A/N: *Coffin creaks open, lightning flashes, horses scream* HELLO READERS! OhmygoshI'msosorryI'vebeenbusywithschoolandhaven'tupdatedpleaseforgiveme!

Not a super long chapter but it's enough for now, just to let you know that it is NOT abandoned and I am NOT dead!

Love you! Remember to review if you can, as it motivates me to keep going and reminds me that people actually care and then makes me feel that I need to be a responsible writer and keep the updates coming.

Chapter 32: Nature

Soft light, warm sun. The scent of summer wafts to his nose. Despite that, the ground beneath him is cold and damp, slowly swallowing him. Dark clay begins to cling to his skin, writhing like eels. He tries in vain to tear the tendrils away, but the strength is gone from his fingers. He reaches for his core to grasp emptiness.

I'm human.

Just...a human.

He wonders if he was always this weak before that day in the portal. If the strength he's always relied on was really his own.

The clay sticks to his skin, seeps into his mouth and nostrils, acrid and cold. A panic he hasn't felt in years rises in his chest, his lungs burning as he struggles for air. He can't force his way out with strength. He can't phase out. Was he always this powerless? Always this helpless?

::Danny!::

::...Danny! Can you hear me?!::

::Danny, are you okay?!::

Sam…

He tries to call out, but the clay fills his mouth, suffocating his words.

::Daniel James Fenton! Can you hear me?!::

I can! I can!

::Danny!?:: He can hear the panic beginning to creep into her voice.

I can't...he tries futilely to pull his arms from the filth, but they don't budge.

"I'd think you'd find you can, Halfling."

Ghost Writer?

"Dreams are powerful things, aren't they? Even though you know you're strong, even though you know you have the power to break free, the dream can convince you otherwise," the librarian walks effortlessly through the mud, which recoils at his touch, "Sometimes the conviction, the feeling, lasts even after you wake."

Help me.

He looks down at the struggling halfa, half-submerged in a blackened swamp, "Do you really need my help? Last I checked, you were Danny Phantom. You know what power you have, and you know what power you can have. The question, Daniel...is if you understand what that power is."

Now he's getting annoyed, Is it that big of a deal to help me?!

"I'm afraid I've helped you to the full extent of my power - perhaps even beyond my strength. I couldn't help you more if I tried."

Behold, the power of dreams, he retorts mentally, his rapid heart fluttering at the lack of oxygen. The edges of his vision are darkening.

"Ah, yes, that was what we were originally discussing, was it not? The power of dreams. A nightmare can leave you anxious for no reason when you awake...and a good dream can leave you feeling confident when you have no reason to feel so. It's quite mysterious, isn't it?"

::Danny, please answer me!::

"Shouldn't you answer her? She's quite worried...she's been through a lot, you know. I pity the girl. Her fiance cannot even find the strength to pull himself from his illusions."

Now you're just making me angry, he focuses on the burning in his chest, how close it is to where his core should be.

Was I always this weak?

Maybe when I was just a human. But now…

...now I straddle two worlds. I am both human and ghost, but this doesn't make me inherently more than either one. I have all of their strengths...but also all of their weaknesses.

I am not just a human.

I am not just a ghost.

I am just a halfa.

And that's always been enough.

He imagines his core, cold and soft, like snow. It slips softly into existence, the familiar chill running through his veins. The clay begins to recede, escaping the power now flowing through his body. Ghost Writer smiles, his green eyes both proud, yet sad.

"...try not to worry your sister so much, either, hm?"

ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBREAKzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ

::Danny!::

::Sam!:: he grins, pulling himself to sit against the wall, ::Sam, you're in the Ghost Zone?::

::Yeah. A lot happened…::

::...what's wrong?::

::It's Ghost Writer. He...the GIW developed some sort of blaster that spreads after it hits...as though slowly devouring you...molecule by molecule…:: She shows him that moment in the library when its master vanished.

::That's not possible. He was just-!::

I'm afraid I've helped you to the full extent of my power - perhaps even beyond my strength. I couldn't help you more if I tried.

