This is a short story that takes place within the world of "Another Phantom", A Danny Phantom/Phantom of the Opera crossover that I'm writing. This short story does not take place at any specific time within the main storyline, and is essentially an "alternate reality" for the story.

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"I have HAD IT!" Tucker yelled, throwing his hands in the air in a futile show of frustration. "I do not know HOW MANY gadgets have gone missing this week! First my cell phone, then my pager…" Tucker fumed, counting off the items on his fingers, "then my OTHER pager, my laptop, 4 thumb drives, and now MY WALLET!"

"How'd you lose ALL THAT… and how are you replacing it?" Danny asked casually, knowing full well that nothing could keep his friend away from his beloved technology for long. "I have my ways. And I did NOT LOSE IT! Someone stole it!"

"Where did you see these items last?"

"They were all stolen at different times, and ALWAYS when they were on me! And I do NOT let go of anything with more memory than my grandma!"

"How much is that?"

"A surprising amount."

"Well, who knows?" Danny said lightly, kicking up some of the snowy sledge that had accumulated in the gutters, "maybe Santa will replace everything."

"You're hilarious. Good thing YOU weren't the victim, Mister Scrooge," Tucker said dryly, looking down his nose at Danny. "Dude, I am SO over that," Danny laughed, "and this year I'll make SURE we don't have any ghosts to worry about!"

"Ohh, wait… hah!" Sam laughed suddenly, "sorry Danny, I think you're a bit late on that one." Danny and Tucker looked at her in confusion, "Okay, I'll bite," Danny said warily, "what in the name of jingle bells are you talking about?"

"Tucker isn't lying about his junk being stolen."

"JUNK?" Tucker gasped, wounded.

"I'll bet Erik took it," Sam said, nodding to herself as if in approval of her own theory.

"Erik? The ghost?"

"No, Erik the floral decoration," Sam said, crossing her arms. At Danny and Tucker's blank stare, she shouted shortly, "that means 'yes'!"

"Sam, that makes NO sense," Tucker replied, "why would a creepy, evil ghost steal my beloved technology? He's from the 1800s or something; he doesn't even know how to use it!" Sam shrugged, "I don't think he likes you."

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Danny walked through the halls of his school, surrounded by throngs of chattering students. He had split off from Sam and tucker and was a short distance away from his own classroom.

"Cease your progress and find an unoccupied room immediately," A voice suddenly rang in Danny's ear, causing him to jump in surprise and let out a small scream of alarm. The students around him whipped around to face him and stare ominously, sizing up his gossip opportunity as a wolf would examine prey. "Ah... there's a draft here… very sudden…" he hastily explained, before walking swiftly along, past his destination. "Okay, just who and what are you?" Danny growled under his breath, hoping to contact the strange voice that had infiltrated his thoughts.

"Who I am is Erik. Just what I am would require a great deal of research, but for simplicity's sake, I will refer to myself as a 'ghost'." Danny's pulse quickened as he gasped, "what are you doing inside my head?"

"You have little doubt," Erik said evenly, "I suppose you are but a child."

The bell rang and Danny wilted, "well, no point in trying to be on time now. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Erik repeated, as if he had forgotten the conversation entirely. "Ah, yes," he said after a short pause, "as requested earlier, proceed to a vacant room. We shall discuss matters there." And with that Erik was gone. Danny tried to call his back, but was met with failure, and had no choice but to accede to the dark ghost's strange request.

Danny became intangible and invisible and proceeded to fly silently through the bustling building to which he came every day. He finally found a vacant room, whose class he could only assume had moved elsewhere for a time. Returning to his solid, visible state, Danny dropped to the floor and called, "hello? Any enigmatic ghosts around?"

"I assume that you are referring to me." Danny whipped around to see Erik (whom he did not see mere seconds ago when he had surveyed the room!) standing among the shadows of the ill-lit classroom, holding a smaller ghost up by the collar. "HOLY CRAP—wait—is that the Box Ghost?"

