Chapter Three

The voices were severely muffled. "mmfmmmfmmffffmmfm." He heard one of them say. As he tried to focus more on the voices they became clearer. "I am telling you I don't know anything!" He heard one of the voices shout. The voice sounded like it came from Sam.

"Sam, we don't think you were involved at all, but you were the last one to see him." Maddie's voice rang clearly though the haze as it slowly lifted.

"I am telling you I don't know anything, he left my house around 1A.M. He told me that he was heading back home. Knowing who he is I wasn't worried and I went to bed." Danny could hear that Sam had been crying. Why she had been crying he didn't know, but he knew he had to comfort her. As he attempted to reach the voices through the haze his eyelids started to flutter.

"I think he is coming to." He could clearly make out Tucker's voice in the group. As his eyes slid open he saw the white wash ceiling of a hospital room above him. Craning his neck down he saw that all of the people he cared about were standing around the bed. He had tubes attached to his arm, as an IV drip poured a small amount of blood back into his body. Along with the bag of B- blood was a saline solution, to keep him hydrated. Looking around he noticed everyones faces, Maddie and his sister Jazz had been crying. Jack holding his arms around both of the women he loved. Tucker stood over him with a big smile, one that said he was overjoyed to see him. Lastly his eyes fell on Sam, she had clearly been crying the most. With puffy red and bloodshot eyes, her makeup smearing her face heavily, she looked as though she hadn't slept since he last saw her.

"Hey guys, what is going on." Danny noticed that it was hard to speak and his tongue felt as dry as a piece of sandpaper. He coughed lightly as cold dry air filled his lungs. "Could I possibly get some water?" Before he even finished asking Maddie brought the straw to his lips. Taking a long sip, Maddie pulled it away before he could drink too much. "What happened?" He asked, however no one seemed to want to answer. Shouldering the responsibility Tucker spoke up.

"I don't know all the details dude, but from what we were told you were launched out of a building after the fire hit a gas line. The paramedics tried to treat your wounds, but many of the burns were second degree at least. The doctor says you will recover, but there will be some permanent scaring." With those words Danny inhaled slightly.

"Can I see?" He asked holing out his right hand for the mirror sitting on the table next to him. To his dismay he couldn't move his left arm. Sam picked up the mirror and slowly handed it to Danny. As he grabbed it she held his hand in her own for a second.

"Danny remember that no matter what. I love you." She said, almost mournfully, as he took the mirror out of her hand.

Danny held the mirror up to his face, only to find everything, except his eyes and mouth covered in bandages. Startled he put down the mirror and looked to his left only to see that his left arm, while still there, was completely covered in thick bandages. As he attempted to move it a sharp jolt of pain ran through him. "Danny don't try to move it." Jack stated coldly, he more commanded his son rather than tell him "The doctors did everything they could, but you broke your arm in three places. To top it off you lost your little and ring finger." Jack looked down at the ground as a few tears escaped his eyes. Danny could tell he had been trying to stay strong for everyone else there. Only now was that wall beginning to break. "I am sorry son, I am sorry I couldn't protect you." As Jack said this he fell to his knees and started bawling. Jazz and Maddie knelt down and attempted to get Jack off the floor. As Danny looked around more he noticed that it wasn't just his head and arm that were bandaged, but also his left leg was completely covered. Danny's face grew stern and he witnessed all of the damage done to him.

"How long have I been out for?" Danny questioned. This time however Tucker didn't have the heart to tell him so Jazz spoke up.

"Almost three days. The doctors were concerned you might be stuck in a coma. We knew better though, we knew you would pull through. Honestly though, Sam never left your side, she even forced the rest of us to go home and get some sleep while she kept watch over you." Jazz smiled her usual sweet smile. Danny looked over at Sam who grabbed his right hand and held it tightly.

"When I found out what happened I came a fast as possible. Danny-" Sam's sentence was cut short as new tears formed in her eyes. Not wishing to see the woman he loved in so much pain, Danny gently placed his hand upon her cheek and stroked it in the most comforting manor possible.

"Thank you Sam. Thank you so much." As Danny said this his eyes began to slide shut. He could hear everyone gasp in shock, as though they thought he might die. "Don't worry, I am not going anywhere any time soon. I have too much to protect." Danny smiled as he slipped from consciousness again.

"Protect us from what?" Danny heard Sam ask as he fell into a blissful sleep. As he slept he dreamt of a vast open expanse of nothing, it wasn't just dark, it was literally nothing. There was no ground beneath his feet and no sky above his head. No horizon that he could see, and nothing that he could hear.

"Hello?" Danny called out into the nothingness. As he expected he didn't even hear an echo.

"The Ghost Boy, who dreamt of the girl he loves has come at last to my world? What a pleasant surprise." Danny looked around for the source of the voice only to see nothing.

"Who is there?" Danny demanded. Still no answer came.

"Don't be afraid Ghost Boy, here you will be safe. Here he cannot reach you." Danny wheeled around in circles looking for the source of the voice only to find nothing.

"Safe? Who would I need to be safe from?" Danny searched for the voice again will still no success. This time however the voice did not reply.

"So you wish it, so shall it be!" He heard Desiree say.

"I never made a wish? Who's wish are you granting?" Still no response came.

"I will mount your head on my wall Ghost Boy!" Skulkers common phrase he would often say sounded loudly in the vast expanse of nothingness.

