There are so many reasons why this story shouldn't be up right now. Namely that my dramatic timeline-placed foreshadowing jokes about when I was going to post this on May 25 were stopped by a storm which knocked out my internet, which as you lovelies will later learn, is very ironic.

Anyway, hiya everyone! Welcome to the rewrite of my baby, and I call it that because it takes up an alarming amount of my waking thoughts. I've known that I needed to fix up the beginning of this story for a while now, but in light of the lack of responses the last couple chapters have gotten, I decided to go ahead with a complete reboot of thi…s idea. So everyone, welcome to Connections 2.0- it's filled with more of the stuff y'all like, and cut into more manageable chunks.

The old version is still up of course if you all, uh, want to read some bad first drafts of my plot points and now 'ooc' ocs. ^^' Splitting Images and Bitter Reunions were pretty good, but everything else? Not so much. Also Bitter Reunions itself was 55k.

For those of you who are new; hi! I've included the specifics of this AU at the bottom, but I'm sure you can deduce the most important parts of it anyway. I will say this before we start, though; there is significantly less oc involvement in this arc than there was in the original draft.

I doubt most of you are still reading this note anyway, so let's just get into it. Onwards!

Chapter 1; From the Top

"You can't change it, you know. You can't change the past. They taught us better."

"I know, I know..." a sigh, "I know. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

.-.

It was the last stand; the final battle. If they won this, it was all over, and the world would be safe.

Danny was injured, but there was no time for healing. A blast had just taken out all of Team Alpha; their opponent was far too powerful. He knew his friends were yelling at him, desperate to get him away from the fight, but he couldn't bring himself to care. No, enough people had died already. This had to stop, and he would be the one to end it.

A weapon lay between him and the monster, and it took two seconds before Danny realized exactly what it was. It held the most powerful attack- except using it wouldn't just kill your opponent, but severely damage you as well. With how injured he was already, there was a high chance that the weapon would kill him.

Looking out at the destruction around him, he decided it was worth the risk.

He launched himself forwards, picking up the weapon as he went. The monster turned towards him, and his hands shook.

"Sorry," He whispered. He heard his friend scream. His ears started to ring as Danny pressed the button to fire and-

Error: you have been disconnected from the internet.

"What?!" Fourteen-year-old Danny Fenton stared at his laptop's screen, and the game he'd got for his birthday. Another notification popped up, saying it was low on battery power. "Wait, no, c'mon-" he twisted the charger, which was held together with only duct tape and hope, trying desperately to get it to work again. "Come on!"

His phone rang. Danny pulled his headset off- another birthday present- and grabbed it from his desk. "Tuck, my internet's dead."

"Rip," Tucker replied, "we all died when you dropped the Final Rush, by the way. My internet friends are angry."

"I'm sorry," Danny groaned, and moved a hand to the back of his neck. His finger caught of the laptop cord, which bumped one of his model rockets, and Danny snatched it with a yelp before it could fall off his desk. "Uh... also, my laptop's actually dead now. It won't turn back on."

"I told you, you need a new battery and charger if you want to keep Ol' Screamy."

Danny set the model down and glared at the device, not amused by his best friend's nickname for it. "It's not my fault this one's full of ectoplasm. Honestly I'm just thankful it hasn't come to life. But what I need, Tuck, is a new laptop."

"Well, you'd better find yourself some rich friends, because I am poor as shit." He paused, "Hold on, I need to go murder everyone in my group chat. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Danny glanced at the clock- 12:00 flashed in the dark. It had been eight last time he looked up. "It is tomorrow."

"It's not tomorrow until I sleep," Tucker replied, and hung up the phone. Danny rolled his eyes and tossed his own onto the bed. Logically, he knew he should sleep as well; he had class in the morning. But something kept him in his chair, wide awake and not focusing on anything. Something was happening. Far away, something was happening...

He shook his head and glanced at the clock again. It was still flashing 12:00.

"Power outage," he mumbled, "I have school in the morning, I need to reset my alarms... phone." He looked back, over the dark shadows that covered his bed, and frowned. The lights on his alarm clock turned off; the power was out again. "I'm not finding that."

