10/28/24: On to the next!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom!

–

Chapter 16: Dark on Me

–

The next day, Jazz and Tucker had gone home against their better judgment, but Danny insisted he would be fine with Sam. The ghost hadn't slept at all, but he barely even felt it. He knew Sam would need to come out with the twins at some point, and that knowledge was making him anxious.

He was desperate to talk with her, but at the same time absolutely terrified of doing so.

He was sitting on the couch, head in his hands, just waiting for her to come out. He'd walked over to the bedroom door a few times and raised his hand to knock, but always stalled before sighing and walking away.

Why was this so hard?

Finally, he heard the door open and his head snapped up. He waited nervously as she came down the hall. Sam stopped, hand on her hip. "I'm going to shower. Keep an ear out for them, please," she said coldly before heading off to the bathroom, stopping briefly to give DJ some of the attention he'd been craving from her.

The ghost sighed and did as asked, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy.

–

Sam stepped into the hot water raising a brow in slight surprise when it didn't seem hot enough. She turned it up, noting that by the time it finally felt good to her, the steam was making the entire bathroom foggy. 'Odd…' she thought.

Now satisfied with the temperature, she focused on calming herself. Seeing him really brought the rage to the forefront, and again, it worried her. Yes, she was angry, yes, she felt betrayed that he'd lied about it for months, but this level of fury and resentment didn't feel normal or warranted. But it was like she couldn't help it. Seeing him made her want to claw his eyes out.

She rested her forehead against the tile wall, feeling a headache coming on from the lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions constantly pumping adrenaline into her system. She had to talk to him to clear the air and to understand why he hid it. Maybe then her anger would start to dissipate?

She sighed before pulling back from the wall and set about washing her hair.

By the time she was done with her shower, she did feel better, both physically and emotionally. She stood now in front of the mirror looking at her reflection. She didn't look different, but she certainly felt different.

She could feel the constant humming of power her core exuded as it pulsed next to her heart. As her emotions sparked, she could see a glow to her eyes that made her look ethereal.

With a shake of her head she got dressed and ready for the day, dreading her impending talk with Danny. It couldn't be helped; they needed to talk.

She brushed her teeth and put her hair up, the pony tail coming down to her mid-back. With one last sigh, she finally left the bathroom and entered the living room.

Danny was still on the couch and he looked up when she came in. "They didn't wake," he said softly.

She nodded before going to sit in a chair on the other side of the living room. She looked him over, from his rumpled white NASA t-shirt, to his dark blue jeans, to the tired look on his face.

She crossed her legs. "If you have anything to say to me, I would say it now."

He was unable to meet her gaze. "Words won't make what I've done okay," his deep voice rumbled softly.

She glared. "How far back do the lies go? Did you lie to me on the rooftop?"

Danny's head came up and he looked her in the eyes. "No, I didn't know then."

The fact that he looked her in the eyes was telling and she nodded. "Alright, I believe you. Did you kiss Mira the first time you saw her?"

Danny was instantly confused and he showed it. "Is that what she said?" He shook his head. "She cornered me and kissed me. I pushed her off."

He was still looking her in the eyes and she wanted to believe him. Logically, she knew she should, but she could feel the irrational anger trying to rise again. "Tucker told me some of it. Why don't you tell me in your own words?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his white locks. "She kissed me, I pushed her off and all these memories just came flooding back. I-I didn't…" he sighed again, looking back down and picking at this thumb. "I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure how to process it, and Lord knows I didn't know how to tell you."

"But you should have told me." He looked up and noted her hard look, eyes starting to burn with power.

"I–"

She cut him off. "We could have dealt with it then! Instead of–arg!" She growled, clenching her fists. After a moment, she returned her gaze to him, noting his sad and slightly nervous look. "Do you have any idea what it was like hearing it from her instead of you?"

His face looked guilty and stricken now. "I should have told you. I just...I was so afraid of your reaction."

She stood, jamming a finger in his direction. "That's no excuse!" she scoffed. "I can tell you it would've been a helluva lot better than this reaction! I'm barely keeping it together, Danny! Ever since I was forced to become this-this…thing I feel nothing but rage! I feel so hurt and betrayed by you, and it's fueling this resentment and anger that wants to beat you to a pulp."

His shocked green eyes met her blazing ones. She had a temper with the best of them, but this…he'd never seen her like this. She looked like she was barely restraining herself from flat out attacking him.

"Sam…are you okay?" he asked.

The absolute furor in her eyes at the question caused Danny to actually get up from the couch and step away. It didn't help that her hands were glowing.

Being a new half ghost, there was no guarantee she could control her powers and Danny was now on edge. "The twins are down the hall, Sam, please…."

Her eyes glowed brighter at his insinuation that she might hurt her own children, but then a sharp pain sparked through her temple and she brought a hand up, power dying, and held her head with a groan.

