Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Danny Phantom: Trial By Fire ❯ Danny Phantom: Trial By Fire - Part Two ( Chapter 2 )

Danny Phantom: Trial by Fire

Part 2

By Aaron

 

Her head spinning as she drifted through the Ghost Zone, Sam was far too lost in her own haze of confusion to care where she was going. Emotionally strained and completely disoriented, it took only a brief lapse of concentration for her to completely lose control, spiraling out in mid-flight. And she was unable to straighten out before she slammed into a nearby floating island like a meteor and plowed through the ground to an eventual stop. But as she recovered and looked up, all she got was a reminder of her situation as she looked at the grass charred and smoking all around her. Instantly remembering what had just happened in the fight with Undergrowth, what happened to Danny and thinking about what COULD have happened, Sam felt herself on the verge of a complete breakdown. All she wanted to do was cry as she choked and sobbed, but she just couldn't get the tears to come as they evaporated from her eyes into tiny trails of steam. And all it did was make her feel even more helpless as she knelt in the crater she had created, wrapping her arms around herself.

 

Suddenly, a white cloud of frozen air blasted the ground around her, creating a temporary fog as the smoldering ground was extinguished. Looking up, Sam immediately recognized the shape of the silhouette stepping through the mist, but the realization brought her little comfort. It belonged to the one person she absolutely couldn't bring herself to face.

 

“Sam?” Danny called out softly as he stepped out into full view. Once he concluded that the Ghost Zone was the most logical place that Sam would retreat to, it didn't take long to track her down. The trail of scorch marks on every object she had passed was a dead giveaway.

 

“Danny…Danny please,” she stammered as her voice cracked and her body trembled, “Just don't…you…you can't come near me…”

 

“Sam, you have to try and calm down,” Danny spoke soothingly as he inched his way over, holding out his hand, “I know it looks bad, but remember what I said. We can work through this, we…”

 

“Danny, look at me!” Sam cried out as another wave of heat exploded from her body, though fortunately, less intense than before, “I'm a walking disaster area! I'm destroying everything I touch…! What…what happens if this power just keeps growing more and more and I can't stop it?! What if…?”

 

“Sam,” Danny cut her off, this time sounding more assertive than before, “It won't.”

 

“Danny, don't say that!” Sam shouted again, feeling on the verge of another breakdown, “You can't say you know because you don't! After what I did to you back there…I mean, what if I really CAN'T control this?! What if it just…?!”

 

“SAM, LISTEN TO ME!!!” Danny shouted, grabbing her face in his hands and lifting her head to look into his eyes. Sam immediately took notice of Danny's eyes, now blue instead of green. And as she noticed the blue glow around his body, it was clear that his freezing powers had just kicked in at full power, protecting him from the searing heat Sam was radiating. Thick ribbons of steam were even rising from Sam's face as Danny's hands gently touched her cheeks.

 

“Listen to me…IT-WON'T,” Danny continued, his eyes glowing with pure resolve, “Because I won't let that happen.”

 

“Danny…” Sam uttered under her breath, the look of uncertainty still in her eyes. Danny, however, showed no change in his expression.

 

“You're right, I can't say anything for certain,” he admitted, still holding Sam's face and looking into her eyes, “Maybe I DON'T know how this will turn out. But it doesn't matter. Because I'm not going to lose you, Sam…I can't…”

 

As Danny paused, he found himself shutting his eyes tight, slightly looking away. But Sam instantly noticed the change in his eyes as he looked up to face her. No longer filled with grim determination, his gaze seemed to give off an almost…helpless pleading.

 

“…I need you too much.”

 

“Oh Danny…” Sam's voice cracked as she buried her face in Danny's shoulder. Large trails of steam blanketed the sky as they both shut their eyes tight. And their fingers gently tugged on each others' costumes as they clung to each other desperately.

 

“Whatever happens, I'll always be there for you, Sam,” Danny uttered under his breath as he reached up and softly ran his fingers through her hair, his own voice beginning to falter as well, “You know that, right?”

 

“…Mmm hmm…” was all Sam could get out with a slight whine as she nodded gently, her face still smothered into Danny's shoulder. Danny would never know just how much she needed to be in his arms right then. But all that was on Danny's mind was how relieved he was to have actually found her. And now that he had, he wasn't about to let her go, no matter what.

 

Suddenly, an enormous shadow appeared overhead, instantly getting Danny and Sam's attention and breaking them out of their emotional spiral. A few bursts of blue flame blanketed the ground almost immediately after, extinguishing the few patches of grass that were still smoldering from when Sam crash landed. A moment later, a huge form smashed into the ground in front of them and Danny and Sam were shocked to see themselves beholding a familiar blue dragon rearing its head and screeching into the sky.

 

“Dora Mattingly?!” Sam exclaimed, instantly getting the dragon's attention. Pausing with two curious blinks, the dragon lowered its head to take a closer look at the two mysterious intruders.

 

“Danny? Sam?” Dora uttered before transforming out of her dragon form, no longer wearing her princess gown in braided locks, but a dress and hair bun more resembling a woman of privilege from the 1800s, “What are you doing on the edge of our kingdom? And…what in the world happened to you?”

 

… … … …

 

“You'll forgive me if I seem a little shocked to see you looking like that,” Dora remarked as she walked with Danny and Sam through the streets of her newly acquired kingdom, now lined with cobbled roads, sidewalks, carriages, street lamps and bricked houses, “Naturally, I had heard the rumors but…I was never sure how much to believe.”

 

“Huh…believe it all,” Sam replied as she looked down at her hand to notice the orange glow still surrounding her body. Again, she felt the frustration of her situation, but just then, she looked down to see Danny holding her hand, the blue glow of his freezing powers still protecting him from the heat Sam's body was generating. And at that moment, seeing him there beside her was more than enough to make her feel at least a little more content.

 

“I've gotta say, this place has sure changed since the last time we were here,” Danny noted as he looked around at the drastically altered scenery.

 

“Well, since you both helped overthrow my brother, we've been trying to get ourselves caught up. We're actually hoping to have working electricity soon,” Dora answered as they made their way out of town and headed for the castle. However, as they crossed the drawbridge and walked inside, they noticed that the inside of the castle was still as dank and medieval as the outside.

 

“Well, I guess SOME things haven't changed,” Sam commented as they looked around the room.

 

“It's only been a few months. Cut us some slack, okay?” Dora replied dryly with an irritated frown.

 

“Sorry. She didn't mean it like that,” Danny spoke up as Sam gloomily rested her head on his shoulder, “She's…kind of having a bad day.”

 

“Mmmm…I've heard that too,” Dora replied grimly as she walked over to the crystal ball in the center of her throne room, staring intently at the events that had recently taken place, “Undergrowth. Of all the monsters here that could have found its way into your world…my, my, my, you really ARE in trouble, aren't you?”

 

“Well, it wouldn't be HALF as bad if I could just control these stupid new powers…!” Sam blurted out, clearly aggravated. But as she threw her arm out in frustration, a ball of fire burst from her hand, striking one of the wooden pillars along the far wall!

 

“Whoa!” Sam shouted as she tried to shake the stray wisps of flame that lingered on her fingertips. But her actions only unleashed another fireball that struck a woven carpet just beside her feet. Luckily, Danny was quick to respond, blasting clouds of frozen air towards the wall and the carpet before the entire castle burned to the ground. Looking up to see Dora staring at what had just happened, Sam could only offer an apologetic gaze before turning her head, embarrassed.