Danny spun in his chair once before standing up and stumbling towards the door. He pulled it open and attempted to make his way down the stairs. One creaked, signaling that he was just about to reach the bottom. "This would be easier if I had night vision," he muttered, "Just become a cat, suddenly animorphs... animagus. Wizards."

The lights snapped back on, momentarily blinding Danny and causing him to slip on the remaining two stairs. He screamed as he fell on his back and whacked his head on the wood. Danny groaned and rolled onto his side, pressing his hands against the back of his head. I regret so much.

"Danny!" And then, there was Jazz, nearly diving down the stairs to rescue him. His sister lifted him up and held him close, pinning his arms to his sides as she preened his hair for the injury. "Hold on, let me see- oh, it's just a bruise. You're fine, you're fine! Did you fall down the stairs?"

Danny struggled out of his sister's grasp, "A wizard pushed me," he replied.

Jazz rolled her eyes, "I'm sure, little brother. Come on, let's get back upstairs." She lowered her voice, "I think Dad's in the kitchen. Unless you feel like listening to him scream about ghosts, we need to get-"

A crash from the other room cut off her words, and Jack Fenton rushed out towards them. "Kids!" He scooped both teenagers up under his arms, "Come see what your mother and me are making! It's our greatest creation-"

Danny tuned him out and glared at his sister instead. She, in turn, glared at their dad, who continued to babble about something neither sibling cared about as he carried the two into the lab.

It was business as usual in Fenton Works.

.-.

Maddie didn't seem bothered by how her husband carried their children down the stairs and dropped them in some conveniently placed chairs. Neither did either parent seem concerned about how their kids had school in the morning, or that it was probably past midnight. Danny searched for a clock, curious once again about exactly what time it was.

"This-" Jack said, pointing to a hole in the wall filled with loose wires and safety violations, "-is the Fenton Ghost Portal!"

Danny made a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot himself in the face. Jazz grabbed his finger gun and shook her head. Danny used his other hand instead, smirking at his sister's frown.

"It's almost done," Maddie said, pulling her jumpsuit's hood back, "just a few more touch-ups, a couple more wires... if we pull another all-nighter, we'll have it done by the time you two are back from school!"

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Another? Mom, when was the last time you slept?" He slipped his hand out of Jazz's.

"There's no time for sleep when we're on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, Danno!" Jack declared, practically vibrating as he grabbed a mug and gulped down what was definitely not his first cup of coffee. "You'll understand soon- you're in highschool now!"

"And I have been for like six months, but thanks for noticing," Danny replied dryly. Jazz grabbed his hand again and squeezed tightly.

Jack launched himself at the wall and pulled out a blueprint for the portal. Danny slouched and tried to think of literally anything else- he didn't care about ghosts! They weren't even real! Plus the lab always made him feel like he was sick, and the ventilation made a horrible buzzing sound. Danny's eyes drifted past his parents as they discussed something about a trio of emergency breakers- one of which was apparently already active and on a timer, for some stupid reason Danny didn't care about. Instead, he stared at the portal.

The buzzing echoed in his ears and Danny had a terrible feeling that something was happening. Or, something was going to happen. The world was twisting and turning around him, but Danny stayed in one place. He was dizzy- why was he dizzy? Why did he always get so dizzy when he went in the lab? There was too much buzzing, far too loud, and-

Something was happening. Something was going to happen, right there. In that portal. Pain and fear and screams screams screams-

"Danny?" Jazz shook his shoulder, and Danny snapped to attention. Their parents were giving him a worried look. "Have you eaten anything today?"

Danny shrugged her hand off. "Of course I have, I-" he stopped, frowning, as he ran over the day in his mind. "Actually no. No I haven't." Sorry.

"No wonder you keep spacing out." Jazz sighed and pulled him to his feet. "Mom, Dad, this is all very interesting, and I'd love to learn more about it, but someone needs to make sure Danny looks after himself."

"Hey!" He glared up at his sister, who widened her eyes for a moment and flicked them to the stairs.

Oh. She was trying to get them out. That explained why she was pretending ghosts were interesting!

