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Summary of last chapter:The Ghost Council, which includes Clockwork, intercedes on the war between the ghosts and the Guys in White. Due to Clockwork's trickery, the Council is forced to hold a trial as opposed to simply executing the still-unstable Danny Phantom and the remaining GIWs. During the trial, the leader of the Council (the Elder), coerces the leader of the GIWs to admit they had tortured Danny Phantom to insanity. The Elder then promises additional punishments to their organization before turning to Phantom. Clockwork speaks on Phantom's behalf, calling him a victim of circumstance, but the Council remains suspicious against Phantom because of his death count and incredible power. Sam attempts to defend Danny, demanding to know why the Council didn't help him to begin with. But before she can make genuine progress, the heavily injured Agent O shoots her from the distance—an attempt to execute Danny by killing his obsession. Sam begins to bleed to death in the arms of an even further traumatized Danny Phantom, who shows the first signs of his old, Danny-like personality in his love for her.

Chained

Chapter 32

Clockwork's scepter slammed against the ground. "Time out!"

The majority of the dimension suddenly stilled, with the exception of the eleven other Council members, who were impervious to Clockwork's power. The body of Sam was frozen in Danny Phantom's arms, her blood shining down her front, her purple eyes wide in shock. Danny himself was still staring up at the Elder in horror—that terribly human expression agonizing his face.

The Elder tilted his head at Clockwork, red eyes narrowed in calculation. "What was the probability that this would happen?"

"Miniscule," the Master of Time said. "As is everything that befalls Danny Phantom. Do you not see a pattern?"

The Master of Knowledge and Wisdom rubbed his temples. "I would rather not."

Clockwork pressed, "The odds that Daniel Fenton would survive the original portal incident were less than one percent. The odds that he would defeat Pariah Dark were less than five percent. His fate always takes him down the most improbable paths. This is his pattern. His destiny."

Something about that clicked with the Elder as he pulled his hand away from his temples. He seemed to mull on it for a time, then said, "Your charge has done great evils. He neither deserves a position of honor nor could seem to handle it. Furthermore, we'd be stuck with him, which is far more than you've ever asked on behalf of a wayward charge."

Clockwork eyed his leader with great pain. "Danny Phantom was designed to be an asset beside us. When Pariah Dark fell, it left a power vacuum we have since struggled to fill. Do you not find it timely that Phantom is a child of pure happenstance, in desperate need of the guidance—and the protection—that we can provide?"

One of the other ghosts, the Council Member of Peace and Diplomacy stood. "You would have us accept this boy into our Council?" he asked quietly, staring at the frozen figure of Danny Phantom. "Not just as an asset, but to replace Pariah Dark as the Master of Justice?"

"A thousand years ago," muttered the Council Member of Memory, "we would have never even thought of accepting a half-breed."

"And a thousand years ago," declared Clockwork, "the Ghost Zone was a peaceful, orderly realm. Pariah Dark had not ripped it to shreds. Worlds were simpler. Resistances were not technologically advanced. Today, we are in desperate need of someone with Phantom's agility and power to assist with the everyday skirmishes we face."

The Council Member of War sighed. "He is evil, Clockwork."

"He is lost," Clockwork clarified. "An inevitability, yes, but one that we can overcome if we make the correct decision this day. He does not have to live evil, and he does not have to die evil."

The Council Member of Mischief and Chaos leaned forward in his stone throne. There was a turn of interest in his voice. "And the correct decision for today is…?"

Clockwork raised his chin. "To sentence him to pay for his crimes through serving as Master of Justice for the duration of his life, and beyond if necessary. Under our tutelage."

Valerie awoke from a time-frozen daze to see red eyes. In panic, she instinctively latched onto the blue hand near her neck, prepared to snap the bones.

Clockwork released his fingers from the time medallion around her neck. His red eyes bore into hers with amusement. "You are not in danger," he said. "I am not attacking you."

Her heart had begun to race madly, her face tight with fear. "What?" she demanded. "What's going on?"

The Master of Time waved out to the surrounding world. "I have stopped time, but I have recalled you from it to speak with you."

Valerie turned away from him, grabbing onto the time medallion around her neck as she stared out with wide eyes. Everywhere she turned, people were frozen in place. The only exceptions seemed to be herself and the ghosts of the Council. They all peered at her inquisitively from being their cloaks, their red eyes making her nervous and irritable. "What the hell?" she declared. "What do you want with me?"

