(Three weeks after the accident...)
It had been three weeks in counting, and Danny felt like he was only half of what he once was.
"Watch it loser!" Dash yelled, pushing Danny out of his way.
Danny groaned slightly as he hit the ground.
"What are you doing here anyways Fen-turd? Can't you see no one wants you here?" Dash shouted, as he continued to go on his way.
Danny forced himself to his feet, glaring at his words, this month alone was without a doubt the worse month of his life.
After Danny was cleared from his spider bite, the Hospital staff allowed him to return to school where Danny tried to keep his promise to Valerie. However, the more he tried the harder it seemed to keep said promise.
It was like life just decided to give him a big old helping of crap, His teachers hated him, his fellow peers hated him, heck if he was really being honest then he would admit that he hated himself too!
Danny dragged his feet to his next class; his mood was dark and getting darker by the minute.
Why couldn't life just give him a break?
Hadn't he suffered enough?
Apparently not!
Danny stopped in front of his fourth period class, completely defeated. 'What am I even doing here?' He asked himself. 'No one wants me here, no one but Valerie.' He realized. 'And she deserves a better friend, and a better ghost fighting partner.' Danny shook his head over the past three week several ghost had attacked the city, and several times he and Valerie tried to stop them. Or more accurately Valerie tried to stop them, and Danny just kept getting in the way.
For example, just after he was release from the hospital for the second time, another ghost bug had emerged. This one was a large scorpion with a stinger as long as a 50 ft. garden hoes, and with a fierce temper to match.
Danny and Valerie decided to try to take down the monster together.
It started off okay, Danny, and Valerie managed to isolate the beast in the park away from any civilians.
But that's when everything went wrong.
"Okay Danny the first thing we need to do is neutralize his claws." Valerie said as they both dodged the snapping claws of the enemy.
Danny nodded, and went for the left claw, as Valerie went for the right. "Okay I can do this." Danny said to himself. "This is what I do, heroes save the day." He whispered using the Spector Defector's to cuff the left claw closed.
'Hero's don't Cheat, Villains do.'
Danny winced as his sister's words tore through him like a hurricane.
Suddenly the scorpion screeches and uses his cuffed claw to club Danny in the head.
Danny yelps, as he receives the full blow, and goes crashing down into the sand. His fall created a crater in its wake. Danny rubbed his head, moaning.
Valerie swerve to avoid the same fate, and used her ecto-whip to tie the other claw closed. "It's okay Danny I got this one!" She called, before pulling out her ecto-sword which she used to cut of the creatures tale, disarming it of its poisonous stinger. She then pulled out the Fenton thermos which sucked the bug up in seconds. "Wahoo." She breathed a sigh of relief as she landed beside Danny. "Man, that was intense, Are you ok?" She asked offering Danny her hand.
"Yeah I guess." Danny said taking her hand. "Sorry about that, I don't know what got into me."
"It's okay." Valerie assured him. "I'm not use to fighting with anyone, and you're not use to fighting with someone besides Tucker, and Sam." She reasoned. "We'll find a good tempo, it's just gonna take some time."
However, if she was right, then Danny had yet to see evidence of it. Five more ghost bugs appeared throughout the weeks after that. From, beetles, to roaches, to centipedes, to giant termites, and strangely enough even an army of ant descended upon the city.
And each and every time something around him would trigger a memory of someone he had lost, and then bam! The Enemy would hit him while he was distracted, and Valerie would have to come to his rescue.
"Man, I wonder where all these bugs are coming from." Valerie had said as she helped Danny to his feet, AGAIN!
"Sorry I keep messing up." He had mumbled.
"It's okay." Valerie assured him. "We'll find our rhythm; I just know it."
Danny shook the memory away as the late bell sounded around him. "Great now I'm-"
"Tardy again Mr. Fenton?" Mrs. Wade asked, standing in front of the classroom door.
"Sorry." Danny mumbled, though he really wasn't sure if he actually cared anymore.
Mrs. Wade shook her head. "Honestly Mr. Fenton, if you're not going to show up at my class on time then why do you bother showing up at all?"
Danny just pushes past her, and takes his seat in the back of the class.