"Ohhh," Danny bent over, holding his stomach, "I feel it now, I feel it... the hunger... I think I'm dying..."

"Walk it off," Jazz said, and pushed him towards the exit. "You need to work on your acting skills," she whispered.

Danny wasn't listening. The portal had caught his eye again, and the screams echoed in his ears. Something was going to happen with that portal. What was going to happen?

Jazz pushed him up the stairs and blocked it from his view.

"Remind me to fill the coffeemaker with decaf," she sighed as she pulled a chair out for her brother. "Hey, is something the matter?"

Danny looked back at the lab as she sat down beside him. "Is that portal dangerous?"

"Everything in this house is dangerous," Jazz replied, in lieu of comfort, "but it's no more dangerous than their guns, or the oven. They'll be fine, little brother." She offered him a small smile and stood back up. "Nobody will get hurt by that thing, I promise. Now, I know it's late, but what do you want for supper?"

Danny shook his head and turned as she walked past him. "Actually, Jazz? What time is it?"

.-.

Danny dropped his bag and sat at the table beside Tucker, yawning. The first class of the day and he was already desperate to go home.

"Same," his friend said, reaching over to pat his shoulder. "I stayed up past two, trying to finish making a stupid website for Salty."

Danny frowned, trying to remember which of Tucker's internet friends that was. After a long, awkward minute he realized he had no idea. "I didn't even do anything, I just laid in bed awake for hours and woke up before my alarm." He groaned, and Tucker continued to pat him. "Any idea what we're doing today?"

"Science," Tucker replied, ever helpful as the final bell rang.

"Alright class, settle down," Mr. Falluca's quiet voice did not calm the chattering students, and Danny slouched as he began to look more annoyed. "Settle down!"

The conversations filtered off, and in the first moment of silence Danny threw his hand in the air.

"Yes, Danny?"

"Did you finish grading our tests?"

"In fact, I did," he said. "But as one of your classmates has yet to do hers, I can't hand them back yet."

"Bullshit!" Danny flinched and spun around, staring at the student who had slapped her desk. Sam Manson stood up, glaring at the teacher. "I did that test, I was there that day!" Danny sunk deeper into his chair, terrified of whatever demon he seemed to have unleashed. "Check your attendance, I did that-"

"Samantha, sit down!" Mr. Falluca pleaded, "If you have a problem, we can discuss it after class, but until then-"

Danny brought his hands up to his ears as she yelled again, and Tucker started patting him once more. The rest of the class seemed to be enjoying watching Sam argue with the teacher, but Danny hated it. He hated watching people argue, he hated the shouting, he hated the screams screams someone was screaming in the portal someone was screaming-

Tucker flicked his cheek and Danny nearly jumped out of his chair. "It's over," he whispered, and when Danny looked back Sam was no longer in the room. One of her friends was blushing furiously and trying to hide her face- that was Rebecca. The other, Mia, seemed far too amused. Her teal eyes flickered to Danny and her grin grew as she gave him a wave.

Danny felt the colour drain from his face and he turned back to the front. Mr. Falluca was handing out sheets of paper, and didn't look at Danny when he set two down on the table. Science Fair! was printed across the top, and the name Sam Manson was written in the corner of his.

Danny nudged Tucker with his elbow and leaned over. His friend had Michael Jones written on his sheet. "What's going on?"

"Partner project," Tucker whispered back, pointing to the explanation on Danny's own sheet. "Worth ten percent of our final grade, due in two weeks."

"What?!" Danny had obviously been too loud, because a few students turned his way. He sunk into his chair and clenched the paper tightly. "Ten percent- Tucker, why is this one project worth that much?!"

"No idea," he shrugged, "I'm working with Mikey, maybe we can combine our groups. Who's your-" he stopped, staring at Sam's name. "Dude."

"I'm dead," Danny whispered, "I'm going to fail and then I'm going to die. Does she even like science? Tucker, what if she doesn't like space?"

"Worse," Tucker said, "what if she doesn't like you?"

The finger gun rose again, and Danny mimed shooting himself in the head. Mr. Falluca returned to the front of the class.