Clockwork said, "You exhibit a strong loyalty to Danny Phantom, even offering your life in place of his."

The woman backed away on instinct. "So?" She had not forgotten Danielle's warnings about the Council's cutthroat dealings, or of their threat to kill Sam to end Phantom. She was unsure where she stood in the eyes of this guardian of Danny.

"You also show no fear in his presence, despite his current insanities."

"He's a jerk right now," she agreed slowly. "But I know the real Danny, and I want to get him back."

"A concept upon which we both agree," Clockwork murmured, searching her eyes. "But you have risked much more for him than what a simple friend or concerned third party would."

"…I have a debt," she said. She crossed her arms, still trying to hide her injured side from view. She felt an increasing sense of claustrophobia from the interrogation, as if Clockwork were attempting to expose a secret.

The ghost backed away. He paused for a moment, thinking over her, and he tapped his scepter upon the ground. "Very well, then I have an assignment for you, given your peculiar relationship with him. As you know, Danny Phantom's obsession is in mortal danger." He waved a hand to the frozen scene that was the bleeding Sam in Danny's arms.

Valerie gazed uncomfortably upon the sight and nodded.

Clockwork added, "The Council has expressed desire to maintain Samantha's life force, so that this trial may continue, and so that Danny Phantom is assured a rightful sentence. You will therefore escort him, once I awaken him, to the remaining GIW convoys and obtain the healing technology the agents used upon you. You will both return to use that technology for healing Samantha."

The woman did not respond for a time, and when she did, it was with suspicion and confusion. "…Why?" she demanded. "I thought your Council wanted them dead anyway." Then she added, mind spinning, "And my jet sled might still be wrecked, but I could make the trek myself. Why do you want him to go with me for that? Is this some kind of trick to kill us all off?"

The ghost's thin lips twitched without humor. "There is no trick. The Council simply desires to continue the trial, which cannot be done in a just manner if Samantha, and by proxy Danny, die at the hand of Agent O, their accuser. But I have convinced them to release Phantom temporarily into your custody, in hopes that you might speak further sense into him."

"Because you can't?" she challenged.

"He listens to you, cares about you even in his insanity," Clockwork said. The ghost's voice softened. "You have gained his trust in every way that I have lost. Please, Valerie Gray. I would be in your debt if you do this."

There was a heartbeat of a pause as she weighed her options. She'd learned quite a bit about ghosts over the last several days, having come to realize they were terribly human. She knew that Clockwork had an interest in protecting Danny.

She also knew that Clockwork was very powerful, and to have him in her debt would possibly be an advantage.

She said, "I'll do it to help my friends. But if you want to pay me back, then don't let the Council kill Sam and Danny."

Clockwork nodded. "I do not intend to let them."

Danny Phantom slowly became aware of moving shapes. He felt some kind of weight in his hands, and his senses sharpened as he looked down. He realized he was holding Sam in his arms. Her body was frozen in time, her hair swaying in the breeze of the dimension. Her purple eyes stared half-lucidly into his.

He flinched at the sight of the red that stained her body and his arms. Blood.

Then everything began to rush back into him—the battle with the Guys in White, the interference from the Ghost Council, and Agent O shooting Sam…. He realized then that Sam's wounds were frozen in time as well.

The weight of a time medallion hung from his neck.

Danny looked up and saw the Ghost Council watching him. He felt his previous tears of horror upon his face slide down his cheek, and he blinked them away. "What's this?" he called out roughly, his voice hoarse. "What did you do?"

The Master of Time moved forward. When he did, he revealed Valerie Gray behind him, her arms crossed and her face tight in anticipation. The ghost said, "What I do best. I meddle." He waved to Valerie. "Now, if you wish to save the woman you love, you will escort Valerie Gray to the convoys to obtain the CGIA's healing technology. Although you should know the Council is anxious to continue the trial."

The younger ghost stared up at his old guardian in fearful suspicion. His red eyes still blurred with tears. "…What? You're helping me?" Then he craned his neck a bit to stare at the other members of the Ghost Council.

They all stared back from their thrones, their faces hidden beneath their cloaks. Only Clockwork's superior—the Master of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Elder—stood, pacing.

The Elder turned his eyes to Danny as well and said, "I take the sentencing of prisoners seriously, and I will not have my authority usurped by a power-hungry human with no regard for truth or justice."

