"Crud," Danny muttered, getting to his feet. He was all alone again. Completely cut off. Isolated.
He closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that this would just be over. He was sore. He was tired. A small part of him was hungry, and thirsty, and definitely quailing at the thought of no human contact for who knew how long. Until he figured this out, if he ever figured this out.
He just wanted to go home.
His parents might not accept Phantom, but after this, he couldn't deny that, so long as they weren't together, he got along with them significantly better if the situation warranted it. It was kind of like with Valerie, though that was more of a common enemy thing that got her to stop shooting at him for a bit, so maybe it wasn't really like that, but…. This was more…. This went deeper. This had approached understanding, not just acknowledgement.
It had almost felt like, if he'd been stuck with his mother for longer, she might have actually truly started to believe him. Even go so far as to change a few of her core beliefs, at least where he was concerned. But then, just as she was starting to understand, just as she was getting to see who he really was, she'd wished herself away.
"Danny!"
Danny jumped and flipped around, swearing he'd heard Sam's voice and not willing to believe his ears, but sure enough…. There was his mom, and his dad, and Jazz, and Sam and Tuck and Valerie and—Vlad? Really? Vlad? He could've done without Vlad.
But still. Beggars couldn't be choosers.
"I told you Danny Phantom wasn't behind this," Jazz was saying. "Look at the state of him. He was dragged into this just like the rest of us."
Danny cringed. He knew Jazz was going to corner him later. She'd be telling him he had to talk about it, he had to let it out, he couldn't keep it bottled up with everything else, so many secrets weren't healthy, and besides, she was his sister, and she already knew this secret of his, and if she had to figure out the rest of them, she would, but she'd much rather he just told her, or at least told Sam and Tucker.
But, frankly, he'd gladly tell her. Well, some of it, at least. He'd tell her because he could. Because it was over, whatever it had been, and he was back with everyone else.
Then Danny blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, the world was frozen in time.
"Clockwork?" he asked, looking at the ghost in front of him before glancing down at his chest and seeing the familiar time medallion. He looked around the room, seeing his family and Vlad caught in time, Jazz still arguing her point, one hand flung out in his direction—but none of them were looking at him, he noticed.
And Sam and Tucker weren't there.
At Danny's questioning gaze, Clockwork said, "They will be back. I sent them to the Far Frozen to tell Frostbite the news of your safe return, and for them to retrieve the vehicle they had left behind."
It sounded like a long story, and Danny made a mental note to get it out of Sam and Tucker tomorrow…. Or was it already tomorrow? He had absolutely no idea what time it was, and having it frozen on him didn't help. "What happened?" Danny asked, figuring that was the most important question.
"Desiree granted a wish, touching it with the old, wild magic, and it had consequences beyond her imagining," Clockwork answered, "but now it has been corrected."
Okay, he'd really have to talk to Sam and Tuck. They could probably make more sense out of that. He couldn't really think straight right now. "Okay, but if it's been corrected, why are you here?"
A smile twitched into existence on Clockwork's face. "It is not only Danny Phantom who must be seen returning."
Oh. "But I can't change back. Dad's invention, this Ecto-Entrapper thing…. It doesn't work exactly like he thought it would, or maybe it does, but—"
Clockwork cut across Danny's babbling, saying, "Its effects are lessened by time, are they not?" At Danny's hesitant nod, Clockwork said, "Then consider the necessary amount of time passed."
Ghost of Time. Right. It wasn't the first time Clockwork had done him a favour, and Danny rather hoped it wouldn't be the last. Maybe the whole freezing time thing had extra benefits, after all, if it cancelled out things like this.
Reaching inside himself, Danny found a tiny piece of himself that had eluded him before, and he changed back in Danny Fenton.
He immediately sat down, feeling more tired than before. More tired, but less sore. It was a typical consequence of the regeneration process that allowed for quick healing. If he'd had to bear the full brunt of his ghostly injuries as a human, he might've been dead completely by now.
"Thanks," Danny whispered, looking up at Clockwork. Clockwork had done so much for him in the past, and he looked out for him, and it just…. It felt good to know that there were people and ghosts who cared so much about him.
"Your friends will be at the portal now," Clockwork said, offering Danny a hand to pull him to his feet. "We'd best let them in."
Within moments—was that still something that could be said when time was frozen, or at least when the rest of time was frozen?—Sam and Tucker had eased the Spectre Speeder back into the FentonWorks lab and had clambered out and squeezed the breath out of Danny.
