The thermos felt cold in his hands, gloved fingers wrapped tight around the base as Danny's breath shuddered out.

"Sucker." He spoke aloud, a wave of emotion flooding through him. Freakshow was gone. Freakshow was finally gone. He'd beaten him.

Lowering the thermos, Danny's shoulder screamed, the joint out of place as he grimaced at the movement. His body ached more with every breath that rattled through his lungs but he was relieved. It was all over. It was all finally-

"Danny!"

Jerking his head up, the halfa's gaze settled on the point of the scream, Sam's eyes locked onto his as the coaster hurtled down its final drop. A drop that led directly to the vat of acid Freakshow had created as the final act.

"No!" His body took over before his mind had fully registered what was happening. On his feet and running, Danny's hand scooped up the gauntlet and flew through the air, pushing himself faster and faster. He had to make it, he had to make it.

Wind cut across his face as Sam smiled, a heart broken, soul wrenching smile that made the boy want to cry. He had to make it, he had to make it. Oh God, he wasn't going to make it.

His family, his friends, what was the point of conquering Freakshow if they paid the price? That stupid ringmaster and his stupid gems. Wait, the gems.

Glancing down at the gauntlet, Danny slipped his hand inside and felt the metal conform to his arm and around his fingers, fitting him perfectly as he pressed each of the gems in sequence.

Power surged through him, energy filling his veins as he thrust his hand out towards the coaster. Just as the ride flew from the tracks and dove towards the vat, a glittering of crimson shot through the air and a splash of water flew up as the cars struck the surface of the pool now lying in the acid's place.

Flying the last few yards, Danny got to the edge just as his family began to surface. His mother and father were first, frantic hands latching onto his sister as she sputtered out the water from her lungs.

The Foley's were next, than the Manson's. And then Tucker, his beret soggy and floating beside him as he tugged hard and Sam's head popped up last.

Relief bubbled out of the halfa in the form of a laugh, his body doubling over as he perched on the edge of the pool and listened to the group in the water. They were alive. Everyone was alive.

"Are you guys okay?" He finally forced out, green eyes darting between each person as Sam and Tucker grinned wildly up at him.

They seemed to be the only ones though as the adults all stared in shock and awe as Danny felt the sudden urge to shrink back. The gauntlet suddenly weighed a thousand pounds as he shifted awkwardly, clearing his throat before speaking again.

"Oh, hi Mr. and Mrs. Manson. Mr. and Mrs. Foley." He gave an awkward wave as Tucker dropped his head while Sam snorted next to him.

Dropping his hand and shoving them behind his back, he felt like disappearing on the spot. And he might've, if an unearthly shriek hadn't risen behind him.

A wave of green and red and black shot through the air and towered above him as Lydia hovered in the midst of her powers, glowing crimson eyes glaring hatefully at him. And yet, all the halfa could do was sigh. Couldn't he just have a break?

Danny stared up at her blankly, blinking once as she shot her hands forward and sent her tattoos to attack him.

"Couldn't just leave, could you?" He asked dryly, lifting the gauntlet up and catching her eye. "Well then, as for you."

In a burst of light the ghost transformed, her body shifting and molding into a new design, her limbs contorting and bleeding together until she had changed into a glowing fish in midair.

Hatred and bitterness bled from the boy as he twisted his hand and she changed again, the energy around her fading as her body shifted into the shape an apple, the sheen of it the same color as her ghastly eyes.

Smirking, Danny turned his hand again and with a cry Lydia's form twisted into a furry teddy bear with black button eyes and a white nose.

Glancing back at Sam, she stared at him in a mixture of amusement and forced disappointment as he finally lowered his hand and Lydia returned to her normal body.

With a terrified scream she flew off, disappearing into the purple sky as Danny rolled his good shoulder and held his other carefully against his side.

He might've been too hard on her, but he really didn't care. He was tired and annoyed and frankly she and Freakshow could go to hell for what they'd put them all through.

Jumping to the ground and walking into the middle of the stadium, Danny looked around at the screens that displayed the horrific world Freakshow had created.

"Let's change some things around, shall we?" He said aloud, turning around in a circle as he focused on the screens intently.

