HOME | DD

Description

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

A couple blocks away from Fenton Works, Skulker disappeared from sight. Phantom flew to the last place the older ghost had been and hovered uncertainly. His eyes darted to all the advantageous directions Skulker could strike from. He charged ecto-energy into his fists and reflexively bent his knees, ready to spring as soon as Skulker reappeared.

Anger and frustration didn't lend themselves well to patience, however, and Phantom had to clench his teeth to keep from yelling insults. Such a thing might work when he and Fenton were one, but Phantom felt it too crude for his tastes. He rotated in a circle, eyes darting until they landed back on the Fenton Works sign, visible even from so far away. He floated a few paces towards it before forcing himself to stop. He shook his head. He had to trust Fenton to protect Valerie…and trust their parents to protect Fenton.

"Come on, Skulker," he whispered, turning away from the house. "I have feelings to sort out, people to apologize to…I have no time for hide-and-seek!"

He heard a chop-chop-chop noise behind him and spun to face it, raising his glowing fists. But instead of an attack from Skulker, a news helicopter appeared around the next building over and raced towards him, a camera already pointed at Phantom while its operator shouted questions Phantom couldn't hear over the whirling propellers.

Phantom groaned. He straightened from his defensive posture and shook his hands out to discharge the green energy. The last thing he need was the media thinking he was attacking their helicopters. With Skulker on the loose, it wouldn't surprise Phantom if the helicopter got damaged and his critics blamed him for it.

He flew towards the helicopter. The cameraman appeared to be grinning, and Phantom realized it was the same man who once asked his to sign his chest with a razor. He cringed. Ew.

"Get out of here!" he shouted over the chopping of the propellers. "It's unsafe right now, you must leave!"

"Danny Phantom!" the cameraman shouted back, not sounding nearly as alarmed as Phantom felt he should. "Show us a trick!"

What am I, a dog? Phantom wondered, scowling. He stopped advancing on the helicopter and started floating backwards to maintain a comfortable distance. "You are in danger here, you should leave!"

"How about a smile for your fans, Phantom?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes at the man and pressed his lips together in a thin line. If he couldn't make them leave with Plan A, he'd have to use Danny's preferred Plan B.

Phantom waved his fingers cheekily at the camera before he activated his invisibility. He heard and ignored the cameraman's shout of dismay and dove for the alley beneath them. He dropped onto the ground and crouched beside a dumpster. The smell was incredible, and he pinched his nose, grimacing.

He was about to deactivate his invisibility when he heard a shout. He froze, waiting. Earlier that day he'd noticed his fans following the helicopters like the human parallel of scavengers and vultures, but he hadn't considered the dangers it posed. If Skulker grabbed even one to use as leverage…

The sound of a dozen humans running down the street echoed off the alley walls as the helicopter flew away in pursuit of a ghost they couldn't see. A few fans shouted his name. One shouted a proposition, and Phantom snorted.

He was about to stand when he heard two pairs of running footsteps coming towards him. Even though he was still invisible, Phantom ducked down further, cringing. The closer these humans came to him, the more likely Skulker would target them.

"How do you know that piece of circuitry isn't just leading us down a deep dark alley?"

Phantom's eyes widened and he straightened, his invisibility flickering.

"First, because the marriage of Fenton technology and my PDA is a beautiful, beautiful thing, and you should be in awe of its majesty, if not downright worshipful. Second, because of the suspiciously glowing dumpster right over there."

"You mean the one our fearless friend is hiding behind?"

"None other."

Phantom sagged against the dumpster, allowing his tension to leave in a brief burst of laughter. Sam and Tucker appeared around dumpster's edge, and Phantom allowed his invisibility to fully drop. He smiled up at them. Tucker returned the expression and offered him a hand up. Sam placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"On business?" she asked, smirking, "or were you just hiding from your salivating fans and their heartfelt marriage proposals?"

Phantom hummed. "Both."

"Ghost trouble?" Tucker asked. "Need help? I developed this sweet new program on my PDA that'll help us find the ghosts your Ghost Sense warns us about." He frowned down at his device, eyebrows pinched in thought. "The search radius is small, but it's just a prototype. I'll work out the bugs later."

Phantom hesitated. Ghost Sense? He'd forgotten about that. It didn't come naturally to him since he didn't need to breathe anymore. He did so now, breathing in through his nose and letting the air out through his mouth. No chill raced up his spine and no visible wisp flew from his mouth. Which meant…

His core constricted, the ectoplasm in his veins sparking beneath his skin.

He launched himself into the air and spun around to face his friends, his quick actions causing them to jump. "Tucker, does your PDA sense another ghost nearby?"

"Uh…" Tucker fiddled with a few buttons on the PDA before shaking his head. "Nah, dude, just you. But like I said, the search radius is a bit small. Like, five feet small."

"Makes it kind of useless, doesn't it?" Sam teased, smirking.

"Blasphemy!" Tucker gasped. He clutched his PDA to his chest and cooed to it, "Don't you worry, Cassandra, the mean Goth doesn't know a thing about technology and how amazing you are."

"Wanna bet?"

"Guys," Phantom pleaded. His legs fused into a tail and began lashing restlessly. "I have to find Skulker before he doubles back on Fenton Works. Valerie and…well, Valerie is unconscious and vulnerable there. Skulker attacked earlier, and he might return while I search for him out here. I can't just wander around until I stumble upon him!"

"Okay, okay," Tucker said, holding up a hand. "Ghost on the loose, damsel in distress, got it. But my PDA still can't track Skulker unless we get close enough to where he is."

"It's mostly for our benefit," Sam added. "Unlike certain ghost-powered teenagers, Tuck and I have no way of knowing how close we are to a ghost. You'd be better off relying on your Ghost Sense." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't leave Valerie out cold and alone, did you?"

Phantom hesitated. "No. She's…not alone."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I'm…it's not…" Phantom ran a hand through his hair and glared at the ground as he bit down on his lip.

Perhaps, logically, he shouldn't feel so anxious. Jack and Maddie would do everything in their power to keep Valerie and Fenton safe, and while they were inept sometimes, they could protect their son and his girlfriend from Skulker without Phantom's help. Probably. He just felt he should be there. With Fenton. With Valerie.

He settled for a half truth.

"Valerie was fighting Skulker when she fainted in front of my parents. They know she's the Red Huntress." Tucker sucked in a breath and Sam's eyes widened. Phantom inclined his head, pleased they understood the gravity of that revelation. "Capturing Skulker is very low on my priorities list, at the moment."

"He'll just come back if you don't," Sam warned. "Remember that first time he tried capturing you? He kept popping out of nowhere." She shuddered. "Nightmare fuel. Like that fungus on Tucker's feet."

"Hey!"

"And if he does," Phantom said before another squabble could ensue, "I will deal with him then."

"We could always search for him on our way to Fenton Works," Tucker suggested, looking at Sam. "If he did double-back, we'll probably run into him on the way."

"Fine by me," Sam agreed with a shrug. "We were headed there anyway." She pointed a finger at Phantom's chest. "You have some explaining to do."

Phantom frowned at the finger. "Do I?"

"Yeah, dude," Tucker said. "You never wrote, you never called…we only have a few hours left before the weekend is over and we're only just now hanging out! What gives?"

Phantom winced and drew air in through his teeth. "This weekend…"

How could he explain? Most of Saturday had been spent kissing a shy boy with blue eyes and a smoldering temper. Last night had been split between yearning to hold Valerie's hand and floating above the clouds with the stars falling around him, the living half of himself falling asleep in his arms. This morning he had fled an emotion he couldn't face, the day passing him by as he went from one distraction to the next until his girlfriend reminded him of the thing he had been avoiding. Then everything fell apart in a matter of minutes and now he felt himself torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do.

"…was a bit hectic," he finished in a small voice.

"Then it will be a very entertaining walk," Sam said, smirking.

Phantom looked over his shoulder at the mouth of the alley. No one appeared to be walking down the street, most already home now that the sun was setting, but he doubted the streets would stay so clear once he stepped into the open. "I can cover more ground if I fly," he said. "I will hunt a while longer. Hurry to Fenton Works, but go through the back door. Ask for F-Danny. Half the explanation will be waiting for you right there.

Sam narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Phantom doubted she would figure it out before she saw Fenton. All the same, he resettled the Fenton Thermos strap on his shoulder and floated a foot higher into the air. A clear signal and one Sam observed with obvious reluctance.

Tucker sighed dramatically. "Ditched again. I'm sensing a pattern."

Phantom drew in a breath, his tail twitching. "I'll explain everything later. Just—"

"—hurry to Fenton Works," his two friends finished for him together, which was honestly insulting.

They waved goodbye and headed out the alley, Tucker once more fiddling with his PDA. Phantom waited a while longer before activating his invisibility and shooting into the sky. With the helicopters no longer anywhere in sight, it was a clear shot to Fenton Works, the neon sign already irresistibly drawing Phantom's attention.

He'd barely made it halfway before a chill raced up his spine, contracted his lungs, and made a blue mist escape through his mouth. He groaned and swore and almost ignored the alert. He wanted to, he desperately wanted to, but Sam's warning, that Skulker would just keep coming back, especially now that Phantom and Fenton had done something to intrigue him, echoed in his mind.

But he needed to finish with Skulker fast. Fenton would panic when their friends arrived on his doorstep, Phantom had little doubt of that. Valerie's secret exposed before him and his parents, followed by Sam and Tucker demanding an explanation? Fenton was going to need all the support he could get, and maybe a paper bag.

Sighing, Phantom floated lower and searched the buildings near Fenton Works. He spotted Skulker beside a billboard overlooking their bedroom, the creep already peering inside with a pair of binoculars. Phantom bared his teeth and clenched his fists, green ecto-energy bursting around his hands.

Without backup and not bothering to plan, Phantom dove for Skulker. The faster he dealt with Skulker, the sooner he could start fixing things.

Fenton turned the knitted doll of the Red Huntress over in his hands and forced his lips into an awkward curl for his dad's benefit. The tiny beads shifted beneath his fingers as he moved his thumb along the tightly threaded 'visor'. The doll had been made to resemble Valerie in her first suit, the one they had destroyed back when Danny had begun to fall for her. It was bizarre and oddly nostalgic to hold it in his hands. Back then, they had just begun to figure out how their abilities shaped them. Falling for Valerie had felt like the simplest thing in his life.

