Guys, guys, guys… guys… only one chapter left… I just, I can't, no!

Since several people mentioned it I'm just gonna say, I'm so happy you liked my little King Danny twist, and that Danny's conversation with Clockwork was helpful. I'm kind of curious if anyone can figure out where I got the inspiration for the little teacher, student, suspended in time discussion?

Op Kazuma: Sadly, yes it is

Ahksiri: I haven't forgotten about little Dani! She's basically been unconscious the whole time, but Danny will find her

Potterheads2016: Good to know that you're liking it

Randomphandom: His eyes are so creepy the way I picture it

Sophia the daughter of Nyx: Thanks!

Guest (1): Just want to say that your review (the movie one, just so you know this was you) made me so happy to read, and I just… I was just so happy, thank you

Princessbinas: I thought you'd like my little twist on the concept

Little Did You Know: And I love you guys for reading it!

Mimi1012: Hope you did well on your test

ShinyMudkipGal: No problem, I updated really fast, and aren't broken keyboards the best?

Phantomfanforever: Just one more chapter to go!

Enjoy!


"Tucker, I really hope you're done!" Sam shouted as she barged into the box store, her plans of going after Danny ruined by the presence of Nocturne. Morgan was close behind her, running backwards and firing blast after blast at the new ghost. It affected him very little.

"You are all supposed to be asleep! It seems that Undergrowth failed. No matter, I'll just have to finish this myself!" Nocturne shouted, thrusting his arm out towards the two girls. A wave of blue energy was forced out of his palm and flew towards the girls.

"Inside!" Sam grabbed Morgan by the back of her shirt and yanked her into the store, slamming the door shut and running to the back room. There were a few sleeping citizens scattered about, as well as an unused helmet that had been retrieved after a Sleepwalker dropped it. Tucker was sitting in the middle of it all, PDA in hand, fingers flying across the screen as he attempted to hack into the devices.

"Please tell me you're done," Sam said, jumping a little as Nocturne roared in anger.

"Almost…" Tucker spared a quick glance at the two girls, before turning back to his PDA. If it were possible, he seemed to work even faster.

Sam risked sneaking a peek out between the door, and saw that the previously retreated Sleepwalkers were now phasing into the shop. "Hurry up!"

Tucker didn't respond, simply bent his head lower as he focused. When the Sleepwalkers started phasing through the walls of the backroom, Morgan and Sam stood defensively around Tucker, blaster jerking from side to side as they struggled to keep up with the increasing number of enemies.

"Tucker!" Sam shouted as she kicked away a ghost that had gotten too close.

"Done!" Tucker jumped to his feet, triumphant.

Good, then let's go!" Morgan abandoned her defensive position and ran to the door that would lead into the alley, just as Tucker was kneeling down beside one of the citizens. "The ghosts won't hurt anyone that's sleeping, come on!"

Tucker and Sam shared a quick glance, then conceded, following Morgan out into the alley. For now, they should get back to the school and wake up the other Ghostketeers. They were practically flying through the streets as the Sleepwalkers attempted to converge on them. Nocturne, apparently confident in the skills of his minions, was no longer chasing them, and had instead gone to do something else. Luckily for them, it made fleeing so much easier. Tucker clung to his PDA for dear life as he struggled to shoot with one hand. If his PDA got damaged, he would lose the code that was capable of breaking through the helmet fail-safes, and he would have to start hacking all over again. Granted, it wouldn't take as long a second time around, but he assumed that any time not spent fighting would be costly.

They made it back to the school in record time, and were relieved to find that the Sleepwalkers had yet to surrounded the building once again, their efforts focused on chasing the three teens Nocturne had targeted. As they burst through the doors, Tucker immediately ran to the gym, where Morgan had told him most of the sleeping people, including the other Ghostketeers, had been moved to, while Sam and Morgan went off to find an entrance to defend.

Tucker skidded to a stop outside the gym doors forced to grab the handle so that he didn't go sliding past it. This caused his feet to slip out from under him, and he yelled in surprise as he suddenly found himself falling into the wide room, the sudden weight applied to his hands causing the handle to be pushed it. He winced at the light thud that ensued when the door swung open, and Tucker pulled himself to his feet and glanced into the gym.

