11/15/24: Hi!
I know Danny's injury seemed serious, but then he wasn't down for the count like he'd been when he was injured in Taken. I'll reiterate: for this story, ghost's can't 'die' the way humans can. His core won't fail from ecto-plasm loss like a heart would from blood loss. He can't die from old age as he no longer ages. He could be shish-kabobed and still make it out alive because of the regenerative power of his core. The only ways for a ghost to die, at least in this story universe, is for the core to be destroyed, or for something catastrophic to happen, such as losing his head. If Sam had actually crushed his core, he'd dissolve into oblivion forever. Thankfully, I'm not that sadistic, so it didn't happen.
Here we're going to see more from Sam's POV after what happened and get some answers to some outstanding questions.
TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide. A little more intense than previous ones; there is a warning on where to skip if needed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
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Chapter 22: Had Enough
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Shade touched down just outside the warehouse, wings folding behind her. She watched the building carefully, slightly nervous as she'd snuck away to town without Mira's knowledge. When there was a break in the patrol, she teleported to the nearest door and entered the building, closing the door quietly behind her.
She turned around, slowly making her way down a hallway before entering a large room that most of the facility used as a makeshift cafeteria. Shade looked around cautiously before entering the room and heading for the doors on the other side.
"Going somewhere?"
Shade stopped, feeling both annoyance and dread that she'd been caught. She turned towards the voice, hand on her hip. "Does it matter?"
Mira materialized and stepped forward, crossing her arms. "You think I'm daft? I knew the moment you left. You disobeyed orders."
Shade scoffed. "Who said I have to follow your orders?"
The Headmaster's daughter glared. "I'm in charge. And the fact that you tried to sneak in tells me you know you disobeyed orders."
The goth raised a brow. "So what if I did?" she mocked, knowing deep down that she was working against herself. She knew it wasn't a good idea to cross Mira.
Mira's glare darkened. "You are not to go to Danny unless I tell you to."
"What's the big deal?" Shade asked, shrugging off Mira's comment. "You want him dead, right? Why wait?"
"Because I said so!" In a blink, an ecto-blast the goth hadn't even seen Mira charge went flying. It hit the goth in the stomach and she gasped, bending forward and grabbing her stomach as it burned and sizzled.
Before Shade could even think of retaliating, Mira was right next to her. The more powerful half ghost grabbed Shade's arm and kicked her legs out from under her. The air was knocked from the goth's lungs and she grunted when she hit the floor.
Mira grabbed one of Shade's sensitive wings, pulling it taut, and then stepped on the large arm bone, snapping it.
Shade screamed, completely caught off guard at how much it hurt. She tried desperately to pull the wing back to her, but Mira held on and twisted, eliciting another scream of pain.
"Mira!"
The Headmaster's daughter turned at the shout and set her annoyed gaze on a shocked and angry Ki-oh. "Stay out of this," she warned.
The irate Asian man didn't back down and stomped over. "I will not. She won't be able to fulfill your plan if you keep that up! You could permanently damage her wing! Then how will she fly?"
Mira sneered but let go of the wing, Shade pulling the injured appendage to her with a groan. Mira's eyes flashed before going to leave. She stopped, however, as she got to Ki-oh. "Take her to her room and bandage her up, but watch yourself. If you start getting too involved, I will reassign you," she threatened. "You're getting a little too close."
Ki-oh kept quiet and watched her go before he finally went to Shade. He reached out to help her up but she slapped his hand away. "Don't expect me to be grateful," she grumbled, voice laced with pain.
"Grateful or not, we need to stop the toxin. Let's get the supplies, go to your room and I'll neutralize it," he said.
Shade bit back a sarcastic remark, instead nodding and indicated for him to lead the way.
They made their way to the medical bay for supplies, Shade gingerly holding her wing close to her body to prevent too much jostling. She grunted every now and then as the pain from the ecto-blast increased from the toxin.
Ki-oh felt for her, he really did, but he couldn't tolerate Shade as much as Sam. He wanted to gather what he needed quickly and get her to her room so he could communicate with Sam.
They entered the medical bay and Ki-oh gathered what he needed. Shade kept quiet, a first really, as she focused on not screaming in pain. He placed everything in a pack and put it over his shoulder. Then, the pair went to Sam's room.
They entered, Shade going over to the bed to sit down. After a moment, she grabbed her head and groaned before gasping at the pain in her stomach. She doubled over before crying out in agony when she jostled her wing. "Damn it!" she cursed.
Ki-oh set his pack down, quickly pulling out what he needed, and went to her. "Shh, Sam. I have what we need to neutralize the toxin, but you need to sit up so I can reach it."
The goth sat up some so he could reach her stomach, biting her lip as she tweaked her wing again. The Asian man gingerly lifted what remained of her shirt and carefully applied the salve to neutralize Mira's toxin. Sam breathed a sigh of relief as the pain instantly lessened to a more bearable level.
