Hey! Just a little contribution for DP's angst day. I hope you enjoy it (maybe "enjoy" was not the word...)

GONE

"All right, I admit it. I'm extremely worried."

The teenage girl suddenly remained silent while she paced around the room, anxiously looking through the window every now and then as if expecting someone to arrive.

"Well, why shouldn't I be? It usually doesn't take him this long to finish patrolling the town."

There was another pause as the voice on the other end of the line spoke. An irritated sigh then escaped the redheaded girl's lips and she tightened her grip on the wireless phone.

"I know, I know... he could have a million reasons for not showing up or even calling by now. Sure, maybe he had an encounter with another enemy, but that still wouldn't keep him busy for four hours! It's way past his curfew. Mom and dad already went out looking for him! I tried to keep covering for him but they wouldn't listen anymore."

Jazz walked towards the couch and took a seat, hugging her legs with her free hand, smoothing the texture of her blue pants without even thinking. She continued listening to the other speaker for a moment before she finally snapped.

"Calm down? Calm down? How can you even tell me to calm down!? Do you know what it's like to be waiting for hours for your missing brother to show up, unable to leave the house in case he returns, when deep down you already have the sickening feeling that something went wrong?"

THUD!

Turquoise eyes widened as Jazz yelped in surprise at the sudden noise coming from the room upstairs. "Jazz? Are you still there?" a feminine voice from the other end of the receiver called frantically.

The girl took the phone closer to her ear again and started walking up the stairs. "There was a noise. It might be Danny." A pause. "I know it could be a ghost. I'll be careful. I'll call you later to keep you posted."

As the redheaded made it to the final step, she noticed the door to Danny's room was still closed. She opened it as soon as she reached the doorknob, her need to see her little brother in one piece stronger than her fear of being attacked by any of his enemies.

The room was dark and still, only lit by the stray rays the moon projected through the window. The wind blowing into the dormitory danced with the pale curtains and the Fenton girl figured it probably just knocked something off Danny's desk, although she wouldn't be able to figure out what was out of place among all the clutter.

She shivered and rubbed her arms in an unconscious attempt to keep herself warm. It was already getting too cold. She walked into the room and closed the window, staring at the sky in the process, hoping to see her brother flying back home.

As she turned around, still hugging herself, she finally noticed something different, a figure resting on the bed. The black hair and familiar white shirt barely visible under the moonlight gave away his identity. She sighed in relief and shook her head. It wouldn't be the first time her clueless and over-exerting little brother crashed into his room and went straight to sleep. It would only mean he had a really tough battle and probably wasted all his energy. Everything would be better in the morning, as usual, though.

She figured she would have to call her parents to call the search off. But first, she wanted to make sure he didn't have any wound that needed to be looked at. Even if he healed fast, it wasn't safe to leave any injury untreated, especially if their parents noticed any traces of ectoplasm.

Her hands found her way to his red sneakers, taking them off to keep him comfortable. He was finally back home; he deserved all the rest he could get after working so hard to keep everyone safe. She moved to his nightstand to turn on his lamp. The soft light allowed her to finally see his condition.

Lifeless blue eyes stared back at her in an absent gaze.

Jazz took a step back and screamed, her hand only slightly covering the sound as it reached her mouth. She couldn't take her teary eyes off of him, off of his eerily pale skin or disheveled hair, or his slightly open white lips. She snapped out of her shock and dropped to her knees next to her brother, desperately shaking him. "Danny, please don't joke like this," her breaking voice pleaded him. "It's not funny."

Noticing no reaction from her little brother, she sobbed and looked at his body in shock, lost at what she should be doing, trying to recall all her first-aid lessons back when she was fifteen. The paralyzed girl took deeper breaths. "Ok, ok, focus, Jazz," she whispered softly to herself.

Two trembling fingers moved towards the boy's neck, looking for a pulse. Of course, after the accident that gave him his unique abilities, it was already hard enough to find it. His breathing wasn't there, either, but the CPR she administered seconds later didn't do anything to get a reaction. She tried to find any trace of blood or visibly broken bones, none of which were there. Wasn't she supposed to be looking for something else?

She had to call an ambulance or at least her parents. Even if neither would know how to deal with a half-ghost kid, they would know how to do bring him back. They had to.

The phone had to be somewhere around the room. Or was it downstairs? She just hung up on Sam minutes earlier.

Oh, Sam... Tucker... how would they take the news?

Another pained headshake forced those emerging thoughts out of her head. She had to find the phone to call for help. Someone else would be able to know what to do.

One last scan allowed her to find the phone she had dropped on the floor,-now she remembered-, and began to dial the emergency number. Before her finger could press the second digit, something from the corner of her eye grabbed her attention.

