After that single incident with Skulker Danny seemed to go back to normal, it was comforting to both Vlad and Danny to know that it was just an isolated incident. Then on Tuesday things got even better for Danny when he received a letter from his best friends Sam and Tucker.
Dear Danny
Hey buddy, I know it's been awhile since we talked a lot but how are you? We know it's been a long while since we've talked but we both wanted to let you know that we've been thinking about you. We've been in contact with Jazz and she wanted us to tell you that she's coming into town in a few weeks to visit, she told us to tell you so that she didn't have to lie if your parents asked if she had been talking to you. I still think they should just accept the fact that your gay, but hey what do I know, it took my parents 17 years to realize that I was goth and I wasn't going to be wearing Pink anytime soon.
That's just me though. Anyways, the real reason for this letter (because it's more personal than an Email) is to invite you to our Wedding! That's right! Tucker and I are getting Married next week on the 10th. I know I always wanted a winter wedding but April is better than anything. :) We would love if you guys could both make it.
It's going to be at my mom and dad's house at 2pm. You don't have to dress up super fabulously (My wedding dress is black so it doesn't matter how you dress, anything will be fine with us). Jazz, sadly, won't be able to make it but will visit us with Dash when they come down and visit when that happens.
Another thing I thought I would mention is that your mom has stored all your things in mine and Tucker's garage… I would tell you this in person but I figured if you wanted to come over before the Wedding and get some of it you can. Also, I saw on the news that you and Skulker got in a fight at school, you looked like you were in a lot of pain, are you alright now? I know this won't reach you for a few day's so I hope you're not still in pain. Tucker and I are still here for you if you want help with Ghost's, as far as we're concerned Team Phantom never split up.
I would love to hear back from you, no matter how you do it. We would love to be visited by you guys, you know m parents bought us a house on the edge of town and if you guys want can even stay a night or two with us. Tucker and I just miss you, a lot, after what happened with your Mom and Dad three years ago we hardly see you. Oh! Mr. Lancer was asking about you the other day too, he laughed when we told him you were studying to be a teacher, and actually started to cry when we told him that he was the reason you wanted to be a teacher. If you bump into him I bet he would love to hear more about what you're doing with your life, he will never admit it but I have always thought you were his favorite teacher. You were the only one who listened to the stories he told us all those years ago.
Anyways, like I said, we would love to have you come to our wedding. It's on the 10th at 2pm, don't be late. We love you Danny.
-Sam and Tucker
Danny leaned back in his desk chair, chewing on pretzels as he smiled. The idea of his two best friends being married made Danny smile and also made Danny think about how much he wanted to Marry Vlad. He was scared though, he didn't want to scare Vlad away with the talk of Marriage, something he wasn't even sure the older halfa was interested in. Then again if he was interested he doubted he would say anything.
He was happy for Sam and Tucker who had been dating since their second year of highschool after he and Sam "broke up". They were cute together and were two of the only people who supported the fact that he was gay. They had offered to let Danny move in with them when they found out that his parents kicked him out of the house but they were still both living with their parents. Tucker's parents would have taken him in but they couldn't afford it while Sam's parents could afford it but they wouldn't take him in. In the end it was best for everybody for him to live with Vlad.
His dad's best friend had quickly gone from stranger, to enemy, to an enemy with a truce, to a friend, and then (after he turned 18 because Vlad refused to date him until he was a legal adult) a boyfriend. Danny had matured alot in those three years as had Vlad. Danny loved Vlad and loved that the man had matured so much just for him.
Danny sighed, reaching into the back of pretzels frowning when he realized that the entire bag was empty. He had just opened the bag so for him to have eaten the entire thing made him pat his stomach. "Guess I was hungry." He said, folding up the letter before crumpling the empty bag of pretzels and tossing them in the trash.
Danny got to his feet, making his way out of the office and down the two sets of stairs before finally making it to the basement where he often did training. Vlad was at work and Danny didn't feel like going to school today but he wasn't not going to do anything. He was going to train, something which he hadn't done in a long time. He transformed into his alter-ego Danny Phantom, feeling the forever cold feeling wash over him. But there was also an unfamiliar feeling with it.
He hadn't gone back to being Phantom since the fight with Skulker a few days ago but in this form he felt unnaturally weak and tingly. He looked at his chest, half expecting to see it glowing, which it thankfully wasn't. He then looked at his hands, letting it glow the bright green it often did. It looked normal but Danny could feel that there was something different about it today.
