11/1/24: I've had a chunk of this written for weeks. It's a big, big scene that may shock a lot of you. You've been warned!

11/12/24: I apologize for the delay in updating. I've been writing chapter 20 for about 5 days now. That's mostly due to the weekend, as I do not get much writing done on weekends because of all the projects around here. The next chapter may be delayed as well, since I do not have much cushion between what's been posted and what I am writing.

This chapter has a song theme: "Underneath" by Phix and Ryan Oakes. This song helped inspire this part of the plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

–

Chapter 18: Blindsided

–

Nearly two weeks passed with no sign of Sam. Danny was not himself, constantly on edge and standoffish. Jackson, while he could be calmed by Maddie or Jack, didn't want to be held much by his father, who, even through a blanket, would make him feel cold. It was tearing the ghost up inside because it only emphasized her absence.

He was out taking DJ for a walk, yet another being that was completely out of sorts. The poor collie had spent the better half of the last near two weeks whining and walking a rut into the floor, going from room to room, trying to find Sam.

At this point, part of him was starting to resent her for being gone. The emotional pain she was inflicting was on more than just himself. But the other part, the biggest part, was extremely worried and scared. He knew, logically, that she would not be away from her twins this long unless something was wrong.

He paused in his walk, allowing DJ to sniff and do his business. He was immensely grateful to his parents for staying with him this whole time and helping with the twins. It allowed him to do things like take the dog for a walk without worrying about getting the twins all dressed up to go out.

It was December now, Thanksgiving having come and gone. It angered and depressed him that Sam missed their first Thanksgiving and he was getting worried she was going to miss their first Christmas, which was three weeks away.

DJ finished his sniffing and business so they moved on. They were several blocks from home. Danny had learned quickly that the border collie did better with long walks to help drain his energy, and so their walks tended to go far and last at least an hour.

Storm clouds hung in the air, but had yet to release their payload. Lightning occasionally streaked across the sky, a rarity this time of year. Danny hoped they would make it back to the house in time as he hadn't had the forethought to bring an umbrella.

They rounded a corner, prepared to make the last four blocks home when he felt it.

Danny gasped, stopping abruptly, accidentally pulling on DJ, and looked around frantically. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location, but it was definitely her signature.

He didn't have to look long, as a cloud of purple smoke appeared before him, along with that snap of power that popped Danny's ears. DJ yelped and hid behind him.

When the smoke dissipated, Sam stood before him, but he barely recognized her.

She now had bangs and they shadowed her face. Her long black hair fell in waves down past her chest. She hadn't been one to wear much makeup, but she did now, dark black eyeliner with wings accentuating her amethyst eyes. She wore black knee high boots with heels, tight leather pants, with a black leather corset. Over that was a floor length black, steampunk style trench coat. It was open in the front, showing off the hilt of a sword on her hip. She looked at him with a glare.

Danny stared, his brain trying to process what he was looking at. "S-Sam?"

Her glare darkened. "Don't call me Sam. I'm Shade now."

"Wh-what happened? Where have you been?" he asked, resisting the urge to go toward her.

"Where I belong," she answered.

Danny kneeled down, comforting the scared collie. He took a moment before he responded, gently petting DJ. "You belong at home with your children," he finally said.

The glow of her eyes flared. "You're right, I do. But I can't go home yet."

"Why?"

"Because I can't rest until you're dead!" she shouted, stomping her foot for emphasis. Her core flared, energy crackling along her arms. DJ, sensitive to the energy, freaked, taking off down the street. Danny was unable to keep a hold of the leash.

"DJ!" he yelled, but Sam blocked his way when he tried to go after him. He looked at her like she was insane. "That's your dog!"

"He'll find his way home. But you won't be going home," she sneered.

"Sam, this isn't you, something has to be wrong." Danny said, backing up with his hands out in front of him to show her he meant no harm.

"Lies," she retorted with a glare. "And it's Shade!" she snapped. Shade looked him up and down with a sneer. "Mira was right about you."

