Water splashed onto his boots and suit as he attempted to run across the deserted, dimly lit street. He was spent, much too exhausted for flight and the heavy rain was hindering his vision.
One hand gripped his torso, trying to staunch the flow of green-red blood that had stained what was left of his tattered jumpsuit. The culmination of his exhaustion from the ghost fight, obscured vision, and blood loss meant the best he could do was a light jog.
The ghost had been faster and its claws sharper than he anticipated. Staggered, he had jumped back and conjured an ectoshield as he assessed the damage. Three jagged and deep cuts ran diagonally across his chest from his right shoulder to the end of his left rib cage. Danny knew he had to end the fight quickly if he was going to capture the ghost; so, when he dropped his ectoshield, he was already implementing his improvised plan.
This particular ghost was another rogue, his fifth of the night. Ferocious and fast, but not particularly bright. Timing the drop of the shield with a slash from the ghost, Danny turned intangible. The momentum of the ghost's slash hitting nothing carried it forward. Danny stepped forward, through the now off balanced ghost, and dropped the intangibility before kicking backwards.
The rogue fell forward and somersaulted to regain its feet quickly. When it turned to face him, it was too late. Danny already had the thermos uncapped and aimed; with a press of a button the rogue was sucked inside.
It was then that the pain hit him and he knew he was in trouble. Thus, he found himself barely able to jog. Heading towards a friend he hoped still cared enough to help him.
Stopping under an alcove to shelter from the rain, he tapped into his ice core and froze over the wounds, temporarily halting the blood flow. Danny had always liked his ice core, but now he wished he had a fire core. Maybe then he could cauterize the gashes. Then again, the cool he felt was soothing.
Though the bleeding had slowed considerably, he had used the last of his strength to close the gashes with ice. Danny slowly sank to the ground, his back against the brick wall of the building offering minimal shelter from the downpour.
Knowing this was going to have consequences, but with no other choice, he pulled out his phone and found a contact.
'I know we've had our differences, but need your help. Few blocks away from your house, Blossom Street.'
Danny hit the send button. The brief break gave him some strength, so he arose and proceeded to walk down the street, phone in hand. It didn't take long before it buzzed.
'Life or death situation?'
'Potentially'
He continued walking, one hand clutching the ice on his chest, the other holding the phone.
Another buzz, 'of course you do this'
Danny sighed. He had been expecting this, but the eye roll emoji at the end seemed unnecessary when he had just confirmed it was a serious situation.
Unfortunately, Danny's exhaustion and sigh hid his ghost sense. Not only was he unable to reply, he was hit with a powerful sound wave as the window from across the street shattered.
The unexpected attack fractured the ice and Danny's impact with the building wall beside him finished the job. With the ice gone, the steady flow of blood resumed once more.
"Oh c'mon!" the feminine voice chuckled, "that's, like, my most standard attack. You're slacking today, Babypop."
Danny groaned, moving a hand back to his chest and lifted his head to see Ember still clutching her guitar and floating in the remains of the window she had just blown out.
"Ember, this really isn't a good time," Danny said weakly. His vision swam and he let his head drop back to the rain-soaked concrete of the sidewalk. He was really struggling to hold onto consciousness.
"Says you! I just rocked your shit!"
Ember waited for Danny to get up, anticipating his usual smartass retort. Instead, he lay motionless.
"That wasn't even a hard hit. You better not be playing opossum on me!" Ember threatened as she drifted closer.
It was then that she noticed the water running down the street was dyed with halfa blood.
No longer cautious, she quickly descended to him, noticing the long gashes on his torso.
'Holy Shit! Who did that to him?' she thought.
Ember stood over the unconscious Danny, contemplating how she could help him. Over the last year they had come to an unspoken agreement. Friendly enemies, if that was a possibility.
She didn't have any ill will towards him and didn't wish lasting harm on him. She was confident he felt the same towards her. She would show up to blow off some steam and have some fun. The resulting fight would be full of banter and suggestive dialogue, she would usually lose, and then Danny would give her the option of going back to the ghost zone inside or outside the thermos. On the rare occasion that she did one up him, she would depart for the ghost zone herself following a verbal jab.
