If you ever visited a party where you drank gallons of alcohol then you can understand how Sam felt when she woke up. A horrible headache and a desire to throw up. Not the most pleasant start of the morning. Or maybe not morning, she honestly didn't know. All she knew was that it was daytime, if the sunlight getting through her eyelids was any sign. Sam could just open her eyes, but she felt too sleepy for that. And slowly, piece by piece, the memories of the dream conversation returned to her.

That took care of her sleepiness. Groaning slightly, she got into sitting position. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. The sun was high, but not at its zenith, which meant that it was late morning after all. Sam got up, but didn't see anything, or anyone. She freaked out from such a development, but it didn't last long, because of one familiar cheerful voice behind her.

"My, my, look who is awake!"

Sam turned around sharply. Only to be greeted with Danny's face a few inches from hers. He was hanging upside down in the air with a grin splitting his face.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"I...I'm fine, thanks," Sam answered, blinking in surprise. Phantom noticed that she was staring at him.

"Is there something on my face? I thought I cleaned that up," Danny rubbed his nose.

"No, but...what happened with you?" Phantom smirked slightly, running a hand through his hair, which were pulled down by gravity.

"A little change in look. What do you think?"

Sam didn't know what to think. On one side, she had to admit he looked hot, on the other, he looked stranger than even his ghost form. His hair became very light shade of gray, the color of clean steel, silver even. His skin was still paler than hers, but not as much as before. The irises of his eyes held the bright green color, radiating a slight glow, while the pupils were ice blue.

"It's...nice...I think. But why..."

"Why do I look like that?"

Danny made a flip in the air and landed on his feet. "Have something to eat meanwhile," he threw her an apple, which she caught and bit, feeling of hunger rising in her stomach. She sat on the nearest stone, while Danny walked near her.

"I think I know what we must blame for my fancy change," he dug in his pocket and took out the gem. "I should have known better than to use it. I've read a lot of books and scrolls about their...side effects if they are used without the Gauntlet. Gem of Form can turn you into who knows what, Gem of Fantasy can drive you insane, and this one...it can take your life."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. "But that means..."

"Thanks for the concern, Sammy, but I doubt that I'm full ghost now. I still breath, which means I'm still alive. But human heart is gone, it doesn't beat anymore. My core replaced it, though, good riddance. How do you live with this constant beating inside? It's annoying."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle under her nose. Danny's complaints sounded funny...and cute, maybe.

"My theory is that I may be just more ghost than a human now. And since I was in human form when I used the Gem, my human appearance was affected by ghost form, not the other way around."

"And you aren't worried about it?" Danny looked at her, tapping on the ground with his leg and hands behind his back.

"Oh, I am not worried. I am completely FREAKED OUT OF MY MIND! I already checked, my appearance doesn't change, this," he gestured to himself, "Is my only form," Danny said bitterly, looking down on the ground.

Sam looked at him with pity. And while she didn't understand what was so bad about it, she saw that Phantom was not in the mood to tell what exactly. But she remembered the night conversation. Undergrowth kept his word, Danny was healed...in a way, without him suspecting anything. Or maybe not, and Phantom was just good in hiding it. While looking at the half-ghost, Sam recalled the image of cruel teen from her dream and couldn't help but wonder about that.

And her thoughts ended with the same thing. How unrealistic that was. If she hadn't known, she would have assumed that they were two different people, but that's the point, she knows. She now knows what kind of man this innocent looking teen was, but, Sam wanted to think, not anymore. She hoped he wasn't.

'Ugh, why it should be so complicated?!' Sam complained inwardly, shaking her head, before a sudden idea came to her mind. 'Maybe that was just that, a dream?'

"Well," Danny interrupted her wondering, "There are also pros of such change. I don't need to change forms in order to use my powers, and my new look will make it harder for bypassers to recognize me, since both my forms are wanted now," he put his hands on his hips. "But enough talk, let's get out of here, this forest seems to hate me."

"Hate you how?" Sam asked, getting up from the cold stone.

"Can you imagine how hard it was for me to get this apple? Sure, all the wounds have already healed without a trace, but I looked like cats' scratch toy," Danny smiled and chuckled in amusement at Sam's confused face. She hadn't had a clue about why cats need scratch toys.

Then he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Immediately Bucefal ran to the two, letting out an eager whine. Sam looked down and saw that his leg was alright. It proved the reality of yesterday events and her theory at the same time. Bucefal could either be healed, or she just fell asleep on his back and dreamed all of that.

Suddenly there was a loud rustling in the bushes. Everyone's heads turned in direction of the noise. Danny raised his left hand and made a silencing motion. Meanwhile a shining icy dagger appeared in his hand and he took it in strong grip. Phantom slowly, without making a sound, walked to the source of the rustling. And, once he got there, Danny moved the bushes aside.