He raised a brow, slightly alarmed. "Why would you agree with the one who wants to kill you? Do you really think this is a normal reaction to this situation?"

The goth snarled, eyes blazing. "She doesn't lie to me, and she isn't the one who caused this, you are."

"Just listen to yourself!" He realized immediately that was the wrong thing to say.

Shade reached for the hilt of her sword and drew it, the deadly blade glowing with power, and ran at him. Danny quickly clapped his hands together, green energy sparking between his palms and snaking down his arms. As he pulled his hands apart, he formed his own sword out of pure ecto-plasm, the ghostly weapon casting an eerie glow across his face.

At the last moment he grabbed the hilt and brought it up, the swords colliding with a twang. They held them there, the blades between them, faces inches apart, green eyes full of pleading, amethyst filled with resentment.

"You made me believe you loved me; told me you'd be there for me. You promised me this was forever!" She yelled, pushing him away, trench coat rippling. She stepped back, sword lowered to her side. "You were all I ever wanted. Then you took my heart and ripped it apart!" She scowled, face twisting into pain and hate. "This is on you!"

Shade came at him again, sword arching down and meeting his. They exchanged a flurry of hits, the full ghost grunting from the power behind her swings. Each smack of the blades sent sparks of energy through the air, the hardest hits clashing like thunder. He was desperate to put an end to this without hurting her.

"Sam, please, it's not like that!" he pleaded. She took a wild swing and he struck out with his sword, smacking hers out of her hand. The blade spun through the air before clattering to the pavement.

She watched it settle before looking back at him. The pain he saw in her eyes pierced him to his core. "More lies," she said, shaking her head. "You stabbed me in the back and told me it was to protect me. Then you filled my head with lies."

The intensity with which her eyes glowed increased, her body suddenly becoming surrounded by purple energy. It sparked and crackled, arcing along her skin. "Well now I've got you on the edge and I'm not letting you down gently."

The energy crescendoed and Danny was thrown back by the sudden shockwave of power, smashing hard into a car a few dozen yards away. The streets lit up with a dazzling and blinding flare, before it abruptly winked out. The ghost groaned, holding his head as he stood.

When he looked up, he froze. His jaw hung open as a large black dragon stood where Shade had been.

She had a long, thick muzzle, small spines outlining her bottom jaw, several longer spines at her chin. Her eyes were their usual color, with two long ivory horns that started just above her eye ridges and swooped back over her neck before curving back up slightly. Several smaller horns took up the space between them, with short tendril-like things that protruded from the base of her jaw where it met the neck. Her neck was of medium length and thick, with broad neck scales that came to a point in the center, each delicately and perfectly overlapping the one below it. Her legs were long, but strong, her large paws ending in lethal looking ivory claws. Her thumbs and large toes were now dewclaws, with extra large claws for maximum damage. Her chest was broad, the chest plate scales also coming to a point in the center and overlapping. Her back arched gracefully, two black and leathery wings neatly folded at the shoulders. The membrane attached to her sides and ran down to the tail, giving her a large area to generate lift and carry her weight easily. Her tail was long and slender, with two small fins at the end that she could furl and unfurl for steady flight. Each scale emanated its own pale purple glow, giving her form an otherworldly look. All together she had a feline grace to her dragon form; a lithe and agile frame that hid her underlying strength. And she was massive, at least the size of a building, her head as big as a car.

"Son of a bitch…" Danny cursed, unable to truly process what he was seeing. Did his girlfriend seriously just turn into a dragon?

–

Maddie looked up at the bright flash of light. "Is that lightning?"

Her husband nodded. "Probably, there is a storm coming."

The redhead furrowed her brow. "It was awfully bright…"

A frantic scratching at the front door, followed by barking got their attention. "Danny must be back," Jack said as he headed for the door. "And just in time to miss the storm!"

The large man was shocked, however, when he opened the door and a very frightened DJ ran in with no one on the other end of the leash. Maddie had a sinking feeling in her stomach as her alarmed eyes met her husbands. "Where is Danny?"