Agent O was a limp form in the distance, his chest still smoking from the power the Elder had so quickly launched at him.

It seemed he was quite dead.

Danny swallowed hard, his thoughts a flutter. He cradled Sam's limp body closer to him, blinking away tears. She was dying, which meant she was still alive. "You said you would kill her," he snapped in fear. "With your precious sentencing, to make an example out of me." He shakily inhaled to hide a sob at the thought of Sam dying. Fresh tears began to well in his eyes as he kneeled at the feet of the Ghost Council, holding Sam close to himself with a possessive reverence. The side of his jumpsuit was warm with the blood she'd shed before Clockwork had called time. "Why would you let her heal, if you're just going to kill her again?"

The Elder rolled his eyes and snapped, "Because this is a test. Perform above reproach, and when the trial restarts, I will not sentence you or her to death. Perform poorly, and I will allow nature to take its course. Do you understand?"

The young ghost huffed in panic. "What test? You're not making sense." His fingers tightened on Sam's body. He did not want to endanger the chance that these strange, powerful beings would have mercy on at least her.

He also feared raising his hopes, as they were so often dashed.

"The test will not work if I tell you what I am looking for," the Elder said. Then he turned to Valerie and tilted his chin her way. "If you please, I am temporarily releasing him into your custody."

The woman pressed her lips together tightly, then nodded. She looked at Danny and said, "My jet sled's broken, so I need you to fly me to the convoys. And then I can help you find the tech."

Danny narrowed his suspicious, teary eyes. The red in them was less psychotic and more calculating now, attempting to weigh his changing surroundings. He said slowly as he measured the truth in Valerie, "I don't believe you'd betray us..."

Valerie did not ask if the "us" he mentioned was in reference to his human and ghost sides, or if it were in relation to himself and Sam. He still seemed unstable in ways, his red eyes, as always, an odd sight. "You know I wouldn't betray you," she said. "Not after everything I've done."

He hesitated. He looked her over, noting the various bruises and cuts and injuries she'd received on behalf of him. In the back of his mind, he still saw Agent O punching her, and Valerie spitting in the agent's face. A twitch of hope came over him.

Then he gently laid down Sam's body, which was limp in the time-freeze. He ran his gloved fingers over her temple, brushing back her hair. "You wouldn't betray us now," he said, as if to affirm it to himself.

He stood soon enough, the lines of his body tight with a new anxiety. With Agent O dead, and the Council revealing the possibility of survival, the ghostly side of his mind was now acknowledging violence as the least reasonable response.

It resulted in an odd combination of traits—his Phantom side, violent and protective, now more subdued, reflecting more of Danny's paranoia and hesitance. He turned to glare at the Council. "I don't understand what you're up to," he said. His breath hitched. "I don't trust you."

The Elder watched the boy. "I do not expect you to trust me. I expect you to perform the task I have set for you. Do you understand that?"

Danny's face twitched, measuring the Elder just as he had Valerie. "I'm not a lab rat," he said. "Do you understand that?"

There was a tense silence between them. "I know," the Elder said, "exactly what you are not."

The young ghost held his gaze for a time. Then he suddenly blurred forward and grabbed onto Valerie's hand. "Help me," he said quickly, as if anxious for the Ghost Council to rescind their offer.

"Wha—?" Valerie's eyes widened as they suddenly spiraled up from the ground, the time-frozen dimension and all its people growing smaller second by second. The liftoff had jarred her side wound, and a sharp pain made her gasp in pain, her hand tightening around his. "Dammit, don't do that!"

He turned sharply to face her. The wind whipped about them as he pulled her closer to lighten the force pulling on her scabbed side muscles. "I forgot," he said, voice rough. "I just—we have to hurry, before—"

"—They're not going to change their minds based on how fast you go," she snapped dryly. There still was a tinge of pain that tightened the edges of her eyes. She dared to wrap an arm around his waist for further stability, and he looked at her, his white hair streaming about him in a wild halo from the wind.

Like this, she could feel the edges of a large, raised scar along his side.

He accepted the contact easily enough but continued to watch her, searching her eyes. "They like you, and not just because of Clockwork. What did they say they're looking for in me?"

As they flew over the dimension, they passed the bodies of the GIWs strewn upon the ground. Valerie pointed down with her free hand and said sharply, "Not that."

