The Soul Sepulchre Chapter 8: Just for Once, a danny phantom fanfic

Chapter 8

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(20 minutes later) (Wakes up) Huh? What? OH! The story! Right-ho! Let's get this thing on the go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I own the plot though and I enjoy every morbid moment of it XD

Enjoy!

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The Soul Sepulcher

-By Sholay

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Chapter 8 — Just for Once…

Danny fell heavily into the hard wooden chair outside the principle's office, ignoring the disparaging stare the secretary shot him. Leaning forward into a hunch, elbows resting on his knees, he buried his head deep into his hands.

"What did I do? What did I do?" He murmured to himself, almost inaudibly. Slowly, he moved his head upward until he was cupping his nose and mouth with his hands; his eyes stared straight ahead, stared at nothing

He'd never lost it that bad before. Why now? What was going on with him recently?

A flash of yellow in his peripheral vision had Danny swiveling sharply to the side. A low growl of frustration escaped him when he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Mr. Fenton"

Danny looked up at the low warning from the secretary. He blushed in embarrassment when he realized he'd basically been glaring angrily at air. Dispirited, he sunk back into his seat. 'Great' He bemoaned. 'Yet another person to add to my ever-growing 'Thinks Fenton's a Basket Case' list'.

But even as he leaned back—closing his eyes in an attempt to just sit and wait for his parents to arrive, like a defeated criminal on death row— all he could see behind his eyelids was his fist as it smashed into Dash's face. Over and over: the feeling of flesh yielding under his knuckles, the satisfying contact of his foot full on Dash's hard chest, pushing it away, the feeling of letting it all go and finally giving it all back. Years of being pushed around, being ignored, being shoved into lockers… No more holding back… Again and again, seeing Dash lying there on the ground, broken, bleeding… Finally, finally, he knew what it was like to be on the other side. And standing above him, bat in hand, Danny was the one with the power. He had held not a mere piece of wood in his hands, but Dash's very life…

"No," Danny abruptly hissed, alarmed at his train of thought. Eyes shooting open and wide, he wondered where all this hate was coming from. Sure, he didn't like getting pushed around by the pompous jock, but he'd never, ever thought of getting back at him by beating him up… He would never hurt someone intentionally… Not a human, at least… Right?

"I couldn't… I wouldn't." He stressed, making sure to keep his voice down.

He closed his eyes and rubbed them with cold, clammy palms, as though to dispel the images plaguing his mind. But all this accomplished was to create another flash of yellow sparking across the darkness of his eyelids.

Danny pushing the heel of one hand into his forehead with growing desperation. He couldn't take much more of this: the mood swings, the strange urges, the hallucinations…

What was worse, Danny thought, clenching his teeth, was that yellow light he kept seeing… In the corner of his eye, a fleeting flash of sickly yellow. Just out of his grasp, the foul thing sat, waiting, mocking, laughing at him… That colour… It was the exact same colour as the eyes of the Hound. It disturbed him, made him sick… left him paranoid. Exhausted. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days. Every hour of the day, every minute, every second, it was like there was an extra pair of eyes on him, watching, waiting, patiently waiting for him to let his guard down, to relax or to stumble, fall or flounder, and the second he did…

"Danny!"

A chorus of yells shattered his thoughts and with a muffled groan Danny slid his palm up over his face, raking his fingers through his hair. He knew what was coming.

"Dude! What did you do?!"

"Danny! I told you not to abuse your… abilities, and you off and decide to beat up Dash?"

"EhHEM."

Sam and Tucker instantly deflated under the secretary's incensed stare, mumbling hushed 'Sorry Miss's. The instant the woman turned back to her work, Sam and Tucker sat down on either side of Danny, leaning in to continue the conversation. Danny looked down, trying to resist the urge to bury his head in his hands once more.

"Danny, look, whatever's been going on with you lately, you can tell us, you know." Sam said in a quiet whisper.

"Yeah, you can't just keep it all in there. You'll burst… like you did on Dash… Though, I have to admit: the way you nailed him! Right in his fat, ugly—"

"Tucker." Sam groaned and Tucker gave a sheepish grin.

"Right. Not the point. Sorry."

