CHAPTER THREE: DOUBLE D'S

Three months had passed, and Danny was still in a coma. Sam hated it, without Danny Phantom to save the down, ghosts should have been causing chaos. Luckily though, there wasn't too much ghosts. They found it boring to be in Amity Park now that Danny Phantom wasn't there to protect it.

"Good morning sunshine!" Mr. Manson smiled as he pulled the blinds open, casting light down upon his only daughter.

Sam did not reply. She just pulled the blankets up higher, burying her head under them.

"Samantha." Her mother cooed, trying to pull the comforter down, "Sweetheart, we were wondering if you wanted to go to school today?"

"Why bother?" Sam snapped, burying her head under the pillow.

"Now Sam." Mr. Manson said a little to merrily for her liking. He put his hands matter-of-factly on his hips, "Your mother and I are just worried about you, that's all. It isn't natural for a girl your age to be cooped up in this room forever."

Sam wanted to leap at them and attack them. But she kept her anger boiled down. Since Danny went comatose, she had barely left her room, stopped answering calls from Tucker, and stopped going to school all together.

"Sam." Mrs. Manson said sharply, "You should go to school. I bet your friends are worried about you."

Sam threw a pillow at them, "I don't care about them!"

"I told you that Fenton kid was no good." Mr. Manson sighed, he shook his head.

Mrs. Manson glared at him, before turning back to Sam, "You should go see him."

And just watch him lay still in a bed? Not a chance.

"That's it young lady!" Mr. Manson snapped, "You're getting out of bed this instant!"

The doorbell rang. Both Mr. and Mrs. Manson looked up with an interested look.

"I wasn't expecting anybody?" Mr. Manson asked,

"Neither was I. We'll let the butler get it." Mrs. Manson shrugged.

The butler's voice came over the P.A. system, "Ms. Samantha, you have a guest."

Mrs. Manson's face lit up, "See! There is a perfect excuse to get out of bed. Now come on! You mustn't keep your guest waiting."

Sam groaned as she watched her parents leave. That's right…she had to get up now. If she didn't, they'd send her guest up to see her. They'd done it already for Tucker once before…

…Damn Tucker. She thought she already told him not to bother her. For Tucker, she did not even feel like getting dressed. She continued to lay there until her parents finally sent her guest up.

A knock sounded at the door. Sam jumped, Tucker never knocked. She leaned up, "C-come in?"

The door creaked open and an attractive brown haired boy walked in. He had a single blue streak down the side of his face, and his sharp hazel-brown eyes stared out at her. He was tall, and slender, but still in an attractive way. She immediately felt embarrassed to be in her pajamas in front of him.

"Um." He blushed, "Sorry. Want me to step out for you to get dressed?"

She nodded.

She hurriedly got dressed with whatever she could find and opened the door. The strange boy walked back in, the blush still visible on his pale cheeks. It looked as if he had been indoors for a while.

"Man. It took forever to find you." The boy sighed.

Sam recognized that voice. "Jay?"

The boy nodded, "Jayden Torres, age twenty-one. Only son to a powerful and wealthy couple. Went comatose four years ago in a limo accident." He shrugged, "I woke up last week. It wasn't hard to track down the Fenton's, since Fenton Works stands out, but you and Tucker are impossible to find."

"Doesn't Jazz know where I live?" Sam asked,

"Yeah, well she hasn't felt up to showing me anywhere. She was upset that you haven't come to see Danny…at all."

Sam looked away, "I just don't feel like going out."

Jay rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Now come on."

"Where are you taking me?" Sam asked,

"To the hospital. You're saying 'hi' to your boyfriend."

~*~

Vlad had no problem sneaking into the hospital. But it was sneaking into Danny's room that was going to be the problem. He waited for hours, but there was always someone by his bedside. Eventually he grew tired and sneaked up behind Jazz, and with one quick movement, he knocked her out and walked over to Danny's bedside and smiled at his handiwork.

"You and Danielle may have ruined my plans last time, but not this time." He smiled, he grabbed a syringe and shoved it into Danny's arm, "It'll be fine. You'll wake up shortly after I get this blood sample."

The door opened up, and Jay ran into the room, his body dropped to the floor as his ghost-self burst from it. His white-blond hair mixed with the blue streak as he roughly pushed Vlad away from Danny and into the wall.

"Wow…when could you do that?" Vlad smiled,

"Since I woke up." Jay growled, "Stay away from Danny!"

Vlad smiled, "Silly boy. I'm only trying to help Danny."

Sam folded her arms, "Help him?"

"If you call your attack dog off, I'll be glad to tell you." Vlad said deviously.

Jay slowly released his grip on Vlad's shirt before backing up.

Vlad smiled and straightened out his shirt.

Jay hurriedly walked back into his body, and climbed up off of the ground. He watched Vlad like a hawk, ready to jump at a moments notice. Vlad opened his mouth to speak, but instead slipped through the wall behind him. Jay cursed and broke free from his body again to chase him down.

