The ghosts started coming more regularly. It was as if the Lunch Lady had gone back and told everyone about the new stable portal she'd found. Which, in actuality, might have been exactly what happened. Or perhaps word got around in their world, and ghosts long trapped were flocking to Amity Park to take advantage of a way out. Danny wouldn't mind if they just wanted to pass through, except none of them did.

But there must have been some other way out of the Ghost Zone, how else could ghosts have been here for humans to learn about them to begin with? And Danny wasn't always the first one to be alerted to their presence. More than once, he got a frantic call from Tucker or Sam at an odd hour for him to bring the Fenton Thermos for a ghost his sense hadn't detected. Meaning it hadn't come from his house.

Jack finished another Thermos. Danny waited a full day before making off with it, this time leaving behind a note in handwriting as different as he could manage from his own.

We got them working! Thanks!

Sam had thought it a poor idea but Danny didn't see the harm. At least his parents wouldn't get the wrong idea…and, oh, how they'd freaked. Apparently ghosts being able to write in English wasn't something they'd expected. Oh well.

Sam got to keep the second thermos.

As for Tucker…. Two weeks after they'd defeated the Lunch Lady, he still couldn't get his ghost form to respond. It was a bit of a morale killer for all of them. Even Danny was beginning to wonder if Tucker would never be able to transform again. The rest of his powers were functioning, he was even managing short bursts of flight, but his ghost half was conspicuously absent. Perhaps if there had been someone they could talk to about it, they might have figured it out, but… well. To his credit, at least, Tucker never stopped trying.

And suddenly it was Homecoming.

Danny had been looking forward to his first high school dance… Before. Like many things about high school that he'd anticipated Before, the dance didn't really rate on his priorities list anymore. That didn't mean he wouldn't like to go… but his popularity status had not budged an inch from middle school, and there wasn't a single girl in school who would give him the time of day if he asked, and he damn well knew it.

He briefly considered asking Paulina to the dance (along with every other straight guy at Casper High), but Dash staked his claim early on there and Danny wasn't suicidal.

But then he wondered if, maybe, he should just ask Sam? She wouldn't mind just going as friends, right? While he was working up the courage to ask her at lunch, Sam made it a point to declare how much she didn't want to go, and Danny, relieved that he'd been too much of a coward to ask sooner, did not broach the subject again. It was fine. There would be other dances. And this way, he could focus on Tucker! Transformation or no, he wouldn't remain shuffled to the sidelines for much longer, and Danny wanted to be sure he had enough practice in human form to not be a safety risk.

But it seemed fate had other plans.

Two days before the dance, Danny went down to the lab to use the computer, only to find his dad parked in a chair a few feet from the portal, wearing his soda hat and fishing vest, with a new fishing rod and line he'd designed specifically for ensnaring ghosts. Ghost fishing. Literal ghost fishing.

"Quiet now," Jack drawled, drawing his arm back. "Don't wanna…spook em." And then he cast his line back through the portal.

Danny could only stare in disbelief. He already had enough on his plate and now his dad was actually trying to lure ghosts to their world? What was he even using as bait?!

Jack sat up suddenly. "Whoa! That soda goes through you like Sherman through Georgia! Here, hang on to this!" He shoved the pole into Danny's unwilling hands and took off before he could utter a word of complaint. "I'll be right back after I visit the Fenton Urinal!"

Oh, so, their toilet had a name now. Nice.

Danny sighed, folded himself into the vacant chair to wait, and wondered if he could convince his dad to leave him be while he used the computer or if he should just cut his losses and go.

The pole jerked in his hands, and he tightened his grip reflexively. Something tugged on the line.

"Oh no."

Now, if he were a smart budding superhero who kept his cool, Danny would've simply let the line go, slammed the button to close the portal, and done everything in his power to convince his father to never do that again. But then his ghost sense went off and the tingling cold it left in his throat sent him into a panic. He held fast to the line and prayed, prayed, it was some poor dumb fish ghost.

The line snapped.

Well, crap.

The surface of the portal rippled and suddenly five massive green claws were digging into the floor of the lab, attached to an even bigger blue arm which disappeared inside the portal. Then came another hand immediately after. Danny let out an undignified yelp and abandoned the rod, his dignity, and all pretense of heroism in his frantic scrambling to get away from the portal. The chair clattered to the floor, and, were it not for his quick reflexes, he would've ended up on the floor, too.