Sam turned back to Danny. "Why did you just go off the hook like that? Usually you're more careful than that."

"I-I don't…" Danny didn't know what to say. His eyes flickered to her face, then back down.

"Sam, the guy had a bat. What was Danny supposed to do?" Tucker jumped in defensively.

"Not what he did!" Sam shot back, her voice rising. Receiving a nasty look from the secretary, Sam's voice lowered to a dangerous whisper. "He could have reasoned with him, called for a teacher… done anything else."

"Reason?!…With Dash?!" Tucker crowed incredulously.

"Well he didn't have to pick up the bat!" She retaliated.

"…It's not like he hit him with it—"

"Guys!" Danny slapped his hands down on his legs and looked sharply at first Tucker then Sam. "Just stop already, okay?...Just, just stop… please…" His gaze fell, eyes focusing on his whitening knuckles as his fingers curled tightly around his jeans. At this uncharacteristic show of vulnerability both Sam and Tucker immediately sent Danny twin looks of concern.

"Danny… Tell us what's wrong, you have to tell us, or we can't help you." Sam laid a hand on his shoulder but he didn't respond. She squeezed, but jerked back when he flinched. For a few seconds, silence fell over the trio. But then Sam took a breath. She would not be deterred so easily. "Start at the beginning. First, why did you loose it with Dash?"

Technically, that wasn't the beginning. But nonetheless…"I… I don't know." Danny ran a shaky hand through his hair, rested it on the back of his neck. "I don't remember…"

"You don't remember?" Suddenly Sam's tone hardened and her eyes narrowed, on the other side of Danny, Tucker frowned. "You mean—"

"No, not like that… I wasn't being controlled… I don't think so." Danny said slowly. "I do remember, sort of…"

"Danny, either you remember, or you don't, it's not rocket science." Tucker cut in, exasperation clear in his tone.

"It's not that simple!" Danny cried and suddenly jumped to his feet, spinning around to face his shocked friends.

"Mr. Fenton, Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley, if you don't control yourselves this instant, I will have you three removed from the office, then you can explain your behaviour to the principal." The secretary's haw-like eyes focused specifically on Danny and he drew in a shuddering breath. Suddenly he felt stifled in this too small room: surrounded by people who were suppressing him.

"I didn't do it…" he muttered, "I didn't… I didn't mean to… I wasn't going to…" Suddenly a shock of pain speared his right shoulder and with a gasp Danny stiffened.

"Danny?" In a second, Sam and Tucker had stood.

"Mr. Fenton, is there something I can help you with?" The secretary glanced disapprovingly at him over thick glasses.

"Yes… m-may I use the washroom?" Danny hesitated as another warning spike of pain dug into his shoulder, this time moving down his arm.

"Mr. Fenton, might I remind you that you are here waiting for your parents to arrive for a disciplinary hearing with the principal?"

"Yes, ma'am, I know." Danny grit his teeth as his arm suddenly spasmed. Reaching over, he gripped his right wrist tightly in his left hand in an effort to suppress the motion. Luckily his back was turned to Sam and Tucker, so he didn't think they noticed. "But please, I'll be back really quickly. I promise."

"Well…" The secretary paused, considering the possible trouble she could get into versus the benefit of having a few moments of peace. "I suppose it would—"

"Thanks ma'am!" Danny was out the door and running before she could even finish, Sam and Tucker rushing to follow.

"No running in the halls!" She called after them fruitlessly. Sighing loudly, she recalled wistfully the high class, assistant's job for that rich bachelor in Wisconsin she'd turned down. She'd thought it'd be fun to come back to her old high school. What a laugh. She shook her head in consternation and turned back to her work. "Teenagers, ugh."

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"DANNY!"

"DANNY, WAIT!"

But Danny didn't slow down. The spasms were getting worse and he needed to get somewhere private—fast.

Finally spotting the male washroom, he took no time in slamming the door open with his good shoulder and stumbling inside. No one was in there… of course; school was long over… but Danny could hear Tucker and Sam following not far behind him and he quickly ducked into a stall, closing—locking—the door behind him.

