Author's note: This is the only chapter set in Elwood city (Arthur's city), the rest of the story is completely in Danny phantom universe.

Rolling onto his side, Buster lazily opened his eyes and took in the bright sunlight streaming out of the window. Realizing that it was already day time, he yawned then sat up from his sleeping bag and glanced over to the bed, instantly noting the absence of his best friend. Buster turned to glare at the alarm clock behind him and grumbled, Arthur had 'forgotten' to wake him up like he had asked him to. Again.

He stretched while rubbing his eyes and sat there for a few moments, blankly staring ahead, before finally heading over to the washroom. He couldn't really blame Arthur for not listening to him, Buster knew he was just trying to be a good friend.

Arthur had found out about the nightmares a while ago, Buster didn't even have to tell him. He had to admit, last night had been rough and he was thankful that he had finally fallen asleep let alone been able to sleep through a few hours. At the thought of his considerate friend, he smiled at himself in the mirror before it quickly faltered. He turned his eyes away and began brushing his teeth. Slowly, he glanced back into the mirror and silently stared at his reflection.

The few moments alone when he allowed his brave mask to crack, Buster could see how much he had really changed over the months. He hated it.

Arthur was the only one who truly noticed.

Today was the day, he was finally going to break the news. He should have done it days ago, but he couldn't muster up the courage. He closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths, "Come on Buster. You can do this, he'll understand," he whispered under his breath and tried, but failed, to give himself a reassuring smile.

He finished up and headed downstairs while still in his pajamas. It was summer, he didn't have to worry about getting dressed just yet. The house seemed pretty empty, 'well it is 1 pm' he thought to himself. Everyone was probably busy and out of the house. He didn't mind, he practically lived here and knew where everything was.

He opened the fridge and began preparing a breakfast only Buster Baxter would be able to stomach. He cleared his mind in the process and let himself go while he devoured the monstrosity that he created. While in the process of chasing down his meal with orange juice he heard the back door creak open.

"Hey Bumpster, Arthur's in the backyard if you're looking for him. I think he's waiting for you," DW hurriedly stated as she raced past him to do who knows what.

"Thanks PW!" He called after her and shook his head while chuckling.

DW had mellowed out her obnoxious personality over the years but she still insisted on the ridiculous nicknames. She was much craftier with her array of butchered names for him than he was for her though. He had gotten pretty used to it by now and realized that he was actually going to miss her antics. His mood from earlier came crashing back at the thought, he frowned and stared at his empty dishes. He let out a deep sigh, "I can't keep sulking all day," he finally stated and got up to clear his plate before heading upstairs to get dressed.

Buster stood in the doorway watching Arthur who was currently rolling around in the grass, laughing, with Pal. A few moments later Pal noticed him, yelped and came running. Arthur glanced up while dusting off his clothes and jogged over. "Hey buddy, I've been waiting for you."

Buster wrinkled his nose, "You wouldn't have had to if you woke me up in the morning like I asked," he grumbled while crossing his arms, despite not being angry.

"I uh…I heard you get up a few times last night and figured you needed the rest" Arthur guiltily replied and looked to his feet which caused Buster to let out a small chuckle.

Buster crouched down to pet the impatient dog before looking back up and mumbling a soft but earnest "Thanks."

Arthur smiled and sat down on the ground beside him, "So what do you wanna do today?"

Buster frowned slightly, he closed his eyes and attempted to summon up the courage, he wasn't going to back down today. The more he put it off, the more it would hurt. "I…um, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. It's really important," he said while looking at his friend's face, so far so good.

"Okay, what do you wanna talk about?" Arthur asked distractedly while throwing Pal's ball.

"Um not here, could we go to the Treehouse?" He replied in barely a whisper.

This caught Arthur's attention, they hardly used that old place anymore.

They still loved it, it meant a lot to them, but they had grown out of it and only found themselves perched up in the tree a handful of times over the years. Arthur knew there was something wrong if Buster wanted to go back there, Buster could see the realization in his eyes, yet he didn't say anything. Simply nodding instead.