The power of the reality gems burst through him, wave after wave of energy coursing through his veins like he was made of pure electricity.

Raising his arm in the air, a beam of light shot into the sky, red and yellow and blue wrapping around and around as they disappeared into a beam into the clouds.

He could feel it inside him, the way everything changed. It was like existing everywhere at once though he stood frozen with his feet in the grass.

He stood in the fields as the crops were returned and the cattle moved about their pastures. He flew with the cars that drove along the flattened roads and smiled as the monuments returned to their former glory.

People who had been killed or burned or transformed were rising and brushing themselves off, unaware of their demise and the tortures that had befallen their world just minutes ago. Horrors that now had never happened.

There was so much power held within his hands, so much he could do and so many lives he could save. The blood and the gore was washed away and bright skies filtered in as his arm lowered to the circus around him.

The stadiums disappeared along with their raging fans, the screens turned into clouds and the roller coaster faded away with a cool summer breeze as a bright cerulean sky shined overhead.

Lowering his hand entirely, a wave of exhaustion swept over the boy as two rings of light overtook him, traveling up and down and changing him into his human half.

The world swayed as he staggered a step forwards to keep his balance, dizziness nearly overtaking him on the spot.

"Danny!" His father's voice jolted him, adrenaline forcing him awake as he looked up, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Young man." His mother said sternly, both of his parents walking over to where he stood as he swallowed thickly.

Now or never. He couldn't run anymore. Glancing over their shoulders he spotted Tucker and Sam with their parents while Jazz stood off to the side, her hand over her mouth as she watched them.

"I-I.. I'm sorry." He said weakly, his gaze falling to the ground as he waited for them to yell at him. He deserved it after all. All of it was his fault.

Freakshow wanted to make him suffer and they had been taken and put in danger because of that. He couldn't even begin to apologize to them or the Manson's and the Foley's. It was his fault, all of it was.

His father was right in front of him as Danny held his ground, forcing himself not to shy away as he bent over him. Would they want to experiment on him now? Would they want to run tests and cut into him for what he was?

The questions were running wild in his mind but everything stopped when his father's arms wrapped tightly around him.

Pain coursed through him as Danny bit his lip, shock and surprise at the reaction keeping him frozen in place as his father squeezed him in a hug. After several seconds he pulled away and Danny caught his breath at the tears in the man's eyes.

"We're very proud of you, son." He said firmly, a hand resting on his arm as the halfa blinked, his mouth falling open a fraction as his mother rushed forwards, tackling him into a hug of her own.

He couldn't stop the sharp gasp of pain when she connected with him but she didn't seem to hear as she stifled a sob. "Oh! Oh my baby boy!" She cried, pulling away and bending over him as her fingers brushed against his bruised cheek.

Tears burned his own eyes as Danny fought the lump in his throat as he looked between his parents. "But I-I lied to you." He forced out, his voice strangled as he looked away again, shame and guilt weighing over him as his fists clenched tightly. "Over and over for a-a really long time."

A shadow moved as his father knelt beside him, his towering frame seeming smaller than usual as Danny pressed his arm tightly against his side in an attempt to focus on the pain rather than the building emotion.

"If I were you guys I'd be furious." Why weren't they angry? Or were they? Were they just trying to put on a show for the others? No, his parents had never been like that. But he'd done so many things wrong, so why weren't they mad?

Why weren't they flooding him with questions and asking about what tests they could run? How long had they wanted to get their hands on the ghost boy and now here he was right in front of them, so why weren't they doing anything about it?

"Well of course you lied to us," His mother spoke, tears streaking down her face as she brushed his cheek again before pushing the hair away from his eyes. "We never gave you any reason not to."

It was getting harder to fight the tears of his own, a weak sniffle coming out of him as his father pressed his sleeve against one of the cuts still bleeding on his arm.

"All this time we've been yammering on about destroying and dissecting ghosts, I'd have been terrified too if I were you!" He shook his head, using his other hand to carefully tilt the boy's head as his parent's inspected his injuries.

He felt the moment the first tear fell but damnit he didn't want to cry, he wasn't going to cry.

