Hi guys!

Thanks again for all the reads and especially to those who review, I love hearing your thoughts and they make my day every time, thank you! :)

Also, I do apologize for the cliffhangers, and would like to say there won't be any more, but... well... *laughs nervously*

Hope you like this next one!

~cosette141

E raised the knife, and Danny shut Tucker's eyes.

Tucker waded helplessly in the dark nothingness, terror consuming him.

I told you, he heard Danny say suddenly. Strong. Determined.

Danny? Tucker squeaked.

I won't let her hurt you.

That was the only warning he got.

Because suddenly, the pressure in him shifted violently, and began to loosen.

Tucker was pulled forcibly forward.

His eyes were still screwed shut, so it was a dark ride. Sounds crescendoed in his ears, dull pain throbbed in his face from E's slap, he could feel-he could feel-as he was rushed back to the surface.

Tucker jerked in the chair, his eyes flying open. He jerked his head around. He could move. He could move. He was dizzy and a little nauseous but he was himself again.

And just as he came to, the flash of the knife passing before his eyes made him scream.

He scrambled back in the chair but something shimmered in the air.

Danny.

Tucker barely saw the satisfaction on Agent E's face when, with a wild growl, Danny shot forward and tackled the woman across the room, slamming her into the wall behind her. E hit the wall hard and the knife clattered to the ground.

Tucker breathed hard, eyes wide and heart still slamming painfully hard in his chest.

But nothing matched the outrage in his blood.

"Danny!" he exclaimed. "Why—what are you doing?!" He untangled himself from the chair. "You were safe!"

Danny stumbled backward, breathing hard, and clenching his teeth. "I couldn't let her—" But before he could finish, Agent E lashed out against him, sinking her boot heavily into Danny's abdomen.

Right over his injury.

Danny cried out, the force of it knocking him backward and skidding across the floor. He crashed into the wall and groaned, curling in on himself.

"Danny!" cried Tucker, ripping himself out of the chair and diving to the ground beside Danny. The whine of loaded ectoguns sounded behind him as the other agents aimed their weapons at Danny but Tucker didn't care.

Danny was shaking hard, agonized moans slipping out between clenched teeth. Tucker grabbed his shoulder. His injury. She'd kicked him hard right over his injury from the night before. Every muscle was pulled taut as Danny held himself tightly, lines of pain etched into his face. "Danny!" breathed Tucker. Fresh ectoplasm bled through Danny's fingers. Tucker's heart pounded in his chest.

"Isn't this… something."

Tucker whipped his head up.

Agent E was standing now, staring at Danny with a kind of interest that made Tucker's skin crawl.

Another whine from one of the guns. "Agent E," said one of them. "Should we take him out?"

Tucker tightened his hold on Danny, fear and anger burning his veins.

"No," she said, seemingly lost in thought. She was still staring at Danny. Transfixed. "Agent O," she said without looking away.

"Ma'am."

"You were the one to get the Ghost's DNA, weren't you?" She tilted her head, staring even more intently. Tucker tightened his grip on Danny's shoulder even more.

"I was, ma'am."

"And that was twenty-four hours ago?" she said, more of a fact than a question.

"It was, ma'am."

Agent E took a step closer. Tucker's heart beat in his head.

"Mr. Phantom is still injured." she said quietly.

O's face shifted, but expression was hard to tell behind the dark sunglasses. "That's impossible." He lowered the gun and stepped closer to stare and Tucker felt vulnerable under the scrutiny.

E raised an eyebrow. "I kicked him. I didn't do that."

Neon ectoplasm continued to leak to the ground, forming a small puddle at Tucker's knees.

"That's impossible," O repeated. He looked at her. "Ghosts regenerate almost immediately." He adjusted his sunglasses a little, giving Danny a closer look.

E's brows quirked. "What?"

"Agent K," he said distantly. "He cut himself with it by accident a few weeks ago. It was minor but… it hasn't quite healed yet. We've found that something in the Fenton's invention stunts white blood cells." He looked back at Danny. "But the ghosts we tested it on healed instantly. They're just ectoplasm."

E's eyes narrowed in thought.

Tucker's heart pounded.

E smiled a cold, thin smile. "This one is different."

Not good. Tucker looked down at Danny, whose eyes were still screwed shut. He was breathing hard and looking like he was simply trying to stay conscious.

"Danny," said Tucker frantically. He shook his shoulder hard. "Danny, get up. Please get up!"

Danny blinked his eyes open, finding Tucker's. His eyes no longer had the determined, strong spark in them. It was just pain. Pain, and a lot of fear.

E's eyes narrowed further.

Tucker's grip on Danny's shoulder tightened until his knuckles were white.

E took a few more steps toward Danny. Tucker's eyes went wide as she approached. He let go of Danny's shoulder and moved quickly in front of him. "Get away from him!" he demanded in a shaking voice.

E snapped her fingers.

Tucker was suddenly grabbed by the two men. He was lifted from the ground. He struggled and pulled but they dragged him away easily. He dug his heels in the ground. "Danny!"

Tucker watched helplessly, pulling and yanking against the grips on him as E approached him. Danny's eyes shot open then, as if sensing her proximity. He must not have expected to see her so close because his eyes went wide and he jerked backward, only to make him groan through his teeth. But he knew the consequences. He knew the gravity of the situation. Anger mixed with the pain in his eyes and Danny lifted a shaking hand, gathering ecto energy. "Get away…" he hissed, but E ignored him.

With a calculating look in her eyes, E slammed her heel over his injury for a second time.

Danny cried out, his voice breaking, the ecto energy fizzling out.

This time she didn't just kick him. She pinned him there like that, leaning her weight into him. Danny groaned, his voice cutting off into something so wounded it caught Tucker in the chest.

"Stop it!" yelled Tucker, hot tears burning his eyes, his heart twisting at the sound of Danny's agony.

E did. She took a step back. Danny was gasping, breathing fast, short breaths through his teeth with his eyes screwed shut.

E continued to stare at him, smiling again.

Tucker's blood ran cold.

"He feels pain." she said with intrigue. "This is going to be much more interesting than we could have ever imagined." She looked back toward the agents holding Tucker. "Restrain Mr. Phantom. Get him in the lab."

"No!" growled Tucker. He wasn't letting this happen. Not to Danny. He couldn't.

Tucker yanked and pulled desperately at the arms around him.

Danny needed him.

Tucker pushed and shoved but the agents were much stronger than him. Why is everyone stronger than him?

E turned to him, then.

Tucker stilled, fear holding him in place.

"For some reason, you matter to the Ghost. The relationship between you will come in handy if he doesn't quite… cooperate."

God, no.

No, no, no.

This couldn't be happening.

"No—Danny!" cried Tucker, struggling even harder.

"Sedate the boy," said E. "Lock him in one of the rooms."

"Ma'am."

Agent O was suddenly in front of Tucker, picking up a syringe from the tray beside the chair. Needles. God, not needles. Tucker struggled harder. "Danny!" He felt a sharp prick in his arm and he squealed. Instantly weakness trailed through his limbs. His vision blurred.

"N-no," he slurred, blinking heavily.

Agent E and Agent O were walking back over to Danny, lifting him up. Tucker's chest constricted. Danny wasn't fighting. Another groan slipped out between Danny's teeth. He wasn't fighting.

He couldn't.

"N-no," whispered Tucker, eyes heavier and heavier.

Tucker blinked again.

And this time, the blackness remained.