"What the heck?" He said.

"What is there?" Sam asked.

Danny kneeled and picked up the unexpected item, before walking back to his companion.

"I can't say it isn't convenient, but unusual that's for sure," Phantom responded, showing her what he found.

"A dress," Sam said dumbfounded.

"A dress," Danny confirmed.

The dress was very pretty. It was forest green with black trims, which formed a nice pattern around the neck and sleeves, reminding of vines.

"What an interesting coincidence," Phantom wondered out loud, raising his eyebrow and not noticing Sam's wide eyes. "I think you should take this on. Your current dress is a pile of rags," he sniffed the air. "And take a bath too."

"Thanks for being so blunt," Sam said sarcastically.

"You are welcome, milady. Now, I've seen a small pond not far away, you can wash yourself there."

"Alright," Sam said, taking the dress from him. "You aren't going to peek on me, right?"

"Why would I?" She looked at him strangely, and Danny's eyes widened in realization. "I'm not saying that there is nothing to look at..." Sam's eyes widened, "I better shut up before I say something more stupid," He dropped his head, "The pond is there."

He pointed to the left and Sam hurried there, hoping he hadn't seen her reddening face.

Danny stood on his place, before crossing his hands and leaning against the tree. The branch above him broke and almost hit him, but he just stepped to the side calmly.

"It sure wants to kill me," he deadpanned, "What do you think?" He asked, looking at the colt.

Bucefal nodded. Danny sighed, running a hand through his now gray hair.

"Hurry up, Sammy, or I'll become a full ghost," he muttered to no one.

Without anything to do, Danny just sat on the ground, thinking. All of that was strange and suspicious. One moment he blacks out and then wakes up in a middle of nowhere, with awfully smelling ointment on his skin. Danny didn't wait long before washing away this thing in a pond he found. That was when he saw the changes in his look. It can cause a lot of troubles in the future. Ghosts' nobility was obsessed with purity of ectoplasm and they disliked Phantom already. Probably purges he had committed had something to do with it. If they find out he is part human, then it can cause a disaster, if not another civil war.

Danny always was in his ghost form, even while being alone. He never thought about his human part like it was half of him, only like disguise which allowed him to spy on them. Now he will need to explain to the Council the reason of such change in his appearance. He often regretted the decision about reestablishing it. He did it only to appease the people who assisted him to overthrow his father and the ones who sided with Pariah at the same time. He could rule on his own just fine, without the constant whining of pompous fools who spend all their lives sitting on their asses and shouting how great their families were.

It was a compromise, the King stays in power, but is limited by 'free elected' Council. Nevermind that there was a big amount of the same people from Pariah's trustworthy circle. Rebels probably hoped that the King and the Council will kill each other because of rivalry. But Phantom saw this through, ever since they agreed on his conditions maybe too fast, which was suspicious enough.

Danny's train of memories was stopped by a loud croaking. He looked up and saw a big crow sitting on a branch and staring at him with its black eyes. Before it saw a shining red ruby near him.

It flew down and grabbed the gem with its beak.

"Hey! Give it back!" Danny exclaimed, trying to catch it, effortlessly, sadly.

The crow flew back to its branch, thinking it was safe there. But Phantom charged the ectoblast on the end of his pointing finger and shot at the pest. The crow croaked loudly in pain as the end of its back got burned and flew up, but didn't let go of its precious. Phantom growled and followed the bird. When it hid behind the leaves, he oriented by smell. Burned crow has an unusual scent. Danny got a feeling that he was walking in circles.

Finally the crow hid behind the leaves of a tree, unreachable for the blast. Sighing, Phantom became invisible, before flying up.

'Oh, you are as good as dead when I get this gem,' he thought angrily, looking at the bird sitting on a branch. Carefully he approached the crow, and finally it was within Danny's reach. 'Now or never!'

He snatched the gem. But something stopped him from triumph. One angry bird who tried to protect its property. Phantom waved his hand rapidly, trying to shoo the brave creature away.

"Get lost, you dirty...ah!"

The branch under him broke. Not having time to react out of surprise, he fell down in water. Wait, where this water came from?

Danny got up from the water, completely soaked wet. He wiped his eyes, before noticing that he wasn't alone. Danny saw Sam...completely naked. She immediately covered her private parts before yelling.

"GET OUT!"

"Ancients, I'm so sorry!" Danny closed his eyes and turned away, getting out of the pond and making all the water phase through him.

He stopped near a tree with his back turned to the girl. Phantom heard how Sam got back on the ground and then her rapid footsteps, which meant she wasn't in the best mood.

"Look, Sam, before you say anything..." Danny started to say, turning around, but a slap on the face shut him up immediately.

"Shut up, you pervert! What were you thinking?!"

"Sam, it was an accident!"

"You accidentally spied on me?! You promised that you won't!"

