Chapter Fifty Nine
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"Danny- Hey, Danny- Stop shoving! It's a big hallway you idiots just walk around me!" Startled, Danny shared a look with an equally confused Sam as Tucker fought against the tide of students going to their last class of the day.
"Any idea what that's about?" Sam asked quietly, the noise in the hall too loud for Danny to make out whatever Tucker was trying to whisper-shout over to him.
"No idea, but he's not screaming at the top of his lungs and I'm not sensing any ghosts, so it's gotta be something else." If he was trying to be discreet then that meant it was something ghost related, but also not ghost related?
"You think he'll remember we have phones?" The two walked into Creative Writing, Andrew furiously writing on the board with a pen shoved in his mouth and a few papers barely an inch away from his face. "Has he slept at all recently?"
"Nope. He's been making lesson plans to help everyone get ready for testing. He's still pissed that we even have testing for reading and writing." Danny had actually been curling up with Randy most nights - at least, the nights he wasn't staying in his own room. "Also, didn't Tucker break his phone?"
"Oh, right." Sam frowned. "He was trying to rewire it, wasn't he? Something about how the phone companies start overloading the phones when a new model comes out?"
"I guess. I dunno, I don't use my phone all that much. Plus, if it gets messed up, I can probably blame Technus. You know he's got half the Ghost Zone hooked up-"
"So all the ghosts can have internet and data, yes, Danny. I know you're proud of your little temper tantrum toddlers, but please remember they've tried to take over the world multiple times." Instead of answering, Danny could only stare with wide eyes. "Wha- What?"
"'Temper tantrum toddlers.'" That was beautiful. "I can't decide if that's better or worse than suffering spooks-"
"Oh, shut up!" Sam gave him a sharp shove, Danny bursting into laughter as the two took their seats, the warning bell ringing. "Okay, okay, you really have no idea what Tucker was on about?"
"None, but I don't have a good feeling about it." Tucker had looked almost panicked when trying to get to them. "If it was a Pariah level threat, though, he would be bursting in here, attendance be damned." Looking to the door, Danny silently counted to eight, Sam looking to be doing the same thing judging by the way she was pressing her fingers down against the desk. "Nope. We're good."
"Good afternoon, class. Now, this is the one and only time I'm encouraging cell phone use in class." Oh? "I know for a fact only three of you read my hand outs, so I want you you to take a picture of this board. Save it, print it out, make it your lock screen, I don't care. Just know that this is everything you need to know to be able to pass your exams."
"Whoa." Yeah, Danny had to agree with Sam on that one. The board was covered in almost a hundred lines of short, concise instructions and tips, Andrew looking like he had one cup of coffee too many as he beamed. "No wonder your grades got so much better."
"I told you he was a great teacher." Danny couldn't stop the pride in his voice, but he had a feeling Andrew didn't mind. The class didn't seem to mind all the notes either, judging by how many cameras he heard going off.
"Excellent! Now, today-" A sharp rapping on the door interrupted his words, Andrew frowning and glancing to Danny with a dark look.
"Unexpected company," Danny said quietly to Sam.
"Wonder who it could be." Sam leaned back and crossed her arms, Danny smiling a bit as he saw her shift towards her bag where all her Fenton tech was.
"We're about to find out." The door began to open. "And behind door number one is-" The words stuck in his throat and Danny was completely and totally unprepared for the fear he felt. A look to Andrew showed he looked just as surprised and unnerved.
"I thought I told you gentlemen last time-" One of the agents - were they still agents if they no longer worked for the government? - shoved a piece of paper in Andrew's face.
"Relax, ghost, we have a search warrant." Somehow, 'Section 13' sounded much more dangerous than the Guys-in-White. "We also require your full and complete cooperation in this matter."
"Oh, it'll be my absolute joy to sell out my entire kind to an existence of experimentation and torture." Andrew looked away in 'fear' as one of the agents glared at him, Danny remembering that Andrew had taken on a shy and scared demeanor around the agents last time. "What do you want?"
"Under the jurisdiction of Section 13 and the full knowledge that you live in a ghost-filled territory we are ordering you to tell us the location of Danny Phantom." As one of them spoke, the other looked right at Danny. For a second, Danny thought they were merely making sure none of the students did something stupid, but then the agent's gaze didn't move. He was looking at Danny. He was looking at Danny.
"I beg your pardon! I've never heard of Section 13 and even if I had there is no government on this earth that has control over me!" Of course. Of course. Oh, he had been such an idiot. Walker. Walker knew who he was. Walker knew who he was.
After what had happened, Walker had no qualms about keeping Danny's secret for him - or Vlad's, either. That meant that by now Section 13 knew about half ghosts and they knew who they were, too. The only reason that Danny wasn't being dragged out in cuffs was probably because they couldn't explain away kidnapping a child out of school - yet.
