Thanks to RevyCitEll, Equinelover55, Lightning Streak, penspot, and Barely Existent for your reviews on the last chapter! Most of you are reoccurring reviewers and I REALLY appreciate the continued support! I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and have as much fun reading it as I do writing it! I really think you're in for a treat this week though, I love how this chapter came out!

When life got a little overwhelming, Danny liked to take a moment to stop and look at the situation in the larger scale. It made a lot of problems seem smaller, more like minor obstacles between him and the prize. He wasn't really sure what that was, unfortunately, but he was pretty sure he'd know when he got there. If he ever did.

When he was younger, he thought the prize might be freedom from this strange responsibility. He found out quickly that as long as he had a ghost half, and a hero complex, he'd always have it. Then, when everyone moved away to live their relatively normal lives, he thought maybe the prize would be that their lives would intersect with his in the way they used to. Then everyone graduated and got jobs elsewhere and even though they were always, always more than happy to return and help if he needed them to, he found that by then he really didn't.

Now, of course, Valerie was back and they were friends. Two people with a real functional relationship and tons of mysteries they had all the time in the world to unravel. Together. So suddenly Danny had a new prize.

Valerie. Her companionship.

He just had to keep her there, and then maybe, just maybe, everything would all seem worth it. Because, quite frankly, it was getting tiresome. Why keep fighting when there was nothing at the end but a suspicious Hayes and another ghost waiting in the wings for its turn to screw around with him?

He had no plans on filling Valerie in on her new role in his life. After all, he didn't need Spectra to know that it was probably very unhealthy to decide to have a mild co-dependency issue.

"Hey, get your head in the game Phantom!" Valerie called as she soared past him on her hover board. "You're letting me have all the fun!" She blasted at the tentacles of the monster before them. It hissed and moved to swat at her.

Danny felt a chill beginning deep in his chest and flowing down through his arm as he accessed his ice powers and froze the beast's limb. Valerie blasted it and it shattered like glass. He whistled to gain the ghost's attention, and it responded by chasing after him with one of its other seven tentacles.

He performed a couple loops and some confusing turns, smiling when the limb came out of the chase tangled with one of the other appendages. He glanced up at Valerie.

"I'm in, I'm in!" He reassured her. He watched as she waited for the beast to roar at them again. When it did, she tossed a plasma grenade into its mouth. They both waited in anticipation, but the blast simply pushed its body mass outwards slightly. The monster roared in anger, but showed no other signs of discomfort.

"That didn't work." She called, dodging a gooey projectile.

"The ice seemed to help, I could slow it down enough for you to catch it!" Danny responded, not waiting for her confirmation before blasting the creature with an unrelenting beam of icy energy. It began slowing its progression as it howled at him, and as soon as it slowed to an almost complete stop, Valerie's thermos released its bright blue beam and sucked the monster right in.

The duo met in the center of the street, both looking out at the path of goo the monster left behind. "Minimal property damage." Valerie commented as they both caught their breath.

Danny nodded. "Shouldn't be too tough for the GiW to clean up." He glanced over at her as she released her helmet. Her curls were matted into an odd shape, causing him to chuckle. She snapped her gaze to him.

"What?" She asked, trying to glare. It wasn't very intimidating though, since Danny could see her lips twitch as she tried not to laugh.

"Cute hair." He replied. She snorted and started shaking out her curls the best she could. She didn't look embarrassed. Danny supposed it made sense; after all, they had seen each other in almost every state of dishevelment back in high school.

"So," She started after a moment of half-heartedly trying to fix her helmet hair, "You think I should bring this guy in? We could spit him out for a second, fire the dart, and have him back in before his blob brain even knew what was going on."

Danny shook his head. "Nah, he's too big and noisy. No good for any secret operations."

"Back to the ghost zone then." Valerie reached into one of her pouches and pulled out her and Danny's list. He was proud to see that they had already managed to cross off a few loose ghosts since last night. "What about the box ghost? He's apparently still on the loose."

Danny thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I think that could work. But first," He took the list from her hand, ignoring her protests, "I think we deserve a nap. We've been at this all morning, and we didn't get much sleep last night."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Fine, you big toddler. Let's bring this guy to Fenton Works. I'll just crash there." She gently snatched the list back and put it back in her pouch.

"Sounds like a plan." He bowed. "After you, lady."

Valerie laughed and pushed his head down playfully. "You big nerd." She leapt and her board formed underneath her feet. Danny watched her as she flew off, knowing he could catch up at any time. She laughed as the wind whipped at her hair before she started slowing down a little and turning.