Mrs. Wade sighs, and closes the door, and addresses the class. "Alright class, now that everyone is here let's begin with today's lesson about Eger Allen Poe."
"This is all your fault Fen-turd." Dash whispered, turning around in his seat to look at him. "Even Mr. Lancer's poetry was more bearable then this."
Danny gritted his teeth, and tried to focus on the teacher, as she began to write some lines of literature on the board.
"I mean honestly why couldn't you just do us all a favor and blown up the school." Dash went on.
"Yeah." Kwan agreed, "At least then you would have gotten rid of a place we didn't like."
"THAT'S IT!" Danny screamed, standing up.
"Mr. Fenton!" Mrs. Wade begun.
"No!" Danny yelled. "Don't you Mr. Fenton me! I know you can hear what they are saying to me! What they've been saying since I got back!"
Mrs. Wade grimaced at his words, confirming his suspicions.
"I didn't kill them!" Danny screamed. "The restaurant exploded! I made a mistake, and it is hard enough living with it without all of you dissing on me!" He continued to yell. "So shut up! Don't talk to me, don't look at me! Just leave me alone!"
The classroom goes silent around him, as tears stream down his face.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." He mumbled, his legs feeling weak at the knees.
Mrs. Wade sighed, looking almost sorry for him. "Mr. Fenton maybe you should go see the new school counselor, he's more experienced with these kind of things."
Danny goes to tell her off, but is interrupted by his ghost sense. 'Oh, great more humiliation.' He thought.
Suddenly Valerie comes bursting into the room, and grabs Danny by the arm. "Sorry Mrs. Wade, but Danny and I have an extra credit project to finish, so we've got to go!" She explained, pulling Danny out of the room.
Mrs. Wade just blinks, stunned for a moment; before she shakes it off and continues her lesson.
"Val wait!" Danny exclaimed, but Valerie continued to pull him along until they were outside. "Val what's going on?"
"That is!" Valerie pointed to the sky.
Danny looks up and gasped as he see Skulker straddled on top of a flying ecto-grasshopper. "Skulker!" He yelled, changing into his ghost form.
"Trod!" Skulker exclaimed. "How do you like my new Pet?" he asked.
"Seriously? You're the one who's been sending these bugs after me?" Danny snapped. "Why?"
"Well, I've been making some updates to my Armor, and I needed to see you in battle so I could put up proper counter measures. Only to come to find that you've seemed to have lost your fighting spirit!"
"I haven't lost anything!" Danny yelled, however Skulker soon proves otherwise.
"Yeah you tell him." Valerie said, as she appeared beside him, all suit up. "We can take him Danny."
"Wait a minute." Skulker looks confused. "Since when did you and the ghost hunting girl team up?"
Danny winced at his words.
"Trod, where are your annoying sidekicks?" He asked. "You know the nerd with the device, and that goth girl."
Danny felt his chest seize up. "I…they're…not here." He stammered.
"Aw did the ghost boy and his little human friends get in a fight?" Skulker teased. "Well good if you ask me they were only holding you back! A real warrior needs no one, especial some meat suits getting in the way. "
"Shut up!" Danny yelled, throwing his ecto-blast at the enemy. "No one gets to talk about them like that! No One!"
The blast sends Skulker flying off his new pet, and on to the ground with a large bang.
"There's that fighting spirit!" Skulker said with a smile, and leaps towards his foe!
Valerie dives out of the way, and pulls out her blaster, aiming for the enemy, but she can't lock on due to his fast movement.
Danny dodges the hunter's first blow with ease only for the hunter to pull out a new toy. Danny screamed as a green ecto rope wraps around him, and electrocutes him.
"Danny!" Valerie aims, and fires!
Skulker laughs, and turns intangible, allowing the blast to go right through him, he then fires a cannon of his own, throwing a net on her in seconds.
Valerie screamed as the net zapped her, she crumbles, defeated and close to passing out.
"Val!" Danny yelled, he tries to escape and help her, but his efforts are in vain.
"Oh, come on your not even trying." Skulker says displeased. "I have several traps more advanced than this one and you've escaped them with ease!"
Danny screamed louder, and tried to summon his strength. 'I have to save her!' he told himself.