"This wound isn't that bad. It's not large nor is it deep. I don't think she was actually trying to kill you, but she definitely wanted to inflict pain," he explained as he cleaned the wound.
"Yeah, I got that when she snapped my wing," Sam responded, voice strained.
Ki-oh gave her a sad look, eyes glancing up briefly to meet hers. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get there sooner. The good news is your wing should heal fairly quickly once I set it, but you'll be grounded until it does."
Sam refrained from rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I hate depending on wings."
Ki-oh double checked the wound, satisfied it was clean enough. He then gently cleaned the cut on her cheek before going over to grab some gauze to wrap her stomach. "It's a consequence of how you were made, I'm afraid."
She raised a brow at him. "All the other half ghost's can fly normally, so why can't I?"
He opened the gauze packaging and returned to her side, unrolling it some so he could start to wrap her stomach. "I'm sure you know that the way we're made isn't natural, at least, not in the way Phantom was created. The portal injected pure raw ecto-plasm into his system which fundamentally changed his DNA." Sam lifted her arms so he could start to wrap the gauze around her. "But that kind of transformation is not only hard to recreate, it's more often deadly than not. He was lucky to have survived the process," he explained as he finished wrapping her stomach, being careful to avoid her broken wing.
"The Headmaster wanted the power and she didn't care how she obtained it," he said as he stood and went back over to the pack for what he'd need to set her wing. "She discovered, through trial and error, that the only real way to guarantee a half-ghost outcome without the risk of death was to use ghost's directly," he paused, turning to her and giving her a sober look. "She, and now Mira, abduct ghosts and remove their core. They then use the core to power the machine and integrate their DNA into a human."
Sam's eyes widened. "But that kills the ghost."
"It does," he agreed. "And what powers you get relate to what kind of core they used. Me, for example," he said, going over to the bed, "I was integrated with a ghost's core who was attuned to lightning."
"So, you can use lightning powers?" she asked.
He nodded. "I can. That ghost also flew in the way you would expect. However, you were different. You were integrated with the core of a ghost who could turn into a dragon. Because of that, you have a hot core and the ability to turn into a dragon."
Ki-oh watched as realization dawned on her face. "Aragon and Dora…" she said softly.
"Are you familiar with dragon ghosts?" he asked, brow furrowed.
"I am; I've met a few. I really hope I don't know any of the ghost's they've used," she said sadly. She'd never been on good terms with most of them, but that didn't mean she wanted them dead.
"I'm sorry," Ki-oh said gently. "Both for that and for what I need to do now." He pointed towards her wing.
Sam sighed. "I can't be helped," she responded, steeling herself for the process.
The Korean man watched her for a moment, a sympathetic look on his face, before setting the things down on the bed that he would need and gently grabbing a hold of her wing. "I need to set it straight. I'll count to three and then set it."
She nodded, taking a deep breath and gripping the sheets until her knuckles were white.
"One…two…" he snapped the wing in place, wincing at her shout of pain.
"You said you were counting to three!" she cried out, anger evident in her tone.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, using one hand to hold the wing in place as his other hand grabbed the splint he brought to keep it straight. "If I had actually done it at three, you would've tensed up in anticipation, which makes setting it much harder. I didn't want to risk having to try it more than once," he explained.
She ground her teeth, choosing to remain quiet for now as he wrapped her wing, keeping the splint in place. After several moments he was done. "All set," he said. "You can dismiss them to avoid moving them too much and laying on them, but you'll still feel the pain, though I can give you something for that."
Sam nodded, eyes cast down, and dismissed her wings. Her memories were coming back to her now, and she swallowed hard at remembering the feel of Danny's core in the palm of her hand. "Are you a doctor?" she asked suddenly, wanting to try and focus her mind on anything other than the memories. "You know a lot about this stuff."
"I was studying to be one," he answered. "But I ended up here." He moved off the bed, putting the supplies back away in the pack and digging around for the pain meds.
Sam lifted her head, gaze landing on him. "How did you end up here?"
"I'm not sure if I should be discussing this," he commented before pulling his phone out and navigating to a song. "I'll go over some dances we might be able to do to these songs once you're healed." He pressed play, placing the phone down on the table.
The goth looked sad. "I'm not sure I'm really up for that right now."
Ki-oh gave her a small smile. "I know. That was an excuse to turn on music so we could drown out our conversation for the camera," he said softly.
Sam stared at him, marveling over his thoughtfulness before wincing as she breathed too deeply, disturbing the wound on her stomach.
"Right!" Ki-oh said, pulling the meds from the pack and taking two out. He grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in the corner and took them to her.
She smiled gratefully and took the pills, swallowing them with the water.