"I would assume so, from his incessant cry of 'I am the Box Ghost'," Erik replied, followed by a muffled, "beware!" from said ghost, his voice stifled by a gag. "Take this," Erik commanded to Danny motionlessly. Erik never seemed to move more than necessary, and Danny was decidedly creeped out. "You want me to… take the box ghost?" Danny asked hesitantly, unsure of the strange ghost's meaning. "Yes," Erik replied shortly, as if attempting to explain physics to a dull-witted child, "I told you that not a second ago."

"Mind explaining that?" Danny retorted with measured frustration, "I mean, it's not every day someone asks you to 'take' a ghost. What's that even supposed to mean?" Erik's eyes narrowed behind his mask, and he said nothing for a moment, as if resisting the urge to snap Danny's feeble neck. "You 'hunt ghosts', correct?" Erik replied in strained tones. "What, you want me to suck him into the Fenton Thermos?" Danny asked, receiving a vigorous shake of the head from the Box Ghost. "Correct," Erik said again. "Oh! Well if you had just said that…" Danny glanced at Erik's imposing figure and continued, "…y'know what, I think I'll just do that for ya right now." Danny then drew the Fenton Thermos from his backpack and, as he had done so many times before, activated the strange device that facilitated (to be more accurate, forced) transport to the eternal mystery of the Ghost Zone.

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"Done and done!" Danny boasted, twirling the Thermos in his hand before dropping it back into its resting place in his bag. Erik, meanwhile, was still enamored with the phenomenon that had just taken place. The minds of humans are incredibly dull. The few who are capable manage to create fantastic tools and marvels of engineering, ripping through the mire of false knowledge, leaving the world forever changed in their wake. The rest of their race, like fool cattle, merely accept the change… if they are not too hard headed! ...And think nothing of it. This boy had just used a device that punched to the fabric of reality, or at least was connected to something that did, and he was acting as if he had merely thrown a stick to scare troubles away. Naïve child! If the human race were not to thick-skulled to examine, to even care about the endless wonder and brilliant capacity of human ingenuity…!

Erik slowly became aware that Danny was staring at him; he didn't know for how long. "What is it, boy?" Erik snapped; he hated being stared at. "… I think you kind of… spaced out for a minute, or something," Danny said cautiously. Erik stared blankly at Danny, his face blank behind the mask. "You know, spaced out…" Danny twirled his hand at the wrist as if to demonstrate some kind of all-encompassing definition, "lost focus?" Erik, understanding the meaning, shifted his attention elsewhere, not feeling that is was necessary to describe his intention. Danny took a moment to catch on, upon deciding that his point had either been clarified or it didn't matter.

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"So… why did you have the Box Ghost here?" Danny asked in an attempt to muster up some semblance to a casual conversation. "That strange little man has remarkable persistence!" Erik sighed in exasperation. "I do not have the tools necessary to trap ghosts, and unfortunately, it is nigh impossible to kill the dead. A beating would silence him for a time, but he would inevitably return… haunting me, as it were."

"Do you have any boxes on you?" Danny asked on a hunch. After a moment of silent hesitation, Erik pulled a small wooden box from his cloak, balancing it upon his gloved fingers with great care. "That is another thing I wish to speak with you about," Erik said quietly, almost forcing Danny to strain his ears to hear him. "I should like to use your portal to the ghost zone for a short time."

"Um, okay," Danny said meekly, surprised by Erik's subdued tone, "my parents aren't home tonight. I could open it for you after school." Erik nodded slightly and returned the box to wherever it had come from.

At that moment, the door to the previously abandoned classroom swung open, the lights flooded on, and Mr. Lancer stepped over the threshold. The smug smile he was wearing for no apparent reason came to an abrupt end when he saw Danny and Erik. "Fenton?" he exclaimed accusingly, "and who are you?" He demanded, looking to Erik. Erik's frame stiffened and he stood taller, like a cat warning its enemy of its own harm. "I am no one important," Erik said, though his voice was different. Layered, somehow, as if hiding an invisible, irresistible command just below the surface. Danny watched, amazed, as his old teacher became a puppet of flesh, unable to resist the control of his ghastly master. "This boy is meant to be here. I am conducting an inspection," Erik Continued, his voice still holding its hypnotic power. "An inspection?" Mr. Lancer gasped, straightening his back and patting down his tie. "Yes," replied Erik, "I was merely asking this boy a few questions. You should be leaving."

