This was NOT supposed to be as horribly angsty as it turned out, alright. This was so not the intention I'd had when I'd planned this chapter. But you know what he's a kid, and he's tired, and scared, and everyone needs to break down sometimes. But to make up for it I added some really cute fluff at the end, so forgive me for the traumatizing chapter 3

Thanks for reading, and please let me know your thoughts! I love seeing your reviews and as we get closer to the end I'm more and more excited to see what you guys think of my take on it!