Something in her tone reminded him of being scolded like a child. He gave her a flat look.

She pressed, "Now's your chance to show them who you really are. Who Danny is. That's what they want to see."

The ghost's jaw clenched. For a time, he said nothing, as if he hesitated to admit the truth. And then he said, "There's no going back to him."

It still bothered her that he spoke of himself in two. "But you are Danny," she said.

His face twitched in almost a flinch. There was a fear deep within him. "I'm what's left," he clarified.

With his heightened power, they soon enough arrived at the convoy ships, which were eerie in their silence. The sleek metal still gleamed with the remnants of Danny Phantom's power.

He gently set Valerie down, and her boots hit the dirt with a swift cloud. Then he dropped down beside her. "These ships are huge," he said. "You remember where that tech was?"

The woman gave him a hard look, still thinking on the last thread of their conversation. She wasn't about to let it die if it meant getting her old friend back. "You know what I remember?" she challenged softly. "I remember Danny being a good guy."

His face faulted. "Don't start with—"

"—And I think he feels so much pain and anger over what's happened, he doesn't know how to cope. So I think you're still him. You're just the side of him he never had a reason to let out before."

He tilted his head, his face shadowing darker and darker. "Don't bring this up now."

"Well, dammit—somebody has to. I want my friend back."

Suddenly, he slammed her into the wall of one of the convoys, his fingers tight on her shoulders.

She gasped out a cry of pain, a shudder of pain storming through her injured body. Bad idea, her brain cried. Bad idea!

His red eyes were wild with fear, as if she'd exposed a nerve. He said roughly, "This is what I am now."

Her breath hitched at the strength of his grip on her. "You just don't know how to control it," she said. There was a quiver in her voice now. "You had all these thoughts in your head when they were hurting you. But you didn't want to believe it was you."

His lip curled up in a snarl. "What would you know about that?" he hissed. "What would anyone know?"

"You know I fight demons too." There was a vulnerable spark in her as she stared eye-to-eye with him, half-expecting him to kill her for being so bold. "Bad ones."

His fingers began to loosen upon her in some recognition that he had hurt her. "Your demons aren't like mine," he retorted.

"Doesn't mean you can't control them."

The ghost suddenly recoiled away, as if she had burned him. "And what was I supposed to do?" he demanded, his voice tearing painfully from his throat. "Accept what they did?" Before Valerie could speak, he added unsteadily, "I couldn't take it anymore."

For a brief moment, his eyes flickered green.

The woman blinked, seeing Danny within him. A scared boy trying to stop the world from hurting him again. She reached out to him, something in her heart pulling, knowing the feeling all too well. "Danny—"

Then his eyes flickered back to red, and he turned away. "—No, just stop it. I want that technology for Sam," he said. His voice was rough with emotion. "They could restart time without us, and she'd die."

Valerie hesitated, not liking the sharp, unsteady tone of his voice. Her shoulders still burned with the harsh grip of his hands. "Look," she said quietly, "I'm trying to help you. If you can act like you like Sam—not just the whole 'she's my obsession' thing—it'll make the Ghost Council more sympathetic to you. They'll probably let her live, and you too. Get it?"

His red gaze was still unnerving. "You're wrong," he declared. "It's not a 'like.' I like you. I love Sam. She wouldn't be my obsession if I didn't love her first."

The blunt statement took Valerie aback for a second. "I know that," she snapped. Her face still flushed a slight tinge of pink. "Dammit, you know what I mean."

He sniffed in a hesitant way. "And I've seen inside your mind. I figured I'd clarify where you stand. For your sake."

The woman fought down a look of horror—it disturbed her that Danny Phantom would know she'd found him attractive, and that this unstable version of Danny Phantom was so blunt. "I already know where I stand. I'm just making sure you practice what you preach here, so you don't end up totally dead."

"Ah, yes, because you'd be bored without me to torment."

His response pulled a guilty nerve in Valerie. "Don't joke about torture, I already feel bad enough about it."

"I know you do. I'm holding onto that more than you know." His red eyes flickered to her, noting the pull of pain in her body—pain he'd made worse with his rough handling. Something odd came over him again. Shame. His face began to flame up with a blush because of it, and he looked away from her. "…I didn't mean to hurt you."

She exhaled out a deep breath to try centering herself. She didn't want to push him anymore, as her whole intent was to show the Council that there was still a human heart within him. "I know, but don't ever do it again. Or I'll drop-kick you."