"Sam?" Danny asked, concern etching his features. He tried to take a step closer, but she held her free hand up, managing to glare at him around her other hand.

"You come any closer and I'll blast you through the wall," she growled.

He flinched. "I'm just worried. What if something went wrong when they made you like this?"

He saw the hurt and sadness flash through her eyes, but she swallowed it down. "You mean when they made me an abomination?" she asked, voice cracking.

"You aren't–"

"Don't," she stopped him.

"I could nev–"

"I said don't!" she yelled, wincing again. "I know you're going to tell me I'm not, but I don't believe you." She dropped her hand back to her side. "I've heard for months exactly what you think about artificial half ghosts. Anything you say now will be hollow."

Danny was clearly distressed, but unsure of what to say. On one hand, she was wrong, because he really couldn't ever think of her as an abomination, but on the other hand, she was partly right. He had spent months talking down about them and how awful their signatures felt. Not only that, but he'd killed every single one they came across.

No wonder she looked sad.

"Above," he started, pausing a moment to see if she'd stop him again. When she didn't, he continued. "Above all else, you have to know how much I love you."

She scoffed before grabbing her head again at the pain that returned. "That's rich. If you loved me, you would've told me when you found out."

"Sam, seriously, something is wrong," he said, worry coloring his tone. He took a step forward but she sneered.

"Just go check on the twins," she said, moving out of the way of the hallway. Her tone suggested she was done with this conversation for now.

He hesitated, really wanting to be sure she was okay. "At least let Vlad look at you; we have no idea what the side effects are from being changed this way."

She growled. "Worry about yourself. I'll be fine." He tried to step closer but she again summoned power into her hand. "Just go!" she snarled.

Danny relented, realizing that he was only going to cause her to lose control if he didn't stop. So, he nodded and backed away before finally turning and heading for the bedroom.

–

Jackson and Aurora were both awake, but quiet. Sam had placed the infant's next to each other, and they were preoccupied by staring at one another. Danny stood in front of the bassinets and watched them. With a heavy sigh he reached down and ran a hand down each of their cheeks.

He felt so lost. He had no idea how to help Sam, and she seemed to be suffering, not only emotionally, but physically as well. He was absolutely terrified that something went wrong in her transformation.

He berated himself for not having ever gotten a cell phone. Sam had a landline, but it was in the kitchen. She would see if he went out and tried to call Vlad. Then he paused. If he flared his signature like Aurora does, it might bring Vlad to him. But would Sam feel it? He had no idea if the artificial half ghosts had a ghost sense.

Should he do it and risk her ire? It made him nervous, but at the same time, her health was what was important.

With a sigh, he made his decision and flared his signature for five seconds. He waited another five seconds before flaring it one more time and dropping it.

He noticed both his children trying to look towards him, likely in response to his power flaring. It further confirmed in his mind that his son was also half ghost, as he shouldn't be able to feel the power otherwise.

Within thirty seconds, Vlad teleported into the room in a cloud of magenta smoke. "Daniel?" he asked, obviously alarmed.

Danny was just glad it worked. They'd never talked about reaching each other this way, but the man clearly got the message.

"Did you find the place?" the billionaire asked.

Danny nodded. "I got Sam, but something isn't right," he said, concern evident in his tone. Aurora started to fuss a bit, so her father reached in and picked up his daughter, carefully placing her against his chest, head up near his shoulder.

"What-" Vlad started before he cut himself off. He started looking around. "What is that weird signature?"

The young ghost knew what Vlad meant and gave him a sad look, patting Aurora's back. "Believe it or not, that's Sam's signature."

The billionaire looked at Danny, brows drawn down in utter confusion. "Sam's signature? That can't be right."

"They made her half ghost."

Vlad felt like all his thoughts instantly stopped. "They…what?"

Danny simply nodded, causing the other man to sputter in shock. "I think something went wrong with it, though. She seems to keep getting pain in her head and she's…not herself," he explained.

Vlad wasn't sure what to say. He was completely flabbergasted at this turn of events.

Jackson began to fuss then and without preamble, Vlad went over and picked up the small one month old infant and cradled him. He swayed a bit, making Danny actually smile at how fatherly his former enemy had become.

"I feel like you would've been a great dad," he said softly.

The man turned around and looked at him with surprise, before his look melded into something more affectionate. "Thank you. Though I still have that chance; ghosts can still create children, you know."

He sighed before going back to the more pressing conversation. "Where is Samantha? Her signature is as hard to pinpoint as the others."

Danny indicated towards the door with his head. "She's in the living room and she doesn't know I called you–at least I hope she didn't feel my signature flare. She's…extremely angry and she will not be happy you're here."

Vlad furrowed his brow. "She's angry you saved her?"

The remorseful look that crossed Danny's face piqued the man's interest. "No, I-I did something awful and I've been lying to her about it for months. She…she heard about it from Mira."