"It's all because of that stupid crow! It stole the gem and I tried to return it!"

Sam gave him a hard look. "Could at least think up a valuable excuse," she whispered angrily.

She went away, leaving a disgruntled ghost teen behind. Danny looked after her, angry as well, rubbing his sore cheek. It didn't hurt, it was like fly hitting the cow with its small leg. The cow, however, can kill the fly even without noticing its presence, which can be said about Phantom and Sam. But of course Danny didn't want this. Where will she go, though, they were in a middle of the forest. The conversation surely will take place later and maybe then he will be able to explain this to her calmly.

"Why am I so worried about what she thinks?" He muttered, genuinely confused. He never cared about what others made of him. He was above all of this, but becoming the king required him knowing about opinion of his subjects so they won't overthrow him.

'But there IS something to look at,' he admitted, but shook away this thought with a green blush. But she always looked stunning, that much was undoubtful.

Then it hit him why.

Running a hand through his hair with a sigh, Danny went back to where Sam went. And he saw her right there, sitting on a rock, grudgingly eating her apple, already wearing her new dress. Phantom took a deep breath and approached her from the left.

"Sam..."

She looked in complete opposite direction.

"Look, I get it, you are pissed right now and I can understand this, but...I didn't do it on purpose, okay? I didn't look where I was going."

'But the crow obviously knew...' he hummed mentally, but decided to think about it later.

"Danny..." Sam said longingly, before finally looking up at him. "Can you answer one question?"

"Oh...ehm...sure, I guess," Danny answered, sitting on good enough distance from her.

"Are you being honest with me?"

Sam knew that it was a pointless question. If he wasn't truthful, why should he be now? Yet, it won't hurt to ask.

If Danny wasn't surprised by the previous question, he surely was now. Everything he did at first was blink.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Just answer the question," she all but snapped. Danny sighed deeply.

"This is something I'm not used to, I admit."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked confused, earning a dry chuckle from the ghost teen, who found the ground pretty interesting.

"You don't remember what I told you back at the bandits' camp? I'm son of the Devil for crying out loud! I lied so often that sometimes I myself forgot what was truth and what was lie. It came to me so simple...Even now, when Pariah is gone, it still bothers me. I'm the King of Ghosts now, and deceiving is such a natural thing in our high circles. That's what I was taught since I learned how to speak. You can trust no one but yourself. There was Jazz, but under constant watch I couldn't speak to her much. Now she is with her parents, and I can't nor do I want to hold her back."

"It's different with you, though," Danny smiled, looking back at his companion. "With you I can talk about whatever I want, discuss about different things without worrying that what I say might be used against me. I feel free like never before in my afterlife. I know that sounds like a weak confirmation of my actions, but it's truth. I trust you, and you trusted me when we just met. That day I got my first and only friend. You. I AM honest with you, Sammy, because I don't have any reason not to be."

Danny gently took her soft hands into his rough arms, softly looking straight in her wide opened eyes. Sam stared back into his multicolored ones, she felt like he was looking straight into her soul. But it didn't feel bad, instead, Sam felt comfort. It was peaceful and gentle feeling. Despite his cold touch, Sam felt warmth inside of her.

Little did Phantom know what an inner conflict his only friend was having.

Sam didn't even know what to think. She was touched with how sincere he sounded, and  she felt the same way towards him. There wasn't a single sign of lie in his speech. Maybe...maybe that was because he just changed. Maybe he wasn't that man from the dream anymore...

"What makes you so sure?"

Sam's head shot up and she started to look around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Sam? Is something wrong?" Danny asked with concern.

"I...no, I thought I heard something."

Danny hummed in thought before sniffing the air.

"I don't hear or smell anything."

"Just...let's go already," Sam sighed.

Danny nodded, happy to get out of this accursed forest as fast as possible. He whistled loudly and Bucefal stomped to them, letting out an eager whine. Phantom jumped on his back, preparing to help Sam to get there too, but she managed to do it by herself this time.

"You are getting better in this," he commented with a slight smile.

Sam smiled weakly, too.

"Practice, I guess."

And with that they started to go on their way.

Under calm face, Phantom was thinking. All of this happened so sudden, maybe too sudden. Everything was fine until they came to this forest. And all the events were strange and mysterious. There was only one person who obviously knew something, and she was sitting behind him.  He wanted to know what in the both worlds had happened.

Yet, nothing too bad seemed to happen, besides his two forms turning into one. He won't press the matter until Sam decides to tell him, and she wasn't in the mood now. Danny closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Then, a small, almost invisible gust of air escaped his mouth. Danny's eyes remained closed, this ghost was too weak to bother. Yet, it felt familiar, but Phantom couldn't recall where exactly he sensed it before, it was just so weak. Maybe this ghost did something.

Danny sighed. So many questions and so few answers. But he will find out. Eventually.