He glanced over at his mom. She had finished examining Valerie for any serious injuries just a few minutes ago and was currently speaking on the phone with Valerie's dad. Fenton frowned. If he could just get close enough to hear what she was saying…

"And this," Jack said excitedly. He moved the scrapbook onto Fenton's lap, forcing his son to hold the doll away to the side. There were half a dozen pictures of Valerie fighting Skulker on the page, most of which were shots taken from the ground by eye witnesses. "This was the moment your mother and I knew we had another serious ghost hunter on our side! Look at the way she aims for the joints, where the ghost's armor is weakest."

Fenton tore his eyes away from the blurry image of Danny Phantom in the corner of one picture and frowned down at the picture Jack pointed to. Valerie was dressed in her old jumpsuit and had her knees bent, bazooka braced on her shoulder. It was hard to tell with her mask covering her face, but one of the other pictures showed Skulker's left arm dangling from a few wires.

Fenton rarely bothered with aiming at weak spots. Their ectoblasts were usually strong enough to hurt the ghost regardless of where they aimed. Besides, not every ghost had a weakness that could be exploited.

"Every ghost has gotta weakness, son," Jack explained, and Fenton cringed. "The Guys in White have theorized that a thing called an 'energy conversion chamber' exists in every ecto-based subform, though they haven't offered any proof yet. It's believed to be the ghosts' strongest, most vulnerable organ. Your mother and I have been trying to build a machine that can sense where a ghost's 'ECC' is located. We just need a specimen to try our theories on, and WHAMO, the Fenton Core Aiming Bazooka will be ready for action!"

"Uh..." Fenton said weakly.

"But until that time," Jack continued, lowering his voice, "we gotta be smarter than our prey and the Red Huntress-" he paused a moment and grinned sly "-your girlfriend, knows just where to strike! Did you know she's often the first ghost hunter to arrive on site of an attack? Dedication, Danny! That's what it takes to make a great hunter!"

Fenton forced another weak smile.

"Red doesn't just know where the weak spot on a ghost's armor is either," Jack continued. "You see, Danny, we hunters must out think our prey! Finding their obsession and using it against them is the easiest, but there are other ways..."

To Fenton's relief, Maddie chose that moment to return to their couch, sparing Fenton from hearing what 'other ways' Jack had in mind. She sat on the arm of the couch beside Jack and touched his arm to halt his rambling.

"Sweetie," she said to Fenton, "would you mind making everyone some coffee? Valerie's dad will be here shortly, and I'm sure she would appreciate a cup once she wakes up too."

Fenton winced. He'd tried convincing his parents to leave Damien out of it, but while Jack was all for it, Maddie had put her foot down. "What did he say about Valerie's secret? And, uh, us finding out?"

"He already knew about her hunting, though he didn't sound happy about it," Maddie said, frowning. "I can't imagine why he wouldn't be. She's an amazing fighter!"

"Here, here!" Jack exclaimed. "Oh, oh, Maddie, remember that time she caught that Phantom punk in a net and dragged him around town on her hover board?"

Fenton blushed and stood up hurriedly. "I'll go make that coffee!" he said and dashed into the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was no door so he still heard his parents' laughter. And the jokes they made at Danny Phantom's expense. He placed a hand to his forehead and braced the other on the counter beside the coffee maker. "Don't go starting an argument, Fenton," he told himself. "You're in enough hot water with them already."

At the very least, he was going to get lectured about the dangers of ghosts and getting between them and his parents. But likely on the heels of that lecture would be another one: stay away from Danny Phantom. Don't listen to him. Don't trust him. It wasn't going to be pleasant, and without his other half to balance his emotions, he didn't know if he could resist fighting them on the matter.

Fortunately, the situation with Valerie had Jack and Maddie thoroughly distracted.

"Okay, okay, coffee…" Fenton opened the cupboard above the coffee maker and reached for the first bag of coffee beans he saw only to freeze with his fingers just grazing the bag. Valerie had a preferred coffee flavor...but what was it? He stared at the bags with wide eyes. "Um…"

A knock at the back door intruded on his dilemma, and, with some relief, he closed the cupboard and turned to the door. Only…it was too early for Damien to arrive at Fenton Works. Who could…

Whoever was at the door knocked again.

"Danny?" his mom called from the living room.

"I got it!" he called back, cringing.

Fenton opened the kitchen's back door...and promptly slammed it shut again. His friends yelled his name and one of them-Sam, it had to be Sam-tried to shove the door open. Fenton braced his back against it, but his socks offered too little traction to be of any help, and he slid across the floor.

"No!" he yelled, his feet desperately scrabbling for purchase. "Go away!"

"Danny!" his friends called again, more exasperated, right before they burst inside.

Fenton slumped to the ground behind the door, half-hidden until Tucker pushed the door shut. He tried to smile up at them, but it felt more like a grimace. "H...hi, guys. Uh, what brings you here?"

They looked at each other then back down at him. Sam crossed her arms and said in a deadpan voice, "Uh, you did?"

Fenton nodded his head. Once. "I did."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. He sounded perplexed. "You said to ask for...you?"

Fenton closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Then blew it out through his clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill him," he hissed.

"Yourself?" Sam asked, her tone turning dry. "Wouldn't that be suicide?"

"It's debatable."

Jack and Maddie rushed into the kitchen and then froze, the two staring at Fenton's friends with wide, slightly panicked expressions. Telling Valerie's sole remaining parent about her ghost hunting secret was one thing, but Fenton could see his parents drawing the line that would cut Tucker and Sam out of the trust circle.

If they hadn't, like, already known anyway.

"It's a little late to be visiting, kids," Maddie said, forcing an obviously fake smile. "Danny's busy helping us with something and can't play right now."

"Yeah!" Jack agreed. "Plus he's grounded!"

"What?" Fenton exclaimed, scrambling back onto his feet. "Since when?"

"Since you got between us and that ghost punk! Don't think your mother and I forgot about that, mister."

Fenton cringed, wincing one eye shut.

"Ghost punk?" Tucker asked, wary.

"Oh, don't worry, Tucker," Maddie said, "Jack and I scared Phantom off some time ago. You're plenty safe here."

"Danny got between you...and Phantom?" Sam questioned. She and Tucker looked at Fenton. He offered them a shaky smile.

"That's right!" Jack said. "So now he's grounded which means no games, no phone, and no friends coming over on school nights."

Sam and Tucker digested this information a moment longer before Tucker grinned and said brightly, "Oh don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. We just came over to ask Danny about a school project we're working on. We tried calling, but if that sneaky Danny Phantom attacked, it's no wonder he didn't pick up!"

"Yup!" Sam said, just as brightly. "We just have a few questions, we won't be long. We can even discuss it in the basement if Danny's computer is still down there."

His parents visibly relaxed at the prospect of Tucker and Sam going to the basement instead of passing through the living room on the way to Danny's bedroom. Fenton didn't feel the same way, and he bit his lip as his friends sent him eerily similar 'you are so going to explain' looks.

"Uh," he said, "yeah, it's, um, down there still."

"Well alright," Maddie said slowly. "We still need your...help, sweetie, so don't take too long. Your dad and I will take care of the coffee."

Fenton sighed, resigned. Tucker and Sam grabbed an arm each and dragged him towards the basement, still grinning brightly at his parents. Fenton opened his mouth to tell his mom the flavor of coffee Valerie preferred, but the words, or more specifically, the knowledge still didn't surface, and he closed it again, frowning.

At the bottom of the stairs, Tucker and Sam released his arms, walked a couple steps forward then turned to face him. Fenton expected them to scold him, demand answers, glare him into submission. He did not expect Sam's smug smile or Tucker's accusing pout.

"You split yourself, didn't you?" Sam said.

Fenton eyed his two friends warily. "You two bet on me?"

"Just say yes, Danny, I got twenty bucks riding on this."

"I call foul!" Tucker objected. "They're still dating."

"The bet was that he couldn't date Valerie while keeping his double life a secret. Since he split himself with the Ghost Catcher, he no longer has a double life. I win by default."

"Wait," Fenton said, "how do you guys know I used the Ghost Catcher?"

"Seriously, Danny?" Sam gestured at the invention. Fenton had left it near the staircase, and it was one of the few inventions still standing after the battle. "It's right over there."

"You couldn't have just told her the truth?" Tucker moaned, pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. "I trusted you. I put faith in your integrity. Ohh the betrayal...What good is a superhero friend if they aren't morally upright enough to win bets?"

"Phantom and I are merging back," Fenton objected. "And we're still dating Valerie. It's just...as soon as Phantom gets back..."

"I'm more interested in why you split yourself in the first place," Sam said, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice. Fenton didn't know why, it certainly didn't feel very amusing to him, but he was too busy flinching to really dissect Sam's feelings.

Why did they ever think splitting up was a good idea? Why did they do it again? Why the hell were they still separate? Fenton shoved a hand through his hair and along the back, pulling on the ones at the base of his skull. "It's complicated. Like, really, really complicated, Sam..."

"We got time. And we were promised an explanation."

"Couldn't we at least wait until Phantom gets back?" he asked weakly.

"Okay, we don't have that much time," Sam amended. "Your ghost half said Valerie had been exposed and was unconscious. I'm guessing that's why your parents are so anxious?"

Fenton slumped his shoulders and nodded. "Her dad is on his way, too. Mom called him."

Tucker whistled, wide eyed. "Dude, your girlfriend is going to be so pissed." He considered what he said a moment and then quickly added, "Not at you! Well, probably not at you. I mean, it's not like it's your fault she got knocked out, right?"

Fenton twisted his lips in sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Kinda? Um, the stun gun was meant for me. Phantom deflected it at the last minute, and it hit Valerie instead." His friends shared a look, and Fenton slouched further, dropping his head into his hands. "We are in so much trouble, aren't we?"

As Skulker's robotic arm slammed Phantom into the street, the ghost half of Danny came to the unhappy conclusion that while he had all the powers, he definitely didn't have their skills at fighting. Phantom dug his fingers into Skulker's wrist joints and stared up in the general direction of Skulker's face, unable to see anything beyond his glowing green eyes.

"Perhaps we ought to talk about this," Phantom croaked around the hand squeezing his throat.

"Seems a bit unnecessary at this point," Skulker said. Orange sunlight glistened off his metal teeth as he grinned. "I had thought you would be more of a challenge without your humanity holding you back, though. Perhaps you're simply distracted? I suppose harming your mate to save yourself would weigh heavily on a conscience like yours."

Phantom narrowed his eyes, feeling them flash in anger.

