12/24/24: The 'down time' is short lived this time as more things are happening in this chapter.

12/29/24: I could not resist updating already as this is the start of the next arc. Just, please don't hate me!

As a reminder: Yeobo means 'honey' in Korean.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

–

Chapter 36: Take Me Back to Eden

–

Later that afternoon, most of the group was in the game room. Danny and Tucker were playing pool, knocking back a few beers–including a kind that was able to inebriate Danny–and chuckling at lame dad jokes, while Jack and Maddie played ping pong. Sam, Jazz and Do-hee were on the floor with the infants, having girl talk and playing with the kids. Chase was next to them, happily stacking blocks. Dash was watching the pool game, also with a beer, while Vlad sat in a chair in the corner with a good book, DJ at his feet.

Bruce and Ki-oh were off 'doing doctor things' as Danny called it.

"Son of a bi–"

"Danny," Sam said warningly, eyes flicking to Chase.

The ghost looked sheepish. "Sorry!" he apologized before turning back to Tucker. "That's just cheating!"

"It's not cheating, it's a trick shot!" the dark-skinned man countered. "There's no rule that says you can't jump the cue ball over your opponent's ball to hit your own."

"How come you get better at pool when you've had a few drinks?" the ghost asked. "You can't even hold your liquor!"

Tucker chuckled. "Says the man who's never been drunk," he retorted.

Danny scoffed. "Except I've had the same amount you have and I don't feel a thing." He raised his voice at the billionaire. "Hey Vlad, you sure this stuff works on ghosts?"

"It's working, my boy. You just haven't noticed it yet," Vlad said before lowering his book to raise a brow at the young man. "If you really want to feel it, however, I have a good scotch that should do the trick."

"Oooh," he said before glancing over at Sam. "That depends on if wifey says it's okay."

"Wifey?" the goth asked. "And you say you can't feel it…riiiight." She shrugged. "You've never been drunk and I don't feel like drinking, so I've got the twins. You have your fun if you want it."

"Yay!" The ghost said, arms in the air as he went to Vlad for the drink. The girls burst out laughing at the display.

"He is like a big teddy bear," Do-hee said, having come to terms with ghosts in the house, especially now knowing her husband was part of that world.

Jazz grinned. "Yeah, he looks big and scary, but he's really just a big softie."

A few minutes later, Danny was back with some scotch, grinning like a cheshire cat when Tucker tried it and nearly choked. "You're so lame," the ghost told him.

"I'm lame? You're lame for using the word lame!" Tucker shot back. "The kids say 'cringe' these days!"

Jazz sighed. "Now my husband is getting drunk." She yelled over to him. "You're cringe, sweetheart! And it's not just the kids these days that say it, it's actually a term that's been used since the late 1500's."

Tucker squinted at his wife. "Of course you would know that."

Danny, meanwhile, walked up behind his fiance and started poking her with the pool stick.

"Danny, I swear to God, if you don't stop poking me with that stick," she said warningly.

"I could poke you with a different stick," he grinned.

Dash made choking sounds. "Gross dude!"

Tucker cackled like a maniac. "Nice one!"

Vlad shivered.

Jazz nearly stood and left the room. "I don't need to know that about my brother!"

"And I don't need to hear it from my son!" Maddie chimed in.

Jack was trying so hard not to burst out laughing while Do-hee tried to hide her blush.

Sam just covered her face and groaned. "Why are you this way?"

The ghost knelt down. "Because I'm rugged and handsome," he replied, waggling his eyebrows.

The goth gave him a playful glare, putting her hand on his face and shoving him off balance. He fell backwards while laughing.

After a moment, he stood back up and rejoined his game with Tucker, slapping the man on the back with his non-bandaged hand. The techno geek coughed as the wind was knocked out of him. "I'm thinking of getting a tattoo, wanna join me?" the ghost asked.

"I don't do pain, dude," Tucker replied.

"Oh, cool, what are you going to get?" Dash asked, now interested.

The ghost shrugged. "I was thinking about two full sleeves that also run across my chest. Not sure of what, exactly."

"Okay, that sounds pretty sexy," Sam admitted.

Jazz made a face. "I'll never understand the allure of a tattoo."

"Sam has one," Danny said, thumb over his shoulder at his fiance as he lined up a good shot, being careful with his hand.

"You do?" the redhead asked, surprised.

The goth shrugged. "A small one on my shoulder," she answered, pulling the back of her shirt down to show off the stylized 'DP' symbol.

"I have one, too," Do-hee chimed in, pulling her pant leg up to reveal a purple orchid.

Jazz shivered. "I can't do needles."

Sam chuckled. "I wouldn't mind getting more. I've honestly thought about getting a full sleeve myself, though not both arms."

"We can do it together!" Danny cheered as he took his shot. He then pouted when he missed completely. He was going to blame it on his fingers not working properly. Yeah, that's it.