Vlad floated in from the kitchen at the commotion and quickly flew to the side when the collie ran past him and under the table. He exchanged a look with Jack and Maddie. "Did he come home alone?"

At their nod he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. "Stay here in case he returns, I will go out and look for him."

–

Shade roared, causing the ghost to yelp and cover his ears. The deafening sound blew out the windows in buildings and cars and shattered the bulbs in the street lights, the shards of glass looking almost like snow as they refracted the light.

When the assault on his ears finally ended and he pulled his hands away, ecto-plasm was leaking from them. He then looked up just in time to see her open her maw, a deep violet light shining between her chest and neck plates before erupting from her jaws as hot flame. He quickly erected a shield, feet skidding along the asphalt when the fire rammed against it. Danny grunted from the effort of keeping the shield up, the heat seeping through and making him sweat.

It was now that he realized she wasn't going to go easy on him–that she was, as she'd claimed, trying to kill him. That thought nearly shattered his core, the feeling of heartbreak overwhelming. She may not be herself, but the fact that she was so far gone that her intent was to kill him welled up emotions in him that threatened to make him falter. He felt the first tear fall before he sniffed and gritted his teeth against the emotional agony.

He could grieve later. For now he needed to concentrate and make sure he stayed alive; his twins needed their father.

Danny wasn't sure he could take much more of this. He could keep the shield up for a while longer, but the heat was getting unbearable. Just as he thought he could take no more, the flames stopped, but the area was filled with smoke and he couldn't see.

After several moments of silence, he tentatively dropped his shield and squinted, trying to make out anything in the thick smog. What he did not expect to see suddenly coming out of the smoke was very large teeth.

With quick thinking, he encased himself in ice and tried to go intangible, but it didn't matter. Her large jaws clamped down on his torso and lifted him up, his head and arms dangling, and a deep guttural growl resonated from her throat. The ice annoyed her as it prevented her from crushing her prey, so she gripped him harder. Danny began to panic when her sharp teeth started to crack his ice shield, the sharp sounds grating on his damaged ears.

The ghost poured more energy into the ice encasing him to strengthen it, but her hot breath negated his power and started to melt it away. His eyes met hers. "Please, Sam, don't do this," he pleaded.

She growled again, scaled lips lifting in a snarl, before she clamped down.

Danny screamed when the ice shattered and her fangs sank into him, ecto-plasm spraying from the force. He gasped as one large fang just grazed his core, pain shooting through the vital organ. He panted from the agony, eyes glazed as he stared into her hateful amethyst orbs.

His thoughts went to his children and his resolve hardened. They would not grow up without parents, he would make sure of that. He swallowed hard, knowing now that what he may have to do to Sam in order to capture her and bring her home would mean making heartbreaking decisions.

His gaze flicked to the ecto-sword he still had in hand before he looked back in her eyes. With a sad look, he said, "I'm sorry," before lifting his sword and burying it into the side of her face. He was not prepared for the intense emotions that assaulted him when she squealed in pain. Shade shook him, trying to dislodge the offending weapon, but Danny held on, more tears falling as he twisted the blade, eliciting another roar of pain.

This time she let him go, the ghost dropping to the ground with a thump; he was in too much pain to try and stop his fall.

Shade pawed at her face, finally dislodging the sword, the ecto-weapon dissolving as Danny released the energy keeping it solid. She snorted then, lips curling in rage as her eyes gleamed. "How dare you," she snarled, voice echoing.

Danny lay on his side, head resting on the pavement, pained eyes watching her. Ecto-plasm was spilling from his wounds, his core throbbing painfully from her fang. But the physical discomfort he felt was nothing compared to the emotional torment.

Shade reared back, ready to grab him and split him in two, when she heard it. Her head cocked slightly before turning to the west. With a low growl of annoyance, her form was engulfed in energy, the light bouncing off every surface. Once gone, it left a human looking Shade standing there, glaring down at her once-lover. "You are lucky this time," she spat before dragon-like wings appeared from her back and she flew off to the west.

