Danny was running. Hastily he kept pushing through the mass of ghosts around him. Their plan had gone wrong and now everything was in danger of collapsing on top of them. The resistance was out in the open and Plasmius was not going to stand by and watch any longer as they gained more members. Because of a single traitor in their midst, a hundred lives had been put at stake, Danny's being the first on the list. With the whole of the ghost zone knowing how their heir had been treated, a high amount of ghosts were now starting to see their king as the bad guy. And Plasmius was no dumb bad guy, either. He knew just who had given the last push that had driven the ghostly resistance to its current state of power. So, Danny only had one option.

"Come with me!" a blue skinned, female ghost whisper yelled into his ear as she pulled him into a different hallway by his arm.

Recognizing the specter's voice to be Dora's, a once powerful leader of her own kingdom that had been forced to work under Plasmius, Danny followed her and they made their way through the chaos that roamed the castle. She lead him to a part of the castle Danny had never been before and lastly pushed the young halfa out a metal door where he was immediately grabbed by someone else.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why am I out here?"

"You are going to hide. Plasmius will be after you now."

Danny tugged his right arm out from the grip and frowned at the male ghost.

"But that wasn't part of the plan." he argued.

"Well, we're changing the plan, kid. It's not my fault the first one didn't work!" came the reply.

Now Danny was starting to become angry. Who did this guy think he was?

"Oh, so now all of this is my fault?"

The far larger ghost took a step forward to tower over Danny, grabbing him by the collar of his suit.

"Listen here, brat-"

"Skulker!" shrieked a high pitched voice from their left.

Skulker let go of Danny and spoke without turning to look at the newcomer.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

The other ghost floated over to Danny and encased him in a protective hug from the side. Danny leaned into the embrace while he nervously watched the two adults' staring contest.

"I'm here to make sure Danny will be safe." She pulled him even closer. "Which, apparently, was a quite wise choice."

Skulker did not seem the least bit intimidated by his opponent. He stubbornly crossed his metal arms and leaned forward in a daring way.

"Do you doubt my capability of getting the Prince to safety, Desiree? "

He spat the name like an insult, making the female specter's aura flare angrily.

"In fact, I do. Which is why I am going to take care of him now. You can leave." Desiree shot back.

Skulker opened his mouth to argue when a ghost that was dressed like a guard opened the door Danny had come from and demanded the metal ghost to follow him inside. Skulker send one last glare at Danny and Desiree and left. After the door closed, the black haired ghost turned to Danny and crouched in front of him, smiling affectionately at him. Even though he had only been in the ghost zone for roughly two months, Danny had really come to like her. In a way, Desiree reminded him of his older sister. Jazz had always had a thing for psychology. She could read people and find out what they are thinking. Jazz had always known him best. Whatever Danny needed, Jazz knew about it before he did himself. Desiree, too, had that ability to tell exactly what Danny needed, what he felt and why. Then she would try her best to give it to him, even though most of it wasn't anything you could just get from any person.

"You are a very brave boy, Danny. You only need to be strong a little longer, alright?"

Danny couldn't do anything but nod. He had the feeling this was goodbye. Maybe forever. Desiree cupped his face with one hand, tears welling up in her ghostly red eyes.

"Okay, you need to listen very closely now." At another nod from Danny, she began explaining the way to a special portal in the ghost zone that would take him back to earth. "From there on you need to find home alone. I'm so sorry, Danny. I wish I could go with you."

"I understand. You're needed here." Danny said, but even as he did he didn't sound fully convinced.

Desiree stood up with a proud smile.

"You will make it through all of this. I know it." Then she hugged him tightly once more before pulling away again. "You need to go. They cannot find you."

"Will I see you again?" Danny asked hopefully.

"One day you will, Danny. Now go."

And he did. Flying away from the castle's island at growing speed, the feeling of being trapped was slowly fading. But so was the feeling of warmth he had gotten from the female wishing ghost. When he took one last look back, he could swear he saw an actual tear slide down the ghost's cheek before she vanished into the dephts of the ghost king's castle.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

When the bell rang downstairs, he already knew who it was. The thought saddened him. Not long ago there would have been a fifty percent chance as to who was at the door. Grudgingly, he made his way down the stairs to let in his visitor.

"Hey," he said after he had opened the front door.

"Hey Tuck," Sam greeted.

Both of their smiles were fake and they knew it. Danny's death, or disappearance, as Sam claimed, had hit them hard. And most importantly, it had hit their friendship hard. Tucker and Sam had never had much in common, except for being Danny's friends. He had always been the glue between them, and even though they had grown incredibly close themselves over the past years, there was just this kind of empty space between them now. This space that had held Danny. An unspoken promise to work together, to be there for their best friend. And now that they had to be there for each other, now that they needed each other most, this promise had squeezed itself between them like a poisonous parasite that grew stronger the more they tried to fight against it.

"Come in."

Tucker stepped to the side and closed the door as soon as Sam was inside. Without either of them needing to say anything, the two teens headed to Tucker's room. Sam took her usual spot on his bed while Tucker sank into his armchair. He hadn't sat on his desk chair for a whole two months. It had been Danny's spot whenever he was over at Tucker's house.

"Tucker?"

"Yeah?"

"I- nevermind."

Okay, so Tucker might have been a little out of it ever since the incident, but he could still very clearly see when his friend had something to talk about.

"Sam, what is it?"

Sam bit her lip as she seemed to debate whether to tell him or not, but decided to give it a try in the end.

"I had a dream last night. It was about Danny."

Tucker raised his eyebrows and leaned forward in his seat, indicating that she should keep talking.

"He... he was in a lot of pain. At first I could only hear his screams, but then I saw him. He was floating in the air and there was this green light all around him, like hundreds of lightning bolts. And when I tried running towards him I couldn't move," she explained.

Tucker took note of the light tremble in the girls voice, but decided not to comment on it. Instead, he asked what had happened next.

"After a while it stopped and he just fell to the ground. Then there was something black. It covered him like a blanket and he was- he was gone. That's when I woke up."

Tucker was stunned. He was incredibly grateful not to have dreams like this. Sam appeared to be waiting for him to say something, but he had absolutely no idea what he could say. A tense silence fell over them. Tucker imagined it to be Danny's ghost, trying to fill that empty space between them once more, but failing to reach inside them anymore.

"Do you still think he's alive?" Tucker finally spoke, startling his friend.

Sam nodded determinedly.

"I'm sure of it."

Tucker frowned.

"How can you know?" he asked, sounding frustrated.

He saw a brief smile tug at Sam's lips as she answered.

"He wouldn't just leave us like that. Danny's stronger than that. They also never found his body." Then, in a smaller voice, "Besides, I don't think I could take admitting he was actually gone for good."

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters. Neither do I own Young Justice or any of the DC Universe characters.

Hi guys! I'm sorry this is so short and late. But it makes most sense this way, so... Anyway, I hope you liked this tiny piece of work and are looking forward to the next chapter! :D I appreciate any votes and/or comments. It really means a lot to me! Thanks for reading.

FaHa :)