"Danny." Sam's kick had him looking over more than her hiss, the girl frowning at him. Danny only shook his head, mouthing out Walker's name. He could see when realization hit. "Fuck." Yeah. Fuck. If they got proof of who Danny was then it would be like that summer with Freakshow all over again. He would never have a secret identity again.
Watching them and Andrew argue, Danny tried to look mildly confused and concerned instead of shaking in fear like he wanted to. They were being smart about what they were doing. That was probably the scariest thing of all. Incompetent ghost hunters were one thing, but smart, ruthless, and efficient ghost hunters… He had been lucky before, but he felt as if his luck had just run out.
"Enough." Andrew sensed the danger, too, then. It wasn't the Priest, but Ghostwriter who was growling at them. "You seem to be under the delusion that you have played this game longer than I have. I assure you, this is not the case."
"Just cooperate with us peacefully and we'll-"
"You'll what? Make sure my death is a quick and peaceful one? Try again."
"We can do this the easy way, ghost, or…" Their weapons were lined with red and Danny recalled that Christmas Day and Walker and Vlad's stolen technology. Vlad had been very dangerous when driven by revenge and these weapons were very, very deadly.
"I'm rather enjoying the sound of that second one." Andrew stood his ground and his disguise of scared teacher fell away. For a second Danny almost saw a keyboard flick into existence around him. "You do your research. Perhaps you know of my arrangement with the principal here."
"Yeah, we do." The agent in front smirked, shouldering the gun he had been carrying the entire time. "Use your powers and get sent back to that hell hole."
"Actually, I've been given permission to use my powers when I deem the situation appropriate. Right now, agents, my students look afraid at the two men who interrupted my lesson and are carrying guns. I do believe that deems the use of my powers."
"You wouldn't dare." Andrew's gaze skipped around the class, landing on Danny's gaze and a million conversations seemed to flow between them, Andrew's entire being growing sharper as he looked back to the- To the hunters.
"Try me." Surprisingly - or maybe not surprisingly - Danny felt more and more relaxed the angrier Andrew became. "Ask your boss which one he fears more. The Priest or the Ghostwriter." Whatever meaning the two got out of it, they were both either removing their hands from their weapons or holstering their guns. "Get out of this school."
"This isn't over, ghost. You can be sure that we'll be back." The two looked at Danny and it took everything in him to not sink down in his seat or run away.
"Oh, I'm very much looking forward to running into you two again." The door shut and Andrew was pulling out his phone, powers flicking out to lock the door even as he looked to the class. "Silent study."
Silent ended up being whispers breaking out at once, Danny slumping down in his seat and grateful for the hand that clutched at his. Sam gave him a tired smile when he finally looked over, the girl's voice as weak as her smile, "Guess we know what Tucker was trying to say."
"He probably didn't think they'd be that dangerous even with them being with Walker, now." Tucker had looked worried, but not panicked. What had just happened, though? That…
Looking back to Andrew, Danny heard him speaking low and quick into his phone and oh, he had called Randy. Andrew must have been really spooked if he was- "-blood blossoms-" They… They had blood blossoms? Shit- Shit. Danny hadn't even noticed. How had he not noticed something like blood blossoms? Was it because he was sitting away from them and not actively using his powers?
A wave of familiar energy spiked in the classroom and Danny blinked even as some students yelped or screamed as Randy appeared on top of Andrew's desk, tapping his phone against his chin as he leaned back with crossed legs. The dramatics did a little to lift Danny's spirits. ...Pft. Spirits.
"The situation just became much more complicated." Ah, well, there went that good mood. Randy worried was one thing, and joking another, but calm and serious? Not good.
"Very," Andrew agreed, sliding his own phone away and nervously running a hand through his hair. Danny kind of hated that he couldn't just fly over and run a hand through the hair himself.
"Mm." Randy looked over the class before glancing to the clock. "Class dismissed. Stay in groups and do me a favor and call your parents? I'm sure they'll all be delighted to hear about how men with guns who aren't government affiliated just threatened the children of Amity Park."
"That's one way to cause a riot," Sam laughed, standing up and clutching her bag far too tightly to be casual. "I'm gonna bail Tuck out and we're gonna go straight to your place and tell your parents."
"Sam, you're an utter gem." His friends knew him too well to reassure him and know that he was going straight with Andrew and Randy. "Armed?"
"Always," Sam smirked, pushing at his back. "Go on. GW looks ready to vibrate out of his skin with how worried he looks."
"Randy's not much better." Giving Sam a quick, tight hug, Danny grabbed his backpack and quickly walked over to Andrew and Randy. Fingers found his and in a dizzying rush they were catching their balance on stone, Danny dropping his bag and throwing himself at Andrew as tight as he could.