 

“Uh, you need a little help?” Dora asked, still wearing a perplexed look on her face.

 

… … … …

 

“Okay,” Dora spoke after leading Danny and Sam to a clearing safely away from the castle or anything too flammable, “At this point, I don't think I have to tell you that fire is a very unstable element. It WILL consume you if you give it the chance.”

 

“Yeah, no kidding,” Sam replied dryly as she looked at her hand which was blazing like a torch. Just then, Dora walked over and folded her hand over Sam's, closing it and extinguishing the flame.

 

“However, your situation is unique,” she continued, releasing Sam's hand and watching the fire shoot forth again, “In this case, the force creating the fire is YOU. That gives you power. All you need to do is assert it.”

 

“She's right, Sam,” Danny added, who was leaning back against a nearby rock, “When Frostbite taught me about my freezing powers, one of the first things he said was that you control the power. It doesn't control you.”

 

“Watch carefully,” Dora instructed, centering her hands and creating a small, swirling ball of blue flame between them, “When my brother and I transform into dragons, we keep our fire tightly contained, only letting out what we need. And you must learn to do the same. Don't give it free reign. Take control…draw it back inside yourself where it belongs.”

 

“Well, okay…here goes,” Sam said with an uneasy shrug as she gazed intently at the fire rushing out of her hand. Remembering how her future self taught her how to concentrate to master her ghost powers, Sam tensed her body, holding out her hands as she closed her eyes to try and focus. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but after a few moments, the flame burning around her hand gently began to shrink and disappear. Before long, the orange aura surrounding her began to slowly fade as well.

 

“Good. Very good,” Dora encouraged as Danny looked on with a hopeful smile, “You've got it…you've got it…”

 

Suddenly, a huge fireball exploded into the sky from Sam's ponytail! A split second later, the aura of heat returned and Sam's eyes snapped open wide as the squawks of passing birds could be heard overhead.

 

“Well…I ALMOST got it,” Sam replied nervously as she braced herself again, “Okay, once more from the top…”

 

Again, Sam concentrated hard, again, after a few moments, the aura surrounding her began to dissipate and again, Danny and Dora looked on with optimism. But suddenly, two jets of flame burst into the ground from her feet and tiny squeals could be heard as gopher holes all around her exploded into geysers of fire! At this point, Sam had had just about enough as she let out a low growl of aggravation.

 

“Let's try that again, shall we?” she muttered with an angry glare. But she was getting so angry, she didn't even realize the aura around her glowing even brighter than before. Before Dora or Danny could warn her to calm down, she braced herself again and tried to concentrate hard. Unfortunately, it was only for a second or two before two fireballs burst from her hands and a loud shriek could be heard. Sam didn't need to look to see who she'd hit. But a moment later, she opened her eyes to see Danny blowing a cloud of frozen air around Dora's head. And Sam could only let out a nervous chuckle as the cloud vanished and Dora's singed face frowned back at her.

 

“This…is going to take a while,” Dora commented with an irritated tone.

 

… … … …

 

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Tucker was in the underground bunker under City Hall, which was packed with as much of Amity Park's evacuated population as they could fit. Everyone else was either inside City Hall or outside the building, safely inside the Ghost Shield surrounding them. Trying his best to block out the frightened murmurs and predictions of doom being discussed all around him, he and Jazz chose to focus on the big screen monitor in front of them. Undergrowth had been strangely absent for quite a while and that made Tucker and the others nervous, especially when they investigated where Undergrowth had first appeared and discovered an enormous series of tunnels under the entire city, with walls covered in giant roots. It also didn't help that there was still a significant number of the population that remained unaccounted for. But rather than sit and wonder, Tucker decided to take advantage of the lull to propose a little recon. So after dividing up Jack, Maddie, Valerie and Masters' Blasters into three teams, he sent them out to check the tunnels, hoping to find out not only where the missing people were, but also to hopefully learn a little more about what Undergrowth was planning.

 

“So…how sure are we that he's down here?” Valerie noted as she slowly traveled through a tunnel with Vid from Masters' Blasters right beside her.

 

“Well, there aren't really any other places he COULD be,” Jazz replied cautiously, “Just keep your eyes open everyone. Who knows what's down there.”

 

“Aw who cares?” Thrash from the Blasters stated as he wandered through another tunnel with his teammate, Download, “With these new freeze weapons, ain't NOTHIN' down here WE can't handle.”

 

“Wrong, Thrash!” Tucker warned through his headset, “You're not out there to take anyone on. Those freezing weapons will give you an edge, but if anything happens, we're gonna need you all to about face and get back here,”

 

“Oh yeah? Says who, Dude?” Download shot back sarcastically.

 

“Says the guy who's keeping you jokers on the payroll, `Dude'!” Tucker replied sharply, “Remember that!”

 

“So you want us to just tuck tail and run away?” Vid commented, “That is TOTALLY not my style.”

 

“Well, it better be today,” Jazz argued at her, “Look everyone, Tucker's right. If something goes wrong, the first place Undergrowth is going to head for is right here for all these innocent people. And if that happens, we're going to need everyone back here to hold the line.”

 

“What, so now it's `Masters' Blasters RUN FROM disasters'? Oh, THAT'LL make us look cool on the news,” Download continued to complain.

 

“Kids, kids, kids,” Jack chimed in with Maddie from the Fenton RV, “You have to remember that ghost hunting is about providing a valuable service to the community. It's not about shameless self-promotion. Say Maddie, I'm feeling a little parched. Could you grab me something to drink?”

 

“Sure thing, Hon. Do you want Fentonade or Fenton-Up?” Maddie's reply came in through the com system.

 

“Surprise me,” Jack replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Jazz, meanwhile, simply held her face in her hands and shook her head in embarrassment.

 

“Aw man,” Vid snickered, cutting off radio contact with Jack and Maddie so they couldn't hear, “How lame can those two get?”

 

“Come on, Vid, cut it out! That's not fair!” Thrash argued, surprisingly coming to the Fentons' defense.

 

“Uh, Dude? Where is THIS coming from?” Download remarked.

 

“DUDE, have you seen their daughter?” Thrash answered, “She's like, TOTALLY smokin' HOT!”

 

“Ooooookay, we're gonna pretend we didn't hear THAT,” Tucker replied dryly, rolling his eyes before turning over to Jazz, who could only shudder in disgust. But a moment later, she turned her attention to the walls of the carved out tunnels.

 

“Would you look at the size of this root system?” she noted with some concern as she watched the feeds from the three teams appear on the large screen, “He must have been at this for days.”

 

“He must have been at this for WEEKS,” Valerie replied as she and Vid continued their trek. Suddenly, the tunnel in front of them opened up into a large cavern where an eerie pink glow could be seen flowing from within. And as Valerie and Vid entered the cavern to see where the glow was coming from, their eyes immediately went wide in disbelief.

 

“Tucker…Jazz…,” she spoke in a numbing monotone, “I think we found out where all those missing people went.”

 

Tucker and Jazz could only stare at the screen, sharing Valerie and Vid's wide eyes and gaping jaws. The entire cavern was lined end to end with pink, man-sized pods, each one containing an Amity Park citizen floating in suspended animation. A moment later, another pod was soon added to the collection as they spied a giant root pulling a fresh one through the ground into the cavern below. And as Tucker and the others looked on at the horrifying efficiency of what was happening, they gradually began to realize Undergrowth's plan. Undergrowth must have been spreading his root system under the entire city so that when the time was right, not only could he regenerate from anywhere he wanted, but he could snatch Amity Park's entire population away for nourishment right under their own noses!