"You can take the rest of this class to talk with your partners about the project," the teacher said, "feel free to move around." The students practically leapt from their seats and rushed towards their partners. Tucker patted Danny's shoulder before going to sit on Mikey's desk. Danny stayed seated.

"Danny," Mr. Falluca moved to his side quickly, "I thought you should know that the partner selection process was completely randomized." At Danny's skeptical look, he continued. "You are without a doubt one of my best students-" Danny felt his face flush at the praise, "-and I am convinced you will get an amazing grade no matter who you work with."

Danny's then why can't I work with Tucker, or at least someone I've actually talked to? didn't make it past his throat. He tried to calm himself down; randomized, Fenton. It was all a game of chance. Gambling. I'd suck at gambling.

"I'll speak with her about approaching you," Mr. Falluca finished, and returned to his desk.

Danny continued to stare at the assignment, reading it over several times. A partner project due in two weeks, worth ten percent of his final grade, with someone he barely knew.

He'd rather deal with his parent's screaming basement hole than this.

.-.

The day ended without Sam approaching him, even though they also had the same English, History, and PE classes. She hadn't even looked his way.

"Maybe she hates you," Tucker offered as they waited in front of the school. The bus pulled away, and Danny checked his phone. His mom's text of 'Just leaving now honey! Big surprise!' had been sent ten minutes ago.

"She's never even talked to me," Danny replied, and sent a text to his sister. 'Death Hole's probably getting turned on at home.' Jazz answered automatically with an angry emoji.

"Maybe she hates your parents," Tucker suggested, looking down at his phone. "Mom's here, got to go- will you be okay on your own?"

"Probably," he shrugged, "Mom and Dad will be showing off their new invention when I get home- a portal to the Ghost Zone."

Tucker frowned, "A portal to another dimension? Dude, that's how you get super powers."

"That's how you get dead," Danny corrected. "Half my parents' stuff would kill me long before it gave me superpowers."

"So, half dead, half superpowers?"

Danny shoved his friend. "Go meet your mom!"

"I call being the annoying but lovable sidekick!" Tucker called back, looked at his phone again, and ran towards the parking lot.

Danny checked his phone again. "You'd think people who can invent holes that go to other dimensions could invent a way to make sure they get here on time," he mumbled.

"Your parents are inventors?"

Danny spun around. Sam Manson stood behind him, arms crossed and looking a bit annoyed. "Uh- yeah. Yes. They invent things, so, inventors." Danny was very aware of how much he was blushing. Why did he have to be so awkward?

"Huh," Sam replied, "I thought they were just crazy people who screamed about how the town government was run by ghosts."

"That was once, and they apologized." Danny crossed his own arms, "And for your information, my parents are definitely not crazy since their research and inventions are actually funded by the university of-"

Sam reached out and pressed a finger to Danny's lips. "Unless we can use it for the science fair thing, I don't care." She sighed and dropped both her arms, "Look, Danny, right? I really need to get a good grade on this, and the only part of this course that I don't suck at is biology. Can we do something with that?"

Danny frowned, "Uh, we could dissect something, maybe?"

"That is not what I meant." Sam glared, "Natural flora or fauna, I can do. But nobody will be cutting up any living creature."

"You don't dissect things when they're alive, that's vivisection." Danny pointed out, and earned himself a glare. "I'm just saying! Also, that sounds boring. What if we-"

"You may be better at science than me," Sam cut him off, "but that doesn't mean you get to take over the project. We're partners Danny. We have the same amount of say in everything."

"Then nothing's going to get done," Danny said, ignoring how his phone vibrated. "We need a plan, and you've admitted you don't have one, so the least you could-"

There was a loud screech and both teens dove closer to the school as the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle crashed through the school fence and came to a stop on the lawn.

"What the hell is that?!" Sam's voice cracked.

"The Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle," at her confused look, Danny continued. "We call it the RV."

"Danny!" The teen awkwardly waved as his dad stuck his head out the window, "who's your friend?"

"This is Sam," Danny called back, incredibly grateful that everyone else had left the school grounds. "We're doing a science project together."

Maddie rolled down the other window, "Science project? Well help her in, Sweetie! It's finally done! She can come see history in the making!"