Danny clenched and unclenched his fists shaking off the weird feeling before shooting a ball of energy towards a red button on the wall which in turn opened up four target's which all had burns on them from other times he and Vlad had done training whether apart or together, then again when the lovers trained together it never really lasted long.
Danny put his hands together before shooting energy out of his hand, hitting one of the bigger target with just enough energy that it knocked it back into the hiding place in the wall, just as it was meant to do when hit. He hit yet another target, but when he was gathering up energy to hit the next one his head spun and he felt extremely dizzy, as he fell out of the air and fell four feet down and landed on his hands and knees.
He frowned, looking at his hands, the glow seemed to have died down quite a bit and that was worrying. The glow was almost always bright and exciting to see but this time something didn't feel right. He almost felt like he was going to transform back into Fenton he felt so drained. Danny shook his head, trying to clear his head but that only made the vertigo and exhaustion stronger as it pulsed through him now, waving in time with his core.
Call Vlad. A voice in his head screamed.
No! No! I can't bother him, he has meetings all day. Danny reminded himself, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to calm himself down. Just breathe, just breathe, you're probably just still out of energy from the fight with Skulker. Maybe the burst of energy you let out drained you more than you thought it did.
Danny sucked in yet another breath, allowing himself to break his transformation and change back to Danny Fenton. The wave was still there but Danny was relieved to find that the feeling wasn't as strong and in this state he could deal with the uncomfortable dizzy state that he was in.
What is going on with me? M-maybe I should call somebody… Sam… Sam wanted to talk to me anyways I-I might as well call.
Danny struggled to his feet, his knees trembling as he got up and made his way up the stairs, gripping to the rail as though it was the only way he would be able to get up the stairs without falling right back down to the bottom. Despite the fear of falling though he managed to safely make it up the stairs and onto the couch where he then laid down and tried to continue calming his nerves.
His entire body felt hot, almost feverish. He sucked in yet another breath, picking up the phone from the end table and dialing the number he had memorized years ago. He placed the phone against his head, listening to it ring until a voice answered that made a smile instantly formed on his face.
"Hello?"
"H-h-hey, Sam." Danny said, rubbing his stomach as it growled and lurched, making him feel as though he was going to throw up, yet he managed to hold it down. "I got your letter, Congratulations on getting Married." He smiled.
"Thanks Danny! God, it's been too long since I've heard your voice! How have you been doing?"
"I'm… actually that's what I've been calling to talk to you about." He said, with a sigh. "I think Phantom is sick."
"What? How is that possible?"
"I don't know, but everytime I transform into Phantom I get feeling really sick…"
"Have you told Vlad?"
"No no no." Danny said, "I can't bother him with something like this… and actually… I shouldn't be bothering you like this either. I'm sorry, you're probably getting ready to get married."
"Are you kidding me? This is the first time I've heard from you since Graduation, the wedding plans can wait a while I wanna talk to you!"
Danny smiled, pushing his black hair out of his face, he had to admit that talking to his old friend was making him feel better. "How's Tucker?"
"Good, he's working at Valerie's company creating a new Phone. He is hoping to see you during the wedding, are you going to be able to make it?"
"I wouldn't miss it" Danny laughed. "My two best friends are getting Married! There's no way I would miss it! Not for anything in the world! Just because Phantom is sick doesn't mean anything."
"What exactly do you mean, Phantom is sick?"
"I don't know but, when I'm walking around as Fenton I just feel tired but I can do everything without a problem, but when I turn into Phantom I can only be Phantom for a few moments before bam I feel incredibly weak and sick to my stomach. It fades after a while but even then it's still really rough on me."
Sam seemed to go quiet for a moment, thinking about something. "I hate to tell you this Danny but there's only a handful of people that can help you. Vlad, Clockwork, Frostbite, and… your parents."
Danny bit his lip, wishing he could just call up his mom and dad and tell him about his problem but figuring that they wouldn't listen he nodded. "I'm too weak to go to the Ghost Zone alone so I'll talk to Vlad when he get's home from work later today."
"Alright, well let me know okay? I worry about you, the only time I hear or see you is on the news or in the paper when you're in a fight."