"No matter." Skulker pulled a familiar set of handcuffs from his belt, and Phantom drew in a sharp breath. "There will be plenty of time for you to watch your human self suffer an even worse fate."

Phantom struggled beneath him, and Skulker clamped down harder on his throat, choking off Phantom's retort. He kicked at Skulker's legs, but the armor merely absorbed the blows, and Phantom desperately began willing ice to gather around his hands and freeze the metal beneath them. Skulker snapped the cuff onto Phantom's wrist before he could finish, and the ghost boy's power rebounded into his core.

Skulker grinned in triumph as Phantom cried out. "Now for the human half," he said. "And this time, you won't interfere."

Phantom glared at him, his fingers twitching against the ice coating Skulker's wrist before tightening their hold. He drew his knees up to his chest and then slammed his feet into Skulker's torso as hard as he could. The ghost jerked back and Phantom wrenched the armor's wrist. The chilled metal creaked and then cracked beneath the opposing forces. Wires sparked as the wrist separated from the arm, and Phantom quickly rolled from beneath Skulker and scrambled to put his back against the wall of a building. The empty end of the cuff clinked as it was dragged across the concrete, but Phantom was more concerned with the hand still squeezing his throat. The hand's pressure hadn't lessened even after being disconnected from the main body, and it hurt.

Skulker chased after him and reached for Phantom with his remaining hand. Like a cornered wolf, Phantom pressed himself as close to the building as he could and bared his teeth. He might have even growled if the hand hadn't been restricting his wind pipe. He didn't know what he could do to stop Skulker with his powers disabled. He didn't know how to fight as a human.

"Get away from him!"

A green beam collided with Skulker's helmet and sent it crashing into a car parked beside the sidewalk. The rest of the body crumbled in front of Phantom, and he stared at it in disbelief before following the trajectory of the shot back to its origin. Jazz stood with a Fenton Wrist Ray primed and aimed at Skulker, a group of humans quickly scattering away from her now that she'd joined the fight. Phantom gaped at her a while, his limbs shaking as tension began to bleed from his muscles. One of the humans stepped forward, and Phantom snapped into motion.

He shifted to his knees and began searching Skulker's armor for the key. Great as it was for Skulker to be defeated, with his threat neutralized and Phantom's powers sealed, Phantom was now more at risk from the humans who had gathered to watch the fight than anything else. Once they realized the fight was over, they'd begin closing in on him, and Phantom knew from the last time a united Danny Phantom had been without his powers how unpleasant that would be.

Jazz was the first to reach him, the Fenton Thermos he had dropped some time during the fight in one hand, Skulker's helmet held in the other. Phantom paused his search to look inside it for the real Skulker.

"I already sucked him up," Jazz said, triumphant glee clear in her voice. She would probably be insufferably proud of herself for days to come, but for once, Phantom didn't begrudge his older sister's interference.

"Tha-" he couldn't force the rest of the word past the hand squeezing his throat, so he settled for giving Jazz a wide grin. She flushed with pride.

He finally found the key in a compartment near the waist. He unlocked the cuff and allowed it to fall onto the armor. Without the barricade, his power surged from his core into his veins, and Phantom closed his eyes to savor the feeling. He grabbed the hand clasped around his throat, turned it intangible, and then threw it onto the pile so hard a chest plate cracked. Sucking in air right afterwards proved a bad idea, and he placed his hand over his aching throat as he started coughing.

Jazz watched him out of the corner of her eye as she sucked Skulker's suit into the Thermos. "You might want to wrap a cold towel around your throat until your healing powers kick in."

Phantom nodded, rubbing his throat. Two arms suddenly wrapped his shoulders and a woman's body pressed against his back. Phantom felt his face tingle as ectoplasm rushed to his face in a parody of a blush. "Uh..."

"Oh, Phantom!" Paulina cooed in his ear, and the blush on Phantom's face darkened. Or rather, brightened, ectoplasm being the luminous liquid that it was. "I'm so glad you're okay~"

"Thanks," he croaked, lips quirked in a wry smile. "I am too."

A bright flash drew his attention to Starr. She took another picture with her phone, and past her were more people gathering for a shot. And coming closer.

Jazz sucked up the last of Skulker's armor and raised an eyebrow at Phantom. His smile turned sheepish, and he turned invisible and his body intangible to slip out of Paulina's grasp. She made a distressed noise, but he ignored it and floated behind Jazz, grabbing her arms and spreading his invisibility to her. Fortunately the crowd was too busy trying to find him to notice Jazz's disappearance.

"Time to go," he whispered hoarsely. He floated them into the air above the crowd, and Jazz squeaked in surprise. He flew them towards Fenton Works at a pace slower than he preferred but was still probably faster than Jazz liked.

"What's the hurry?" she called over the wind. "I could have walked home."

Phantom shook his head. His throat still hurt, and while he could speak a little now, he didn't want to try speaking over the wind. Hopefully his voice would be recovered enough when he reached Fenton Works to help Fenton explain.

"You know," Jazz said after a moment, "you really shouldn't encourage her." Phantom frowned down at her, and she explained, "Paulina. Just tell her you have a girlfriend and she'll back off."

"Unlikely," Phantom murmured. He flew through a billboard instead of going over it, startling a gasp from his sister. He would have loved to explain to Jazz that Paulina had a shrine to him in her locker, that she was the chairman of his very own 'Phan Club' and that she would more likely destroy his relationship with the mystery woman than forget about him. But his throat hurt. And anyway, it was Paulina. Hottest girl in school and the subject of many daydreams growing up. The attention was flattering.

Fenton Works came into view soon after, and Phantom quickly flew into his and Fenton's room, but when he didn't see his friends or other half, he sank through the floor and into the kitchen. He set Jazz down on the floor and motioned for her to be quiet and wait there a moment. She opened her mouth to protest, but he flew into the living room before she could say anything.

Invisible as he was, his parents didn't see him fly to Valerie's side, nor did they see him quickly place his hand over her watch and send a spark of ecto-energy into the fragile gadget before it could beep a warning. Only when that was done did he kneel on the floor beside the couch. He reached out and brushed his fingers across her forehead, smoothing away the hair that had collected there.

She appeared to be only sleeping. There was no pained crease between her brows, no tightness to her muscles. The few times Phantom and Fenton had been hit with a stun gun they'd been knocked unconscious for no more than five, ten minutes. They would wake up disoriented, their muscles tense and twitching, but that faded within the next few minutes.

Twenty minutes had passed since Valerie had been hit.

Hopefully it was only Phantom's powers that allowed him and Fenton to recover faster than Valerie. But if it was within his powers to heal wounds, could he consciously concentrate that energy and use it on someone else? He had subconsciously kept Fenton's hickey from healing, even when their minds were joined, surely that meant he could control it.

Fenton...

Phantom glanced over his shoulder and saw Jazz poking her head around the doorway, her brows pinched in confusion. Phantom rolled his eyes and looked at his parents. They sat together on the other couch, heads pressed together as they giggled and laughed at the pictures in Jack's scrapbook. Fenton didn't appear to be with them or Valerie, and if he wasn't in his room or the kitchen, that only left the basement. Likely with Tucker and Sam. Which meant he needed Phantom.

Phantom looked at Valerie one last time before he reluctantly stood and floated into the kitchen. As soon as he regained visibility, Jazz pressed a glass of ice water into his hand and whispered, "Did something happen to Valerie?"

Phantom took a drink. It was a little hard to swallow, but the cool water felt nice. "Skulker shocked her into unconsciousness," he answered as quietly as he could, "Mom and Dad saw."

Jazz paled. "They know she's..."

Phantom nodded. Jazz pursed her lips in thought, placing a finger on her chin.

His sister distracted, Phantom wandered over to the staircase leading into the basement. Tucker's voice echoed up from below, followed soon after by Sam. They spoke too softly for Phantom to hear the actual words, but their tone sounded amused, the conversation light-hearted. Perhaps he could stay with Valerie after all. The moment he went down there, he would have to remerge with Fenton, light-hearted conversation or not, and he would have no excuse to delay it.

"Well," Jazz finally said, "it could be worse."

Fenton's echoed voice sounded almost exactly like Phantom's, only the cadence was wrong. The rhythm of his voice rose and fell and paused in patterns Phantom's didn't follow. Whatever their origins, they weren't the same person, not to Phantom, not anymore. A shiver raced up Phantom spine, his stomach turning. He braced a hand against the wall and shook his head. Fenton spoke again, and unlike Sam and Tucker, he sounded stressed.

Phantom took as deep a breath as his throat would allow and set the glass of water on the counter. He looked back at Jazz. "It is worse."

Three friends stood around an oversized, glowing dream catcher, silent, aside from the nervous tapping of Fenton's heel. He stared at his feet as he chewed on his bottom lip, his arms crossed over his chest. He felt Sam and Tucker's eyes on him, knew their patience was waning, but how could he explain everything without giving away…everything?

The silence continued a few seconds longer before Tucker groaned loudly. "I miss the fun Danny," he said. "Dude, just, start at the beginning. Why did you split yourself?"

Fenton violently winced. "Uh..it, uh, we, uh…."

"Probably something to do with Val-er-ie?"

Fenton felt his cheeks warm at Tucker's knowing grin. His arms pressed tighter against his chest and he stared fixedly at his socks, jaw clenched.

"That looks like a yes," Sam said, amused.

Tucker hardly needed the encouragement. His grin grew wider and he leaned towards Fenton. "Betcha needed to impress her after that last big failure, huh, dude?"

Fenton's face got even redder. His hand itched towards his neck before he jerked it back down. "Maybe..."

"Protecting the city would certainly make that difficult," Sam said. "Which is why you split right? Because you couldn't handle dating Valerie and being a secret hero?"

"Hey!" Tucker objected. "That's cheating!"

Fenton frowned. Then his eyes opened wide and he jerked upright, arms falling away from his chest. "Yes!"

Sam and Tucker shared a matching look of raised eyebrows. "Is it just my bleak outlook on life, Folely, or does that enthusiasm look suspicious to you?"

"Oh, totally."

Fenton almost backed down, but he had the bit in his teeth now, a half-true lie to keep his more scandalous secret hidden. "Spectra and Bertrand attacked right before our date with Valerie last night," he said in a rush. "Phantom felt-" He frowned. "...We felt it'd be a bad idea to cancel our date, so we split. Phantom fought the ghosts and I went on the date."

"Uh-huh..." Sam said slowly. "Your date last night. On Saturday."

"Right."

"Danny...it's Sunday evening."