Vlad gave him a serious look. "It is not my business, so I will not ask. You said she's not herself?"

The young ghost nodded, swallowing hard. "She has every right to be angry and hurt by what I've done, but her reaction is…much worse than that. I really think if it weren't for the twins, she would've attacked me."

The other ghost's brows nearly reached his hairline. "Are you sure? She has a tendency to be violent; this isn't that?"

Danny shook his head. "This is way beyond that. She's barely restraining her powers."

Vlad looked towards the door, thoughts mulling over in his head. "She's a danger to your children until she's properly trained," he said before looking back at Danny. "I can pretend I heard you were back and come in the front door. I can then offer to train her and see how she handles it," he offered.

Danny made a face, unsure. "I'm not sure I am comfortable with lying to her again," he responded, running a gentle hand over his daughter's head.

"You run the risk of angering her further," Vlad warned.

But the young ghost shook his head. "And if she finds out we lied and I called you here, it'll be worse."

The billionaire sighed. "As you wish," he responded before carefully placing Jackson back in the bassinet. He then turned back to a very worried Danny. "I will go out alone and speak with her. You remain here for now."

At Danny's nod he made his way to the door, opening and exiting the room.

–

Sam was angrily loading the dishwasher when she heard the bedroom door shut. She growled, leaving the kitchen area and heading for the hallway. "Danny, I swear to God, just give me some ti–" she cut herself off when she saw it was Vlad in the hallway.

He looked surprised at her tone. She stared back at him just as surprised, before it turned into a glare and she crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

Vlad was certainly taken aback at her hostility, not at all used to it. "I came to see if I could be of assistance," he responded.

Sam sighed, stalking off back into the kitchen to finish the dishwasher. "With what?" she asked shortly.

He followed her, going to the stove and grabbing a pan, before standing in front of the sink and turning the hot water on.

"What are you doing?" she asked, placing a plate in the dishwasher.

He raised a brow at her. "I am washing this pan."

She paused in her work, placing a hand on her hip. "You came to assist me with dishes?"

"No," he started, "But I figured I can help while we talk."

The goth scoffed. "And if I don't want to talk?"

Vlad shrugged, grabbing the sponge. "Then just listen."

The new half ghost resisted the urge to glare at him again before going back to the dishwasher.

The billionaire took that as her consent and started talking while he scrubbed the pan. "Daniel says you are half ghost now," he said tentatively, unsure of what her reaction would be to him broaching the subject. When she refused to comment, he continued. "I could train you in the use of your powers, if you'd like. I remember what it's like to suddenly have these powers and have no idea how to control them."

She scoffed again. "I'm not weak."

Vlad raised a brow, choosing to ignore the fact that she just insinuated he was weak. "I never said you were, but new powers take time to master, and are especially dangerous if you are strong."

Sam jammed a knife into the dishwasher, the rack rattling from the force. She turned around and glared. "Are you implying I would hurt my children?"

The ghost turned the water off and set the pan down to dry before turning to look at her. "I am not implying that. I am simply saying that these powers can be dangerous if you can't control them."

The goth understood what he meant, but again, she felt like she was unable to keep her emotions in check. Her anger flared, and her hand went to her head as pain spiked through it.

"Samantha? Are you alright?" Vlad asked, suddenly very concerned.

She growled through the pain. "Don't call me Samantha!"

The ghost was again taken aback by her outburst, as it had been some time since she complained about his use of her full name. "My apologies, Sam, but you seem to be hurting. Is there something I can do?"

"Everyone can just leave me the hell alone!" she shouted, turning and blasting the loveseat across the large room to pieces.

Vlad's eyes were wide as saucers now, realizing exactly what Danny had meant.

Something was very wrong with Sam.

The bedroom door suddenly flew open and Danny was there in an instant, his look reflecting Vlad's as he stared at the destroyed loveseat.

He turned to his fuming girlfriend, seeing her holding her head again. He carefully approached her. "Sam, please. You need to calm down, something is wrong and it's hurting you."

The goth's eyes flared as she set her fiery gaze on him. "The only thing hurting me is you!"

Suddenly, Sam felt something shift, like a mirror image was superimposed upon the world, shifting everything into a more clear picture. All at once the pain stopped, but her burning rage coalesced into something solid and vengeful.

When Danny took a step closer to her, she brought her hand down, giving him a wicked glower. "You come near me and I will kill you."

As soon as she said that, her entire form started to glow red and the power in the air snapped, causing Danny and Vlad to cover their ears. In an instant, she teleported away, leaving two astonished and terrified ghosts behind.

"What the hell just happened?!"

–

10/30/24: So I was not going to end it here…but I kept typing and simply could NOT find a good spot to end it. So, my apologies, you get a shorter chapter and a cliffhanger!