A/N: Whew! I've been helping my dad build a deck for all this week. I almost wasn't able to finish this chapter on time. But I'm pushing through my aches and tiredness to give this to you awesome readers. You get to know Rhodes a bit more in this chapter. Its interesting to read what you guys think of that character. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I am only a pathetic fan of the ghost boy and his friends. I do not own Danny Phantom!

Chapter 17 A Growing Ghost

When Danny looked back at Ares, the god was still squinting at the fire erupting from where Theo and the rest were. Surprisingly, Danny's head was clear and solid still. Even with the scare of being very close to losing his life, the boy knew he needed to move now or never if he ever wanted to catch Ares off guard.

Wincing from the pain of his arm and chest, Danny forced himself to his feet for his attack. Just as Ares was taking his black eyes off Theo's signal, Danny was lifting his leg high into the air. Things seemed to go into slow motion. The god tried to retract his spear, a look of amazement coming to his face. Danny's foot hit the spear, kicking it right out of the god's hand. The symbol flew over the man's head and landed head first into the ground a few yards away.

Ares whipped his head back around, his expression becoming one of anger again. He sharply took out his morphing sword from its scabbard at his hip. His voice was almost sinister as he seethed down at Danny, "Big mistake! You're blood will be the next thing to hit the earth! Prepare to die!"

Danny stared up at Ares, his eyes wide with terror. But it was that fear that compelled him to act. Ares's sword came down, but Danny was able to jump out of the way. Another swing. Danny ducked to avoid the slab of bronze aiming to kill. A third swing. This time Danny had to take a quick step or two backwards. Forth swing. All it took was a simple side step.

Ares stopped for a brief moment. Danny bit his lower lip, suppressing his want to fall to his knees and rest his tired body. He reasoned with himself that if he could survive four swings in a row from Ares, he could certainly keep himself intact till he came up with a good plan to get himself out of this grisly mess. Maybe he could hold out till he got his powers back.

The pause was only a second or two. It was enough time for Danny to get his head back and focus. The boy stood on the balls of his feet, ready to move in the blink of an eye. He didn't have his sword and his powers were out for the next few minutes. It would be suicide to do anything else but dodge.

The god was a whirlwind of anger as he lifted the blade over his head and came down strong. Light on his feet, Danny jumped backwards. His feet were barely touching the ground when Ares struck again with a thrust. Gritting his teeth, Danny forced himself to spring sideways and threw himself into a roll.

Ares leapt over to where Danny was going with another swing ready. The boy sprung out from his roll at the last second. He avoided the third swing by jumping over the sword itself as it cut the air. Landing in a crouch, Danny managed to sense the next attack and did a back hand spring. The boy watched with large eyes as Ares' blade flew past, less than an inch away his nose.

Then there was another pause.

Danny stood only a yard away from Ares. He greedily took in breaths, watching Ares do the same. They stood there, glaring coldly at each other, for at the most five seconds. No words were shared.

Four swings Danny thought to himself. There is a pattern to his fighting. He swings four times with his sword and then stops for a few seconds. I can't keep this up. I have to attack at some point. The only way to do that without getting sliced is to attack in that space between each four swing cycle.

Just like before, Danny came into the third swing cycle with a clearer head. His lose of blood made his head spin, but he couldn't let it slow him down. Just like he had predicted, Ares only made four swings. Danny cut his dodges very close. Ares was somehow able to keep the speed up, but Danny was beginning to slow down. He had to attack.

"Four! Now!" Danny yelled just as Ares finished his fourth deadly swing. The boy jumped out of his crouch and elbowed the god in the nose, a loud battle yell coming out of him. There was no pity and a whole lot of desperation in his next move. With another war cry, Danny slammed a tight fist into the god's exposed throat.

Choking and sputtering, Ares hastily backed away from Danny. The boy had surely broken the god's nose, but no blood came forth out of the wound. Danny had to remind himself that immortals didn't bleed. As if to satisfy the teen's hopes, though, a large bruise was forming all around Ares's swelling nose.

Danny grinned, pleased with himself.

"Wipe that smile of your face, boy!" Ares shouted at Danny, his voice cracking from the hit to his throat. "That was only a cheap shot!"