Danny was abruptly cast in shadow. Behind him, a low growl rippled through the air, and he shuddered. He flipped over onto his back and…. Oh. That was a dragon. A ghost dragon but, uh, yep. Definitely a dragon.

It dropped the fishing line and bared two rows of glistening white teeth at him in the draconic approximation of a smile. And it was not-friendly one.

Danny whimpered.

"I want to go!" Its voice was terrifying, deep and rumbling and it echoed in the otherworldly way that all ghost's did. It began crawling its way out of the portal, its claws digging into the floor with every step and yet leaving not a trace behind.

Danny scrambled to his feet and bolted, only to find himself snatched up by a large, clawed hand before he could make it more than a few feet. The air was squeezed from his lungs and he gasped, or tried to, but there was no room for his chest to expand in the dragon's iron grip. His hands scrabbled frantically at unyielding scales as thick as his fingers. Free—have to get free!

"I have to go!" the dragon insisted like he had the power to—

Oh, duh.

"Nope, sorry!" Danny shouted over his shoulder.. "Bathroom's occupied!" And transformed.

The dragon's grip slackened the tiniest bit and Danny moved. He wasn't entirely sure what he did but he was free of her grip and that was good enough for him. He rounded on it and caught a glimpse of genuine surprise on its face before it bared its teeth at him. So, like any reasonable human being, he bared his teeth in return.

Below them, Danny's phone began to ring in his backpack. Who the heck was calling him now— Pain exploded in his side and Danny went flying. He slammed into the wall with so much force that it would've probably cracked were it made from less-sturdy materials. He hit the floor like a sack of bricks and laid there, dazed. That…was new.

The dragon's shadow loomed over him and growled.

"BACK OFF!"

That was Sam! Wow, he must've really not been paying attention if he'd somehow failed to notice she was close by. Danny raised his head and blinked twice to clear his vision. Sam, in her ghost form, floated between him and the dragon with her bat raised threateningly. Well, at least she had a weapon.

The next few moments passed too quickly for Danny's brain to fully process it. The dragon lunged at her but Sam was quicker. She brought her bat down on the dragon's exposed neck and hit the back of the amulet it was wearing instead. The clasp must have given way under the force because the next thing Danny knew, something golden and glowing was falling to the floor and the dragon slumped to the floor like someone had cut its strings. It fixed its miserable gaze on Danny as it began to rapidly shrink in size and frame.

What was left in its place was a young woman with blonde hair, green skin, and doleful red eyes. Medieval, from the look of her dress. "All I wanted," she whimpered, "was to go to the ball." And she buried her face in his hands.

Danny pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Yeah, me too."

Sam whipped her head towards him with a look of surprise. "You do?"

Danny nodded and the world spun a little. He decided to stay down for a minute.

The ghost peered over her hands and blinked. After a moment, she seemed to come back to herself, and her doleful eyes cleared. She gulped. "Oh, saints preserve. Not again."

Sam sank towards the floor, stopping just a few inches shy of the tiles, and her tail coalesced into legs. "Uh. Hi?"

"I, erm." The ghosts eyes darted nervously around before settling on her amulet a few feet away. She rose to her feet, brushing her hands over the corset and skirts of her blue gown, smoothing out wrinkles which really weren't there, and gave them a curtsy. "Forgive mine intrusion into your home, my lord and lady. I would fain beg your forgiveness and the return of mine amulet."

There was something he was missing, Danny was sure of it, but his brain felt slower than usual. So he shrugged and said, "Yeah sure."

The ghost woman peered at him with undisguised curiosity. "I thank you, sir."

She took a step towards her amulet and abruptly found herself blocked by a shiny black bat. She blinked at it then followed its length to Sam, who glared.

"Not so fast there, lady. Who are you, what was all that, and why should we give it back?"

The woman balked but composed herself with practiced efficiency. "Forgive my rudeness." She dipped into a formal curtsy and declared, "I am Princess Dorothea, sister of His Highness, Prince Aragon, ruler of the Kingdom of Mists."

Danny whistled quietly. Sam wasn't impressed. "And the whole dragon thing?"

Princess Dorothea averted her gaze. "An unfortunate accident. Seldom do I lose control of my emotions in such a way but we all have our moments of weakness. Once more, I beg your forgiveness, madam, for I was not of my own mind. I mean neither of you any harm nor bear you any ill will…but the amulet is my most treasured possession."