"You're okay," Sam was saying. "I'm so… You're sure you're okay?"
"He's fine," Tucker said, laughing. He stopped, looked at Danny and Sam for a moment, then added, "Of course, I don't know whether he'd be better if you let go or if you just kept hanging on."
Danny blushed and saw that Sam had done the same as she immediately backed off, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry," she muttered. "Just got carried away."
"It's okay," Danny said, giving her a silly grin in return.
"Of course it's okay," Tucker said. "I mean, what with you two being lovebirds and all."
"We're not lovebirds!" Sam and Danny chimed their reply in unison, then flushed a deeper red and avoided each other's gaze.
"It is time we returned," Clockwork said, his voice giving no indication of his thoughts about the reunion. Then, when the four of them were back in Casper High, again courtesy of Clockwork's portals, Danny found a position out of line of everyone's sight. Clockwork held up his staff once more and said, "Time in." The medallions disappeared, as did Clockwork himself, and life resumed.
"He's slippery is what he is," Jack Fenton said, glancing over at the place where Danny had been standing as Phantom. "He's gone."
"But we can't get excited," Maddie was saying, though she looked surprised. "Danny's still not home. Our Danny," she added, shooting Sam a look.
"I thought he'd be next," Sam said quietly. "I didn't get a good look at Phantom when he showed up, and when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, I assumed it would be Danny."
"It's okay, Sam." From Valerie, that was surprising. She wouldn't have been the one Danny would've picked to comfort Sam. "Phantom's gone, and we'll find Danny soon. We've got to."
Danny took that as his cue to stumble out of the wings of the stage, groaning a bit. "Do any of you guys feel kind of queasy?" he asked.
"Danny!" His parents were by his side in a flash, followed by everyone else.
"Time-sickness, I'd guess," Maddie said after looking him over. "Honey, are you all right?"
Danny took a few big breaths before nodding. "Yeah, I think so. Do you know what happened?"
"We brought you back," Valerie said, "from wherever that evil ghost had taken you."
Danny decided not to argue with her on that one. He wasn't entirely sure she was talking about Phantom, anyway. "Thanks."
"And it's clearly earlier here than it was where we were, Danny," Maddie said, still giving him a look that told Danny that she didn't believe he was perfectly all right, "or I doubt your friends would all be able to be out so late."
So that was how she'd arrived at the whole 'time-sickness' thing. Or maybe she'd been here long enough to get a very quick explanation out of the others. Either way, it was actually a bit of a relief; it meant he didn't have to come up with an explanation. "So what time is it?"
"I think you'll find it's time for dinner, little badger," Vlad said, ignoring Danny's glare. "Unfortunately, I can't join you. I must rush off, but I do expect I'll be seeing you soon."
As Vlad prepared—finally—to take his leave, Danny tried not to think about how long Vlad's 'welcome back' hug to his mom had probably been or the fact that his parting words probably meant Vlad was going to make his life miserable very soon. He just hoped he'd have the decency to let him have a good night's sleep for once. After everything that had happened, he could really use it.
"Back off to Wisconsin?" Jack asked. Without waiting for an answer, he clapped Vlad on the back, causing the man to stumble for a bit before he regained his footing. "Well, we owe you one, Vladdy! I'm sure we wouldn't have all gotten back safely if it hadn't been for you." Perhaps catching the look on Sam's and Tucker's faces, if not Valerie's, Jack hurriedly added, "And, uh, these kids, too, of course."
"I'd better be going, too," Valerie said after a few seconds, breaking what had threatened to become a really awkward silence. "My dad's going to be wondering where I am." She looked at Danny, Sam, and Tucker for a moment before saying, "We should hang out some time. It's been a while."
Danny saw Sam grit her teeth, but thankfully Tucker cut in with something so he didn't have to. "Sure, Val. We'll see you in school on Monday." This response received a beaming smile from Valerie and a sharp glare from Sam. Danny knew why; she still didn't think it was safe to hang out too much with Valerie. But she was one of their friends now, sort of, so they should be able to talk outside of class, shouldn't they?
Well, it would work out fine until a ghost showed up, at least.
"I'll give you a ride home, Valerie," Vlad offered. "It'll save your father the trip."
"Thanks," Valerie said. "Dad's working, anyway, so I'd have to hang around for a bit before we could head home."