"I beg to differ," Danny responded boldly. "I saw an opening and took it. It can't be a cheap shot when I don't even have a sword or powers. Get over yourself, meathead." Danny's grin turned into one of slyness as he added, "Is meathead mad that a little kid just hurt his little nose? Aw. Poor meathead."

Instead of taking the bait, Ares threw his head back and let out a rough laugh. He smiled evilly back at Danny as he said, "For a moment there I almost fell for my own trick. It seems that you learn pretty fast."

Danny watched with his stomach churning in disgust as Ares licked Danny's blood off his blade. "But you have to understand by now, pathetic demigod, that your life will end here," Ares said. "No amount of punches or kicks will help you. You have no sword. You're powers will be gone for hours! Did you really believe that you could beat me today?"

Danny said nothing. His blue eyes started to glow.

Ares took this response as one of fear and came back at the boy, never acknowledging his eyes. Thinking he had the kid exactly where he wanted, Ares put his whole weight into his move. It was the fatal blow. He was past the point of no return.

Waiting till the last second, Danny turned ghost. He jumped, phased through the sword coming down on him, and placed his fingertips on the god's forehead while in mid air. Instantly, Ares was a block of ice. Danny landed gracefully behind him. Summing up as much ectoplasm energy as he could, Danny spun back around and released it all at Ares. The ghost boy blasted the immortal at least five miles away and into the forest.

"Don't ever underestimate your opponent," Danny said between ragged breaths. "Wasn't that one of your own too?" Ares was nowhere around to hear or answer the question.

With a soft moan, Danny turned back into his human self and fell to his hands and knees. He shook uncontrollably, trying to steady his erratic breathing. His wounds were still bleeding. He was going to pass out soon from the blood lose. What would happen then? Would he die stupidly because he didn't have enough blood? He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't die now!

"Danny!" someone screamed in alarm from behind. Suddenly someone was lifting Danny's chin. The teen looked into Theo's eyes, seeing the world of worry in them. "No! Hang in there! Don't pass out on me, Danny!" Theo demanded with rough concern in his voice.

"You told us he would be okay!" Tucker's voice floated into Danny's fuzzy and sluggish brain. He was losing it fast. Any second now he was going to black out.

"I know!" Theo yelled back at Tucker. "But I was wrong, okay? I made a big mistake! I should have never made him fight Ares! I'm sorry!" Danny, even in his weird state, was surprised to see tears coming to Theo's eyes. The feline boy quickly pushed them away with the back of his hand and got a hold on his heightened emotions.

"You idiot!" Sam's voice screamed at Theo. "You made him fight Ares, the god of war?" Danny had never heard her so angry, so frightened. He wished he could see her, but he was too far gone to see clearly now.

The world was spinning and sounds began to get jumbled up. The wounded teen couldn't follow the conversation anymore. All he knew was that everyone was arguing. Before long, even the arguing was a distant buzz. It was only then that Danny let himself drift off into blackness, leaving the pain and tiredness behind.

-Theo-

Glancing upward, Theo tightened his grip on Danny on his back before continuing his rigorous climb up the small mountainside. Even with someone on his back and he couldn't use his hands, Theo was still a few good paces in front of Sam and Tucker. Rhodes, quiet as usual, was steadily keeping a place between the three rivals.

They were deep in the forest now. Trees were more bunched together, rocks were a constant obstacle, and the mountain sides kept getting steeper. The sun was quickly sinking in the sky, daring the travelers to keep going even when it would leave this side of the world for a few hours.

It had been five hours since Danny had passed out and they had rushed off into the woods. It was better to leave before Ares came back for his symbol. At first they had been good at just jogging here and there. But now the outsiders were hungry and tired. Sam and Tucker hadn't whined openly yet, but Theo knew they had to be complaining behind his back. He knew he had to stop soon.

Stumbling, Theo had to dig a knee into the earth to prevent himself from tipping over with Danny on his back. He paused to get his focus back on his trek upward instead of his worries, and then silently got back to his feet. Once at the top of the large hill, he found a good clearing and rested Danny's body against a tree. He was throwing some branches into the middle when the rest arrived.

Bending down, Theo set the pile of wood on fire with a small fireball from his hand. He stood back up, glanced over to Danny, then addressed Sam and Tucker with his voice monotone, "I'm going to a creek in the valley to fish. I'll be back in an hour."