'Why so you can get her killed too?' Sam's voice asked.
Danny looked to his right, and saw her standing there, disappointment clouded her face. He knew it was a hallucination, but he couldn't help but wince.
'Yeah like you did to us?' Tucker agreed as he appeared to his left.
"It wasn't my fault!" Danny yelled. "It wasn't me!"
'Oh, so we cheated on that test!' Sam's voice scoffed.
'Classic Danny, never taking responsibility for his actions.' Tucker said with a roll of his eyes.
"Sam, Tucker!" Danny yelled. "Please!"
"What can we do?" Tucker asked. "We're dead!"
"And it's all your fault." Sam snapped. "Man, sometimes I wish I had never met you!"
"Stop Please!" Danny screamed.
"What a shame!" Skulker snapped the ecto-rope off of his enemy, a look of disappointment on his face. "You really are broken." He watched as Danny fell to the ground below. "Enjoy the rest of your pathetic life Trod."
Danny winced through his blurry vision somewhat confused, as he returns to his human form. "You're not going to skin me or something."
"As if!" Skulker looked disgusted with the sight of him, and he was. "What kind of hunter takes pride in hunting broken prey, you're not sporting anymore. Only a weakling would hang your pelt on their wall with pride." He said before flying off, and out of sight.
Danny watched him go, completely defeated.
"Danny?" Valerie forced herself to her feet, though every fiber of her being begged her to stay down. "Are you okay?"
Okay?
How could he be okay?
His life was already over, and now he was so pathetic that not even Skulker wanted anything to do with him!
How was anything okay?
Valerie finally gets herself free, and limps as fast as she can to Danny's aid. "It's okay, we'll get him next time." She assured him.
"No, you will." Danny said.
"You'll get there I promise." Valerie said, not quite getting what he was saying.
"No, I won't!" Danny snapped, and with a sigh he says. "Look Val I really appreciate all you've done for me, but I don't think I can do this anymore."
"Danny you just need more time." Valerie assured him.
"No, you just don't get it!" Danny yelled, "Everyone treats me like a killer, and I'm so pathetic and sorry that I can't even catch Skulker!"
"Danny-" Valerie placed her shoulder on his hand. "If you're really having a hard time ghost fighting I can go solo until you think you're ready."
"It's not just the ghost fighting." Danny admitted. "It's all of it, everything I see, and hear, it makes me see them. Valerie I'm hallucinating, I'm seeing them everywhere!"
"Oh Danny." Valerie whispered.
"I just need to get away for a while." Danny whispered.
Valerie sighed.
"I'm sorry I tried but-" Danny began, but Valerie cut him off.
"No, it's okay I get it, you need to rediscover yourself, away from all this." Valerie cut in.
"So, you're not mad at me for breaking my promise?" Danny asked.
"You promised to try." Valerie said. "And you did, you really did, my way just didn't work for you."
Danny sighed.
"Where will you go now?" Valerie asked. "To Texas with your Aunt?"
Danny shook his head, "No but don't worry I have someone in mind."
Valerie nodded. "Okay, just be careful, and promise me something."
"Anything." Danny said.
"Promise me you won't forget who you are." Valerie said hopefully. "Promise me you'll always be the Danny I know."
Danny smiled. "I promise."
Valerie sighed. "I should probably go after that Skulker guy." She whispered.
Danny nodded. "Go, the city needs you."
Valerie smiled. "Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye." She warned.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Danny forced a laugh.
Valerie smiled and jumped back onto her board, riding off in the direction Skulker had fled.
Danny sighed, pulled out his cellphone, and dialed a number without hesitation.
There was three rings and then.
"Hello?"
Danny sighed. "Hey Vlad, it's me." Danny said tears in his eyes.
"Daniel is something wrong?' Vlad asked.
"Did you mean it when you said you'd take me away from here?" Danny asked.
There is a pause, and then finally Vlad says. "I'm on my way."
"I'm not going to be your evil heir!" Danny snapped, "I'm done with the ghost stuff."
"Then what would you have me do?" Vlad asked.
"I just want the pain to go away." Danny cried. "Please just make it go away."
Vlad sighed. "I'll see what I can do…"
-To Be Continued