 

Undergrowth was telling the truth. This wasn't just an arrogant random attack like before. He really WAS prepared…in more ways than one.

 

“This…is really bad,” Tucker uttered silently.

 

“Uh…Tucker?” Jazz asked, zooming in on two pods on the far left corner of the screen, “Is…that who I think it is?”

 

“Ooooooh boy,” Tucker replied unhappily. But before anyone had a chance to react, the entire bunker began to tremble from a massive earthquake! Jack, Maddie, Thrash and Download were instantly ground to a halt by the tremors, but it was Valerie and Vid that felt the greatest impact, as both of them were sent bouncing around the cavern floor. A second later, a wave of giant vines swept in from a tunnel on the other side of the cave, instantly warping into Undergrowth's unmistakable form.

 

“YOU VERMIN DARE TO TRESPASS INTO MY PRIVATE GARDEN!!” Undergrowth roared, his voice echoing throughout the cavern, “THIS VIOLATION WILL NOT STAND!!!”

 

“Okay, you want to stand by what you said before about running away not being your style?” Valerie asked Vid, not taking her frightened eyes off an enraged Undergrowth, “`Cause I've gotta tell you, it's starting to look pretty fashionable to ME right about now.”

 

Vid was too stunned to answer. Face to face with Undergrowth's enormous presence and with no armored vehicle to hide in, all she could offer in reply was a wide-eyed nod before she turned around and tore off down the tunnel as fast as she could, with Valerie right behind her. Undergrowth immediately gave chase, crossing the huge cave with lightning speed. Luckily, Valerie was quick to act, firing a pair of freezing missiles from her rocket sled and blocking off the tunnel entrance with a thick wall of ice just as Undergrowth reached it. But Valerie and Vid's escape only made Undergrowth even more incensed as he smashed his way to the surface, bellowing in rage as his pods rose up around him.

 

“Uh…all teams? You guys better get back to City hall, okay?” Tucker announced through the com system, “Something just went very seriously wrong.”

 

“Danny,” Jazz murmured to herself, staring worriedly out into space, “I don't want to rush you…but we could REALLY use some help right about now.”

 

… … … …

 

“Okay…better…much better,” Dora spoke encouragingly as Sam barely floated off the ground with her eyes closed and a small flame burning between her hands, which were just inches apart. Of course, Dora's positive attitude did little to hide the fact that she was keeping herself hidden behind the safety of a large boulder as she spoke. And it wasn't hard to see why. The smoldering areas on the ground and the scorch marks on the surrounding trees told the story of just how much time and effort had been required for Sam to get that far. In fact, Danny was still darting left and right, putting out little patches of flame with his freezing powers. But Sam couldn't let herself pay attention to that as she focused on maintaining her concentration, letting the flame burn a moment longer before slowly pressing her hands together, snuffing it out and landing softly on the ground.

 

“So…you…really thought that was good?” Sam asked nervously, ignoring the fact that she was already managing to keep her heat aura suppressed with almost no effort at all.

 

“What, are you kidding?” Danny answered happily as he floated up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and whispering in her ear, “You did great.”

 

“Mmmmm…thanks Danny,” Sam sighed with a smile, closing her eyes and savoring Danny's soft kiss on her cheek before leaning back and snuggling up close to him. For Sam, just knowing that Danny was able to touch her again made all the difference in the world. And as the pair stood cheek to cheek, Dora had to give a smile of relief as she noticed an added calm beginning to wash over them both. She knew they would both need that serenity before too much longer. After all, this was the easy part. With Undergrowth still running amok on Earth, the REAL test was about to begin. Sam, meanwhile, lingered in the moment for as long as she could. But eventually, it got to point where she knew she had to face the facts…

 

“We'd better get going.”

 

“Yeah,” Danny replied, his gaze becoming deathly serious as he looked ahead at the battle to come. He and Sam could relax later, but now was the time to knuckle down. Their challenges were far from completed, but at least now, he felt confident that they were better prepared to face them.

 

“Listen, I just…I can't thank you enough,” Sam said, turning to Dora with an appreciative gaze, “You really don't know how much you helped.”

 

“Sam, it was the least I could do,” Dora replied with a shrug, giving Sam a warm smile, “You did the same for me once.”

 

Sam only smiled back and nodded before pulling away from Danny and taking off to head back to Earth. Danny was about to follow behind her, but a quick word from Dora gave him pause.

 

“She's more fragile than she seems right now,” Dora cautioned him quietly, causing Danny to turn back to her, “She DOES have the strength to do this. But she may to need you to remind her of that before this is over.”

 

“I know,” Danny replied before tossing Dora a confident grin, “But that's why she'll always have me.”

 

With that, Danny took off to where Sam was waiting, both giving Dora a parting wave before flying back to Earth at top speed. Dora waved back until they were both out of sight, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. It seemed that no matter what was placed in front of them, they both stayed together, everything would work out fine.

 

… … … …

 

Too focused for words, Danny and Sam blasted back to the Fenton Portal as fast as they could, even making it back to Earth in half the time it took Danny to catch up to Sam originally. Walking hand-in-hand through the portal, they found the lab more or less as they'd left it, which to Danny was a huge relief, considering how the lab looked like an Amazon jungle after Undergrowth's first visit. Whatever Tucker and the others were doing to keep Undergrowth distracted, it was obviously working. Still, that didn't mean that the two of them had the luxury of dawdling.

 

“Come on, we'd better get moving,” Danny announced, ready to head off. But as he was about to step forward, he felt Sam's grip on his hand get a lot tighter.

 

“Sam? Are you okay?” he asked, turning to see Sam's head lowered slightly, looking away from him. Sam wouldn't answer at first, but she couldn't hide from the turmoil brewing in the back of her mind. Admittedly, she still didn't have nearly as much confidence in her control over her new powers as Danny and Dora did. But if that wasn't enough, there was still the off chance that she could end up brainwashed by Undergrowth again. And to Sam, who could now remember everything she had done when she was brainwashed the first time, the thought of being turned against Danny was every bit as frightening to her as the thought that she might accidently end up reducing him to ashes.

 

“Danny, it's…it's nothing,” she finally said, shaking her head, but as she looked up, her eyes held a look of quiet pleading, “It's just…before we go out there…just…please…?”

 

“…kiss me?”

 

Danny wasn't sure what to say at first. Girlfriend or not, for Sam, it seemed a rather odd thing ask. But the look in her eyes immediately told him that this was no frivolous request. She was being deathly serious. And Danny couldn't allow himself a moment's hesitation as he reached out, placing his free hand on Sam's cheek and giving her an affectionate gaze before leaning in and softly pressing his lips to hers.

 

Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she and Danny squeezed each other's hand tighter, both still locked in their kiss. But this was a completely different feeling than the one she had just a moment ago. What was once a feeling of dread had become a feeling of elation. Only the soft touch of Danny's lips had any meaning now. But Danny always seemed to make her feel this way, even going back to their first kiss at the South Pole. Sam had never said this to him, but the truth was that no matter how many other feelings would come into play, the one thing she always felt whenever they kissed…was safe. It was as if absolutely nothing could happen to them. It was that same feeling that put a smile across her face as Danny finally pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers and looking into her eyes.

 

“We're going to win this thing, Sam,” he stated quietly, but with confidence as he slid his hand down her cheek.

 

“I know,” Sam replied with a slight nod before readying herself for what was to come. But just as she and Danny were about to leave again…

 

“Danny…? Danny?!” Jazz's slightly panicked voice buzzed through a nearby com system, instantly getting their attention, “Oh, please tell me you're there!”