She had no idea what to do. How to help? Ghosts didn't "bleed" per se, but they would lose some ectoplasm which would diminish their strength.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, help had just arrived.
"What did you do?!" a familiar voice yelled from down the street.
Ember looked towards the voice, and held her hands up placatingly, teleporting her guitar to a safe place. She could make out the shape of the wrist ray being aimed at her as the dark figure approached.
"He was like this when I got here," Ember tried to explain.
"Like hell," Sam growled, not lowering the wrist ray despite Ember's seeming surrender.
"Okay maybe not exactly like this…"
"You have about five seconds to explain before I blast you and leave you in a thermos for a very long time," Sam replied, violet eyes flashing.
Her and Danny hadn't spoke in close to a year. A disagreement had led to a huge fight and, despite Tucker's best efforts, the two refused to speak to each other until the other apologized. However, she never wanted this to be the way a resolution was reached.
"I was out and about and looking to blow off some steam. Babypop and I usually go a few rounds and then I go on my merry way. Except this time, he didn't see me and my surprise attack worked. The gashes were there already."
"And you're standing over him because…?" Sam questioned, moving closer and not lowering the wrist ray. Her eyes widened when she saw his ravaged torso, but she didn't lose her composure.
"He didn't reply to my banter like normal. That's when I approached to see what was wrong with him. I was trying to figure out how to help him when you showed up. Maybe I could cauterize…? I don't know, ghosts don't get injured like this."
Ember looked down at Danny and summoned soft flames to her hands.
"No!" Sam screamed and fired a shot from the wrist ray.
Ember condensed her flames and brought them in front of her to defend from the ectoblast coming her way.
"What the hell, goth bitch! Can't you see I'm trying to help?!"
"Danny has an ice core, dimwit. Your flames may hurt more than they'll help!"
"An ice core…?" Ember trailed off, "Are you sure? That's incredibly rare. Outside of the Far Frozen, I've only seen one ghost with the abilities that core offers and babypop here has never used them against me."
"Probably because he knew how bad it would clash with your fire core," Sam rolled her eyes.
Ember's eyes widened slightly. She had no idea he had been holding back in their fights. She had used fire-based attacks on several occasions and he had never been phased. In fact, he still won the majority of the time. She looked down at the still unconscious Danny.
"How can we help him?" she asked, softly, moved by the new information Sam had provided.
Sam, despite the voice in her head saying Ember wasn't to be trusted, lowered the wrist ray.
"If you're serious about helping, we need to get him to Frostbite."
"The Far Frozen?! I can't…"
"And why's that?" Sam asked.
"The environment there… the cold. It clashes too much with my core. While ghosts can't die again, we can feel excruciating pain and, sometimes, that's worse."
Sam wanted to retort, but then thought of how much emotional pain she had felt since her and Danny had blown up on each other. It may not be physical, but she wished it would've been. Physical pain doesn't typically last this long. Even if she was distracted or preoccupied, she could feel the hurt just beneath the surface.
"Fine, Ember," Sam said, "if you want to help, I need you to teleport us to the ghost portal. I need the specter speeder."
"The…what?"
"Don't worry about it. Just get us to the ghost portal."
Ember nodded and, in a whirl of cyan flames, Sam, Danny, and herself disappeared.
Sam had never teleported before. Danny didn't have that power, or at least not that he had revealed to her. Ghost portals to the past and future, sure. She had even used Clockwork's timestream portals.
This was different. She had thought the flames would be hot, searing. While no smoke came, she imagined the heat alone would scorch her throat and lungs.
So, as the flames climbed higher, blocking her view of the partially flooded and dimly lit street, she held her breath. Then, she realized she was still cold, soaked from the downpour. The flames, while not cold, did not seem to have any heat either.
Sam thought of chancing a breath, but before she could the flames started to die. In seconds, the Fenton's lab greeted her. No dizziness, no nausea… she was just there. Blinking dumbly, she realized.