He gave a short, tight nod.

Valerie's eyes softened at him a bit, knowing that this had to be difficult for him. Then she pointed to the second convoy ship and said, "So that's the one they took me in. It should still have their healing tech to help Sam."

There was still an anxious compulsion in the lines of Phantom's body. He said to himself as he stared up at the ship, "Built off my power, I'm sure. And how do I know this isn't another trap?" He trusted Valerie not to betray him. But perhaps she was simply a pawn in a greater scheme, just as he was.

"It can't be a trap," she dryly cut into his thoughts. "You drained the ship. Everyone's frozen in time except you and me."

The ghost huffed. His experiences with the CGIA had made him more paranoid. "The Council is still watching."

The Ghost Council was indeed watching from one of Clockwork's conjured portals.

"You see?" The Master of Time said, waving his hand at the image. "Daniel still exists in the form of his love for Sam and his friendship with Valerie. As he begins to feel less threatened, his ectoplasmic cells will relinquish control and allow him to return to his human form—and to his true self."

The Elder's face was emotionless as he watched the young ghost in the portal fly Valerie through the ship to its storage units. "Even if he manages that, he is still not in control of himself. Daniel is the one who fragmented into different personalities."

"He's aware of the fragmentation," Clockwork pressed. "He is not so lost that we cannot help him rebuild himself."

"…And you still want to place him on one of our thrones?" the Elder said dryly.

"Yes."

The Council Member of Mischief and Chaos leaned forward in his throne, his red eyes lit with a glint. "Well, our afterlives would certainly get interesting again."

The Elder huffed. "Perish the thought."

"But how would we control this child's outbursts of insanity?" asked the Council Member of War. She waved a hand to the portal. "He still struggles to control his anger with even his allies. And how would he, in this condition, elicit the unifying response we need from our people?"

Clockwork said, "You assume this is a permanent behavioral pattern. He needs time to heal, and to be given the proper coping mechanisms for his anger and pain."

"And all of the souls he murdered in madness?" cut in the Council Member of Empathy. "How do you know he would ever feel genuine accountability for that? I am not comfortable with another ghost like Pariah Dark taking a position of honor."

The Master of Time pressed his lips together, then said carefully, "My charge has always felt things deeper than most. Given time, he will desire opportunities to compensate for his lapse."

At that time, Danny Phantom returned with Valerie Gray in tow. His face was in an uncomfortable twist from flying over the field of dead bodies once more. Now that he was beginning to calm down from his manic state, and that even Valerie did not believe in his violence, more of his mind was expanded—as if he were awakening from a dream.

He felt an odd distance at the level of destruction he had caused, an itching in the back of his mind that something was not quite right.

He and Valerie hit the ground near the row of the Council thrones, and he stared wearily at them all. Judging by their stoic expressions, he had not impressed them. He apprehensively turned to look at Sam.

She was still frozen in time, her body laying right where he had left her. Even from this distance, he could see the shine of her blood against her skin.

Before he could even turn, he felt Valerie shove something into his hands. "Don't just stand there," she told him sharply.

They'd found three of the CGIA's heavy cloth wraps—copies of the ones they'd pressed against Valerie to heal her wounds. There was a tiny control panel on the end of each to switch on the transfer of energy.

His gloved fingers dug tightly into the fabric that buzzed with his own healing energy as he stared at Sam. Then he pulled one from the bunch and handed it back to Valerie. "Here," he said distantly. "You need one too."

"What?"

"For you," he said, turning to face her. His red eyes flickered briefly to her side, which she'd been protectively covering with her hand throughout their entire journey. Their mad search had ripped open one of her scabs, and her suit bore the mark of her welling blood.

Then Danny stepped forward, eyeing the Council—Clockwork in particular. He said, voice strengthening, "I'm not going to let Sam die. Whatever you think of me, I'm not going to let her die. You understand?"

Members of the Council looked at each other in silence, then to the Elder, who stood up to confront the young ghost. "You are still on dangerous ground with me," he declared. "But I have decided upon your sentencing, and it does not involve your annihilation, or the girl's."

There was a beat of silence between them, as if Danny had not heard correctly. His fingers shakingly clenched into the material he held. "What?"

"You heard me," said the Elder. It seemed as if the decision almost pained him.

