Hi guys!

This is a longer chapter, I hope you like how it came out :)

After this, there's two more chapters left! I'll post the next chapter in a few days!

Thanks again SO MUCH to those who favorited and followed and especially to those who reviewed! You guys have no idea how much it means that you took the time to leave feedback, I appreciate it so so so so so much! :)

And here we go!

~cosette141

Everything, all at once, went black.

And just as it did, the light fizzled out of existence, leaving Danny black-haired and blue-eyed on the table.

"No!" screamed Agent E somewhere in the darkness. "What happened?!"

Danny blinked to the air, exhausted and beaten. His abdomen was on fire. His limbs felt numb. Unconsciousness pulled at him. Humanity came with heavy, exhausting weakness.

"The power's out!" said an agent's voice.

A gasp from Agent E.

"My god," she breathed. "Get it back on before he phases through!"

Danny blinked.

Phases through...?

The power.

Adrenaline broke through his stupor.

The power was off.

The ghost-proof technology was off.

Danny went intangible.

He was still too weak and didn't get far. He fell through the table to the floor, landing with a crash and an explosion of pain. He groaned. His torso was on fire.

"Oh no you don't," came Agent E's growl. "Get him, now! And someone turn a damn light on!"

"But the lights won't work without the power..."

"Well get the power!" she growled.

Danny pressed a shaking hand to his abdomen, only making it hurt a thousand times worse. His fingers came back sticky and wet, a mixture of the hot blood and icy ectoplasm. He blinked, but saw nothing but black in the windowless room.

Get out, get out, get out—

He heaved out a breath, fighting the exhaustion until a hand closed around his ankle. He let out a surprised yell. He jerked back, trying to go intangible, but his strength was waning. He flickered out of stability, and he felt himself phase through the hand.

"Get back here, you—"

Danny lashed out with a foot and was satisfied to hear a cry of pain as Agent E fell back. Behind him, a hand grabbed his shoulder through the darkness. Another snatched his leg.

Danny shut his eyes and went intangible again, groaning from the effort. He phased through the grips on him, falling through the floor, but halfway through the fall he went tangible again and crashed into the ground.

Pain exploded.

Danny blinked heavily. The agony, the exhaustion was paralyzing. Now human, he could feel the fractured ribs in his midsection, like knives beneath his skin. He was shaking hard. Sharp, jerky movements that he couldn't control made everything hurt more and a wounded cry escaped his lips. He couldn't move.

He laid there for a few seconds, breathing raggedly.

The cold, hard truth settled inside him.

He wouldn't be getting out of here.

But he had been so close.

That thought hurt, and Danny found himself coughing a laugh, despite himself. It was more of a grunt, and was quickly followed by a gasp, and it held no humor.

The GIW would find him eventually. They would restrain him again, and he wouldn't be able to stop them. His secret was held by a thread so thin a single breath would break it.

But Tucker was safe.

Danny smiled to the darkness, though it held a brokenness, a sadness, as the situation cut deeper into his heart.

He couldn't save himself this time.

But one more thought of Tucker, safe and free, and Danny closed his eyes, the smile returning to his lips, even when a hot tear trailed down his face.

Tucker grinned coldly at the monitors, the only thing in the building that were still on.

Time to find Danny.

Thanks to the glow of the machines, Tucker used it to light his way back to the hallway. Crashes, screams and commotion raged from outside the room and Tucker froze to a stop at the doorway.

Ghosts.

At least two dozen ghosts were flying in every which way through the hallway, freed from their captivity, some cackling and screaming, throwing and breaking things—was that the Box Ghost?—and Tucker froze for half a second, brows shooting up.

Okay, he didn't plan for that to happen, but it'll make what he has to do much easier.

The agents will be far too busy trying to recapture the ghosts to stop him.

Using the glow from the ghosts to see, Tucker ran through the hallway, dodging them and doing his best to avoid getting blasted by ectoplasm.

There was a stairwell at the end of the hallway and he slammed the door open, flying down the steps. The door had a giant '3' on it. Dodging a ghost that almost knocked him over, Tucker kept on, wondering what floor Danny was-

As Tucker neared the door to the second floor, he could distinctly hear Agent E's screaming voice. "Someone find—ahh!" Tucker felt for the door in the darkness and shoved it open.

In the glow of at least ten ghosts, Tucker watched as they sought revenge on their captors. Most of the agents were screaming, trying in vain to get away. Agent E was blasted into the wall and she growled aloud. "Someone get Phantom!" she growled. "He phased through the floor—and turn the damn lights back on!"