The heartbroken and devastated ghost lay there and watched her go before he surrendered to his emotional agony. The sobs started, wracking his body as he curled in on himself, unashamedly crying.

As the broken ghost lay there letting out the depths of his sorrow, the dark clouds opened up and it began to rain, the drops mixing with his tears and ecto-plasm and washing away the stains on his clothes.

It was now, after the chaos of the fight, that people began to filter out from their homes, each looking between each other and their hurt and shattered hero in the road. A few brave souls approached him, one kneeling down and gently touching the ghost's shoulder. "Phantom, are you okay?" The man was a little disturbed when the ghost did not respond.

"Excuse me, please." The small crowd parted, the kneeling man standing and stepping away, when a new ghost floated down, landing in front of Phantom. He kneeled, placing a cool hand on the side of Danny's face. "Oh, little badger," Vlad said softly.

The billionaire turned to the human who had checked on Danny and gave him a sad smile. "Thank you for trying to check on him. I will take him home now," he said before reaching down and gently picking the tall ghost up bridal style. Danny was so out of it, it really didn't even register.

"Will he be okay?" the human man asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

Vlad nodded to him. "His wounds look bad, but he will heal quickly." With that, he took off and headed for Danny's home.

–

Danny was in his bed on his back, staring at the ceiling, wounds tended to. It had been several hours since Vlad returned with an injured Danny in his arms and his family was worried. He was conscious, but had refused to say a word since Vlad had brought him back in a very sorry state. He wouldn't even answer direct questions.

Vlad hadn't really seen what had happened, only a figure flying away from the scene. He, however, believed the only thing that could affect the young ghost this much would be if he had seen Sam, and it reminded him of his conversation with Danny when he'd told the young man to be careful. Unfortunately, the others disagreed, refusing to believe she was capable of the kind of damage Danny had sustained. But until Danny was willing to talk, the answer would elude them.

The white-haired ghost moved his gaze from the ceiling to the bassinets next to the bed. The twins were napping, blissfully unaware of the dangers of the world around them. Danny rolled onto his side, reached his arm out and gently placed his hand on his daughter, feeling comfort from the rise and fall of her tiny chest. She squirmed a little at the touch, but quickly settled back down, eyes still closed.

Danny wanted to cry, but he was out of tears. He wanted to rage, but he felt empty. The air felt too dry against his skin, the soft hum of the air conditioner too loud in his ears, and the world seemed to plunge into black and white and muted gray's–much like it had been before Sam had found him.

He was terrified now of the prospect of capturing Sam. She was incredibly strong, and that dragon form was going to be difficult to contend with. The chances of him dragging her back here to figure out how to help her without hurting her were very slim.

He clenched his eyes shut at the memory of sinking his sword into her muzzle. When did it come to this? How had it changed to this? She was his best friend, his lover, his soul, and now she was his enemy, glaring at him with hate and spite instead of joy and love.

A noise made him open his eyes, his gaze settling on his son who was now waking up and angry about it. Danny sat up and gingerly picked up his son, settling the infant in the crook of his arm and rocking him gently.

His core constricted as it didn't work. Jackson responded best to Sam and Aurora responded best to Danny. Now that Sam wasn't here, Jackson was out of sorts and constantly upset. Danny did everything he could think of to calm the infant, but he could not replace the mother his son longed for.

Danny floated up and went over to the desk, using one hand to quickly make a formula bottle. He bounced and made comforting shushing noises as he shook the bottle before offering it. Thankfully, Jackson took the bottle eagerly and calmed.

The ghost glanced over at his daughter to make sure she was still sleeping, before sitting back on the bed and leaning against the headboard to be more comfortable while he fed his son. He watched the small infant as he ate, little hands clenched into fists by his face, amethyst eyes unfocused as he concentrated on his task.

Danny's chest felt tight, a well of emotions causing a knot in his stomach. He swallowed hard against the onslaught before reaching out with one finger from the hand that was holding the bottle, and gently ran it down his infant son's face. He looked so much like his mother that it hurt. The only real indication that he was Danny's was the small white patch of hair, a patch that matched his sister's.