Someone was lying beside the door, and the door had hit their head as it opened.

"Sorry," Tucker whispered into the silent room, taking in the sparks now jumping from the battered helmet. He started to maneuver through the sleeping figures, occasionally stepping on someone's hands, or bumping their heads, hastily whispering his apologies as he went. After a few minutes of searching, he managed to find the remaining Ghostketeers laid out by the far wall, luckily all clustered together. Tucker worked quickly, starting with Lancer. He knelt down beside the overweight teacher and connected to the helmet, before initiating the code that would cause the helmet to stimulate Lancer and wake him. Once he was done, and the whole process took less than a minute, the helmet shattered and Lancer groaned. Satisfied that the code was successful, Tucker moved on to the others. Nathan, Erin, Paulina, and then Kwan. Within five minutes, they were all aware of the current situation.

"Ugh, we're still fighting? My manicure is already ruined, not to mention my hair, and my flawless skin!" Paulina whined, her fingers brushing lightly against a bruise on her temple gifted to her by a wraith.

"Then don't fight," Erin snapped, glaring at the Latina. "But I'm not going to let anyone else… anyone else die!"

Paulina flinched at the ferocity in the younger girl's voice despite her hesitance. Erin shot to her feet and left the gym while the others watched, a painfully awkward moment, seeing as she had to stumble around the sleeping figures. She whipped the door open when she reached it, stopping just shy of knocking the helmet of the same person Tucker had hit previously, and slammed it behind her. Despite the knowledge that those still sleeping could not be roused by something as simple as a door slam, it was still eerie when no one reacted to the sudden noise.

"So, we're really just defending the school until Danny gets back and can defeat Nocturne," Tucker said, rising from his seat on the floor.

"How do you know he'll come back?" Kwan asked, voice somber.

"Because he's Danny Phantom, and Danny Phantom always wins," Tucker countered sternly. He followed Erin's path out of the gym, Lancer, Kwan, and Nathan not far behind him. Paulina stayed on the floor, combing her fingers through her hair, and scoffing when the door closed.

"It's not my fault that Hayley or whoever died," Paulina sniffed. However, a moment later she paused, fingers tightening around a stubborn knot as she kept her eyes downcast. It was easy to picture one of the sleeping figures around her as the lifeless body of Hayden Marx.


It shouldn't have been a surprise that the moment Nathan had armed himself with a still working Fenton Foamer, he had gone off in search of Valerie, his future prom date. He knew other people thought he was weird, a stalker, and maybe a little bit creepy, but he really didn't care. He liked Valerie, a lot, and had always known they would go to senior prom together, even if that's the only thing they did together. If he could just get her to say yes, he would be content, and wouldn't bother her again.

He ran around the school for a few minutes, finding the Fentons, the GIW, and Erin and Morgan. Ironically, he found Valerie guarding a set of doors not too far from the gym. If Nathan had only gone in the opposite direction when he started his search, he wouldn't have wasted so much time. But the only thing that really mattered to him was that he had found her, and he did.

"Valerie!" Nathan called, waving ecstatically as the red-suited huntress came into view. She had been leaning out the door, firing at the approaching Sleepwalkers. When she heard Nathan, Valerie pulled backed into the hall and turned to face him.

"You're awake?" Valerie asked, surprised.

"Tucker did something," Nathan explained simply. Even if he wanted to elaborate, he couldn't anyways. He didn't actually know what Tucker did, and wondered now if he possibly should have. It probably wouldn't have made a difference, but who knows. Maybe it could have come in handy.

"What about the others?" Valeria glanced over her shoulder at the door, making sure no Sleepwalkers had phased through it.

"Uh, they're awake too. Tucker said that everyone was here and that Danny is fighting somewhere?" Nathan suddenly wished that he had been paying a little more attention during Tucker's brief update, but he had still been a little tired and woozy from whatever that helmet did.