When Vlad and Valerie were gone, Sam and Tucker made a few quick excuses to leave, too. Danny didn't miss the silent hints they were giving him: they'd talk later—tonight if he could manage it, tomorrow if he couldn't. Maybe things would make more sense when he knew the entire story. As it was, he had a feeling they knew more than he did.
It was Jazz who came to Danny's rescue when she caught him stifling a yawn. She yawned herself, in such a convincing way that Danny wasn't entirely sure it was for show, then said, "I'm not sure about everyone else, but I think I'd just like to get home to bed. Do you think we can clean this up tomorrow, Mom?"
Maddie nodded. "I'm not sure I'd have the energy to pack it all up tonight. There were too many hours in this day for me, and there's no harm in leaving it until morning. Besides," she added, reaching over to ruffle Danny's hair, "Danny's ill, and he needs his rest. How's your cold, sweetie?"
"Not as bad as it was," Danny admitted. And as long as the Ecto-Entrapper stayed off, it wouldn't ever be bad again. Not that kind of induced cold, anyway. "I think you were right. It might've just been the time shift thing."
"You still look dead on your feet, honey," Maddie said. "You need to get some rest. We all do."
"I'll drive home," Jack said, and no one questioned him. They'd get home faster, and he hadn't spent as long in the other reality or whatever it was as Maddie had, and Jazz was pretending to be too tired to care.
Danny practically collapsed onto his bed when he got into his room. He sent a quick text message to Sam and Tucker saying he'd meet them tomorrow, and then he just closed his eyes. He needed to get sleep while he could, because with his luck, some ghost would come and his ghost sense would wake him up and he'd have to deal with whoever it was—though Danny decided that if it turned out to be the Box Ghost again, he'd just leave him be until morning.
Besides, even if he didn't count all the times he'd fallen asleep in school, it wouldn't be the first time he'd slept in his clothes. And, right now, he really didn't care one way or the other.
It was the crash that woke Maddie. She normally slept pretty well—if she was the first one to fall asleep, she could even ignore Jack's snores—but that particular crash had sounded awfully close. She eased her way out of bed, careful not to wake her still-sleeping husband, and walked to the window.
There was Phantom, picking himself up and out of the crater that had formed in the street with his fall. With him was another ghost she recognized as Skulker, and right now, it looked like he had the upper hand. She couldn't hear what they were calling to each other now, but she had no doubt it would be the usual exchange of witty banter that Phantom used in all his fights.
Maddie grabbed her housecoat and headed downstairs. She also picked up an ectogun and a Fenton Fisher before slipping on her shoes and edging outside. The fight was still going on about a block down. The two ghosts were exchanging fire and words, and Maddie was rather reluctant to get closer when she wasn't properly dressed. She had far more things in the pockets of her hazmat suit than the equivalent of an ectogun and a Fenton Fisher.
"You're slow tonight, whelp," Skulker taunted when Phantom wasn't quick enough to get out of the way of a net. "That was almost too easy."
"Sorry I couldn't give you a good run," Phantom replied sarcastically. "I'll have to make a note to do better next time. Or maybe you could come sometime when I'm not trying to sleep."
"Ghosts sleep?" Maddie repeated, surprised. She knew they rested to recharge their energy, saving it rather than spending it, but she hadn't thought that they'd state it in such human terms.
Then again, Phantom had been the one to say it. He had a certain liking for human ways.
"It's better to catch one's prey off its guard," Skulker said bluntly. "As you can see, it gave me the advantage I needed."
Phantom sighed. "You know, there's a reason that I'm not just a pelt on your wall, or your bed, or whatever—which is still gross, by the way, even if you do collect unique things. So don't say I'm the slow one when you're the one who's just lost his prey. Again."
Skulker's immediate protest—"I haven't lost—"—was abruptly caught off when the ectoblast Phantom had been building up was released in a burst of power. The net holding him disintegrated, and the ghost boy lost no time in producing a Fenton Thermos and taking advantage of his surprised (and suitably weakened) opponent.
Phantom chuckled as he capped the thermos. "Now that's what's too easy," he said to himself. "It's a good thing I can fight off these guys when I'm half asleep."