"Oh, Danny." His mother whispered, a shaking hand falling to his ruined shoulder, the boy wincing at the contact. "We love you, sweetie, you." She said earnestly as he looked away again, his vision blurring from the moisture that wouldn't quit gathering.

"Hey, we mean it, Danny." His father smiled, lifting the boy's head again. "Whether you're a ghost boy or something in between."

He couldn't stop them anymore, the tears were tumbling down his cheeks as he raised a hand to try and stifle his sob, too overwhelmed to do anything but cry as his parents stood around him.

"You've saved so many people and we never knew. I'm so sorry, Danny, we were so oblivious." His mother sighed, a hand running gently through his ragged hair as she took her husband's hand in her own.

"We're incredibly proud of everything you do, Danny, you're a real hero." His father grinned while nudging his son as the halfa laughed, the sound choked as he broke down entirely, launching himself into his father's arms as he hugged him tightly.

"It doesn't matter what you are, because you're always our son." He assured the boy as his shoulders shook and chest heaved, sobs he'd been holding back for days breaking free as his parents held him.

He wished he'd known they would react like this ages ago. The love they felt for him, the understanding; he should've trusted them long before now.

Every breath rattled out painfully but he didn't care. For the first time he wasn't worried about his secret or ghosts or some stupid Fenton invention getting in the way of things. He had his parents, they knew, and they still loved him. They weren't going to hurt him or hunt him or put him through unthinkable tortures; they were going to protect him and keep him safe.

Maybe he wouldn't have to deal with it all alone anymore. Maybe with their help they could all keep Amity Park safe. He didn't want to lie to them anymore, didn't want to keep things a secret.

He'd been crushed under the weight of it all, under the responsibility, but he wasn't alone anymore. He had them and he knew he could count on them for anything.

But what of their safety?

The thought struck Danny like a metal pipe to his chest, the air knocked from his lungs as the thoughts raced uncontrollably.

The world knew his secret. Everyone, everywhere, they all knew he was the ghost boy. The Guys in White had proven to what lengths they would go to and that was only one branch of the government. Who was to say that others wouldn't try?

His friends, his family, those just connected to the people he cared about had been drug into Freakshow's mess. How could he leave things as they were when everyone he loved was in danger?

The arms around him began to fall and he felt panic clawing up his throat, terror latching onto his every ragged breath as his parents looked at him in concern.

"Danny? Sweetie, are you alright?" His mother asked, reaching out for him as he shied away, instinctively drawing his injured arm closer to his side.

"Fine." He ground out. He just needed time to think, to make a decision. Maybe he could still let them remember. Maybe it would all work out.

But are they safer not knowing?

Glancing up and meeting their watchful eyes, his heart broke in his chest. He didn't need to think. His decision had already been made the moment he knew they were in danger.

The weight and the responsibility caved in on him and more tears spilled down his face, though they were far from the happy ones they'd been earlier.

"We need to fix you up, son, are you ready to go home?" His father asked, and it was said so lovingly Danny could barely contain himself.

They couldn't know. He couldn't risk them getting hurt on his behalf. He couldn't live with himself if this sort of thing happened again. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Looking away, the halfa's eyes shut tightly as he inhaled a trembling breath. He could do this. He had to do this. For them. For his family. He could do whatever he had to do if it was for them.

"Thank you," He whispered, forcing his eyes to open and a smile to stretch across his lips. Everything felt shattered, pieces of his life cracking apart before his eyes. "For accepting this, accepting me." Shit, his voice was cracking; he needed to stay strong. "I appreciate that, more than you guys will ever-ever know."

Another ragged breath fought to fill his lungs as his eyes looked over his parent's shoulders. His gaze landed on Jazz and found she was crying too. Although she was smiling, happy with what had happened. She would never know, he'd make sure she didn't remember.

Shifting his gaze to Tucker and Sam, he spotted them sitting with their families. Tucker cradled his arm against his chest, blood streaming from his shoulder as his mother fawned over him and his father smiled as his son regaled him with what had to be their adventures.

Sam sat with her parents but it was obvious she'd pushed away their hovering, her arm wrapped around her ribs as she met his gaze. She began to smile at him; at least until she noticed the look he knew he couldn't hide. Not from her, never from her. She knew him too well.

