Chapter 21

Another Halfa

It seemed like an eternity before the Fenton RV broke through the boundaries of the ghost zone into the cool air of humanity. It was odd to see the world around him, and it made him feel like what happened was more and more in his past. That wasn't the only call to reality however. What hit them was a rainstorm. The clouds were dark and thick, and thunder boomed around everywhere. Danny had heard that weather always reflected the events of human lives, and now he was certain it was true.

Nothing really had changed much. Taylor was still fitfully unconscious, muttering incoherently and shooting of laser beams randomly. Jazz had used a soothing cream upon her head to calm her, and so far she was faring well. Sam and Mike were sitting down near the controls, talking deeply about some sort of a band. Jazz and Tucker were on the other side of the RV, most likely checking to make sure it hadn't been damaged in the hasty getaway.

They would take Taylor to her house, where her parents would be home the next day. It seemed as if the Hecter's were always busy with their jobs, too busy to notice the disappearance of their teenage daughter. Danny watched as fat clear raindrops hit the window of the RV, and smiled grimly. Jazz had told their parents that they were on a camping trip, all the better to keep his identity a secret. He felt the familiar pang of guilt he often felt, a guilt that had driven him to watch Taylor every waking moment to make sure she was alive. Everything was for him, to keep him safe. He didn't want it, he never did. It was so selfish, but yet everyone wanted it. . .to keep Danny Phantom alive and well. Danny got up and began to pace fitfully.

"Danny?"came Jazz's voice from behind him. Danny turned to see Jazz looking a bit nervous.

"We're landing in a few minutes. . . would you mind possibly. . .if you could go ghost and make us intangible?" Her voice was twinged with worry and foreboding. This somehow made Danny feel even more annoyed.

"Well, at least my powers can do something helpful for once." he muttered darkly, raising his hands and turning into Danny Phantom. Danny left a very saddened looking Jazz and went out side the RV. He held his hands to it and closed his eyes. It became intangible quickly, like the wave reaction when a pebble hit a cool pond of water. Thunder flickered around him as the RV slowly came to a stop.

When he turned around, they were in front of Taylor's large white house. Danny transformed back into his human side, and then watched as his three friends emerged like smoke from the RV, Mike holding Taylor carefully. Tucker soon followed him.

"I'll take her." Danny said, picking up Taylor in his arms. He felt her cold body against his warmer one, and for a moment he wanted to give her all of his warmth, anything to keep her alive . . .

"Inside. . . and fast. . ." Jazz ordered with a look to the threatening sky above. For once Danny didn't mind being ordered around by her.

The kids all walked up to Taylor's front door. Danny had a spare key to the house that Taylor had given him, so he was able to unlock the door and get into the dry regal house. It looked dark, as no lights were on. Jazz fumbled with a light switch, and a few dim lights spun into action around the house.

Danny had regained his own strength. He was now able to stand and walk without feeling dizzy. Jazz had used an ecto scanner, making him use a special wash to clean the impurities from his blood. It was utterly amazing how good he felt without so much ectoplasm inside of him. You could feel when something that unsettling was within you, and it wasn't a very nice feeling at all. Danny could only imagine how Taylor felt.

The kids ascended the stairs, Danny holding Taylor in his arms. Her skin had grown pale, and her breathing was shallow. She'd recovered moderately, but there was no way of telling what real pain she was in until she woke up. Danny looked down at her teary eyed. He'd never felt like such a failure in his life until now, and seeing her so sick was unsettling and horrible to endure.

"It'll be okay Taylor," he promised in a low whisper, watching as puffs of red smoke floated gracefully out of her mouth. Seeing so much red made Danny feel uncomfortable. Dark Danny, the very older version of himself, had breathed a red ghost scent, and he didn't like that she had the same result.

He knew that there was some sort of wicked darkness that lived inside of her. It was like a monster under a deep calm lake. The monster thrashed, rippling the water, causing it to become wavy. Then it would settle once it captured a meal, and stay that way for awhile until it became restless again. Danny knew of this, though it wasn't always easy to admit. Could that part of her personality be showing in her ghost powers? He hoped not.

Danny followed the familiar path up to her room. The whole wall was red and white stripes, and in the middle a long strand of white wood. Below the wood was nothing but white, and lower floor molding. It gave her house an elegant sort of look. Danny smiled in memory; Taylor had told him how she single handedly decorated her house.