Sam stood there for a few seconds, before moving Jay's body onto a chair so it looked like he fell asleep, and moving to sit across from Jazz next to Danny. Pain pulled at her chest as she stared at him. He looked so weak lying there in that bed. Sam instantly wished she had not come. As she sat there, looking at him with displeasure, she reached out and stroked his hair. It was an automatic response, one she did not even realize she was doing until afterwards. All she wanted was for him to open his eyes…

"Please Danny…wake up…wake…"

~*~

"…Up! Good morning Daniel!"

A boy opened his eyes. The world around him was spinning, and his entire body hurt. He ran a hand through his hair and groaned before leaning up and looking around. Slowly, the world stopped spinning and the haze started to clear away. He was in a strange white room…

"W-Where am I?" He muttered groggily, he looked around, there was hospital equipment, and a beautiful black haired girl asleep in a chair next to him. He reached out to touch her, but everything vanished.

"Having a dream are we son?"

The boy blinked as the scene around him disappeared, and he was now lying on a hard slab table in a laboratory. He groaned and swung his legs off of the table, "Huh?"

"Good morning Daniel." Vlad said, walking up to the boy, "How are you feeling?"

"My entire body aches." The boy said automatically,

"That's normal. I mean, your body took a nasty beating when the ceiling fell on it." Vlad nodded. He looked the boy up and down, "Can you see me?"

"Yes."

"How is your hearing?"

"Um…good I think?"

"Here." He handed him a chocolate bar, "And taste?"

"Delicious!" The boy cheered, gobbling it up, "I'm starving!"

"Who are you?" Vlad asked, circling around the boy,

"Um…I don't know. Who are you?" The boy whispered.

"Hm." Vlad muttered, mostly to himself, "It appears that your memory was left behind in your old body. That works to my advantage." He stopped circling him and looked at the boy with a smile. "Ghost powers work as well."

The boy looked down and gasped as he was sinking through the table. Vlad pulled him up to sit on it once more.

"Your name is Daniel Masters, I am your father." Vlad smiled.

"Dan Masters?" He replied, "Um…ok."

Vlad couldn't help himself. He laughed and pulled the boy into a large hug, "Ah yes my boy. Now, let's see about getting you something to eat?"

Vlad let Dan up the stairs and out of the lab and over to the kitchen. A big, fat, white cat followed them. Vlad picked it up and cuddled it, before handing her over to Dan.

"Her name is Maddie." Vlad explained, "And she's basically the master of this house."

Dan smiled as the cat rubbed up against him, "Maddie? That name sounds familiar?"

"It should." Vlad smirked darkly, "She's our cat after all."

Dan laughed as the cat bumped his chin with her nose, "Where's my room?"

"I'll show you after breakfast." Vlad replied.

Dan looked around once more before entering the kitchen, "Cool."

~*~

"SAM!"

Sam groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position as Tucker ran into the room in a frenzy. She sighed. Not answering her phone usually equaled to an early morning visit. "What now?"

"Its Danny! He's awake!"

Those words lingered in Sam's mind, unable to form a logical sentence in her mind. She just stared at Tucker blankly.

He grabbed her shoulders, "Sam…didn't you hear me? Danny woke up! He's in an exam right now! They're seeing if he needs rehab or anything!"

Sam inhaled deeply, "Danny…is awake?"

Tucker grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly from the bed, "Get dressed! I'll meet you downstairs and we'll head straight to the hospital!"

Sam nodded. She wasted no time in getting dressed and hurrying out of her mansion. But even though she went as fast as she could, she still felt like they were moving too slow. She pushed her electric scooter to the max, and grumbled every time she had to stop. By the time she burst into Danny's room, she was sweaty and tired, but all that went away when she looked at Danny, leaning up in the hospital bed.

But her happiness was short lived. She paled as she looked at him. His skin was still ghostly pale, and his eyes were blank, as if there was no soul behind them. She walked over and Danny's head followed her blankly.

"And your name is?" A doctor asked, writing things down on a clip board,

"Danny." He replied. His voice was so monotone and empty that it nearly broke Sam's heart.

"How old are you Danny?" The doctor asked,

"Sixteen."

"What is your favorite hobby?"

"Ghost Hunting."

Sam and Tucker both flinched. But the doctor just shook his head, "No, that's your parents hobby. What is your hobby?"

Danny looked at the doctor for a few seconds with those blank eyes of his, "Ghost Hunting."

The doctor sighed, "Looks like your parents got to you while you were out."

Tucker let out a sigh in relief. But there was no relief in Sam. What was wrong with Danny?

"Why is he like this?" Maddie asked for her,

"I actually can't tell you." The doctor replied thoughtfully, "Because I have no idea. But we're guessing if our first guess about the coma was correct, then whatever hit his head, must have hit him hard enough to give him brain damage."

"My son's a VEGTABLE?" Maddie screamed,

"I wouldn't say that." The doctor shook his head, "The fact that he has all his memory perturbs me. In most cased like this, a person cannot even form a syllable, nevertheless a word. From our tests his brain seems to be functioning fine."