Fenton's eyebrows drew together. He stared down at his feet. "Yeah..." Sam and Tucker looked at each other again, and Fenton resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We were supposed to merge back this morning, Phantom just never showed up."

"Busy flirting with disaster," Sam said, and Tucker snickered.

"Yeah," Fenton grumbled, still annoyed.

"So ghost Danny is out fighting Skulker and you're babysitting Valerie?"

Fenton's lips twitched at one side. "More like babysitting you guys now."

"Oh he jokes!" Tucker exclaimed, grinning.

"When I'm not being interrogated," he muttered dryly.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you the fun Danny?" Sam asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. "And why wasn't your other half disgustingly heroic? He didn't even seem that interested in fighting Skulker."

Of all the questions, that was the easiest to answer, even if it was the hardest to explain. "Yeah..." Fenton said slowly, "we thought it might be based on the mindset we have when whole Danny goes through the Ghost Catcher. When we split for the date, we tried getting Phantom to be a fighter and me to, well, be romantic." He shrugged and looked down as he slid his sock against the metal floor. "Didn't really work out so well."

"I'd say," Tucker said. "You're not very, um..." Fenton glanced at him from beneath his bangs, and Tucker trailed off.

"That's because I received all our charm."

Fenton sucked in a sharp breath and spun around. His white hair was disarrayed and there was a faded, hand-shaped bruise around his neck, but when Phantom's eyes locked with Fenton's, his lips twitched into a small smile. Frustrated as he was with his other half, Fenton felt his own lips twitching in return. Mostly out of relief.

Phantom descended the stairs, allowing Jazz to enter after him. Their sister had a hand clasped to her mouth, the other pointing back and forth between Phantom and Fenton. "Two? Two of them? There are two of them?"

"You likely became the fighter," Phantom continued. His smile twisted, becoming wry. "Which would explain why you keep trying to pick fights with me."

Fenton ducked his head, flushing, embarrassed both by the words and the tone. Underneath the teasing, Phantom sounded almost fond of him, and it made Fenton want to hide his face in the nearest inanimate object.
Sam frowned at the two of them. "Okay…so, ghost Danny is the lover and human Danny is the fighter? Because one of you had to protect the city so the other could go on a date with Valerie?"

"Basically," Fenton muttered.

"Talk about irony," Tucker joked.

Phantom came to a stop beside Fenton, and the human Danny carefully avoided looking at him. The slightly chilled aura still surrounded Phantom, and Fenton's skin prickled, a shiver racing up his spin.

"There are two Dannys!" Jazz squeaked.

"For now." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Or are you two planning to stay separated another day?"

Fenton shifted. He heard Phantom do the same beside him and felt Phantom's eyes on him. He turned his head away.

"We," Phantom said slowly, reluctantly, "were supposed to merge this morning. I don't wish to, but I suppose we must, given the situation with Valerie…"

Fenton snorted, clenching his jaw. Figures he would do it for Valerie.

"It would be a good time to tell her your secret too," Tucker cut in, smiling widely. "Wipe the slate clean of all secrets."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "Who's cheating now?"

"We can certainly keep an eye out for an opportunity," Phantom said, "but given Valerie's actions towards me, I doubt she'd take it well."

Tucker pouted as Sam grinned at him. He turned away and rapped his knuckles against the ghost Catcher's pole. "Okay, so how are we going to do this? You guys gonna fly through the net or should we lower it over you? Like that one time that made everything worse?"

"Seriously, guys," Jazz said, a little louder than necessary, "I'm going to need an explanation here!"

"Actually," Fenton said, straightening his shoulders, "could you two explain it to her?" He grabbed Phantom's arm and began pulling his unresisting ghost half towards the far side of the room. "We need to talk. Privately."

"Uh, sure?" Tucker said, but Fenton didn't wait to hear more than that.

As soon as he reached the portal, Fenton turned to Phantom, took a deep breath, and burst out in a whisper. "You kissed me."

Whatever Phantom had expected him to say, that wasn't it. His bemused smile slipped and he gaped, for once speechless.

"This morning," Fenton continued, "right before Dad burst into my room. I thought I was dreaming, but my lips were cold. And Dad had been following a ghost detector so there had to be a ghost, and you're the only one that would kiss me." When Phantom didn't respond, Fenton added, a little anxiously, "I'm not making this up!"

"You were dreaming about me?" Phantom finally said, a little dazed.

"That—no, dude, focus! Did you or did you not kiss me this morning?" Phantom hesitated, and Fenton pointed out, "I'll know either way once we merge, I just…" He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find words to explain himself. "I'd wanted to ask you before then. It'll be different when we're, you know, one person. Everything gets muddled."

Phantom nodded slowly, staring at Fenton in a way that made his face flush. "It makes a difference," Phantom agreed softly.

Fenton managed to maintain eye contact for a few seconds before he dropped his gaze to his socks. "So did you?"

Phantom didn't answer immediately, and when Fenton looked at him again, Phantom's face glowed a faint green and he was the one who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Does it matter? We practiced on each other a lot this weekend."

"We weren't practicing this morning," Fenton said. "And I was asleep."

"And apparently dreaming about me…"

Fenton blushed spluttering. "I-I can't control that and you know it!" He ground his teeth together and tried willing his face to cool. "Look, I'll find out either way, so you might as well just tell me."

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest, one eyebrow raised. "You refused to merge when Valerie chased me, and now you're delaying it again to get this answer. Why? Why does it matter so much to you? "

Fenton glared at him, but didn't respond.

"I'll find out either way," Phantom said, mockingly, "so you may as well—"

"Because you ditched me right afterwards!"

The words were louder than Fenton intended, and he tensed before glancing at the other three in the room. They were staring at him, but they quickly looked away.

He turned back to Phantom, not meeting his eyes but staring at the DP symbol on his chest instead. He didn't want to explain himself, hated that he had to, the words holed up in his chest like thorns, it hurt to force them out. He whispered, "You flew off and avoided me all day until Valerie chased you back here and you needed a place to hide. It was like I..." Phantom stared at the floor. "It…I was just…"

"I hurt you," Phantom said for him, not looking up.

Fenton shrugged, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "A little. Maybe. I didn't know if you were avoiding me because you had kissed me or because…well, I did punch you that one time. And I pretty much ruined the date with Valerie. And I have been trying to 'pick fights' with you the whole time, and probably a lot of other things so…" Phantom's green eyes were back on his face, and damn did they make things like breathing and talking difficult. "So yeah. Did you kiss me?"

Phantom stared at him a while, green eyes flickering over Fenton's face as the ghost fought his own internal battle. Finally, he whispered, "Yes…"

Fenton let out a sharp, shaky breath. "N-not because you were practicing or thinking about Valerie? You just…wanted to kiss me?"

The pause was longer this time, but Phantom eventually admitted, "Yes."

"Why?"

"I…wanted to." Fenton frowned, and Phantom lifted his shoulders in a shrug, sighing. "It truly is as simple as that, Fenton. There was no ulterior motive. I came to wake you, saw you lying there, I wanted to kiss you, and since I realized I would never get another chance, I did."

"But we're the same person," Fenton pressed, voice cracking.

"That hasn't exactly stopped us before."

"Practicing for your girlfriend isn't the same as kissing someone because you want to kiss them."

Phantom threaded both hands through his white hair and groaned, the sound coming out more gravelly than usual due to his damaged throat. "I know, Fenton! I know there is a difference, I felt the difference. That's exactly why I ran away." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, appearing to brace himself. "I think I'm starting to like you. The way we like Valerie." Fenton stiffened, and the ghost crossed his arms over his chest, not looking at him. "And as soon as we reunite as one person, you'll be gone. I'll be gone. We'll both cease to exist and it will be like none of this ever happened."

Fenton swallowed, his heart pounding. "That's probably for the best." As cold as Phantom was physically, fire burned in his glowing eyes as he glared into Fenton's. Defiant. Fenton gripped his shirt and met that gaze as best he could, though it made his palms sweat and his heart race faster. "We have to end this," he said, voice unsteady. "You can't develop feelings for m…me, Phantom, you just can't, we're—we're the same person!"

Phantom snorted. "I'm aware, Fenton."

"And we're dating Valerie! You're like…crazy about her."

"Yes," Phantom said, forcefully enough Fenton snapped his mouth shut. "I know, Fenton. I already agreed we must merge for her sake. What happened with Skulker already convinced me of that. I'm just…" He stepped closer to Fenton, ignoring the way the human tensed. He raised his hand, hesitated as his fingers brushed Fenton's face, and then rested his hand on his shoulder. His thumb grazed against Fenton's skin where his shirt failed to cover his collarbone. "I'm going to miss you."

Fenton stared back at his other half, wide eyed, unsure how to respond.

"Danny!" his mom called from upstairs, and Phantom flickered out of sight. "Damien Gray is here! He wants to talk to you about Valerie. You'll have to finish the project later."

"Uh." Fenton blinked half a dozen times as he struggled to reorder his thoughts. Phantom squeezed his shoulder briefly before his touch disappeared. "O-okay, Mom!" he shouted. "I'll be right up!"

When she didn't respond, Fenton turned back to his friends and the Ghost Catcher. Jazz stood off to the side, looking a bit dazed, her brows knit in concern, but Tucker and Sam were already in motion, picking up the Ghost Catcher between them. Phantom appeared in front of them, his arms crossed over his chest.

He looked over his shoulder at Fenton as the human half crossed the lab. His green eyes followed his every move, darting from his face to his feet to the way his shoulders moved as he walked, and Fenton realized Phantom was trying to memorize everything about him. Because Phantom thought he would never see him again. And he would miss him.

Fenton scrunched his eyebrows together. They were about to become one person again. Literally. Could you miss someone when you were…him? He knew feeling Phantom's thoughts wouldn't be the same as talking to him but—

They won't be Phantom's thoughts. Fenton blinked rapidly, his breathing becoming strained as an invisible band tightened around his chest.

Sam and Tucker raised the net, and Fenton felt like he ought to say something. Only no words came to mind. Instead, he stopped beside Phantom. Hesitantly, he allowed his arm to brush against Phantom's. Beneath the cold aura, Fenton felt Phantom's arm flex, and then a cold hand grabbed onto his. He didn't fully understand Phantom's feelings, but Fenton held his other half's hand and squeezed Phantom's hand as tightly as the ghost squeezed his.

"Ready, guys?" Tucker asked, and at their hesitant nod, he and Sam lowered the net. Fenton's vision filled with a familiar bright light.