"First time?" Ember smirked, but quickly dropped it when she spied Danny still lying motionless at her feet.
"Does it matter?" Sam bit out, searching for the specter speeder.
"Suppose not," Ember said, going intangible and letting the water fall off her to the floor.
Sam had finally spotted the vehicle and walked towards it. In the glass of the door window, a girl she barely recognized glared back.
Wet black hair stuck to her slim face. Her eyeliner was smudged, and dark bags sat under her eyes, made more prominent by her pale skin tone. She shivered, mostly from the cold of her wet clothes, but she couldn't deny the last eight months had taken a toll on her. Mostly emotionally, but it seemed it had physically as well. Coupled with the bags under her eyes, she was visibly slimmer. Not unhealthy yet, but she had definitely lost weight.
She flinched when an arm touched her, but before she could pull away, it was gone. She whirled around and was face to face with Ember.
Ember didn't shrink under her glare.
"Thought you'd like to be dry," Ember shrugged.
Sam looked down and realized she was standing in a puddle of water. Her clothes no longer felt wet, but slightly damp.
'Must've turned me intangible.'
Sam softened her glare and nodded her thanks to the rockstar.
She turned back to the specter speeder and opened the door, immediately walking to a cabinet that stored the medical supplies.
"Bring him here. Gently," she emphasized.
Ember rolled her eyes, but gently picked up Danny, still in phantom form, and brought him into the vehicle.
"Sit him up," Sam commanded, starting to wrap gauze around his chest.
The first roll was wet with his mixed blood before she started the second. When the third roll finished, she took pleasure in still seeing the rise and fall of his chest and that blood could no longer be seen through the bandages. However, she knew she had only bought him some time with how deep his wounds were.
Now finished with her task, Ember eased Danny back to his supine position. This was not how she anticipated her night going.
Ember had been in the midst of her songwriting. The guitar had already been recorded, but her band had decided to go out on the town instead of do their parts. Irritated, she had tried to write lyrics to just the guitar, but without the full composition of the song, Ember found it difficult to get the verses to flow.
Feeling incredibly frustrated and disappointed, both with her bandmates and herself, she sought Amity Park for some fun. It had started innocent enough; a couple scares, some harmless pranks, and a few autographs at a local music store. It was there she had spied movement outside and saw Phantom engaged in a battle, but with whom she couldn't tell.
Knowing his track record, she figured it wouldn't be long before the ghost was defeated and he would be heading down the street, so she had planned her ambush. While her other activities had helped, there was no better cure for boredom and frustration than fighting Phantom…
"—Ber!"
Ember blinked, so caught up in her thoughts of how she had ended up in this situation, she hadn't heard her name.
"What, dipstick?" Ember asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Sam rolled her eyes at the name but let it go, "Time for you to go. Next stop, Far Frozen."
Ember blinked at her, not registering the words. Then saw that the goth had found a parka from somewhere and was dressed in winter clothes.
"Oh, right," she said, standing.
"I don't know why you helped us, Ember, but thank you. With that said, I will blast you if you hurt Danny again," Sam glared.
Ember laughed, "I wouldn't expect anything less. You're welcome, just make sure he gets better. He still owes me a rematch from our last fight! Damn, cheater…"
"And how exactly did Danny cheat to beat you?" Sam questioned.
"Doesn't matter," Ember blushed, "I'll be seeing you, Goth."
Before Sam could comment, Ember took off into the ghost portal.
'That was… odd,' Sam thought, putting in the coordinates for the Far Frozen and following Ember into the Ghost Zone.
'Danny's going to have to explain that when he wakes up. Actually, he's going to have to explain a lot…'
Sam refused to acknowledge the possibility that he wouldn't make it. Though the fact he was still Phantom and not Fenton while unconscious worried her…
Danny was falling.
He felt the gravity pushing him toward the Earth. It wasn't particularly scary. It had happened several times before. He actually enjoyed the times he would let go of his flight and free fall.