"Ha!" Tucker mocked. "Let me show you how a real man takes his shot." The dark-skinned man attempted another trick shot, but the cue ball bounced off the table completely.

"A 'real man', huh?" Danny asked, using air quotes.

"Damn," Tucker said. "I've passed the inebriation point of being good at this game."

"News flash, Tuck, you were never good at this game," Danny said as he missed his next shot as well. "Damn, I guess I'm not either."

Bruce and Ki-oh entered then, Do-hee raising her arm and saying "Yeobo!" to her husband. He gave her a gentle smile, going over to her and their daughter.

Bruce tapped Sam on the shoulder and quietly requested her presence. She stood and followed him, grabbing Danny along the way when the doctor indicated.

"What's up?" Sam asked once they were all sequestered in a corner.

Dr. Tanning pulled his glasses off and began cleaning them with the hem of his shirt. "I ran some blood work on you as a precaution."

The goth felt her limbs go numb. "What's wrong?" she asked stiffly. Danny put an arm around her.

Bruce placed his glasses back on his face. "That depends on if you consider it a bad thing," he replied, looking between the two, before his gaze settled on the goth. "You're pregnant, Sam."

Sam's eyes widened, her gaze going to Danny. "Damn I work fast," he said, which earned him a swift punch in the side. "Ow," he complained, rubbing his side. "You're a lot stronger now, you know."

The goth ignored him. "Are you sure?" She asked.

Bruce nodded. "It's still the very early stages, so I want to do another blood test in a few days, but yes, I'm sure," he said with a gentle smile.

Sam's hand covered her mouth. She was ecstatic to know they could conceive, but at the same time, her twins weren't even 5 months old yet and there was still the matter of Mira. Still, she couldn't help the excitement that overtook her.

She immediately ran over to Jazz and whispered in her ear, an echo of the conversation the two had earlier away from prying ears.

The redhead immediately started squealing.

"Wait, are we telling people?" Danny yelled over, confused.

"Telling people what?" Tucker asked.

The goth rolled her eyes but looked at Jazz. "You wanna say it?"

Her soon-to-be sister-in-law grinned and stood, taking Sam's hand before they both shouted, "We're pregnant!"

Tucker dropped his pool stick. "Wait, WE?!"

His wife grinned happily at him. "We're both pregnant!"

Tucker promptly fainted. Danny teleported to catch his friend, but in his inebriated state, missed and instead tripped over the dark-skinned man and both men ended up on the floor. Well, Tucker ended up on the floor, but Danny was afraid he might hurt Tucker and went intangible to avoid crushing him, so the ghost actually ended up through the floor and disappeared.

Sam facepalmed and Jazz shook her head. "He fainted the first time, too," she said.

There were rounds of congratulations and celebrations for both women, and for Danny when he floated up from under the floor. After several minutes, Tucker finally came around and he was congratulated as well.

Everyone was talking and having a good time. Do-hee and Sam went to put the infants down for bed. Jazz did the same with Chase shortly after.

Danny, in conversation with Dash and his father, noticed Dr. Tanning attempting to take the trash out, but it was too heavy for the older man. The ghost went over and grabbed the bags from Bruce. "I got it."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You've had quite a bit to drink, and your hand is still having trouble grabbing things."

Danny chuckled. "I'm sure. I actually stopped drinking a little bit ago and I've had some food. And my hand is fine," he added, holding up the bandaged one.

Bruce nodded. "Alright, thank you."

The ghost headed out with the trash, carefully opening the front door and closing it behind him before heading for the cans around the side of the garage.

Danny felt a stinging sensation in his neck, causing him to quickly drop the bags and reach up. He yanked a needle from his neck and realized with trepidation that its contents had already been injected.

Suddenly, his limbs started to go numb and he was unable to move them as he hit the ground. His green eyes were staring up at the sky and, as he began to lose the battle with unconsciousness, he saw Mira come into his field of view.

"You took Shade and Wulf from me. Now I'm going to use your core," she sneered.

Danny, unable to respond, lost the battle, and was out like a light.

–

An hour later, Sam walked back into the game room with a confused expression. She went over to Bruce. "Have you seen Danny?" she asked.

The doctor furrowed his brow. "He went out an hour ago to take out the trash. When he didn't return I assumed he went to bed with you," he answered.

The goth made a face. "He never came to bed. I'll check outside; he's probably stargazing. Thank you," she said with a small smile.

Sam went outside and looked around, but she didn't spot the tall ghost standing anywhere. Did he get so drunk that he passed out somewhere? She walked around a bit before making her way in the direction of the trash bins.

She stalled when she saw the bags on the ground and not in the cans. Then, a glint in the moonlight caught her eye and she knelt down, picking the object up. Dread filled her when she realized it was a dart.