Description

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

A couple blocks away from Fenton Works, Skulker disappeared from sight. Phantom flew to the last place the older ghost had been and hovered uncertainly. His eyes darted to all the advantageous directions Skulker could strike from. He charged ecto-energy into his fists and reflexively bent his knees, ready to spring as soon as Skulker reappeared.

Anger and frustration didn't lend themselves well to patience, however, and Phantom had to clench his teeth to keep from yelling insults. Such a thing might work when he and Fenton were one, but Phantom felt it too crude for his tastes. He rotated in a circle, eyes darting until they landed back on the Fenton Works sign, visible even from so far away. He floated a few paces towards it before forcing himself to stop. He shook his head. He had to trust Fenton to protect Valerie…and trust their parents to protect Fenton.

"Come on, Skulker," he whispered, turning away from the house. "I have feelings to sort out, people to apologize to…I have no time for hide-and-seek!"

He heard a chop-chop-chop noise behind him and spun to face it, raising his glowing fists. But instead of an attack from Skulker, a news helicopter appeared around the next building over and raced towards him, a camera already pointed at Phantom while its operator shouted questions Phantom couldn't hear over the whirling propellers.

Phantom groaned. He straightened from his defensive posture and shook his hands out to discharge the green energy. The last thing he need was the media thinking he was attacking their helicopters. With Skulker on the loose, it wouldn't surprise Phantom if the helicopter got damaged and his critics blamed him for it.

He flew towards the helicopter. The cameraman appeared to be grinning, and Phantom realized it was the same man who once asked his to sign his chest with a razor. He cringed. Ew.

"Get out of here!" he shouted over the chopping of the propellers. "It's unsafe right now, you must leave!"

"Danny Phantom!" the cameraman shouted back, not sounding nearly as alarmed as Phantom felt he should. "Show us a trick!"

What am I, a dog? Phantom wondered, scowling. He stopped advancing on the helicopter and started floating backwards to maintain a comfortable distance. "You are in danger here, you should leave!"

"How about a smile for your fans, Phantom?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes at the man and pressed his lips together in a thin line. If he couldn't make them leave with Plan A, he'd have to use Danny's preferred Plan B.

Phantom waved his fingers cheekily at the camera before he activated his invisibility. He heard and ignored the cameraman's shout of dismay and dove for the alley beneath them. He dropped onto the ground and crouched beside a dumpster. The smell was incredible, and he pinched his nose, grimacing.

He was about to deactivate his invisibility when he heard a shout. He froze, waiting. Earlier that day he'd noticed his fans following the helicopters like the human parallel of scavengers and vultures, but he hadn't considered the dangers it posed. If Skulker grabbed even one to use as leverage…

The sound of a dozen humans running down the street echoed off the alley walls as the helicopter flew away in pursuit of a ghost they couldn't see. A few fans shouted his name. One shouted a proposition, and Phantom snorted.

He was about to stand when he heard two pairs of running footsteps coming towards him. Even though he was still invisible, Phantom ducked down further, cringing. The closer these humans came to him, the more likely Skulker would target them.

"How do you know that piece of circuitry isn't just leading us down a deep dark alley?"

Phantom's eyes widened and he straightened, his invisibility flickering.

"First, because the marriage of Fenton technology and my PDA is a beautiful, beautiful thing, and you should be in awe of its majesty, if not downright worshipful. Second, because of the suspiciously glowing dumpster right over there."

"You mean the one our fearless friend is hiding behind?"

"None other."

Phantom sagged against the dumpster, allowing his tension to leave in a brief burst of laughter. Sam and Tucker appeared around dumpster's edge, and Phantom allowed his invisibility to fully drop. He smiled up at them. Tucker returned the expression and offered him a hand up. Sam placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

"On business?" she asked, smirking, "or were you just hiding from your salivating fans and their heartfelt marriage proposals?"

Phantom hummed. "Both."

"Ghost trouble?" Tucker asked. "Need help? I developed this sweet new program on my PDA that'll help us find the ghosts your Ghost Sense warns us about." He frowned down at his device, eyebrows pinched in thought. "The search radius is small, but it's just a prototype. I'll work out the bugs later."

Phantom hesitated. Ghost Sense? He'd forgotten about that. It didn't come naturally to him since he didn't need to breathe anymore. He did so now, breathing in through his nose and letting the air out through his mouth. No chill raced up his spine and no visible wisp flew from his mouth. Which meant…

His core constricted, the ectoplasm in his veins sparking beneath his skin.

He launched himself into the air and spun around to face his friends, his quick actions causing them to jump. "Tucker, does your PDA sense another ghost nearby?"

"Uh…" Tucker fiddled with a few buttons on the PDA before shaking his head. "Nah, dude, just you. But like I said, the search radius is a bit small. Like, five feet small."

"Makes it kind of useless, doesn't it?" Sam teased, smirking.

"Blasphemy!" Tucker gasped. He clutched his PDA to his chest and cooed to it, "Don't you worry, Cassandra, the mean Goth doesn't know a thing about technology and how amazing you are."

"Wanna bet?"

"Guys," Phantom pleaded. His legs fused into a tail and began lashing restlessly. "I have to find Skulker before he doubles back on Fenton Works. Valerie and…well, Valerie is unconscious and vulnerable there. Skulker attacked earlier, and he might return while I search for him out here. I can't just wander around until I stumble upon him!"

"Okay, okay," Tucker said, holding up a hand. "Ghost on the loose, damsel in distress, got it. But my PDA still can't track Skulker unless we get close enough to where he is."

"It's mostly for our benefit," Sam added. "Unlike certain ghost-powered teenagers, Tuck and I have no way of knowing how close we are to a ghost. You'd be better off relying on your Ghost Sense." She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't leave Valerie out cold and alone, did you?"

Phantom hesitated. "No. She's…not alone."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"I'm…it's not…" Phantom ran a hand through his hair and glared at the ground as he bit down on his lip.

Perhaps, logically, he shouldn't feel so anxious. Jack and Maddie would do everything in their power to keep Valerie and Fenton safe, and while they were inept sometimes, they could protect their son and his girlfriend from Skulker without Phantom's help. Probably. He just felt he should be there. With Fenton. With Valerie.

He settled for a half truth.

"Valerie was fighting Skulker when she fainted in front of my parents. They know she's the Red Huntress." Tucker sucked in a breath and Sam's eyes widened. Phantom inclined his head, pleased they understood the gravity of that revelation. "Capturing Skulker is very low on my priorities list, at the moment."

"He'll just come back if you don't," Sam warned. "Remember that first time he tried capturing you? He kept popping out of nowhere." She shuddered. "Nightmare fuel. Like that fungus on Tucker's feet."

"Hey!"

"And if he does," Phantom said before another squabble could ensue, "I will deal with him then."

"We could always search for him on our way to Fenton Works," Tucker suggested, looking at Sam. "If he did double-back, we'll probably run into him on the way."

"Fine by me," Sam agreed with a shrug. "We were headed there anyway." She pointed a finger at Phantom's chest. "You have some explaining to do."

Phantom frowned at the finger. "Do I?"

"Yeah, dude," Tucker said. "You never wrote, you never called…we only have a few hours left before the weekend is over and we're only just now hanging out! What gives?"

Phantom winced and drew air in through his teeth. "This weekend…"

How could he explain? Most of Saturday had been spent kissing a shy boy with blue eyes and a smoldering temper. Last night had been split between yearning to hold Valerie's hand and floating above the clouds with the stars falling around him, the living half of himself falling asleep in his arms. This morning he had fled an emotion he couldn't face, the day passing him by as he went from one distraction to the next until his girlfriend reminded him of the thing he had been avoiding. Then everything fell apart in a matter of minutes and now he felt himself torn between what he wanted to do and what he needed to do.

"…was a bit hectic," he finished in a small voice.

"Then it will be a very entertaining walk," Sam said, smirking.

Phantom looked over his shoulder at the mouth of the alley. No one appeared to be walking down the street, most already home now that the sun was setting, but he doubted the streets would stay so clear once he stepped into the open. "I can cover more ground if I fly," he said. "I will hunt a while longer. Hurry to Fenton Works, but go through the back door. Ask for F-Danny. Half the explanation will be waiting for you right there.

Sam narrowed her eyes, suspicious. Phantom doubted she would figure it out before she saw Fenton. All the same, he resettled the Fenton Thermos strap on his shoulder and floated a foot higher into the air. A clear signal and one Sam observed with obvious reluctance.

Tucker sighed dramatically. "Ditched again. I'm sensing a pattern."

Phantom drew in a breath, his tail twitching. "I'll explain everything later. Just—"

"—hurry to Fenton Works," his two friends finished for him together, which was honestly insulting.

They waved goodbye and headed out the alley, Tucker once more fiddling with his PDA. Phantom waited a while longer before activating his invisibility and shooting into the sky. With the helicopters no longer anywhere in sight, it was a clear shot to Fenton Works, the neon sign already irresistibly drawing Phantom's attention.

He'd barely made it halfway before a chill raced up his spine, contracted his lungs, and made a blue mist escape through his mouth. He groaned and swore and almost ignored the alert. He wanted to, he desperately wanted to, but Sam's warning, that Skulker would just keep coming back, especially now that Phantom and Fenton had done something to intrigue him, echoed in his mind.

But he needed to finish with Skulker fast. Fenton would panic when their friends arrived on his doorstep, Phantom had little doubt of that. Valerie's secret exposed before him and his parents, followed by Sam and Tucker demanding an explanation? Fenton was going to need all the support he could get, and maybe a paper bag.

Sighing, Phantom floated lower and searched the buildings near Fenton Works. He spotted Skulker beside a billboard overlooking their bedroom, the creep already peering inside with a pair of binoculars. Phantom bared his teeth and clenched his fists, green ecto-energy bursting around his hands.

Without backup and not bothering to plan, Phantom dove for Skulker. The faster he dealt with Skulker, the sooner he could start fixing things.

Fenton turned the knitted doll of the Red Huntress over in his hands and forced his lips into an awkward curl for his dad's benefit. The tiny beads shifted beneath his fingers as he moved his thumb along the tightly threaded 'visor'. The doll had been made to resemble Valerie in her first suit, the one they had destroyed back when Danny had begun to fall for her. It was bizarre and oddly nostalgic to hold it in his hands. Back then, they had just begun to figure out how their abilities shaped them. Falling for Valerie had felt like the simplest thing in his life.