"I'm a vegetarian," Sam said matter-of-factly. "I don't eat fish."

Theo stared at her, a rude or sarcastic comment ready to spring from his tongue. Instead, he repressed his negative and walked neutrally off into the woods without a word. For once, he wasn't in the mood to argue. He had no place to do so. He deserved Sam and Tucker's anger for his mistake with Danny.

A giant rock sat on the bank of the stream. The large creek was calm; barely making a sound as it slowly flowed down its path. It was the perfect place for fish. They never liked rushing or noisy water. The water of the creek was ice cold and a bit murky.

Theo shivered as he waded into the depths of the water. He went in till it came up to his waist. Bending over, he kept his hands in the water to feel for the fish. Every few minutes, Theo would feel a fish swim through his hands and quickly grab it and then throw it to shore. The slimy animal would flop around, sometimes finding it back to the safety of water, but most of them died from suffocating. Theo did this till it was sunset.

To dry off, the teen sat on the big boulder that sat half way in and out of the water. It was only then that he couldn't keep his emotions in. His shoulders dropped, as did his tail. Sighing, Theo put his head in his hands and tried not to cry. This disaster was all his fault.

"Need help with the fish?" Rhodes asked from Theo's left side suddenly.

Gasping in surprise, Theo felt like he jumped a few feet in the air from the scare. He sniffed, trying to come up with words for the kid waiting for a response. "How…how did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Rhodes asked innocently.

"How did you sneak up on me?" Theo said. "I usually can pick up on someone if they are near."

"Oh," the boy said, sitting down next to Theo. "I have a knack for doing that. I guess I'm just naturally light footed." There was a pause. "You okay?"

Theo, leaning forward, glanced back at Rhodes. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Rhodes persisted, "Because you look really depressed."

Theo looked over his shoulder to stare at the kid beside him. Rhodes smiled sweetly back at Theo, the first true expression Theo had seen from him. For a moment Theo was about to tell the boy what was on his mind, but then suspicions came back to him. Rhodes wasn't normal. It wouldn't be smart to show weakness to him.

"I…uh…have a lot on mind, that's all," Theo said, turning back and rubbing his forehead.

So they sat there like that, silently watching the blazing sun set peacefully in the sky. All Theo could think about was what he was going to do and the worries about that. What if Danny was too far gone to be saved? Was he going to finish the mission by himself? Could he even go on without his friend? The sad truth was that Danny was the only person Theo had been able to call a friend…or more like an annoying brother, but someone close nonetheless. For the last few days, Danny had been a…joy in Theo's usual gray life. Why did everything good in his life have to be taken from him?

Rhodes sighed, standing up on the rock beside Theo. The day was coming to a quick end. The sky was a deep blue, getting ready for its transformation into complete darkness. The stream was black, no moon or stars there to reflect off it.

"I'm going to bring the fish up to Sam and Tucker," Rhodes said quietly. "I'll leave you some."

Without looking back at the boy, Theo said dully, "Thanks."

Rhodes diligently picked up the dead fish beside the rock. Without Theo looking, the boy tipped his head back and swallowed a fish whole. Licking his lips, the boy held the fish to his chest and stared back at Theo with concern in his violet eyes. Rhodes believed Theo was the only one sensible enough to lead the group. He worried that Theo wouldn't be able to do so if things didn't get any brighter.

-Danny-

The first thing Danny noticed when he woke up was the pain from both his wounds. He sucked in a deep breath, wincing to unsuccessfully deal with the pain. He lifted a heavy hand to the wound on his chest and lightly traced his fingers over the blood stained cloth pulled tightly over it to stop the bleeding. Looking at it through the dim light of a fire, Danny gave an ironic smile, thinking, well; at least I'm not dead.

Groaning, Danny pushed the heels of his feet into the dirt ground to push himself up into a sitting position against a tree. For a second he thought he was going to either pass out again or throw up because his head was spinning so fast. He had to wait a few nauseating seconds with his eyes closed to let the dizziness die down.

Opening his eyes and looking around, Danny slowly took in his surroundings. He grinned when seeing both Sam and Tucker sleeping soundly beside him. They had safely been rescued by Theo, which made the ghost boy happy as ever. They were going to be great help for the last three gods they were going to encounter. Danny knew Sam was going to enjoy the history of this time period.

