The above artwork does not belong to me.

Danny stretched and yawned, blinking his bleary eyes open as sunlight streamed in through his window.

He'd been up nearly all night fighting ghosts. His right side was one big bruise from being slammed into the Nasty Burger's wall yesterday, and his mouth still held a bloody aftertaste.

He rolled out of bed, groaning. School would start in two weeks, and he was trying to get used to waking up early before classes started.

He walked into the bathroom, his thoughts sluggish. At least in Gravity Falls, he hadn't had to fly around all night.

Danny grimaced, the events of several weeks ago fresh in his mind.

"Shoot him!" Danny shouted at Mabel. The gun was clenched in her hands, her knuckles white.

"No!" Jazz screamed."You can't, you'll hurt Danny!"

"Kill him!" the halfa screeched. "I'd rather die than let them use me!"

Voices were yelling all around him. Danny screamed in pain again, then yelled, "Do it!"

The halfa squeezed his eyes shut at the memories. He'd been so scared, lying there on that table. The pain from the portal had been almost unbearable, like fire coursing through his veins.

As much as he'd feared for his own life, he'd been afraid that Dan or Bill would kill someone. Both were some version of himself. And though Mabel was enormously guilty for nearly killing Danny, he knew that the blame really laid on his own shoulders.

Well, all three pairs of them.

He washed his face and brushed his teeth, still remembering what happened.

Bill cackled. "Yeah, Shooting Star, do it. Put a bullet in the poor little Spook's skull."

Mabel was completely frozen, her face stunned and afraid. Danny nearly let despair overtake him. He couldn't expect an innocent twelve-year-old to make that kind of choice.

Everyone was going to die, and it was all his fault.

The demon smirked. "I knew it. You're still weak. Too bad we can't play the little game of favorites with Pine Tree anymore. That was so much fun."

The portal began to swirl with color. "Oh, looks like we can merge those dimensions soon."

No, no, no! Something had to happen, anything. Bill Cipher and Dan could not win.

Danny spit in the sink, scowling. He decided to take a shower to scrub off any dirt, blood, and grime from the night before. Maybe he could wash away these painful thoughts, too.

Bill smirked at the girl. "And you were gonna try and shoot me!" he laughed. "You'd never have the guts to--"

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

A sudden pain flared in Danny's chest. His heart felt like it was being ripped apart. Mabel had shot the original. He was going to die.

Seeing himself shirtless in the mirror, Danny lightly touched the bullet scars. They seemed to burn hotter the more he thought about that night.

"You killed him, Shooting Star," was all he could hear.

Fear gripped him like a vice. Was he really fading away? Would he become full ghost, or would he go somewhere else? What was going to happen to him?

Everything was blurry. His mind was disoriented and his head hurt. His body was shutting down.

He felt someone looking over him, There was a sense of uncontrollable anger radiating off of them. And there was fear. It was coming from Mabel.

Danny, although weak and dying, twisted his wrists out of his restraints, finally freeing himself. He undid the straps on his ankles and looked for a weapon.

There. A large metal bar. He gripped it, ripping it off of the portal with a burst of strength.

He staggered forward as a voice cut through his thoughts. "Say goodbye, you pathetic--"

There was a clang as Danny whacked the ghost over the head. "Pick on someone your own size," he growled.

Hot water ran down Danny's back, over his shoulders. His black hair stuck to his forehead, darker than the night sky. He sighed. At least Dan was gone . . .

Danny's older self stared at him in shock."But- but you're inside a duplicate. You can't survive, you need-"

"Energy," he said weakly, "I know. Like the energy of the ghost zone." He placed a hand on Dan's arm, fully prepared to do what he had to. "Or the energy that you've been hoarding inside of you for the merge."

He stepped out of the shower, steam billowing around him. Already the mornings were getting colder. He wrapped a towel around himself and walked to his room to get dressed.

The evil ghost narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't. You'd kill me. You can't kill me."

Danny offered a sideways smirk. "I've already died once today. I don't see a problem with biting the dust a second time."

Green light flowed from Dan to the halfa, draining him. Danny's skin lost its pale complexion, and he looked stronger every second. He could feel the power coursing through him. He knew that he would live. His counterpart wouldn't.

"That won't work!" Dan snarled painfully. "You'll never survive!"

Danny let go. The dark version of himself fell to the ground. Dan was just an empty husk. Dead.

The halfa walked out the door, shaking out his wet hair. Every day he relived that experience. Maybe the horrible feelings, the guilt and fear and pain, would eventually fade. He certainly hoped so.

For now, though, he had his own remedy for the flashbacks, and their names were Sam and Tucker.

He walked into Sam's house. "Hey, Danny!" she smiled. "You down in the dumps again today?"

Despite his bad morning, Danny couldn't help but feel all of his negative emotions fade when he saw her face. His heart fluttered a little. "Hey," he replied. "I'm fine."

Clearly she didn't believe him, but she let him off the hook. He appreciated that. They walked downstairs. Tucker would get there any minute.

The two played video games until Tucker arrived, Sam beating her best friend almost every time. He'd moan and groan and say she was a cheater, but really he didn't mind. Just spending time with her was all he needed.

A ring sounded at the door, and they ran to meet Tucker. It was time to do what they did best.

Ghost hunting.

You guys. The haitus has been too long. I've grown lazy. Lazy, I tell you! All I've written are poems, short stories, and the beginnings of weird anime crossovers that I will never finish. (Have you tried combining Fullmetal Alchemist and Tokyo Ghoul? I'm sure someone could make it work, but not me. Definitely not me.)

So, FINALLY, I present to you chapter one of Phantom Justice. Please nag at me to update, or I'll forget. Or become unmotivated. Either one is bad. Anyways, tell me what you think and enjoy!