Danny frowned, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Danny said, "It's just… everything happened so fast. One day I thought I was a teen who would die when he got older, not a teen who would live the rest of their life as a halfa unless something terrible happened to me in the end…"
"Is that why you came out to your mom and dad? As gay I mean?"
"Yeah… that is. I was hoping that if I was going to have to stand by and watch as everyone I knew and loved died around me I was going to tell the only people who didn't know the truth what was going on with me… I thought… I thought they would accept the fact that I was gay as easily as they accepted the fact that I was half ghost… but I guess explaining how your son became half ghost was easier than trying to explain how he felt attracted to other males… I guess if I were normal… they wouldn't have had anything to worry about."
"Danny, you can't blame yourself. You're gay, and that's not just something you can choose or change. Just like I can't change the fact that I'm Bi-Sexual and that Tucker is straight."
Danny sucked in another breath, he knew deep down she was right. He had heard that more than once, and not just from her but from Vlad and her sister as well. He also knew the only reason why he blamed himself was because he missed his mom and dad so much. He wanted to just see them again, to hug them and have them tell him that he was going to be alright. But he was scared, incredibly scared. His mom had rejected him so easily, almost like 16 years between them had meant nothing.
"Danny?"
"Huh? O-oh sorry I'm still here." He smiled softly, "You and Tuck got plans for a Honeymoon?"
"Yeah. We're going to the Bahama's for a week."
"Bahamas? That'll be quite an adventure."
"Tucker's excited, he's never been and I haven't been there since I was 9 so it'll be a trip, that's for sure."
The two friends talked for an hour until Sam had to hang up so that she could start working on plans for the wedding again. By the time he had hung up with her the sick feeling had completely vanished leaving him with only a tired and exhausted feeling, which made him want nothing more than to take an incredibly long nap.
Danny got to his feet, stumbling into the kitchen to make himself some instant noodles, which Vlad literally only bought for the teen since Danny had no cooking ability what-so-ever. Noodles sounded terrible but he suspected that if he tried to do anything else he wouldn't be able to stomach it and would end up sick again.
While waiting for the food to steam Danny walked over to the couch, turning on the Television to the New's which he often did when he wasn't going on Patrol knowing that between his boyfriend the Mayor and New Outlets the news of any Ghost Attacks would reach him pretty quickly. Luckily for not only him - but for all of Amity Park, everything was nice and quiet. With no signs of any malevolent Ghosts to speak of. It was nice knowing that Most ghosts didn't try to come and pick fights like they used to. Before he could never get a moment of peace but now that's what most of his days consisted of.
Danny walked back into the kitchen, grabbing his bowl of soup and heading back to the living room and sitting at the table and enjoying his soup. He was about half way done with it when Vlad walked in, a box under his arm. Upon seeing his lover with a mouth full of soup Vlad laughed, walking over and kissing Danny's head.
"Hello Daniel, how was your afternoon?"
"Good." Danny said, deciding against telling him anything after seeing just how exhausted he was. "What's in the box?" Danny asked, as Vlad smiled and put it on the table.
"My assistant had a baby-shower yesterday and said she didn't want the rest of the cake and told me to share it with my 'special lady'." Vlad smiled, "But seeing how I don't have a special lady in my life I'll just share it with the special man of my life." Vlad said, tilting Danny's head back gently before kissing him and making the younger teen blush and push him away.
"Vlad, I just ate soup, I really don't think my soup tastes good with your coffee." He said, slightly puffing out his cheeks in embarrassment.
"Aw, I love how you think so. I kiss you to kiss you, I don't care what you taste like." Vlad smiled, putting the box on the table and sitting beside Danny. "So, do you want cake or not?"
Danny thought about it. "Sure, why not." He laughed, "I'll go get forks." Danny said, getting to his feet and going into the kitchen.
The idea of cake made his stomach turn but the idea of having sweets also made him smile. He hadn't had sweets in so long it was driving him crazy, whether he threw up or not would have to be determined but he was willing to give it a shot. If he had turned down the cake Vlad would have suspected something was wrong and he refused to let the man worry about something as trivial as a stomachache.
After collecting two forks from the drawer he returned back into the living room, handing one to Vlad before sitting next to his lover on the couch. Vlad then opened the gox and the sight of the blue frosting once again made Danny's stomach lurch at the idea. Fighting passed the nausea Danny dug his fork into the cake and stuck it in his mouth doing his best to enjoy the flavor.