"To answer your question," he started, keeping his voice low, "I was born and raised in Seoul by my parents until age 11 when they passed away in a car accident." He held his hand up when she invariably went to apologize. "It's alright, I've come to terms with it. I didn't have any other family," he continued, sitting on the bed next to her. "So I went to an orphanage. That's where I met Eden." He scratched the side of his neck. "You know her as the Headmaster. She adopted me and took me with her wherever she went."
Sam stared at him wide-eyed, mouth agape. "She…you…what?"
"Yes, I know. It's hard to believe, but she was my adoptive mom. Mira is legally my sister."
The goth looked around the room, trying to reconcile what he just said. "How can you go against her, then?"
The man sighed. "That's a difficult question. In a weird way, I do love Mira. Neither she, nor Eden, started out crazy. Eden was actually a loving mother for a while, and Mira was your typical sister; she was even excited to have a brother. I don't actually know the full story of why they changed; I only remember that it happened over the course of several years; slow enough that I missed the signs until it was too late."
Sam looked so confused and lost that Ki-oh gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not telling you this so you feel any type of sympathy for her, only so that you understand why it might be difficult for me to step in at times."
She nodded, still unsure of what to say.
He gave her a light smile. "I have some ideas on dances for you that might sync with your core energy. We'll need to put that on hold for a bit while you heal, but I expect you'll be feeling better in a few days."
"That quickly?" she asked.
He nodded. "Your core will heal you much faster than you're used to, and I put a ghostly healing balm on the gauze I used to wrap your stomach and wing. You'll be good as new in no time," he explained before getting up and turning the music off. He turned back to her. "Be sure to get some rest in the next few days and try not to summon your wings." He then pointed to the bottle on the table. "Take two of these every 6 hours for the first day, then one every six hours for the next day or two. You shouldn't need them beyond that."
The goth nodded, remaining silent as he gathered up his things, bowed and then left.
It was now that she let the memories wash over her and she squeaked in pain when a sob jarred her stomach. She'd been so close to killing him; Shade had been about to crush his core when Vlad showed up. If Danny didn't keep his guard up, regardless of whether she was Shade or Sam, he was going to die.
~*~TRIGGER WARNING, SKIP HERE~*~
She brought a hand up and covered her face, tears falling freely. The distraught woman didn't know how much more of this she could take. Danny had already been through too much in his short life and after-life; he didn't deserve this. She brought her head up, spotting the bottle of pain meds Ki-oh had left for her to take when needed.
Perhaps it was her turn to sacrifice.
She stared at it for a long moment, mulling over in her mind how fast they could possibly get to her, and the best way to go about it that would raise the least suspicion until the last moment. Finally, she sniffed and wiped her face before gingerly standing and making her way to the table with the bottle of water. This wasn't unusual.
Sam sat down then at a chair and took sips of the water. Again, not unusual.
She glanced at the bottle of pills, noting it was full enough that it should get the job done. She bit her lip, adrenaline now pumping through her veins. Finally, she reached over and grabbed the bottle, pulling the top off.
She looked inside for a moment, her body briefly rebelling against what she was about to do.
There was a sudden knock on the door before it opened. "I'm sorry, I meant to leave–" Ki-oh stared in shock for a second before Sam scrambled to take the pills.
"No!" he shouted, racing to her and grabbing the bottle before she could get it to her lips. The jostle over the bottle spilled the pills and Sam shouted in frustration as her plan fell to pieces.
"Why?!" she screamed at him, ignoring the pain as she smacked him in the chest several times. "Just let me die!" she sobbed, now hysterical.
Ki-oh withstood her assault, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest as she broke down weeping. He held her there, his own breaths coming quick from the shock and adrenaline. His shirt was getting wet now from her tears, but still he held her as she shattered before him.
"I'm sorry, Sam," he said softly. He couldn't say he didn't understand her thoughts. It was obvious the love she had for Danny was intense. He felt the same about his wife, so he really did understand the lengths she was willing to go to protect him. But he still couldn't let her do it.
Two men charged into the room but Ki-oh held his hand up. "I've got it," he assured them before directing them to leave and shut the door.
Finally, she sniffed. "Why can't you let me die?" she asked, voice full of emotion.
He sighed. "I may not be able to help you directly, but the least I can do is make sure you're still alive so you can get back to him," he said quietly so the camera couldn't pick it up.
~*~Good to keep reading from here~*~
Sam started hiccuping then from the intensity of her crying. Ki-oh smiled softly at it, rubbing her back. "Since I obviously can't leave these here, I'll just have to come back every six hours." He shifted, pulling away from her but keeping his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. "Come on, I'll get you into bed and then clean this up."
The young man helped her up and over to the bed, making sure she was slow and careful as she settled into bed. He then pulled the covers up and tucked her in. Sam felt a little weird about the whole thing, like she was a child, but it did at least solidify that he was on her side.