Her head popped up and she looked around again. "Danny!" she shouted, but deep in her heart, she knew he wouldn't answer.

–

Danny came around slowly at first, his brain groggy and vision fading in and out. The only thing he knew for certain was that he was highly uncomfortable; it was very hot, causing sweat to drip down his face and neck, and his arms felt like they were holding his weight and had been for a long time.

His tongue felt like lead, his mouth dry and scratchy, causing him to cough a few times. He groaned as that jarred his arms. His feet were touching the ground, but as he tried to shift his weight to them instead of his arms, only the balls of his feet were in contact.

He blinked several times as his vision started to clear and he looked around the room he was in. It was a white, sterile, generic room, completely nondescript save for a hose on the wall and the chains coming from the ceiling and holding him up. He blinked again as he stared at the chains and his arms above his head, his brain still drugged enough that it couldn't quite comprehend.

Was this some kind of new thing Sam wanted to try? No, that couldn't be…she wouldn't have left him here so long that it hurt.

He leaned his head against one of his arms, staring off into space as he tried to start his brain.

"You look confused," said a feminine voice.

The ghost followed the sound, which was coming from his right, and saw a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes smirking at him. He knew that face…

She sauntered up to him. "It takes a bit for the drug to clear your head, but don't worry, sugar, I won't start the fun until you have your wits about you."

Danny swallowed hard, squinting at her, before a name finally popped into his thoughts. "Mira," he said, voice hoarse and gravelly.

She grinned. "There we go, that's not so hard, now is it?" she responded, hand patting his chest, which he only now registered as bare.

The ghost looked down to see if he was even dressed, an action which elicited a bark of laughter from Mira. "Don't worry, I left your dignity intact. You're still wearing pants, but I had to have at least a little show, so the shirt had to go."

Danny shook his head, trying to clear it more quickly, though with that came a sense of foreboding and fear as he began to understand his situation.

"Where am I?" He asked slowly, shaking his head again, his unruly bangs sweeping across his forehead.

"My new base," she answered, crossing her arms. "Your little girlfriend did her best to destroy the last one, which forced me to find a new one. It's not all bad, though, because she has no idea where you are," she said darkly.

Reality was beginning to slam into the ghost and he put on a defiant face to hide his anxiety. "She'll find me."

Mira giggled. "I highly doubt that. Even if she did manage to find the place, the chances she'll find you before I've ripped out your core and used it to create my most powerful half ghost are slim to none," she said threateningly.

Danny's eyes widened, instinctively pulling on the chains holding him. It was now that he realized he felt weak. He tried to charge his core to summon an ecto-blast, but it fizzled out before it could even start.

She gave him a smug smile. "You've been drugged with a special concoction that inhibits your powers and weakens your core, not unlike what my mother used to use on you. Only, this one has been improved upon after you managed to use your powers under the influence. You won't be able to try anything, so I wouldn't bother," she explained before reaching out and running a finger down his chest.

"Don't worry, sugar, I won't kill you just yet," she said in a sickeningly sweet way. Mira then got closer and floated up so she could whisper in his ear, her breath tickling his skin. "First, I'll make you wish for death. Only once I'm satisfied that you long for oblivion will I grant you eternal peace."

–

Sam suddenly popped into existence in the game room where Bruce, Dash, Ki-oh, Vlad, Tucker, Maddie and Jack still were. "He's gone!" She said frantically.

That got everyone's attention. Vlad lowered his book. "Who is gone, Samantha?"

She whipped around to face him and he could see the panic on her face. "Danny. Mira has him!"

"Are you sure?" Tucker asked, sobering up at her words.

The goth held out the dart. "He never finished taking the trash out–the bags are on the lawn–and I found this."

Vlad quickly set his book down and flew over, taking the dart from her hand and examining it. "I'm sure if I get a swab I can analyze the contents," he said before teleporting away to his lab.

Sam was breathing quickly from her anxiousness, but as that side of her became too much, Shade slowly shifted to the forefront. The rest of them literally watched as the goth went from a near sobbing mess to a hardened half ghost with a dangerous look on her face.

"Sam?" Dash ventured.

"She harms a single hair on his head, and there will be no mountain too high, no ocean too deep, and no cave so dark that I can't find her," she said darkly. "I'll rip her limb from limb."

Tucker stared with wide eyes. "Let me guess: Shade?"

The goth turned to him and nodded. She'd explained to everyone that her personality had combined with Shade, and while she was one person, Shade's personality might show through at times and that she would prefer to be called Shade then.

Shade's aura was dark as her thoughts turned to all the ways she wanted to kill Mira. "Vlad's tests will take too long; I already know Mira has him. I'm going."

"Sam–I mean Shade," he corrected himself at her glare. "You shouldn't go in there alone. At least wait for Vlad, or call Skulker, please."

"And you're still covered in wounds and bandages," Bruce added.