 

“Jazz?!” Danny shouted at the microphone as he flew over to the com, “What's going on?! Are you guys alright?!”

 

“Oh, thank goodness,” Jazz sighed with relief on the other end, “Is Sam…?”

 

“Sam's right here!” Danny answered quickly, “What's wrong?!”

 

“It's Undergrowth!” Jazz explained, “We got him mad and he tried to attack City Hall! Mom, Dad and the others have managed to keep him busy with hit-and-run tactics, but I don't know how much longer we can hold him off! His roots are spread all under the city, he's regenerating too fast! We can't stop him!”

 

“Jazz, just calm down!” Danny replied, “Sam and I are on our way, just sit tight!”

 

“No, wait! That's not all!” Jazz continued, “He has a bunch of people already stuck in those pods of his! We've got to get them out of there too, but we don't have any way to do it!”

 

“We could use the Ops Center,” Sam suggested, “I mean, we're here anyway. That should be enough to get everyone away, right?”

 

“Yeah…yeah, I think so!” Jazz answered, still uneasy, “And Sam…I'm not sure if I should say this…”

 

“…he's got your parents too.”

 

Danny's eyes immediately went wide as Jazz's words echoed through his head. Whirling around, he saw Sam staring out into space with the same wide-eyed stare. Suddenly, her face twisted into an enraged glare as a Ghost Ray blade shot from her hand.

 

“He's gonna wish he was never grown.”

 

… … … …

 

“Punch it!!” Sam shouted, pounding her fist into the Ops Center control panel, detaching the Fenton blimp and converting it into Jet Mode almost before it had cleared the roof of Fenton Works. In fact, it nearly sheared the roofs off two other buildings as it blasted through the skies to confront Undergrowth. Danny, however, wasn't about to say anything confrontational at that point. He had seen this look on Sam's face before and whenever she got it, she was well past the point of listening to anybody. All he could do was keep his mouth shut and hold on tight.

 

Within moments, Undergrowth was in sight. Jack, Maddie, Valerie and the Blasters were all doing their best to keep him busy, along with Tucker's robot. As Undergrowth turned to face one attacking party, another would breach his defenses separately with blades and freezing weapons, moving in to attack and forcing him to split his focus. A good diversionary tactic for sure, but against Undergrowth's improved regeneration abilities, it was hardly capable of doing any serious damage. Sam, however, was in no way focused on the battle itself.

 

“There!” she yelled out as she spotted the rows of pods just a few yards from the base of Undergrowth's body, “I'm going in!”

 

Before Danny could respond, Sam had already phased through the floor of the Ops Center, blasting down to earth at top speed! Within seconds, she'd reached the pods and Ghost Ray blades burst from her hands as she broke into a spiral, shearing through the pods like a buzz saw before skidding to a stop.

 

“WHAAAAT?!?!” Undergrowth shouted as his victims spilled from his pods onto the street. But a quick burst from the freezing weapons of Valerie and Tucker's robot quickly commanded his immediate attention. Sam, meanwhile, didn't waste a second running over to her parents, who were still lying unconscious on the street.

 

“Well…if that's the way it's gonna be…prepare for landing!” Danny announced, turning to the control panel and activating the auto pilot.

 

“This is Auto Jack with a friendly reminder!” the smiling inflatable mannequin of Jack Fenton announced as he popped out of the control stick, “It's my first landing attempt and I have no insurance!”

 

“Already I love this,” Danny remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes before phasing through the floor of the Ops Center and flying down to the battle while Sam was still tending to her parents. Meanwhile, the Fenton RV came tearing through a wall of vines with Jack and Maddie leaping out, just as Undergrowth's victims were slowly beginning to regain consciousness.

 

“Uh, are…you okay?” Maddie murmured under her breath, be careful with her choice of words so as not to expose Sam's identity to the recovering crowd.

 

“Never better, but I'm not worried about ME right now,” Sam replied, helping her groggy mother to her feet before turning to Maddie with a serious gaze.

 

“I'm counting on you to get them out of here.”

 

Maddie simply answered with an understanding nod. Even though Sam had to speak for everyone's well-being, it wasn't hard to read that there were two people in particular that she wanted taken out of the line of fire. But at that moment, Pamela Manson finally opened her eyes and looked over to see Sam propping her up over her shoulder. For just a brief moment, Sam was caught off guard at the sight of her mother looking into her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure, realizing that this was hardly the time to be jittery.

 

“It's okay, you guys are going to be fine now,” she spoke reassuringly, passing Pamela off to Jeremy who had just gotten to his feet before motioning to Jack and Maddie, “Just go with them. They'll take you to safety.”

 

“Who…are you?” Pamela asked, still in a daze as she and Jeremy both looked at Sam with perplexed looks. Maddie, meanwhile, could only flash a worried expression, unsure of what the proper answer would be for Sam to give. But at the moment, Sam couldn't be bothered with introductions.

 

“Right now…I'm your best friend in the whole wide world,” she answered plainly before turning her back to them and focusing her attention on Undergrowth, flashing a furious scowl, “And I'm about to become HIS worst NIGHTMARE.”

 

A moment later, the Fenton Ops Center skidded to a landing just a few yards away while Valerie and Tucker's robot were still keeping Undergrowth occupied. And now that they had sufficient means to get everyone away, Jack and Maddie weren't about to waste any time.

 

“Alright, pile in everyone! No time to wipe your feet!” Jack called out to the recovering crowd, throwing open the Ops Center doors. Sensing salvation just a few steps away, the people instantly complied, running to the Ops Center and the Fenton RV in a full-blown panic. After loading Sam's parents inside, Maddie filled the RV to capacity before speeding off, leaving Jack to tend to the rest, still flooding into the Ops Center.

 

“This is Auto Jack reminding all passengers to please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff!” the smiling inflatable auto pilot announced as Jack slammed the doors, to which the eager crowd eagerly complied, “Thank you! By fastening your seat belts, you have absolved Fenton Works of all legal responsibility from any injuries sustained during this flight!”

 

Upon hearing those words, the already panicked crowd began bellowing cries of protest. But Jack was quick to respond, deflating the Auto Jack and jumping into the pilot's seat.

 

“Uh, pay no attention to that handsome facsimile, people! I assure you, you're all perfectly safe!” he called over his shoulder as he started up the engines, “Seriously though, you DO want to keep your seatbelts fastened…'cause the Ops Center FLIES baby!”

 

With that, the Ops Center roared off, just as Undergrowth swept aside Valerie and Tucker's robot and realized what was happening. Acting quickly, Danny managed to Catch Valerie in mid-air to keep her from spinning out of control.

 

“Thanks,” Valerie breathed, letting out a sigh of relief, “Boy, am I glad you guys are back.”

 

“Well don't worry, Sam and I can handle this,” Danny replied, “You and the Blasters get out of here and make sure my parents get all those people safe.”

 

“Right,” Valerie nodded, before handing him a small earpiece, “Here, you might need it to keep in touch. Are you sure you guys are gonna be alright?”

 

“Valerie, take a look,” Danny answered, pointing down at Sam, who was still looking into Undergrowth's eyes with a scowl of rage and blazing fists, “Do YOU want to get in her way right now?”

 

“Duly noted,” Valerie answered with a wide-eyed nod before taking off to gather the Blasters, “Still, you guys be careful, okay?”