He glanced over at his mom. She had finished examining Valerie for any serious injuries just a few minutes ago and was currently speaking on the phone with Valerie's dad. Fenton frowned. If he could just get close enough to hear what she was saying…

"And this," Jack said excitedly. He moved the scrapbook onto Fenton's lap, forcing his son to hold the doll away to the side. There were half a dozen pictures of Valerie fighting Skulker on the page, most of which were shots taken from the ground by eye witnesses. "This was the moment your mother and I knew we had another serious ghost hunter on our side! Look at the way she aims for the joints, where the ghost's armor is weakest."

Fenton tore his eyes away from the blurry image of Danny Phantom in the corner of one picture and frowned down at the picture Jack pointed to. Valerie was dressed in her old jumpsuit and had her knees bent, bazooka braced on her shoulder. It was hard to tell with her mask covering her face, but one of the other pictures showed Skulker's left arm dangling from a few wires.

Fenton rarely bothered with aiming at weak spots. Their ectoblasts were usually strong enough to hurt the ghost regardless of where they aimed. Besides, not every ghost had a weakness that could be exploited.

"Every ghost has gotta weakness, son," Jack explained, and Fenton cringed. "The Guys in White have theorized that a thing called an 'energy conversion chamber' exists in every ecto-based subform, though they haven't offered any proof yet. It's believed to be the ghosts' strongest, most vulnerable organ. Your mother and I have been trying to build a machine that can sense where a ghost's 'ECC' is located. We just need a specimen to try our theories on, and WHAMO, the Fenton Core Aiming Bazooka will be ready for action!"

"Uh..." Fenton said weakly.

"But until that time," Jack continued, lowering his voice, "we gotta be smarter than our prey and the Red Huntress-" he paused a moment and grinned sly "-your girlfriend, knows just where to strike! Did you know she's often the first ghost hunter to arrive on site of an attack? Dedication, Danny! That's what it takes to make a great hunter!"

Fenton forced another weak smile.

"Red doesn't just know where the weak spot on a ghost's armor is either," Jack continued. "You see, Danny, we hunters must out think our prey! Finding their obsession and using it against them is the easiest, but there are other ways..."

To Fenton's relief, Maddie chose that moment to return to their couch, sparing Fenton from hearing what 'other ways' Jack had in mind. She sat on the arm of the couch beside Jack and touched his arm to halt his rambling.

"Sweetie," she said to Fenton, "would you mind making everyone some coffee? Valerie's dad will be here shortly, and I'm sure she would appreciate a cup once she wakes up too."

Fenton winced. He'd tried convincing his parents to leave Damien out of it, but while Jack was all for it, Maddie had put her foot down. "What did he say about Valerie's secret? And, uh, us finding out?"

"He already knew about her hunting, though he didn't sound happy about it," Maddie said, frowning. "I can't imagine why he wouldn't be. She's an amazing fighter!"

"Here, here!" Jack exclaimed. "Oh, oh, Maddie, remember that time she caught that Phantom punk in a net and dragged him around town on her hover board?"

Fenton blushed and stood up hurriedly. "I'll go make that coffee!" he said and dashed into the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was no door so he still heard his parents' laughter. And the jokes they made at Danny Phantom's expense. He placed a hand to his forehead and braced the other on the counter beside the coffee maker. "Don't go starting an argument, Fenton," he told himself. "You're in enough hot water with them already."

At the very least, he was going to get lectured about the dangers of ghosts and getting between them and his parents. But likely on the heels of that lecture would be another one: stay away from Danny Phantom. Don't listen to him. Don't trust him. It wasn't going to be pleasant, and without his other half to balance his emotions, he didn't know if he could resist fighting them on the matter.

Fortunately, the situation with Valerie had Jack and Maddie thoroughly distracted.

"Okay, okay, coffee…" Fenton opened the cupboard above the coffee maker and reached for the first bag of coffee beans he saw only to freeze with his fingers just grazing the bag. Valerie had a preferred coffee flavor...but what was it? He stared at the bags with wide eyes. "Um…"

A knock at the back door intruded on his dilemma, and, with some relief, he closed the cupboard and turned to the door. Only…it was too early for Damien to arrive at Fenton Works. Who could…

Whoever was at the door knocked again.

"Danny?" his mom called from the living room.

"I got it!" he called back, cringing.

Fenton opened the kitchen's back door...and promptly slammed it shut again. His friends yelled his name and one of them-Sam, it had to be Sam-tried to shove the door open. Fenton braced his back against it, but his socks offered too little traction to be of any help, and he slid across the floor.

"No!" he yelled, his feet desperately scrabbling for purchase. "Go away!"

"Danny!" his friends called again, more exasperated, right before they burst inside.

Fenton slumped to the ground behind the door, half-hidden until Tucker pushed the door shut. He tried to smile up at them, but it felt more like a grimace. "H...hi, guys. Uh, what brings you here?"

They looked at each other then back down at him. Sam crossed her arms and said in a deadpan voice, "Uh, you did?"

Fenton nodded his head. Once. "I did."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. He sounded perplexed. "You said to ask for...you?"

Fenton closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Then blew it out through his clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill him," he hissed.

"Yourself?" Sam asked, her tone turning dry. "Wouldn't that be suicide?"

"It's debatable."

Jack and Maddie rushed into the kitchen and then froze, the two staring at Fenton's friends with wide, slightly panicked expressions. Telling Valerie's sole remaining parent about her ghost hunting secret was one thing, but Fenton could see his parents drawing the line that would cut Tucker and Sam out of the trust circle.

If they hadn't, like, already known anyway.

"It's a little late to be visiting, kids," Maddie said, forcing an obviously fake smile. "Danny's busy helping us with something and can't play right now."

"Yeah!" Jack agreed. "Plus he's grounded!"

"What?" Fenton exclaimed, scrambling back onto his feet. "Since when?"

"Since you got between us and that ghost punk! Don't think your mother and I forgot about that, mister."

Fenton cringed, wincing one eye shut.

"Ghost punk?" Tucker asked, wary.

"Oh, don't worry, Tucker," Maddie said, "Jack and I scared Phantom off some time ago. You're plenty safe here."

"Danny got between you...and Phantom?" Sam questioned. She and Tucker looked at Fenton. He offered them a shaky smile.

"That's right!" Jack said. "So now he's grounded which means no games, no phone, and no friends coming over on school nights."

Sam and Tucker digested this information a moment longer before Tucker grinned and said brightly, "Oh don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. We just came over to ask Danny about a school project we're working on. We tried calling, but if that sneaky Danny Phantom attacked, it's no wonder he didn't pick up!"

"Yup!" Sam said, just as brightly. "We just have a few questions, we won't be long. We can even discuss it in the basement if Danny's computer is still down there."

His parents visibly relaxed at the prospect of Tucker and Sam going to the basement instead of passing through the living room on the way to Danny's bedroom. Fenton didn't feel the same way, and he bit his lip as his friends sent him eerily similar 'you are so going to explain' looks.

"Uh," he said, "yeah, it's, um, down there still."

"Well alright," Maddie said slowly. "We still need your...help, sweetie, so don't take too long. Your dad and I will take care of the coffee."

Fenton sighed, resigned. Tucker and Sam grabbed an arm each and dragged him towards the basement, still grinning brightly at his parents. Fenton opened his mouth to tell his mom the flavor of coffee Valerie preferred, but the words, or more specifically, the knowledge still didn't surface, and he closed it again, frowning.

At the bottom of the stairs, Tucker and Sam released his arms, walked a couple steps forward then turned to face him. Fenton expected them to scold him, demand answers, glare him into submission. He did not expect Sam's smug smile or Tucker's accusing pout.

"You split yourself, didn't you?" Sam said.

Fenton eyed his two friends warily. "You two bet on me?"

"Just say yes, Danny, I got twenty bucks riding on this."

"I call foul!" Tucker objected. "They're still dating."

"The bet was that he couldn't date Valerie while keeping his double life a secret. Since he split himself with the Ghost Catcher, he no longer has a double life. I win by default."

"Wait," Fenton said, "how do you guys know I used the Ghost Catcher?"

"Seriously, Danny?" Sam gestured at the invention. Fenton had left it near the staircase, and it was one of the few inventions still standing after the battle. "It's right over there."

"You couldn't have just told her the truth?" Tucker moaned, pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. "I trusted you. I put faith in your integrity. Ohh the betrayal...What good is a superhero friend if they aren't morally upright enough to win bets?"

"Phantom and I are merging back," Fenton objected. "And we're still dating Valerie. It's just...as soon as Phantom gets back..."

"I'm more interested in why you split yourself in the first place," Sam said, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice. Fenton didn't know why, it certainly didn't feel very amusing to him, but he was too busy flinching to really dissect Sam's feelings.

Why did they ever think splitting up was a good idea? Why did they do it again? Why the hell were they still separate? Fenton shoved a hand through his hair and along the back, pulling on the ones at the base of his skull. "It's complicated. Like, really, really complicated, Sam..."

"We got time. And we were promised an explanation."

"Couldn't we at least wait until Phantom gets back?" he asked weakly.

"Okay, we don't have that much time," Sam amended. "Your ghost half said Valerie had been exposed and was unconscious. I'm guessing that's why your parents are so anxious?"

Fenton slumped his shoulders and nodded. "Her dad is on his way, too. Mom called him."

Tucker whistled, wide eyed. "Dude, your girlfriend is going to be so pissed." He considered what he said a moment and then quickly added, "Not at you! Well, probably not at you. I mean, it's not like it's your fault she got knocked out, right?"

Fenton twisted his lips in sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Kinda? Um, the stun gun was meant for me. Phantom deflected it at the last minute, and it hit Valerie instead." His friends shared a look, and Fenton slouched further, dropping his head into his hands. "We are in so much trouble, aren't we?"

As Skulker's robotic arm slammed Phantom into the street, the ghost half of Danny came to the unhappy conclusion that while he had all the powers, he definitely didn't have their skills at fighting. Phantom dug his fingers into Skulker's wrist joints and stared up in the general direction of Skulker's face, unable to see anything beyond his glowing green eyes.

"Perhaps we ought to talk about this," Phantom croaked around the hand squeezing his throat.

"Seems a bit unnecessary at this point," Skulker said. Orange sunlight glistened off his metal teeth as he grinned. "I had thought you would be more of a challenge without your humanity holding you back, though. Perhaps you're simply distracted? I suppose harming your mate to save yourself would weigh heavily on a conscience like yours."

Phantom narrowed his eyes, feeling them flash in anger.