"Uhuh." Sam gave her a long, considering look, then slowly lowered her bat. "Alright, you can take it, but you need to leave. Right now."

"Yes, of course." She shuffled past Sam and scooped her amulet from the floor.

Danny floated into the air and re-oriented himself to land on his feet. The movement startled the ghost princess and she hovered uncertainly in place for a moment. Realizing Danny was only going to lean against the wall, she hurried forward to scoop up her amulet and fastened it around her neck once more. The glow surrounding her swelled for a few seconds then faded to normal.

The princess curtsied again to Danny then to Sam. "Might I know your names?"

"Danny Phantom," he greeted with a mock salute. "Nice to meet you, uh, your highness."

Sam threw a concerned look his way before fixing her gaze on the ghost princess once more. "I'm Wraith."

"I thank you, Sir Phantom, Lady Wraith. I leave in peace."

With that, she turned her back on them, and flew over to the portal. She paused just before entering and glanced over her shoulder at them. There was something unreadable in her expression but she disappeared through the portal before either of them could think to stop her.

Sam was at Danny's side immediately with a worried cry of his name. "Are you okay?" She asked, already feeling around his head. He winced when her hands found a tender spot.

Was he okay? All his limbs were intact. "I think so? My…head feels real weird. How did you know—"

"How's it going down there, Dann-o?"

Both teenagers tensed at Jack's voice and the sound of the door opening at the top of the stairs. With a quiet curse, Sam gathered Danny in her arms, turned them both invisible and intangible, and flew them through the ceiling of the lab. They phased through his room and returned to tangibility. Sam set him down on his bed, her bat on the floor, and urged him to lie down. He obeyed without protest and let go of his transformation and whoooooooaaahh.

His head began spinning almost immediately and he slumped against the pillow, closing his eyes. The flash of Sam's transformation startled them back open and he stared. Her hair was completely down, held back from her face by a dark green headband, and she had on actual makeup.

"You look pretty," Danny blurted out. Sam's cheeks turned pink and she scowled at him.

"Oh yeah, you definitely have a concussion."

"What, cos I think you're pretty? I always think you're pretty. Bet you'd be the prettiest girl at the dance if we went."

Sam looked at him like he'd suddenly grown a second head. "Stay here. I'll go let Tucker in and get your backpack. Who else is home?"

"Just Dad."

"Cool. I mean it, stay right there."

"Yes ma'am."

Wait. Tucker? Danny focused on the part of his mind where there was always a sense of Tucker and, sure enough, he was practically outside his house. Huh. Maybe he was concussed if he'd missed that.

Sam came back a few minutes later with his backpack, an ice pack, and Tucker.

"A dragon?!" Tucker blurted out.

"Yep," Danny replied, popping the 'p', and held his hands up in the air. "Big one. Blue. Actually a princess, though. She was nice."

"Wow. You did hit your head."

"I hit my whole body. Got knocked into a wall."

Sam dropped his backpack and sat down on his bed. "Alright, ghost boy, lift up." He floated into the air obediently and she rolled her eyes. "Good enough." She felt around for the bump on his head then eased the icepack beneath it and he lowered himself back to the bed. Tucker took off his own backpack and sat down on the other side of the bed.

Danny glanced between them and cleared his throat. "So, um, not that I'm not grateful, but how did the two of you get here so quickly? I thought you went home."

"Dude," said Tucker, "we did. I was on my computer. But then I…I felt…it was like…."

Sam studied her hands in her lap with a tense expression. "I felt like you were calling out. I just knew you needed help."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. "Like how I always just know where you guys are. I knew something was wrong."

Danny smiled. "And you dropped everything and came running."

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Aww," he crooned, settling his head back down on the ice pack, and closed his eyes. "I love you guys."

Sam sighed and Tucker patted his arm. "We love you too, man."

"Can you watch him for a few minutes, Tucker?" Sam asked and he felt her weight disappear from the bed. "I didn't exactly tell my parents I was going anywhere. Or grab shoes."

"Yeah, sure"

"Don't let him fall asleep. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Got it."

The sound of her transformation drew Danny's open once more. Her hair was back to normal. Well, normal for her ghost form, which was exactly the style it had been in when the accident happened. Her makeup was gone, too, and it was just the lipstick again—not her favorite purple, which he remembered her wearing that day, but black. Funny how that all worked. But apart from her face, she looked the same as him. Black jumpsuit, white gloves, belt, and boots. He'd given her and Tucker two of his suits to wear when they came in the portal with him. What would she look like if he'd given her Jazz's old one? Or one of the dozen some odd orange ones they had for visitors?