Falling against the stall door, Danny fought the urge to slip to his knees. He gripped his wrist tighter, trying to control his hand as it tensed into a painful claw and refused to relax. It was like a hot poker was being driven straight into his shoulder sending shocks of pain arcing down his arm. He bit his lip.

"Danny? Man, are you okay in there?" Tucker's hesitant call came from somewhere outside.

"No-no-no… not now, not now." He murmured. His hand twitched again and he quickly bit his lip again to stifle a cry. He threw his head back. This was bad, much worse than any time before… Usually it just itched, or felt tender to the touch… 'Why? What is this?'

"Danny? Come on Danny, this isn't funny." Now Sam's voice joined Tucker's. A harsh laugh passed between Danny's clenched teeth as he thought of how worried his friends must be for Sam to set foot inside a boy's washroom.

"Danny, answer us or I swear we're coming in."

"I'm fine." He bit out, well aware of how strained his voice sounded.

"Danny, you know very well we're not falling for that one."

All at once, it stopped. The pain, the spasms, everything just vanished so suddenly Danny's knees gave way and he crumbled to the ground. Pale and trembling, he sat there, back against the corner, legs bent at odd angles. He panted, feeling the last traces of phantom pain chase their way up and down his arm to his shoulder. Fuzzily, he thought he could make out someone calling him, but nothing was registering in his mind. Nothing but relief that it was over… The pain…had stopped…

"DANNY! ARE YOU OKAY? OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm fine." This came out too high so Danny swallowed, tried again. "I'm fine." Glancing down at his hands—left still wrapped protectively around the right and the right still frozen in a tense claw—he forcefully detached his left hand. It came apart with a wet, sweaty sound. Next, he tried to curl his right hand into a fist, but when it refused to budge he began to knead the palm and finger muscles with his left hand. Slowly, with both pain and relief, he was able to pull his fingers together. They still tingled and trembled… but it would have to do.

"DANNY—!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He answered, not loudly, but with enough conviction to stop the thumping on the door.

Sluggishly, as though moving through water, Danny pulled himself to his feet using the back of the toilet and the wall. Then, reaching out, he flipped the lock, bracing himself for the inevitable—

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST LOCKED US OUT LIKE THAT!" Suddenly wide-eyed, Danny took a step back, starting badly as Sam's sudden explosion overwhelmed him. "WE'VE BEEN FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER FOREVER! WE DON'T KEEP SECRETS FROM EACH OTHER; HOW DARE YOU JUST SHUT US OUT OF YOUR LIFE LIKE THIS?!" She sounded upset, almost as though she was on the verge of tears. Danny winced and lowered his eyes. He had no idea, never realized how much his actions had been taking their toll on his friends…

… His mood swings, his evasiveness… Was this the last straw?

"Well, fine then." Sam's voice dropped harshly. "If we're not good enough for you to spend your time on, then maybe I don't want to waste my time on you!" And then, to Danny's shock, she spun on her heel and strode right out of the washroom.

"Whu—wai—Sam!" His stuttered call was too late, she'd already gone. Danny stared at the spot where she'd disappeared, mouth slightly agape.

"She's only worried, Danny." Tucker intoned quietly and Danny's attention switched to his other best friend. "But it's not just her, you know." Tucker's eyes suddenly gained a serious gleam in them that Danny didn't usually see in his easygoing friend. "You've been acting weird for awhile now. First, there was that thing at the museum, which you got all secretive about… Then you started getting all moody all the time, I mean we can't even say anything around you without worrying if you'll blow up at us randomly or something."

Danny looked away, a bitter taste on his tongue as he thought, briefly, of how Tucker and Sam couldn't even talk to each other without blowing up.

What? Was he supposed to be their unyielding rock? Their unfailing, fall-back friend? The one that never got angry, never got upset, always understanding? What was he supposed to be? Perfect?

"And then there's that thing with Dash." Tucker went on. "You can't even be in the same room with him anymore without trying something! And as cool as it is seeing him getting what he deserves… It… it just isn't you, Danny."

Danny looked up, frowning, at that.

'If anything, they should be happy. If anything, they should be grateful. He'll think twice before ever stuffing you in a locker again!'