Pulling himself up the last step Buster broke out into a coughing fit, a thick layer of dirt covered the insides of the wooden structure. Arthur helped him up and patted his back as he calmed down. "Gee, we really let this place go, haven't we?" he said between coughs.

Arthur laughed as they crawled over and sat down, "I wonder if my Halloween candy is still here," he said as he pried open the hidden compartment. Sure enough there was an old dusty bag of candy still waiting for them, they glanced at each other before grinning and diving in. They giggled like school girls at how bad it tasted, it was probably more than four years old.

Buster looked in the compartment and noticed a pile of old books, mostly consisting of Bionic Bunny comics. He pulled one out and flipped through it while laughing at how ridiculous it all was. Arthur pulled out a booklet of stapled white paper from the bottom of the pile and Buster instantly recognized it as the book they had written together. Arthur lay down on his belly as he excitedly flipped open the pages and began reading the adventure book aloud between fits of laughter.

In the moment Buster let himself forget about why he was really up there and just hung out with his best friend as if they were in third grade again. It was glorious, and he wished it would never end.

They stalled the inevitable conversation for hours while reminiscing about the adventures they had up in the old tree before Arthur finally lost his patience and asked. "So why did you really want to come up here?" While he said it, Buster could see the saddened look in Arthur's eyes as if he already knew what was coming.

There was no good or easy way to break it to him so, in a sudden burst of bravery, Buster let the ball drop in one go, "I'm moving."

He didn't know exactly what he expected from Arthur, but he thought he would at least get a reaction. Instead Arthur just sat there as if he hadn't heard him, it felt like hours before their eyes met.

"When are you leaving?" he finally asked, to the untrained eye he looked composed. But Buster could see the unshed tears and hear the inaudible crack in his voice.

"In three days, my dad thought it would be best if I got there a week before school starts so I could settle in," he explained sadly. He looked up and could see that Arthur wanted to ask more, but was finding it hard to form words so Buster took the initiative.

"Dad told me last week before he dropped me off at your place, he has a brother I've never met who lives across the country in a town called Amity Park. He's pretty well off and settled down with a family. He has a son, my cousin, who's a bit older than us I think. My uncle heard about what happened and offered to help, and since my dad can't really come take care of me full time, and I can't skip high school to travel the world, he agreed to let me live with them." He waited a couple of minutes to let the words sink in before he looked up to search his friend's face for a reaction.

"You could always keep staying with us you know," he said quietly but Buster could see that, despite his weak protest, he understood.

"I know, but the floor is kinda getting to me, and you snore," he tried to joke and was successful in eliciting a small smile from the other boy.

"How am I going to start ninth grade without you?"

Buster sighed while wiping his moist eyes, "The same way I am without you."

They sat there in silence for a while until Buster commented, "You're taking this way better than last time. What? No offering to dig me a pit? Who knows, I may accept."

Arthur laughed and shook his head, "I think you need this Buster, as much as it hurts, I know you need to move on. You can't do that if you stay here." He squeezed his shoulder then repeated what he told him the last time they were in a similar situation, "Sue Ellen says going somewhere new is tough, so it's okay if you're scared."

Buster smiled at the memory, "thanks."

He looked up through the doorway and took in the view of his beloved city before he decided to play along, "I bet I can never find another treehouse that can fly into outer space, go back in time or go invisible like this one."

Arthur giggled despite himself, "It will always be here when you come to visit."

Buster faltered at the deviation from the script. He wasn't going to be coming back for good like last time, and it finally hit him like a pile of bricks.

Even though they were fourteen year old boys, Buster scooted over and captured his friend in a bone crushing hug which Arthur returned without a second thought. He would never find a better friend anywhere in the world, Arthur was one of a kind and he couldn't believe that he was leaving him.

Deep down, he knew they would always remain friends, distance couldn't break them. He wiped away a stray tear as he pulled back and asked, "wanna come with me while I say goodbye and stuff?"