Maybe it was the concussion talking but it struck him then just how alike they looked in ghost form. Tucker would, too, probably, if he could get his ghost form to come out and play, differences in skin color aside.

Sam floated into the air and Danny realized she hadn't answered his question before. "Saaam, I wasn't kidding earlier."

She paused, confused, and he saw the exact moment comprehension dawned. "Wait you were serious?"

"As a head injury."

She frowned at him but she didn't seem angry. More…contemplative. That was good, right? After a few moments, she sighed. "Ask me again when your head feels better and we'll see."

That was fair. "Okay!"

Sam turned intangible and flew through his ceiling without another word. It was quiet for exactly one full second and then the bed creaked as Tucker slowly leaned into his field of view. Danny shifted his head so he could look at him properly.

"Soooooo…."

"What?"

"What did you ask her?"

"To the dance."

Tucker let out a noise somewhere between a snort and a wheeze and honestly it might have been both trying to happen at the same time. Danny frowned. (Pouted, more like, but he wouldn't ever admit it.)

"What?"

"You got thrown into a wall by a giant dragon then asked Sam to the dance after she came and rescued you?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh my god. Danny."


Tucker and Sam stayed with him well into the evening. Long enough for Maddie to decide to have them stay for dinner before they headed home. About three hours after the time of injury, Danny was feeling well enough to be up and moving around. The swelling had gone down after an hour and took most of the pain with it. His head no longer felt fuzzy, either. By morning he'd be completely fine at this rate, which, from what he knew about head injuries, was not humanly possible. Apparently they weren't just robust as half-ghosts.

They worked on their homework together as Danny's condition improved, and, since Sam brought her laptop, he didn't need to go back down to the lab to use the computer. With his luck, his father would catch something else while he was down there. But, of course, the more his head cleared, the more his mouth-to-brain filter reasserted itself. And with that came the mortification. He didn't regret asking Sam to the dance…but, damn, why'd he have to go and do it like that? Idiot.

Going to the dance could be fun, a nice way to de-stress for an evening. And for all she'd been complaining about the dance before, she hadn't outright said no…. Did that mean she wasn't as opposed to the idea of going as she'd been letting on? And what about Tucker? Sure he hadn't been going out of his way to find a date or buy a ticket but he was more wrung out than either of them by all this. And if they all went as friends…!

He waited until after dinner to ask. Sam and Tucker were still wary around his parents and this would be the longest they had been around them since the Accident. He didn't want to add any potential awkwardness to their already inflated nerves. So when they were back in his room packing up their things to leave, he struck.

"So, my head's feeling better," he began, and Sam stiffened but otherwise continued shoving her things into her backpack. Tucker, on the other hand paused, looked at Danny with a question written on his face, and glanced significantly at the door. Danny shook his head and motioned for him to wait. "Aaannnnd now that it is, I think we should all go to Homecoming together."

Sam whipped her head around.

Tucker straightened up. "I mean, are you sure it's a good idea? The dance in general. Not us all going together. What if there's a ghost attack or something?"

"It's not like they happen every night," Danny pointed out, "and it's our first high school dance. One night off isn't going to be the end of the world and I think it'd be fun! No dates, no pressure, just a couple friends having fun. And, let's be honest, we need a break."

A small smile appeared on Sam's face. Tucker folded one arm across his chest and rubbed his chin with his other hand. "Do I have to wear a suit?"

"You better." Danny folded his arms. "And I'll have you know I am very high maintenance."

Sam let out a sputtering laugh. "Oh, what, was that supposed to be news?"

"Hey!"

Tucker grinned. "Alright, I'm in. Sam?"

Sam heaved a sigh that even Danny could tell was exaggerated. Her cheeks were pink again.

"Oh come on, Sammy." Danny folded his hands together in front of his chest and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "Come to the dance with your best friends!"

Tucker clasped his hands against his cheek and batted his eyes at her. "Pretty please?"

Sam put her hands on her hips. "Seriously, you guys?"

"Pleaaaassee," the boys chorused and she squinted at them.

"Fiiiine. Fine! But only because I haven't made plans yet!"


