Chapter 47

"I know it's asking a lot, but I don't know who else to turn to," Danny explained.

Frostbite pursed his lips and nodded. "I will help you."

"Frostbite!" One of the top yetis said. He grimaced when Frostbite glared at him. "Sir," he said. "Respectfully, you cannot get near that stone."

"Why not?" Danny asked.

He straightened up to look presentable to the ghost boy. "Well, when the stone is activated, it can –"

"Orion, no!" Frostbite commanded.

Danny put a hand up and, in a strange show of authority, told Frostbite, "Let him finish."

"It can obliterate ghosts, meaning that we will really be gone. Not just dead. We will cease to exist," Orion explained.

Frostbite shook his head angrily. Danny felt a pit in his stomach.

"It's true," Frostbite said bitterly. "Ages ago, when Pariah Dark was ruling over the Ghost Zone, many of our brethren were eradicated. But I will fight alongside you, Danny Phantom. You have my word."

"No. It's out of the question," Danny said, shaking his head. He looked up at the Far Frozen leader with concerned eyes. "That's why I almost died - isn't it? The stone was killing both parts of me."

"Yes. Even as a halfa with your unique healing abilities, the stone can hurt you and even kill you. That's why you couldn't heal on your own. The ghost part of you was damaged. Which is why I'm not sure you should fight this alone."

"I can't ask you to risk your afterlives for this…I'm sure I'll figure out a way to defeat him," Danny said, not believing a word he was saying. He sighed sadly. "I guess I really am the only one who can stop him," he added, swallowing hard.

"I am sorry. I do wonder, if there was some way to protect yourself from that stone – some special suit or something. Then you might be able to more easily fight Vlad."

"A special suit…it sounds like something my parents would make."

"If it protects from ectoplasm, it could do the trick."

"That's a good idea," Danny said, standing up. "Thanks for meeting with me. I've gotta get to school now."

Once Danny got home, he heard footsteps going up the stairs. Aw, crud!

He changed forms to avoid the alarm going off, then floated up through the ceiling and into his room. He plopped into bed and pretended to be asleep.

"Danny?" His dad said, knocking on the door. He opened it. "Danny, it's time for school!"

"Oh!" He said, pretending to wake up. "I'll be just a sec!"

"Wait, we got these in the mail. They said you have to wear them to school from now on," Jack said, holding some clothes in his hands.

"Huh?" Danny sat upright, looking at his dad in the doorframe. He brought him the clothes. It was a white, long-sleeved, collared, button-down shirt with a red tie, khaki pants, and a navy cardigan. "A uniform? Since when does Casper High require uniforms?"

He looked at a tag stitched to the inside of the cardigan. Courtesy of Vlad Masters Inc.

"I should've known."

He heard Jazz grumbling in the other room.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Jack said. "At least you won't have to decide what to wear every day anymore!"

"Right. I'll be much more comfortable in this itchy cardigan than a fleece hoodie," Danny said, sardonically. Then in a more serious tone, "Have you…heard anything from Mom?"

Jack frowned, leaning on the doorframe. "Nothing…I think I've really done it this time."

"You didn't do anything, Dad."

"Oh yeah? Well then why hasn't she called?"

Danny saw this as a good sign – his dad's mind control had worn off. Unfortunately, his mom was with Vlad all the time. She would need enough time away from him and his scepter to snap out of it. Or perhaps a nudge in the right direction.

"Just give it time. She'll come back," Danny reassured him.

"I guess so. It's just so strange. I don't even remember what happened. One minute we were celebrating Vlad becoming mayor, then the next I was home alone, finding out that Maddie had left to be with Vladdy…I can't believe I didn't see it coming."

"She is not with Uncle Vlad," Danny said. "She's just confused."

Jack looked unconvinced but just shrugged. Danny thought it would be a good time to change subjects.

"Have you ever thought of building a sort of ecto-suit?"

"An ecto-what-now?"

"Something that would make you impervious to ectoplasmic energy."

"Wow Danny boy! Now that's a great idea!"

"Maybe it could help you to battle Phantom – and capture him! There is still that bounty on his head," he added. It felt odd talking about himself in such a way, but he figured this was just the kind of thing that would influence his dad to expedite his creation process.

"You are just full of ideas! Time to get back to the drawing board!" He exclaimed, jumping up. As he started to leave, he stopped himself. "Oh, and you are temporarily un-grounded while your mom is away!" He rushed out of the room and down the stairs.

"So…" Sam said, walking between Danny and Tucker at the mall. She groaned as the silence continued. "You guys really won't talk to each other? Come on. It was all day at school…surely one of you will crack!"

"Don't look at me. This is all Tucker," Danny said, raising his hands.

"I'm not the one with all the secrets!" Tucker snapped.

