It's been a while huh? Okay let's get the reviews this time because I was too tired to do it last time.

Review Time!

Cherry Misty: I'm glad you're enjoying it! And of course! I don't mind any sketches or drawings based on the fic as long as I get a littleee credit. After all, I have a bunch of sketches that I make before writing so it would be fun to see others perspectives.

InvadorJohnny: Understandable reactions. I was going to mention that it will be revealed soon in the last chapter but.. I had difficulty thinking. But luckily for you, this chapter should answer something. Or at least, I hope it does.

That's all. So let's hop to this one.

Chapter XXII:

Aawake At Night

Danny was missing.

God, that sounds bad.

Let's explain. He's not 'missing' missing. At least not in the way he was before, thank whatever god was up there. But he hasn't been seen in hours. Which normally wouldn't be a problem, but after he was gone for a year… Let's say the wounds are still fresh and the panic is easy to set in these days.

On another note, most would think after being captured and kidnapped for over a year, the guy would at least tell people where he would be going.

Yet, as annoyed as she was, Valerie couldn't be mad at him. Danny wasn't always a secretive guy; he just became one. So she didn't know if it was a habit he picked up or not.

…It wouldn't save him from her giving him a piece of her mind, though.

Jazz left to go apartment searching after the talk with Danny. Ellie was currently taking a nap on the couch. So safe to say they both don't know where he was. In other words, it was up to her to look for the boy.

And so she did.

Valerie flew through the city on her hoverboard, looking around for anything familiar. Whether it be green or white.

Then she saw him. Danny Fenton, hidden from most of the city, on the top of a roof. Lying face up, his eyes distant, and his hood covering his hair. The closer she got, the more he seemed to be saying something. Mumbling, probably. When she got up close to him, Valerie silently hopped off the hoverboard and sat next to him. Valerie followed his gaze. The only noise between them was the distant sound of crickets. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Then the silence was broken by the halfa's soft voice.

"Did you need anything?"

Valerie huffed. "I don't think checking on you means I need anything."

"Wasn't the last time we met like this, you begged me for a truce?"

"One," Valerie started. "That was you. Two, I don't beg." She ended with a frown, but an amused look in her eyes.

Danny huffed out a laugh. "You definitely don't make it a normal thing."

A comfortable silence fell back between them. The two's eyes go back to the night sky. Silent as they watched the stars. Valerie had her hoverboard next to her on the roof, her legs crossed and hanging off the edge as her head looked up at the stars. Phantom was still lying down beside her, his hands under his head and green eyes staring above and beyond the sky.

After a few minutes, the boy spoke up. His voice is no louder than a whisper. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

"Yep," Valerie answered just as quietly.

"How long?"

"Since I found out it was you," she admitted. "Once I learned that, everything seemed to click. And I mean everything."

"..yeah," Danny sighed, a small smile on his face. "I figured you were smart enough."

"The only question is," Valerie started, lowering her head so she looked at the halfa. "Why don't you admit it? It's right up your alley."

The ghost boy laughed softly as his eyes met hers. "Good question. At first, I thought it was lame. But seeing everyone else expect something else, it's not the most unbearable thing."

"You have to admit," Valerie started after a brief pause. "The hero complex was very noticeable." A red tint appeared on Danny's cheeks as he scoffed and rolled his eyes. Valerie chuckled and looked back at the horizon.

"But really, why not own the fact you have an obsession?"

Danny's face scrunched up before he looked away. "It's dumb."

"Like that's new," she huffed then glanced at him. "Besides you know that's not what I'm talking about."

There was a quiet 'touché' before he went silent. The sounds of the night seemed louder than normal as she waited for an answer (assuming that she gets one). After a few seconds of silence, Valerie was going to switch topics until she heard his voice.

"I'm not.. I mean, I don't.. I just," Danny paused, struggling to put his words together. Then the teenage boy sighed in what she could only tell as aggravation. "Ancients, why is this so hard to say."

Danny drew in a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before slowly letting the air out. The halfa gathered his thoughts for a moment before he opened his eyes and sat up.