It took Danny until the literal moment they picked Sam up at her house to realize she'd probably wanted to go to the dance all along. Not even she could find a dress like that overnight. And after all that energy she'd put into insisting she didn't want to go—actually, for someone who supposedly didn't care, she'd brought it up a lot. Talk about mixed signals. Girls were so confusing.

But Sam looked prettier than he'd ever seen her and Tucker cleaned up nicely, too, even if he was still wearing his beret. So he offered them each one of his arms and they marched off to the school together. Literally, in Sam's case, because she'd worn her favorite boots under that dress. A beret, combat boots, and, well, he couldn't really judge them, could he, because he had a Fenton Fisher tucked away in his inner jacket pocket.

They arrived a few minutes after the scheduled start time to a massive line and muffled music in full swing. It seemed as if the whole school had turned up, minus Jazz. They kept their arms linked while they moved through the line and the librarian taking the tickets cooed over them for a few moments before ushering them in.

The gym was decked out in streamers, ribbons, and bunches of balloons that were definitely not the school colors. Off to one side of the room sat a long table covered from one end to the other in snacks and cups of punch scattered around a large punch bowl, which was being guarded by Ms. Tetslaff herself. Neither ghost nor man would make it past her. The punch would be safe throughout the night. Probably.

Tucker broke off from them with the promise to bring back snacks and punch, leaving Danny and Sam to mill about awkwardly near the door.

"Well," Danny said.

"Yep," Sam agreed.

They glanced at each other. The tension broke and they found themselves laughing at themselves and each other.

"So," Danny said once he got control of himself, "this is a Homecoming."

"This place looks ridiculous. Who even picked out this color scheme?" Sam gestured to a cluster of blue, red, and purple balloons nearby.

He nudged her elbow. "Hey, hey, we should be lucky they even had the budget left for this thing after they had to fix the kitchen and oh crap, Dash just walked in."

"Do not make eye contact," Sam warned, tightened her grip on his arm, and pulled him further away from the door. They kept to the wall, well out of sight from where the more rambunctious and social members of the student body would be congregating, knowing Tucker would be able to find them without a problem.

"So, wanna dance?" Danny asked.

"Eh, sure, why not? But I'm warning you right now, if the Macarena comes on, I'm out."

Of course, everyone knew that when it came to the Macarena, it was not a matter of if but when. The DJ seemed to have wanted to give the stragglers plenty of time to turn up and at the forty-five minute mark, he started rolling out everyone's favorites. True to her word, the moment Sam recognized the opening notes of the Macarena, she disappeared off to the bathroom, leaving Danny and Tucker to abandon whatever remained of their dignity with the rest of the student body.

Sam was just finishing washing her hands when Paulina, Valerie, and Star walked in. She sent a quick prayer in both directions that the other girls would leave her be long enough for her to get out. But from the way Paulina's nose wrinkled at the sight of her, Sam knew it wasn't going to happen.

"You hiding from that, too?" Star asked, not unkindly, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.

Or not? Sam turned the faucet off and smiled at her in the mirror. "Absolutely."

Star laughed and then disappeared into a stall. Valerie didn't even acknowledge Sam, just leaned against the wall near the door and stared out at the dance floor.

Paulina, on the other hand, decided she just had to open her mouth. "Nice dress, Sam, where'd you get it? The Halloween store?"

And here we go. Sam turned and flashed her a wicked grin. "Why, looking to upgrade yours?"

Valerie raised her eyebrows but didn't look around. Paulina scoffed. "I'm not sure I would call whatever you're wearing an upgrade from anything."

Sam rolled her eyes and started for the door. "Okay, Paulina. Well, when the day comes that I want an opinion from the shallow end of the gene pool, I'll be sure and let you know."

Valerie finally glanced at her then with eyes as round as saucers.

Paulina realized she'd been insulted just as Sam was brushing past her and she threw her arm out to stop her. "Oh no! You did not just call me shallow, did you?"

Sam looked down at the offending arm and then up at its owner. "If you mean, do I think I can stand in a puddle full of you and not get my feet wet, then yeah."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're excused," Sam retorted then ducked beneath her arm and stormed out of the bathroom, ignoring Paulina's demands for her to get back here!

The Macarena ended. Sam found Danny and Tucker right where she'd left them, out of breath but laughing. Danny had also apparently ditched his jacket while she was gone and Tucker was halfway to joining him, not a care in the world, either of them. She didn't leave their sides for the rest of the night.