His panic kicked in when he couldn't catch himself. He felt he'd been falling for a while. Too long. The ground had to be close, but he couldn't fly! He tried again to stop his fall…
He could hear voices. He couldn't make out the words, but the tone seemed… off. At least he wasn't falling anymore. However, he hadn't started flying either.
They were worried. One held more concern than the other. They both spoke softly. He couldn't place them… They were gone and he felt like he was falling again.
The voices were back again. More hopeful this time? He still couldn't make out the words, but the concern wasn't as prominent as before. He tried to open his eyes, to see who was talking. They refused to move.
A dream. No… a memory. Several memories.
Danny watched them as if they were on a tv screen. The accident that gave him his powers, the fight with Pariah Dark, the Nasty Burger exploding as his evil future self laughed.
The memories continued, scattered and fleeting. A team up of him and Valerie taking down Skulker. Jazz helping him on the senior research project. Sam being controlled by Undergrowth…
'Sam!' he thought, remembering he had sent her a message for help. Knowing the consequences it would have…
The memories shifted and one clarified.
It had been a busy night. Danny had only been able to grab an hour of sleep before his alarm went off for school.
The full thermos sat on his desk. Irritated from his lack of sleep and whatever the hell last night was, he opened a door and roughly knocked the thermos in it. The occupants inside yelled, groaned, whined, and swore. Another day in the thermos may not teach them to stay away, but it made him feel better. He knew how cramped and torturous the thermos was with other occupants.
Skulker, Technus, Desiree, a few rogues, Johnny 13, and his Shadow all decided the beginning of senior year was the perfect time to either hunt him or torment his town, depending on the occupant.
Skulker had managed to pierce his shoulder with a new weapon. Danny suspected it was ectoranium, but had no clue how Skulker would have managed to work with it.
While the wound was healing, his mobility was limited and he one armed his backpack to lessen the workload and pain.
When he arrived at Casper High, Sam and Tucker were quick to figure out why he had one armed the bag.
"Rough night?" Tucker asked him.
"And long. What gave it away?" Danny replied, stifling a yawn.
"Like you have to ask," Sam rolled her eyes, "why didn't you call for help? Or at least let us help with the shoulder?"
"I had it handled. Skulker got a lucky shot, that's all. Besides, it was 4am. You both need sleep too. I've taken enough from you as it is."
"That's not fair, Danny. We've always been in this together. From the beginning," Sam told him.
"Yeah, dude. We've always got your back," Tucker agreed.
"I appreciate it guys. Really, I do. But it isn't fair to either of you. If I can manage without you, I will."
"And who gives you final say? We're capable of making our own decisions," Sam said, eyes flashing a challenge that she wouldn't be benched without a fight.
"We're going to be late," Danny told them.
"This isn't over," Sam replied, as the three walked to Lancer's classroom.
"He can't make the decisions for us, Tucker! We're friends, and he may be the super-powered one, but, dammit, we've saved him in the past."
"I'm with you, Sam. But you have to see it from his side, too. He's just trying to protect us. If he says he can handle it, he can handle it," Tucker told her.
Danny had just approached their table in the cafeteria, his heightened ghost hearing allowing him to overhear their conversation.
"Tucker's right," Danny said, sitting down.
"Maybe half right," Sam retorted, "how's the shoulder?"
"Should be back to 100% in the morning," Danny shrugged.
"What's going on with you, Danny?" Sam asked, softening her voice. She was a little upset with Danny, but above all, she was concerned. He had changed over summer. Subtly, but noticeably for her. Maybe Tucker too, but they had never discussed it.
"Nothing's going on, Sam. I'm fine."
"No, you're not!" she replied, anger starting to overwhelm the concern, "all summer you'd disappear without saying anything. Here one minute, gone the next. You'd reappear eventually, ghost in hand, but that's not the point! You sidelined us, left us out of the loop."
"I had it covered," Danny told her, simply.
"C'mon guys… can we not do this here? Or maybe not at all?" Tucker asked, hopefully.
"No, Tuck! Danny is making decisions for us. For whatever reason, he is not giving us a choice in how or if we can help him."
