Moi-Moi: Do you guys listen to music when you're reading? I do. I listen to it when I'm writing, too. Honestly, I can't find a better song to listen to for dramatic, action scenes (like the ones in this chapter) than "False Alarm" by The Weeknd. Maybe "Uma Thurman" by Fall Out Boy or "Confident" by Demi Lovato if it's a girl power scene. If you guys have a better suggestion, let me know! :D

~:~

Kagome scanned the buildings as she drove along the deserted street. How many buildings in Amity Park were still made of wood!? The worry she was feeling was slowly building into a mountain of nerves. If her grandmother hurt Danny, she'd never forgive herself. She had to find him before it was too late...

"This is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!" Kagome heard Tucker exclaim.

"Keep looking, Tucker. We have to find Danny! Kagome, how's he doing?" Sam asked.

Kagome reached over to pick up the photo strip that rested on the passenger's seat next to her. She pulled over quickly and closed her eyes in concentration. "He's still asleep. We still have time to find him," Kagome said before quickly pulling onto the road again.

"Then let's move. We don't know how much longer we have," Sam urged. Sam was right. The sun was quickly setting on them. Who knows how much time they had left?

"Kagome, any idea what your grandma might be planning?" Tucker asked with a little hesitation in his tone, as if he didn't want to hear the answer.

"I'm not sure. If she wanted to waste him, she could have done that already," Kagome answered.

"Try not to focus on why she hasn't hurt him and focus on finding him instead. Kagome, if anything changes, let us know," Sam said.

"Got it," Kagome responded.

Kagome could feel seeds of respect being planted for Sam. The way the goth immediately took control of the situation was quite impressive. For a group of teenagers, her friends were pretty mature and responsible. They all had admirable character traits that you'd rarely find in kids their age- Danny's self-sacrificing courage, Sam's stubborn determination, and Tucker's ingenuity. It made Kagome wonder if they would begin to rub off on her (or if they already had).

Eventually, time started to move both slowly and rapidly at the same time. Ten minutes of driving around skyscrapers turned into thirty which turned into fifty all in what felt like ten seconds! The failure was really wearing on Kagome's nerves. What good was magic if she couldn't use it when she really needed it!? She couldn't sense Danny's ghostly energy, she couldn't establish a strong enough connection to his ghost half to summon him away, and she couldn't even find where he was being hidden.

"Hey! Don't give up hope yet, Kagome. We still have time right?" Sam's voice asked.

Had she been talking out loud? "Uh... Yeah..."

"It's times like these that make me wish I had Danny's ghost sense. You know? Then we could find him easy," Tucker said. "Heck, even a witch sense would work right about now..."

A witch sense? Suddenly, Kagome's foot slammed down on the break. Luckily, she was alone on this street. "Tucker! You're a genius!" Kagome shouted.

"I am?"

"Why is Tucker a genius now?"

"A witch sense! That's genius!" Kagome shouted and closed her eyes.

"I still don't get it..."

"Kagome, can you sense your grandmother?" Sam asked anxiously.

"No. But I can try to sense her magic. When a witch uses their magic in the vacinity of other witches, we can sense it, especially if it's a lot being used. It's like a homing beacon that only we can see. Right now, I don't think she's using too much, but I can still sense her... She's south! Near the edge of town in the warehouse district," Kagome said and quickly did a U-turn on the street. "Sorry it took so long to remember that guys. I really need to work on using my sixth sense."

"It's cool. We know where he is now. Let's hurry before it's too late," Sam replied.

~:~

'Shit,' Danny couldn't help but think. He once again put all his effort into pulling at his arms and kicking his legs. Nakoda was approaching him slowly with a sort of sympathetic look on her face. "S-stay away from me!" Danny shouted.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Danny. Don't you want to be normal? Don't you want to be rid of that parasite once and for all?" Nakoda asked and placed a hand onto Danny's elbow. "I can fix you."

'Think, Fenton. Think! You have to do something or you're toast!'

Nakoda sighed loudly. Why couldn't he keep still? "Keep still, Danny," Nakoda chided before placing her thumb to his forehead. Once Danny's entire body stilled, Nakoda nodded once. "I'm not a doctor. I don't want to accidentally hurt you," Nakoda explained while aiming her needle.

Danny could only take erratic breaths as his eyes remained focused on the ceiling. His entire body was unresponsive, but he could feel Nakoda's fingers tenderly grip his arm. When the needle finally pricked his skin, Danny sucked in a large breath.