"C'mon Phantom, or I'm eating the rest of those cookies!" She called back.

Danny felt his core flare, burning icy hot and shooting power through all of his limbs as he rose into the air. "I knew you'd betray me!" He answered back before flying towards her. She laughed and turned, angling her board for speed and calling her helmet forth once again.

Danny grinned as they raced, mostly because he couldn't stop himself. Maybe it wasn't really fair to think of Valerie as some sort of prize, but man, he felt like a winner.

Valerie looked different. Her skin, which was already quite pale when she was in her ghost form, had taken on a chilling blue tinge. Her beautiful curls were no more, instead a bright white flame danced where her hair had been. Even her eyes were off. The previous green had always reminded him of life and energy. Now they simply looked poisonous.

Danny tightened his grip on the weapon in his hand and steadied the hover board beneath his feet. This would be an easy execution. That monster wasn't Valerie. It was a shell of his friend. A mockery of everything she once was.

She chuckled darkly at his resolve. "I'm impressed," Her fangs glinted in the light of the fires that surrounded them, "You look like you're actually willing to use that toy."

Danny kept his face neutral, but was surprised at her words. Was she really so far gone that she didn't remember this weapon? After all, she was the one that insisted it be made and that he be the one to wield it. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep Amity safe. Even if it means destroying you." He hoped his words sounded convincing.

Valerie laughed. "Right. Always the hero, huh?" She cocked her head at him. "Of course, that could always change. What do you say Danny?" She flew closer to him, clawed hand reaching out. "Join me. You and I can conquer this world together." For a moment, just a second, Danny could see the old Valerie in her eyes. He could see hope. A twinkle of good humor.

It made his chest tighten when it was gone as soon as it came. "You already know my answer Valerie." His finger moved to the trigger, an action she noticed with a smile.

"I do, unfortunately. It's a shame though." Her hands began to glow green as she summoned her power. "We always were a great team."

Danny angled his board quickly, flying backwards and out of her immediate range as best he could. Her ectoblasts were bigger than he remembered, and he dodged them as best he could. It wasn't good enough though, as one of the blasts clipped his board and sent it backwards in a dizzying spiral. His death grip on the weapon in his hand didn't relent.

As soon as he steadied himself again, he pointed the barrel towards her, already snap aiming. Valerie scoffed at the sight.

"None of your other toys have worked against me Fenton. And this one won't be any different." She glared at him as if daring him to fire at her. He wouldn't though. He had one shot to take her down. He'd be patient.

Valerie growled when no attack came. "What are you so afraid of?!" She yelled. "I'm not the same weakling I used to be! Are you going to use that thing or just stare at me some more?"

"Oh, I'm going to use it." Danny assured her, still making no move to fire just yet. He watched as she tilted her head in curiosity. When he saw her expression melt into one of frustration, he braced himself.

"I guess I'll just have to make you." She said with a snarl. Her ambient energy flared around her, glowing brighter than he had ever seen it. He refused to let himself feel fear as she began flying towards him. He moved his foot slightly, readying himself.

When she was moments away from knocking him clean off his board, he used his foot to active his most recent upgrade. The beam of light stopped Valerie in her tracks, freezing her completely. Her eyes flashed dangerously when she realized she couldn't move. Danny knew his little trick wouldn't last much longer. He'd have to do it, and he'd have to do it now.

He hadn't anticipated how hard it would be for him to lift his arm and aim right at her core. "I'm so sorry, Val." He fired. A moment later, Valerie broke free of the beam, but he saw that she was already too late. She stared at him for a moment, visibly confused before looking down at the little dart sticking out of her chest. She pulled it out gently and held it in her hand, inspecting it for a moment before her eyes widened.

"No…" She breathed, clearly remembering exactly what she had been shot with. Danny watched in horror as her eyes rolled backwards a moment later and she began falling out of the sky. When he saw she was doing nothing to slow her descent, he immediately flew underneath her and caught her halfway to the ground.

She was eerily still in his arms, but she was still alive; he could tell by the way she still glowed. It was fading quickly though. He rushed them the rest of the way down to the ruined street, and when he was close enough to the ground, he stepped off his board and onto the pavement. He lowered them both down gently, resting on his knees as he held her.

"Valerie?" He whispered as best he could through the lump in his throat. She seemed to come to slightly at the sound of his voice. She moaned softly, and with great effort managed to rest a hand on her chest where he had shot her. He looked down at the spot, and noticed that bright, glowing magenta spread out like veins from its origin in the center of her chest.

His hand shook as he placed a hand over her's. "Valerie?" He tried again. This time she opened her eyes, and her gaze settled on him. There was nothing evil about her eyes now, he noted.