Danny sighed. He knew Sam had a point, and she was right. He had hoped he had more time to try and figure out how to explain things. He never expected his friends would catch on this quickly. Or maybe he just hadn't been as nonchalant as he had thought.
"Sam—" Tucker started but Danny cut him off.
"No, Tuck. Let her say her piece. But not here," he said, looking directly at Sam.
"Fine," she snapped, "my parents are out of town. My house after school."
Danny nodded his agreement seconds before the bell rang, signaling lunch was over.
The walk to Sam's was long and tense. None of the three said a word. Danny and Sam were in their thoughts, each trying to figure out an argument to show why their viewpoint was justified.
Tucker hated the conflict that was brewing. Danny was limiting Sam's independence, which was a recipe for disaster. However, Sam was going about this all wrong… When had words ever persuaded Danny? Tucker knew that if his friend felt he was justified/in the right/doing what he believed was the right thing, he would never let it go.
'This is going to end disastrously,' Tucker thought.
Sam led them straight to the basement and before the door had fully closed, she rounded on Danny.
"You have kept us in the dark all summer. Disappearing to fight ghosts without telling us, downplaying any injuries you received, lying—"
"I never lied," Danny interjected.
"Not outright, but withholding the truth or telling half-truths is a form of lying. At the least it's a form of deception! Now, you're sidelining us? Without even asking what it is we would prefer?"
To his credit, Danny wasn't mad. But he knew he was doing the right thing. Sometimes, the right thing hurt.
"You never had the choice to choose this life. You were sucked into it from the start. I took away your high school years. Both of you should have been able to have a regular high school experience. Homecoming dances, prom… Tucker could've been part of the robotics team. You could've volunteered more, made the community better. Instead, you've been sneaking out and running around town with me to catch ghosts! Or bandaging me because I wasn't good enough and am unable to go to hospitals anymore. Your grades have suffered, as have mine. You have lost dozens of hours of sleep because of me.
It's senior year, Sam. What happens next? Tucker wants to go to MIT; you always spoke about studying abroad. The time is now and guess what, you both have stopped talking about those dreams… those goals. For what? Because your friend is a half ghost? You are involved with the paranormal because of me and I refuse to let you put your life on hold because of it. Who knows how much of it you have left… If it wasn't for Clockwork, you wouldn't even be here!" Danny said, voice rising as his remorse and anger at himself bled through.
"So, you take matters in your own hands?!" Sam exploded, "This isn't your call to make Danny! Our life is our own. Our decisions are our own. Who are you to say 'this isn't the path for you'?"
"I'm trying to show you I can handle it! I don't need you to help with the ghosts anymore! Live your life!"
"Oh, so you don't need us anymore?!" Sam yelled, tears springing into her eyes, face flushed with anger.
"Guys, can we chill a sec?" Tucker tried, but he went ignored.
"That's not what I meant, Sam! Can't you try and see—"
"Oh, I see all right, Danny. You and your hero complex think you know what's best for everyone. If you want us out so bad, then go! Make the decision even easier for us! In fact, make it nonexistent and leave! That's what you want right?"
Tears rolled down Sam's face. Danny's face grew steely. He was trying to protect them… let them live as normal a life as they could. He was angry now that Sam had twisted his words and thrown them back in his face. She didn't get it. Maybe she never would.
"I never said I didn't want to be around either of you or have you out of my life," Danny said calmly and chillingly, "but if that's how you feel…"
Danny let invisibility wash over him and as he flew out of Sam's house her parting words followed him.
"Don't come back until you've pulled your head out of your ass, Fenton!"
He and Tucker had reconciled the next day. Tucker didn't agree with him, but he understood what he was trying to do. That was enough for the both of them.
This had happened in the first month of senior year and graduation was a month away. He and Sam had seen each other in passing at school, but had not spoken since that day despite Tucker's best efforts.
'Until now,' Danny thought, his eyes finally responding to his command for them to open.
Bright white light greeted him and he immediately shut them again. The next time he opened them, he went slower.