Through the floor.

I'm coming, Danny.

Tucker turned and ran, fumbling to find the railing for the stairs. Every few seconds a ghost passed through and offered him a sliver of light, like lightning cracks in a storm.

Tucker hit the ground floor and darted forward, accidentally running into the door, and he ripped it open and ran.

"Danny!" he called into the empty hallway, his voice barely heard over the crashing and chaos on the second floor.

It was pitch black down here, and Tucker had to follow one of the walls to avoid running into anything. It was going to be impossible to find him.

"Danny!" he called anyway, stumbling as the wall he was following cut off into an open doorway. "Danny!"

"T-Tuck..?" came a small, surprised voice from inside the room, and Tucker's heart jumped in his throat.

"Danny!" cried Tucker with relief. He ran into the room, immediately running straight into a counter and winding himself but he didn't care. "Thank god," he breathed, relief so strong it filled his whole chest. "Where are you?"

"H-Here," came the weak reply.

"Where?" repeated Tucker, blinking rapidly, feeling around the counter to find his way through the room. "Can you make some light?"

A moment of silence, then—

Two startlingly green eyes flashed into the air a few feet away from him, and Tucker yelped aloud. He caught his breath, his heart pounding. He ran toward him. And if he wasn't so damn worried, those glowing green eyes would have been creepy as hell.

Danny was lying on the ground, his eyes only partly open. He groaned, doubling over and screwing his eyes shut, dousing them both in blackness again.

"Danny—!" cried Tucker in surprise, his hand finding Danny's shoulder and squeezing hard. Tucker jerked at the touch—Danny was shaking, hard.

Fear coating his words, Tucker asked, "Are-are you okay? Danny?"

Danny didn't reply. And it took a long few seconds for Tucker to realize he couldn't. Tucker put a hand on Danny's shoulder, realizing through the touch that Danny was back in his human form.

Not good.

Hearing the crashing from the ceiling become more chaotic, Tucker swallowed hard. "We have to get you out of here," he said. "Can you fly?"

Tucker heard Danny take a deep, shuddering breath, and his transformation rings snapped out, lighting the room in white like the flash from a camera, but they disappeared as quickly as they came and he cried out.

Danny sucked in a breath, gasping, "I-I c-can't—" Another groan and he wrapped his arms around himself, the sound twisting Tucker's chest. Whatever Danny was trying to do wasn't helping alleviate his pain, and he cried out, his voice breaking off. Tucker's eyes burned just hearing it. "I-I can't—" whispered Danny brokenly. A wounded sound escaped through his clenched teeth and Tucker squeezed his shoulder, feeling more helpless than ever.

But he wasn't helpless.

Something like a switch flipped inside Tucker, shoving his fear to the side.

"Don't worry, Danny," said Tucker firmly. "I'll get you out of here. I promise."

Quickly, and as carefully as he could, Tucker slipped an arm under Danny's knees and another around his back. With some difficulty, Tucker pulled his best friend to his chest, holding him tight-secure. Danny let out a cry as Tucker moved him, and Tucker's eyes burned as he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, hold on…" He made his way back out of the room, feeling something warm and wet soaking his shirt, and he realized it was blood.

Tucker swallowed hard.

Really not good.

Danny was in bad shape.

And he was in bad shape to start off with.

Tucker made his way through the hallway, having to stop more than once to avoid the ghosts still wreaking havoc through the building. More yells and crashes told him that the agents were taken care of upstairs and Tucker felt a small wave of relief.

He remembered being dragged down this hallway, so using the dim light the ghosts let off, he followed it to the door he'd come through hours earlier.

The door used power just like everything else in the building, and was sitting open before Tucker had even reached it. Chilled, fresh air seeped into the too-sterile building and Tucker smiled in relief.

He used his foot to open the door, holding tight to Danny as he ran outside.

Freedom.

Not just freedom.

Light.

The orange glow of the setting sun cast light over the wide openness around the GIW building.

Finally.

Tucker had to squint instantly, the dim lighting nearly blinding him after the total darkness.

The escaping ghosts were rushing off into the night overhead and Tucker had to duck to avoid getting run over. The yard of the compound was in disarray as the ghosts took vengeance on the barbed fence and vehicles in the parking lot, carving them a path out of this hellhole.

Tucker smiled as he ran, hindered slightly under Danny's weight. He looked down at Danny—

—and nearly dropped him.

He looked horrible.