Danny glanced at Vlad who despite not being a big fan of sweets seemed to be enjoying the cake. Danny swallowed his bite, scrunching his nose as the cake went down. "I got a letter from Sam and Tucker." Danny said, catching Vlad's attention. "They're getting Married on the 10th and want us to be there."
Vlad smiled, "I would love to attend, however it would be hard my justifying being there. As the Mayor I mean."
Danny nodded, part of him wishing Vlad wasn't so afraid of admitting that they were together. He understood why though, a lot of people were against people being gay and being the Mayor of an entire city was a lot of pressure for the older man to worry about. "Would you mind if I go?"
"Would I mind if you went to the wedding of your two best friends?" Vlad laughed, "Of course not, Daniel! Go and have fun! If we need to we can go get you a suit on Monday."
Danny laughed. "No, I think I have one left over from Jazz's wedding. The only question is if it fit's or not. I'll have to try it out later this week and if we need to we can just get it altered. It'll be much cheaper than buying a new suit."
"Daniel, you know money has never been an issue."
"I know, I just don't like spending a lot on things I'll probably one where once in a blue moon." Danny said, forcing down another bite of cake.
Vlad nodded in understanding, taking his own bite of cake.
Thankfully Danny managed to hold down the cake which was surprising seeing how the two men managed to eat the entire cake themselves before bed. But, of course though Danny couldn't sleep all because of the sugar pouring through his veins.
Danny rolled over, looking at Vlad who was sleeping soundly, his left arm over his eyes with the blanket draped across his ribcage. He was out cold and clearly wouldn't be awake unless something big happened. Danny sighed, climbing out of bed and leaving the room. Danny made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water. Once his cup was full he guzzled it down, the feeling of the cold liquid running down the back of his through was extremely relaxing and made Danny feel better than he had been for almost two days.
Danny then sighed, looking outside the kitchen window. He felt incredibly torn; he wanted nothing more than to go outside and enjoy flying but at the same time he had a bad feeling about going out there. He still didn't know exactly why he was so exhausted nor what was wrong with Phantom. If his powers suddenly stopped working during the middle of a fight he would be in danger.
The halfa bit his lip, letting out a sigh as he transformed. Danny then turned intangible and flew outside of the house the chilly May air hitting him and making him shiver. He had felt warm all day long so to have the cold air over him pulled mixed emotions. Danny flew through the air, breathing deeply. He felt sick, the same kind of sick he had earlier when he had transformed into Phantom but this one wasn't as rough as it was earlier.
Danny close his eyes, flying to the park and landing on a grass hill looking over at the rest of the park, looking at the pond specifically frowning. He used to love that pond and the memories he shared with his mother, his favorite one being when he was 6 years old. His mom had taken him to the pond to teach him how to fish, it was hard and he remembered when he did catch his fish he had been so scared that he dropped the fish and it escaped back into the pond. Maddie had laughed to the point she was in tears.
That was one of his favorite memories, and it broke his heart to know that just because his mom was homophobic the he wouldn't be able to have any memories like that again.
A gasp came through him as a bright blue smoke came out of his mouth making Danny jump violently. He turned quickly, but it was too late as Ghost Wolf pinned him down, his paws holding down his arms while his back leg's stood on Danny's thighs, holding him down. The Wolf wasn't alone either for there was also a Ghost Snake on the attack.
The Snake shot out from the tree, wrapping around the Wolf making the ghost howl in pain as Danny jumped up and flew into the air. The two ghost's were fighting each other, rolling around in the grass in a clear attempt to try and get rid of each other yet they kept looking up and leaping at Danny.
Danny had never seen two rogue ghosts acting so strange before, normally they stayed in the ghost zone and only came out when they got lost. They didn't cause much trouble with other ghosts and kept their heads down until they found another portal and made their way back into the Ghost Zone. These two ghosts though seemed to be targeting Danny specifically.
Danny bit his lip, watching the two for a moment before he gasped. Before he could realize he was in danger the Ghost Wolf had tossed the snake aside and had pounced up into the air, bitting down on Danny's leg and dragging him down to ground and pinning him yet again. Danny cried out, feeling pain pulsing through his leg, but he couldn't worry about it too much when the Wolf opened it's mouth and chomped down towards his neck.