He couldn't bring himself to speak again as he let the gauntlet shift against his leg. It was enough though and Sam's eyes widened.

"Danny, no." She mouthed, half rising as the boy shook his head. She couldn't stop him, not this time. Nothing could.

"Of course we accept you, sweetie, how could we not?" His mother was saying, but he wasn't paying attention anymore. He couldn't.

"More than you know.." He repeated, his words mumbling out as he shifted his gaze to Jasmine.

"What did you say?" His father asked as Danny met his lingering stare, his heart beating fast in his chest as he backed away from them and lifted his hand.

"Or will ever remember."

"Danny!" Jasmine yelled, but it was too late.

"I'm sorry."

Energy and power flowed through him and colored light blinded the boy as he focused on his desire. He just wanted them safe. Please just keep them safe.

It had taken longer to find than it really should've. All he'd needed to do was find the one giant, white building amongst the steel and the glass. For a supposed top secret agency, they really needed to work on their discretion.

Phasing through the ceiling, Danny remained intangible as he checked the directory. "Sub-Basement, Top Secret. Seriously, guys?" He scoffed, phasing through the ground as an alarm began to go off around him.

Rolling his eyes, he kept going further and further until he reached a room filled with men in suits. He felt like he'd walked in on a department store with the way they were all dressed. Didn't they know how much they stood out? And what happened if one of their suits got stained? Did they have a super secret stain remover, or just an endless supply of white jackets?

A red light flashed on the ceiling and several of the men were running around and yelling at each other but it wasn't until he neared the other end of the room that he spotted the two men he'd come for.

"What is it?" One of them shouted, leaning across their desk as the other spun around and pointed to a dial on the wall.

"A massive spike in ectoenergy!"

Tilting his head, Danny almost had to laugh as he turned tangible again and hovered quietly in the air. There were at least ten supposedly trained agents in the room, but not one had taken notice of him yet. How did they ever get any work done being that oblivious?

"Yeah, that would be me." The boy finally waved, the gauntlet catching the fluorescent lights and sending fragments scattering across the floor as the two men looked up at him.

He wasn't all that surprised when the men pulled out guns and aimed them at him with scowls stretched across their faces. To his relief though he found himself to be unafraid. Maybe it was because of his last fight with Freakshow or maybe because he had more power in one finger than they did in the whole building; but they were nothing anymore.

"Ah, ah, ah." He warned, raising his hand and smirking as a flash of light appeared and the guns the men were holding shifted form. In one man's hand resided a tuba and in the other a highly annoyed chicken.

"What the hell?" The second yelped, dropping the feathered bird as it ran clucking angrily across the room.

"Here, a gift." The halfa stated, holding out the Fenton Thermos and tossing it to the ground behind them.

The men turned as the container shuddered and spun around, the lid breaking off as Freakshow himself tumbled out in all his ghostly glory. His leathery wings spread wide and his claws dug into the tile as the agents backed away in horror.

"Eat a snickers, Freak." Danny scoffed, lifting his hand again as the man changed back into a human, his impish form pale and skeletal as he glared up at the ghost boy.

Despite their shock the men moved quickly, grabbing ahold of the ringmaster and securing him as Danny went to take his leave. He was halfway gone when he backtracked, an idea striking him as he shot a hard stare at the two agents.

"Oh, and from now on, you're gonna leave Danny Fenton and his family alone."

"Yeah?" One of the men barked out, yanking Freakshow to his feet. "And why would we do that?"

To say he was giddy about what he did next was an understatement. With a wave of his hand and a devious grin, the gauntlet glowed brightly. "Because he's not the ghost you're looking for."

Light enveloped the Guys in White, their limbs relaxing as they spoke together in a monotone voice. "He's not the ghost we're looking for."

"Oh yeah, Tuck's gonna be jealous." Danny snickered, turning himself intangible as he shot through the roof of the building and flew outside.

Inhaling a deep breath of the fresh air, afternoon light bathed over him as he took off towards his home. Maybe he would just fly around for a while, enjoy being free and just floating with the breeze.

The sun had begun to set as Danny spotted Fenton Works beneath him, the halfa ducking into the alley and changing back into his human half before striding out onto the street.