Jazz screamed, and both of Danny's parents pulled their heads back in. The RV pulled off of the grass and onto the road.

"Hell," Sam muttered, "and I thought my parents were embarrassing."

"Yeah, mine'd win that contest." He turned back to face his partner, shaking his head to try and calm the blush. "Look, we got off to a rough start- want to try again?" He held out his left hand for her to shake. "I'm Danny."

Sam rolled her eyes and took it. "I'm Sam. We're shaking with the wrong hands."

"I'm left-handed," Danny said, and Sam's eyes lit up.

"Cool," she awkwardly shook his hand once again before letting go. "That's so rare, isn't it? I don't think I know anyone else who is."

Danny led the way down to the RV. "My sister is, too. So's my dad, and my grandpa. Apparently it's a Fenton trait."

"That is so cool," Sam replied as they stepped over the ruined remains of the fence. "Maybe we could do our project on that."

Danny pulled the RV's door open and was automatically treated to his sister's disapproving look. "Hi, Jazz. Have you met Sam?"

"Briefly," Jazz said curtly, and shifted her bag so it wasn't blocking the door.

Danny gave Sam a shrug before helping her in.

.-.

When they returned to Fenton Works, the teens were tossed jumpsuits and ordered to go change. Danny's was mostly white with black gloves, boots, and a belt. Jazz' was similar, only pink. They'd been getting one of those for their birthday every year of their lives, despite their annual protests. Sam, who was slightly taller than Danny, had been given one of Jazz' old ones.

"Don't you have anything not pink?" She had complained, to which Jack had replied by holding up a giant orange one. When Sam had settled for the pink one, and the three were finally dressed in their protective layers, they had been thrown into the conveniently-placed chairs. The blueprints were out again, and Danny honestly could not have cared less about the words escaping his parents' mouths. They'd probably given the exact same speech last night, anyway. Ghosts, ghosts, ectoplasm, not really people, all evil, extremely powerful, very dangerous, blah blah blah.

Sam raised her hand at some point, but Danny was so busy ignoring his parents that he only heard half of her question.

"...All evil?"

"Ghosts aren't human, Sweetie," Maddie replied. "They're twisted remains and bad memories. Ghosts can't be good people because, simply put, they aren't people."

There was a fly in the far end of the lab. Danny focused on that. The screaming wasn't back, but he was still on edge. Something was going to happen. His heart was pounding, and Danny stared at the fly. It landed on one of the two breakers outside the portal. Are those the only ones? Danny frowned, trying to remember. He couldn't see any others, so he assumed they were.

"Are you children ready," Jack shouted and Danny nearly fell out of his chair, "to see history in the making?!" He held a two ends of a plug in his hands.

"No," Jazz yawned.

"Yes," Sam said, seeming to hang on to every word.

Danny tried to find the fly again. "Sure?"

Jack shoved the plugs together and rushed to one of the breakers. It, like the one Maddie stood in front of, was a huge lever. "Ready sweetcakes?"

"I am, Jack!" Maddie kissed her husband's cheek.

"Gross," Danny mumbled, and Sam smacked his arm. Jazz gave them both a disapproving look.

"Three," Jack said, putting his hands on the lever.

"Two," Maddie said, and Danny watched the fly enter the portal.

"One!" Together, they shoved the levers down. Sam squeezed Danny's arm and he stared ahead, at the portal, and at the fly-

A rush of electricity ran through the portal before erupting into a sparking mess. The fly was smacked by a broken wire and a tiny flaming shape fell to the portal floor.

Maddie and Jack exchanged a look before flipping the levers again. And again.

"I don't understand," Maddie said, "I- I checked the calculations, it should work, it should be stable- what did we miss?" She tore the blueprint off of their board, "What did I miss?!"

Jack attempted to flip both switches twice more. "Work!" He shouted, and the portal did not.

Sam slouched, "I wore pink for that?"

Jazz sighed and patted Danny's shoulder. "I'll distract them." She rushed to their parents side and guided them out of the lab. Jack managed to flip one of the breakers back down before being pulled away. Danny moved to follow, glad that that disaster was finally over, only to notice Sam wasn't behind him.