 

Undergrowth, meanwhile, seemed to be almost paralyzed with confusion as he looked down at Sam's glaring face. As angry as he was that his food supply escaped, he almost couldn't believe that it was Sam of all creatures who was responsible for letting them go.

 

“DAUGHTER, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” he demanded, leaning down towards her, “OF ALL MY CHILDREN…TO COMMIT SUCH BETRAYAL…!”

 

“BETRAY THIS!!!” Sam shouted back, charging her fist with ecto-energy and letting fly with her new Ghost Ray mace weapon. But the result was a little different than she had expected. Instead of the crude, mace shaped mass of energy that she could only produce before, the energy actually turned into a giant spiked ball and chain that smashed Undergrowth across the face, knocking him back and sending him toppling to the ground!

 

Seeing and opening, Danny was back down in a flash, blasting Undergrowth with a full-power blast from his freezing Ghost Rays, covering him in a glacier of ice! Meanwhile, Sam could only stand in wide-eyed shock as she looked at what she had just created with her ecto-energy.

 

“Whoa…,” was all she could get out as she looked at the giant ball and chain lying across the street, still attached to the energy pulsing from her hand. Evidently, the concentration training she had just undergone with Dora Mattingly had produced some unexpected side effects.

 

“Sam? Are you okay?” Danny asked, landing down beside her.

 

“Let me get back to you on that,” Sam replied, rolling her eyes thoughtfully as the ball and chain slowly vanished. If she could produce something like THAT just by ACCIDENT…closing her eyes, Sam concentrated as she charged her fists with ecto-energy once again. Within seconds, the energy molded and took shape, but once again, both shapes looked completely solid and detailed. Sprouting out of one hand appeared a large battleaxe while her other hand produced a whirring chainsaw blade! Danny could only stare wide-eyed at what he was seeing her do. But as Sam opened her eyes to see what she had created, she couldn't help but respond with a wicked smirk across her face.

 

“Oh yes,” she stated, slowly nodding to Danny in approval, “THIS, I could get used to.”

 

Unfortunately, Sam wasn't going to get the chance to savor this new development. A second later, Undergrowth burst up from the ground, having grown a fresh new body! Bellowing in rage, he lunged forward, his arms lashing out towards Danny and Sam! But Danny and Sam were quick to react as they took to the sky, each of them flying upwards along one of Undergrowth's arms. Danny fired a full power freezing Ghost Ray as he went, encasing one of Undergrowth's arms in ice while Sam tore her way along the other with her new Ghost Ray chainsaw! But their attack only caused Undergrowth a momentary discomfort as he discarded his injured arms, growing new ones almost instantly! Danny and Sam, meanwhile, could only look on angrily. Clearly this fight wasn't going to be won so easily.

 

… … … …

 

Within minutes, Jack and Maddie had transported the remaining townspeople behind the safety of the Ghost Shield behind City Hall. And a moment later, they made their way to the bunker with Valerie and shoved through the crowd of people. The Blasters, meanwhile, stayed outside to form a last line of defense in case Undergrowth managed to get past Danny and Sam.

 

“How are they doing, kids?” Maddie asked, taking care not to raise her voice in front of the large crowd of people that had gathered around the giant screen to watch Danny and Sam's fight.

 

“So far, okay,” Tucker replied, “They haven't made any REAL headway, but at least he's not getting past them.”

 

“Don't worry about it,” Jack answered determinedly, “Because we're heading right back out there now.”

 

“Wait,” Jazz interrupted as they turned around, “What are you going to accomplish by going out there again?”

 

“Jasmine, we are not about to leave your brother and Sam out there to fight that thing alone,” Maddie scolded under her breath.

 

“I'm not saying you should,” Jazz answered back, pointing towards a map of the city on her computer screen with Undergrowth's root system superimposed overtop of it, “But we're not going to win this fight by attacking him head on. With all those roots feeding him, he could grow a new BODY in less than a SECOND. If we're going to take him down for good, we've got to hit him THERE.”

 

“Actually, I've been thinking about that,” Tucker added, calling up his own map of Undergrowth's root system, “Now that we know pretty much where all his roots are, we CAN attack him there. If we could destroy his roots somehow, freeze them or something, he shouldn't be able to regenerate anymore. That should be enough for Danny and Sam to take him down.”

 

“You've gotta be kidding,” Valerie argued, looking at the roots spread throughout the entire city, “Not even DANNY could freeze all THAT.”

 

“He may not have to,” Tucker continued, pointing at four key areas of the screen, “From all that tunnel-hopping you guys did, we were able to map out enough to see that Undergrowth's roots seem to branch off into these four main sections. If we can hit those four points with all our freezing weapons…and I mean EVERYTHING we've got…and Danny could freeze him at his core…it SHOULD be enough.”

 

“Well, let's not waste time standing around here,” Maddie announced, “It's time to pull this weed!”

 

… … … …

 

Meanwhile, Danny and Sam were continuing their fight with Undergrowth and the battle remained at a complete stalemate. While Danny and Sam were too fast for Undergrowth to strike, Undergrowth was still regenerating too fast for Danny and Sam to do any real damage to him. If anything, they were like stinging bees, causing him momentary pain which he quickly shook off. As the battle went on, Danny noticed Sam slicing away with Ghost Ray blades, axes, claws and anything sharp she could think of, but all she was doing was keeping Undergrowth's attacks at bay. If she was going to mount a REAL offense, Danny knew what she had to unleash, but even in the heat of the moment, he could still see the look of worry in her eyes.

 

“Come on, Sam,” Danny murmured under his breath as Sam kept hacking away at Undergrowth's vines, “You know what you can do. You just have to do it.”

 

Just then, dozens of sharp pains jabbed into Danny's back, causing him to cry out in pain! His guard down, one of Undergrowth's vines suddenly wrapped around his ankle and slammed him down to the street! Dazed and winded, Danny tried to force himself to his feet, only to look up and see himself surrounded by Undergrowth's army of vines and evergreen trees. Immediately he understood that earlier pain was caused by evergreen needles being shot into his back and it was then that he understood what was happening. While he and Sam were trying to keep Undergrowth distracted, Undergrowth, in turn, was actually keeping THEM distracted, calling in his reinforcements without them even knowing it!

 

“Danny!” Sam cried out, looking down at him. But it was that momentary lapse of concentration that allowed Undergrowth to strike, lashing out and wrapping Sam up in a flurry of vines, forcing her arms outward and making her unable to cut herself free.

 

“Sam!” Danny shouted back as Undergrowth smirked triumphantly. But before he could even think to do anything, he was brought down from behind by a pair of evergreens and firmly pinned to the street! From the City Hall bunker, Tucker and Jazz could only gasp in shock with the people behind them, watching the events unfold onscreen.

 

“THERE, THERE, BE STILL, MY CHILD!” Undergrowth coaxed as Sam struggled to free herself, “NO MATTER WHAT THESE HUMAN VERMIN HAVE DONE TO YOU, ONCE YOU ARE PART OF US AGAIN, ALL WILL BE FORGIVEN! AND OUR GARDEN WILL BLOOM OVER THIS WORLD, AS IT RIGHTLY SHOULD!”

 

Sam could only groan with effort as another one of Undergrowth's vines positioned itself behind her as it had just a few hours earlier. But suddenly…

 

“SAM!” Danny's voice instantly echoed in her ears as Sam managed to turn her head slightly to see him still standing in the street, being held at bay by Undergrowth's vines and trees, “Sam, your powers…let them out! You can't wait anymore! You've got to use them now!”