"I guess that's good. We need to hold up until he gets here."

"Why are you guys so sure that he'll win?" Nathan asked, twisting his hands together nervously. It wasn't that he didn't believe Danny was strong. He had witnessed some of his fights before, but from what he understood, the enemy this time was really strong, and it wouldn't be easy for Danny to defeat him.

"I don't know, actually. It's just that he's… Danny Phantom," Valerie shrugged, lacking a better explanation. It was just a feeling that she had, one that assured her there was no way Danny could lose.

"Tucker said that too," Nathan frowned slightly. It just didn't make sense to him, although it didn't make sense to Valerie either.

"Danny never stops fighting, no matter what, and he always comes back. Even if he died, his ghost would remain to continue protecting us. I don't really know how to explain it, I just know. So does Tucker, and Sam, and the Fentons."

Nathan looked down at his feet, a little ashamed that he didn't have such confidence in the town hero. When he raised his eyes, it was to the sight of an unnoticed Sleepwalker phasing through the door, hands charged with ectoplasm, aiming at Valerie.

"Val!" Nathan shouted, and ran forwards. He pushed her out of the way as the beams burst from the ghost's palms, and stumbled back, barely avoiding the deadly rays himself. In a rush of adrenaline, Nathan made use of the skills he had learned during his time as a Ghostketeer, whipped his gun around, and soaked the Sleepwalker in anti-ecto foam. It wailed miserably as it suddenly burst, ectoplasm splattering the walls and soaking the two teens. Nathan, shocked as he was, dropped to his knees.

"You… you saved me," Valerie stuttered, her face utterly bewildered through her mask. Never in a millions years would she ever suspect Nathan of being capable of saving from a ghost. In fact, the thought had never even occurred to her before.

"I did," Nathan said, nodding slowly and glancing at the gun in his hands. "You know, since I saved you, will you go to senior prom with me?"

Valerie's eyes narrowed and she looked him up and down, pondering the request. He had just saved her life, and he didn't actually say they had to date. After a slight pause, she replied. "Only if I don't have a boyfriend."

Nathan blinked, not quite believing what he had heard, then a wide grin split his face and his eyes seemed to shine. Valerie's offer was, apparently, good enough for him.

"I better not regret that," Valerie mumbled, watching the ecstatic nerd, before focusing on the door now covered in ectoplasm. "Come on. We don't want any more to get in."


When Danny emerged from the Fenton Portal, it was to an eerie silence. He phased into his living room, and saw numerous citizens lying around the floor, familiar helmets over their heads.

"Nocturne," Danny scowled. He contemplated going into their dreams and scaring them awake, but decided against it. If he defeated Nocturne, which would be easy after fighting Kraeva, then everyone would wake up, a much easier solution than going from person to person devising a way to scare them awake, and then fight Nocturne, during which time they would probably end up asleep again. Danny turned invisible and started flying through the town. Once out on the streets, it was easier to hear the sounds of fighting from a few blocks over, which meant that not everyone was asleep.

He flew quickly, phasing through everything instead of taking the long way around, and emerged through the wall of a nearby home to see Casper High, illuminated by the fading moonlight, as the barest edge of the horizon started to lighten. The sun would be up in no time. Danny flew through the Sleepwalkers surrounding the school, literally, freezing any that he passed through, and made himself visible when he found Sam.

"Is everyone else defeated?" Danny asked seriously, looking from Sam to Tucker.

"Danny, you're back!" Tucker cheered, grinning as he turned, the Sleepwalkers momentarily held back by Sam's barrage. His smile faltered as he took in his friend. Danny assumed that this was just because of his eyes and extended aura.

"Did you get everyone else?" Danny asked again.

"Uh, yeah, but dude… what happened? Did you win?" Tucker's eyes were wide, and his jaw just didn't seem like it was able to close something that puzzled Danny greatly.

"Yeah, Kraeva's defeated, I'll explain more later. But I guess Nocturne is the only one left now. As soon as I defeat him, everyone will wake up, and these guys will disappear." Danny gestured to the sea of neon green ghosts.