Green and red blood coated his entire midsection, making it a muddled, brown-rust color. He was still shaking hard and his face was as pale as it was when he was in ghost form. His breathing was too fast and his face was drawn in harsh lines of pain.

"It's okay," said Tucker, mostly to himself. "It's okay, you're safe."

"'S over, Tuck," whispered Danny brokenly from Tucker's arms, and Tucker looked down mid-run.

"Yeah," he agreed heavily. "It's over."

"N-no," said Danny weakly.

Tucker slowed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. He was just passing through the open gates to the compound. He jogged toward a cluster of trees partially hidden from view of the building, slowly leaning Danny against it. Danny cried out as he moved him and Tucker grabbed his shoulder, his chest hurting at the sound. "Danny," he repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"She knows," whispered Danny after he caught his breath.

Tucker hesitated, his chest tightening. "She, who? Knows what?"

"A-Agent E," gasped Danny, wincing harshly as a wave of pain rode through him. "Sh-she knows. 'Bout me."

Tucker's chest hurt.

"She what?" he asked. "What does she know about you?"

"Th-that I'm not a ghost," whispered Danny, his eyes cracking open, and looking at Tucker with a lost sort of fear that Tucker's never seen in him before.

Tucker's heart froze.

"B-But you're safe now," said Tucker hollowly. "We got away. We're okay."

Danny shook his head, then winced. "I bled." At Tucker's blank stare, Danny finished, "Blood. Not ectoplasm. Human blood. M-My DNA—" His voice cut off and he groaned, making Tucker tighten his hold on his shoulder. "It's there, Tuck," he whispered. "Once sh-she tests it, she'll know." He closed his eyes, looking exhausted. "They'll all know."

Tucker closed his eyes.

Danny was right.

If they knew...

Danny would never be safe.

Tucker let the hopelessness sink into his chest, into his veins, until—

Tucker opened his eyes.

"Danny," he said with forced courage. "I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore."

Danny cracked open his eyes. "T-Tuck-"

Tucker's eyes narrowed, something like courage sparking in them. "Stay here." He stood. "I'll be right back."

Danny blinked. Even in the broken state he was in, he caught the underlying tone in Tucker's voice. The finite sort of determination.

The kind of resolute courage Danny himself spoke with when he was going to do something very stupid and very brave.

Fear nearly sobered the pain.

Danny looked at him sharply. "Tuck, what're y-you—"

Tucker smiled, but the smile held no joy. "I've got you, Danny. I'll take care of it."

Fear switched a flip inside him, and Danny jumped into action. His eyes opened wider and he looked a fraction more coherent. "Tucker, d-don't—" He pushed himself off the tree, trying to stand, but his body refused to obey—he was too spent. He fell to the ground, groaning through his teeth. He blinked through the blur and the stars, but it was too late.

Because Tucker was already gone.

Tucker ran.

He was thankful that the ghosts provided the distraction he desperately needed. He ran back into the building, following the wall when the blackness became total, and using the ghosts' light when he could.

He was going back to the server room.

Danny was right.

The GIW had everything they needed here to find Danny again and again.

He would never be safe.

Anger and courage burned through his veins like a foreign substance.

There was one thing he could do, one thing that would guarantee Danny's secret was kept. That Danny would be safe.

Tucker pushed himself to go faster, flying into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time.

He was out of breath by the time he made it back to the server room. The same lights glowed and blinked back at him, the monitor reading: POWER DOWN just like earlier.

Tucker squared his shoulders.

He thought back to his PDA.

You fry my technology, I'll fry yours.

Tucker made his way back to the first monitor. He cracked the knuckles in his fingers.

He was going to override the system in a way it couldn't recover from.

It wouldn't just shut the power down.

If he was successful, it would overpower the circuits.

It would destroy itself.

And every last trace of Danny inside it.

Sweat dripped down his back and he started typing. He had a short window between killing it and avoiding it killing him in the process.

Tucker let out a heavy, finite breath.

But if it didn't go down, Danny would.

And that was all the convincing Tucker needed.

His fingers flew across the keys, pouring technologic poison into the system. After a few minutes it was working. It was confusing itself. The lights the room changed from green to red, and a buzzing—a different kind of buzzing—grew as it began to short out.

Tucker paused, staring at the screen, at the error messages growing and the screen stuttering.

PROCEED?

He smiled.

It was a smile that held sadness, resolution.

But one more thought of Danny, and the smile grew.

He closed his eyes.

Enter.