Chapter Fifteen - Truth Eliminated

Eliminate.

Valerie's head jolted as the new ghost just casually said Vlad's new clones were there to eliminate Danny. Danny, who just had a syringe, jabbed into him as he was held off the ground.

"We would like to retrieve that sample," the male ghost looked at the syringe gleefully.

Jazz tensed at the words, and Valerie started planning a way to get up the stairs and to her suite. Whatever the ghosts were planning to do to Danny, she was going to stop it.

Jack yelled, and Danny's Aunt began to fire off bullets. The lead was useless. However, the distraction was not. Valerie ran up the stairs, barely catching a flash of light as she got to the top of the stairs. Her eyes looked forensic as she continued towards the bathroom and her suit.

Danny had gone through the ghost holding him and began fighting the other ghost. The effort from him using ghost abilities had him sweating. Valerie turned and grabbed her suit band and slapped it on her hand. Unfortunately, by the time the suit finished rebounding to her, Danny was gone.

She really wished she could just phase through the wall like she had been doing six hours ago. She opened Danny's window and shot into the afternoon sky.

She opened her tracker on her arm and felt her heart drop as it showed no nearby signatures.

"No, no, NO!" Valerie growled.

Her dad! His scanner would find these ghosts instantly. Her phone was at her ear the second the thought hit her.

"Dad! DAD!" she spoke as quickly as she heard the line be picked up. "There are two ghosts. You have to track them and tell me their location!"

"Valerie, are you trying to hunt these ghosts?" he asked impatiently.

"They took Danny!" Valerie yelled.

"What?! Valerie, I'm going to get the scanner now. Who were these ghosts? What happened?" he asked.

She explained the past ten minutes in a rushed tone as she checked her own scanner, hoping anything would show up.

"Val…" her father cut her off as she finished. His tone was off, and with a start, she realized he was scared. "Danny… was he still sick when Vlad's clones grabbed him?"

"Yeah, he looked terrible," Valerie answered. "Dad, where are they? What if…? I need to get to Danny now!"

"Val… I only see two signatures," his voice was quiet. "Danny has an ectosignature like you."

"What… from the ghost flu?" Valerie became impatient, "It doesn't matter… where are they?!"

"I don't think you can save him Val…" her father informed her.

"Dad!" she snapped undeterred. "Where are they?!" she repeated.

There was a long pause where Valerie felt her whole body tense up. He wouldn't… he couldn't keep this from her?

"He is near the bridge on the river," her father replied. "Val… please…"

She had already propelled her board forward at top speed, "I'll be safe, Dad, I promise."

Valerie put away her phone right as the green haired girl came into view. She was shaking Danny like a ragdoll by his head as the other halfa screamed something. His glazed eyes focused on her right before she shot the girl at close range. Unfortunately, Danny's body fell through her hands as Valerie evaded a green blade.

The air was charged with ectoplasm as she dove after Danny. As she got closer, she realized one of the ghosts had cut off his hand. Finally, only a dozen feet from the ground, she grabbed his uninjured left arm and pulled her to her.

"Danny…" your hand…" she stared in shock at his nearly motionless form. He was going into shock, or maybe he already was in it. He was losing too much blood. She had to get him to help.

"Well, well, well," Valerie jerked at the approaching ghost, and she realized without a doubt that they had let her save Danny. "What do we have here? We were just talking about getting some hostages to force you. And look who appears. The traitor."

Danny gasped as she sped away, but it was short-lived as they closed in, and the male ghost stopped in front of her. "Let go of him, Huntress, you can't outfly us." He held up an energy covered hand, "And you're outmatched."

"Says you…" Valerie tried distracting.

"Let er' go," Danny murmured in a quiet tone, shocking Valerie.

Both ghosts jumped at her, and Valerie screamed as a plasma covered hand burned through her suit.

"That depends entirely on you, Phantom." Valerie froze her struggling and looked up, "Transform, and she goes free."

Bright, white rings formed at his midsection. Very familiar rings that she had seen on Danielle and Vlad. They traveled away from Danny's midsection before sputtering out over the very bottom of the logo on his chest. Danny's whole body slumped lifelessly.

Danny was Phantom.

"Val… go," Danny couldn't lift his head.

"Blaze, let her go," and he did, but Valerie ignored them as she stared at Danny.

"Let Danny go," she hardly recognized her own voice demanding them.