Thinking the black silhouette of the person eating rabbit meat pieces by the fire was Theo because of the pointy ears, Danny had to do a double take on Rhodes. "Theo?" Danny asked dumbly, leaning forward to make sure his eyes weren't betraying him.

Jumping from the surprise, Rhodes hastily shoved his straw hat back onto his head. Fixing his toga in the back, the boy said to Danny, "I'm not Theo. My name is Rhodes. I was held hostage by someone named Vlad and your friends let me stay with them because I have no where else to go. Sorry if I frightened you."

"No, I just mistook you for Theo because of your ears," Danny said, confused now. He rose to shaky legs, stiffly walked close to Rhodes, and plopped down beside the boy. He didn't want to wake his friends.

"What do you mean?" Rhodes asked with a nervous laugh. "I don't have ears like Theo."

"They were pointy," Danny said hopelessly.

"Maybe you were just dizzy," Rhodes said critically. "Have some food," he said, cutting off the old subject of his ears. He gave Danny a stick with pieces of the rabbit meat on them, already cooked.

Danny chewed on his dinner silently, too hungry to focus on a conversation. When done with his first stick, Rhodes handed him a new one with a grin and then went back to his own food. Finishing off his third stick of the meat, Danny sighed with a full stomach.

"I knew the fish Theo caught wouldn't last long with a camp of five starving teens," Rhodes said with a roll of his eyes.

"Are you telling me you caught a rabbit, skinned it, and then cooked it all by yourself?" Danny asked the boy.

"Yeah…so?" Rhodes answered hesitantly. "Isn't that what normal boys my age do?"

"Yeah, when their like teens and hunting is their life," Danny said. He looked Rhodes up and down before asking, "How old are you?"

"Nine…no…ten…wait, I'm eleven!" Rhodes answered in a rush of jumbled words. Danny raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Sulking after his pathetic answer, Rhodes pulled the brim of his hat down so Danny couldn't see his face anymore.

"Okay," Danny said slowly. He continued his semi interrogation on the boy by asking, "And what does the name Rhodes mean?"

Rhodes lifted his hat up with a knuckle. He locked eyes with Danny and told him seriously, "It means roses."

"Roses?" Danny repeated.

"Yes," Rhodes said with a nod.

"What kind of a cruel mother would call her boy the name of a flower?" Danny blurted out.

Rhodes frowned deeply. "I like my name," he defended himself. "And flowers are pretty." Grasping for words, he only came up lamely with, "Girls like them."

"They die in two days if you give them to girls," Danny said with a laugh. "I don't know why girls believe they are romantic."

"Most of the time it's the thought that matters," Rhodes explained quite seriously. "But girls like stuff that are pretty and smell good. And if you know a girl's favorite kind of flower, I'm sure they will love you for a much longer time than the two days the flowers are alive." Smiling slyly, Rhodes added, "Do you know Sam's favorite flower?"

Danny's eyes went wide in surprise of this kid's words. How could he possibly know that he had a crush on Sam? Only girls had that power to detect things like that. Maybe he was just guessing and got it right somehow. But still, it was strange how this conversation had come to this touchy subject.

Cheeks turning red, Danny quickly said, "Sam? She has a favorite flower? She likes flowers? Ha! The girl would probably burn them if I gave her some." The teen scratched the back of his neck out of nervous habit.

Rhodes gave Danny a knowing sweet smile, dropping the subject for the sake of Danny's privacy. The two dropped into silence, staring into the hot embers of the fire beside them. The smoke made Danny's eyes sting and water, but it was a real, tangible feeling that at this point Danny didn't mind.

Even with so many ghost hunting adventures under his belt, Danny felt like this one was somehow different. He was learning and feeling new things. Just a week and a half ago he was miserable and clueless as to what to do. He had missed his family and friends. Now he didn't even mind sitting next to a complete stranger and was used to the strange world he was stuck in. He felt like he was growing, becoming stronger somehow.

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Danny thought to himself with a smile.

A/N: Okay, so school starts on the 5th. It will be my last year (FINALLY!), so I've got an Advanced Placement English class and two Honors classes. I focus a lot on my studies. That means less time writing. My weekly updates might have to change to once every two weeks. Sorry. So I might not be able to update next Friday. If so, see you in two weeks! And yes, I hate school too.