Now adjusted to the light, he recognized the technology of the Far Frozen. A hand moved to his chest and his eyes soon followed.
The dressing appeared fresh. A soft breathing alerted him he wasn't alone in the room.
To his left, Sam sat in a chair, head in her palm as she slept. Danny had seen her in passing, but now he really looked at her. It appeared their fight hadn't just affected him. She seemed slimmer, paler… more fragile. He frowned at the bags under her eyes.
He went to sit up in the bed he was in and the light noise was enough to wake Sam.
"Danny!" she cried, relief flowing through her. Frostbite had said he would be okay, but when he wouldn't wake up, she felt it hard to believe.
"Hey, Sam," Danny smiled at her, also feeling relief. He wasn't sure if she would come for him after their fight. He was glad she had.
"How do you feel?" she asked, moving to hug him.
"I feel good. It doesn't even hurt… how long have we been here? What happened?"
"Great One!" a deep voice yelled, "You have awakened!"
"Frostbite!" Danny grinned, succumbing to the yeti's hug as well.
"Your friend got you here just in time! The scarring will be minimal," Frostbite grinned.
"What happened?" Danny asked again.
"We were hoping you could tell us…" Sam told him.
"What do you remember, Great One?"
"There were several rogue ghosts… The last one was particularly ferocious. Got me with a swipe of their claws but I got him. I—" Danny scrunched his face trying to recall what happened after that.
"I used my ice power to help stop the bleeding. That was when I messaged Sam…"
"When I got there, you were unconscious and Ember was standing over you. I thought she had done a number on you, but when she saw me, she quickly surrendered. It was weird… it was like she was concerned for you."
"Em and I have come to an understanding," Danny told her.
"Em?" Sam questioned and giving him a look that said he had a lot of explaining to do.
Danny chuckled nervously, "Yeah… let's just say I stumbled across something that was meant to stay private. After that night, she hasn't really caused trouble. Just comes to pick a fight with me and leaves. I think it's an outlet for her."
"Ember is a ghost with a very complex past, Great One. If what you say is true, whatever happened that night must've had a great impact on her," Frostbite said, knowingly.
"I believe it did."
"I guess that explains why she helped you," Sam grimaced.
"Surprised you didn't blast her," Danny commented.
"Oh, I tried. She thought cauterizing your wounds was a good idea."
"I fear had she succeeded, the Great One would not have survived," Frostbite said.
"What? Why?" Danny asked.
"You are a halfa with an ice core, Great One. Both of your halves were working together to keep you alive. The flames would have imbalanced your ghost half and you certainly would've bled out before Samantha, er, Sam brought you here."
"Is that why he was still Phantom despite being unconscious?" Sam asked.
"Indeed!" Frostbite smiled at her, "Normally the Great One changes to his human half when rendered unconscious. I believe this is a subconscious defense mechanism as his human half would be helped by others, while his ghost half would be captured. In this circumstance, reverting to his human half would have meant certain death. I'm sure you both have noticed that, in his ghost form, the Great One bleeds mostly green."
Danny and Sam both nodded.
"And in human form, mostly red. However, the two are always mixed. You see, ghosts 'bleed' ectoplasm. It's not exactly blood, but it is our energy source. So once depleted, we have to generate more. By staying in ghost form, the Great One limited his blood loss by losing ectoplasm instead! Though it was not without risk as his energy was being lost in its place.
Furthermore, his ghost form is cooler than his human form. This helped the blood vessels stay constricted, thus limiting the blood loss further. In addition to that, his power is greater in ghost form so his healing factor is stronger. You are quite remarkable, Great One."
"Uhhh, thanks, Frostbite," Danny said, uncertain how to reply or feel about the quick half-ghost physiology lesson.
"Of course, Great One. I am glad you are feeling better. If you ever need anything, we are always here to help. Now, I must make my leave."
"Thanks for everything, Frostbite. Couldn't have done it without you," Sam said, giving the yeti a hug.
"Thanks, Frostbite," Danny said.
"You did just fine! Until next time, Great One."