The young ghost faltered in his step, the admission inspiring the flicker of his eyes from red to a shocked, hopeful green for a brief second. And then they returned to red once more, with him backing away slowly toward Sam. The war between his ears waged on as his ghost instincts took the Elder's words to possibly be a trap.

He said nothing, his face tight in indecision. He turned away entirely from the Council and from the curious gaze of his old guardian, Clockwork.

"Well," Valerie cut in with relief as she sat down on the ground with her healing tech, "it's about damn time." She pressed the tech straight onto her side where she'd been struggling to heal and flipped the switch. She leaned her head against one of the piles of rubble, closing her eyes as the power began to activate and hum deep into her. "Woulda been nice if you could've just decided that from the start."

The Elder sniffed in her direction, still unused to such blunt commands from a human. "He is a liability. I have not arrived at this decision on a whim."

Valerie's dark lips stretched without humor. "Me neither." She winced as the power struck deep into her, knitting the deep tissue of her body back together. She bit her lip as tears suddenly welled in her eyes. "Oh, man." She swallowed hard on the strange feelings, not quite realizing that she was picking up on the very emotions that were infused in the tech—Danny's agony as his powers were being siphoned at great expense.

Meanwhile, an anxious Danny sat down and raised Sam into his arms. Her pale fingers scraped against the dirt, her neck leaning back limply against his forearm. He gently brushed aside her matted strands of hair from her eyes, still open wide to heaven.

His suit had cleaned itself of her blood, but now it soaked back into him with the close contact, warm and slick. His breath hitched as he gently hooked his fingers into the ruined front of her button-up shirt. He pulled back the shredded threads. "I'm not going to lose you," he said firmly to her.

The bullet had blasted deep into Sam's sternum, disfiguring the smooth outline of her image into that of a wounded soldier. The sight of her dying continued to spark something in Danny's ectoplasmic-ridden mind.

He was not prepared for her to die, in any capacity.

As he pressed the healing tech against her and flipped the switch, it hit him that this was all real. That Phantom's actions were Danny's. That he'd tried to separate the torture of the CGIA from himself—and, in doing so, he'd lost sight of something important.

His red eyes began to bleed back to green as he cradled her close, his thoughts a storm of images and pain. He inadvertently began to project his thoughts with the telepathic powers he'd gained, overwhelmed that he was in fact Daniel Fenton, and that Danny Phantom was the same person, and that behind all of his anger and violence was just another well of fear that he would lose everything again—

"It's not working," he shuddered out as he held her, his eyes an odd, muddy brown between red and green. Terror overcame him. He pulled the humming cloth from her body, vision swimming over the sea of red. "It's not working—she's not healing—"

In the distance, Valerie tensed up, still holding her piece of healing tech to her side. "What?" she called out. There were tears in her eyes from the transfer of energy. "No, it's working for me! It's gotta work for her too."

The Council continued to watch in distant interest as the strange boy began to break. He pressed the cloth against Sam's chest again, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to enter her mind to forcibly wake her up, but there was only silence.

Tears slipped down his face. "Sam?" he begged softly.

Valerie struggled to a stand in panic, still looking worse for wear. "What the hell? They worked for me twice."

Danny did not hear her. Suddenly, he felt as if the world were falling around him as he held Sam, face flushing in anxiety. "No—no—no—"

Clockwork stood up, his scepter clinking against the ground. "—She is still frozen in time, Daniel," he called softly. Then he stepped forward.

Danny's eyes snapped back to red as he looked at the ghost. His scarred fingers held onto Sam more tightly, as if instinctively afraid that Clockwork was going to take her away. "Don't come closer," he warned. There was a primal protectiveness in him. "You're not trying to help."

Clockwork sighed, and he kneeled before the younger boy, lowering his scepter. His movements were slow to avoid frightening him. "You know that I am."

Danny's breath hitched. "You hurt us. Tried to slit her throat."

"Wounds require time to heal." The old ghost pulled a time medallion from his neck. His gnarled fingers then held out the device to the boy. "If I could reverse all of this without resulting in an even worse future for you, I would."

"And what would it matter." He grabbed onto the time medallion, still suspicious of his old guardian. The tears in his eyes did not slip down his face, but they blurred his vision. "I'm already dead."

"Are you?" Clockwork asked softly.

Danny did not answer but turned back to Sam, anxiously working the medallion over her head. The instant the medallion made contact with her, her wide, purple eyes blinked.