"No," the female ghost didn't even look at Val before grabbing his head and running her blade across Danny's exposed neck.

Valerie didn't remember trying to reach Danny, but the male ghost, Blaze, had pulled her back as he exclaimed, "You couldn't even cut it cleanly off?"

The very human body hung from a section of skin briefly before it was released. Valerie watched in horror as Danny's body fell down towards the Emerton River below them.

"Let's go," were the last words Val heard before she was hit on the side of her neck, and her vision faded.

"Valerie!" she awoke to Jazz leaning over her. The older girl's phone had the very familiar sound of her father screaming. Jazz lifted it to her ear, "She's okay, Mr. Gray, they just knocked her out."

Valerie stared at Jazz and could only see Danny hanging midair from the girl's hand. His red blood coated the dark green blade.

"He was Phantom," Valerie said out loud in a daze.

The phone hit the ground, and Valerie looked up to see Jasmine Fenton starting in shock. That didn't seem like the right reaction to finding out your brother was Danny Phantom. Then it dawned on her right as Jazz started crying. Valerie had used past tense.

"What happened to Danny?" a slow, steady stream of tears trailed down her cheeks.

The words were right there, but Valerie felt like they refused to come out. Jazz started crying even harder as her father's voice drifted up from the ground. Valerie could hear the blood pounding in her ears.

"Please… where is he?" Jazz begged.

Swallowing her own grief, Valerie said, "They tried forcing him to turn in Phantom for a blood sample, then they… his neck was cut."

Sniffing Jazz wiped her eyes, "Valerie, he might be able to heal. We have to find him."

How could Valerie tell Danny's sister that Phantom had never healed anything like that? That he had practically been decapitated in front of her. Instead, Valerie picked up the phone from the ground.

"Let's see if we can find him," Valerie gave a nod before holding the phone to her ear. "Dad, do you see any signatures near the river?"

"Val…" her dad's voice was thick with worry. "Vlad's clones left you where you are, but I haven't seen any other ectosignatures."

He knew! He had known Danny was Phantom

Valerie's anger surfaces before deflating completely. "Have you seen any signatures that might be him?" She took a breath, swallowing any remaining anger. "That might be Phantom?" she clarified.

"No," his voice was soft, gentle, and fully aware of Jazz listening to every word feet away from Valerie. "His signature was already low from him getting that ghost illness. I didn't think he was even there when I told you their location."

"Where are they now?" Valerie asked with a jolt.

"Master's mansion, but their signatures already have changed. They caught the illness," Damon informed.

"Good, maybe they will give it to…" Valerie's breath caught. She wanted to go there. To fight Plasmius, to fight the ghosts that had done that to Danny.

Her dad misinterpreted her tone, "I will monitor the signatures. See if anything pops up. Go with Jazz back to the Fentons. I'm already changing my flight."

"Thanks," Valerie sighed and decided it was best to wait for Vlad to get sick if she were to attack him.

She held out Jazz's phone and looked at the girl's determined face, knowing what was going to come out of her mouth.

"I can't go home," Jazz explained. "He has survived so much. I just… I have to find him."

"We can use my board," Valerie swallowed and closed her eyes against the image of Danny again. "He fell into the river."

Jazz pulled a hair tie out as Valerie summoned her board. The older girl was almost too big for her board to handle the extra weight. They were silent as they skimmed the water for hours.

There was nothing, no sign of him anywhere. The river quietly flowed in an ominous manner. Both girls were too terrified to say what may lie beneath its surface. Her dad didn't call back, which surprised Valerie since he must be watching her signature like a hawk.

Sam and Tucker passed them a few times, and Valerie could have sworn see saw the GAV, but she quickly turned. She could not face any of them right now. Jazz was enough. Apparently, the girl agreed because she ignored the calls from Sam and her parents.

When the sun set, Jazz began to cry again as it became too dark to make anything out. They had failed the biggest ghost hunt of her life. Valerie felt anything but relief.

"I don't know what to tell my parents," Jazz sagged against her car door as they landed. "If I reveal he was Phantom. Oh my gosh… he couldn't fight because of their flu. They will blame themselves."

Valerie hugged herself, letting her suit melt away. There were no words Valerie could offer as she felt her body shake. It took Valerie much too long to realize that she was shaking from her own sobbing.

Datawyrms

Jazz and Valerie ghost hunt together.