"Skulker you have always failed at hunting me down. Why do you think you can start winning now?" Still no answers came, only more questions. "What is going on here? None of this makes any sense."

"Get up Ghost Boy! I will not hunt a prey that stays on the ground." Danny's head began to spin in the nothingness. "You want to rise again, then simply wish it. No, let the boy sleep, he needs to rest. Behind bars boy, you broke the rules. Beware..." Danny was starting to get freaked out. Even the warning given by the Box Ghost seemed genuine. He couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. Was he going mad? Was it all a trick? These questions raced in his head. Not knowing what to do he simply turned and ran, he didn't know where he was going but he just had to go. The nothingness began to vanish, above him appeared a sky filled with stars. They raced by as he kept running. He ran as far and as fast as he could until he came to a cliff edge. There on the precipice of the cliff he saw the nothingness again, however it was quickly washed away as it turned from nothingness into Amity Park. "You told me you would save her. You said you would!" Turning around Danny noticed the little girl, Sara, from before. She was still clutching Mr. Tuffin close to her chest.

"I am sorry Sara, I tried to save your mom, really I did. But there was this guy, he killed her before I could get to her." Danny got down on his knees as he pleaded with Sara to understand.

"Now Daniel, didn't I tell you not to tell anyone about me?" Vlad's voice called out as he appeared behind Sara.

"No, Vlad, you get away from her!" Danny growled.

"Too late." Vlad said with a devilish smile as he reached out and crushed Sara's neck with one hand. "You couldn't save poor Sara's mother, or her, just like how you couldn't save the rest of the town. Sorry Daniel, but I win again." Vlad spoke with a more regal tone in victory. While speaking he pointed behind Danny. As Danny turned back around he saw the entire town burning, only for it to fall to ash a few seconds later. "Good bye Daniel." Vlad said as he pointed a hand at Danny. Charging up an ectoplasmic energy blast he fired the purple beam at Danny.

Danny's eyes shot open, sweat dripping down his face. Feeling stronger than before, Danny got out of the bed and went into the restroom to clean off the sweat. As he entered the bathroom a light flickered on. Looking in the mirror he could see how badly damaged his body truly was. Beside having his arm and leg in tightly wrapped bandages, his faced looked like it had been hit with a fire poker. Danny, curious as he was, let out a soft sigh and began to unravel the bandages around his face. As they came off he noticed that the entire left side of his face was horribly scarred. Where once was smooth, perfect skin, now stood seven different spiderweb scars that all meshed together to create the horrid looking creature within the mirror. In spite of this he noticed that his wounds had fully healed, leaving behind only the scars. Holding his breath, Danny began to unwrap both his leg and arm, only to find the same thing as his face, to a much greater degree, on his appendages. Gazing at his left hand, where his two missing fingers used to be, made him quiver slightly. After removing all of the bandages he went back out into the room. There, sleeping in the most uncomfortable chairs ever built, was Sam. Still watching over him. Danny smiled and returned to bed, however his eyes never closed. He couldn't sleep, instead he simply stayed awake, reflecting on the dream he had.

As the sun rose Sam was awakened by the early morning rays of light as they danced off the window frame. Looking at the bed she noticed Danny was gone, she nearly jump up to hit the emergency alarm when she saw Danny, standing at the window, watching the sunrise. She was about to tell him to go back to bed, until she noticed that he wasn't wearing his bandages anymore. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Danny spoke up.

"How long was I out for this time?" Danny never looked at Sam. He just kept watching the beautiful golden disk rise up from behind the hills in the distance.

"This time it was four days." Sam said with a weary, and sorrowful, look in her eyes. Her tone shifted from sorrowful to annoyed and concerned. "Why are your bandages removed? And why are you out of bed?"

Danny didn't respond, at least not at first, he simply turned his face to Sam's. "Being half ghost is quite useful at times. Having all of the abilities of a ghost, and rapid healing, are just some of the perks." Sam gasped slightly upon seeing Danny's face. It was like looking at a clay sculpture that had yet to be smoothed out. However Danny was correct, she saw that all of Danny's wounds had completely healed, leaving behind only the ugly scar tissue.

"Oh Danny." Sam said as she got up from the chair. Without even thinking about it she ran over to Danny and jumped into his arms. To her joy, Danny opened his arms and caught her. New tears grew in her eyes, but they were not the tears of sorrow from before. These new tears were the tears of overwhelming joy. "Thank god you are alright." She said as she squeezed him tighter.

"Sorry for worrying you." Danny laughed lightly as he held her. Cutting the hug shorter than he would have liked, Danny pulled back. "Sam, I have something I need to do. Do you know if we still have the Infi-Map?"

Sam gave Danny a puzzled look. "Um, yeah." Sam paused momentarily as she wiped away the few tears that had formed. "I don't think we ever returned it to Frostbite after the 'Disateroid' incident. Why?"

"We are going to the Ghost Zone, I have some unfinished business." Danny looked her dead in the eye. He was no longer relaxed and carefree. His eyes burned with a fire, a fire that Sam had seen before in Dan's eyes. It was rage, pure and unbridled, however not unfocused. Who ever instilled this rage in him had no idea what they had done. Sam could not argue with Danny's will, she merely nodded her head in understanding, and walked with him to the check out counter.