They were six weeks old now, and growing quickly; he could no longer cover their torso with his hand. It made him wonder how long it would take for him to get through to Sam, and just how much of their life she might miss.

There was a light knock on the door, but he didn't answer it. After a few moments it sounded again, and again, he didn't answer.

He couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed when the door opened anyway and Jazz came in, obviously nervous about it, and carrying a tray of food. He was mostly numb, with a raging storm of sorrow buried deep within.

"Um…" she started, just standing there after closing the door. "You haven't eaten, so I brought you dinner. Vlad put some stuff in it that should help you heal."

She deflated when her brother simply continued to look down at his son. With a sigh, she walked over to the endstand next to him and set the tray down, before going to the other side of the bed and gently sitting down.

She watched Jackson eat for a moment before looking at Danny. "You know if you need to talk, we're here, right?"

Again, she was met with silence, and again, she sighed. Jazz went to get up to leave when Jackson started fussing. He'd finished his bottle, and was officially done with his father's cool body. Danny was trying to comfort him, but it was not working.

Jazz held her arms out. "Here."

Her brother's gaze flicked to her before relenting and handing Jackson over. Jazz put him on his stomach on her chest and began patting his back to burp him. The warmth of his aunt helped calm the infant down, and he slowly stopped fussing.

"Thank you," Danny said quietly, looking down at his lap.

Jazz gave him a sad smile. "You're welcome," she said. "Have you tried a blanket as a barrier?"

He nodded. "It doesn't work for long. Everything I touch gets cold eventually," he explained softly.

She continued to pat her nephew's back, unable to help but think his words had a double meaning. "Danny…what happened out there?" she ventured, unsure if he would continue to talk.

He looked so heartsick at her words that she immediately wanted to take them back. He swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing, trying to force that sorrow back down.

She was about to tell him to forget it when he spoke up. "Sam…it was Sam."

Jazz looked at him in stunned silence before stuttering nonsense for a few seconds. She then paused, closing her eyes and getting a grip on herself, before looking back at Danny. "Vlad was right? It was Sam?" She then looked around the room, trying to get a grip on her shock. "I don't understand."

She was going to say something else, but it died in her throat when she returned her attention to him to find silent tears making their way down his cheeks. He swallowed again. "She was trying to kill me," he said, voice full of emotion.

His sister was thoroughly confused. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "She said she can't rest until I'm dead."

"No," Jazz shook her head. "That's not Sam."

Danny took a deep, unnecessary breath to steady himself. "You're right, it's not; something is very wrong with her. I barely recognized her and she said her name is Shade."

"Shade?" The redhead looked down at her nephew who let out a burp, resituating him so she was cradling him in her arms. "Giving herself a ghost name isn't terribly unusual; you did when you became half ghost, but her sudden change in personality is definitely wrong."

"It's like she changed her whole identity. It's not just the name or the personality shift; she dresses darker, she changed her hair, and she suddenly wants to kill me." Danny was talking faster now, becoming a little more animated, and sounding desperate.

As he continued to talk, Jazz let him. He obviously needed to work through the thoughts in his head, to get them out in the open and try to make sense of them, so she didn't interfere. She nodded at appropriate times and gathered the information he was giving her to compile herself later.

That was until he said something that completely threw her off.

"-she suddenly gained sword skills as well. She's not quite as good as me, but she's freaking strong so it was hard to counter her hits sometimes. Not to mention her speed, I can hardly keep up in order to parry and not get run through. Then there's the freaking huge dragon form that came out of nowhe–"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Jazz interrupted, not quite sure she heard correctly.

Her brother sighed before finally looking at her. "She shifted into a dragon; a damn big one. That's what all these wounds are," he said as motioned around his body. "It's her teeth."

Danny hadn't put his shirt back on after being treated for his wounds. Jazz had seen them as she helped Vlad dress them, but she had wondered what could cause wounds like that; so evenly shaped and spaced. Her eyes wandered over the bandages now, stopping at the one very nearly over his death scar.