 

But all Sam could do is look back at Danny, fear still lingering in her eyes. Even if she COULD use her new powers to escape being controlled by Undergrowth, what if she lost control again like she did before? And if that happened…

 

“Sam, listen to me!” Danny continued calling to her, “I know you're scared! I know what it's like to feel completely out of control! I've been there, believe me! But you can't let the fear control you! You've got to keep going…!”

 

“…Don't give in to it, Sam! I know you! You're stronger than that…!”

 

“…It's YOUR power, no one else's…!”

 

“…You can DO it, Sam…!!”

 

“…I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!”

 

“Danny…,” Sam murmured to herself. Just then, it felt as though something exploded inside her as she shut her eyes tight and her whole body strained. Seconds later, an orange glow began to surround her as the vines wrapped around her began smoldering away.

 

“WHAT?!” Undergrowth growled in surprise as he noticed the heat once again radiating from Sam's body. This was just what happened just a few short hours before…

 

“It's okay…I can do this,” Sam groaned through gritted teeth as the orange glow around her grew brighter, “I have to be strong…I have to take it and use it…I won't let myself be controlled anymore…”

 

“…THIS POWER BELONGS TO ME!!!”

 

Suddenly, an enormous ball of fire erupted from Sam's body, causing Undergrowth to screech in pain as the vines holding Sam burned like dynamite fuses up into his arm! Stunned and hurt, he could only look out in front of him, dazed as the flames swirled away, revealing Sam, still floating in mid-air, the orange aura surrounding her. A second later, two small jets of flame streamed from the aura behind her, looking almost like fiery, demonic wings! And as she opened her eyes and glared at Undergrowth's face, her eyes were now glowing orange as well.

 

Even Danny could only look up in shocked silence. This was almost like when her powers had exploded before. But something was different this time. Her energy seemed contained and focused now, no longer coming in an explosive fury. There was even an almost eerie calm in her expression. But Sam had other matters to focus on before she turned her attention to Undergrowth. Looking down, she flashed a stern look to the writhing grove of vines and trees surrounding Danny below.

 

“Danny, you don't want to get hit with this!” she called down, raising her hand. Danny, meanwhile, was more than willing to take her word for it as he immediately went intangible. And he was VERY glad he did. Because as Sam whipped her arm across her chest, all of Undergrowth's vines and trees were swept up in a torrent of flame and completely incinerated! Again, Undergrowth could only look in stunned silence as Sam gently floated down towards Danny. And as she reached him, she couldn't help but smile.

 

“So what do you think? Too much?” she asked with a cheerful lilt as she turned slightly, modeling the wing-like flames jetting out of her back.

 

“For you? Perish the thought,” Danny replied with sarcastic smirk, even though he was still unable to hide his relief at how things had turned out. Sam, meanwhile, could only smile wider as the flames dissipated and her orange glow vanished. Her eyes even turned back to green as she leaped at Danny, wrapping her arms around his chest and hugging him tight. Danny, meanwhile, didn't need any encouragement to respond as he folded his arms around her and gently held her.

 

“See? I told you, you could do it,” he whispered softly as the two of them hugged each other as tight as they could. Sam, meanwhile, didn't offer up a reply. She only kept smiling as she rested her head on Danny's shoulder and gently snuggled against him.

 

Suddenly, the moment was shattered by a thunderous roar from Undergrowth. Recovering from his shock, all he could think about was the destruction of his army as he lunged at Danny and Sam in blind rage! Sam, however, was getting a little tired of playing defense. Shoving Danny aside, her eyes immediately turned orange again as her heat aura returned. Just then, a fiery Ghost Ray blade shot from her hand as she surged ahead with a yell, plunging the blade into Undergrowth's hand before he could strike them and sending ribbons of flame slicing through his arm, burning it off at the shoulder!

 

“Wow…I'm impressed,” Danny remarked, wide-eyed as Undergrowth reared back and howled in pain.

 

“So am I,” Sam added, clearly surprised herself as she stared down at the flaming blade jutting out from her hand. Just then…

 

“Danny? Danny…can you hear me?” Tucker called through Danny's earpiece.

 

“I hear you, Tuck. What's going on?” Danny replied quickly.

 

“Dude, we think we have a plan to take out Undergrowth's root system,” Tucker announced, “Everyone will be in place in just a few minutes. We're gonna try and freeze it. But we need you to put everything you've got into your freezing powers so you can freeze as much of his roots as possible from his core. Think you can handle it?”

 

“Well, I'll do what I can,” Danny answered before turning his attention back to Sam, “Tucker and the others have an idea to win this. But they need me to do something really quickly. Can you handle things out here on your own?”

 

Sam paused before answering, looking up at Undergrowth's form, still towering overhead. But a moment later, the wing-like jets of flame shot from her back once more as she turned back to Danny with a confident smirk, her eyes glowing orange.

 

“Just try and stop me,” she replied, taking off into the sky to confront Undergrowth face to face. Danny, meanwhile, simply smiled up after her before diving into the street, phasing towards Undergrowth's central roots. However, Undergrowth was still fixated on Sam, who was floating in the air just a few yards from his face, with a determined frown and crossed arms.

 

“YOU?! OF ALL THE CREATURES IN THIS WORLD?!” Undergrowth protested, “YOU WOULD SIDE WITH THIS VILE SPECIES OVER THE WILL OF NATURE?!”

 

“Oh don't get me wrong. I'm ALWAYS about nature,” Sam replied as another wave of vines shot from Undergrowth's regenerated hand towards her. But with a simple wave of her hand, all the vines burned away to ash, causing Undergrowth to bellow in pain once again.

 

“But you know, FIRE has a natural purpose too,” Sam continued, staring at the flames engulfing her hand before closing her fist and smothering them out, then turning back to Undergrowth with glowing eyes, “It's nature's way of telling plants that every once in a while, they need to BACK OFF!!”

 

Not to be outdone, Undergrowth lunged forward again, only to have Sam dodge his strike before flying along his arm, slicing it in half with a flaming Ghost Ray blade. After all, she still wasn't finished talking, no matter how much pain Undergrowth was asking for.

 

“You know, I could go through a whole laundry list of things people do to this planet that I can't stand. And I could yell and scream and rant and rave until my lungs collapsed,” she added, flitting around his head like a buzzing insect, “But for all the legitimate complaining we could do, did you ever stop to think that you're no bargain, either? All you want to do is take, take, take without caring about anything else that lives here. So you'll forgive me if I don't see any REAL difference between you and them. Besides, I can honestly say I'm a LOT closer to some of the people here than I could EVER be to YOU. ”

 

Undergrowth, still wracked with pain and having no way to mount an offense, could only glare at Sam in rage. But Sam had no intention of backing down as flaming Ghost Ray blades shot from her hands and her eyes, heat aura and jets of flame glowed even more intensely.

 

“Sorry pal…but if I have to honestly choose between you and them…then that's REALLY no choice at all.”

 

… … … …

 

Meanwhile, Danny was still phased under the street, waiting to receive his signal from Tucker. He was definitely ready, willing and able, but he had yet to hear anyone give him the go-ahead to start freezing.

 

“Okay Tucker, anytime anyone's ready!” he announced over the com system, sounding more than just a little impatient.

 

“Just hang tight, man,” Tucker responded before broadcasting from his robot, which had already reached one of Undergrowth's main root points, “Alright, all teams, report in. I'm in position now!”

 

“Team 2, ready!” Valerie answered, holding position with Vid at the second main root.

 

“Team 3, all set!” Download replied, with Thrash standing by.