"I don't want to be more of a ghost than I already am," He eventually said. Though, Valerie didn't have time to ask what he meant because he let out a long sigh and continued on his own. "Now that I said it out loud, it probably doesn't make any sense."

When he turned to look at Valerie, she could spot the unfamiliar expression. It almost felt unnatural to see how nervous and vulnerable he looked. That look on its own made her feel a little ashamed to agree with his last statement. "To be honest, not really," she said begrudgingly.

"I thought so. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Just try your best," Valerie said gently. "But only if you want to."

Danny stared at her for a moment. His eyes had a supernatural glow, that she's been seeing a lot lately, in the moonlight. He was reading her expression. It was something she had grown used to ever since he came back. After a few seconds, he seemed to be satisfied because looked away from her.

"I guess.. I guess I can try, somehow," He muttered then once again went silent as he collected his thoughts. "It was pretty easy to accept the fact I'm half ghost years ago. It was better than being fully dead, and ghost powers are cool. So, I had no reason to deny the ghost half of me. But now.. I could probably do without it for a while."

Valerie's eyebrows furrowed as she listened to him, processing everything he had said. Then she spoke slowly, "So, you're not denying the fact you have an obsession. You're denying your ghost side." The way she said it wasn't a question like she hoped it would sound. But from the look on his face, she could tell she was right. "Any reason why?"

The halfa let out a humorless huff and turned to her, his hand on his cheek. "Curious today, aren't we?" He teased lightly. When he received a soft glare, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. It might have something to do with being stuck as Phantom for a year and being experimented on almost every day of that same year."

The sarcastic tone was completely missed as she mentally slapped herself for the question. 'Of course, that would be the reason why! Think before you speak, girl!' As she continued to mentally berate herself, Valerie gave Danny a sheepish smile. "Right. You're right. Sorry about that-"

Her apology was put on pause the moment she saw the look on his face. His eyes continued to glow it's natural blue with a raised eyebrow. But the facial feature that caught her attention was his smirk, which made him look overly amused.

"You're fine, Val. Really," He told her, waving the apology off with his free hand. Though she could see him holding in a laugh before clearing his throat. "But, yeah, that's the main reason why. A-.. a lot of things happened that past year. When Clockwork brought up the obsessions, my first instinct was to deny it along with everything else."

He sat up and raised his free hand to his face, blankly watching as he made it go invisible. It started from the tips of his fingers to his wrist. The seemingly numb turned to signal that he was flipping his hand. "Though, it's easier said than done. I'm not human and I keep being reminded that I'm not human. Or… Not in the way I want to be." His hand came back to view, palm facing the horizon with his finger spread. There was a rather dark look in his eyes as he spoke in a strangely distant tone. "I'm just a—"

Valerie watched silently as he quickly shut his lips, jaw tight. There was something else he wanted to say, she could tell, but something was stopping him. Or maybe he was stopping himself to not go on a rant. She couldn't tell, but she also couldn't blame him for either. So, she watched as his hand faded back into sight.

Another silence had fallen between them. Leaving Valerie to process his words.

Though, no matter how far she had gotten in her thoughts, one of them kept popping up. 'What did they do to him?' It was a question that had been on her mind ever since she saw him. But she never dared to ask and it didn't help that he'd avoid the topic as much as possible.

"I guess that's true," She eventually spoke. "You're a ghost." Danny huffed lightly and was about to say something until she raised her hand to stop him. "But you're also human. A half 'n half. The town's resident ghost boy. Maybe a scientifically accurate zombie-"

Danny's left eyebrow twitched in what she could only assume was irritation. "Is this supposed to help me feel better or do you have a point to make?"

"Only question is, why does that bother you?"

Blink. Blink. "..what?"

"Why does it bother you?" She repeated, her eyes meeting his. "Those titles are just that. Titles. They describe what you are, not who you are. You're the most reckless, stubborn, clueless, and immature person I've ever met. I can't count all the times you've been needlessly rude and a jerk to me—"

"I think I get it.."