"And it's weird, 'cause it's not like this has happened just one time…" Tucker looked nervous now and wrung his hands. "It's been getting worse… and Danny… when you said you didn't remember what happened with Dash… It didn't make any sense… 'cause Danny, your eyes didn't change colour."

Danny froze. Something sparked in his mind and he winced, looking away, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'Anger. Yes. He deserved what he got.'

"Danny…?" Tucker asked hesitantly, leaning in. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Danny said shortly, still looking away. "I'm fine."

Suddenly Tucker scowled and moved back. "See?" He cried and Danny looked up, blue eyes questioning. "Like that! You did it again! You're shutting us out of your life and we can't take it anymore. The secrets, the mood swings: you're happy one minute and snapping our heads off the next!" Tucker stopped and took a few breaths, obviously trying to calm himself down. "Look. Obviously you're going through some stuff and obviously you don't want Sam and me involved in it." Danny opened his mouth to object but Tucker raised a hand. "Save it. Look, Danny, we're your friends, ok? We want to help you, but we won't just stand around and let you treat us like whipping posts whenever you're upset… Danny…" Tucker's voice softened then. "Look, I get that you might need some time to figure stuff out on your own. Sam doesn't, but she's a girl; she'll come around. So take your time… And when you're ready to talk… You know where to find us." And with that, Tucker turned and walked out.

Danny's eyes glazed as he stared blankly at the place where his friend had been standing. So many things were going through his head all at once. He didn't know what to do. There was guilt: he'd been completely inconsiderate of his friends. There was hurt: why would they leave him like this? Confusion: he didn't know if he really wanted them to leave or not. And helplessness: he had no idea how to deal with everything that was going on, not all on his own.

But what scared him most was that, underneath it all—a molten undercurrent in his mind—was burning rage. How could they just abandon him like this? They were supposed to be friends. He had never just walked away from them, not when Tucker had been jealous of him, not when Sam practically forgot about them to hang around with some strange boy…

'Oh but not ME; I'm not allowed to make mistakes! Not allowed to show anything except the invincible hero! Only happiness, only humbleness… the slightest sight of selfishness, of even self-confidence and they call me irresponsible, arrogant…egotistical! What about THEM?! Do I turn around and judge THEM?! Why am I always the one who has to apologize? Just for ONCE—'

A sudden chill caught Danny's attention and he glanced down. With what could only have been described as detached disdain, he gazed down at his ice-encased hands. He wasn't surprised either, when he looked up to see half the floor and a good part of the wall also shining with a glassy layer. At the sink, one single drop of water had frozen halfway before falling. It twinkled at him in the light, like a forlorn star.

'But this is dangerous'

'Dangerous.'

'Me.'

Danny's thoughts finally registered and his blinked, expression flooded his face once more. He looked around again, this time in dismay. Why did he keep losing control like this? His powers… his emotions… his body… Why couldn't it just stop happening? Why wouldn't it just go away like a bad cold?

With a sudden desperate urge, he shook hands hard. The ice on his fingertips shattered and fell, tinkling, toward the ground. Next he tried to undo the damage to the room. But no matter how hard he concentrated, the ice remained, that frozen drop on the tap seemed to mock him now.

"Argh!" Spinning around, Danny slammed the side of his fist into a closed stall. He leaned his forehead on his hand.

'This is dangerous.' He repeated in his head. 'What if I'd lost control while Sam and Tucker were still here? They could have been hurt… or worse…'

It hadn't become clear to Danny, at least not completely, that his friends could be hurt until after that thing with his future self—Oh, he'd always known that they were the more vulnerable ones during ghost fights… That they were the ones taking the bigger risk by standing up and fighting next to him. But the fact that they could… They… could… die… That had not been clear, not until he'd actually seen it happen.

Danny had been different ever since that event. He'd taken his fights more seriously, tried to make Sam and Tucker less involved, stopped playing around as much… Sam and Tucker had noticed… but hadn't really understood. They thought he was being overprotective and bossy… But that wasn't true… It wasn't.