"Dude, you can't fight right now," Tucker shook his head, his comment catching Sam's attention. She turned away from the Sleepwalkers and gasped as she took in Danny's appearance.

"Guys, it's just temporary. The marks will go away, and my eyes will return to normal, it's fine," Danny said casually, waving his arm.

"But Danny-" Sam's protest was cut off as Danny suddenly shot an ectoblast at his two best friends. They yelped in surprise but a foot before it reached them, the blast seemed to hit an invisible wall, before the ectoplasm arced up around them and formed a green wall on their other side blocking all attacks from the Sleepwalkers.

"It's probably better if you withdraw for now, since it'll all be over soon. Just protect the school, and I'll tell everyone else," Danny smiled, then shot into the sky, Sam's shout trailing after him. He found Valerie and Nathan next briefly informing them of his victory, and instructing them to retreat inside. They both remained silent as he spoke, wearing the same shocked expression as his best friend and girlfriend. As Danny flew away, he wondered why they were looking at him like that, but once again passed it off as his altered appearance. After them he found Jazz and his parents.

"Danny, oh my goodness, what happened? You need help!" Jazz gasped when her brother touched down beside him.

"Everything's fine, it'll go away. But I have to get to everyone else, so you're getting the short version. Kraeva is gone, I just have to defeat Nocturne, retreat inside the school and defend from there, okay? See ya!" Danny once again flew away, ignoring any calls that were made after him.

Seriously, didn't they get that his appearance was just temporary? Clockwork had assured him of that.

Morgan, Jason, and Erin, as well as Kwan, Dash, and Star, all reacted in a similar manner as the others, although it seemed that Dash tried to pretend he wasn't shocked, or surprised, or whatever it was they were all feeling. That was another thing Danny didn't get. He just couldn't grasp what emotion they were attempting to convey. When he reached the GIW, he was pleased to find that they hardly reacted at all to his appearance. In fact, none of the seven operatives he encountered even turned their weapons on him, accepting his proposal with ease. It was a relief, to say the least, though a bit of a surprise.

Lastly, Danny had to find his ally ghosts. He assumed they were taking a more aerial position, but was at a loss as to why he couldn't spot a giant blue dragon. Instead, the first ghost that he ran into was one covered in a white bedsheet. It looked familiar, and Danny paused a moment when he saw it. The ghost, like the GIW, didn't react to Danny's current state.

As Danny was struggling to remember where he had seen the ghost before, it pulled off the sheet covering its body, to reveal a black skeleton with red eyes, surrounded by a green aura. Danny's first instinct was to attack the wraith that stood before him, but managed to stop himself just before releasing an ectoblast as he finally recognized the ghost.

"You're one of my clones!" Danny shouted in surprise. "I thought you had all melted."

The skeletal clone shook his skull.

"That's good, at least. I need to defeat Nocturne. Can you round up the other ghosts, and get them to move closer to the school, just so that it can be more closely defended until I win?" Danny asked. His clone nodded and took off.

With the knowledge that everyone would be well protected, Danny did the same, heading off in search of Nocturne.

"Hey, Nocturne!" Danny yelled as he floated above the town. "I thought it was about time I beat you back to dreamland again!"

His taught worked extraordinarily well, and the ghost of dreams revealed himself right away. He suddenly appeared in front of Danny, large enough to be above eye level with the halfa despite the fact that his feet did not leave the town, and Danny was considerably high above the town.

"Danny Phantom! You will not win this time," Nocturne smiled. "I am at full strength, and have the dreams of all your beloved citizens to give me power!"

Danny returned the gesture with a wicked grin. "And I have the blessing of the Ancients to give me mine."

Whether the larger ghost had not recognize the markers for what they were at first, or if he simply hadn't known, the mention of the strongest ghosts to ever exist certainly roused his memories, and his face blanched as Danny flew forwards.

The fight was extremely brief, and Danny found it to be a little disappointing after his epic battle with Kraeva. All it took was a few well-placed punches before Nocturne looked ready to topple, and Danny pulled out his Fenton Thermos.