Finally they came to her room. Like all the other doors in her house, it was white, looking very regal with its large brass knob. Danny tried to open the door with his free hand, but it was locked. Grumbling darkly, he tried three more times. However, the last time, something odd happened. A large hologram of Tucker's head popped out from the small lock of the door.

"Password please." came his echoing voice, his holographic face smiling blankly at nothing in particular. Danny scoffed and looked behind him to see Tucker grinning guiltily.

"What is this?" he snarled. Jazz looked to Tucker as if to warn him. Danny's mood was darker than usual, and he was not to be pushed any further.

"It's a lock I installed for Taylor. . . to keep someone out of her room." Tucker said, looking up at Mike accusingly. He figured that it would be easier to pin the blame on him.

Now on the spot, Mike shook his head.

"I'm just looking out for my sis, okay? Apparently I actually needed to. . ." he responded to Tucker, referring to the tragedy that had occurred just hours before. He looked at him darkly, then back to Danny.

"Would you guys stop arguing and help me out?" Danny said a bit louder than he meant to. Sam crossed her arms and glared at him a bit, not enjoying his new attitude. Danny took the hit, and felt a bit bad. He didn't mean to act this way, but he was just too mad that this happened to one of his friends . . .especially Taylor.

"Just say Snarly Worms three times. . ." Tucker answered nervously.

Everyone looked at Tucker skeptically, and Danny forgot his anger for a moment.

"What?" Danny asked, suddenly not sure if Tucker was well.

"Just trust me dude."

Danny looked back to the door, eyeing it oddly.

"Snarly worms. . .Snarly worms. . .Snarly worms. . ." he said, confusion evident.

The holographic face of Tucker grinned and nodded.

"Access Accepted! Welcome to Taylor's Abode!"

"Nice word choice. . ." Danny muttered sarcastically. Tucker shrugged, and Danny made his way into Taylor's room. He never realized before, but it was extremely nice. . .Now even nicer, considering the conditions they had been in just last night.

It was a large rectangular room. At one end there was the white marble fireplace with a few blue and white chairs in front of it. Because Taylor was a reader there was a bookshelf, and to the left there was her bathroom. He recalled Taylor telling him about its new, unfamiliar sent, and she brought a bunch of thick smelling candles to make it more homey. . . and it worked. The room smelled of warm cinnamon . . . and the bathroom smelled like waterfresh shampoo. It was all sky blue and white, her favorite colors, besides black of course. Her parents would never permit her to have a black room. In the center of the opposite wall was her large bed. It was made entirely of white down fabric, that puffed up when it became warm. Danny inhaled the warm comforting scent and placed Taylor on her bed. He pulled the fluffy covers up to her chin.

Following him was a disheveled Jazz, her normally perfect hair astray. Danny couldn't believe it, but then again, her sister was human. This was one of the seldom times he got to see this raw side of her, the side every person in the room possessed. Behind her were Mike and Sam. They both seemed to be close. Now that Danny could think, he remembered how close they were on the RV, how much they talked. Both looked equally as tired, unrestrained worry evident as they took in Taylor's fragile appearance. Tucker came soon after. He looked nonchalant and unfazed as usual. Danny came to cherish and appreciate this side of Tucker, always calm when everyone needed it the most.

Danny forced a smile, and then sat beside Taylor's bed. She had an extensive book selection. Danny had added a bunch of NASA books to it, which she enjoyed as well. Sometimes they would sit up in her room for hours, reading, enjoying each others company.

The others had already found their seats. They didn't really have to say a thing to each other. . .all knew what would happen if Taylor didn't wake up soon. Together they would wait, just like it was with everything. Feeling guiltier by the second, Danny reached for Taylor's shelf, grabbing a book and flipping through it with shaking hands.

Jazz noticed his disease and sauntered up to him.

"Danny, none of this was your fault. . . understand?" There was no need to greet him, for she knew that he needed straightforwardness more than anything else. Danny responded by lifting his bright blue eyes to meet hers, trembling for a moment as he tried to speak.

"Shh. . ." she said gently, placing a finger over his mouth.

"No one here blames you for anything Danny," said Sam with a gentle smile to her friend. Mike and her had retreated to Taylor's small reading nook.

"Yeah dude. .. Chill." agreed Tucker as he fumbled with his PDA.