Sam and Tucker sat on his front steps talking and he took a moment to stare. When he'd reversed things with his parents, he'd reversed it all. Not a single mark remained on any of them from their trip, not a single reminder of what they'd been through. Except for their memories, of course.

He'd considered taking away his friend's memories as he'd done with their families but in that one moment Danny had found he couldn't do it. He couldn't bear to deal with what happened alone.

Besides, they'd had some fun traveling just the three of them and since they had nothing else to remember it by, it only felt right. It started with the three of them, it should end with the three of them.

"So, now that's it, I set everything back to the way it was before." He announced, walking in front of his friends as their conversation halted. "Nobody knows I'm half ghost except you two and Jazz." Hesitating, he held up his arm and stared at the glinting metal. "Now it's time to destroy this thing for good."

He didn't want to; he liked the way it felt on him. He liked the energy it gave him, the way it amplified his power. What would it do if he used his ectoenergy with it? How many ghosts could he keep at bay if he kept it?

"Danny?" Glancing up, Sam had her hands clasped in front of her as she peered up at him wearily. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, but his voice caught at the end because he already knew what she wanted to know. What he really, really didn't want to answer.

"Dude, one second we're with our folks the next we're outside the school and none of it happened. The world was fine, no one knew you were a ghost, but.."

"We remember it all. Three days of our life that happened and passed but no one else does." Sam said softly, fingers brushing through dark strands of hair as lavender eyes burned into him.

"I used the gauntlet to make everyone forget. Everyone except us. Then I took Freakshow to the Guys in White. Figure they can deal with him for a while." Danny shrugged, leaning against the stairs leading to his home as Tucker twisted his head.

"Did we really almost die on a roller coaster?"

"Theme parks are totally ruined for me now." Sam muttered, bringing a smile to Danny's face. "It doesn't seem really real though, does it? Like I know it is, but it's weird. It's almost like it was some kind of freaky dream."

"It kind of was." Danny sighed, running his hand through his hair as he glanced up at his home.

"What about your parents?" Sam asked, staring up at him as the boy swallowed thickly.

"They don't remember either. It's better that way though, you know?" He shrugged again, peering down at the metal stretched along his arm.

"Danny, how did you survive?"

He'd expected questions, but that was the one he'd wanted to avoid most of all as his eyes flickered up to the two staring intently at him.

He couldn't tell them the truth. He couldn't tell them how he'd felt the cars tear him apart. How he felt cold and empty and how he melted into the darkness and gave in to the numbness.

Freakshow wouldn't let him die that easily though, not unless it was directly by his hands. He'd just wanted him out of the way, although it hadn't lasted as long as he'd wanted. But it was hell all the same.

He was aware but not, things poking and stabbing at him in the dark until he'd reformed. If he thought about it for too long he could still feel the searing pain of his limbs ripping apart.

"I just, did." He said, his fingers picking at the raised indentations of the gems as he feigned great interest in their design.

"Yeah, but you went everywhere, you just broke all apart and-"

"It's okay." Sam cut in, her hand falling on Tucker's arm as she interjected. "I guess we should just be grateful we're all okay, right?"

Meeting her gaze, Danny nearly smiled. God, she always read him so easily. "Are you guys okay?" He asked, desperate to get off the topic that was going to be the cause of his nightmares for the next month.

"Yeah, just tired." Tucker said quickly, reaching up and adjusting his glasses.

"Hey!" A voice called out, the trio turning and spotting Dash and Paulina waking towards them. Quickly moving his arms behind him to hide the gantlet, Danny stared at the dark haired girl closely.

"Fentonio, Orlando and Dawn, what are you still doin in town?" The jock shot out, sneering down at them as he clutched a beach ball to his chest.

"Yeah, weren't you taking a trip to Loserville?" Paulina scoffed as Danny fought the grimace off his face. Any other day he'd have given anything to see her in a bathing suit, but somehow she wasn't nearly as pretty as he'd once thought. "Oh wait, you're already there!" With a cackling laugh, the girl stalked off with Dash by her side as her arm slid through his.