"Danny!"

Just like that, the air left his lungs slowly and he nearly cried out in relief. That sounded like Kagome! He couldn't see her but he could hear a car engine and quick footsteps. Seconds later, it sounded like a door had been slammed open.

"Danny!"

"Kagome? What are you doing here? Just stay back, sweetheart. The ghost may react unpredictably," Nakoda said. She must have pressed the plunger on the needle because Danny could feel an icy burn starting to gather under his skin.

~:~

She didn't think her next actions through. Before it had even registered in her brain, Kagome's legs were running towards Nakoda. Seconds later, she was tackling her sixty-six-year-old grandmother to the ground. The needle in Danny's arm went flying before it crashed to the floor and leaked its contents onto the concrete. While her grandmother groaned beneath her, Kagome pulled herself to her feet before running over to Danny. Under different circumstances, she was sure that she would feel a tidal wave of guilt for what she had just done, but there was more important things happening. "I'm so sorry she did this. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry," she kept repeating as she canceled out the hold Nakoda's magic had on him. Once he was dislodged from the wall, Kagome caught his limp body before steadying him. "Come on, Danny. We have to get to the car."

"My arm. She gave me something," Danny said.

Kagome glanced down at Danny's arm suspiciously before gasping loudly. At the sight of the black, spider web-like veins that were spreading under his pale skin, Kagome nearly dropped him. "It's going to be okay. It doesn't look like she gave you a lot. I can fix this, but I have to do it now before you get worse," Kagome said as she slowly eased him to the ground.

"It'll get worse?" Danny asked incredulously.

"She gave you some salt. Didn't she? The potion is mild now. But once you get your powers back, it'll hurt like hell. I'm going to try to draw it out," Kagome said and placed her hands over Danny's arm.

"Kagome Takahashi," Nakoda said in a stern voice as she pushed herself into a standing position. "You get away from that boy right now."

"Try to breathe deeply. Okay?" Kagome said to Danny. Danny stared up at her before nodding.

"Ugoku!" Nakoda shouted and waved her arm at the pair.

"Kagome!" Danny shouted when Kagome was suddenly knocked away from him. He watched her roll away weakly before shaking herself out. For once, his muscles responded when he attempted to move. "Are you okay?" he asked as he crawled towards her slowly. Before he could make it half-way, he felt a force yank on the back of his shirt.

"There's more than one way to destroy a ghost. I wanted to use a way that would spare you, Danny. But, now I'm not feeling so generous," Nakoda said and flipped Danny onto his back. Danny gasped as his eyes widened. Damn it! His powers still weren't working...

"Neither am I! Grandma, I don't want to hurt you, but I won't let you hurt Danny," Kagome declared. "Ugoku."

As soon as Nakoda was no longer at Danny's side, Kagome rushed towards him before turning on her grandmother. "He's not evil, grandma. He's not some unnatural abomination. He's my friend and I won't let you hurt him," Kagome announced in a firm voice. She wanted to defend Danny, but she couldn't physically injure her grandmother! It was easy to fight and knock out some ghost, but Nakoda was still family. She'd just have to try something else if she wanted to stop Nakoda without hurting her.

Nakoda coughed lightly as she pulled herself up onto her hands and knees. Glancing in front of her, she could see Kagome standing in front of the boy with her eyes closed and her lips moving. She was whispering the words to the spell, but Nakoda could hear the incantation plain as day. Nakoda's eyes widened. The gem around Kagome's neck was glowing brightly. Gusts of wind were rocking the rickety foundation of the warehouse as well as knocking over some cardboard boxes and crates that were stacked around them. It wasn't long before Nakoda's hair was whipping her face in response to the growing winds. "Kagome! Wait!" Nakoda called out when she felt the change in her body. Her magic! "Stop! Don't do this!" Nakoda shouted.

This shouldn't be happening! She was losing her magic. How could this happen? Kagome was strong enough to use this spell, but that didn't mean that she would be able to cast it. A witch could only lose their magic if they'd used it wrongly. Right? 'When had I used my magic wrongly!? I was saving that boy!' Eventually, the drain on her magic grew to be too taxing on her frail body. Nakoda fell forward in an unconscious heap just as the wind died down.

"Kagome? What...just happened?" Danny asked from where he laid behind her. It hadn't looked like Kagome had done anything to Nakoda besides knock her out.