It had felt like at that moment he had dropped the last shred of childish innocence he had. Staring, helpless, at the burning inferno that was once the Nasty Burger as it exploded in a burst of flame and smoke… Everything he had… his family, his friends, his life… Everything was gone, poof, just like that, with just an overheated burner and some hot sauce… And he had done nothing… Could do nothing…

He'd become an old man then, the immortality of childhood seemed an ignorant dream that he'd woken up from, only to land—fall—into the harsh reality that was life.

And it was a long fall.

Sam and Tucker wouldn't have understood… How could they? They hadn't seen it happen, hadn't had to live with the pain of watching everyone they ever cared about disappear in a blossoming mushroom of death, hadn't had to live with the knowledge that it was all their fault. Not even Jazz—who was smarter than half the adults Danny knew—could understand.

And though it pained Danny that he couldn't discuss these thoughts with anyone, he really did not wish this sort of empathy on any of his friends. Not if he could help it. Especially not just so that he could have someone to relate to. How pathetic.

"I can't… Can't let anything happen to them." Danny muttered to himself. "I won't. Even if it means distancing myself from them." The Hound had reminded him of how fragile Sam and Tucker's lives were. A single mistake, a single shot gone awry… And that could be the end of them. When he'd seen their deaths in the Hound's eyes… for a moment, he'd nearly given up, nearly gone mad himself…

But no, he wouldn't let it happen.

Danny pushed off the stall; his eyes hardened. He wouldn't tell Sam or Tucker about the Hound or about his problems. They would only get involved, get in the middle… And he didn't want them ever meeting that beast… Legion… Never.

And so Danny stayed, standing alone in the very empty washroom, eyes focussed steadily on something only he could see—silent—until the PA system above him crackled, a dispassionate voice grating over the speakers, strangely loud in the small room:

"Will Daniel Fenton please report to the Principal's office immediately."

Danny turned, slowly, and walked swiftly out of the room. Eyes trained on the ground, hands deep in his pockets

Ice sparkled in his wake, bidding him goodbye, as no one else could.

"—Starting fights at school, hitting other people! I don't know what you were thinking! Were you thinking?!" Maddie Fenton's angry voice rung through the foyer of the Fenton household as she, Jack and Danny finally arrived home after many long hours of discussion with Mr. Lancer and Casper High's principal. Maddie had been lecturing Danny almost non-stop for he past ten minutes. And she still showed no sign of slowing down.

"No son of mine would ever do that!" Bellowed Jack as he followed his wife into the house, squeezing through the too thin doorframe with his large girth.

Behind them came the small, hunched figure of Danny. Sliding the door shut with a quiet click, he took a few deep breaths then followed his parents into the kitchen. He was trying to stay calm, trying to take it all in stride. His parents didn't know the whole story. They wouldn't understand what was going on and it wasn't like they weren't always disappointed in him anyway. So, really, it was nothing new.

'Nothing new.'

But it got increasingly more difficult to keep from getting mad as they hadn't stopped telling him off since they'd left the school. The dead silence in the car didn't even count, since his mother kept sending him those guilt-inducing, disappointed looks.

It definitely didn't help that they hadn't even asked for his side of the story. They'd taken for granted, immediately, Dash's convoluted version—backed by countless simpering lackeys—of the events. No one had really cared about what he had to say. No one cared that at least half a dozen other students had had baseball bats. Or that they'd all been jocks. Or even that the blood on Dash'sbat had most probably been Danny's…

The punishment had been dealt: three days of suspension, out of school, then one week of in class suspension and a month of detention… Danny could hardly believe it when he'd heard. Dash only got a couple of weeks of detention!

'Of course, your side of the story is hardly any better: 'Oh, I just happened to kick Dash hard enough to throw him across the parking lot. Then the bat just happened to appearin my hand'? Oh yeah, real great excuse, Fenton.' Danny cringed at his thoughts. It was true: there hadn't been much he could've said to his own defence. But even still…

"I just don't understand what's been going on with you recently, you've been getting bad marks, skipping class, and now this?" His mother said.

Oh yeah, Danny sighed, his parents didn't know about his recent rash of good marks, typical.

"Danny what's wrong with you, boy?" He looked up as his father said that. It wasn't the words, but the harsh tone that stung, just a little, before Danny pushed it aside. "Why can't you just be more like your sister—"

And that was it.

