You've got my attention - Danny Phantom X Reader

It was all worth it

You laid on the ground, your arms outstretched beside you as you tried to calm your ragged breathing. You didn't know how long you'd been working. Valerie kept it a secret from you. All you knew is she had to leave for food and water way more times than you could count. Large bags grew under your eyes from the little sleep you've gotten; and you were almost 100% sure you'd thought Dash spoke when he claims he hadn't. Not only that, but the numbing cream had long since subsided, keeping the pain in the front of you mind.

Turn outs, the cables weren't the only issue. There were a ton of internal problems that needed fixing, and you had absolutely no knowledge on how to go about it. So – however long you've been down here... you've spent working trial and error on the portals circuit boards. It feels like fixing that bracelet all over again, except this time... it was much more complicated. And the stakes were so much higher.

The only thing that brought you comfort was the idea that no matter how long you'd spend here, if you were nice enough, maybe Clockwork would send you back to the original timeline. A moment before future Danny got there. So time wasn't really an issue. The issue was trying to get this stupid portal working.

"I can't do it! I'm not smart enough to fix something like this." You exclaimed, rolling around like a child in protest.

Valerie's eyes hung open loosely, the bags present under her eyes as well. She hadn't gotten much sleep either, her being the only one who worked with tech before, was forcibly added to the task force, "Y/N... calm down. We must be close." She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Dash sat up, rubbing the sweat from his forehead, "Maybe we just need a break... and some sleep."

"Great idea." Valerie acknowledged, quickly standing up and glancing at the two of you over her shoulder, "I'm taking a shower." She muttered, turning around and going up.

Dash let out a small sigh making his way out of the portal. He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced down at you, "You can't sulk forever."

A huff left your lips, "You underestimate me."

He chuckled, a small smile falling on his features, "All right... well – I'm taking a nap. I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Young as you used to be?" You raised a brow, "You're what? 20 something? You're in your prime."

"Not as young!" He repeated, going up the stairs himself. You slouched back down, closing your eyes with a sigh. You could've walked to Wisconsin to find Vlad in this time if you really wanted to... There was no way you'd be able to fix something like this. Re-programming your portal gun is one thing... fixing an entire ghost portal like this! Your chances were slim at best.

Quickly sitting up, you decided to give it another shot at life. Walking in the portal cautiously, you glanced over everything. Nothing looked out of order... everything seemed to be replaced and or working alright. I just don't understand...

You reached over to the control panel, taking another look at it's code. The numbers blurred together, your sleepy conscious unable to understand what you were even looking at. Shaking your head, you focused back on the numbers.

You repeated them over and over in your head, the numbers just not clicking. Something was wrong. The numbers were off. Rubbing your eyes one last time, you finally found the coding issue. You smiled to yourself, your shoulders de-tensing as you typed it in. The same code that originally sat inside your bracelet... the code you used before switching it out for Vlad's.

You clicked the enter button, the portal making a few strange noises before calming back down. I hope that was the problem... Taking a couple steps back, you flipped on the same couple switches you've tried 100 times. For a brief moment... nothing happened. Not even sparks emerged from the tattered device. You bit your lip, did I break it for good?