Kagome turned and quickly kneeled at his side. "Don't worry. I didn't hurt her. It was a magic transfer spell," Kagome answered and placed her hands over his infected arm.

"You transferred her magic? To what?"

"Into the earth. It's sort of this witch doctrine that our magic is a gift of the earth. If you misuse your magic to kill a living creature, you can lose it. So, I just made her give hers back," Kagome explained in a light tone. "Even though you're half-ghost, you're still half-human and very much alive," Kagome added lightly.

"Oh..." Danny replied unintelligently. He glanced down at where her hands were lightly caressing the skin of his arm. The feel of her hands on his arm was doing wonders for the pain he was a feeling. Although, he wasn't sure if the pleasantly numb sensation he was getting was from her healing him or from her touch in general. He definitely needed a distraction. "How did you find me?"

"I'm still learning the ropes when it comes to magic, but I know a thing or two," Kagome answered with a small smirk. She could see the black veins slowly fade away as the liquid was drawn out of the puncture wound on his arm. "How do you feel now?"

"Better. Thanks," Danny said as he slowly sat up.

"Sam and Tucker are on their way. We can wait for them if you want. Or I could take you home to change. You're...kind of a mess," Kagome pointed out.

Danny hung his head with a loud sigh. "My parents are probably freaking out. I should go home," Danny said and stood.

"I'll let Sam and Tucker know that I'm taking you home," Kagome said.

~:~

Maddie frowned as she paced the floors of Danny's messy room. It was probably an after effect of having her first-born moving out, but Maddie was feeling extra attentive to Danny lately. Granted, she and Jack were still spending most the day holed up in the lab. But Maddie always made sure that she left the lab by 6:30 at the latest so that she could get dinner started. At 8, she got Jack to come up from the lab and Danny to come down from his room so that they could eat dinner together. So when 8 o' clock came and went with no sign of Danny, Maddie was a bit miffed. Jack had assured her that Danny was probably out with his friends again and would come home soon. But that was over an hour ago.

"Maddie... Pacing in his room won't make Danny come home any sooner," Jack admonished with a raised brow when he suddenly stuck his head in through Danny's doorway. "Geez. What a pigsty. It looks like someone turned this place upside down."

"We should call him, Jack. So that he doesn't miss curfew again. I hate it when we have to ground him," Maddie pleaded.

"His curfew isn't until 11, Maddie. I think Danny's been really responsible lately. You're worrying for nothing, Honey. He's probably across the street right now," Jack soothed and gently tugged Maddie out of Danny's room.

"You're probably right, Jack," Maddie said before wrinkling her nose. She coughed a few times before covering her nose with her hand. "What is that smell?"

"I don't smell anything," Jack replied and took a few, tentative sniffs of the air.

"It's coming from Danny's room. It smells like something's burning," Maddie said and pulled her hand out of Jack's grip.

"I don't smell anything. Now, why don't we go downstairs and relax. You can wait for Danny there and I can work on my needlepoint! Or we could have some fudge..." Jack suggested.

"Oh. Alright, Jack," Maddie acquiesced and allowed Jack to lead her downstairs. Once they'd made it to the bottom of the stairs, they both went straight for the kitchen. While Maddie opened up the bowl of fudge that she had made earlier that day, Jack bounced on his feet like an anxious child. "Here you go, Jack," Maddie said just as she heard the front door close softly. "Danny!?" Maddie called out with a surprised expression.

"Hey mom! I'm sorry I missed dinner! I'm going up to my room. Okay?"

"Danny! Wait!" Maddie called out and quickly abandoned the fudge. She could feel Jack on her heels as she walked out into the living room. Half-way up the staircase, Danny was frozen in place with Kagome at his side. "Danny, where were you? You could have called and said that you weren't going to make it for dinner."

"That's my fault, Mrs. Fenton. Danny and I were out today and we got hungry so we went for dinner too," Kagome explained with an apologetic smile. While Kagome turned to face them, Danny still gave them his back.

"Oh. Well, that's alright I suppose. Just make sure to call next time, Danny," Maddie chided.

"Sure thing, mom!" Danny replied just before the teens practically flew up the steps.

Maddie frowned slightly. "That was strange," Maddie commented.

"They're teenagers, Maddie. Half the things they do can't be explained," Jack shrugged and went back to the kitchen for his fudge.

