Remember what I said at the end of chapter nineteen? It still holds true! I'll be checking my e-mail and fiction stats soon and we'll see what's been going on…!

By the way, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's stuck it out through this whole mess. I know I don't update as much as I probably could but it's my senior year of high school and I've got more work on my plate then I thought I would. So…well, thanks to all those readers who are sticking with me, it really means a lot. And even those of you who have just found this or haven't left a review, thank you too. You guys all rock.

Twenty: A Moments Reprieve

Danny eased himself into wakefulness at what he assumed with the next morning. The RV was vibrating beneath him, bouncing up and down on the road, and the vehicle was filled with light which was probably from the sunlight streaming in through the windows. With a very loud yawn he announced his vigilance to the rest of the passengers and swung himself into a sitting position.

"Afternoon, Lord of Snores," Sam handed the Fenton boy a box filled with six French toast sticks and a thing of syrup, "You missed breakfast at the gas station and now it's cold. Tough luck."

"Thanks for the news flash, Lady of Darkness," Danny retorted a little irritably, cranky, stiff, and sore, "Where's the thermos?"

"With Vlad in the front seat," Tucker replied, "He woke up a little before you did when Jazz hit a giant pot hole." Danny's blue eyes flashed up to the review mirror briefly and saw his sister scowl at the remark, "Dan's still out of it." The techie jerked a thumb at Danny's future self.

Dan Phantom looked like crap. Even if he was better from last night, he still looked like he should be laying down somewhere other than a jumbling RV. At least he was breathing, that much was okay. Danny turned his gaze away and instead looked at Phantom.

Neon green locked with brilliant blue.

Danny let out a yelp, jumped at least a foot in the air, and scrambled into a scrunched up position in his seat, breathing quickly. Phantom never took his eyes off the Fenton boy. But his expression wasn't angry or filled with the fear and hatred he'd had in the mansion back at Amity Park…it was sad.

"Danny," That single word made silence fall, thick as wet snow in December, upon the occupants. Dan even cracked an eye open. Phantom swallowed, "Danny, this really hurts…you shot me…it hurt…I know it hurt you too…" He took a deep breath, "Darn it all, this is so stupid! Why did we ever get ourselves into this…this…this stupid situation!? Where did we go wrong, Danny!? What did we do that caused this!? I hate this! I hate it!"

"Easy." Dan muttered.

Danny reached up and pushed his bangs from his face, "I know," He muttered dully, an ache building in his chest, "But Sam and Tucker were right," He grinned at them and was happy to see that they rewarded him with a smile in return, "It wasn't our fault. None of it. We shouldn't have been emo-idiots." His grin widened, "Teen-angst does not suit us."

"How ungainly for a hero." Sam nodded and the four teens laughed. Dan closed his eye again and faded back into sleep.

"Hey Vlad, how's that thermos coming?" Danny called up to the front as he clicked a seatbelt on, ripped the top off the container of syrup, and started dunking his brunch in it.

"Very badly!" The man replied hotly. Danny couldn't see him from where he was sitting but from the tones of his voice, the boy figured he should leave the older halfa alone.

"So, almost everything's been sorted out," Tucker stated, scrolling down a list on his PDA, "Except for one thing."

"And what's that?" Sam, Fenton, and Phantom asked all at the same time.

"How we're going to put Fenton and Phantom back together again." Tucker replied, tapping his finger on the screen, "I mean, I've been thinking about it since I woke up and I don't think we could just toss you two through the ghost-catcher thingy to fix you up."

"It's far more complicated than that," Came Vlad's voice from the front again, "But I think I know how to Daniel back together again."

"So that's why you practically flew off the road the other day!" Jazz said with a hint of realization.

"Yes, it was…" Vlad growled back and Jazz subsided, focusing back on the road, "As I was saying, I have an idea of how to solve our little issue. We need to steal the Observants' technology."

Danny spilled the rest of his syrup onto his already dirt and blood stained jeans.

"Are you out of you're mind!?" Phantom shouted, pushing against his seatbelt with agitation, "Steal the Observants' technology!? Have you forgotten that they're probably trying to kill us!?"

"No, Phantom, I'd forgotten that little detail!" Vlad snapped back, "Of course I know they're after us but time is running out and it's the only thing we've got! If you don't like it, fine! Just don't come crying to me when you fall apart!"

There was a loud clang and an eruption of blue light from the front seat causing Jazz to swerve wildly for a moment and jerk everyone around. French toast sticks scattered across the floor.

"Well, it's about time!" Clockwork snorted, arching his back so that it popped, "That feels much better." Red eyes blazed at Phantom, "I'm going to hold you in resentment for that for a while, Phantom."

Phantom smiled sheepishly, "I know."

"Where's my staff?" The old man formed Time Ghost glanced around for it and that groaned as he caught sight of it laying in two pieces in Sam's hands, "Why me?" He growled and took the pieces from her, "Why does it have to be me?"

"It's not always you…" Danny muttered, trying to wipe the syrup off his pants and only succeeding getting bits of napkin stuck to his clothes and irritatingly sticky fingers.

Clockwork made an odd scoffing noise and clasped his hands around the break in his staff, holding the two ends together. There was a swirl of energy and he let the staff go, tossing it to his right hand and floating back to sit by Danny. Danny shivered at the cold waves rolling of the ghost.

"Clockwork, I have an idea," Vlad said in a much calmer voice, "On how to get Fenton and Phantom back together. If I can get at least one of those containment units the Observants used to pull them apart, I may be able to copy it and reverse the effects."