 

“Team 4, just say the word!” Maddie added as Jack powered up the weapons.

 

“All teams, we're good to go!” Tucker confirmed, arming his robot for the assault…

 

“HIT IT!!!”

 

As if sharing a single mind, all four teams let fly with every single freezing weapon their arsenals had to provide. For the first few moments, their efforts didn't seem to be creating anything but glaciers. But as Jazz kept an eye on the monitors showing a scan of Undergrowth's roots and the surrounding temperatures, she eventually began to notice a slow, but steady shriveling along its edges.

 

“Everyone, keep it up!” she cried out excitedly, “It's working!”

 

“Danny, that's your cue!” Tucker added, “Let `er rip!”

 

“You got it!” Danny shouted back eagerly before tensing his entire body, producing a bright glow of blue ecto-energy. And with a yell, he completely let loose as a freezing pulse erupted from his body, exploding in all directions! Back at the bunker, Jazz kept a close eye on the temperature changes and almost immediately, the loss of heat from Danny's efforts registered on the screen. Before long, the temperature drop from Danny's attack connected with the temperature drops from the other four strikes and within seconds, the entire ground underneath Amity Park became engulfed in one enormous, unrelenting cold zone.

 

“Yes!” Jazz whispered excitedly.

 

Everyone else in the bunker, meanwhile, had their eyes glued to the big screen, watching Sam buzzing around Undergrowth. Even Jeremy and Pamela Manson, who had managed to find their way below, could only look on intently at the actions of their mysterious rescuer as Sam's fiery ecto-energy seemed to be enough to hold Undergrowth at bay. Between flame attacks and her Ghost Ray blades, Undergrowth seemed unable to mount any kind of offense at all. But suddenly, after a few minutes of hopeless struggle, Undergrowth froze to the spot as he noticed a leaf gently flutter past his eyes. A single, brown leaf…

 

Two or three more brown leaves drifted past right behind it and as Undergrowth looked down at himself, it wasn't hard to see where the leaves were coming from. His entire body was beginning to shrivel away, turning dry and brown! Leaves and vines were falling away from him as if it were a gusty autumn day! And all of his joints began turning hard and stiff, making it almost impossible for him to move at all!

 

“W…WH-WHAT?!” Undergrowth stammered, half from shock and half from the fact that his face could barely move, “WH-WHAT…HAVE Y-YOU…D-D-DONE…T-TO ME…?!”

 

“Sorry, Jack Beanstalk!” Danny called out as he flew up through the street and plowed into Undergrowth's face with both fists, snapping off his lower jaw and drawing a rousing cheer from the crowd in the bunker, “But this town just got a MAJOR frost warning!”

 

“UAII EAUU…!” Undergrowth tried to yell through the broken jaw just barely hanging off his face. Instinctively he tried to lash out at Danny and Sam, but his roots had shriveled to such a degree that his entire body had turned stiff and brittle. And Undergrowth could only gasp in horror as his entire left arm snapped off the shoulder, plummeting to earth and shattering on the street below!

 

“So, what do you say?” Danny spoke, grinning over his shoulder at Sam before lifting a large ball of ecto-energy over his head, “Want to wrap this up?”

 

“Are you kidding?” Sam replied. But Danny found himself surprised as she flew behind him, reaching up to grab his hands and charging up her flame powers.

 

“Sam?”

 

“Hey, it worked the last time, didn't it?” Sam remarked with a grin, causing Danny to smile back at her with a nod of confidence. Suddenly, the jets of flame shooting out of her back grew even more intense as she put every ounce of energy she had left into their combined attack. And as her ecto-energy merged with Danny's, an enormous flaming Ghost Ray blade shot up from their hands, nearly as tall as Undergrowth himself!

 

“Whoa…wasn't expecting THAT,” Danny commented and he and Sam looked up wide-eyed at what they had just created. But now wasn't the time to look surprised as Undergrowth was still struggling to move his dried out body in a desperate bid to escape. Glaring at their target, Danny and Sam let out a combined yell as they brought the giant blade down, cleaving Undergrowth in half and setting his entire body ablaze at the same time!

 

Back at City Hall, the entire underground bunker erupted with deafening cheers as Undergrowth's two halves screamed in agony! Even Jazz got caught up in the excitement, hugging Tucker tightly around the neck. But Danny wasn't done just yet as he pulled out the Fenton Thermos, sucking in what was left of Undergrowth's flaming body and finally bringing the crisis to an end. Sam, however, was slumped behind him, her head resting on his shoulder. Her fiery aura had already dispersed, along with the jets of flame streaming from her back.

 

“Did…did we…get him?” she uttered with a slight groan.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, we got him,” Danny answered, more than satisfied with the way things turned out.

 

“Heh…good…,” Sam added with a weak chuckle, “`Cause I think I…may have overdone it…just a little.”

 

“Sam!” Danny shouted as Sam sluffed off his body and plummeted to the ground like a stone! Back at the bunker, the crowed let out cries of panic and Tucker could only look on helplessly as Sam lost consciousness and began to revert back into her human form! If her parents saw this…! But just as Sam's transformation was becoming undone, the giant screen suddenly went black, causing the crowd to let out a gasp of shock! Surprised himself, Tucker turned to Jazz with a curious look, only to see her with her hand over her heart, breathing a sigh of relief. A moment later, he looked down to see the screen's connector cable gently dangling from Jazz's ankle and immediately looked back up to see Jazz toss him a knowing smile.

 

“Oops?” she replied with a plain shrug.

 

Luckily, off camera, Danny managed to catch up to Sam and scoop her up in his arms before she hit the ground. Floating to the ground and gently laying her down, he cradled her in his arms and softly caressed her cheek. A few moments later, Sam managed to slowly open her eyes. And as she looked up at Danny's face and her lips curled into a drowsy grin, Danny couldn't help but smile back warmly.

 

“Hey you,” she managed to utter softly.

 

“Aw Sam,” Danny sighed as he continued to hold her in his arms, “Have I told you lately how incredible you are?”

 

“Well…yeah,” Sam replied, looking away with a bashful smile before reaching up and gently sliding her hand down Danny's cheek, “It's still nice to hear, though.”

 

Danny didn't need any reason to hesitate after that. As he held her close, Sam managed to pull herself up slightly and their lips pressed together in a long, soft kiss.

 

… … … …

 

With the danger passed, the joyous citizens of Amity Parks came flooding out in droves from behind the Ghost Shield, eager to offer praise to their heroic protectors. Meanwhile, still at the scene of the battle, Sam had long since recovered and was already back on her feet.

 

“So…you feeling a little better now?” Danny asked, still feeling a little concerned.

 

“Well, let's find out,” Sam replied, quickly changing into her ghost form. Grabbing the rear bumper of an abandoned car, she pulled upward and lifted the rear half of the vehicle over her head with almost no effort at all.

 

“Well…looks like the strength's coming back,” she remarked, feeling quite satisfied.

 

“Boy, I'll say,” Danny replied as Sam turned to see him, staring at her lifting the car with a glazed look in his eyes. And Sam didn't have any problems figuring out why.

 

“You think this is hot, don't you?” she noted, tossing him an amused smirk.

 

“Well, when DON'T I?” Danny replied, staring at her with an affectionate grin. Sam's mind, however, had drifted towards other thoughts. Particularly when she was caught by Undergrowth, too scared to let her powers loose. And Danny was always there for her…still encouraging…still believing…

 

“You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize I've actually been pretty lucky,” she said, gently placing the car back down before turning back to Danny, “I mean, I've got you and your parents and everyone else to help me through these things. But when you got YOUR powers, you had to figure all this out on your own.”