"NO! I can't, I just can't, ok!? I CAN'T be like Jazz! I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, I'm pathetic at most of my classes. I hate sports… So for just ONCE, stop comparing me to Jazz all the time! Look, I'm sorry, ok!? I'm SORRY if I'm not the PERFECT son you've always wanted. Well, whatever, I guess it doesn't matter, right? Since you've got Jazz—"

"DANIEL FENTON! YOU STOP TAKING THAT TONE WITH US RIGHT NOW AND SIT BACK DOWN IN YOUR CHAIR!" Danny jumped at the volume of his mother's voice. He'd never heard her get this angry and he couldn't stop the chill of fear that raced over him, causing his fingertips to tingle. At some point during his rant he'd jumped to his feet and now he quickly fell back into his chair at the table.

"Now first." Maddie took a deep breath. "You do NOT talk to me or your father like that. You will not be disrespectful us like that. You are the one who's done something wrong here, not us. And we will not stand for any of your attitude. We've already let enough of it pass and we aren't going to do that anymore. You've been suspended from school, but now you're grounded. No phone, no computer, no TV, no going out. You will take the time to study and if you have free time you will spend it doing chores around the house, you've been shirking enough of them lately."

Danny's mouth opened slightly as he heard this. What? The phone and TV thing he could deal with… after all, he was trying to make space between him and Sam and Tucker… but what did she mean by shirking his chores?

'Excuse me? But I always cooking dinner! Like you'd know, you're either in the lab downstairs or out hunting ghosts ALL THE TIME! AND I have to keep cleaning up after Dad—the lab, the table, whatever he messes up he has me fix—And, if I don't have time to do every-single-one of my chores, then it's because I was OUT FIGHTING GHOSTS… Well, excuse me for putting the safety of the world over taking out the trash!'

'I take out ghost trash.' His mind quipped feebly and he sucked in one of his cheeks.

But he could tell when his Mom was serious. And he had a feeling there was no going back on this one. Dejected, he emptied his mind of righteous retorts and hung his head.

"Yes, Mom." He mumbled

"Good, now go to your room, Danny." Jack pointed out the door and Danny was only too willing to comply, ducking out the door and practically fleeing to his room. Unfortunately, he couldn't help but catch the last few words his parents said before he was out of earshot:

"Jack, why did you send him off? We have to talk to him, get him to tell us what's wrong; if he's having problems then we have to help him."

"Maddie, he's just acting out, asking for attention. Just leave him and he'll go back to normal."

"But what if it's more serious… Like…"

"Maddie, teenagers do stupid things all the time. It's nothing important. He'll learn; we can't keep holding his hand all his life. He has to grow up at some point."

"I guess…"

"Great! Then it's settled. Now where did you put the fudge?"

"I suppose you're right, dear. It's in the back, near the ham."

Danny brushed at his stinging eyes angrily as he ascended the stares. Maybe he did want them to care a little more, to be a bit more concerned… What kind of parents didn't notice that their son was half-ghost?

Just hearing them brush off his problems like they were nothing sent a needle of pain straight into his heart that had nothing to do with his shoulder.

"Danny, Danny, are you okay in there?"

The raven-haired teen groaned into his pillow at Jazz's voice.

"Go away, Jazz." He mumbled through the fabric.

"Not until I find out if you're okay. I heard Mom and Dad yelling at you downstairs…"

Danny groaned, louder this time. He knew Jazz had heard. He just hadn't wanted her to say that. "Just go away…" he said again.

"No." She answered flatly. "I'm coming in."

Danny made a noise of frustration, pulling himself up into a sitting position and glaring as Jazz as she eased the door open.

"Jeez, Danny, it's pitch black in here!" She cried.

"I can see just fine." He said dryly, letting his eyes spark green for a moment.

"R-right." She answered, as though uncertain of how to respond to that. "Well, I can't see a thing, so I'm turning on the light."

She flicked the switch and the lights blinked on. Danny frowned, squinting and bringing a hand to his eyes as they protested.

"Danny, you can't just mope in bed like this!" She said once she noticed how the blankets pooled around his waist and how he was still in his school clothes. Danny scowled.