"Danny?"

He nodded, not bothering to wipe the tears that had begun falling freely from his eyes. He watched as the magenta glow reached the top of her arms and legs.

"I'm… I'm scared." She mumbled. Tears fell down her cheeks as well. Danny wiped them as best he could with his hand shaking so fiercely.

"I know."

She shook violently. The magenta was at her knees and elbows, and it had stared crawling up her neck. "It… hurts." She said with a pained gasp. Danny simply held her closer.

"I'm sorry." It sounded so weak, but it was the most genuine phrase he had ever uttered. He was sorry she was in pain. He was sorry he had to do this to her. He was sorry it had come to this. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

She grabbed hold of his jumpsuit, and it broke his heart to feel how weak her grip was. The magenta had crawled its way up her face, and her glow had dimmed to almost nothing. She looked at him with eyes tainted pink. "I'm… Not." She whispered. Then she shattered.

Danny threw himself backwards as she poofed out of existence, leaving behind no evidence she had been there.

It was over. He realized, grief already seizing him. Everything she was, everything she had been to him was gone. Except for his memories, of course.

Those he'd have to live with forever.

Danny gasped upon waking. He blinked rapidly when he felt tears in his eyes and wiped them quickly. All it took was a terrifyingly vivid dream, and he was suddenly very aware of exactly what he was asking Valerie to do for him.

He owed her for this, more so than he had initially thought. He stood up, grabbing the shirt he had hung on his desk chair and pulling it over his head. He walked out of his room, glancing down from the top of the stair and sighing when he saw Valerie was still sleeping soundly on the couch.

She was safe, of course. He knew that though. Valerie wasn't a half - ghost with a lot of dangerous potential and he wasn't a human hunter with the only weapon that could save them all. It was the other way around. He cringed at the thought.

He really owed her.

He tip toed down the stairs and walked over to her. She looked so peaceful when she slept. And yet, the opportunity to mess with his favorite ghost hunter far too good to simply pass up. Danny grinned to himself as he summoned an ice crystal. He was moments away from unfreezing it above her head when Valerie spoke.

"I'll rip your core out with my bare hands Fenton."

Danny cringed and dispelled the crystal with a puff of vapor. "Sorry." He mumbled, backing away. She sat up and stretched, humming in satisfaction when she felt her spine pop.

"So aside from your new death wish, how did you sleep?" She asked, standing and folding the blanket she used. Danny rolled a stiff shoulder.

"Fine, but I had this weird dream." He took the folded blanket from her and put in the linen closet. "Which reminds me," He said, turning around to face her, "I've been meaning to tell you that I owe you one hell of a housewarming gift for all you've been helping me with lately." It was probably literally the least he could do, but he figured it was a decent start.

Valerie waved a hand at him. "No need Danny, seriously. Although, if you'd like you can patrol by yourself for a little while so I can go talk to your parents about this weapon." She went to the front door where her boots were and began pulling them on.

"Right… Hey Val," Danny started following her grabbing her suit harness from its place on his coffee table and handing to her, "I don't think I've truly thought about what it means for you to have a weapon like this." Valerie took the harness from his hand and put it on, but not without giving him a strange look.

"So… you don't want this thing made?" She asked, tone measured. Danny knew immediately that he sounded incredibly suspicious. He back tracked quickly.

"No, wait, that sounded bad."

Valerie nodded slowly.

Danny flushed, rubbing the back of his neck in his embarrassment. "What I mean is that the weapon thing is a huge responsibility and I haven't really put much thought into what it would mean for you if you ever had to use it."

Valerie blinked at him. "Uh… are you going to tell me why you're acting so weird? Seriously Danny, I'm a little worried." Her eyes searched his in concern.

He shook his head. "It's nothing, Val. Just… I wanted to remind you that I appreciate you."

"Okay." Valerie said slowly. She gave him a slight smile. "Remind me never to leave you alone for so many years again." With that, she walked out of the house and closed the door behind her. Danny stared after her, still a little embarrassed.

But happy. Very, very happy.

One of the first things Danny did when his parents passed Fenton Works down to him was set up an alarm that would sound whenever a ghost tried to escape the Ghost Zone through his portal. Really, it was probably something that the family should have had put in a long time ago. Still, it allowed him to deal with some ghosts before they even left his house, so Danny figured that it was better late than never.

In retrospect, however, he realized he could have made the alarm sound less jarring.

He was pouring himself some cereal when the alarm began blaring, startling him enough for him to drop the box and spill cereal all over the floor. He sighed at the mess, but simply put the box down. He'd have to deal with it later. He transformed and floated through the floor to the basement.