She was standing in front of the portal.

Danny rushed back to her side and nearly slipped on the lab floor. He grabbed the wall for support and accidentally pushed the other breaker back down. Sam turned towards him, and Danny tried to look natural. "So..." he leaned against them, "what are you doing?"

"How would they even get a permit to build this?" She asked. "My parents had to fight the city just to build my greenhouse."

"You have a greenhouse?"

Sam gave him a look like 'yes, of course I have a greenhouse, you uncultured swine' before turning back to the portal. She took a step towards it.

"Whoa, whoa," Danny grabbed her arm, "what are you doing?"

"Going inside," Sam said, and Danny suddenly felt far away. "It doesn't even work, and I want to see what it looks like. Maybe we could do something with electronics for our project, it certainly seems to be your parents'-"

"You can't go in there," Danny whispered.

Sam crossed her arms, and Danny realized he wasn't holding her anymore. He didn't know when he'd let her go. "Why not?"

The screams echoed in Danny's mind, but the buzzing fans seemed quiet. "It'll kill you."

Sam rolled her eyes and hopped into the portal.

"Sam!" Screams still echoing in his ears, Danny poked his head in. "Get out of there!"

"What, are you scared?" She teased, and ducked to avoid a dislodged wire. "Come on, portal to the Ghost Zone? Are you going to pretend you're not the least bit curious?"

"No, because I'm not," Danny took a hesitant step in and attempted to shove the wire back into place before it could hurt someone. It reconnected with a shower of sparks, and he raised his arms to shield his face. "Sam, please, get out of there!"

"Hey, there's something back here!" She called, "Do you have any flashlights out there? I can't quite see it."

"Sam, no," Danny moved to her side, walking on his tiptoes trying not to get his feet tangled in the wires. "Come on, this is serious! We need to get out of here!"

She pointed at a bump on the wall. "What does that look like to you?"

"...No idea." A bubble of curiosity rose inside him and despite his twisting, screaming gut Danny pushed the bump back in. Something whirled, twisted, buzzed- and the portal lit up enough to read the words breaker 3 written just above the button.

Sam's breath caught. "Oh, shi-"

"Run!" Danny grabbed her by the sleeve and pulled, not caring about the wires twisting around his feet. Electricity leapt between them and Sam screamed, ducking to avoid the ceiling of sparks

It occurred to Danny that they wouldn't make it out.

His foot caught on a wire and Danny lurched forward, hand still clinging to a fistful of Sam's jumpsuit. He threw his arm out to break his fall, practically throwing Sam ahead of him, and crashed to the ground. She hit the entrance way and rolled, past the wires and out the portal. He couldn't move, and time slowed down. Sam pushed herself up and turned towards him. Blood trickled from a cut on her forehead and her eyes were huge.

Sound was long gone, but the portal vibrated under him. Danny felt as if he was underwater, drowning and gasping for air while stuck in place. Sam's mouth moved in a whisper of his name, and she reached out her hand- Danny reached out too, trying to grab on-

The portal lit up around him and Danny heard the screams.

Functionally, Connections is a series rewrite taking place from March 2014 to May 2017. It's got all the elements; variations on the canon portal accident, episode-inspired chapters (they're epichapters in my heart), and explanations for things the show never touched on, but I like to think that I go above and beyond that. This isn't just the episodes you've watched in text form with a few minor variations and a retelling of the accident- oh no, that route has had it's run.

This is the story of a bigger world, and of those little moments nobody thinks twice about. This is about family, friendship, and standing up when you barely can because no one else will. But above all, this is a story of a kid named Danny who finds himself in the middle of the impossible. It is, after all, a story about Danny Phantom.

So buckle yourself in my lovelies, we're in for the ride. Welcome to Arc 1, from the accident to Spectra, let's see if you can spot all the connections.

Well, that's enough of being fake-dramatic! I've got up to Chapter 7 done already, so depending on the responses for each chapter, I might do weekly updates! Might is a key word there, since I'm heading out of the country tomorrow. Otherwise, you can expect to see Chapter 2 on June 17, and I'll play around with my update system from there!

That's all for now! Thoughts, everyone?