"Oh man that's right, everything is back the way it was." Danny groaned, his palm smacking into his forehead as he realized the act of comradery had been wiped away as well.

"Popularity was nice while it lasted." Tucker sighed, leaning back on his hands as Sam shoved his arm.

"What popularity? They only cared about Danny."

"Popularity by association, Sam. It's a whole big thing that you wouldn't understand." The boy shoved her back as Danny smiled.

"You know what this means though?" The halfa asked as his friends stood from the stoop. "We should be getting ready for our vacation!"

He knew the moment he'd said it that it had struck a nerve and he worked to restrain a laugh at the wide eyed look both his friends wore. They exchanged a glance before Sam ran her fingers across the back of her neck.

"Uh, if it's okay Danny, pass."

"Yeah, we already had one cross country trip together, I don't think we could survive another." Tucker admitted sheepishly as Danny smirked at them.

"Yeah, I guess so. Besides, you've already experienced all you can eat barbeque, what could live up to that?" He teased as Sam rolled her eyes in disgust.

"I still have the sound of you slurping stuck in my head."

"Hey, that was the greatest food I've ever eaten!" He defended, the two beginning to bicker as Danny's eyes fell to the gauntlet he still wore.

Curling his fingers into a fist, he could feel the power snaking through his limb, traveling through his shoulder and radiating around him. It was mesmerizing and he could see how someone could be entranced by the power. Power that no one in the world needed to have access to again.

"It's time to finish this." Danny interrupted their quarreling, glancing up at his friends before looking around the street.

In a flash of light Danny changed into his ghost half before he shot into the air, hovering above the buildings as twilight began to blanket their town.

Taking a deep breath Danny pulled the gauntlet off and threw it into the air. Releasing a large blast of ectoenergy, the gauntlet burst into pieces that rained down over him as he shielded himself from the fragments.

As the dust cleared, he looked down at his arm where it had once been and shook the feeling from his mind. He was ready to forget it all, to forget everything that happened. It was all just a really, really bad dream now.

"Hey!" Turning at the shout, Danny's eyes landed on his father standing in his the window glaring hatefully at him. "Yeah, you!" He waved, his fist balled in the air and thankfully fully clothed this time around. "You got a lot of nerve flying around like that!"

Danny almost smiled, his father disappearing from view before returning a moment later with one of his Fenton Blasters. "You never change." He murmured, starting to fly away.

"When I get my hands on you, I'm going to rip you apart molecule by molecule!"

"Sure you will." He smirked, keeping his voice quiet as a shot fired from the blaster that the halfa easily dodged. His parents were still crazy about the whole ghost hunting thing and someday he would find a way to tell them the truth, eventually, but for now he could live with the way things were.

"Have a nice summer!" He called, flying off into the sky as the man continued to shout angrily behind him.

Warm air drifted around the halfa as he flew, deciding to take a lap around before returning to his friends.

His town looked exactly the same and it was hard to believe that not anything had changed. But he definitely had, and he knew his friends had as well. Everything that happened, it had shaped them in just a few days. Suddenly Danny felt a little bit braver, a little bit stronger and maybe just a little bit more confident.

He was tired of fawning over the girls who mocked him in school. He was sick of overlooking the feelings he had for the one person who knew him better than anyone else.

Maybe this summer would be different. Maybe he'd make it different. And just maybe he'd start by changing things with Sam.

-END-

A/N

And with that, the story is finished! Thank you so much, each and every one of you! I can't believe it's been a year, I can't believe it's finally finished! This is the first fanfiction I've ever fully completed and I'm beyond proud of myself and of the way it turned out.

Thank you for all your kind words, for all your support and for enjoying every chapter right along with me! I've come a long way in my writing just since starting this and I know I will come even further as my other stories progress!

I hope the ending was satisfactory, with just a little hint of DannyxSam at the end and our boy growing from such an experience! I had considered having his parents remember, but I did really want to stay true to the episode as much as possible.

If you want to check out some of my other stories, I've got others in the works! I also plan on creating another Danny Phantom story with the same realism shown in this one, although I haven't decided on which episode yet, so send me some ideas!

Thank you all so much again and I hope that anyone reading this in the future will love this just as much as people did when it first came out!

- Ace ^-^