Then her pale lips cracked open in a shaky gasp for air. Almost immediately, the healing technology activated, humming deep into her ruined body. She stared up at him with a pained gaze—then awe. The rattle of her breath was wet with the sound of blood in her lungs.

Danny watched the flush of a healthy glow surge back into her face, and he stroked her skin, as if to paint the glow further down her jaw. "I've got you," he said, voice rough with emotion. "You're going to be okay."

Her eyes were wide as her breath began to smooth out, the pain in her face beginning to ease. Suddenly, Danny could begin to feel the pull of her mind once more. It was a scattering of confusion and fear and pain and—

The emotional pull from her made more tears slip down his face. "I've got you," he said again. Something in his ghost ENA began to crack as he realized that this woman was afraid because of him.

Afraid because she thought she was dying.

Afraid because she was staring up into red eyes and worrying for Danny Fenton.

His breath hitched. "Sam."

She struggled to raise a hand to Danny's face, her unsteady fingers lightly grazing his haggard cheek. Her movements strengthened. "D—Danny?" she whispered. Beneath the healing tech, her clothes were still soaked red, but the skin was rapidly knitting, her lungs clear of blood, her heart strengthened and muscles resewing together.

He nuzzled his face into her touch and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. He allowed his thoughts to brush against hers, opening up the deepest chambers of his mind. In it was the fear that he was not enough—that Danny Fenton was well and truly dead, and that they were still in danger.

She felt his thoughts like brushes against her mind. It was then, with her body healing, that Sam's face suddenly stretched with a smile of hope. "N-no," she whispered to him. "Still h-here."

Despite all of her pain and the daze of her healing injuries, Sam could feel the unsteadiness in him—the open cracks to a part of himself he'd buried deep.

Her trembling fingers pressed a little harder against his temple. She could recall the map of his mind. She knew where he'd locked up his humanity for safe keeping. And now she could feel that side of him actively fighting to regain control.

It's okay, she thought to him. We can heal. I'm okay.

Her consciousness intertwined with his and began to pull at those sensitive strings of his true self, coaxing him forward from his hate-induced haze. As her strength grew, she could feel his memories—the sight of Agent O collapsing in the dust, Danny looking down in horror at the blood—

Danny's face twisted in anxiety for one wild moment—an active realization that she was changing something inside of him—

And when he opened his eyes this time, the irises were a brilliant emerald green.

"There," she whispered. Her tired fingers trailed down his face. Then she coughed a bit, feeling exhausted. She dared to touch her front, still wet with blood. She could feel his power now in a strange way as it began to fade out, the healing completed.

In a daze, Danny laid his hand over hers, his breath hitching. He could feel the life in her now. Her heartbeat was a solid thrum that eased the tension in him. "What did you do?" Tears rose to his eyes as he began to feel more connected to himself. More aware.

The woman in his arms grabbed onto his side for leverage as she struggled to sit up. She held onto the healing tech to self-consciously cover the shredded front of her bloody shirt. Her healthy complexion began to redden with embarrassment as she said, voice still a bit rough, "I woke you up." She began to notice the time medallion around her neck, and she grabbed onto it for mental stability. "I think."

Looking around, she noticed Clockwork watching from a short distance away, and the various Council Members and Valerie listening in intently. Sam swallowed hard, then glanced back at Danny.

Tears squeezed from Danny's eyes as he stared at the woman he loved, who had risked all for him because she loved him back.

And for one brief moment, he felt bright rings appear over his head.

-A/N: To everyone who has provided constructive criticism, questions, praise and other meaningful thoughts, I do appreciate your support and hope that, for what it's worth, this chapter provided some level of entertainment.

You'll probably notice the minor tonal differences, now that the major battle arcs are over and we've moved to the judgment arc. We still have a few chapters to go before the story is complete. I also want to incorporate more screen time for some of our other characters who have been left out lately (Jazz, Tucker, etc.). I'm totally up for any requests of things you'd like to see happen!

Additionally, I apologize for slacking off from my Danny Phantom fanfiction lately. I'm going back to school! I'm currently taking prerequisite classes to apply for a master's of science in neuroscience. So if I go off-grid for a bit, that's probably the reason why. However, I do fully intend to finish this story because it's special to me. It's a vestige of my childhood.

Thanks again for reading! Please let me know your thoughts, ideas, constructive criticisms, or requests!