"No matter." Skulker pulled a familiar set of handcuffs from his belt, and Phantom drew in a sharp breath. "There will be plenty of time for you to watch your human self suffer an even worse fate."

Phantom struggled beneath him, and Skulker clamped down harder on his throat, choking off Phantom's retort. He kicked at Skulker's legs, but the armor merely absorbed the blows, and Phantom desperately began willing ice to gather around his hands and freeze the metal beneath them. Skulker snapped the cuff onto Phantom's wrist before he could finish, and the ghost boy's power rebounded into his core.

Skulker grinned in triumph as Phantom cried out. "Now for the human half," he said. "And this time, you won't interfere."

Phantom glared at him, his fingers twitching against the ice coating Skulker's wrist before tightening their hold. He drew his knees up to his chest and then slammed his feet into Skulker's torso as hard as he could. The ghost jerked back and Phantom wrenched the armor's wrist. The chilled metal creaked and then cracked beneath the opposing forces. Wires sparked as the wrist separated from the arm, and Phantom quickly rolled from beneath Skulker and scrambled to put his back against the wall of a building. The empty end of the cuff clinked as it was dragged across the concrete, but Phantom was more concerned with the hand still squeezing his throat. The hand's pressure hadn't lessened even after being disconnected from the main body, and it hurt.

Skulker chased after him and reached for Phantom with his remaining hand. Like a cornered wolf, Phantom pressed himself as close to the building as he could and bared his teeth. He might have even growled if the hand hadn't been restricting his wind pipe. He didn't know what he could do to stop Skulker with his powers disabled. He didn't know how to fight as a human.

"Get away from him!"

A green beam collided with Skulker's helmet and sent it crashing into a car parked beside the sidewalk. The rest of the body crumbled in front of Phantom, and he stared at it in disbelief before following the trajectory of the shot back to its origin. Jazz stood with a Fenton Wrist Ray primed and aimed at Skulker, a group of humans quickly scattering away from her now that she'd joined the fight. Phantom gaped at her a while, his limbs shaking as tension began to bleed from his muscles. One of the humans stepped forward, and Phantom snapped into motion.

He shifted to his knees and began searching Skulker's armor for the key. Great as it was for Skulker to be defeated, with his threat neutralized and Phantom's powers sealed, Phantom was now more at risk from the humans who had gathered to watch the fight than anything else. Once they realized the fight was over, they'd begin closing in on him, and Phantom knew from the last time a united Danny Phantom had been without his powers how unpleasant that would be.

Jazz was the first to reach him, the Fenton Thermos he had dropped some time during the fight in one hand, Skulker's helmet held in the other. Phantom paused his search to look inside it for the real Skulker.

"I already sucked him up," Jazz said, triumphant glee clear in her voice. She would probably be insufferably proud of herself for days to come, but for once, Phantom didn't begrudge his older sister's interference.

"Tha-" he couldn't force the rest of the word past the hand squeezing his throat, so he settled for giving Jazz a wide grin. She flushed with pride.

He finally found the key in a compartment near the waist. He unlocked the cuff and allowed it to fall onto the armor. Without the barricade, his power surged from his core into his veins, and Phantom closed his eyes to savor the feeling. He grabbed the hand clasped around his throat, turned it intangible, and then threw it onto the pile so hard a chest plate cracked. Sucking in air right afterwards proved a bad idea, and he placed his hand over his aching throat as he started coughing.

Jazz watched him out of the corner of her eye as she sucked Skulker's suit into the Thermos. "You might want to wrap a cold towel around your throat until your healing powers kick in."

Phantom nodded, rubbing his throat. Two arms suddenly wrapped his shoulders and a woman's body pressed against his back. Phantom felt his face tingle as ectoplasm rushed to his face in a parody of a blush. "Uh..."

"Oh, Phantom!" Paulina cooed in his ear, and the blush on Phantom's face darkened. Or rather, brightened, ectoplasm being the luminous liquid that it was. "I'm so glad you're okay~"

"Thanks," he croaked, lips quirked in a wry smile. "I am too."

A bright flash drew his attention to Starr. She took another picture with her phone, and past her were more people gathering for a shot. And coming closer.

Jazz sucked up the last of Skulker's armor and raised an eyebrow at Phantom. His smile turned sheepish, and he turned invisible and his body intangible to slip out of Paulina's grasp. She made a distressed noise, but he ignored it and floated behind Jazz, grabbing her arms and spreading his invisibility to her. Fortunately the crowd was too busy trying to find him to notice Jazz's disappearance.

"Time to go," he whispered hoarsely. He floated them into the air above the crowd, and Jazz squeaked in surprise. He flew them towards Fenton Works at a pace slower than he preferred but was still probably faster than Jazz liked.

"What's the hurry?" she called over the wind. "I could have walked home."

Phantom shook his head. His throat still hurt, and while he could speak a little now, he didn't want to try speaking over the wind. Hopefully his voice would be recovered enough when he reached Fenton Works to help Fenton explain.

"You know," Jazz said after a moment, "you really shouldn't encourage her." Phantom frowned down at her, and she explained, "Paulina. Just tell her you have a girlfriend and she'll back off."

"Unlikely," Phantom murmured. He flew through a billboard instead of going over it, startling a gasp from his sister. He would have loved to explain to Jazz that Paulina had a shrine to him in her locker, that she was the chairman of his very own 'Phan Club' and that she would more likely destroy his relationship with the mystery woman than forget about him. But his throat hurt. And anyway, it was Paulina. Hottest girl in school and the subject of many daydreams growing up. The attention was flattering.

Fenton Works came into view soon after, and Phantom quickly flew into his and Fenton's room, but when he didn't see his friends or other half, he sank through the floor and into the kitchen. He set Jazz down on the floor and motioned for her to be quiet and wait there a moment. She opened her mouth to protest, but he flew into the living room before she could say anything.

Invisible as he was, his parents didn't see him fly to Valerie's side, nor did they see him quickly place his hand over her watch and send a spark of ecto-energy into the fragile gadget before it could beep a warning. Only when that was done did he kneel on the floor beside the couch. He reached out and brushed his fingers across her forehead, smoothing away the hair that had collected there.

She appeared to be only sleeping. There was no pained crease between her brows, no tightness to her muscles. The few times Phantom and Fenton had been hit with a stun gun they'd been knocked unconscious for no more than five, ten minutes. They would wake up disoriented, their muscles tense and twitching, but that faded within the next few minutes.

Twenty minutes had passed since Valerie had been hit.

Hopefully it was only Phantom's powers that allowed him and Fenton to recover faster than Valerie. But if it was within his powers to heal wounds, could he consciously concentrate that energy and use it on someone else? He had subconsciously kept Fenton's hickey from healing, even when their minds were joined, surely that meant he could control it.

Fenton...

Phantom glanced over his shoulder and saw Jazz poking her head around the doorway, her brows pinched in confusion. Phantom rolled his eyes and looked at his parents. They sat together on the other couch, heads pressed together as they giggled and laughed at the pictures in Jack's scrapbook. Fenton didn't appear to be with them or Valerie, and if he wasn't in his room or the kitchen, that only left the basement. Likely with Tucker and Sam. Which meant he needed Phantom.

Phantom looked at Valerie one last time before he reluctantly stood and floated into the kitchen. As soon as he regained visibility, Jazz pressed a glass of ice water into his hand and whispered, "Did something happen to Valerie?"

Phantom took a drink. It was a little hard to swallow, but the cool water felt nice. "Skulker shocked her into unconsciousness," he answered as quietly as he could, "Mom and Dad saw."

Jazz paled. "They know she's..."

Phantom nodded. Jazz pursed her lips in thought, placing a finger on her chin.

His sister distracted, Phantom wandered over to the staircase leading into the basement. Tucker's voice echoed up from below, followed soon after by Sam. They spoke too softly for Phantom to hear the actual words, but their tone sounded amused, the conversation light-hearted. Perhaps he could stay with Valerie after all. The moment he went down there, he would have to remerge with Fenton, light-hearted conversation or not, and he would have no excuse to delay it.

"Well," Jazz finally said, "it could be worse."

Fenton's echoed voice sounded almost exactly like Phantom's, only the cadence was wrong. The rhythm of his voice rose and fell and paused in patterns Phantom's didn't follow. Whatever their origins, they weren't the same person, not to Phantom, not anymore. A shiver raced up Phantom spine, his stomach turning. He braced a hand against the wall and shook his head. Fenton spoke again, and unlike Sam and Tucker, he sounded stressed.

Phantom took as deep a breath as his throat would allow and set the glass of water on the counter. He looked back at Jazz. "It is worse."

Three friends stood around an oversized, glowing dream catcher, silent, aside from the nervous tapping of Fenton's heel. He stared at his feet as he chewed on his bottom lip, his arms crossed over his chest. He felt Sam and Tucker's eyes on him, knew their patience was waning, but how could he explain everything without giving away…everything?

The silence continued a few seconds longer before Tucker groaned loudly. "I miss the fun Danny," he said. "Dude, just, start at the beginning. Why did you split yourself?"

Fenton violently winced. "Uh..it, uh, we, uh…."

"Probably something to do with Val-er-ie?"

Fenton felt his cheeks warm at Tucker's knowing grin. His arms pressed tighter against his chest and he stared fixedly at his socks, jaw clenched.

"That looks like a yes," Sam said, amused.

Tucker hardly needed the encouragement. His grin grew wider and he leaned towards Fenton. "Betcha needed to impress her after that last big failure, huh, dude?"

Fenton's face got even redder. His hand itched towards his neck before he jerked it back down. "Maybe..."

"Protecting the city would certainly make that difficult," Sam said. "Which is why you split right? Because you couldn't handle dating Valerie and being a secret hero?"

"Hey!" Tucker objected. "That's cheating!"

Fenton frowned. Then his eyes opened wide and he jerked upright, arms falling away from his chest. "Yes!"

Sam and Tucker shared a matching look of raised eyebrows. "Is it just my bleak outlook on life, Folely, or does that enthusiasm look suspicious to you?"

"Oh, totally."

Fenton almost backed down, but he had the bit in his teeth now, a half-true lie to keep his more scandalous secret hidden. "Spectra and Bertrand attacked right before our date with Valerie last night," he said in a rush. "Phantom felt-" He frowned. "...We felt it'd be a bad idea to cancel our date, so we split. Phantom fought the ghosts and I went on the date."

"Uh-huh..." Sam said slowly. "Your date last night. On Saturday."

"Right."

"Danny...it's Sunday evening."