Finally, "What the f-" She cut herself off, not wanting to use that kind of language in front of her nephew, even if he was an infant. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to center herself, before returning her attention to Danny. "She turned into a dragon and bit you?"

He looked back down at his lap. "I'm pretty sure she wanted to tear me in half," he said softly. His hand reached up to his chest. "And my core…one of her fangs hit it. If it had been just an inch or two over…"

His tears started again before he suddenly broke down. Jazz got up and carefully placed Jackson in his bassinet, before going back over to the bed. She sat down and scooted over, pulling Danny onto his side with his head in her lap. She gently ran a hand through his white hair as he wept, the sobs occasionally bouncing the mattress.

Jazz let him get it out. She knew he'd already cried, but a situation like this wasn't something you just cried over once and then let go; his best friend and soulmate was trying to kill him, all while he loved her still.

She looked her brother over, wondering just when this small teen boy had gotten so much bigger than her? At what point had he shot up in height? How old was he when he started getting these defined muscles? When had his voice changed? Jazz felt like she'd missed so much in those four years, like she'd missed her baby brother growing up into a man.

Then her eyes went to the bassinets. Babies changed a lot in their first months. Sam had already missed their first Thanksgiving; would she miss their first Christmas as well? How much would she miss of her children growing up if they didn't get this resolved soon?

After several minutes, he calmed, his weeping turning into sniffles. "I'm sorry," he said finally.

Jazz shook her head, though he couldn't see it. "Don't be sorry. I don't think there's a person on Earth who wouldn't cry in this situation."

"Sam wouldn't," he said softly. "She'd be pissed off and beat the hell out of me until I came to my senses."

His sister lightly chuckled at that, feeling the atmosphere lift a little. "She would cry first, but then she'd kick your ass." She pulled on his shoulder, bringing it back into her chest, so she could look down at his face. "The real question is: would you do the same to her?"

His green eyes met her teal ones. "Of course not. Hurting her like that is the last thing I would do."

She gave him a sober look. "I hate to say it, but I don't think you can avoid it."

He looked so pained before he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I hate that you're probably right. I already had to hurt her to get her to let go."

Jazz's look turned sad. "You did?"

Danny nodded. "She wouldn't let go and had already hit my core. But I had to get home to the twins so I…I jammed my sword into the side of her face."

The redhead winced at the visual, but couldn't blame him. "You did what you had to in order to come back to them. You may need to do so again."

"I know. And the thought freaking terrifies me," he said softly.

At that moment, Aurora began to fuss, waking up hungry. Jazz got up from the bed, grabbed the cooling blanket and picked her up. "I can take her."

Danny shook his head, reaching his arms out. "I'll feed her."

"You know you can lean on us, right? I don't mind, you can rest some more this way," she explained.

Danny dropped his arms, suddenly donning a stricken look. "I'm already an awful boyfriend. Please…don't let me be a terrible father, too."

His sister felt awful now. She went to him, carefully handing him his daughter, before grabbing either side of his face and saying, "You are not, and never could be, a terrible father. And as for the boyfriend part, everyone makes mistakes. I know that Sam would forgive you if she was herself right now." She kissed his forehead then. "I'll go now, please make sure you eat, okay? Do you want to tell everyone else, or would you like me to do it?"

He shook his head. "Please, don't say anything. I'll tell them."

She nodded. "Alright. Eat," she commanded, before leaving.

Danny watched her go. While he was glad he was finally able to tell someone, he still felt like he was drowning.

–

11/4/24: Hi…uhh, yeah. I know many of you were probably like "wtf?" when Sam suddenly became a dragon. There IS an actual explanation for this, but it won't come up for a few chapters.

Side note that I found humorous: Where Jazz says "you did when you became half ghost" I noticed when I went back to reread to check for errors that I typed it wrong. In my defense, I was tired when writing that part, but it gave me a good laugh as it said: "you did when you became half goat". HA

I hope no one wants to kill me for this chapter!