The silence following his departure was deafening.
"We should get you back," Sam finally said, "I have the specter speeder."
"I could use the lift," Danny told her, knowing there was much to discuss.
The two walked side by side back to where Sam had parked the specter speeder. They didn't speak as neither wanted to disturb the tentative peace they were experiencing.
It wasn't until after Danny put in the coordinates for the portal in his parent's lab that he finally spoke.
"Thank you. I didn't know if you'd come, but I'm fairly certain I'd be all ghost or whatever comes next for me if you hadn't showed up."
"Like there was ever a doubt," Sam rolled her eyes.
"I was confident," Danny smiled, "but we hadn't spoken in so long. And your emoji response worried me a bit."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It was just… of course it took something like this happening for you to talk to me again. I was waiting for you to message or call or even approach me in school with a ghost problem. Hell, even a real-world issue. College application, family problems, study help… but no. You had to nearly die," Sam sighed.
"That goes both ways, Sam," Danny replied softly. Sam didn't detect any unkindness, bitterness, or maliciousness in his tone.
"I know," she finally admitted, "I had almost caved several times. In fact, I think I actually would have in the next week or two."
"Yeah, me too. What stopped you?"
"I didn't want to fight again. As much as I wanted you back in my life, I was afraid another fight would kill any hopes of salvaging our friendship."
"Great minds think alike," Danny chuckled, "I'm sorry I didn't reach out sooner."
There was a beat of silence before Danny stuck his hand out and said, "Friends?"
Sam sighed. She had really missed Danny, but she knew if they were to be friends again then they needed to revisit the argument that caused this in the first place.
"I want to, Danny," she started, trying to find the words.
"I sense a 'but' coming…" Danny said dejectedly and dropping his hand.
"But things can't go back to how they were. You can't shut me out. I'm my own person, an adult… I should have a choice."
"In ghost hunting?" Danny asked, steeling himself.
"In anything!" Sam exclaimed before taking a steadying, calming breath, "Look, I don't want to fight again. I was upset and not willing to listen before and neither were you… but I am now."
There was a comfortable silence as Danny gathered his thoughts. Both watched the Ghost Zone pass by as the specter speeder navigated to its destination.
"You and Tucker… Actually, all of us had these dreams before the craziness started. I wanted to be an astronaut, remember? Tucker was going to build some new computer programming software or something. You… You wanted to explore the world. Travel and learn and try to help others," Danny smiled before frowning, "I wanted each of you to have that opportunity. Do you remember towards the end of junior year, when you both saved me from Vlad?
Sam nodded recalling how her and Tucker had intervened just long enough for Danny to make Vlad morph to his human self with his ghost wail.
"You were both injured and I realized we had one more year before high school was over. Then what? I love both of you, but there's no way I was letting either of you put your future on hold or worse, not have a future, because I became half ghost. I thought that if I started handling things on my own… leaving the two of you out, maybe you could start focusing on your futures and not get hurt because of me anymore. We could still be friends and hang out, just keep the supernatural out of it, ya know? I never wanted either of you out of my life. I don't think I could lose either of you, these last few months have been hard. I never meant for it to feel like I was making decisions for you. I'm sorry."
"I understand," Sam began, "I wish you would have told us this when it happened. So, we could talk about it. It felt like you were… shutting us out. Shutting me out, and that hurt. A lot. I was afraid I was going to lose you. It was like you were slowly pulling away and all I wanted to do was help you and you wouldn't let me. You kept saying you were fine when you clearly weren't. I was scared, angry, and frustrated and I let my emotions get the best of me. I'm sorry, too."
The green of the Ghost Zone ended and the lab appeared outside the window.
"Friends?" Danny tried again.
"Always," Sam smiled, "Just… promise me whatever happens next, the 'future', we'll talk about it and face it together?"
"I promise."
Sam smiled and hugged Danny, hard.
'God, I've missed him.'
"Good. Now can you take me home? And maybe explain how you and Ember are buddy-buddy now?"
Danny, relieved that everything was behind them and they were friends again, beamed at her before scooping her up and taking flight.