~:~

Once they were safely in his room, Kagome shut the door behind them before helping Danny over to his bed. "What happened to my bed?" Danny asked when he saw that his sheets were stripped from the mattress and his pillows were laying on the floor. "What happened to my room?"

"Sam, Tucker and I were here earlier. We were trying to find something that I could use to track you," Kagome explained and helped him onto the bed. She grabbed his pillows before placing them under his head.

"I'm guessing you found something," Danny said dryly.

"Yeah. Sam found these when she was turning your bed inside out," Kagome answered and took the photo strip out of her front pocket. She watched Danny's eyes widen while a blush graced his cheeks. Before he could even try to speak, Kagome cut him off. "It's okay, Danny. All that matters is that you're okay. I'm more worried about whether or not you're mad with me."

"Why would I be mad at you? You saved my life tonight," Danny replied in a surprised tone.

"Your life wouldn't have been in danger if it weren't for my grandmother," she said as she sat on the edge of his bed.

"Well, that's her fault. Not yours. If I can't blame myself for my enemies attacking you, you can't blame yourself for your grandmother attacking me," Danny declared.

Kagome sighed once before smiling in relief. "Deal," she agreed. With his photos still clutched in her hands, Kagome stared down at Danny for several seconds. "Are you sure that you're feeling better? I think you should sleep with your window open to make sure that all of the smell is gone."

"I'm fine. Don't worry so much," Danny replied with an easy-going smile.

Not able to resist, Kagome returned the smile. He was staring so intently at her that she found herself unable to hold his gaze. Unfortunately, her eyes landed on the pictures in her hands. They looked kind of good together. Clearing her throat once, Kagome leaned forward to place the photos down onto his bedside table. Where had that come from? "I-I should go. You probably want to change out of those clothes," Kagome said in a shaky voice.

She must have been moving too slow. Before she could get off the bed, Danny was already sitting up and holding her hand in his. At such a close proximity to him, Kagome could see almost every detail on Dany's face. She'd always thought that his eyes were completely blue. But now, she could see a few flecks of neon green swimming in them. She stopped breathing when his eyes slid closed.

Their second kiss was... different. She felt a different kind of tingle that moved from her lips down to her toes and back up to the roots of the hairs on her head. She had been a passive participant last time. But, this time, she could feel her hands slowly moving upwards to gently cup his cheeks. She tried to ignore the tickling feelings on her forehead from the hair that was hanging off of Danny's head. But just like that, the light of realization flickered to life amongst the haze that had taken over her mind. Pulling away slightly, Kagome kept her head down as her face heated.

"...I'm sorry," she heard Danny apologize softly, but she had the strangest feeling that he wasn't really sorry.

"Don't be," Kagome replied in a small voice. Her heart was pounding enough that she could feel it throughout her chest, her lungs couldn't take in a proper breath, and she couldn't get her mouth to stop smiling. Reigning in the smile on her face, Kagome cleared her throat and shook her head out a little to clear it. "I...I'm going to let you get changed and cleaned up. I'll check on you tomorrow to see how you're feeling."

"Okay."

She made the wrong choice of looking at him. A new wave of embarassment flooded through her when she spotted the blissful (and borderline dopey) look on Danny's face. With a face redder than a tomato, Kagome suddenly stood up from the bed before walking stifly towards the door. "See you later, Danny!" she tossed out quickly over her shoulder before dashing from the room.

The speed walk she had adopted didn't ease up until she was safely within the privacy of her bedroom. For good measure, she drew the curtains over her windows that faced the street (and Fenton Works). Hearing a low whine behind her, Kagome gasped loudly and turned. "Aki! You scared me," Kagome said with a relieved sigh. Seeing the confused look on the dog's face, Kagome walked over to her bed and took a seat. "I think I goofed, Aki. I'm definitely sending him mixed signals," Kagome said before groaning loudly. 'Why'd I KISS Danny!? It wasn't bad, but still... I don't like Danny like that.'

~:~

It just didn't make any sense.

How did the ghost child manage to get such a powerful witch to defend him!? The Fright Knight had only managed to observe the end of the fight, but it had been more than enough time to see that young witch take away the older one's magic and effectively defend the ghost child. But it just didn't make any sense. Why would any witch want to help a ghost? What's more? Why would she help the ghost child? If she wanted to aid anyone, she should serve the true king- Pariah Dark.