"But those things don't make you any less you because you're half ghost-half boy. No one else with 'conventional ghost powers' would've helped me out when being stuck in the Ghost zone. I don't think anyone else would give themselves the job of saving the town from ghosts. But you did. For some reason, you decided to use your powers for good. Even when you were 'just human', you still had your moments."

Valerie victoriously smiled to herself as she saw a light blush appear on his cheeks before continuing.

"I don't know the details of what you went through. But just know that you're surrounded by people who accept you, ghost boy and all. You have Jazz, Ellie, and.. and me."

Danny's cheeks had turned a darker shade of pink after Valerie smiled at him. She had to suppress a laugh at the sight of him gaping like a fish. When he snapped out of it, he seemed to have started to think about her words as she heard a soft 'huh.' Though there were bits of hesitation in his expression.

Valerie softened as she listened to him. It wasn't often when he would share something that happened to him. The more she stared at him through the moonlight, she saw a few differences between Danny and Phantom. Yes, she's seen his ghost form a lot in the past three years. But ever since he returned either he didn't go in that form much or—

(Fast huffs echoed around the dark living room as they sat together in the corner. Valerie was in front of the Phantom who was grasping at nothing around his neck. The phantom who was frantically muttering in a panicked tone: "I can't. I can't. Stuck. I can't. I can't. I can't-"

Valerie carefully took the halfa's hands, not minding how cold his skin was, and spoke softly. Her words were short and gentle as she got him to calm down. Just enough for that blue flash of light to wash over him.)

…there was more important stuff to focus on than ghostly appearances. Though now, she'll take a mental note to pay more attention at another time. For now, she wanted to help him with his current problem. Or give the support he needed.

"So, I hope you're right about that," Danny said, giving her a small smile. "..It's getting late."

Or not.

"You should go back." Said Danny mid-stretch. When did he get up?

Valerie shielded her eyes at the flash that came after his sentence. Now looking at Phantom, she stared blankly at him. "Go back..? Wait, where are you going?"

Phantom gave her a(n irritated) smirk and simply said, "Don't you know me well enough, Red?" Before promptly disappearing.

The huntress managed to calm her growing aggravation and put her helmet back on. With the upgrades connected to her visor, she could see Phantom still beside her. With a lazy salute, he took off into the sky, leaving her there to sigh as she got on her hoverboard.

'This ghost boy is going to be the death of me,' she thought melodramatically. It was late. Begrudgingly, she decided to leave Danny alone to go back to her apartment.

Danny was used to the familiarity of the Ghost Zone. It had grown into a second home after his first year and before the incident. The more he went back and forth, the more he felt at ease in the Ghost Zone. The reason why wasn't exactly clear to him either. But when in doubt, blame it on the current situation.

Or rather.. that's what he's been doing the moment he felt the relief of being back in the Ghost Zone after a year. He was planning on living full-time here, so it's only natural that he would start seeing it as his home. It made more sense than him missing it.

That was his thought process on the matter. And it only got worse the more his connection to the Ghost Zone grew. Why was there a connection to the Ghost Zone? He didn't know, but there was one thing he did know;

He didn't like it!

He was getting ready to ignore it all together with every other ghost-related thing. From the obsession to his current appearance changes.

Then tonight happened.

Danny had initially snuck out after a restless night. Then Valerie showed up. Admittedly, he didn't expect to say the stuff he did and he definitely didn't mean to talk about an experience at the GIW lap. But he did.

He trusted Val. Really. He did. But rambling to his crush ex- former rival turned friend about his feelings wasn't on his bingo card. The one thing he didn't need from her was pity.

Danny shook away the thought to focus on what he was doing. He ended up back on the empty island Ellie had chosen days ago. His ghost form had dropped the moment he landed on the rock. Normally it would be a bad idea to let your guard down in the Ghost Zone. But luckily, he was alone to try this out.

"Okay," he muttered to himself as he sat crisscrossed in the middle of the floating rock. How was he supposed to do this? Clockwork said something about accepting it, right? Maybe he could just.

His eyes closed as he let out a sigh. "..I believe?" After he uttered those words he cracked open one of his eyes and looked around. Nothing.

Well, there goes his Peter Pan attempt.