::Just what?::

::...I just had a weird dream,:: he responds, ::...how's Jazz?::

::I haven't dug into her head, but she's taking it pretty hard. It's Jazz we're talking about, though. She'll pull herself together long enough to end this war. Then, I hope she takes proper time to grieve.::

::Yeah, that sounds like her. What else is going on?::

::That...is a long story.::

::Well, I don't have much else to do right now. I'm sitting in a cell, hoping that Kovich and Ramirez don't 'accidentally' forget to feed me.::

::...Kovich and Ramirez?! They got out?::

::Seems like it.::

::...and Ross?::

::Apparently he isn't around anymore.::

::...I shouldn't be surprised.::

::What happened after I was captured?...Amity Park knows now, doesn't it?::

::Yeah, clear as day on live television. Good going, Ghost Boy. They locked up our family, but...well, who knows where Grandma is. Both of our parents are here, as well as Jazz and Dani. I know Val was raising some trouble, but I don't think they caught her. There's one other person here, a former Agent called Changeling. I think his name is Blake or something, but apparently he's some sort of halfa, but not...it's complicated. Your parents are checking on him now. Ghost Writer said he wasn't doing too well.::

::Halfa? But not?::

::I'll get more info from your parents when they get back. Apparently, he betrayed the other agents and helped Dani get to the Ghost Zone.::

::Alright. Now, tell me everything that's happened. I've got all the time in the world.::

ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBREAKzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ

The room is silent, save for a soft discussion over the pages of a few books. Jazz has long since vanished to another room with a stifled sob, a box and letter in hand. The Fentons had decided to let the sleeping Dani lie, and instead had checked on the condition of Changeling. They'd returned with worried expressions, and now pour over a few books that Ghost Writer had left for them.

Sam opens another book and groans, "Why are all the old ones in Latin?! Ghost Writer...why couldn't you have a translated version?" She leans back against the bookshelf with a long sigh, jostling a small book from its place on the shelf to fall - painfully, despite its small size - on her head.

'A Hitchiker's Guide to Latin: Language for Traversing the Ghost Zone!'

"Not funny," she mutters to whatever cosmic force that might be listening.

Despite Danny's suggestion that she do some research into the 'True Crown' Death had talked about, she decides to take a break - Jazz has been studying Latin, so she'll talk to her after she's had some time to herself. Instead, she decides to join in on the Fenton couple's discussion.

"There has been no evidence that long-term exposure can cause someone to become half-ghost," Maddie frowns.

"The timing just hasn't been right, Maddie," Jack smiles, taking a cookie from somewhere in his jumpsuit, "There haven't been a lot of people subject to long-term exposure in the past."

"That's true, but even if it is possible, what makes a person more susceptible?"

"It's not just exposure, though…" Jack mutters, suddenly very serious.

"What?"

"I mean," he clears his throat, "For him to fly around and use ectoplasm like a ghost, the suit must actually channel the ectoplasm directly through his body. There's something about his constitution that allows him to adapt to that, but it can't keep up."

"...Infinite Realms, Jack, you're right!" Maddie whispers, pulling out a notebook, "We'll have to ask him what he knows about the suit when he wakes up."

"I think Dad's right," a quiet voice interjects. Jazz, wearing a beautiful new turquoise scarf, rubs at her red-rimmed eyes, "He said it started about eighteen months ago, after his third test-flight. How's he doing, anyway?"

"Not good. His pulse is erratic, and breathing labored."

"Was Danny like that at all, Sam?"

"Not really. I mean, he passed out if he used his powers too much at the beginning, but nothing life-threatening."

Maddie sighs and rubs at her temples, "He may have been an enemy at first, but he's still just a kid. I don't want him to die, Sam. Does Danny know something? Something he hasn't told us about becoming a halfa?"

"...no," she lies after a moment, "I don't think so."

::Sam? You okay?::

::Yeah. Look, there's this thing with Changeling…:: She briefly explains about the agent, and Danny listens quietly. She knows what happened in the portal, what Impurity had told her, what Jack and Maddie don't know.

::...tell them, Sam.::

::...you sure?::

His indecision is like static in her mind.

::...you're not obligated to save him,:: she bites her lip, blinking back her tears as she feels the static suddenly clear, like a flash of lightning.

::I know I'm not.::

::Right-::

::But it's the right thing. Tell them what you know. I'm not sure if it will help, but...I can't hold back information that could save him.::

::I know you couldn't,:: she smirks wryly, turning her gaze to the Fentons.

"You three might want to sit down. I'm about to explain to you...the nature of the soul."