Maddie wasn't sure about half asleep, but Phantom certainly must have been resting. He looked considerably better than the last time she had seen him. His suit was repaired and he bore no physical sign of his earlier trauma. But he was, as Skulker had noted, moving slower, and Maddie had noticed him wince once or twice, and she wasn't convinced that that was simply from injuries incurred in this latest skirmish.
She tucked the ectogun away, figuring she wouldn't need it—yet—and instead cast the line of the Fenton Fisher. It was not until she'd hooked his boot—well, actually, the line had wrapped around his ankle—that Phantom noticed her presence. He smiled at her sheepishly and tried to tuck the thermos out of sight, all the while failing to mask his nervousness as he kept glancing down at his trapped foot.
When Phantom was floating in front of her, at her eye level, Maddie did him the courtesy of untying the line. He looked surprised but grateful. "I wasn't sure if you'd run," Maddie told him quietly, "but I have a few questions for you."
"Um…. Okay." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Shoot." The minute the word was out of his mouth, he looked panicked, and he quickly added, "The questions, not me! I mean, ask away. No need to pull out any guns…."
"I won't need to if you answer my questions," Maddie told him. Phantom still looked distrustful, but at least he didn't fly away—or try to fight back now in anticipation of things getting worse. "I've been thinking about earlier," Maddie continued. "You told me the truth."
"Yeah," Phantom said slowly, "but we covered that already, didn't we? I had no reason to lie to you."
"Let me finish," Maddie said. "When we were in the lab, and you told me that Jack had wished himself back to Jazz, I hadn't believed you because I'd wished to be with Danny and I hadn't moved."
Phantom looked uncomfortable now. "Yeah, but—"
"Your explanations don't make any sense anymore," Maddie said. "Danny was the last one of us to make it back, so he can't have been 'in transit', as you'd put it. And clearly I was affected by the wishing, as I later wished myself back home. But Danny—"
"I don't know," Phantom interrupted. "Maybe he was still in the house. Maybe we just didn't see him. We were kinda preoccupied. I was trying to get out and you were trying to keep me there."
"But if Danny had been there," Maddie protested, "he would've said something."
"Maybe he was asleep?"
Maddie shook her head. "He wouldn't have slept through that."
"So maybe he was, I dunno, unconscious or something, but, Maddie, before you jump to conclusions, it wasn't my fault!"
Maddie sighed and fixed Phantom with a look that her children knew quite well. She meant business. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them, one way or another, no matter how long it took. "You know more than you're telling me, Phantom. About everything."
"Not about everything," Phantom mumbled, avoiding her gaze.
"You took me out of the house," Maddie reminded him gently. "Did you take Danny, too?"
Phantom raised his head again and looked at her, then slowly shook his head. "Danny made it out by himself. You were the only human I brought out of the house."
"But you knew he was there?"
"I knew it was possible," Phantom admitted, "when you didn't move after you made the wish."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"It wouldn't've helped," Phantom said. "You wouldn't've listened. You still thought Danny was back with Jazz and Jack at that point."
Maddie opened her mouth but found she couldn't exactly deny what Phantom had said. "You could have tried saying something to save yourself," she reasoned. "Even if you did think I wouldn't have listened, you could have tried."
Phantom shrugged. "I wouldn't have been able to show you Danny Fenton, so it wouldn't have gotten me anywhere. I already knew that." He fell silent for a moment. "What else did you want to ask?"
In truth, Maddie had a million questions, but at that precise moment, she couldn't find anything to say. "Why are you being so helpful?" was what finally tumbled out of her mouth.
"This is how I always am," Phantom said, looking her straight in the eye this time. "If anything's changed, it's because you're seeing me differently."
This time, it was Maddie who looked away. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"For doubting me? Yeah, well, it's okay, I guess. I sort of expect it from you. Ghosts lie, right?"
"For hurting you," Maddie said, glancing at him.
Phantom froze. "I thought you didn't care about that," he said slowly.
"It was easier when I didn't," Maddie told him softly.
Phantom crossed his arms. "See how you feel in the morning," he said bluntly. "That feeling might go away, and then things'll be back to normal for you. It's late, and you're tired, and you're probably not thinking straight, and by breakfast tomorrow, you'll have come up with a million excuses for my actions. And then I'll be back to that evil ghost kid, a no-good, filthy, lying piece of ectoplasmic scum that deserves to get ripped apart molecule by molecule."
Maddie was startled by the venom in Phantom's words. He sounded…not bitter, exactly, but resentful, as if he didn't believe her but wished he could. As if she were the one who couldn't be trusted, as if she were the one who was lying.