Ember was staring at the clear night sky when she heard a soft landing behind her. She turned and saw Danny, in Phantom form, approaching her.
"Thought I might find you here," he said, landing on the roof of the restaurant that now occupied the plot of land that had once been Ember's home before the fire consumed it.
"Sam told me you helped to save me. Thank you, though I'm surprised the two of you worked together…"
"Don't get used to it, Babypop. That might've been a one-time deal. We didn't exactly see eye to eye. I'm glad you're okay though," Ember said.
"Oh, I don't know. She told me you had your differences but it seemed you were both friendly at the end," Danny smirked.
"Are you trying to get a rise out of me, Dipstick?"
"Maybe… she told me how quick you were to put your guitar away, so maybe you don't fight anymore?" Danny mused, still smirking.
Ember let her fiery hair flare up and she summoned her guitar to her hand.
"You sure you wanna do this right now?" she asked, preparing for battle, "No way you're 100 percent after how I found you! And I know your weakness," she grinned playfully and summoned a fireball to her hand, "Mister ice core."
Danny pretended to stifle a yawn, "Please, you've used plenty of fire in our past duels. Why would I be daunted now? Besides, Sam also told me you were… shall I say flustered when you recalled our last meeting. I'm a cheater, am I?"
Danny's smirk grew as Ember's face flushed red.
'So, he didn't come for a fight,' Ember thought, 'At least not a physical one. Fine, Babypop, two can play this game.'
Her embarrassment slowly fading, Ember teleported her guitar away and relaxed from her battle stance.
"Whether you want to admit it or not, I had you beat last time. You were pinned with no way out and that's why you had to resort to what you did," Ember rolled her eyes.
"I was just delivering a compliment," Danny shrugged innocently before smirking once more, "Your eyes were a blazing, vibrant, and gorgeous green."
"Uh huh," Ember replied, unconvinced, "and that's why you had to whisper it in my ear and follow it up with a quick kiss to my cheek?"
Danny finally broke and started laughing, "Okay, you got me. It was a last-ditch effort, but I never expected it to work! As fixated as you were on beating me… and don't act like you were little miss innocent."
"Who, me?" Ember feigned surprise.
"You didn't have to straddle me to claim victory. That was a powerful enough shot that you could've claimed it and left, instead you went for the 'pin'."
"Hmmm… I suppose you may be right. I wasn't quite ready for the fight to be over though."
"Think I wouldn't agree to a best of three?" Danny challenged.
"I wouldn't know," Ember said, staring pointedly at the thermos attached to his hip.
"Please," Danny scoffed, "You haven't been in this in ages."
"Fair enough, Babypop. So, how are you actually feeling? And why did you hide your ice powers, and thus, core from me?"
"I feel fine, Em. Frostbite and crew have me almost brand new. There's only faint scarring. As for my core… I didn't want to really hurt you. I know our fights are mostly playful and for fun at this point. And before you say you could've hurt me, you needed to even the odds," Danny smirked at her.
"Even the odds…" Ember trailed off, outraged.
'Time to go for the kill.'
"Poor, Ember. So much weaker than Danny Phantom. Why even fight anymore? I clearly can't win without my fire powers!" Ember yelled.
Danny's smirk fell. Maybe he had taken the verbal sparring and teasing too far…
That was when Ember gained a cheshire grin and her eyes lit up mischievously.
"I suppose the next time I want to have some fun; we'll have to go a few rounds with something else instead then," she said with a wink.
Danny's face flushed crimson while Ember laughed, knowing that she had won this round.
A/N
I am in the midst of writing a Danny Phantom reboot geared to how I would like to see Paramount+ or whoever owns the rights these days do a live action TV show (summary in my profile). Current plans are 10-13 episodes (chapters) per season and I roughly have a third of season 1 done. Once season 1 is complete I will start uploading.
I have a poll on my profile as to who should be Danny's FINAL love interest/pairing if anyone interested in the reboot would like to vote. The winner determines certain plot points from the outline I have...