"That's quite a big "if", Plasmius." Clockwork murmured, chewing on his lip with the buck-teeth that came with his toddler form, "But it's the only "if" we've got right now."

"Well before we elaborate on the plan of this "if"," Danny grumbled, "I want a shower and some clean clothes!"

"You're in luck, Little Brother!" Jazz's mood was enlightened with the news they could put her brother back together again, "We're almost to Vlad's place!"

Danny threw his sticky, dirt encrusted, and blood and ectoplasm stained clothes in a pile on the tile floor on top of his filthy bandages. His horrid right arm dangled at his side. He looked at the damage in the mirror, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach as he looked. It hurt to breath and it hurt to move his arm. The pain that came with his DNA tearing apart was the worst thing that had ever happened to him; it had hurt more than being half killed by the ghost portal.

Steam started rising over the top of the shower curtain and Danny tentatively stepped beneath the steaming water, wincing as it ripped upon his injuries. He glanced down at the bottom of the shower and saw trails of brownish-redish-green swirling around the drain. Oh yeah, this shower was much needed. Someone knocked on the door and Danny jumped, yanking on a handful of black hair.

"Y-yeah?"

"Danny, it's Tucker! I got some clothes for you!"

"Uh…just set them on the counter!" Danny was glad that the shower curtain was a thick, green and yellow material. He heard the bathroom door click open and shut again, footsteps on the floor and then the soft whump of clothing hitting the counter.

"Hey…Danny," Tucker sounded tentative.

"What?"

"If you'd gotten home…just a little bit later that day Amethyst and her dad came out of the Ghost Portal…do you think we'd still be here doing this?"

"No…" Danny responded truthfully, "I've asked Clockwork over and over again to send me back in time or rewind time or something, anything, to stop all the crap that happened but he wouldn't do it. He told me I was being selfish and it would ruin the time stream and that it was good for me to understand that the world wasn't as black and white as I wanted it to be."

"Dude, that's deep stuff." Tucker muttered, "And you'd better get out soon 'cause Jazz is almost done with supper."

"Get out of here!" Danny shouted back, punching the shower curtain and spraying water everywhere. He heard laughter and then the door opening and closing again. The only sound came from the water hitting his flesh and the sides of the shower.

Why does it feel like it's raining? He wondered, Why does it always feel like the world's just laughing at you and waiting for you to screw up? Danny reached out and turned the water off, watching the rest of the water trickle away down the drain. Things were hard, life was hard; and it was harder for him than any normal teenager. He was making it hard on his friends and family too.

"Then again, everyone else makes it hard for me…!" He grumbled, snatching his towel from the floor as he stepped out of the shower. As soon as he'd dried himself off, Danny picked through the clothes Tucker had brought him, no doubt provided by Vlad, and wasn't exactly ecstatic with what he saw. Still, it was better than walking around in his filthy clothes that were almost three days old. Danny cringed; gross.

A few minutes later found the Fenton boy shuffling self consciously into the smallest dining room in Vlad's Wisconsin mansion. He was wearing a long sleeved, cream colored shirt with a tight black jacket over it that showed off his slim yet wiry frame, a pair of jean-mimicking black pants, white socks, but held onto his scruffy tennis shoes. There was no way he was giving those up for the stiff black dress shoes Vlad was trying to throw at him. With an evident frown on his face, Danny plopped into a high backed chair and crossed his arms sullenly over his chest.

Tucker was already at the table with his PDA in his hands and his knees propped against the table. It seemed he'd opted for changing as well, seeing as his usual outfit was stained with ectoplasm. The techie was now dressed in a button up, dark green shirt, a hooded, blue jacket thrown over the back of his chair, blue jeans, and his tennis shoes. Danny scowled. How was it that Vlad had found jeans for Tucker but not for the Fenton boy?

"You look a whole lot better now that you've had a shower!" Sam swung into the room from the direction of the kitchen with an armful of plates, "But no less grumpy!" She smiled at him and set the plates down on the table, taking a seat on his left. Her own, ecto-stained clothes had been discarded as well and she was now sporting a black turtle neck that was a shade too big for her, a pair of black pants similar to Danny's, and her familiar combat boots.

"Where're the ghosts?" Danny asked, kicking his feet back and putting his left hand behind his head. His right arm lay across his chest and he ignored the throbbing pain pulsating there.

"Vlad's in his lab setting things up so we can put you and Phantom back together again," Tucker explained, "And I think Phantom's down there with him. And so is Clockwork. They're watching the Ghost Portal to make sure nothing comes out."

"And Dan?" Danny asked hesitantly. He still hated his future self for the trauma Dan had put them all through.

"Well, last time I saw him he was patrolling around the outside of the mansion, on the inside of the ghost shield Vlad threw up." Tucker said, "But when I looked outside a few minutes ago, he wasn't there."

"Clockwork sent him into the Ghost Zone," Sam supplied, "Dan's going to try and steal one of those containment things the Observants used."

Danny's face paled dramatically, "I dunno what's going to be scarier…Dan going head to head with the Observants…or the fact the Dan's actually willing to helping!"

"That's a good point…" Tucker and Sam said at the same time.

Oh geez, I know! It turned out to filler and I'm sorry! But you can bet on some drama in the next one! Dan's going into the Observants' lair for one of their containment units and it's probably not going to be pretty! Hoo-rah!

On the other hand, I checked my e-mail and found I had no alerts for a review left on MIB. But, hey, if you guys don't want a sneak preview that's fine with me. We'll just pretend I never said anything. Just remember that if you do want to see a sneak preview, you have until I post the next chapter to hit twenty reviews (really, that's not asking much) or this deal goes bye-bye!

So thanks for reading and please review!