But what if Phantom was right? Once she talked things over with Jack, there probably would be reasons to be found to explain Phantom's actions, and then she might—
"You should get back to bed," Phantom said, and the edge in his tone was gone again. "But, just remember, even if you do just decide that I was trying to manipulate you or something: if you want to talk, I'll talk. Just as equals, though, like this, not with me caught in a cage or strapped to a table or tied up or anything. Okay?"
"All right," Maddie agreed quietly. "But can I have the Fenton Thermos?"
"The—what?"
"The Fenton Thermos," Maddie repeated patiently. "It is mine, after all. Not yours."
"But I need…." Phantom's protests died away as he took in the look on her face. "I need it," he finished weakly.
"I'm sure you'll steal it again later," Maddie said, "but I, for one, would like to see that ghost back in the Ghost Zone as soon as possible." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Besides, I need to add it to the inventory."
"Inventory?" Phantom repeated.
Maddie opened her eyes again. "So we can keep track of our inventions," she said simply. "What we have, what we need, and what you steal."
"Oh, man," Phantom groaned. "I'm not that bad. I mean, this is the thermos you guys threw at me, hardly more than a month after you got the Ghost Portal up and running. And besides, I'm not the only one who's taken stuff, either. Plasmius stole the—"
"I don't want to hear it," Maddie said, holding up one hand. "You're the one I've seen fighting with our technology, not Plasmius."
"What about Skulker, or Technus, or—?"
"You're the one I've seen," Maddie repeated. "And, as such, you clearly help yourself to our things more often than we know about. We're just trying to change that."
"I should really pay more attention," Phantom muttered. But he shoved the thermos towards Maddie and flew off before she could question him about that particular comment, which was rather unfortunate. She'd gotten what she'd come for, yes, but it didn't feel like enough.
No matter. She could work this out. She could figure out how much truth there was in Phantom's words and how much of his actions were nothing more than ploys. She and Jack had been hunting the ghost boy for over a year now. Surely Danny Phantom couldn't elude them again, not forever. She'd have to get answers—real answers—sometime.
Maddie sighed and started back to the house. As much as she hated to admit it, Phantom was right. She might very well change her tune come morning. Right now, she still felt wrapped up in the same surreal feeling that had permeated the fearful day just passed.
Tomorrow would be better. She'd go home, make a note to log the thermos in the morning, check on the kids, and head back to bed. She might need the Fenton Earplugs to muffle Jack's snores, but she'd get some rest, and then she'd see how things looked in the morning. After all, things usually did look better in the morning, and she could face whatever tomorrow decided to bring.
She always did. And she always would. Especially if the cause of her troubles seemed to be rooted in ghosts.
After all, she was a Fenton, and she was a Fenton by choice. If anyone could work things out, it would be her. She knew that, seeing as ghosts were involved, the answers wouldn't necessarily be logical. But if she could just find them, if she could work out precisely what had happened, what Phantom hadn't told her, then maybe…. Maybe then she'd understand, and that's what she really wanted.
She was a scientist, after all. Between being a scientist and a Fenton, studying ghosts was her stock and trade. So tomorrow, she'd start trying to work things out. She could only hope that tomorrow would bring the answers to the questions that she had today.
Fin
A/N: Well, that was fun, at least for me and presumably for you, if you've bothered to read this far. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review (and point out the occasional mistake!), namely Song of the Skies, Elle Aitch, The Cinderninja, seantriana, Shaddow the Spirit, coopt98, Wilona Riva, yuwof, Turkeyhead987, Anthiena, Ace in the Sleeve, Elvaro, dpgrl4life, spirit, Commander Ael, Okumura Rin, Exess, Karebear77, SailorSea, Chrizzie1, lyberator, Codiak, Amazing Bluie, allycat338, ckittykatty, FangirlStephie, VampireFrootloopsRule, anon, and BrandyMyDog.
And, yes, I am well aware that that really should be and indeed probably is a different thermos than the one that was thrown at Danny in the first episode, given the few that have been destroyed and the one that Dan is in, but Maddie doesn't need to know that if she doesn't already. *grins*
I may post a 'missing scene' as an additional chapter if I take a stab at the round of confessions that I neatly skipped over here, so, fair warning: if something does pop up after this chapter, it won't be an epilogue.