Danny felt suddenly on the edge. He didn't know whether to sob, or to shout, wanting so bad to strike out. Jazz sat beside him and put an arm around him cautiously.

"Danny. . . Taylor saved your life for a reason. . ."

Danny looked up at her, suddenly feeling like a child looking onto a parent as his older sister eyed him tenderly.

"She wouldn't want you to be so upset. . .as a matter of fact, all I've ever seen her want is your happiness."

Danny scoffed, feeling his anger build again as he looked to a frail Taylor.

"Happiness? What would make me happy is going to pound Vlad's face in!" Danny snarled violently, wanting tot ride to Wisconsin right now. To think that Vlad was capable of such an atrocity was low, and the fact that he did it to perhaps the person Danny cared about the most made it even worse.

"I think Taylor already has that covered. . ." said Mike with a knowing look to his sister. He watched as she shivered a bit through her sheets and groaned incoherently. Danny knew he was referring to her vengeful nature. . . and somehow remembering her slyness comforted him.

"Yeah. . ." Danny said, a twisted smirk forming on his face. Heaven help Vlad now that she was a ghost. . .and then it hit him. . .

Taylor was a ghost. . .

And then he waited for her to wake.

Just as he looked over, he spotted her eyelids. He gasped as they fluttered open, revealing a dark red for a moment.

"Ugh. .. " she groaned. When she blinked, her eyes turned neon green, then back to the beautiful honey color Danny had grown to love.

"TAYLOR!" Danny shouted. He couldn't contain his enthusiasm, and he lunged at her. Taylor gasped in pain as his body hit hers, but she smiled all the same.

"Danny!" she gasped, her voice sounded like a gag.

The rest of the team had ran over, the same look of happiness on their faces. Taylor saw them and smiled, the best she could when she felt so tired.

"Th-"

"Sh. . ." Danny said, silencing her.

He wanted nothing more than to know she was okay, but he knew what she needed, and that was rest.

"But. . ."

"Just go to sleep now Taylor. . . We'll be here when you wake up. . I promise."

Danny took her hand in his, and she felt her apply pressure in an attempt to squeeze it.

"How did you find us?" Taylor asked weakly. There were so many things she wanted to know.Her voice was hoarse and worn, and she barely made a sound, even in the quiet of her bedroom. Danny looked up from his NASA Space Travels book and found her eyes. He held her gaze as long as he could, and then closed his book quietly.

"We'd put a homing signal on Danny awhile ago. . . and when he didn't return the next morning well, I called your brother." Sam answered with a strained smile to the weak girl in front of her. She tried to keep her voice even, mature, but Danny could see through the strong wall she had put up, into the scared child behind it.

"And then, we found you and Danny. . .and. . ." Mike walked up behind Sam and silenced her with a gentle touch of her shoulder. Sam turned and looked at him with incomprehensible fear. He slowly put both of his strong hands on her shoulders and he looked deep into her pools of lavender eyes.

"Everything is going to be fine Sam." he assured, taking her into his arms and stroking her hair. Danny smiled as he watched them. He knew that Sam was in good hands, and truth be told he was glad that he and Sam were becoming closer. Sam was his best friend, and if she really did like him well. . . he would never want to hurt her, no matter how powerful his feelings were for Taylor. However, she seemed to have moved on.

Taylor groaned a bit and stretched, her muscles feeling weak and numb. Some part of her wondered if she really was living, or if this was just a dream that death brought.

"I feel like I'm dead. . ." she said with a twisted smile, looking around at all of her friends. Every so often, a small red puff of smoke would issue from her mouth, and she would become cold. She drew her covers closer to her and looked up at Danny, who was leaning beside her on her bed, taking her hand and slowly playing with her fingers. He noticed her eyes and smiled lightly.

"Well, technically you are half dead. . ." he reminded her with a playful nudge. Taylor smirked a bit at the joke and rolled her large brown eyes at Danny. Danny had missed that so much, he almost bursted with joy.

"And so are you." she reminded him. She took his hand gently and felt its coldness beneath her fingers. Sam looked away, a frown on her face as she eyed Tucker, who was in the back of the room replaying the very moment Taylor had received her powers.

"Man. . . and I thought I had it bad when I broke my arm when I was three. . . " He looked up from his musings at an amused Taylor. Tucker didn't understand how she could deal with so much pain,

"Did it hurt as much as it looks like it did?"