"I can do what I like, Jazz. It's not like Mom or Dad care."

"You know that's not true." Jazz admonished.

"Yes it is!" He shot back. "All they care about are their stupid inventions, their stupid ghost-hunting, and you! Their perfect child. You've got everything, after that, what's the point in me even trying?"

"Danny—"

"Just go AWAY JAZZ!" He yelled without warning and she took an involuntary step back, eyes widening. On a table near her, she saw a small model plane suddenly freeze over before cracking in half. She gasped.

Just then, she saw something flicker across Danny's expression, a small twitching of his eyebrow, or the light moving across his icy blue eyes; then, all at once, his expression changed. He looked at her then the broken plane and his eyes showed sudden horrification at what he'd just done. Instantly, Jazz relaxed. This was the brother she knew.

"Jazz… I-I I-'m so sorry… You should go." He said quickly and she opened her mouth to protest but he beat her to it. "No, you have to go. You're not… It's not…your fault for anything that's going on right now and I… I don't want…to take out my problems on you. Please, if you stay I might loose it again. Just go, ok? Please… just go." Jazz noticed how his voice hitched at the end of his sentence and a sudden rush of concern for her younger brother rushed over her. Not caring if he got angry—he would never, ever hurt her, of this she was certain—she rushed up to him and swept him up in a tight hug.

"Jazz!" Danny gasped in shock.

"I know you didn't do it on purpose." She soothed. "I know you'd never attack Dash without reason and I know you must have had a very good reason for punching him. It's not your fault, ok? You didn't reveal any secrets and frankly that vainglorious bully had it coming. Compared to what you could have done to him, he got off easy. I don't think for a moment that you should have been suspended. I can't stop them from punishing you, but you listen to me: I know I'm not the best ghost hunter in the world…" Danny gave a half-hearted snort at this, muttering a quiet 'understatement of the century' under his breath. But Jazz took this as a good sign, her brother was still himself, hurt, scared, but he was still there, and that was what mattered. He would heal. She would help him.

"If you need any help with catching up on stuff" she persisted. "Homework, or assignments, anything at all, just ask me and I'll be glad to help." She looked down at him with a smile, watching fondly as her brother's face took on an interesting range of emotions: moving from confusion, to understanding, to shock and then settling on gratefulness. It was quite an expression. She filed it away, a mental Kodak moment.

"I'll always be around for you, little brother." She grinned, then ruffled his hair. With a squawk, he jerked away, swatting at her hand. It was the most normal he'd acted in weeks. "And no matter what anyone says, you'll always be important to me. You're my hero, after all." And leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on his temple. Shockingly, Danny didn't not pull back. He just stared at her.

His expression was fathomless. Jazz wondered just what is was that he saw.

How did the world look from her little brother's eyes?

"Ok Danny, I'll go now." And she stood. "Just remember, sleeping all day isn't going to make your problems go away, ok? And I'm always right here, next door, if you need to talk." She made it to the door before his quiet voice called her back.

"Jazz?" He intoned and she turned back in curiosity.

"Yeah?" She asked.

Danny gave a small smile. "Thanks."

But in spite of everything Jazz said, Danny still felt himself burning with indignation as he tossed and turned in his bed that night.

"I wish…" He muttered. "Just once, just for once, Dash would get what was coming to him. And that he would feel it… Something he'd never be able to run away from…"

Slowly, Danny's eyes slid shut as he fell into slumber.

In the corner of his room, something flashed—an intense, sickly yellow spark of light—came and went, almost like an illusion.

Or like a pair of eyes, blinking in the night.

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To Be Continued…

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Oh wow… this chapter was unnaturally hard to write. I'm not sure why I had such a hard time with it, but if it didn't seem to flow exactly right then that's probably 'cause I took a week-long break in the middle of writing the chapter: just left it completely for a week before coming back… Oh well, It served its purpose, and I guess that's what matters. XP Regardless, I hope you guys liked it! Longest one yet!