"B-but this is my classroom…" Mr. Lancer started, but Erik cut him off by strongly repeating, "you should be leaving."

"Yes, sir!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed, hurrying out the door. Danny could only think one thing:

"These are not the droids you are looking for."

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That night, Danny, Sam and Tucker stood waiting by the Ghost Zone portal, wondering why they were there in the first place.

"…And it was EXACTLY like Obi wan?" Tucker asked Danny, looking for a flaw in his story. "For the third time, yes!" Danny snapped back, "What'll it take to convince you?"

"Any nerd who can make an official-looking website?" asked Sam, to which Danny nodded and laughed, "Yeah, probably."

"Sure, you laugh now," Tucker retorted snootily, "but who spends the least time researching his reports? This guy!"

"That's your biggest accomplishment?" asked Sam, "man, you need a life bad."

"Speaking of life…" Tucker said, checking his PDA's time, "mine's wasting away. When is Casper the Not-So-Friendly gonna show up?"

"See?" Sam said to Danny, nodding at Tucker's PDA, "unlimited supply."

"And that's another thing!" Tucker fumed, "that jerk needs to give me my stuff back!"

"I wouldn't know where it is at this point."

Tucker froze, turning his head slowly to see Erik standing off to the side of the room, holing a small box that suddenly seemed just right for an ear-trophy-case. "A-and b-b-by jerk, I meant…"

"Despicable, abhorrent, thieving monster from the pits of Hell?" Erik offered. Tucker nearly fainted until Erik, smirking (albeit hid by his mask), added, "a whimsical nickname, comparatively! And not a bad description."

"H-how long have you b-been there?" Tucker asked, almost gripping his chest. "…Quite some time," Erik answered, losing any trace of humor. "You were all quite enamored with your conversations… it's as if you don't stop to breathe…" Erik shrugged, a gesture that essentially conveyed the message 'fill in your favorite excuse'. The three teenagers glanced at each other, silently deciding to leave the issue alone. "All right, let's get on with it," Sam said as if she were about to perform any old task, "why are we here?"

"I was only expecting the boy…" Erik hesitated, "Daniel," he finished, as if he was physically unable to use a nick name. Seeing that it was hopeless to complete his task without providing the children with necessary information, Erik continued his explanation.

"I would like to give a Christmas present to the woman I love," Erik stated. Though his words were few, it was obvious that they held great pain and irrefutable meaning. "Christine?" asked Sam. "Who do you think, you fool?" Erik barked, causing Sam to back away swiftly. Danny raised his fists to fight, but Erik had already lost all his vigor. He was staring at the box with a sad intensity that Danny could scarcely imagine the source of. "Is Christine in the Ghost Zone?" Sam whispered, causing Erik to abruptly answer, "god, I hope not! But if she is…" Danny opened the portal door before Erik was forced to finish that particular sentence. Erik walked silently over to the gaping void and released the box. It floated steadily along, and seemed to emit a strange, beautiful sound, but it was too far away to make out clearly. "It's a music box," Erik explained, "if Christine is in the ghost zone, maybe she shall find it someday."

Danny looked to Sam and Tucker, who understood his meaning and nodded. "Um, Erik… Phantom…?" Danny said hesitantly, Erik looked to see Danny holding a small box covered in colorful paper out to him. "We sort of… got you something. You know, for Christmas," Danny said awkwardly. Said awkward moment lasted a mere few seconds, before Danny had to draw his had back quickly to avoid getting hurt by the ecto-blast that Erik shot, which had demolished the present. "What was that for?" Danny yelled. Erik straightened and looked down on him regally, "I do not appreciate any attempt to humanize me. I am dead, and will therefore be as a corpse, cold of heart."

"Is there any way you could make Christmas more depressing?"

Erik smirked, "humbug."