When she stepped foot outside the cockpit and onto the battlefield hours later, she beheld a gruesome sight. Scores of harsh, ghostly soldiers surrounded Frostbite's vastly depleted army, which was being pushed back by the second. Danny was nowhere in sight. Suddenly snapping her out of her daze, Sam heard Pandora's commanding voice charging her armies into battle; she followed after them moving as though she was in a dream brandishing the Fenton Bazooka that she had hidden underneath her clothes. Hitting the actual battleground was akin to hitting a brick wall, and Sam had to shoot her way through the throng of warriors blasting away any member of Vlad's army who even came close to her. She had almost made it to the middle of the battlefield, when the entire ground began to shake with a force that caused her to fall flat on the ground. Amidst the clamor of the continuing battle, she heard the familiar sound of Danny's haunting, ghostly wail penetrating the entire battleground. Once it had ended, she forced her wobbly legs to walk forward and once she became stable enough, she ran. Danny may have mastered the art of maintaining his ghostly form after a wail years ago, but it still would have weakened Danny severely, leaving him vulnerable to another attack.

Sam felt as though she was encased in sludge as she trudged through the swarm of enemies around her until she finally reached the core of the battle. Within it her husband lay beaten and bruised at the foot of an unscathed and almost tranquil Plasmius whose gaze was venomous as he caught sight of Sam out of the corner of his eye and lunged toward her, nearly pummeling her to the ground. Sudden recognition lit Danny's face when he processed what had happened and he instantly rose, ignoring his limbs' pleas for rest as he attempted to tackle Plasmius and lead him away from Sam. It worked wonderfully. Danny had succeeded so miraculously in garnering Vlad's attention that when Sam rose from her stunned stupor she had to nearly sprint to catch up with them.

Visibility was at a bare minimum as she ran toward the sound of furious ectoplasm blasts singeing the air and she was forced to stride along blindly. From the darkness, she heard an suffering cry resound across the battlefield, accompanied by shouts of victory springing up from Vlad's army. The dust settled and Sam saw Danny once again lying prostrate at Vlad's feet, clutching his side while ectoplasm seeped through his fingers. Vlad smirked with glee, while he watched as Sam ran thoughtlessly for her husband, holding him lightly while she attempted to staunch the flow of ectoplasm amused enough to allow them a moment before he spoke up.

"Our deal Daniel," Vlad asked, showing his wicked grin, as he moved forward feigning on advance on Sam.

Fear flooded Danny's eyes, equally matched by his wife's own panicked expression. Unbeknownst to him however, her fear was not for her own safety,

"Danny, you can't," she cried, desperately trying to reach him.

"I gave him my word."

"Yes, and you wouldn't want to go back on it now, would you," Vlad sneered, moving closer to Sam.

"No," Danny conceded lowly, allowing the soldiers who were now encompassing him on all sides to grab his arms and pull him violently to his feet.

Frostbite and Pandora's armies continued to fight despite the imminent defeat that loomed over them. They fought to the best of their ability, but in the end, it was Vlad's armies that were accepting their surrender. The soldiers surrounding Danny on all sides began to drag him away having already restrained him, but Sam would not allow it. She grabbed him, holding him so tight that even the brawny soldiers could not hold her back. In as much as her embrace had pained Danny, he could not bring himself to ask her to leave just yet; so he allowed her to continue hold him until the soldiers around him began to close in on her, looking as though they were just waiting for Vlad's signal to pounce. His shoulders shifted slightly, trying to get Sam to let go of him, but she still clung to him in sheer terror. The soldier continued to move in , and Danny nodded toward Frostbite, who stood solemnly near the couple. Though the request was wordless, he understood exactly what Danny needed and pried Sam away. Even with his increased strength, he still ended up pulling her away from him finger by finger. The minute she let go of him. Sam's entire body went limp with despair as she surrendered to the strong hold of the snow beast, closing her eyes.

After they had gone a few paces Sam craned her neck to look back on the battlefield. Soldiers from Vlad's army had grabbed her husband's now completely limp body, and each took turns as they kicked him repeatedly in the side. Through it all, Danny was as stubborn and refused to emit a sound, and then they went for his head. With one swift kick, Danny was knocked nearly senseless, allowing a cry of sheer agony to escape unhindered.

At the sound of his voice Sam began to struggle against Frostbite, but in her weakened state he easily overpowered her, and she collapsed once again crying softly to herself. Soon they had reached the speeder, and Frostbite attempted to release her, an endeavor which proved rather difficult for the yeti as she seemed content to simply lie in his furry arms, blocking out the world around her.

"Sam," he whispered, shaking her slightly. "Sam, don't give up. You wouldn't want his sacrifice to be for nothing."

Sam did not answer him and tears continued to trek down her face unchecked. Even though she still felt completely numb, she slinked out of Frostbite's arms, and made it to her feet long enough to see the still open cockpit door. As she moved to close it, she took one last glance at the fateful and now empty battlefield, before closing the door behind her.

THE END