Ki-oh quickly cleaned up the mess and placed the bottle in his pocket. He then went back over to the bed and sat on the edge, reaching over and placing the palm of his hand on her forehead. "Try not to exert yourself again until you feel better," he said, pulling his hand away. "Get some rest and I'll be back in six hours."
The goth nodded, cheeks suddenly burning pink from embarrassment, but he didn't comment on it. He simply smiled, patting her arm, and left with a bow, closing the door quietly behind him.
–
Danny emerged from his room less than rested. Even with meds, he spent the night in quite a bit of agony. His core being in distress sent shocks of pain through his system with each pulse and pain meds didn't seem to stop that.
He stopped short as he left the hallway and entered the living room. His entire family was there sitting on the couch and a new love seat Danny had purchased after Sam blasted the last one.
He got even more of a shock when Skulker floated by, the ghost glancing at him and raising his hand in greeting, never once stopping as he made his way to the kitchen.
"The hell did I walk into?" Danny said, staring as the hunter went to get himself some food from the island.
Maddie, Jackson in her arms, walked up to her son. "Vlad vouched for him, so we told him to make himself at home."
"He's come a long way from the days when he tried to skin you alive," Tucker commented, earning some alarmed looks from Danny's parents who hadn't quite heard that just yet. Tucker looked around with wide-eyes. "Oops…" Jazz smacked him upside his head, the dark-skinned man yelping.
Jack suddenly stood, looking like he was about ready to go beat the snot out of the mechanical ghost, but Danny stopped him. "Wait, he's not like that anymore. He's helping me with Sam," he explained.
Skulker, oblivious to the conversation, floated back into the living room with his plate of food. He halted when he noticed the glares being sent his way. "Did I miss something?"
"It's fine, Skulker," Danny said before sending his own look at his parents that said 'leave it'.
"Perhaps I should leave?" the hunter asked slowly, still unsure of what was going on.
"No, it's okay," Danny responded. "I need to talk to everyone involved anyway."
His mother eyed the ghost, but let it go. She turned back to Danny and indicated towards his chest with a nod. "How is your wound?"
He brought a hand up and gently rested it on his chest. "Painful as hell. I was going to change the bandage myself, but I'm not flexible enough to really get the wrap around my back properly."
"The meds didn't work?" she asked, concerned.
"My apologies," Vlad spoke up, going over to them. "I thought more about the actual wound and less about your core possibly being injured." He turned to Maddie. "A ghosts' core cannot absorb medication like human hearts; he would need a direct injection, which is, admittedly, not pleasant." The billionaire turned back to the young ghost. "Would you like me to inject your core?"
Danny quickly shook his head. "Would rather not. I'll just deal with it."
He leaned down, kissing his son's head, before heading over to the couch. Jazz stood as he sat down and gave him his daughter, who happily cooed when she saw his face.
He smiled down at her, gently running a finger down her cheek. He then shifted a little to put her in a good spot, wincing as he did so.
Jazz took her seat again, handing her son a toy, before speaking. "You're lucky you came back so injured, or I would beat you senseless for taking her on alone again."
"I didn't mean to," he defended himself. "She just showed up."
"Why didn't you call for me immediately, my boy?" Vlad asked. "A fight had obviously happened before you called me."
The young ghost sighed. "I was actually handling it really well, until suddenly she was Sam. Shade went to turn into a dragon but I used an energy discharge to knock her back. She hit her head really hard and then Shade was Sam again."
Tucker perked up at that. "She's still in there?"
Danny nodded. "She is but…" he trailed off.
"But what, Danny-boy?" His father asked when he didn't continue.
Danny swallowed hard, staring sadly at Aurora. "She asked me to kill her. She said if I don't, she will kill me instead and that she can't keep Shade at bay."
"She's being controlled by another entity?" Tucker asked.
His ghostly friend shrugged. "I don't know, but she wasn't Sam for long. She caught me off guard when Shade resurfaced and put her hand through my chest."
"Was she faking it to get close to you?" Skulker asked.
Danny shook his head. "No, it was definitely her."
Jazz pulled Chase into her lap, the young boy playing with an action figure. "This is good though, right?" she asked. "Not only does it confirm that it's not Sam trying to kill you, but it also confirms that she's still in there," she elaborated.
This time the young ghost nodded. "Now we just need to figure out what to do with that information."
–
11/18/24: So we answered the question of how they're making half ghosts, and the question of why and where the ghosts are disappearing to.
I had planned to add another section to this chapter, but it already ended up at a length where I felt comfortable splitting it. The next section is likely to take an entire chapter itself, anyway. Plus, it makes me feel a little more comfortable in posting chapter 20 today, as it means I'll still be two chapters ahead.
I know Dora and Aragon could float like a normal ghost, not just as a dragon. However, remember that the way they use the ghost's core to create a half ghost is imperfect, so they don't always get the expected outcome.
I hope you enjoyed this one!