Danny widened his eyes as he peered over at Tucker. Does he –

"Calm down, you guys," Sam said. "But seriously, Danny, what are you hiding?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Tucker scoffed.

Do you? Danny mouthed to Tucker while Sam wasn't looking. Tucker turned from him and crossed his arms.

"Look…" Danny started. "I…" He sighed. "I guess I should just –" He gasped, ghost sense activated. He glanced around. Tucker noticed this and looked at him curiously. Without warning, Danny ran to the fire alarm and pulled it. The sirens started blaring all over the mall, and people began exiting the mall.

"Danny, what the hell?" Sam shouted over the alarm.

"Come on!" He yelled to his friends, leading the way to the exit. He slowed down to let them pass him before slipping away and hiding. He became Phantom and flew into the mall. "Get out of the mall!" He bellowed to the people remaining, just before the first explosion happened. He saw fire on the second floor and heard a child screaming.

He flew up. There was a little girl. Her mother had passed out onto the floor. It looked like her head was bleeding. Other than them, the mall looked pretty much empty. Quickly, he got the woman over his shoulder and held the little girl's hand as he floated them down.

Another explosion ensued. This time just a few meters from where they were. Danny instinctively shielded them with his body. He cried out as fire grazed his back. The mother began to wake up. When she saw Phantom over her, she tried to scurry away with her daughter out of fear.

He almost let them because he thought it was over, but then another blast happened. He flew for them and felt a pull in his gut. Without even thinking of it, a green shield came out from within him and shielded them all. The fire from the blast passed harmlessly around them. The woman gawked at him as he floated down to the floor.

"You…saved us?"

"Come on. We need to get out of here," he urged her.

People cheered as they came out. Everyone was surprised to see Phantom. The police shouted for him to stand down, pointing their guns at him, but the woman shook her head and stood in front of him.

"Don't shoot!" She screamed. "He saved us! Those explosions didn't come from him."

The policeman shook their heads with confusion.

"Wait…that's right," the sheriff said. "My brain's been so jumbled these days. But Phantom was never involved in these attacks. He saved people! He didn't hurt them."

Dash came forward on crutches. "Yeah! He saved me and all the other kids at the gym too!"

"The ghost boy saved me twice," Paulina added, a twinkle in her eyes.

"See! Phantom is good!" Sam chimed in.

Danny smiled. "Thank you all for believing in me. You're being brainwashed to think I'm the one doing these things. I've only ever tried to protect Amity Park, and that's what I'll continue to do."

Tucker looked at him curiously. It was so strange to see him this way now that he knew he was really Danny. It messed with his mind. Was it really Danny? He knew it was, but it was just so strange.

But the more he thought about it, the more he began to understand. It's the biggest secret ever. Sure, friends tell each other everything. But this? It wasn't only groundbreaking – it was also life-altering. He wished Danny had just told him, but he couldn't completely hold it against him. He had been through a lot the past few months.

"Phantom, wait!" Sam said, following after Danny.

Tucker spied on them from a distance, but close enough to hear what they were saying.

"I haven't seen you in a bit," she said.

He chuckled to himself. "I guess not," Danny said.

"And we really haven't talked about, you know…"

"The kiss," he said, blushing.

"Right. That," she said, blushing too.

The WHAT? Tucker thought.

"We did a little bit though."

"Yeah, and you told me that we couldn't be together. I think the exact words were 'not like this.' But you also agreed that it felt right. Tell me right now that you don't feel the same way that I feel about you, and I'll let it go. But –"

He leaned in to kiss her again.

Tucker's jaw dropped to the floor. His two best friends were kissing! No way. But Sam doesn't even know that's Danny!

"Whoa," she said. "I guess that answers things."

"Sorry…I just –"

"No, it's all good. Better than good," Sam stammered. "Um, one other thing – you were about to tell me the truth the other day?"

Wait, he was going to tell Sam before me?

"Truth about what?"

"You said, I'm actually d— then flew away."

Tucker studied Danny's face. He didn't even flinch when he lied straight to her face. "There's nothing to say, Sam."

She frowned. "I guess I just feel like you aren't being completely honest with me." She laughed at herself. "But I guess I really don't know much about you. I don't even know what your name was before you…you know… I don't even know where you grew up, what your favorite sport was, what your favorite food was… I'd like to though."

"Give it time. You'll realize that you know more about me than you realize," he told her.

Tucker did a double take. He was almost telling her the truth right then and there! Sam smiled and furrowed her brows, before another explosion rocked the town.

"Oh no!" Someone screamed.

Everyone turned, seeing an apartment building in flames. Danny's face dropped, knowing there were probably families inside. Then a look of determination overcame him before he rocketed into the sky. Sam's hair blew from the force of wind he created, and she looked up at him in admiration. All the people below cheered. Meanwhile, Tucker began to realize the weight of the world Danny must feel as the only person who could put an end to this madness.