MutantLover09: XD Lol, yeah, I've been dodging the metaphorical boulders up to now… But for some reason they've disappeared and it's making me nervous… maybe they've gone to find reinforcements?? Uh oh… (sees floating green boulders coming over the hills…) Darn it! Now where did I put my Fenton Anti-Creep Stick?! XP… But ignoring my impending doom of course, I was actually wondering myself if the last chapter was a little extreme. I know that in the show Dash would shove Danny around and toss him into lockers (which IS actually very violent… if you consider how small those lockers were!) but he never actually got a group of people together to beat someone like that… I guess the way I reasoned it was with mob mentality. A group of dumb jocks is dumber than just one dumb jock (did that even make sense:3). So a group of them got together to chase Danny down and push him around… Then one kid grabbed a bat and then everyone did it… without really thinking about it… I don't think Dash intended on using the bat… It just happened… an accident, however horrible that sounds… But still feel free to take Dash anytime you want and don't worry about roughing him up some, I won't be needing him anytime soon (holds out a cowering Dash) There you go! Give him some for me too, will ya? XP

Nylah: YES! I love poking around Danny's head. I doubt we'll ever be on speaking terms again after this story but I'm definitely enjoying picking his brain while I can (Danny has a murderous look on his face) Aww… He's too nice though, he'll get over it! (Danny sighs, exasperated). Hope you liked the chapter! Internal conflict galore, oie!

Wishes for Wings: Well, I can't really say if you're right or not (sorry! It would ruin my plot! XD) But I CAN say that it's kinda complicated… and um… Ok, I can't really say anything more… (sheepish grin)… But yeah, I hope the fight wasn't too much! I blame Dash's actions on mob mentality (he himself would have never hit Danny with a bat… but when backed by his friends…). Though of course , he was still stupid enough to insult Danny so in a way he asked for it… You know, I always did think that Mr. Lancer cared about his students, even the non-jocks… and I like little Lancer-Danny interaction scenes, so there'll will probably be a few more in this fic. Oh and you lost your ID?! That's terrible! I did that with my student ID and it was such a pain to get a new one! I hope you found yours!

sciencefreak330: Yes! I had fun writing that fight scene, but now I wonder how you had imagined it (maybe more sneaky/ghost related, without Danny loosing control or getting into trouble? XP). Anyway, what did you think about this chapter? More Danny angst (yeahhh, I'm evil, making him go through so many problems all at the same time! XD)

Thunderstorm101: Heya! I know what you mean about leaving little clues around for readers to pick up. I love doing it, but it makes my fic too long! It's crazy… but I'm really glad you liked the last chapter. It was a little difficult to write… mainly Danny's emotional response. I wanted to make it big, but still realistic, which is why I'm very glad that you found it believable. Your description, by the way was very true. I often find it hard to express such strong emotions in writing but you did it very well. I have felt that kind of rage (though yours was probably stronger) but I've never been that angry around someone else, so the reaction was mostly my extrapolation on Danny's character. So I'm glad you liked it and I'll keep your words in mind (you might just see them in a chapter someday! After all, who knows when a character is going to go 'flying into a berserk mode so far beyond rage that they feel numb'? Hmmmm). Thanks though, for sharing that insight with me.

Sasia93: HI! Oh my goodness, I can't believe you're reading this story! Can I just say that I absolutely loved your story 'Pen Pals' and for you to say that you like my fic is a HUGE compliment! And you're gonna recommend it?! YAY!! (proceeds to jump about the room like a lunatic)...(pause)…ehe he… Ok, I think my moment of rabid obsessive fan-ness is over, you can come out of hiding now! XD So…Really? The name of my fic reminded you of 'Soul Shredder'?? Wow… I had no idea that was the connotation I was conveying!... Actually, I never thought about it like that at all, the word 'Sepulcher' really means 'Reliquary' so it doesn't actually have anything with shredder… but… Really?... Hmmmm, that really gives me something to think about, I guess! XP… Anyway. I'm glad you like the story so far! Cliffhangers might not happen too often (I think!) so that might help cruel irony lay down her hot poker (of DOOM, naturally!). Oh and I think Danny's definitely feeling the guilt for beating up Dash… I agree, poor guy, he has NO idea what I'm gonna put him through XD…Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! And thanks for reviewing!

Adio!

Sholay