"Goodnight, Nocturne." The large ghost screamed in protest as he was sucked in the glowing blue beam, and Danny slammed the cap down on the container. He floated down to the street in time to see the helmets worn by those lying on the sidewalk were breaking apart, one by one. He would have a few minutes before they were fully conscious, and didn't want to be seen in this form then. He had to be fast. Danny flew back to Casper High and found everyone congregated in the halls.

"Where's Danielle?" Danny asked immediately, looked around the motley gathering. He had noticed his daughter's absence right away as he was flying around, and was worried. But fighting Nocturne, if it could even be called a fight, had reluctantly taken preference. Mostly everyone exchanged confused glances, attempting to recall the last time they had seen the younger Phantom. Lancer looked especially perplexed before his eyes lit up.

"Vlad!" Lancer said suddenly, remembering what had occurred moments before he was knocked out.

"What about Vlad?" Danny's voice was low and deadly.

"He's the one who let the shield down. Just before he did, he told me that he had… taken Danielle's Spector Protector, said something about a Plasmius… Maxim? And a Specter Deflector…" Lancer rubbed his chin, struggling to recall the details exactly. While the others were confused about what Lancer meant, Danny understood immediately. He closed his eyes stretching his ghost sense as far as he could. With the borrowed power the Ancients, that was extremely far, and he could identify every individual ghost with range. Including Danielle. He disappeared in flash, and reappeared in a store some streets away, kneeling beside his daughter.

She was still unconscious, and twitching slightly as the Spector Deflector attacked her ghost half. Danny immediately ripped the belt from her waste, and teleported back to the others.

"Dora, Dani's hurt!" Danny said the moment he reappeared, his daughter held tightly in his arms. Without Forstibe, Dora was the next best ghost to go to for help. She strode forwards and immediately examined the girl, while Danny was whispering something furiously. Only Dora could properly hear the words.

"Dani's hurt, Dani's hurt, Dani's hurt, Vlad hurt her. Vlad. VLAD!" Danny's last word was a powerful shout. "Where is Vlad?!"

Jack, unsure of what else to do, held up the Thermos that he had managed to trap the exiled ghost into. Danny stalked forwards, ripped the Thermos from his father's hands, and disappeared once more. He was gone for five minutes before he returned, eyes blazing. He was certainly a sight behold, standing in the middle of the hallway, his shoulders hunched forwards a little, breathing ragged. The hood of his cloak had fallen back, revealing the blood that matted his hair. Whatever activity he had been doing had apparently loosened the DP clasp holding the cloak in place and with a sharp ping it fell to the floor, the heavy cloth following it. For the first time, everyone was able to see the full extent of Danny's injuries.

His left hung limply at his side, and had four long scratches down its length, which were bleeding heavily. In fact, he appeared to be bleeding heavily everywhere, something that he appeared to be unaware of. The mixture of green and red seeped generously from an injury hidden in his hair, as well as one along his abdomen. Danny was noticeably favouring his left leg, the right one being covered in numerous distinguishable ecto-burns. When the scythe he had been clutching fell from his right hand, it brought attention to the very lethal vertical slit on his forearm. When Sam and Tucker had seem him before, the wounds hadn't looked so bad, but now the power given to Danny by the Ancients was waning, and his injuries were displaying themselves to their fullest extent.


Danny wavered on his feet. The world was getting blurring, and the others just wouldn't stop looking at him like that. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel a growing pain, and it suddenly hit him all at once. Danny's eyes widened, and he wasn't able to stop the blood that bubbled up his throat and spewed across the hallway tiles. He fell forwards, feeling someone with a gentle hold catch him at the last moment, and was aware of the transformation rings spreading from his waste. It actually burned, for him to change back. It felt like his blood was boiling and his skin sizzling as the rings washed over his body. He wasn't able to resent the temptation of the dark, and the sweet release it provided.


So the next chapter will be the last one in this story, but I think you guys will be happy to read the little surprise I have for you in the A/N (if you haven't already found out based on my other replies)

'See' you next time!