Danny moved his head just as the Wolf chomped down, getting a mouth full of grass before he pulled his head back a look of disgust on it's face. It shook its head, giving Danny enough of a distraction to lift up his leg, giving Danny a hard kick to the Wolf's stomach knocking it off of him. Danny then rolled onto his hands and knees, scrambling to his feet and running. He only took a single stp before his gave out from under him and he fell back down. He heard the Wolf running at him, and that gave him a split second to roll over out of the way, but not before the claw's of the Wolf scraped across his ribs and stomach, cutting it.
Blood sprayed from his ribs shocking him, in his ghost state his blood was green but in this state the green was streaked with red. That scared him. Danny was beginning to feel sicker and sicker with each passing moment. Danny rolled again, spinning as he got to his feet and pointed the Ghost Thermos to the wolf, pushing the button and watching as the wolf was sucked into it. Once the wolf was safely inside the thermos he sighed, but relaxing was a mistake.
The Ghost Snake shot out yet again, wrapping around Danny's arms, chest, and stomach tightening itself around him. Danny struggled, trying to hit the button on the thermos but when the snake got even tighter the pain was enough to make him drop it to the ground. Danny let out a choked cry as he felt one of his upper ribs snap under the pressure of the snake holding him. He struggled, trying to break free from the snake's grasp, unable to do it. He was able to do a something though, call for help.
He moved his hand to the front of his belt, pushing a button that Vlad had managed to put in it during the beginning of the truce. Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Vlad all had a receiver, and he knew at least one person was listening. Or he would be if Danny could take him up. The snake, who felt the movement, once again tightened around him, making him whimper violently, tears forming in his eyes. The pain he was making him feel like he was going to pass out and judging by the black rings forming around the outside of his vision he was beginning to suspect that would be the case.
If only I had enough energy to do my wail… Danny thought, struggling to even form energy around his hand. He needed to break free! He didn't know why these ghost's were attacking him but he knew that without help he was going to be in a literal world of pain.
"Danny!" Vlad cried, a pink burst of energy shooting out and hitting the Ghost Snake and knocking the ghost away from him. Vlad, in the form of Plasmius, flew down to the ground as Danny fell to his hands and knees, struggling violently to breath. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." Danny said, a wave of nausea hitting him again mixed with the pain as he threw up on the grass. Vlad tried to touch Danny's shoulder hoping to help Danny but failed to do so as the Ghost Snake flew at him Vlad grabbed Danny's thermos sucking the snake into the thermos. Danny threw up yet again, hitting the wave over and over again until all the cake and soup, everything he had in his stomach now emptied on the grass. He looked at Vlad, frowning. "I'm sorry I woke you up." He whimpered, "I know you have work tomorrow."
Vlad shushed him, picking Danny up and flying back towards the house, keeping him close to his chest as the younger male transformed back into Fenton. Normally wounds that Danny got in his ghost form had stopped bleeding when he was in his human form but he seemed to be bleeding just as hard from his calf and chest. Vlad flew Danny to the house going through the ceiling and directly into the bathroom. Vlad then laid Danny on the edge of the tub, touching his head worriedly.
"Are you alright?" Vlad asked.
"I'm-I'm okay. It hurts pretty bad but I'm alright." Danny said, panting in pain and exhaustion.
Vlad nodded, reaching under the sink and grabbing the first aid kit, once the box was out Vlad put the box on the toilet and began cutting away Danny's shirt. Once the shirt was gone Vlad helped Danny out of his pants so that the teen was in nothing more than his boxers. "What were you doing out there?" Vlad asked him worriedly, as he grabbed an alcohol swab running it across the wounds on his chest, making Danny whimper and whine in discomfort.
"I… I couldn't sleep." Danny admitted quietly. "I thought fresh air would do me good…"
Vlad's eyes softened, he clearly understood where Danny was coming from in this situation. Vlad continued to clean the wound for a while longer until he then began to bandage it. "Next time, next time please just let me know where you're going? It worries me to see you in pain."
Danny swallowed painfully before he nodded, "I will… I'm sorry Vlad."
Vlad smiled, kissing Danny's head before moving to the teen's calf, wrapping a thick bandage around his calf which ended up just as thick as the one around Danny's abdomen. Soon after Vlad gave Danny some tea and laid him down in bed so that the teenager could rest easy.