Then maybe he could.. no, that wouldn't work either. After a few more ideas, the ghost boy groaned and laid back. His eyes glared towards the ever-green abyss of the zone. It shouldn't be this difficult! He just needed to think. Properly think.

He needed to accept that he had an obsession. No. The fact he had an obsession was (begrudgingly) accepted. There has to be something he was missing, right? His mentor's words ran through his brain once more. Then it went through Valerie's.

The glare softened, replaced with a thoughtful look in his eyes. There had to be something else. But what? What was he missing? 'No need to find out what you already know.' That had to talk about his obsession and he accepted it, like Clockwork said, right? Unless the old coot was talking about something else.

Accept it. What was there to accept? Accept it. He's done that! Accept it. Accept what? What was he missing? Accept me.

Danny snapped out of his thoughts to look around. That was odd, he was sure that he heard a voice. Yet, there was nobody around. Or at least, no one he could see. His eyes continued to scan the area around him. If it was any other day he would've thought he was (finally) going crazy. But he had grown familiar with the hushed whispers that followed him.

Reluctantly, he pulled out the ring and stared at it. 'Accept me,' it whispered. A new phrase that almost made him feel proud. The halfa had grown used to the constant 'put me on.' It was kind of getting annoying. Accept me.

Okay, it is annoying.

But, Danny had to admit that he considered it a lot. It is the Ring of Rage after all. He had a lot of built-up anger from the past year but was too mentally exhausted to act on it. Though he always managed to put it away. Who knew what would happen if he couldn't control his wrath? Especially in Amity Park.

Then again…

He wasn't in Amity Park right now. With innocent people out of the way, he was most likely able to put it on whenever. But he didn't. Instead, his fingers curled up into a fist with the ring tight in his left hand.

Something. He didn't know what, but something was telling him not yet. And strangely, he trusted that feeling. He didn't know the full reason why. It was a familiar feeling, somehow. It was comforting and.. warm. No, that wasn't right. But it was comforting enough that his eyelids grew heavy. There was a familiar whisper that lulled him to rest. The final thought on his mind;

'Ah, that's right..'

When he awoke, of what he assumed was hours later, he was thoroughly surprised to not see the eyes of the Ghost Zone. Instead, he saw a ceiling. The usual grogginess vanished as he sat straight up from the ground, or rather a carpet, to look around properly. So far, his surroundings weren't something he remembered anywhere. It wasn't familiar, but it felt right.

Was this..?

Danny managed to get onto his feet and run out the door to get a better look. Excitement pumped through his veins with every step. He couldn't even take the time to look around inside the building he spawned in. When he stood outside and in front of the building, he took in deep breaths as his eyes scanned up and up. Slowly, the excitement in his veins vanished, turning cold at the realization. It wasn't some cozy shack.

This was a castle.

Danny blinked once. Silence. Then..

"WH-"

Oh goodness me, I think this one is second place to my longest chapters

The amount of times I rewrote the first half of this chapter is absolutely insane. I haven't wrote scenes like that in a long time, I have 3 versions of their conversation in my notes rn

Anyways, i hope the reason I have was understandable. Out of all my rewriting, I think this version is the best one. While they keep a similar point, this was what I initially wanted. But it's hard to write and put words down when you're deadbeat tired.

For the second part, fun fact.. that wasn't going to be there. But then I looked at my chapter notes and realized how behind I was so I tried to put my original plan in too. I didn't. There was going to be a lot more, but I thought the rest would be better as it's own chapter. So, look forward to that next time!

That's going to be all for now. See you guys later. Remember to eat and hydrate yourselves! Until next time!

———-

SUKIMA

Valerie, sneaking through the window: "Quietly.." *lights turn on* "..crap-"

[Ellie and Jazz, sitting on the couch in the Grey apartment arms folded.]

Ellie: "Where were you, young lady?"

Jazz: "and where's that brother of mine?"

Valerie: "He left to- Wait why are you two up? It's 2am!"

[Ellie and Jazz looks at each other and back at Valerie]

Both: "No reason."

———

Next up: Danny finds out important information.