Taylor nodded her head around in thought, lips pulled back, eyes to the side, then she gave Tucker a reasonably curious look.

"Actually. . .I can't remember. . . " she said slowly, prying her mind for any thoughts. All she could really remember was Danny's eyes, large and neon, then a sharp tingling sensation. . .then the dark shadows, the look of terror on Vlad's face as he mumbled something nervously into the restlessness of the stadium. It was nerve wracking to think too much, so Taylor exhaled slowly and opened her eyes to see her arm doing a familiar magic trick.

"All I know is that my arm keeps disappearing."

She gestured to her thin arm, which kept fading in and out of focus. Not used to the sight, Taylor cringed and looked away, trying not to throw up as the unsettling images settled in her brain. It was a sharp reminder of what had just happened hours ago, and again, she didn't want to think about what the future held.

"That might happen for awhile. . . "Danny said with a shy smile. He remembered how it was when he first got his powers. He had stumbled through his first year of school, new powers plopping up randomly, him trying to figure out what they were. . . And then it really hit him. . . Taylor was a Halfa, just like him. He didn't think he could ever become closer to her, but suddenly he was. She was the same species of him. . .a freak like he was. . . and some sick part of him was enjoying it.

This isn't anything to get excited over Danny. . .

Still, he couldn't help but think of all the things he and Taylor could do together now. They could fly together, torture all the popular kids, hunt Skulker. . . hunt ghosts. Taylor noticed the grin that had formed so suddenly on his face, and she looked up at him with slight annoyance.

"Earth to Danny." she said weakly.

Dannyyy

Danny looked down at her and shrugged. He gave her a sheepish look.

"Wha- oh well, I was just thinking. . ."

"Thinking what?"

She was interested now. Whenever Danny got like that it was for a good reason. His mind worked brilliantly, and any plan or thought he had would entertain her. Taylor leaned up on her pillows, trying not to lose her balance as a dizziness took over.

"What is your name going to be?" Danny asked slowly, a smile spreading across his pale visage as he sold his idea.

"My name?" Taylor gave Danny a confused look.

"Her name?"Jazz looked up from her psychology book, down at Danny with skepticism.

"As in a super-hero name?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you think you should ask Taylor if she wants this? And I think you should wait. . . "Jazz looked to Taylor's weak body back up to Danny.

"This might be too much for her to-"

"Yes. . .that's brilliant Danny!" answered Taylor before Jazz could talk about the issue further. Taylor looked livelier than they had seen in a few hours. She sat up higher on her bed, her color flooding back into her cheeks.

"We both could fight ghosts. Who needs just one hero anyway! It's like a track team. . . you need to have five great runners to really kick butt!"

"Yeah.. right well. . ." Danny started, not knowing the slightest about track, but taking her word for it.

"It should be something ghostly. . . something . . .spectral." she continued, her eyes bright as she began to think.

Danny tried to think, and then he was awakened by his musings by Derrick.

"Spectral. . .. Spectra. . .Spectra?" Mike offered with a pleased look on his face.

"No no. . .that's already another ghosts name . . ." Danny informed with a shake of his head. . .

Spectra . .. Spectora . . .Specter. . ." Danny said slowly, trying to think of a name.

Sam's eyes widened as she got the idea.

"Hecter, Specter." she declared brightly.

"Taylor Specter!" Taylor finished with a proud smile, looking to Danny. The look she gave him was of pure love and joy. She blushed as she reached for him, an unusual gesture for her. Danny grinned and embraced her, trying not to crush her with his weight.

". . .But this doesn't mean I'm the sidekick at all." came her muffled voice from beneath him. She couldn't imagine being a passive follower. . .and she was never going to make up stupid puns. Danny however chuckled and held her tighter, Taylor feeling warmer as his embrace melted into her.

"I wouldn't dream of it. . ."

My internet is totally down. I have to use my bros computer to get this in. I've also been really busy as usual. . I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter was poor. . . I didn't really have too much time to write it. Gah this fanfiction stuff can get hard XD But I mustered up the gumption to come down here one in the morning because I know Moonlight Umbreon, who happens to be the greatest author on reviews my stories and "awaits more chapters" XD So thanks to my number one reviewer, Moonlight Umbreon!. . .this chapter is only here because of you XD

Night everyone!

Elusive Visionary-