He flew to the portals control panel and entered his code to cut off the alarm. Then he simply waited for whatever unlucky sap decided to disturb his lunch by trying to break out. He didn't have to wait long. He had ectoblasts waiting in his palm as the ghost stumbled through the now open door.

The figure didn't look completely solid, and Danny's ectoblasts dissolved harmlessly. He could tell that whoever this was, this ghost was not strong enough to be outside of the Ghost Zone.

"Hey," he called out to the figure, "I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but you definitely shouldn't be out of the Ghost Zone. You might dissolve your core if you stay out here."

The figure ignored him, moving closer before suddenly condensing into a far more familiar shape. Danny's eyes widened.

"Ember!? What are you doing? You know better than to leave the Zone before you're ready." Danny didn't hide his concern. Ember was another ghost that had backed off due to begrudging respect.

"Phantom!" Her voice was distorted. Danny knew immediately that something must be really wrong for her to use his name. "Please, please tell me you've seen Skulker. I'm getting really worried and I-"

"Woah, Ember. Let's have this talk in the Zone, alright? You can't hold this form for much longer out here." He grabbed hold of her translucent arm and pulled her with him through the portal. They came out the other side, and she was already looking more solid. Danny flew them over to a mass of land floating by.

When they landed, he noticed how run down and worried Ember looked.

"Please, Phantom. Please tell me you know where he is." Her voice was quiet in her despair. "I've almost run my core dry looking for him."

Danny placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, Ember. I know where he is. I'm going to save him, I promise."

Her eyes flared at his words. "You know where he is?! And he's hurt?!" She tried to summon her guitar, but Danny could tell she was struggling to do so. He grabbed her forearms gently.

"Woah, Ember." He spoke in what he hoped was calming tones. "I do know where he is, and Red Huntress and I are already working to get him out of there."

Ember shook her head vigorously. "Obviously you aren't trying hard enough. Just tell me where he is and I'll go get him myself!"

"Ember," Danny's voice took on a tone of authority that he only used when he truly meant business, "There's no way you would survive if you try to get him yourself. The place is teeming with ghost hunters and you are weak right now. Have I ever, ever, left you guys high and dry? Even when you don't deserve my help?"

Ember looked away from his piercing stare. "No." She mumbled. Danny nodded.

"Exactly. And that's not changing. So I need you to relax. I'll get him back to you. I promise." He released her arms. Ember chocked out a sob.

"I'm just… I'm scared." She admitted quietly.

Danny sighed. "I know. I'm working on freeing him as fast as I can, but I have to be careful or we'll never get him back."

Ember scoffed, but didn't argue. "And the Red Huntress is helping you? I thought she hated your guts."

Danny frowned. "Hey, she hasn't hated me for a while. And for your information, we are actually real friends now."

Ember crossed her arms and gave him a skeptical look. "Real friends, huh? And you're certain she's not just going to betray you? I mean, you don't go from enemies to friends overnight."

"It's been ten years!" Danny exclaimed. "And no, she's not going to betray me." He gave Ember a hard look. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"It's been ten years already? Sheesh."

Danny crossed his arms. "Seriously, why do you care?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Relax Baby Pop. I just wanted to know if I still had a chance at winning the bet."

Danny blanched. "Bet? What bet?"

Ember smirked at him and cocked her hip. "The one we started during one of the Christmas truces. I bet that Red was going to betray you sooner or later." Her face fell suddenly. "Skulker bet that you two would end up together. Like, as an item." She shook her head and smiled fondly. "The big idiot."

Danny gaped at her. "Wait, wait, wait. There's a running bet on how me and Valerie are going to end up? And the options are bitter enemies or a couple?" Ember nodded. "Who's involved in this?"

"Everyone."

"I'm sorry," Danny stuck a finger in his ear, checking to see if he was there was wax or something keeping him from hearing her properly, "Did you just say everyone?"

"Yup," She began counting on her fingers, "Me, Skulker, Spectra, Walker, Lunch Lady-"

"That's enough." Danny said, holding up a hand and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'm working on getting Skulker back, but in the meantime, do you think you could avoid mentioning any of this to Val?"

Ember shrugged. "Yeah, sure. But you better be serious about getting Skulker back. If not, Red turning on you will be the least of your worries." Her eyes glinted dangerously.

Danny snorted. "You don't know her like I do." And with that, Danny flew back up towards the portal. Once he was far enough away from Ember, he smiled to himself.

Betrayal or romance, huh? Not the worst odds he's come up against.