The already shaken girl slowly turned around to see the source of her distraction, only to meet the same glowing green eyes she was already familiar with. The white-haired boy sat against a wall in a corner of the bedroom, given the redhead a confused look.

"Danny?" she gasped.

"I couldn't save him," he whispered with a small frown.

For all the psychobabble her brother had accused her of, Jazz was suddenly at a loss of words, her mind trying to grasp some sense out of his statement.

"Who?" she managed to ask.

"The boy over there," he answered sadly, looking at the raven-haired boy limply lying on the mattress. "Danny, right?"

She shook her head. Nothing was making sense. "What are you talking about? You're Danny... aren't you?" she questioned unsure.

"I don't know what you're talking about, miss," the ghostly version of her brother exclaimed.

Miss...

Jazz gaped at him, not able to form any coherent thought. How sick and cruel did a ghost have to be to impersonate her brother like that and at a time like this? When he... he...

A new stream of tears clouded her vision and she couldn't hold them back any longer, her breath coming in short sobs as she desperately tried to find something to hold on to. She turned around to the bed and reached for her brother's now cold and stiff hand, then his pale face, and his messy hair.

Her baby brother, the cute and goofy kid who she swore to take care of when she was only a toddler, the amazing boy with the kindest heart she had ever met, her friend, her hero, her world... taken away from her...

A cold hand patted her back gently. "There, there, miss," the otherworldly voice said. "He's probably in a better place now."

This was so cruel... "W-why... why are you... here?" she turned to ask the stranger, no, the impostor, between sobs. She didn't even have the energy to fight him. Wasn't she about to call for help?

The ghost frowned and thought for a second. "I actually can't seem to recall how I got here. I was fighting a ghastly fiend and... huh, I guess he hit my head harder than I thought," he finished while rubbing the back of his head.

Jazz gave him a searching look. The way he was unconsciously rubbing his neck, his confused look... no, he couldn't be...

"Do you... remember anything from before the fight?" she tentatively asked.

The ghost boy began to float absentmindedly and took a hand under his chin. "Nothing relevant, no," he replied. "I've been trying to keep so many ghosts from doing harm that it all eventually becomes a blur."

Jazz kept sniffling, the tears in her already red eyes never receding, but she tried to fight back as much of her pain as possible. "Do you know what happened to... to my brother?" she tried again.

A long pause was the ghost's first answer, followed by another frown. "I... I remember seeing him slip away," he said while furrowing his eyebrows, trying to concentrate hard on the vague memory. "I don't know how to explain it. I was floating over him but I could see him falling, somehow. Sorry, I'm just confused at the moment," the teen apologized softly.

"Oh, Danny," Jazz whispered and bitter tears crept down her cheeks.

Phantom floated closer to her and gave her a hug. A cold and impersonal hug, the girl realized. "Don't worry, miss, you'll make it through. I'll find the ghost responsible for this and will take him to justice. No one gets away with this kind of felony on my watch," he spoke with determination.

The spirit was about to leave but Jazz took his hand. "Could you... give me your name?"

He gave her a confident smile. "Why, I'm Danny Phantom! Ghostly hero of Amity Park! You sure must've heard about me by now."

Jazz embraced him tightly, with a warm and sincere hug that clung almost desperate but resignedly to him. "Would you give my brother a message if you see him?" she whispered in his ear.

Unsure of how to respond, the ghost put one arm loosely around her shoulder. "Uh, sure."

The hard lump in her throat threatened to render the mourning sibling speechless, but she managed to voice her thoughts. "Would you tell him his family and friends love him very, very much? That we're proud of him and that this will always be his home?"

Silence filled the room for a few seconds and Jazz wasn't sure what to make of it. "I'm sure he already knows," he said quietly, almost sounding like himself again. His sister broke the embrace to look into his eyes. Phantom smiled gently but there was still no sign of recognition in his eyes.

"Well, I better get going. My duty calls and I'm sure you'll appreciate not having any troublesome spooks flying about," he exclaimed lightly. The ghost boy faced the girl one more time before phasing through the wall and disappearing into the night.

"Take care, Danny," Jazz whispered to the empty room.

No, not empty. She turned to her brother's inert body and sat next to him. She closed his eyes and brushed his hair gently. Somehow, he had a more peaceful look on his face.

She sat by her sibling even after her parents opened the front door, calling for her. She remained by his side even when her mother's pained cries were too much to take.

In reality, Jazz couldn't move. The idea of losing her brother was still devastating. But knowing he wouldn't remember them or even himself anymore? That was simply unbearable. It meant that in more ways than one, her brother would never find peace. He'll just be... gone.