Ki-oh went to the goth, hands out in a pleading gesture. "Think about this, Shade: going in alone will likely accomplish nothing against that many half ghosts."

"No," she said. "You just don't want me to kill her." Her glare hardened. "I hesitated last time because of you, I won't do it again."

"That's not–" but he cut himself off when she teleported away, a distressed look on his face.

–

Shade appeared above the warehouse, breaths heavy from anger. Already she couldn't feel any ghost signatures and it sent a shock of fear through her.

She spent the better part of an hour searching the ruins of the warehouse, but it was obvious that Mira had moved her operation.

Furious and frustrated, she teleported to the office of the mayor, terrifying the poor man when she suddenly appeared in a cloud of violet smoke.

She stood in front of the dark wooden desk he sat behind looking menacing. "You leaked our location," she accused, voice low and dangerous.

"I didn't," he said, adamant.

Shade slammed her hands down on the desk, glare boring into his brown eyes. "Danny was abducted from the house. Conveniently after your visit."

Mayor Roswell seemed genuinely surprised. "Mr. Phantom was abducted?"

"By Mira, the woman we mentioned at the press briefing," Shade confirmed.

"I assume this isn't good?" he asked, licking his lips.

Shade stood up, crossing her arms. "No, it's not. It could mean one of two things: she's either going to finish what her mother started and turn him into a weapon against us–in which case, God help us because he's extremely deadly–or she's going to kill him by ripping out his core and using it to create her most powerful half ghost yet–in which case, God help you if I find out she got our location from you somehow," she explained ominously, her tone and body language leaving no room for doubt that she would exact revenge.

"I believe I understand perfectly," he replied in a gentle tone that starkly contrasted hers. "What do you need? Do you know where she's taken him?"

The goth schooled her features a bit, the Sam side of her forcing herself to back off. "I checked the warehouse at the shipping port, which is where her base was, but it's abandoned now. I have no idea where she is," she admitted, allowing some of her fear and grief to show through.

Mayor Roswell leaned forward, setting his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands together in front of his face. "Under normal circumstances, I am not allowed to use city resources to issue a manhunt for a missing person–that's the police department's job. However, given that Danny Phantom is what most of us consider to be our town's hero, and that he is also very powerful and could potentially pose a threat, I will coordinate a manhunt using the police department and the city's employee's and funds."

He watched as she visibly calmed, the air around her cooling down as her core dropped its ready state. "Thank you," she said before sighing. "I'm sorry. I keep having flashbacks to when he was taken before and I…" she trailed off.

He nodded, a look of sympathy on his face. "I understand; it's hard. But you don't have to look for him on your own this time. It will take a little time to get everything coordinated. Are you okay with regrouping here tomorrow?"

Sam nodded. "As long as you're okay if I bring my own backup."

"Of course," he said before standing and coming around the desk. He looked her in the eyes in a show of support. "We'll find him."

–

Sam teleported back to the house, appearing in the living room where Jack and Maddie were. As the smoke cleared, she raised a hand to her head and flared her core before she collapsed. Thankfully, she'd appeared right next to Jack, so the large man was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

Vlad, having felt her urgent call, appeared as well to find her seizing in Jack's arms. He knelt down and placed a gentle hand on her head as her shaking stopped. "Oh, Samantha…"

It was a very short lived seizure and she came out of it almost immediately, her eyes looking around as she blinked in a semi-confused state. The goth breathed heavily, finally simply surrendering to the exhaustion and leaning her head into her future father-in-law's chest, allowing the tears to fall.

They took that to mean that she didn't find him.

They got her settled into bed, Jack and Maddie once again taking the twins for the night. Bruce looked her over, but she seemed physically okay. He emerged from the bedroom and closed the door to let her sleep before turning and finding very concerned faces.

"She's alright," he assured them. The group exchanged glances before it broke up, most heading to their rooms. But Vlad and Ki-oh stayed. The doctor looked at the billionaire and Korean man expectantly as they made their way over.

"I don't doubt your expertise, but I am concerned about her mental state," Ki-oh said softly.

Bruce nodded, pushing up his glasses. "Yes, physically she's alright, but I would have to agree with you. She's been through a lot these past few days and I also fear for her mental wellbeing, as well as for the wellbeing of the child she carries. We need to try and keep her relaxed, but with Danny now in trouble, that is unlikely to happen."

"She will not sit idly by while others look for him," Vlad added.

The doctor hummed his agreement. "While I was checking her over, she made mention of taking both of you and Skulker to the mayor's office tomorrow. It seems he's offered assistance in finding Danny."

Ki-oh swallowed hard, not thrilled about the idea of needing to teleport and maybe even fly again, but he kept that to himself. Sam was family to him and he would do what he must to help her find Danny. So, he nodded, and prepared himself for what was to come.

–

12/26/24: A shorter chapter than the last several, but pivotal. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas!