#Sam and Tucker are helping out keeping everything going smoothly

[daemonlogical]

Since this is probably due to ghost magic shenanigans, would all marked as young heroes appear? Even the missing? Or acting as double agents? Or kidnapped templates?

Cause it's a big uh-oh for the stress free weekend to end with flinging them back to their stuck places

Our Well Deserved Break

Its

Shenanigans (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Time again!~

-x-x-

Danny, our boy the Ghost King, looking over a small team going over relic's given or 'offered' to Pariah Dark over the years both before and after he was sealed away. As they're taking inventory of the chaotic offering room, they stumble across a certain artifact.

This artifact is able to summon a set number of people (it does have its limits) of the users wishes to them and it sets up a barrier around the surrounding place so no one summoned gets out. You know, those kinds of artifact's certain people use to summon heroes and or villains into a room and have them fight to see whose the strongest or for a tournament, Yeah that kind of artifact!

Danny, who found the item, takes a look at after being told what it does. Then out of the corner of his eye he spots himself in a mirror in the room and see's his crown floating above his head and feels the full weight of his responsibility since before and after his crowning. Yes he had help with his advisor, despite how cryptid he can be at times, and of his council but still the weight was a bit too much for a teenager like him.

An idea struck his mind when he hears the ticking of a clock behind him. Without saying a word Danny looks back and raises an eyebrow at Clockwork whose staring at him in silence as well. He glances at the item, tilts his head a bit before...

Smiles in only the way CW knows would both be good for Danny and amusing for him. He nods and says "One weekend should be fine. All timelines will be paused for them. I suggest telling your friends to help prepare for your guests. Enjoy and have fun my King."

"YES!" Danny's voice echoing in the offering room made many ghosts in the room jump for a bit.

This was totally going to be fun!

-x-x-

When the following weekend arrived, young and very stressed teen heroes from across the multiverse are suddenly pulled from their worlds and are summoned into the Infinite Realms. Before any of them can panic or start fights a voice rang out above them and when they looked they could see a young teen, with a crown floating above his head, white hair, and glowing green eyes sitting on a throne.

He smiled and said

"Welcome fellow stressed out Heroes and Heroines to Phantom's Keep! I'm King Phantom, recently crowned fifteen year old, and this is the Infinite Realms! The birth and ending of the multiverse afterlife! Now don't worry none of you are dead or anything like that. I summoned you all here for one reason and one reason only..."

Here Danny paused, just to troll a tiny bit, and could see some of the more tense heroes readying up for a fight or at least argue to let them go. He grinned though and then said.

"And thats.... TO HAVE FUN!"

After that he floated out of his throne and with a flourish in the air he waved his hands and his throne room changed with party decor all around. Tables off to the side appeared with food and drinks from well everywhere and anywhere the multiverse, balloons rose from the ground and floated upwards, streamers flew across above to attach themselves to the other sides, the castle lights shifted to a dim and music began playing from somewhere.

Danny grinned brightly down at them and their shocked faces. oh that's funny, thank goodness Tucker is recording this and Jazz is gonna scrapbook this party for him (she plans on making them for all the guests as a party gift later, you know to remember how fun the party was)

"Now all of you are stressed out teen heroes with a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders! Believe me, I know that feeling, been there done that still doing it even now! But! My advisor says this will be both fun for me and good for you guys to spend one whole weekend here to de-stress and have fun! I do have some ground rules though. One your timelines are in fact PAUSED, you don't have to worry about calling your parents or if you got mentors to let them know where you are at. Two you are all heroes here, many of you are from different worlds and if you are from the same world they already know or CAN be trusted with your real identities but you are NOT required to remove any masks or de-transform or anything like that, if you wish there are masks on that green table over there you can stick on if you want to keep your identities hidden and are spelled to stay on and fuzz the minds of anyone trying to remember your looks once its on, even if they catch a good look at you right now it'll fuzz their memories of you once the mask is on and even after the party don't worry we thought of the time. Three, boys and girls rooms will be at different wings within the Keep! Just ask any of the maid or butler ghosts that will be joining us shortly and they will guide you to the rooms! Fourthly! There are sparing rooms if you wanna test your strengths with others, I only ask please don't get too carried away. We are here to have fun not make enemies! and lastly PLEASE DO NOT try to leave the castle, we are in the very afterlife of the multiverse people, its like the ocean and even I find it hard to navigate it sometimes. Portals can open up to any and all worlds, different timelines, etc etc. I have key items here in the castle that can pinpoint YOUR timeline and world so when the party is over I can send you home no problem, so again please do not attempt to leave."

Danny paused to take a breath, okay ground rules set up and warnings given. He could see the absolute bewildered looks on all the heroes faces and held back a laugh. He smiled however when one of the teens, mask on his face already and dressed in green, yellow, and red asked 'Why?'

"Why? Well... I think its time us teens get to have some fun without worrying about the next big bad or world ending event. Even if just for a weekend, we do deserve a break. So... Lets have some fun for once!" Danny responded.

[escelia]

New Sibling Just Dropped

Or Danny gets willingly isekai'd into the DCU and gets a twin out of it.

I know I disappeared from the face of the earth for a bit there, and there's stuff I should probably be updating, but I come baring different stuff this time :D

Just started this for fun, and I have at least one other chapter of it done, but idk how long this bout of inspiration will last, so I'm just rolling with it for now.

@flamingpudding look! i pulled a jason todd and rose from the grave!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny was tired. The kind of tired you felt behind your eyes and in your bones, and weighed heavy with achievement. He was perched on the edge of a building in his ghost form looking over Amity Park with a soft smile as he watched Youngblood run through the park with human children, Cujo playfully on their heels. His galaxy cloak (which had been a coronation gift) billowed around his lap like a gas with stars twinkling inside. 

It had been a few years now since he took up the Crown of Fire and became High King of the Infinite Realms, and while he had accomplished many things since then, graduating from high school wasn't something on that list. It sucked that he wouldn't get to walk across the stage with Sam and Tucker, but in the face of all he'd been able to do for both Amity and the Infinite Realms, it was worth it. They coexisted now. There was still trouble every now and then, but Danny had helped the ghosts who insisted on staying in Amity Park find a place in their city where they could thrive.

Youngblood watched over the children of the city, Box Ghost started a box recycling center, Lunch Lady started a program to get food to families that couldn't afford it, and Pointdexter started reporting bullying at the school since he was already there. 

On the Realms' side, Danny shut down Walker's prison. Since it was his lair, he couldn't take it away from him completely, but it no longer housed the many ghosts the warden had considered "rule breakers." He'd given Walker a new set of rules to enforce and essentially took him under his wing as a royal soldier, kept under the close watch of Fight Knight, who'd defected from Pariah Dark so fast after his defeat that it was laughable. 

He'd done something similar with Skulker, though he was a harder case to crack. Unlike Walker, who was happy as long as he had a set of rules to enforce, Skulker wanted to keep hunting. He'd been recruited forcefully by Walker and Fright Knight after they caught him on his way to fight Danny again.

All in all, everything had begun to run smoothly now. The fatigue weighing on him reminded him that it had been hard to accomplish, and continuing to lead his double life hadn't made it any less exhausting. A cold breath rushed through his chest as he felt a familiar presence slide up next to him. 

"You didn't time out," Danny pointed out without looking to face the ghost beside him. Clockwork hummed in acknowledgment.

"Sometimes it's pleasant to watch time flow in person." It was Danny's turn to hum at him. 

"How are you feeling?" The Ancient asked thoughtfully. The younger ghost tilted his head pensively. 

"It's hard to say. I'm tired, but I'm happy. And also sad..." he paused to gather his thoughts. "I feel like I've done everything I needed to."

But not everything he wanted to do. 

"Go on," Clockwork pressed. The teenager did turn his head now to make a face at his mentor. If the guy knew how he felt and what he was going to say, why would he say it out loud? But the other just arched a brow at him and waited.

"Fine," he pouted. "I've spent so much time and energy finding places for everyone here. The GIW are gone, my parents stopped hunting ghosts, Jazz got into the psychology program at Stanford, Sam and Tucker are graduating today... I helped make that happen, I know I did! But they're moving on without me. They're growing up and I don't feel like I am."  

'I don't feel like I'm ready.'

Danny stopped to take a breath and wipe away the icy tears gathering in his eyes. He felt stupid for crying over it. He was 17 for Ancients' sake! Jazz would have told him he grew up too fast, but he still felt like a child. He had no idea what he was doing! And yet! And yet... he felt...

"But you also feel ancient, right? Like you've been around too long and seen too much?" Clockwork said as though he were reading from a script. Danny sulked. Stupid time ghost with his dumb Time Stream TV or whatever. 

"Yeah..."

"All Ancients feel that way. Though you may be feeling unbalanced in more ways than one because of how young you died and the fact you are half human."

"What do you mean?" Danny turned his whole body to face him now, tucking his knees under his chin and circling his arms around them. His cloak moved with him in inky black wisps and settled around him again like clouds of galaxies. 

Clockworks form shifted to that of a child.

"You feel young because you died young. However, it is the nature of humans to grow and change. While you may have died at 14, your childhood died before that. You yearn to grow and learn, while also being an incredibly powerful Ancient."

He supposed that made sense. He recalled all the years cleaning the lab before the portal had even been built, and the fighting and neglect (Jazz's words, not his) that spawned his disdain of Christmas even longer before. He wanted to go back to school. He wanted a reason to love Christmas. He wanted pets and family dinners that didn't come alive. He wanted to grow up properly.

"But you still want to help people," the ghost said as though Danny had been talking out loud or having his mind read. 

"I hate it when you do that," Danny complained. Clockwork just smiled smugly.

"I know." He laughed at the glare Danny threw him. 

"I have a proposition for you," the older ghost began. Danny perked up in intrigue. "I know of another earth dimension with some problems that need to be addressed. Your role as High King puts you in a position to be helpful."

"Their problem has to do with the Realms?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Ectoplasm from the Realms is pooling into what are referred to on their planet as Lazarus Pits. They are both helpful and harmful as they do not dissipate into the air so they continually collect and concentrate emotion, but they do sometimes revive the dead."

Danny grimaced in disgust at the thought of dunking a person into a stagnant pool of contaminated ectoplasm. "That sounds disgusting."

"Quite," Clockwork agreed. 

"So what's your proposition?"

"Well, if it is agreeable to you, I would like to de-age your physical form and place you with a family that's had dealings with the Pits firsthand. I've found them to be quite charming." 

"Ah, so you want me to go in undercover?" Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes a little. It wasn't a half bad idea. He could try his hand at childhood again and still get to handle his duties as King Phantom. Leading a double life again would be easy enough, it was just stepping from one role into another. 

"Not at all." Clockwork smiled knowingly. Danny was officially suspicious of his ghost guardian. "This planet has had all kinds of dealings with the occult, and even humans with superpowers isn't that unusual. While I would advise against telling anyone you are a king right away, you are in fact just that: a king. You may do what you wish." 

For an ancient and wise time ghost, Danny thought Clockwork was really shit at hiding his expressions. Though he tried to keep the grin off his face, Danny could clearly see the twitching of his lips and gleam in his eyes that promised the old man was scheming. 

But to get his childhood back. Or, at least a semblance of one... it deserved consideration. Danny looked back out at the cityscape again. Sam and Tucker... they were down there graduating from high school without him. He'd been the one to encourage them to pull away from Team Phantom activities to zero in on their studies, but he didn't regret it. Sam wanted to major in environmental science and Tucker wanted to go to MIT and he just didn't fit into those plans. After Jazz left for Stanford, his parents often forgot he was still there. He'd managed to convince them to study ghosts properly instead of hunting them, and with a little help from the "friendly ghost King Phantom" they were given a place to start. They dove into their research with the same excitement and fervor they'd had all their lives. Which of course meant he went days, sometimes weeks, without seeing them emerge from the lab. It was easy enough to slip past them to the portal while they were distracted. 

The point was that he'd started to feel his anchor to this city, to this realm, start to dissipate as the people who kept him there started to break away from him. He still loved them, wanted to protect them, but they were safe and happy now. He felt fulfilled in his task of protecting them, but there was a buzzing beneath his skin to do more. 

Danny took a deep and controlled breath. He didn't need it in his ghost form, but it felt good to feel his lungs stretch to fullness. 

"When would I start?" He asked finally. The straight face Clockwork had been trying to keep, and he really was so bad at it, finally broke into a wide grin. 

"Right now. Everything is already in place and your duties in the Realms will be taken care of in your absence." 

Danny smiled softly at his guardian. Clockwork sure had a funny way of showing it, but he cared so deeply for the boy next to him that when Danny responded with a bad pun, he couldn't even be annoyed. 

"Well, no time like the present!" He winked.

Clockwork chuckled, and with a flash of light, he sent Danny on his way. 

The more time the older ghost spent with his young ward, the more he appreciated him. The Danny he’d come to know was nothing like the Danny’s from other worlds he’d encountered while trying to prevent Dan from existing. His Danny was now truly one of a kind. None of the others, not even the ones that eventually turned into Dan, had been Ancients. There would never be another Danny like him, and every universe was adjusting to include him should he ever decide to visit them. He had a place in any world, should he choose, but Clockwork knew he was needed most in the one he’d sent him to. It would be truly entertaining to watch the young Ancient settle into his role there, and Clockwork was actually finding himself looking forward to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark and quiet a long while before Danny opened his eyes. And when he did open them it got really loud and really bright really fast. It belatedly occurred to him that he should have asked like a billion more questions before agreeing to be iseaki’d into a different dimension to join a family he knew literally nothing about. 

There was shouting before someone in what looked like a ninja cult uniform shoved a knife into his hand and pushed him in the path of a person in a different uniform. The man in front of him was dressed in blue and black and wearing a mask that covered his eyes, but Danny could see the surprised shape of his mouth before it morphed into something like anger. And then he was being lunged at.

He shrieked as he dodged out of the way. Not his most graceful save, but whatever. His voice was a bit shrill and his center of gravity felt way off. He must have actually been de-aged! He wondered how old he was now. He still felt light on his feet thanks to his ghost half which felt blessedly intact. But the other guy was fast and he ducked into a roll just in time to dodge whatever weapon he was holding. This guy meant business, but he had no idea why he was trying to kill him. 

‘Great, thanks Grandfather Clock for throwing me right back into the good ol’ days,’ he thought sarcastically. Nobody had attacked him for no good reason like that since Walker and Fright caught Skulker mid hunt for the very last time. 

What he now saw was a baton swung down from overhead and Danny knew he wouldn't dodge it in time, so he caught it with the flat of the blade that had been shoved into his hands.

“Wait! Why are we fighting?” Danny yelled, panicked as the guy pushed more force into it. The man's face twisted into something like confusion for a moment and he backed off just the tiniest bit before the scuffing of shoes to his right had him looking over just in time to see another guy in a mask, this time in red, rushing at him. He threw his hands up in surrender. 

“Wait!” He shrieked before he was absolutely bodied sideways into the ground. 

Why was he doing this? He was half ghost, he could have just gone intangible and disappeared. He didn't have to be body slammed into the ground. Wasn't he a child now? Did that guy in red actually just slam a whole child into the ground? 

“Red, hold on! This one's different!” 

“What do you mean?” The guy Red asked. He was still pinning Danny to the ground.

“Yeah, what do you mean?” Danny asked breathlessly, then whimpered, “Someone please tell me what's going on!” 

The one hovering over him must have seen something on his face that convinced him to not try and kill him anymore, because he grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him along. 

“We'll take him in for questioning. Don't let Robin see him.”

“Who's Robin?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long, arduous, and confusing journey from wherever they were to… well, wherever they were now. They'd blindfolded him for the transport so he still had no idea what was going on. He had learned that the guy with batons was Nightwing, and Red was actually Red Robin. The one they called Robin was a feral looking thing with swords, he was very small and stabby. Then there was Batman, and he totally threw off the whole bird theme but was easily the most intimidating. And that was all he knew so far. He'd been restrained at an interrogation table. 

Danny groaned and knocked his forehead onto the table. He really, really wished he'd asked Clockwork more questions. He'd at least been able to catch a glimpse of himself in the glass behind Batman. He looked like he was eleven or twelve again, which was not as young as he'd been expecting, but much more preferable than being a literal toddler. The group of people he’d been brought in by seemed to be heroes. They were all incredibly weary of him, but hadn’t gone out of their way to harm him since his capture. Though it was hard to call it a capture when there wasn’t a chase involved. 

“How old are you?” Batman asked suddenly. His voice was low and rough and somehow Danny could tell it didn't sound like that naturally. 

“Um, maybe eleven or twelve?” Danny replied carefully, picking up his head from the table and having the decency to look a little embarrassed. 

“And what's your name?” He looked like he was expecting something.

“My name is Danny, sir.” 

“Hmm…” 

It was quiet and awkward for a long moment.

“Why are you different from the other clones?” 

“Yeeeaaah, I'm not a clone.” Danny absolutely did not jump when the brute slammed the file folder shut in front of him. 

“We'll see what your DNA results have to say about that,” he said confidently before turning to leave, his cape dramatically flaring out behind him.

Sheesh, and he thought he’d had a flair for the dramatics.

‘Okay, time for some assessment,’ Danny thought to himself as he looked around the small closed room. It was soundproofed incredibly well. While he didn’t have super crazy hearing, it was enhanced by his ghost half, and combined with his other sharp senses, it tended to help him gather more information than others could. The most he could hear outside the room was a quiet hum of activity and nothing discernible. Still, he needed to decide how much he would say to these people. How much truth did he want to weave into his tale? These people clearly already had their own assumptions about him in mind, and while there was absolutely nothing wrong with being a clone, he knew he didn’t have what it took to keep up an act like that for long, which would just end up being awkward for everyone. 

He also would not be telling them about his status as Ghost King, per Clockwork’s suggestion. His captors seemed like the uptight sort, and revealing that he was a big, scary ghost monarch didn’t seem like it’d go over well. Telling them he was a halfa would probably get them off his back over the clone thing, at least. He went over the list in his head.

He was a halfa from another dimension, so he couldn’t be a clone.

He had no plans of fighting with anyone unless absolutely necessary. 

He did not have a way back to his other dimension. 

His name was Danny, and he didn’t have a family anymore.

He did not know why he was in the middle of whatever fight he woke up in. 

No, he didn’t know those people.

Danny must’ve been lost in thought for quite a while because his thoughts were interrupted by Batman bursting back through the door. The man’s demeanor had changed completely and he whipped off his cowl to reveal disheveled dark hair, blue eyes, and an expression of absolute heartbreak that accompanied his shuddering breaths. With the mask off, he reminded Danny a lot of his father. 

Batman searched his face and, much like Red Robin had before, seemed to notice something there. 

“She did it twice,” he muttered to himself. “Two of them this whole time and she didn’t tell me about either of them,” he said through gritted teeth. His frown deepened. Danny copied his frown. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

He still had no idea what was going on.

[impyssadobsessions]

DP x DC idea/prompt Okay Wayne Industries has hired a new employee that's Phenomenal at their job. They have every program and software up to date- everything working smoothly without any interruptions or delay. Only strange thing is no one has ever seen them. They work strictly remotely due to disability. However, they are not on record to exist except for the last few years. Sam, Tucker, and Danny are runaways, running from GIW. They had to leave everything behind to keep themselves, the ghost zone, and their love ones safe. They're too young and have no way of actually being hired without finding out. Thankfully one of them is great at hacking, and he's been dreaming of working there for a while and now he has the perfect opportunity to show his skills AND work for company. However despite all his skills- They don't go unnoticed. A certain Tim Drake and the rest of the Batfamily had already figured out this "new hire" wasn't who he said he was. In fact, they may have found out it was a group of runaway teens before the second week. Now the only question they have, is why? Also Tim thinks its fun to test Tucker's skills and purposely throws viruses his way. Sam and Danny are probably focusing on doing the main shopping/looking out for giw and doing odd things for extra money while Tucker is living his dream.. remotely.. and anonymously.. but hey its the dream and the pay keeps them well afloat. Luckily they found a place that won't ask questions as long as they get the money.

Basically the Bats are keeping this group of teens employed while figuring out why they're on their own. Also while helping anonymously make their mystery employee (s) get better at their documentation by asking for information here and there without penalty. Its become a game, especially to Tim. XD

[five-rivers]

Face Your Dreams

Almost forgot to post this here as well!  @anthropwashere 

Phic Phight 2021

Prompt from Anthrop: Any flavor of the Reverse AUs that strike your fancy. Who gets the ghost powers? Who becomes the ghost hunter? Who gets ghost magick'd into the villain of the week?

 Danny’s phone was dead.  Which was just typical, really.  His parents were brilliant, wealthy inventors that played with the fabric of reality on a daily basis and had managed to turn, not one, but two of Danny’s best friends into half ghosts, but they couldn’t be bothered to get Danny a phone that was actually reliable.  Although they hadn’t intended to do the half ghost thing and didn’t know about it.  

Probably.  

Maybe.  

(Honestly, Danny didn’t know.  His parents were weird.  And Danny suspected they were keeping secrets.)

Back on topic.  Phone.  Not working. Which was a problem because Danny was something like ninety-percent sure a ghost had been following him for the last block or so and he couldn’t call for help.  

Correction, he could call for help all he wanted, he just wouldn’t get any that would be any good against a ghost.  If he got any at all.  It was the middle of the night.  

He should have taken up Sam’s offer of a flight home. Or Tucker’s.  But, no, he had to be sulky about how both of them were developing yet more really, incredibly cool powers and Danny was still just…

Himself.  

Faceless, boring Fenton.  Only notable for the number of bullies he attracted and the people he was related to.  No special skillset, no dreams he had any hope of achieving, no triumphs.  Nothing to contribute.  Not in and of himself.  Only useful to enemies that wanted a hostage.

He was about to be murdered by a ghost and he was still sulking.  God, he was pathetic.  

(Not all ghosts were evil – Sam and Tucker’s stories had taught him that much, on an intellectual basis.  Was it too much to hope that he could reach home without the ghost attacking?  Too much to hope that it was just watching?)

White noise tugged at Danny’s ears.  It reminded him of the sleep CD Jazz played when Mom and Dad were being loud.  

… and, also, oddly, of a video he’d once watched about what stars might sound like, based on how they vibrated.  

Danny shuddered, his heartbeat redoubling as he picked up speed, reaching a run.  If he could get home, he could turn on the ghost shield and call Sam and Tucker from his home phone.  They’d be annoyed that he was bothering about a ghost so long after a patrol, but he was freaked out enough to not really care about their teasing.  

(He’d been freaked out enough for the past two blocks.)

His breath began to catch in his lungs, his side burning. He splashed through a puddle, dark, oily liquid sticking to his right sneaker and pant leg.  It glittered in the light of the waning crescent moon.  

Wait –

It hadn’t rained for weeks.

He slipped and fell, skinning hands, knees, and chin on the sidewalk.  Something wet, sticky, and smooth as silk spread over the pavement beneath him.  It bubbled like a tar pit, and captive stars shone from within.  

Danny tried to push himself up, but the liquid held on to him, pulled him back down.  

He was sinking.  

He flailed for the sidewalk, reaching, trying to stay afloat.  It didn’t work.  His elbows were below the level of the sidewalk, and inky, glittery black dripped from his front.  It seemed to be eating through his clothes.  

Forget useful help.  He’d take any help.  He screamed.  

And he fell.  

.

“You have such lovely dreams,” said the masked man, his horns curling into galaxies.  “Impossible dreams.”

Danny couldn’t breathe.  He was in freefall.  A vacuum.  No ground in sight, only the cold, heartless stars, perfect in their beauty.  

(And his eyes.  Oh, god, was this really a ghost?)

It was his dream, to be an astronaut.  With this little twist, it became a nightmare, and yet—

Yet.  

“You feel faceless,” continued the masked man.  “But there’s freedom in that, is there not?”  

Danny shouldn’t be able to hear him.  There shouldn’t be any sound in space, and there wasn’t.  Not except for his voice.  

“Freedom,” said the man, “to follow your wildest dreams, unshackled from responsibility, from reality, from reasonability.  No longer dependent on those that call themselves your friends, who claim to be your family, who walk over your dreams for the sake of theirs.”

Suddenly, Danny hit the sidewalk, and he could breathe again.  Something thick dripped from his nose, his mouth, his eyes.  He pushed himself to his hands and knees.  His clothing was gone.  His limbs were painted with the night sky in all its glory.  He froze, staring.  

From Danny’s shadow, the masked man rose, towering over Danny until he felt like little more than a shadow.  “Don’t you want to have the chance to see your dreams come true, child?”

Danny blinked.  It was hard to force his eyes back open.  They seemed to want to stick closed.  

“Who are you?” Danny asked, words garbled by the dripping stars trying to force their way past his lips.  

“I am Nocturne,” the ghost said, leaning closer.

“You’re like,” Danny choked, “like Desiree.  I don’t want—”

Nocturne scoffed.  “Desiree.  A creature of wishes, of momentary things.  I do not care for what you wish for.  What matters is that you dream.”  

There was something in Nocturne’s hand, round and white and moonlike.  It looked small, held between two of his fingers, but it had to be the size of Danny’s face.  

“Don’t you dream of flying?” purred Nocturne.  “Of being among the stars?  Don’t you dream of a peaceful world, where your friends are safe, and the accident never happened?  Where you’re a friend, not a weapon supply, a sidekick, or a damsel in distress?”

Danny had been thinking something so close just minutes ago and he couldn’t—

“There, there, my child.  No need to cry.”  He brought the round thing closer.  

Danny could see, now, that it was a mask.  Just his size.  

“Close your eyes,” said Nocturne, gently, cupping Danny’s trembling shoulders with his other hand.  “Close your eyes and dream.  Let your face go, for a little while.”

(Danny did as he was told.)

.

“Hi, Sam,” said Mrs. Fenton, her voice crackling slightly through the phone speaker.  “Have you seen Danny today?”

“I haven’t seen him since last n—Since yesterday,” said Sam, correcting herself halfway though.  Mrs. Fenton didn’t know about their nightly escapades, and for good reason.  “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know yet,” said Maddie.  “He just…  I haven’t seen him either.  He usually says goodbye before he leaves.”

He didn’t, but Maddie didn’t need to know that.  

“Have you checked with Tucker yet?  Sometimes they hang out without me.  Guy things.”  This… was also not entirely true.  Danny and Tucker hadn’t had a ‘guy thing’ for ages.  They’d been smoothly replaced with ‘ghost things’ like most everything else in their lives.  

Sam… might have felt a little bad about that.  All of their normal friend activities being replaced by ghost things, that is.  Often ghost things that Danny couldn’t really participate in, because Danny couldn’t fly or shoot lasers from his hands.  

He did do a good job of setting up obstacle courses and covering for her and Tucker’s—

Wait, no, not the point.

“He hasn’t seen him, either.  Jazz doesn’t know where he is.  I don’t—”  She broke off, sighing.  “Call me if you see him.  Or tell him to call me.”

“I will,” said Sam, opening the window and preparing to take off.  

“Thank you,” said Maddie.  She hung up.  

Sam went ghost with a burst of green fire.  She floated up and out of the window, fading out of visibility as she dialed Tucker’s number.  

“Starboy’s missing,” she said.  

“Yeah, I’m already searching for him,” said Tucker, the microphone crackling with static but otherwise clear.  Tucker’s powers both did and didn’t mesh well with technology.

“Any luck?”

“No,” said Tucker.  “This is one of those times when I wish he did have friends other than us.  Then we could ask them about where he is.”

“Do you think he’s been taken by a ghost?” asked Sam.

“I mean, maybe?  There was that whole thing with Desiree…”

“And the second thing with Desiree,” added Sam.  

“And Skulker.”

“And the second thing with Skulker.”

“And Spectra.”

“And the second thing with Spectra.”

“Not to mention Vlad.”

“What a freak,” said Sam.

“Are you picking up a pattern here?”

“Yeah, maybe.  Who’s only kidnapped Danny once?”

“I’m not sure…  Maybe it’s a new guy?  We do get new guys now and again.”

Sam sighed.  “Never mind that,” she said.  “Where have you looked so far?”

“Not too many places.  Do you want to meet up, or…?”

“No, we’ll have more luck going separately.  I’ll check in with you in a bit.”

.

A whole day passed without any sign of Danny. They did, however, find a lot of ghosts with stitched-shut eyes, which they decided was probably related and also incredibly creepy.  

By that time, the police got involved.  Danny was officially a missing person.  

But they were distracted.  Didn’t have the manpower to search for just one missing person.

Why?

The sudden surge in coma patients.  

“I don’t get it,” said Tucker.  “Is that more of a, you know,” he lowered his voice, “doctor thing?  Like, if it’s a bunch of people, don’t you think it’s a disease or something?”

“The police think that someone poisoned ‘em,” said Sam.  

“How do you know that?”

“How do you think I know that?”

“Dude.  You have to stop eavesdropping on the police.  I’m, like, ninety percent sure that’s illegal.”

“Not for ghosts, it isn’t.”

“Okay, I’m one hundred percent sure it is.  You’ve read the anti-ecto acts, haven’t you? I’m not the only one who did that, right?”

“It was, like, fifty pages thick.  And stupid.  The only reason I’d read it would be if I wanted to break the laws more efficiently.”

“Seriously?”

.

An alien world spread out below Danny, a place to explore to his heart’s content, the sky twinkling above him.  He couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there, in the nameless, infinite way you knew things when you were dreaming.  

He was an astronaut.  An adventurer.  An explorer.

He was doing everything he had ever dreamed of.

The only thing missing were the people.  His friends.  His family.

But… He could bring them here.  He knew that, too, in the same way.  

He just had to reach out and touch them.  Feel them.  Take them.  

(A bit of black and starlight in their eyes, a touch of the gift given to him.)

(Nocturne whispered in his ears.  A song only for him.)

.

They found the ghost responsible for the comas.  And maybe they should have realized a ghost was causing them, but Danny was the one who usually put the pieces together, and he wasn’t there.  Which was the problem.  

(What Sam wouldn’t give for some kind of reliable ghost-detecting power.  Or even technology.)

(No, the Fenton Finder didn’t count.)

It was small, human proportions, human skin tone, where it wasn’t covered with some kind of ghostly paint that mimicked the night sky. Its hair was colored the same way, and a blank mask covered its face.  Seemed to be directing the green stitched-eye ghosts somehow, despite not saying a word. So.  All in all, typical ghost, if somewhat more annoying due to his lack of witty banter.

Then he shrugged off the thermos beam like it was nothing.  Almost like he was human.  

Then Tucker froze.  

The ghost was carried away from the fight by its minions, faster than Sam or Tucker could go.  

“Tucker!  What was that?”

“Birthmark,” gasped Tucker.  

“What?” asked Sam.  

“That was Danny’s birthmark.”

“Oh my god,” said Sam.  “Did he really get himself transformed into a ghost again?”

“This seems different than Desiree,” said Tucker. “I don’t…  Were we really fighting him?”

Sam rolled her eyes.  “Let’s go get the Ghost Catcher.”

.

The Ghost Catcher was not in evidence in the Fenton basement.  

“What now?” asked Tucker.  

“Beat it out of him?” suggested Sam.  

“That is a terrible plan.  No, I can’t even call it a plan.  It’s just bad.”

“Do you have anything better?”

(Tucker did not have anything better.)

.

(And Danny still couldn’t find his friends, to show them this dream come true.)

.

When about one in ten people in Amity Park was in a coma, things managed to get even worse.  The people who were asleep began to sleepwalk.  And sleep attack people.  

Sam and Tucker were used to fighting ghosts.  Not humans.  They didn’t want to hurt anyone.  

Especially Danny who was especially vicious. And also seemed to be targeting them.

.

Danny was so close.  So close he could almost touch them.  He could feel them, electricity and green things and dreams of power and justice.  He could feel them, feel them, feel them, and he was so, so close to inviting them into the dream and he needed it, needed them.  Wanted them.  

His dream, the dream, his dream, it just wouldn’t be complete without them at his side, wouldn’t be right.  

He reached for them, reached for Sam, brushed her sleeve and—

A meteor shower threw them apart.

.

Tucker dragged Sam away from Danny’s hand and the sleep-inducing liquid it was coated in.  

“We have to go,” he gasped, looking out at the veritable horde of ghosts and sleepwalking humans.  

“Yeah,” said Sam.  “Yeah, we have to – Have to regroup.”

They retreated to the Ghost Zone, and, predictably, were separated.  

.

The ghost’s name was Undergrowth, and he was interested in Sam.  Interested enough to offer to teach her.  

His power was the same as hers.  Nature.  Plants.

His rage against humans was… much greater. Overwhelming.  Too much, too far, to extreme.  She was glad he didn’t see her as human, didn’t seem to know that she wanted to protect humans.  

(That she wanted to save Danny.)

.

Tucker already knew Technus.  Had met him, fought him, beat him.  More than once, even.  

So, he had to ask why Technus was suddenly helping him.

The ghost fixed Tucker with a look that managed to be both incredulous and flat.  

“Ghost child,” warbled Technus, “I, Technus, Master of All Things Electronic and Beeping, know what being electrocuted feels like!  By the very power we both now wield!”

“Oh,” said Tucker.  “Yeah, that makes sense.  You were saying?”

.

Sam and Tucker stood in front of the portal, side by side.  

“Ready to be a wake-up call?” asked Tucker.  

“You’d better believe it,” said Sam.  

.

Danny was caught, trapped in Sam’s vines.  

“This isn’t working,” said Tucker, lightly shocking Danny once again.  The ectoblast didn’t help, either.  “Usually, this’d zap the ghost out of him, but…”

“Maybe we could try to overshadow him?” asked Sam, dubiously.  

“Ugh,” said Tucker.  “My least favorite power.”

“It could be the only way to find the ghost actually responsible.”

“Let’s do this.”

.

Danny was thrilled!  He’d finally found his friends.  True, he couldn’t move, but—

The stars shuddered.  Shifted.  Blinked.

Nocturne was angry.

.

Sam was knocked out of the sky at full speed, making a crater in the dark ground.  People were gathered nearby.  Amity Park people.  

This couldn’t just be the inside of Danny’s mind (overshadowing had never worked this way before, but, well, it wasn’t like they experimented with it a whole lot), it had to be some kind of shared dream.  A special power of the ghost, perhaps?

Sam fired up her powers, reaching for the nearby plants. They didn’t respond.  

Crud.  

This was a dream.  They just looked like plants.  

Then Tucker lit up the sky like a dying star, electrocuting everyone in range.  

.

Danny woke up, throwing Sam and Tucker out of his body, something metallic clanging against sidewalk pavement.  Out of his mind, out of his dream.  Out of that dream, the one Nocturne had made for him.

Oh, god.  He’d just spent the last week—Had it been a week, or longer? —out of his mind, in that dream, reality at one remove, if that.  He’d been blind and—

He reached up to his face, to that mask and he pulled.  It stuck. He pulled harder, and felt the goo sticking it on give, the mask coming away while dripping thick strands of ooze. He gasped.  And it felt like the first breath he’d taken in—

How long had it been?

He opened his eyes just in time to see Nocturne rise out of his shadow.  

.

Both Sam and Tucker had more of an advantage out here in the real world, without having to worry about hurting people.  Well, without having to worry about hurting people more than usual.  Wrecking buildings and missing with ectoblasts were still concerns.  

“Draw him towards the park?” called Tucker, once they got close enough to confer with each other.  

“You grab Danny?”

“I don’t—” started Tucker.  He dodged a swipe from the large, starry ghost.  “He might be safer, if—”

A column of blue light strobed into the sky, and Nocturne was pulled into the Fenton Thermos.  The Fenton Thermos held by Danny Fenton.  He coughed, black liquid dripping down his chin.  

“Hey,” said Danny.  “Thanks.”

“I’ve got to stop losing that thing,” groaned Tucker.

“I think the more important thing here is getting Danny some clothes,” said Sam, shielding her eyes.  

“Yes, please,” said Danny.  

“Glad to have you back, man,” said Danny, landing next to Danny and transforming.  “Honestly, without you, we kind of suck at the whole investigation angle.”

“What?” asked Danny, taking the sweater Tucker offered him.  

“We missed you,” clarified Sam.  “A lot.  We kind of… don’t do to well at anything about ghost fighting.  Or life.”

“Yeah, our social life sucked even more than usual.”

“Oh,” said Danny, wrapping the sweater around his waist. “That’s cool.”  He spit some of the black liquid out onto the sidewalk. “I need a shower.”

“Yep.  Hugs are going to be deferred until then.”

“I’m okay with that,” said Danny.  “I kind of… don’t want to be touched, for a while.”

“Ah,” said Tucker.  “Well.  I’m depressed again.”

“Just.  Until the shower,” said Danny.  

Sam reached out as if to pat Danny on the shoulder, then drew back.  “Do you want a flight back home?  Or to, uh, Tucker’s house?  To shower. And get some clothes.”

“How is that different from a hug?  You’ll still have to carry me.”

“It just is,” said Sam.  

“It really is,” said Tucker.  

There was a long pause.  

“I lied, I want a hug so bad,” said Danny.  

His friends practically flung themselves at him.

[twisted-timeline-au]

Name:  Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom Species:  Halfa ( Human / Ghost Hybrid ), Human (formerly) Alignment:  Lawful Good

Backstory:

Danny Fenton was just a teenage boy, who snuck into his parents lab with his best friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. Sam convincing Danny to go into the strange machine to view a world unseen, after putting on a hazmat suit for safety, then accidently turned on the machine from the inside, causing his molecules to get rearranged.

Danny Fenton fights other ghosts that come through the portal that are hostile, while helping other ghosts that aren't causing any harm. Things go smoothly until Vlad Masters causes his friends Sam and Tucker to get sick with a more fetal strain of ecto-acne. Danny in his misguided attempts to help save his friends, he has the idea to stop his friends from ever getting sick by preventing Vlad Masters from ever getting his powers in that initial incident with the ghost portal.

Clockwork begrudgingly accepting as Danny was always one to do things the hard way. Danny goes back in time to alter the timeline to avoid having to deal with Vlad Plasmius in the future only for him to create an entirely new timeline in the process.

As Danny learns about the new things in this timeline because of his one alteration, he does everything within his power to fix the present that he ended up ruining. Eventually, Danny repairs the fractured relationship between this timelines Maddie and Jack before returning to his own timeline, however... creating a whole new timeline doesn't come with out it's own consequenses.

As Clockwork had reset the timeline before Danny had initially meddled and made his alteration, the timeline that he created had not simply disappeared, instead the ghost zone had created a not so exact duplicate of Danny.

This is the Danny that Clockwork tells that he can never return home as his tampering with the timeline was irreparable and that he was never allowed to alter the timeline again, unless Clockwork himself saw it fit.

Danny was devastated to know his friends were doomed, however Clockwork spun it as a positive showing him that since Vlad Plasimus was never given ghost powers when he initially had, he had never created the fatal strain of Ecto Acne and that Sam and Tucker are just fine, and that he's welcome to fix the problems in the present going forward.

Danny then heads toward Maddie's portal, only to get tackled by a new version of Vlad Plasmius however weird his new form looks, Danny had the upper hand being a halfa for longer than Vlad had been in this timeline. But now that he was in the ghost zone, it would be better to bring him back to Earth and explain things to his alternate version of his parents... since that was better than leaving him in the ghost zone to make new ghost friends to teach him about these new powers.

Danny came through the portal explaining the situation to his mother, claiming that Clockwork had told him that the things he'd caused to this timeline were unable to be fixed. Maddie had noticed the change to her alternate son, but being the smart woman she was was able to see that the original Danny who had called her mom had made it back to his own timeline while a duplicate was made to compensate for the drastic change.

Danny now has to come to terms with his new timeline unaware that his original friend's would be safe, but now he had new supportive parents with a half ghost dad and his ghost hunting mom. He helped take apart Maddie's secret lab apart while leaving a note for the new froot loop he'll have to deal with now, as well as the other new changes in his life. He'll keep his ghost powers a secret for his own benefit rather than it being a necessity.

[flutteringdreams-matw]

Out of Time (11)

First/Last Read on AO3 Word Count: 7411

Previously: Danny and Sam narrowly escape Dan - but not before a large blast hit its target.

Now: The fallout.

Link to the next chapter will be in the replies once posted. As always - please let me know what you think!

"Of course she did," Jazz said, sighing through the Fenton Phones. Tucker imagined Jazz's frustrated face, pinching the bridge of her nose. He fidgeted in his chair, looking at snack and energy drink covered console as he waited for them to say anything else.

"When was the last time you spoke with her Tucker?" Maddie asked worriedly.

Tucker frowned, looking at the time. It was Noon. "A few hours ago," he said, scanning the radar again. No Fenton Phone in range outside of the city. "She went out of range about a mile out. She was supposed to be back by now."

"And you're sure you had found Danny? Sam wasn't going in blind?" Jack confirmed; his voice tight.

Tucker glanced at Clockwork who still stared at the screens intently, eyes darting through each screen but staying expressionless as ever. He waited, hoping for some clue that they were okay, that he hadn't let Sam walk into a trap before responding. "Yeah, there's no question."

Jack sighed tiredly. "Danny's shield is still up," he said matter-of-factly. "And Sam is a capable girl. Between the two of them, they'll look out for each other. We're needed here - once we get rid of these Shadow Copies then we'll head out after them."

"Dad," Jazz started worriedly. "What if Sam was right? How can you be so sure they'll be okay?"

"Because we have to Jazzy," he replied simply, his normally booming voice quiet and reserved. "We have to believe it."

Tucker bit his lip nervously in the silence that followed. "Another thing," Tucker added uncomfortably, his hand twitching above the keyboard. "I think I figured it out."

"Tucker - that's great!" Jazz exclaimed.

"I knew you were good Foley!" Jack boomed.

"Except…" Tucker started worriedly. "It's not exact." He pulled up the ecto-signature code he had been working on all morning, looking at again with a thoughtful frown. "If I'm wrong and Danny's still out there, we'll strand him. Worse - if he's injured or hurt, he'll be a sitting target."

The line went silent. Tucker let out a deep shuddering breath, hands shaking as he ran them over his face.

"How sure are you?" Maddie asked him. He couldn't tell from her voice what she was feeling.

"Eighty percent," Tucker admitted bitterly. He glared at the screen. "Eighty-five if I'm optimistic." The line went silent again. The implied "what do I do?" hung in the quiet.

"Tucker," Maddie said gently. He heard her let out a shuddering breath of her own. "Danny trusts you. We trust you," she told him. "Whatever decision you need to make, do it."

"But-" he started.

"She's right," Jack agreed softly. "We'll stand by it. It needs to be you."

"He's your son!" Tucker blurted out anxiously. "I'm just-"

"His best friend," Jazz told him smoothly, trying to get him to calm down. "One of two people he trusted from day one. You have as much right as any of us. Tucker, you've been working on this straight for three days - taking everything into consideration. You are the best person to make that call."

Tucker swallowed nervously, staring at the button to launch the shield. He was silent for a few minutes before he answered. "Danny's shield is still up. I'll keep working on the code. Unless we know for sure that this will work, I won't use it." He looked at the radar again, shaking hands curling into fists. "Mr. Fenton's right, let's keep at those Shadows in case Dan shows his face in the city. I'll keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Tucker disconnected the line, rubbing his temples. He was starting to crash. "Did I make the right decision?" he asked conversationally to the ghost beside him. Clockwork, again, stayed quiet, making Tucker sigh again. "Come on, you must know something!"

"Even if I did," Clockwork replied with a hint of annoyance. "It wouldn't be much help."

"But slipping the Ecto-Enhancers to Sam is fine?" Tucker shot back with an eyebrow raised. When Sam had told him she took the enhancers and there was a note on them, he kept thinking how she would know where they were… until he remembered who suggested the lab bench to begin with.

"I did nothing," Clockwork replied, turning slightly. "I reminded her to arm herself in battle. What she decides to take with her is her choice. As this is yours."

Tucker sighed, annoyed. "Sure." They were silent again, Tucker looking hopefully at the radar again. "Anything interesting?"

Clockwork's frail hand pointed to one of the screens close to the school. "Another crack," he said with a frown. "Perhaps we need to contact the human in charge of that evacuation housing area."

Tucker frowned, looking at the list Mrs. Fenton left him and groaned. "That's Mr. Lancer. I'll-"

Clockwork gripped his staff tightly, falling to ground as a desperate piercing scream echoed through his mind. He gasped as the world slowed violently around him, feeling it fraying the fabric of time. "Tucker," the Time Master called urgently. When he got no response, he looked up with wide eyes. Tucker was moving slowly, the Time Medallion reflecting the lights of the console in front of him. The Time Master gasped as time shifted again, returning it to normal and left him out of breath on the ground.

"I'll tell - Clockwork!" Tucker exclaimed, jumping out of his seat over to the Time ghost. "What happened?"

Clockwork's eyes narrowed, mind racing. "Time just slowed." Tucker looked at him, down to the medallion around his neck and back at Clockwork. "I'm aware of that, yes" the ghost snapped irritably, before Tucker could comment. "Whoever just manipulated time also managed to affect anyone wearing the Time Medallions."

Tucker's eyes widened as he helped Clockwork up, the latter barely able to stay floating without his staff. "I thought you were the only who can stop and start time. Master and all that."

Clockwork's intense red eyes found the young teen's. "I am," he replied worried.

Tucker swallowed, looking at the screen and back to the ghost in front of him.

Clockwork waved him off. "I'll be fine," he assured, wincing slightly. "We need to warn the others. Quickly."

Tucker nodded, heading back to the console just as Ethelwulf and Frostbite came through the portal.

"Clockwork!" Frostbite cried, running to the Time Ghost, Ethelwulf at his heels.

"I'm fine," he dismissed, frowning at both of the ghosts. "We have bigger problems to deal with."

"That's why we're here," Ethelwulf replied grimly. Frostbite nodded vigorously, grabbing Clockwork's chest and helped steady him. "All of those Shadow Creatures just disappeared from my shield."

"What!?" Tucker exclaimed, looking at the wolf ghost before he looked back at the screens. "Why would-" Tucker paled, watching more of the shadows appear toward the East part of the shield. "Oh no…" he stood frozen for a second before switching the line of the Fenton Phones on again.

"We've got incoming!" Tucker told them urgently. "Those Shadows are concentrating on one point of the shield - they're trying to break through."

"Ethelwulf," Clockwork called, getting his attention again. Ethelwulf whipped his head around, yellow eyes trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend. "Sam went after Danny; if that shield breaks-"

His eyes widened briefly. "Ancients," he swore, looking at Frostbite. "Frostbite-" The Yeti leader nodded.

"You must go," Frostbite told him. "I can tend to the wounded in your absence - the Great One will need you more."

The ground rumbled under their feet as alarms sounded. Tucker gasped, staring at the various monitors. "The shield," he said quietly as they watched part of it explode and various shadows came into Amity Park. "Danny…"

:-=-:

Danny and Sam landed with a thud, skidding across the earth. With a small groan, Danny pushed himself up slightly, blurrily looking for his friend. His whole body burned in protest as he moved. "Sam," he murmured, coughing.

His blood ran cold when his eyes found her; she was sprawled across the ground, unmoving. No. "Sam!" Danny called hoarsely, coughing at the rawness of his throat. No response. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach as he called out again. His vision swam, making him groan as he pushed away anything he was feeling. Please let her be breathing. He managed to pull himself across the ground, letting out small cries of pain as he made his way over to her. "Sam, wake up!"

With extreme effort, Danny reached her, hovering in the air slightly as he looked her over. She was covered with scrapes and bruises but nothing too serious. In fact, the worst injury she seemed to have was the large hand sized bruise on her wrist from where Dan held her captive. "Come on," he whispered desperately, shaking her gently. Eventually, he saw her chest rise and relief washed over him. Danny let out a small laugh; she was alive – the blast didn't hit her.

Relishing in his relief a little more, Danny looked around their new surroundings. He could dimly see the town from where they were in the forest, a little further away from where they were previously. Or maybe they were closer - he could make out some of the buildings now. Thankfully, the shield was still intact but Dan was still out there.

And currently, they were sitting ducks.

Danny turned back to Sam with a frown, before landing and pushing himself upright, ignoring the sharp pains going up and down his body. Focus. Find cover. He managed to grab Sam under her arms and dragged the both of them to a small cover of trees. Finally reaching a suitable spot under a large oak tree, Danny collapsed with a grunt of pain, sending both teens to the ground. Worriedly, he looked over at his best friend as he gasped for air; she was still out cold. He pushed himself up from the ground, arms shaking in strain as he lugged himself closer toward the tree. "Figures," he wheezed, leaning back against the tree for support. His chest burned as his breathing recovered slightly. "You always were a late riser."

He pulled her close to him, feeling her chest rise and fall steadily against his against his ragged one. She made no move of waking, making him frown in thought. Dan's ectoblast hadn't hit her – had it? He made it in time right? He checked her over again, looking for anything he could of missed the first time.

Dread bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he saw a dark pool of liquid started to stain the side of her jumpsuit.

"How could I have-" Danny berated before stopping himself suddenly with a gasp. It wasn't blood - at least not anymore; dark green ectoplasm gushed out of his side and onto the both of them. "Shit," he whispered, wide eyed. The blast hadn't hit Sam – it hit him.

Panicking slightly, he brought his left hand to his side to try and stop the bleeding; groaning as he finally realized the situation they were in. He bit back a scream, throwing his head back against the trunk of the tree as he gasped for breath. Everything hurt. How the hell could he not notice? Dan was still out there, the shield was up, Sam was still unconscious, the ghost shield wasn't fixed and he apparently was bleeding out. Clockwork had said there was one favourable outcome – there must be a way out of this. They needed more time.

Glancing toward the city again, Danny frowned as his breathing became more ragged. His vision seemed to go dark around the edges as he focused internally, trying to sense whether the shield would hold. He felt something stab at his core, crying out softly as the pain moved through him. He looked at the unconscious girl briefly before looking back toward the shield. There was no sight of his evil self.

If that goes down, the city would be in jeopardy, he thought bitterly. But if Dan finds us, we're screwed. He contemplated his next move, trying to figure out what would make the most sense. He looked down at his side – his white glove was coated in too much ectoplasm. Grim realization caused him to let out a shuddering breath. There wasn't much time. Concentrating, he focused what he could on making them invisible, biting back a groan as his core fought against the abuse.

Danny closed his eyes, his breathing coming out in small gasps. Come on Sam, he thought hopefully. You gotta wake up. He felt his body weaken as ectoplasm continued to ooze through his fingers. His core continued to send sharp pains and sparks through him as he tried not to panic. Okay. You're losing ectoplasm. It could be worse right?

Danny bit back a scream as his core sparked to life. His mind left his body, back toward the shield protecting the town. He could see Dan's shadowy minions attacking the shield, their attacks bombarded his senses. He tried to put energy into the shield to hold it, but his core violently protested against him. The shield cracked, crushing pain against his ribs and electricity coursed through him. He vaguely felt his back arch against the attack as he bit back another scream. It was too much - it needed to stop. The invisibility was starting to wane slightly as he lost a grip of his powers. Making a split second decision, he released his hold on the shield. Danny gasped as he was thrown back to his body, hearing the explosions in the distance. He opened his eyes dully, still gasping heavily as part of the dome on the Eastern side of the city shattered, creating the opening Dan's forces needed to attack his home.

He groaned as he felt the shield crumble more."Still could be worse," he quipped darkly, wincing at how raw his voice sounded.

It was getting harder to breathe as the time passed. He closed his eyes again, trying to keep the invisibility going for as long as he could. He already failed the city; he wasn't going to fail his friend. He wondered briefly if this was what dying was supposed to feel like – slow, agonizing defeat. Clockwork warned me this would happen. It was always a possibility. He hugged Sam tighter with his right arm.

Relief washed over him as Sam finally stirred. He didn't move, still trying to focus on staying conscious for a little longer to keep the invisibility. Suddenly, she jerked in his grasp, making him hiss in pain. "Sam – it's me!" he whispered urgently, vaguely aware of how faint he sounded now. "It's okay!"

Sam stilled against him. "Danny?" she questioned, relief, worry and confusion coming through the one word.

Danny swallowed. "I need you to check if we're safe," he pushed. He scrunched his eyes tighter as he tried to suppress any show of pain from his injuries. "Okay? Let me know if I can drop the invisibility."

Sam nodded against his chest as she moved. She didn't let go, crouching low as she surveyed their surroundings. Sam frowned as Danny's breath hitched slightly, but made no comment. "Coast is clear," she told him. She broke away, feeling herself become visible as she waited for Danny to drop his powers. The slight smile on her face slid off as Danny reappeared in front of her.

His head was thrown back against the oak tree, facing upwards to the sky. He breathed hard, almost as if he couldn't get enough air in his body. There was a large hand shaped bruise that curled around his neck, turning purple against his pale skin. As Sam ran her eyes over his battered body, they stopped dead at his left side at the sight of the ectoplasm running through his gloved hand. Breaking out of her stupor, she moved quickly, putting her hands on top of his and applied pressure. Danny let out a strangled gasp, filling Sam with dread.

"Don't move," she murmured, her voice wavering. "That's… there's…"

"Sam," Danny gritted out. Green eyes fluttered open, staring up at the sky. Sam felt unnerved at the reserved look on his face as his aura flickered dimly. "It's too much."

"No," Sam told him firmly. "We're going to get through this. You're going to get through this. We're going to get you back to Ethelwulf okay?" Eyes widening slightly, she looked down at her jumpsuit, letting go of Danny's wound as she tore through the pockets. "Where the hell…" she whispered frantically before letting out a cry of triumph as she pulled out a sleek, black pouch. Opening them quickly, she took one of the syringes and hesitated, looking between the syringes and the fallen boy in front of her. Had Ethelwulf checked these out? Were these safe? Danny had his eyes closed again, breathing becoming ragged. She couldn't chance it. Making her decision, she injected the contents into his leg.

The effect was instantaneous; Danny's back arched as he took a deep gasping breath. His aura shone brighter as his body relaxed against the tree, panting in exertion. Sam put pressure back against his side, trying to stop the bleeding as he composed himself. She sighed as his breathing became more normal, looking him over some more. His chest had a large burn, his left leg had a large gash and she was pretty sure she saw ectoplasm from behind his ear. The trail ectoplasm she had noticed earlier stemmed from a gash just under his hairline. They sat in silence for a long time, Sam quietly assessing how to help as she continued to apply pressure to his side.

Eventually, Sam noticed the slowing of ectoplasm from his wounds and some of the smaller scrapes and bruises healing. He didn't speak, out of exhaustion or pain Sam didn't know, but his aura flared up again and he let out a soft groan.

"These Ecto-Enhancer seem to be helping," she told him quietly, moving one of her hands behind his head. Whatever head wound that was there had scabbed over slightly. "You're healing faster than you normally do."

Danny chuckled, coming out more of a wheezy cough. "Fat lot of good that'd do me," he said hoarsely.

Sam frowned, moving her hand towards his neck. He winced as she brushed against the purple bruise. It wasn't healing at all she noticed. Faint explosions from the town broke through the silence as she put her hand against his cheek, wiping away some dried ectoplasm from a small cut under his eye. "Thanks for getting us out of there," she said, guilt rising up from within her. "I should have run when you told me to; you took that blast for me."

Danny grunted, opening one of his eyes to look at her. "If you ran, I would be dead twice over by now," he told her, slightly coughing. "I would have bled out." He scrunched his eyes tightly as he released a shuttering breath. "Still might."

"Don't say that," she scolded, worriedly looking him over again. He let out a small grunt of pain but said nothing else. "What happened? Frostbite told us you were headed back when you disappeared. I thought -"

"He ambushed me," Danny told her, wincing in pain. "My ghost sense went off went off, was going to tell Frostbite but was knocked out before I had a chance. Next thing I knew, I was in that clearing. It was too far to teleport in one go. Thought I could distract him enough to get away," Danny coughed, wheezing slightly. "Didn't work." Sam frowned, watching him shudder slightly as a wave of pain hit him. She took out the first aid kit, grabbing an anti-septic wipe and started to dab one of his head wounds. He hissed painfully. "Stings," he grunted, inhaling deeply as he kept his eyes closed. "Realized what he wanted too late - he wanted me away from the shield to weaken it. Guess it worked."

"Danny," Sam whispered before she sighed. "Don't beat yourself up about it - you kept it up for hours after… that." She shuddered as she remembered his screams, Dan's hand through his chest. One of Danny's eyes opened, watching her worriedly. "I'm still amazed you were able to keep it up when he was blasting you with all that energy - it was at least an hour."

"What?" Danny asked, confused.

Sam's frown deepened, continuing to wipe away some of the dried ectoplasm from his face. "You don't remember?" He shook his head. "After you passed out, he wanted to wake you - to … you know," she gestured vaguely, implying their last encounter with the ghost. "But you wouldn't wake up - at least not coherently. Dan got frustrated and decided to forcefully wake you." Her eyes hardened slightly. "I played right into his hands - got a few hits in before he got me. I tried escaping, but couldn't get past the damn duplicate; I'm sorry I couldn't get you out earlier."

Danny closed his eyes again, a small gasp of pain escaping before he chuckled. "Sam Manson is no damsel in distress," he wheezed in amusement. "Kicking ghost butt one handed."

She glared half-heartedly, smiling slightly as she got another anti-septic wipe and started to clean the scab behind his ear. He gasped, shaking slightly as his fist curled. Her smile fell, searching for the source of his pain. She checked his side again, watching as the ectoplasm started to clot and breathing a small sigh of relief. "The Ecto-Enhancer is working," she told him soothingly. "Once Tucker gets that ghost shield up, you can take down the shield and we can get you back to FentonWorks."

"Sam," he said forcefully, green eyes finding purple. He sighed, pushing himself more upright despite his protesting body. "There's a good chance I won't make it."

"Says who?" the Goth replied angrily. She looked to the shield briefly. "If we get close enough I-"

"Clockwork," he said softly, making Sam stop, turning toward him slowly with wide eyes. "He told me there were three outcomes of this fight. Only one of them is favourable for the timeline."

Sam stared, their conversation back in the Ops Center starting to click. "What does that even mean!?" she exclaimed angrily. "One favourable. His view of the future is skewed anyway - you're here, you're going to be fine."

"Clockwork can't see past this moment," he continued, smiling sadly as he looked up at the sky. "There are three ways this goes down Sam. The best chance I have is to take Dan down with me."

Sam stared at him, lost for words, before an intense look of anger came across her face. "For once in your life, stop being such a self-sacrificing idiot!" she yelled, making Danny wince at the volume.

"Sam, look at me," Danny said seriously, gesturing to his body. "Even with the Ecto-Enhancers, I'm not healing enough. Dan will attack again and we're not ready for him – I certainly wasn't." He smiled ruefully. "He wants to break me Sam, and worse - he can. I won't be able to heal fast enough to face him before he tries again. There's only one way out of this to save the timeline. I'm - "

"Who cares about the timeline!?" Sam exploded. Danny's head turned to her quickly with wide-eyes; Sam's eyes were shining with tears, hands curled into fists as she shook with rage. He rarely ever saw her like this. "What outcome saves you Danny? Have you even considered it? Or did you just automatically just assume you wouldn't make it? Between you and Clockwork I'm sure one of you can figure out a way to defeat Dan while saving yourself. Tell me!"

The tears that threatened to fall did as her chest heaved from her outburst. Danny watched her, recognizing the worry underneath the anger. There was something else hidden there, something deep and raw that he didn't recognize just yet. "Sam," he whispered, reaching out to comfort her, but wincing in pain from the movement. They stared at each other, only the distant sounds from the city intruding in their conversation.

"Do you want to die?" Sam asked him dangerously quiet, silent tears still falling down her angry face. "Is that why you're giving up so easily?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Of course not!" Danny fought against the pain and pushed himself closer to her, grunting with exertion. Sam moved quickly, grabbing him slowly as he settled closer to the tree. She stayed by his side, waiting for Danny to regain his breathing as she checked the blast wound. It had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but now she could see how far the blast had hit. If that hit him as a human… She let out a soft sigh, releasing her anger and worry as he composed himself.

"You never give up," she said to him softly. Danny blinked back at her. "Never. You could've earlier, when Dan was attacking you. No matter how much you insist you aren't afraid of Dan… you are afraid Danny. You're doubting yourself, playing into his trap." She swallowed slightly, strengthening the conviction in her words. "Don't let him get to you - you can do this. Believe in yourself. Like everyone does - Like I do."

Danny stared at his best friend for a long time before he realized what he was missing; Sam wasn't just worried or angry… she was scared. She was scared of losing him. "I'm not sure I can do this Sam," he admitted softly, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they flashed green for a moment as he looked at her. "Dan is… I don't think any of us are ready to face him."

Sam let out a deep breath. "I think you are," she assured, surprising Danny with her confidence. "You're letting Dan and Clockwork get in your head. Our plan is working, Danny. Those Shadow Ghosts? They're slowing Dan down. Amity is fighting with you Danny, you aren't alone. So think; if anyone can figure out how to save the timeline and survive it, it's you."

Danny stared at her for a second, before a look of determination crossed his face. "I'll give it my best shot."

She smiled sadly at his resolve. "Let's just focus on getting you to Ethelwulf," she said gently. "We can figure out how to face him later." She shuddered as she remembered the last time she saw Dan. "Danny, you need to figure out what you want from all this timeline stuff. I'm sure you'll make it happen somehow."

Danny frowned slightly, taking in the girl's words in front of him. What did he want? He looked at Sam, her face inches away from his. He was taken back briefly to their conversation back at FentonWorks, before he realized what was at stake. He wanted to defeat Dan. He wanted to live. He definitely wanted a nap. Most of all he wanted….. Danny remembered what she said - about him regretting decisions; He didn't want to regret anything.

So what did he want? A strange expression came across his face as he really looked at her. Sam's violet eyes were staring at him, like he would disappear at any moment. There were dried tear stains down her face, mixing briefly with a small cut across her cheek. His heart jolted; suddenly full of nerves and adrenaline.

He acted on instinct – closing the gap between them and kissed her.

Time seemed to slow as he moved, feeling freer than he ever felt. All of his injuries seemingly disappeared as he moved up toward her. Sam stiffened in surprise for a moment as their lips met before relaxed into the kiss. His brain went all fuzzy, no cognitive thought running through it other than the euphoria of the moment. She smelled like lavender and ectoplasm. It was nothing like he could imagine. His heart felt like it was doing somersaults in his chests. Their foreheads rested together as they broke apart, their breathing hard yet in sync. He had kissed her – actually kissed her.

"You did say later," he joked breathlessly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. They stayed like this for a few more moments, relishing in their bubble for a little longer before Sam moved her hand to his cheek.

"Promise me," she murmured breathlessly, looking him directly in the eyes. "Promise me that you're going to do whatever it takes to defeat Dan. Promise me that you're going to do everything you can to come back to us – alive. Promise me you'll win."

Reality brought him back to the severity of the battle to come, what it could mean for him. Determined green met worried violet ones. "I promise," he told her softly. "I'll do whatever I can to survive and defeat Dan." He frowned worriedly as he held her gaze. "But I will do whatever it takes to protect the people I care about. Sam, if there's no other way-"

"I know," she whispered, distraught. She closed her eyes, pressing her head against him. "I know. Please, just try."

He nodded, feeling her relax slightly as he did so. "I'll -" his attempt to reassure her was cut off when Sam kissed him. This one felt different, more grounded in where they were but it didn't matter. He was here, with her, kissing her and it felt wonderful. Better yet, she kissed him. That had to mean something right? He moved; trying to deepen it before reality, again, dragged him back from his bliss. Pain shot through him as his core sparked to life, sending ripples of electricity through his body. He broke their kiss with a cry of pain, hunching over as it grew in intensity.

"Danny!" he heard Sam cry out, feeling her hands push him back against the tree. He breathed through the pain, gritting his teeth as more electricity passed through him. Eventually, it subsided, leaving him panting against the tree once more. "What was that?" Sam asked worriedly. "Was it the shield?"

Danny shook his head. "Dan did something to my core," he told her. She noticed that his voice was stronger now, less raspy than before but the claw like bruise on his neck was still a deep purple against his pale skin. "I think that was the Ecto-Enhancer trying to heal it." A large explosion and screams drifted toward their ears, making Sam whirl around toward Amity Park. She frowned as she watched a ton of shadows flock into the Eastern part of the city. Above it, a figure with flaming white hair floated triumphantly.

"Dan," she whispered, eyes widening before turning back to the injured half-ghost beside her. "He's attacking the city."

Danny nodded. "I couldn't keep the shield up after I got blasted," he said bitterly. "How close was Tucker with the Ghost shield when you left?" Sam shook her head; Danny sighed. "We need to get him away from the city."

Violet eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and how are we supposed to do that?" she asked sarcastically. "In case you weren't aware, we're both covered in your ectoplasm from when you were bleeding out. There's no way you're up for a battle by yourself."

He cringed. "He's going to go after them Sam," he said worriedly, pushing himself in more of a sitting position. Sam's sarcastic glare melted, hands moving to his shoulders to help support him. "I can't lose them."

"I know," she agreed. "But you're not going to last in another full battle on your own if you fly in there like this. You just said he wants to break you; don't you think he wants this?" She cupped his face gently with one hand. "Danny, you could have -"

"I know," he said softly. He leaned into her hand, relaxing slightly. "I know, Sam. He almost got me. But I don't want to live through any of those visions." He sat up straighter, steeling his resolve. "I never want to live through it again."

Sam's face softened slightly as she tried to think of a way to convince him before a voice called them from above.

"Sam! Danny!"

Both teens looked up to see Ethelwulf flying down towards them; his black leathery wings flapping majestically under now the green clouds. Sam waved at him as zeroed in on them, touching down softly on the grass. His yellow eyes widened as he took in the two teens, quickly noting the injuries on Danny and the amount of ectoplasm covering the both of them. "What-"

"Dan," the boy replied quickly. "I'm fine."

"Like hell you are," Sam argued irritably.

Danny winced at her tone. "Okay, more fine than I was," he amended. He frowned worriedly, turning to Ethelwulf. The wolf ghost moved toward him, already assessing injuries. Sam pointed to the huge blast mark on his side. Ethelwulf frowned as he touched it, making Danny flinch heavily. "How's the city?" Danny asked, looking for any clue from the shapeshifter on the wellbeing of his loved ones.

Ethelwulf frowned. "Dan's forces got in through the Eastern part of the shield; thankfully Frostbite's forces and some of the other ghosts are holding them back while the human volunteers get the people to safety. Dan is facing off between Vlad, the Red Huntress and the smaller Phantom."

"What about my Parents? Jazz? Tucker?" Danny urged, concerned.

"They're all fine," Ethelwulf assured, tilting the boy's neck slight to look at the bruise with one of his claws gently. Danny sagged in relief, allowing Ethelwulf to address more of his injuries as Sam put a comforting hand over his. "I went looking for Sam when the shield started to fall. I was worried I was too late."

"Perfect timing actually," Danny replied. Moving out of Ethelwulf's reach, he grabbed onto the tree trunk, attempting to stand.

"Danny no!" Sam cried, scrambling to her feet as Ethelwulf moved backward in shock. Danny continued to rise; small grunts of pain escaping him as he did so. Sam rushed forward, supporting his injured torso as he pushed forward. "You're still hurt!"

Once on his feet, Danny tested his weight on his left leg. Seeing that he could support it, he nodded toward Sam to let go. She let go reluctantly, watching Danny in concern as she stepped back.

Ethelwulf's frown deepened as he watched the halfa stand. He could sense the pain and exhaustion from Danny from here, but could see the stubbornness across his face. Whatever the boy was planning was going to be a terrible idea.

"Danny, your core -"

Danny nodded, swallowing slightly as a small wave of pain moved through him. "It's healing," he said quickly. "Sam used one of the Ecto-Enhancers. I'll manage."

"You're not going to fight him, not like this!" Sam argued desperately.

Danny shook his head. "You're right," he agreed. Danny turned to the wolf ghost. "Ethelwulf, with the shield up around the Ghost Portal, do you think you'll be able to teleport us into the town? Even if we're a few miles out?"

"Shouldn't be an issue," Ethelwulf replied, frowning slightly at this line of reasoning.

Danny nodded. "Stay with Sam," he told his mentor. "Wait for me here and teleport us back."

Sam frowned. "Where are you going?"

Danny sighed, looking grim. "We need to lure Dan out of the city. The only way we do that is if he sees me."

"You can't be serious," Ethelwulf said disapprovingly. "There's no way you can go into battle the way you are now."

"I know," Danny repeated. "But we don't have a choice. I'm not going to fight him – just use myself as bait. Get him to chase me out of the city. I can use my core powers to teleport and defend if I need to." Sam's eyes narrowed. "Trust me, I don't want to do this either. If you're right, then destroying those shadows are our best option - the last thing we need is if Dan joins in. I can bait him out, buy Tucker more time to get the shield up and be far away before he realizes."

Sam stepped forward, biting her lip. "Danny, this is risky," she said finally. "There's no way you'll get back here without needing to defend yourself. We barely got out of there last time."

He gave a reassuring smile. "I'm okay," he told her. "The Ecto-Enhancer is working still, my base powers are a little more stable. I can fight if I need to." Sam looked down, crestfallen at his response. "Hey," he said softly, grabbing her hand in his. She looked up at him with wide eyes, sad and confused. "Still believe in me?" he asked with a small smile.

Sam smiled in response. She squeezed his hand tighter. "Always," she replied. She glanced to the discarded pouch on the ground. Breaking away, she picked up the rest of the Ecto-Enhancers and offered them. "Take these with you. They may come in handy."

Danny nodded in response, taking the pouch. "Thanks," he said, stuffing it on of his jumpsuit pockets.

Sam watched him worriedly, uneasy at his resolve. "Danny," she started, making the half-ghost look at her expectantly. She threw herself around him in a hug, nearly toppling them over. He staggered backward, stunned as she tightened her grasp. She smiled into his shoulder, trying to reassure him of his decision. "You made me a promise Ghost Boy."

Danny wrapped his hand around her, chuckling into her hair. "I remember." He turned to Ethelwulf as they broke apart, smile sliding off his face. "Keep her safe," he said.

Ethelwulf nodded. "We'll be waiting."

Danny nodded, not trusting his voice. He turned towards the city, watching the explosions from afar. They were both right; he would need to fight to get to Dan. He frowned in thought, before he summoned enough energy to teleport.

Ethelwulf and Sam watched him vanish; staring at the spot he was just in for a few moments. Sam balled her fists, the wheels turning as she thought of a plan. She picked up the rest of the first aid kit hurriedly as she heard Ethelwulf sigh.

"We're not staying here," he asked. "Are we?"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "No," she admitted. "We're going to destroy some Shadows. If Danny's fighting - let's make this a fairer fight."

Ethelwulf sighed again, kneeling down. "Hop on then," he told her. Sam gave him a quizzical look. "We can take out more from the sky."

"You're not going to stop me?" Sam asked, climbing onto his back apprehensively. Ethelwulf laughed, a dark eyebrow raised skeptically at the girl.

"The one thing I've learned after all these months," he said, yellow eyes sparkling in amusement, "is that Danny will not stop if he feels his friends and family are in danger -A trait that he shares with many people in his life. He's too afraid of the outcome. So if I can help save him from himself, I will."

Sam frowned, taking in the ghost's words. "Save him from himself…" she whispered a small determined smile formed on her lips. "Sounds about right."

[savemefromanepicoftimewasted]

Happy Holidays, Doll

Steve Rogers X OFC Bucky Barnes X Reader They were going to be hosting everyone in the morning, after they’d all opened gifts and eaten breakfast, so that was another worry that Steve had.

a/n:this is a little side story to my Steve and Cap series, hope you guys enjoy!

Steve stared down at the two dogs, trying to figure out exactly what he was going to do to help keep them occupied while he set the gifts underneath the tree.  It wasn’t that they were rowdy, it was that they’d finally got the kids to bed, and Steve needed to work quickly or else they’d wake up without gifts under the tree.  Okay, maybe he was being a little dramatic, but this was the first christmas they’d finally actually remember, and Steve wanted them to truly remember it.

“Babe, just put the gate up, they’ll behave.” Krista stepped over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“But what if they whine?  I don’t need the twins waking up.” Steve reached over, placing his hand onto her growing belly.

God, had it really almost been three years since the twins were born?  And now they were married with another one on the way.

“They won’t whine, it’s almost time they went to bed anyway.” Krista glanced over at the two dogs watching them.

Cap was waiting for Steve to finish whatever he was doing so he could sleep at the end of the bed, Grant was expecting play times.  Cap’s tail wagged slowly, head tilted as he stared up at Krista with hopeful eyes.  It was obvious that he was pretty beat, having been outside for most of the day while the two kids played.

They were going to be hosting everyone in the morning, after they’d all opened gifts and eaten breakfast, so that was another worry that Steve had.  Things would go smoothly, he was just overthinking everything at the moment.

“Gifts are in the closet, I’ll see you upstairs.” Krista pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, heading up to bed.

Steve stalked over to the closet slowly, opening the doors that hid the abundance of wrapped presents.  He’d helped when he could, taking the more difficult items to wrap when Krista struggled to figure it out.

Instead of worrying about it any longer, Steve grabbed as many gifts as he could carry, taking them over and carefully placing them under the tree.  It took almost three trips in total, nearly all of the gifts were for the twins, with the exception of gifts for one another, and their friends that were going to be joining them.

“I can’t believe it’s christmas already.” Steve sighed softly, heading up to bed where his wife was currently asleep.

Cap was asleep on his side of the bed, Grant asleep in one of the many dog beds that were thrown around the house.  Steve couldn’t say no when it came to the dogs, alright?  Especially when he’d take the twins out and they’d find toys for the two overgrown dogs.  God, they truly were his children, along with the twins.

“C’mon bud, I gotta lay down and go to sleep too.” Steve patted Cap’s back leg, waking the sleeping pup.

Cap snuffled, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed without much of a fight, maybe it was because he knew that Steve was the sole protector of the babies.  Which was true, Steve could be described as a helicopter parent at times.  He had every right to be wary though, the twins were still young, able to get hurt at every turn.

“Babe, it’s almost two in the morning, if you don’t go to sleep in the next ten minutes, I will smother you.” Krista didn’t move from her position, choosing to stay curled up in the large bed.

“Love you too, doll.” Steve chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around her waist as he cuddled close to her.

And don’t get him wrong, Steve wanted nothing more than to sleep in until at least ten the next morning, but well, that was impossible with two kids.

“Dada!” Aj crawled onto the bed first, squeezing himself between Steve, and Krista who was still blissfully asleep.

Rosie wasn’t far behind, crawling onto his side when he didn’t bother to move from his spot, save for letting Aj squeeze inbetween.  Cap, and Grant were both pacing the bed, waiting to see what had gotten the kiddos so excited.

“You guys are gonna wake mommy, time to settle down.” Steve wrapped his arms around Rosie, pulling her down next to Aj who was slowly falling back asleep.

Steve watched as both kids fell back asleep, clearly only awake because they knew it was a special day.  So now if Steve could get a little more shuteye that would be just wonderful.

“As much as I’d like to lay in bed all day, your second daughter will demand food until I give in.” Steve whined, picking up both Aj, and Rosie before making his way out of the bed.

They’d gotten little pastries to eat for breakfast the night before, putting them away to stay fresh, and so neither of the kids would try and sneak one.  Luckily they were both asleep, two pairs of arms wrapped around Steve’s neck as he plopped into one of the kitchen chairs.

“Babe, as much as I love holding our children.” Steve knew they didn’t really have a ton of time, not with everyone coming to visit.

“As you should.” Krista pressed a hand against her growing belly, pulling an apple turnover from the fridge.

“We gotta open gifts before everyone comes over, or else they’re gonna see us in our pajamas, and no one wants that.” They had a few hours before the first guests were due to arrive, but no one was ever really punctual.

Krista smiled, finishing off the flaky pastry before heading over to Steve and taking Aj out of his grip.  The gifts were plenty, and the dogs were sniffing around trying to find what was there’s beneath the decorated tree.  They’d gotten a few bones, some toys for each of the dogs, and little snow shoes for when it was a little too slick for their paws.

“Sweetheart, it’s time to open some presents.” Krista bounced Aj lightly, easily waking him.

It didn’t take much for Rosie to wake up and get excited, not when she saw the abundance of gifts that had her name written on them.  Steve helped them open their presents, sitting on the floor with both kids between his legs.  Their squeals of joy were absolute music to his ears, a bright smile on his face.

“Bucky said they’ll be heading over around one, so make sure the kids are cleaned up please.” Krista never left room for argument, not if it meant they needed to look presentable.

“Becca just wants to see her favorite aunt and uncle.” Steve smirked, earning an eye roll.

The twins had tuckered themselves out by eleven, surrounded by toys that Steve was definitely gonna have to clean up before they got dressed.  Krista was humming softly in the kitchen, Christmas music playing as she baked little treats for everyone to eat.  They were doing a potluck style dinner, as both Natasha, and Tony suggested.  Steve had a suspicion it was because Krista was pregnant, and couldn’t do too much cooking.

Steve cleaned up while the kids napped, keeping the dogs away so they didn’t eat something that could hurt them.  Well, Grant did that most of the time, not Cap at least.  No, Cap only tried to eat stuff off the counter when no one was looking, as if he was truly sneaky.

For once though, getting the two kids dressed was a lot easier than Steve had anticipated.  They didn’t try and run off when he’d gotten them out of their pj’s, and they didn’t whine when he’d gotten their brand new clothes on.

“Check em out mommy, looking all sorts of spiffy.” Steve held the kids close to his chest, smiling as Krista walked over with a cookie in each hand.

The twins both reached immediately, thanking her quietly as they dug in, whereas Steve pouted his lower lip as far as he could.

“You can have cookies later.” Krista pressed a soft kiss to his lips, sauntering back over to the counter.

“Yes ma’am.” Steve blushed, the feeling of butterflies still swarming his stomach after all that time.

The moment Cap started barking, he knew Bucky had arrived with Becca, and Y/N, mostly because Cap only barked for his favorite people.

“Hey, come on in you guys.” Steve kept Cap behind him, gesturing for Y/N to come in, followed by Bucky who was carrying Becca.

Becca ran over to Aj, and Rosie almost immediately, telling them about what Santa had brought for Christmas.  Y/N looked exhausted, she was almost due for their second child to be born, and this pregnancy was harder for them.  Bucky had gone to him for advice, asking Steve what he did to help ease the nerves.

Steve felt bad at first, not really able to help his friend out more than he already was, he’d simply gotten lucky that they had twins first.  Now that didn’t mean the second pregnancy was any easier, Steve just knew how to handle things a little better.  Not all the time of course.

“She woke us up at nearly six in the morning, I thought Y/N was gonna burst into tears being awake so early.” Bucky sighed, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up.

“That’s about the same time the kids tried waking us, luckily they fell back asleep til about nine.” Steve had bragged that the serum meant he needed less sleep, but with two kids and one on the way?  He was truly eating his words.

Natasha arrived with Sam and his girlfriend a few minutes after Bucky and the family, the dogs were loving the attention they got, especially from Sam.  The man wouldn’t ever admit it, but he was a huge sucker for Cap, giving into his every demand whenever he came over.  Grant plopped by Nat’s side, relaxing as he watched people talking amongst one another.

“The party has officially arrived.” Tony stepped into the house, Pepper following close behind while trying not to roll her eyes.

“No, the party arrived when Bucky got here, you’re just fashionably late.” Sam snickered under his breath, amazed at how sassy Steve could be at times.

Tony simply shrugged, helping Pepper out of her coat and hanging it up before greeting the kids.  They all adored him, and Steve was glad his kids got along so well with the people he considered family.

“Food smells absolutely delicious, can’t wait to eat.” Tony plopped down onto the couch, wrapping an arm around Peppers shoulders as she sat beside him.

Everyone mingled, talking about the gifts they shared, and what the plans were for the upcoming year.  Bucky, and Steve were both getting ready for the newest additions, meanwhile Tony was trying to grasp the fact that he was becoming a parent.  That shocked everyone in the room, even the two pups.

“Congratulations Tony, I’m happy that you get to experience the wonders that is parenthood.” Steve raised his glass of cider, smile wide on his face.

Bucky told him that he could go to either of them for advice, just because Tony was a genius, didn’t mean he knew everything.

Tony shushed everyone, deciding now was the best time to open the gifts that everyone had gotten for one another.  Steve had gotten both Bucky, and Sam shirts that said “Worlds Okayest Uncle” on them.  That definitely got a few laughs.  He went with Krista’s idea and got Tony an AC/DC shirt, considering Pepper mentioned he’d burned his last one, by accident.  Pepper, Nat, and Y/N had all gotten diamond earrings.

They had all been custom made to celebrate family, something that made Nat choke up as she put them on happily.

“I got redwing fixed for you Sam, and Buck, your bikes sitting in the garage for when the weather is warm.” Sam’s jaw dropped open, along with Bucky’s.

Sam had mentioned that redwing had gotten damaged during a mission and he didn’t have the time, or money, to get him fixed.  So, Steve went and did what he does best.

Tony, as usual, had gifted everyone a vacation, a family one, along with buying Sam a new house.  He’d heard Sam saying how he was outgrowing his current one, so he found the perfect spot for him.

“Goddamn, you really went all out.” Sam smiled, hugging Tony and thanking him once more.

Pepper let everyone know the gift from Tony was a joint gift, and it was understandable, she was running a business while being pregnant, not much time to shop.  Nat got the boys jackets, something fashionable yet warm for the winter months.  For the ladies, a spa getaway.

“I’ll be cashing in after this one is born.” Y/N pressed a hand against her belly, sighing softly.

“I’m assuming the gifts from you guys were joint too?” Sam raised a brow, as if questioning Steve. “Nope, Krista got something for you and Buck too.” Bucky shook his head, rubbing Y/N’s belly, talking softly to the baby.

That came in the form of a photo album.  It ranged from pictures of them before, and after missions(successful ones only of course), birthday parties, events, other Christmases, the book was nearly filled, just the last few pages left blank.

“That way, you can put pictures of your own families there, and make even more memories.” Sam dabbed at his eyes, ignoring the way Bucky chuckled.

They all made their way into the dining room, piling their plates with food, Bucky, and Steve taking the time to get food for the kids and cutting it up small enough, and digging in happily.  Granted, there was more than enough food to feed a small army, but it made Krista happy to see everyone together.  It also gave her an excuse to give everyone leftovers before they left for the night.

Steve promised Bucky he’d give him the motorcycle when the snow had melted and the temperature was above sixty degrees.  Sam could pick up redwing whenever he preferred, just as long as he let them know why he was there.

Once the last person had left for the night, Steve took the kids up to bed, changing them into pj’s and laying them down as carefully as he could.  Of course they’d tuckered themselves out by seven, falling asleep in Tony’s, and Sam’s laps.

“Feels like just yesterday they were newborns.” Krista stepped over, wrapping her arms around Steve’s waist.

“I don’t want em to grow up too fast.” Steve laid a hand overtop of her arms, watching the two kids sleep peacefully.

“C’mon, time for bed big guy.” Krista patted his stomach gently, heading down to where there bedroom was.

This was the kind of life Steve could get used to.

“Merry Christmas to me.”

[five-rivers]

Loved Chapter 5

Sort of wanted to do something more elaborate with this, but it just wasn't happening. Meh.

.

“But you aren’t really real, are you?”

Tucker’s question killed the mood fast than a bullet. Danny and Sam stared at him from their side of the blanket nest.

“You want to rephrase that?” asked Sam, glaring, arms crossed.

“Uh,” said Tucker, sweat starting to form on his upper lip. “I mean, clearly you’re real, just… maybe not entirely physical? You, it’s,” he made a sort of twisting gesture with one of his hands. “People who aren’t from here can’t see you. They can’t even touch you. That sort of implies that you’re not on the same level of reality as them.” He shrugged. “You call the other place the Dream, right? Maybe you’re in, like, a kind of daydream or something.”

Danny twisted a corner of a blanket in his hands. “No,” he said.

“Danny,” started Tucker.

“No,” repeated Danny. “I can’t—” He noticed he was breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused enough that he could see—No. “Tucker, I don’t—I don’t think I even have free will anymore.” No matter how much he Loved Clockwork and craved Love in return, no matter how glad he was that the dark future would never come to pass, that grated at times. “I need—” He gulped air.

(Before, if he was this panicked, his heart would be thundering in his chest. Now, it was far too quiet.)

Sam put a hand on his back, steadying. Tucker reached out, too, but hesitated, unsure.

“I need to be real,” he said. He needed to still exist, still be human, at least in part. He couldn’t lose that, too. No matter what else he might gain.

“You are real,” said Tucker. “I’m sorry, I—” He cursed lightly under his breath, “—I wasn’t thinking. It’s just… Maybe something you should think about. Maybe—Maybe you aren’t coming completely out of… I don’t know. Wherever you go.”

“Maybe,” said Danny, struggling to get his breathing back under control. “Maybe. I just. Not right now.”

“Okay,” said Tucker. “Yeah. What were we talking about before?”

“Who cares?” asked Sam. “Let’s watch a movie.”

“That sounds good,” said Danny.

.

Danny woke up first the next morning, which was somewhat unusual. Sam was definitely a night-owl, but Tucker woke up fairly early. He stepped over them, feet silent on the floor. Almost as if they weren’t really there.

He shook his head. Not now.

He went to the bathroom and took care of things slowly, deliberately, as if to impress upon his body that he was human.

Sam and Tucker still weren’t awake when he came back. Also, when he thought about it, the rest of the house was eerily silent as well.

No… There was music. Was that coming from outside? He closed his eyes to listen better and caught himself drifting off while standing.

That was abnormal. He knelt and shook Sam and Tucker’s shoulders. They didn’t stir.

Someone was here. And they were here without Danny knowing. That was bad. That was really bad.

He went to his parents’ room. They were asleep, too.

There was a nonzero possibility that he was the only one awake. (Assuming he had ever been awake in the first place and not, as Tucker put it, daydreaming.)

He went out, following the music. Music suggested Ember, but this didn’t seem to be her style. She preferred motion, energy, vibrance. This was quieter, subtler.

Then again, none of the others made sense.

(At least, Danny liked to pretend they didn’t.)

The music wasn’t louder outside, but it was clearer. The scent of something sweet floated on the air. Something warm. Like honey.

Was something buzzing?

Danny shook his head again, forcing himself back into awareness. Maybe he should try and figure out what was going on from inside the Dream. It wasn’t possible to fall asleep there. At least, Danny never had.

(Assuming he wasn’t always partially in the Dream, like Tucker said.)

On the other hand, it often helped to observe what was going on in the real world, on the surface of things, before diving. As messy as fights could be in the real world, winning them in the Dream was harder.

He forged on, periodically pinching himself. He wasn’t the only one on the streets, but he was the only one on the streets that wasn’t passed out. It looked like there had been some car crashes.

That’s when he saw her.

She stood in the middle of an intersection, looking away from him. She was built like a centaur, except the lower part of her body more closely resembled a massive deer than a horse. An elk, perhaps. Both her deer-portion and her human-portion had night-black skin, studded with white stars. Antlers curved and branched above her curly hair. A crown of red flowers sat on her head. She wore no other clothes.

Danny did not notice any of this at first. No, what first jumped out at him was the unmistakable chain of Love binding him to her and vice versa.

He’d never met anyone like this, so—

She turned to face Danny. But she didn’t have a face. She had a mask. A well-made mask that had both eye-holes and a mouth with lips that seemed to curve. It was also covered with pulsing, swirling, hypnotic patterns. Black and white chased each other across the mask, not respecting the mask’s physical curves.

Danny could feel his mind start to go fuzzy. Felt the ground go soft under him as he sank into the Dream. A distant part of him wanted to look away, but the rest of him could only blink slowly, captivated.

“Come,” she said in a fascinating combination of an out-loud voice and a True Voice, tugging lightly on the chain that attached Danny to her.

Danny complied, trotting out into the intersection. When he was most of the way there, she turned away again.

“Follow,” she ordered.

Danny did, vaguely noting how rapidly the sidewalks and concrete buildings of Amity Park flowed into smoothly rolling hills covered in grass and flowers. The air grew heavier. Hotter. The perfume of the flowers combined with the buzzing of the bees and the gentle music served to make Danny even drowsier than before.

Still, he could hardly nod off in this situation, walking behind her, Love connecting them.

Sluggishly, belatedly, a name came to mind. “Nocturne,” he said. The name tasted like milk and honey, like chamomile tea, like sleep. She stopped and inclined her head slightly towards him. “You’re different from before.”

“We haven’t met,” she said. Then she turned more fully, the lips on her mask curving into a smile. “Has our parent been showing you Dreams of me? Perhaps I looked more like this.” She changed, her body warping before Danny’s eyes to become an impossibly tall man completely covered in starry black robes. Except, of course, for his mask and curved, ram-like horns. “This is as good a place as any, I suppose.”

Danny nodded, not quite sure what he was agreeing to, and looked around. Amity Park was nowhere in sight. The hills were a little lumpy, as if the grass and moss were growing over oddly shaped rocks.

“Let’s sit,” said Nocturn, lowering himself elegantly to the ground.

Danny followed, movements clumsy and blurred by sleep. He blinked, and found his hands occupied by a large mug. He looked up at Nocturne. Had he given this to Danny, or…?

Nocturne smiled. Danny looked away, not feeling like getting caught in the hypnotic swirls of his mask again. There was something off about those rocks under the grass. Something about their shape…

Then he saw it and inhaled sharply through his teeth.

Bodies. They were bodies. Still breathing, but…

He looked back at Nocturne. He’d known Nocturne was being too nice to him. He was new to being other, but not new to being a younger sibling. Older siblings only acted like this when they had set up everything in their favor. When they wanted something.

Even knowing this, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Could he fall asleep in the Dream?

“What are you doing to them?” he asked. “How do I wake them up.”

Nocturne hummed. “I have an idea. Play a game with me, sibling, and I’ll tell you.”

“What kind of game?”

“You ask me a question, and for every answer I give you, I get something from you.”

“Like, an answer from me,” said Danny, trying to clarify his position, “or something else?”

Nocturne’s smile showed teeth.

“If I play this game,” said Danny, “I have to be able to say when it ends.” He didn’t want to be dancing around conversational pitfalls every time he interacted with Nocturne, after all. They were siblings.

(And though Love was not trust, it was Love. And Love was undeniable.)

“Of course,” agreed Nocturne, easily.

“Alright, then,” said Danny. He adjusted his grip on the mug.

The grass was crawling. He blinked, hard, and shook his head, dislodging two bees that had landed on his ear.

“How do I wake them up?” he asked.

“You can’t,” said Nocturne.

Danny paused, waiting for Nocturne to take what he wanted.

“You have other questions.”

“Aren’t you going to take something from me, for the question?”

“Yes, I am.”

Danny pursed his lips, realizing he had just wasted a question.

“If I can’t wake them, who or what can?”

“I could. Or they could wake themselves.”

Danny mulled over what that could mean. He had no idea where to start with the second part, but the first…

“What would I have to do, to get you to wake them?”

“You—”

The chain around Danny’s neck went taut, pulling him through the fabric of the Dream at breakneck speeds. He was in Clockwork, his sibling behind him.

You must not bully your sibling, my dear. I have enough love for both of you. You do not need to be jealous.

Danny swayed. Now that so much of the tension between him and Nocturne was gone, he was no longer able to use it to support his wakefulness.

Drink your milk, little Love. You’ll be able to find your friends.

Danny nodded sleepily and tipped the mug back. He didn’t remember what happened after that.

.

“Hundreds of Amity Park citizens are still in comas as health officials race to find the cause of the mysterious event. Some say that gas leaks are to…”

Danny tuned out the TV and glared at his cereal. He knew he had fallen asleep in the Dream and had done something, but the memory was beyond him. Maybe whatever it had been was beyond an even partially human mind.

Or whatever kind of mind Danny had.

His fingers twitched. He was going to go down again later today, to see if Clockwork would help him find everyone else. If they could be found at all. He didn’t want to. He was angry. Angry that this had happened, that it was still happening. Amity Park was his, and Nocturne had no right to try and steal and break and—

The terrible part, was that even though he was angry, his general desire to reach out to Nocturne, to lean on their Love… That had not diminished.

He looked forward to seeing them again.

The news continued to talk about the coma victims.