Chapter Eighty-Six: Thanksgiving

"I wan' caw urey!" Lucretius said, flying up to the table and reaching for the knife. His dad put a stop to that with a tug on his tether. "I wan' caw urey!"

"Not right now, maybe when you're older." Danny said, putting him in his seat. "Now sit, stay, or daddy will have to spank you."

Lucretius whimpered, nodding.

"Danny, don't threaten him." Sam walked over and kissed Lucretius' head. "He's just eager to get started, aren't you Lucretius?"

"He can't even eat the turkey." Dan laughed.

"Doesn't stop him from wanting the party to start already." Sam sat on Lucretius' other side, smiling at Danny on the baby's other side.

"You've got a party animal there." Dark commented as the others sat down.

"I'm hoping it tones down." Danny said, shaking his head. "I'd hate to have to worry about him sneaking off in the middle of night to go to parties and drink underage." He glanced at Dan.

Dan raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you keep that kind of talk to our minds? They don't need to know."

"I never said any names, did I?" Danny retorted.

"Boys!" Vlad snapped. "Keep it civil, this is a happy occasion."

They both went quiet, but the others could practically feel their rage build up as their argument continued mentally. Sam sighed, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny, can this please wait?"

"…Fine." Danny pulled his eyes away from Dan's, his gaze softening.

"How did you even get that connection?" Dark asked. "You never told me."

"We had it when I died." Danny explained. "We were…separated and he wanted to find a way to contact me. So, he used his mind to try to reach me. We never told our captor about it."

Sam sighed, looking at Lucretius. Danny, of course, wouldn't give her any details. He'd promised her the truth "when the time came", but when? Apparently it wasn't the Guys in White; she overheard him on the phone with the leader just this morning! So, who had done such a horrible thing to him, and why did they lie and say it was the Guys in White?

Once things calmed down between Danny and Dan, they were able to enjoy the day. Sam noticed, though, that Danny wasn't in their room when she got there, even though he'd left the party before her. "Danny?" She asked softly.

The sound of shouting caught her attention and she followed the source to Dan's room, frowning at the two teenagers standing in the room.

"How can you be so polite and sweet around others but a real asshole when you're left to your own devices?" Danny asked.

"I haven't changed, Danny." Dan replied calmly. "My 'asshole' nature has just been dampened by your goody-two-shoes attitude."

"You would have killed so many people if I wasn't around." Danny clenched his fists.

"HE DESERVES TO DIE FOR WHAT HE DID TO US!" Dan roared, his aura flaring up and ecto-blasts forming in his fists. "He deserves a THOUSAND DEATHS!"

"But you don't. You don't kill him, even though you have the chance." Danny said, forcing himself to remain calm as his brother yelled at him.

"I promised you…" Dan's hands stopped glowing and he lowered to the floor. "I promised…to not kill."

"Exactly." Danny nodded. "And if you hadn't made those promises, you would've turned into what Dark was when we met him. After we SWORE we would never become like that!"

Dan sighed, nodding. "I know…" He sat on the edge of his bed. "I just…when I think of what he did…the knife…the electrocution...the tank…the battles…"

Danny sat next to him, gently taking his hand. "I was able to bear it all because of you." He said softly. "I would've been fine with him keeping my blood, if he wasn't going to use it against you. If it would've bettered humanity in some way…"

"I know." Dan wrapped his arm around Danny, resting the raven-haired teen's head on his shoulder. "You want to help everyone…and I want revenge." He closed his eyes. "We can't let him get away with it."

"Dark says we're not ready." Danny said softly. "It took him ten years to be as strong as he is. If that's the case, then Lucretius will be eight by the time we're ready, almost nine."

"Oh, god…" Dan groaned, holding his head. "Box Lunch…"

Danny chuckled. "Well, you knew it was going to happen."

"Not everything had to happen. Why did they even…is Technus gonna merge with Skulker, then?" Dan looked at him.

"I think Ember would throw a fit." Danny laughed.

"As long as it prevents Skulker and Technus from merging, she can throw all the fits she wants." Dan stretched. "Though, Ember is looking really cute."

"Girlfriend?" Danny said warningly. "Bad enough you're screwing Plasmius, you don't want to cheat on Valerie with Ember."

"Uh, Plasmius is doing the screwing, not me." Dan looked at the door. "And I think you've heard enough TMI to have nightmares, Sam. Sleep tight." He grinned.

"Sam?" Danny looked at the door, blinking. "You—what—how long?"

"Since our argument." Dan shrugged.

"Ugh!" Danny got up and went to the door. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" He slammed the door behind him, going after Sam as she ran off.

He found her in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Uh…hi."

"So, uh…that explains all the sitting in his lap and Plasmius' obvious flirting…" Sam's face was red.

"Yeah." Danny sat next to her. "…You're not gonna ask?"

"You promised me answers when the time came. From the sounds of it, that'll be eight years from now." She looked at him. "I can wait until then."

He took her hand and gently kissed her. "Thank you, Sam."

Whoa, a fight. Well, an argument. Danny doesn't like Phantom going out partying, haha.
Maybe he wouldn't care if they didn't have that connection... ~ Zone