Maddie looked at Danny, "Oh baby…if this is a joke…please stop now."

Danny just looked at her, but said nothing.

Tears spilt over Maddie's eyes and she turned away from him, as if she could not look at Danny any longer. Jack wrapped his arms around her, "How long will he be like this?"

"I can't tell you."

Jazz looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'll be right back."

Her family turned to look at her for a few seconds, before she slipped from the room. Sam followed her, unable to stand seeing Danny like that. Tucker tagged along as well.

"What's up?" Sam asked, trying her hardest to sound nonchalant,

"I'm calling Jay." She whispered,

"Where is he anyway?" Tucker asked,

"His family doesn't live in town. They own a huge mansion out in the wilderness. This hospital just so happened to be the closest one to their home. He told me to keep him posted before he went home." Jazz explained.

Suddenly Sam felt guilty. She had not even thought about Jay since he chased Plasmious from the hospital. What if he got hurt trying to protect Danny?

Actually…after Danny went comatose, Jay had helped a lot in Ghost Hunting. So that was probably why she wasn't too worried. For an In-Between, he was exceptionally powerful.

"Jayden?" Jazz asked,

"Hey!" He replied, Sam could hear his voice loudly over the other side of Jazz's cell phone,

"I have a question about Danny." She whispered,

"Shoot."

"Danny woke up, but he's not really there. Its like his body is awake, but there's no soul."

Jay was quiet for a few moments before he finally answered, "Hmm…here, I know an expert on paranormal beings. He is the guy that taught me to become a ghost by leaving my body behind. He might know what's going on…I'll conference call him."

There was a few beeps, and then Jazz heard the ringing of a phone.

"Hello?" A deep ghostly voice replied,

"Hey Chas." Jay quipped,

"Mr. Torres. So nice to hear from you…how are you feeling?"

"A little sore still, but most of the pain has ebbed since I got my body back."

"Good." Chas hissed, and Jazz had to pull the phone from her ear.

"Actually, we're on a Conference Call with a friend of mine. Her little brother was in a coma, and when he woke up, he's not really there. Do you know what happened?"

"You're little brother was in a coma?" Chas repeated,

"Yes." Jazz nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her.

"That is troublesome." Chas's voice sounded too happy as he said that, "Hm… my guess is that something happened to block his In-Between Soul from getting back to his body."

"So Danny is In-Between somewhere?" Jazz asked,

"Probably…but something stopped his soul from returning." Chas whispered, "Like for example…if it was tricked into another body."

"So he could be anywhere in the coma ward?" Jazz asked,

"No. It would have to be a body identical to Danny's for the soul to return…just speculation." Chas fell silent for a few seconds, "Just remember, just like Jay, and In-Between has no memory. The memory will stay with the body. This soul is Danny's life force, but does not know it. If you somehow manage to find him, befriend it and lead it back to Danny…the rest will work itself out."

The dial tone clicked, and both Jazz and Jay knew that Chas had hung up.

"He's a little eccentric, but extremely good at his work." Jay muttered, "He's a Ghost now. Was an In-Between, but his family took his body off life support before his soul returned. So he kind of dedicated his afterlife to research."

"Danny's still out there?" Jazz whispered,

"I guess." Jay replied.

"Joy." Sam snapped.

Jazz ignored her, "Any idea where he could be?"

Sam looked thoughtful for a few seconds, "I think I have an idea."

~*~

"I've got business to do elsewhere my boy." Vlad replied, placing the oversized Maddie into Dan's arms,

"Really?" Dan pouted, then added sarcastically, "Not again. Whatever will I do?"

"Now don't give me that!" Vlad snapped, "Being Mayor, I've got a lot of work to do."

"And I'm NEVER allowed to go." Dan rolled his eyes, "I can't see what's so bad about going to Amity Park."

"Because." Vlad snapped, "Now just stay out of trouble."

Dan gave a fake, innocent smile. Vlad laughed and patted his white-haired head.

Vlad looked into those bright green eyes of his and smiled. "I've won." A confused look crossed Dan's face, but Vlad ignored it and headed on his way.

Dan sighed and sat down on the steps, "Great…alone again." He gently scratched behind Maddie's ears, "Next time…I will just 'Go Ghost' or whatever Dad called it, and follow him."

Maddie meowed.

"Yeah. I like that ability too. Being a Ghost is cool."

Dan placed Maddie on the steps and stood up. A blue ring appeared around his middle and split, going both ways around his body. His white button-down blouse, and black jeans disappeared, revealing a black and white jumpsuit decorated with the letter 'D', his white hair floated up, and his green eyes started to glow. He smiled and leapt into the air, floating up towards his bedroom.


Duh-duh-duh! Anyway, yeah. Sorry for the delay. Two chapters are up for the delay. Wow…without Ry's help…I'm a pretty crappy writer. :( I hope she likes it anyway.