Fenton's eyebrows drew together. He stared down at his feet. "Yeah..." Sam and Tucker looked at each other again, and Fenton resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "We were supposed to merge back this morning, Phantom just never showed up."

"Busy flirting with disaster," Sam said, and Tucker snickered.

"Yeah," Fenton grumbled, still annoyed.

"So ghost Danny is out fighting Skulker and you're babysitting Valerie?"

Fenton's lips twitched at one side. "More like babysitting you guys now."

"Oh he jokes!" Tucker exclaimed, grinning.

"When I'm not being interrogated," he muttered dryly.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you the fun Danny?" Sam asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. "And why wasn't your other half disgustingly heroic? He didn't even seem that interested in fighting Skulker."

Of all the questions, that was the easiest to answer, even if it was the hardest to explain. "Yeah..." Fenton said slowly, "we thought it might be based on the mindset we have when whole Danny goes through the Ghost Catcher. When we split for the date, we tried getting Phantom to be a fighter and me to, well, be romantic." He shrugged and looked down as he slid his sock against the metal floor. "Didn't really work out so well."

"I'd say," Tucker said. "You're not very, um..." Fenton glanced at him from beneath his bangs, and Tucker trailed off.

"That's because I received all our charm."

Fenton sucked in a sharp breath and spun around. His white hair was disarrayed and there was a faded, hand-shaped bruise around his neck, but when Phantom's eyes locked with Fenton's, his lips twitched into a small smile. Frustrated as he was with his other half, Fenton felt his own lips twitching in return. Mostly out of relief.

Phantom descended the stairs, allowing Jazz to enter after him. Their sister had a hand clasped to her mouth, the other pointing back and forth between Phantom and Fenton. "Two? Two of them? There are two of them?"

"You likely became the fighter," Phantom continued. His smile twisted, becoming wry. "Which would explain why you keep trying to pick fights with me."

Fenton ducked his head, flushing, embarrassed both by the words and the tone. Underneath the teasing, Phantom sounded almost fond of him, and it made Fenton want to hide his face in the nearest inanimate object.
Sam frowned at the two of them. "Okay…so, ghost Danny is the lover and human Danny is the fighter? Because one of you had to protect the city so the other could go on a date with Valerie?"

"Basically," Fenton muttered.

"Talk about irony," Tucker joked.

Phantom came to a stop beside Fenton, and the human Danny carefully avoided looking at him. The slightly chilled aura still surrounded Phantom, and Fenton's skin prickled, a shiver racing up his spin.

"There are two Dannys!" Jazz squeaked.

"For now." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Or are you two planning to stay separated another day?"

Fenton shifted. He heard Phantom do the same beside him and felt Phantom's eyes on him. He turned his head away.

"We," Phantom said slowly, reluctantly, "were supposed to merge this morning. I don't wish to, but I suppose we must, given the situation with Valerie…"

Fenton snorted, clenching his jaw. Figures he would do it for Valerie.

"It would be a good time to tell her your secret too," Tucker cut in, smiling widely. "Wipe the slate clean of all secrets."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "Who's cheating now?"

"We can certainly keep an eye out for an opportunity," Phantom said, "but given Valerie's actions towards me, I doubt she'd take it well."

Tucker pouted as Sam grinned at him. He turned away and rapped his knuckles against the ghost Catcher's pole. "Okay, so how are we going to do this? You guys gonna fly through the net or should we lower it over you? Like that one time that made everything worse?"

"Seriously, guys," Jazz said, a little louder than necessary, "I'm going to need an explanation here!"

"Actually," Fenton said, straightening his shoulders, "could you two explain it to her?" He grabbed Phantom's arm and began pulling his unresisting ghost half towards the far side of the room. "We need to talk. Privately."

"Uh, sure?" Tucker said, but Fenton didn't wait to hear more than that.

As soon as he reached the portal, Fenton turned to Phantom, took a deep breath, and burst out in a whisper. "You kissed me."

Whatever Phantom had expected him to say, that wasn't it. His bemused smile slipped and he gaped, for once speechless.

"This morning," Fenton continued, "right before Dad burst into my room. I thought I was dreaming, but my lips were cold. And Dad had been following a ghost detector so there had to be a ghost, and you're the only one that would kiss me." When Phantom didn't respond, Fenton added, a little anxiously, "I'm not making this up!"

"You were dreaming about me?" Phantom finally said, a little dazed.

"That—no, dude, focus! Did you or did you not kiss me this morning?" Phantom hesitated, and Fenton pointed out, "I'll know either way once we merge, I just…" He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find words to explain himself. "I'd wanted to ask you before then. It'll be different when we're, you know, one person. Everything gets muddled."

Phantom nodded slowly, staring at Fenton in a way that made his face flush. "It makes a difference," Phantom agreed softly.

Fenton managed to maintain eye contact for a few seconds before he dropped his gaze to his socks. "So did you?"

Phantom didn't answer immediately, and when Fenton looked at him again, Phantom's face glowed a faint green and he was the one who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Does it matter? We practiced on each other a lot this weekend."

"We weren't practicing this morning," Fenton said. "And I was asleep."

"And apparently dreaming about me…"

Fenton blushed spluttering. "I-I can't control that and you know it!" He ground his teeth together and tried willing his face to cool. "Look, I'll find out either way, so you might as well just tell me."

Phantom crossed his arms over his chest, one eyebrow raised. "You refused to merge when Valerie chased me, and now you're delaying it again to get this answer. Why? Why does it matter so much to you? "

Fenton glared at him, but didn't respond.

"I'll find out either way," Phantom said, mockingly, "so you may as well—"

"Because you ditched me right afterwards!"

The words were louder than Fenton intended, and he tensed before glancing at the other three in the room. They were staring at him, but they quickly looked away.

He turned back to Phantom, not meeting his eyes but staring at the DP symbol on his chest instead. He didn't want to explain himself, hated that he had to, the words holed up in his chest like thorns, it hurt to force them out. He whispered, "You flew off and avoided me all day until Valerie chased you back here and you needed a place to hide. It was like I..." Phantom stared at the floor. "It…I was just…"

"I hurt you," Phantom said for him, not looking up.

Fenton shrugged, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "A little. Maybe. I didn't know if you were avoiding me because you had kissed me or because…well, I did punch you that one time. And I pretty much ruined the date with Valerie. And I have been trying to 'pick fights' with you the whole time, and probably a lot of other things so…" Phantom's green eyes were back on his face, and damn did they make things like breathing and talking difficult. "So yeah. Did you kiss me?"

Phantom stared at him a while, green eyes flickering over Fenton's face as the ghost fought his own internal battle. Finally, he whispered, "Yes…"

Fenton let out a sharp, shaky breath. "N-not because you were practicing or thinking about Valerie? You just…wanted to kiss me?"

The pause was longer this time, but Phantom eventually admitted, "Yes."

"Why?"

"I…wanted to." Fenton frowned, and Phantom lifted his shoulders in a shrug, sighing. "It truly is as simple as that, Fenton. There was no ulterior motive. I came to wake you, saw you lying there, I wanted to kiss you, and since I realized I would never get another chance, I did."

"But we're the same person," Fenton pressed, voice cracking.

"That hasn't exactly stopped us before."

"Practicing for your girlfriend isn't the same as kissing someone because you want to kiss them."

Phantom threaded both hands through his white hair and groaned, the sound coming out more gravelly than usual due to his damaged throat. "I know, Fenton! I know there is a difference, I felt the difference. That's exactly why I ran away." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, appearing to brace himself. "I think I'm starting to like you. The way we like Valerie." Fenton stiffened, and the ghost crossed his arms over his chest, not looking at him. "And as soon as we reunite as one person, you'll be gone. I'll be gone. We'll both cease to exist and it will be like none of this ever happened."

Fenton swallowed, his heart pounding. "That's probably for the best." As cold as Phantom was physically, fire burned in his glowing eyes as he glared into Fenton's. Defiant. Fenton gripped his shirt and met that gaze as best he could, though it made his palms sweat and his heart race faster. "We have to end this," he said, voice unsteady. "You can't develop feelings for m…me, Phantom, you just can't, we're—we're the same person!"

Phantom snorted. "I'm aware, Fenton."

"And we're dating Valerie! You're like…crazy about her."

"Yes," Phantom said, forcefully enough Fenton snapped his mouth shut. "I know, Fenton. I already agreed we must merge for her sake. What happened with Skulker already convinced me of that. I'm just…" He stepped closer to Fenton, ignoring the way the human tensed. He raised his hand, hesitated as his fingers brushed Fenton's face, and then rested his hand on his shoulder. His thumb grazed against Fenton's skin where his shirt failed to cover his collarbone. "I'm going to miss you."

Fenton stared back at his other half, wide eyed, unsure how to respond.

"Danny!" his mom called from upstairs, and Phantom flickered out of sight. "Damien Gray is here! He wants to talk to you about Valerie. You'll have to finish the project later."

"Uh." Fenton blinked half a dozen times as he struggled to reorder his thoughts. Phantom squeezed his shoulder briefly before his touch disappeared. "O-okay, Mom!" he shouted. "I'll be right up!"

When she didn't respond, Fenton turned back to his friends and the Ghost Catcher. Jazz stood off to the side, looking a bit dazed, her brows knit in concern, but Tucker and Sam were already in motion, picking up the Ghost Catcher between them. Phantom appeared in front of them, his arms crossed over his chest.

He looked over his shoulder at Fenton as the human half crossed the lab. His green eyes followed his every move, darting from his face to his feet to the way his shoulders moved as he walked, and Fenton realized Phantom was trying to memorize everything about him. Because Phantom thought he would never see him again. And he would miss him.

Fenton scrunched his eyebrows together. They were about to become one person again. Literally. Could you miss someone when you were…him? He knew feeling Phantom's thoughts wouldn't be the same as talking to him but—

They won't be Phantom's thoughts. Fenton blinked rapidly, his breathing becoming strained as an invisible band tightened around his chest.

Sam and Tucker raised the net, and Fenton felt like he ought to say something. Only no words came to mind. Instead, he stopped beside Phantom. Hesitantly, he allowed his arm to brush against Phantom's. Beneath the cold aura, Fenton felt Phantom's arm flex, and then a cold hand grabbed onto his. He didn't fully understand Phantom's feelings, but Fenton held his other half's hand and squeezed Phantom's hand as tightly as the ghost squeezed his.

"Ready, guys?" Tucker asked, and at their hesitant nod, he and Sam lowered the net. Fenton's vision filled with a familiar bright light.