"Ssh, it's okay, mon cher." Andrew caught him at once, holding him close as a gentle lullaby played through his head, distinctive piano notes letting him know they were at Liz. "I've got you, Danny, I've got you. Randy-"
"Bad. It's very bad." Squirming in Andrew's hold, Danny looked over to where Randy looked exhausted. A moment and Danny and Andrew both were wrapping him up in a hug, Randy huffing a laugh at their teamwork. "You two okay?"
"Scared, but physically alright."
"Enraged, but I'm alright as well."
"Good." Randy threw an arm around them both, holding them close. "Being scared keeps you alert and anger gets shit done."
"You've taken a job." Wait- What? Startled, Danny looked up to Randy, the man looking serious. It wasn't quite Randy, but it wasn't White Fang, either. It was more… Ah. "Who?"
"Three hours ago Observant guards went to retrieve Walker from where he has been taking up residence in the human world. A hearing was called to decide if the deserved warden status back. When the guard returned-" Randy swallowed, Danny feeling fear for what came next. "He had severe burns caused by high doses of direct contact with blood blossoms. A single guard returned, but three were sent." Oh- Oh, god.
"They were sending a message." Fuck, fuck, fuck. Danny knew it wasn't his fault - he knew it wasn't. Still. It somehow felt like it was. "Your job?"
"The Mercenary's job is to bring in Walker by any means necessary and to eliminate him if he's deemed an extreme threat. Andy-"
"Don't. Don't you dare say something stupid like telling us to stay away. Those are my students and my mate they threatened today. I have a right to fight in this battle."
"And it's me he's after." Danny finally spoke, giving Andrew a sharp look when he tried to interrupt. "No. It's my town and my home and it's me Walker is going after. This is my fight, too, Randy, and you can't just-"
Danny was cut off with bright laughter, Danny at least satisfied to see that Andrew looked just as surprised as he felt. Randy just shook his head, bringing them in close for another hug again. "Actually," he said softly, "I was going to ask for your help." Oh. "We're stronger together after all, right?"
"Right!" Walker and Section 13 had just become a threat worse than Spectra. At least with her she had only been after Danny. This, however? Walker had made it obvious before just how little he cared about others safety during their fights. If he was willing to overshadow people then, Danny shuddered to think what he would be willing to do now.
Whatever they were up to, Danny would stop them. Danny, Andrew, and Randy. They were stronger together, after all. They were going to stop him. They had to.
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"You don't accept help on jobs." Stirring his cup of coffee, Andrew stared right at Randy where the other had walked into the kitchen.
"The sky is blue. Now, are we done station the obvious?" Oh, testy. He really was scared about all of this, wasn't he?
As Randy sat down, Andrew pushed over the cup of coffee, pleased when Randy drank it without checking it for poison as he used to do. Ah, maybe that was it. "You're not afraid of losing us, anymore."
"That's part of it." Randy smirked after a minute or two of silence after his answer, Andrew huffing as he realized he must have been glaring for that smirk to form. "I wasn't able to help even when I knew Spectra was tearing him apart. I can't…" Ah.
"I know." It seemed neither of them could stand by and let Danny get hurt all over again. Not after all that had just happened. This time, they were fighting on the front lines. "Will you be okay?"
"I have to admit, taking jobs from the Observants isn't my favorite, but this works out in my interests. I would have gone after Walker whether they ordered me to or not. Will you be okay, Ghostwriter?"
"Danny told you about that." Andrew huffed, refusing to admit there was any trace of a blush on his face even as Randy moved to kiss at his cheek fondly. "Well, I wasn't going to pull a knife out in school."
"Mhm." Feeling the palm rubbing at his cheek, Andrew sighed and pressed into the touch immediately. "Danny?"
"Asleep. Restless, but asleep." There would be nightmares, though. There were always nightmares, especially with things such as this.
"Andy." Snapping his attention back to Randy at the tone, Andrew got distracted by the eyes that caught on his own. "You can't be the Priest here."
"I know." Because the Priest was trailed by White Fang, and if he lost it then Randy would be right behind him. "I know, but…"
"We'll keep him safe, Andy. I promise. Have I ever broken a promise to you?"
"No, you haven't," Andrew chuckled, accepting the soft kiss with a sigh that was just as soft. "We'll keep him safe, Randy. I promise you."
"I know." It was easy to hear the words that went unspoken. I know. Just as I will keep you safe. "C'mon. Let's get to bed before we get any more sappy."
"That's possible?" It was gratifying to hear Randy fight down a bout of laughter, Andrew nodding and standing. His questions had been answered, after all. As for his problems… They would take care of them together, just as they had always used to do.
The only changed variable was the silly little half-ghost asleep in the other room and probably about to roll off the bed again. "We'll protect him, Randy." They had to. This time, just this once, failure was not an option they could take. He would not let it be.