 

“Hey, it wasn't all THAT bad,” Danny replied with a shrug, “I mean, I had you and Tucker around. It was okay.”

 

“Oh, yeah right. Come on, me and Tucker? What did WE know?” Sam protested before hanging her head slightly, “It's just…Until today, I don't think I ever realized how alone you must have felt…All those times when something happened to you and you didn't know what was going on or how to deal with it.”

 

“Well, some times HAVE been tougher than others. But the truth is…when you guys were around, I NEVER felt alone,” Danny answered, drawing a shy smile out of Sam as he propped her chin up under his thumb, “I'm just glad Undergrowth wasn't able to get his roots into you again.”

 

“Well, let me put it this way. If he wanted me on his side…he shouldn't have tried turning me against YOU,” Sam replied, putting her arms around Danny's neck and looking into his eyes with a warm smile, “Thanks for being there for me.”

 

“Always,” Danny said, wrapping his arms around her waist, “You know that.”

 

It was long past time to say anything more as Danny and Sam leaned in, sharing another long, soft kiss. But just then, their eyes snapped open as throngs of people suddenly came running around the corner towards them. Acting quickly, they both pulled away to avoid being seen as a couple. After all, the fewer things they showed having in common with their human selves, the better. But as the pair was quickly surrounded and people got up close to Sam's ghost form for the first time, she found herself instantly being bombarded by questions, tape recorders and flashbulbs. Who was she? Where did she come from? How did she meet Danny Phantom? Meanwhile, Tucker, Valerie, Jazz and Danny's parents were all trapped on the outskirts of the crowd, unable to do anything that would diffuse the situation.

 

Sam found herself on overload for a brief moment, but then she remembered what Danny had said to her earlier. The only way for her to beat this was to meet it head on. Almost immediately, she had an idea in her head of how to proceed, but as she looked over at Danny, he suddenly got a feeling of dread. Whatever Sam was thinking, it was a sure bet there was going to be some controversy involved.

 

--Noooooo,-- he mouthed to her as a word of warning, shaking his head with a stern frown.

 

--Oh, come on,-- Sam mouthed back, realizing that the frenzied crowd was too busy bombarding her with questions to notice anything they were doing.

 

--Saaaaaaaam…--

 

--Pleeeeeease?--

 

At that point, all Danny could do was give an annoyed eye roll, waving her off in concession.

 

--Oh, alright.--

 

Now that she had the go-ahead, Sam turned back to the yammering crowd and flashed a wicked smirk. Danny, however, gave a concerned look and wisely took a couple of cautious steps back as Sam's eyes flashed bright orange. Because as Sam raised her hand, all it took was a quick snap of her fingers and she was instantly engulfed in a towering column of flame, forcing the entire crowd to jump back with a gasp of shock! Within seconds the flames had died, as Sam pulled back her heat powers and stood staring out at the crowd with an annoyed glare.

 

“Alright, listen up people, because if there's one thing I hate doing, it's repeating myself!” she shouted to everyone, looking over and tossing Tucker and the others a confident eye to show that she had everything under control, “I'm not here to be a celebrity or a novelty act! I'm not here for tabloids or news shows! I'm here because Danny Phantom is here! And wherever he shows up, I'll be there to help him out! That's all you need to know!”

 

With that, Sam turned to the still-stunned crowd and flew off into the sky. But after getting a few feet up, she turned to the crowd and flashed another smirk.

 

“Oh, and for the record…the name is Sam Tasma…!”

 

“…REMEMBER IT!!!”

 

Now officially satisfied that she had said everything she wanted to, Sam turned and burst into the sky at top speed. Danny, meanwhile, could only shrug to the crowd, still shocked into silence, and immediately took off into the sky after her. Confident that the situation was well in hand, Tucker and the others merely exchanged relieved grins and moved on. A few minutes later, the crowd itself, began to disperse, all except for Pamela Manson, who remained standing where she was, still looking up into the sky.

 

“Honey…are you okay?” Jeremy spoke softly as he came up behind her, putting his arm around her.

 

“What…? Oh, I'm fine dear. It's alright,” Pamela replied. But all she could think about was the Ghost Girl who had rescued them just moments before. And just as she was about to turn and walk off with her husband, she couldn't help but take one last lingering look into the sky in the direction Sam had flown, feeling very confused.

 

“Why do I know you?” she whispered, giving off a most bewildered look.

 

… … … …

 

“…The name is Sam Tasma…REMEMBER IT!!!”

 

It was evening and Danny and Sam were just watching the local news report of Danny Phantom's latest heroics, along with his mystery partner, who was no longer the mystery she once was. All in all, Danny had to smile at what had happened, feeling quite satisfied with the way Sam handled her first mobbing. No protests, no complaints…

 

…no casualties.

 

“Well, you're out there now,” he noted as Sam knelt by the Manson's fireplace that sat right next to the home theatre system, “You sure you're ready for it?”

 

“Well, I know what I said isn't going to stop anybody from talking about me,” Sam answered with a shrug, “But I laid down the ground rules and I intend to live by them. Speaking of `ground' rules, didn't your parents ground you for that little freezing stunt you pulled?”

 

“Hey, I won't remind them if you don't,” Danny answered with a shrug, “Anyway, what about YOUR new powers? You ready for them too?”

 

Sam didn't reply at first. Keeping her eye on the fireplace, she took a quick look over her shoulder to make sure her parents weren't around. Then, with a snap of her fingers, the gas fireplace instantly ignited, filling the room with a warm glow.

 

“Oh…I think I'm getting the hang of it,” she said, turning to Danny with a confident smile before walking over to the couch.

 

“So…`Sam TASMA'?” Danny had to ask as she sat down on the couch beside him, “Where did you come up with THAT?”

 

“What can I say? It just came to me,” Sam argued lightheartedly, “It's got a ghostly vibe to it and it sounds cool. What, don't YOU think it's cool?”

 

“Are you kidding?” Danny answered with a warm smile, “When my girl says something's cool, who am I to say it's not?”

 

“Oooo, you're learning. I like that,” Sam commented with a soft grin before sliding over and snuggling up close to him, “Mmmmm, do you mind? It's a little chilly in here right now.”

 

“You're kidding, right?” Danny said with a hollow chuckle as Sam curled up even closer, “You're COLD? Can't you just…I don't know, turn up the heat or something?”

 

“Oh, I could. I TOTALLY could,” Sam answered, looking up at Danny an affectionate smile before sliding her hand down his cheek and gently nuzzling his nose, “But I like it better when YOU warm me up.”

 

“Ooooooh,” Danny remarked with a knowing grin, folding his arms around Sam and holding her tight. Within seconds, the two of them laid back on the couch, leaning in and softly kissing. As both of them fumbled for the TV remote, Danny managed to find it first and turned the TV off, dropping the remote to the floor. The soft glow of the fireplace, the feeling of their arms holding each other and the soft touch of their lips were all they needed now. But suddenly…

 

“Oh, would you two come up for air?!” Tucker called into the living room as he emerged from the kitchen hallway, hauling a six-pack of soda and an enormous bowl of popcorn, “Come on, movie time! Let's go!”

 

With that, Tucker headed for the basement, leaving Danny and Sam to flash an annoyed look behind him before rolling their eyes.

 

“He REEEEEEEALLY needs a girlfriend,” Sam remarked dryly as Danny nodded in agreement.

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

The End