Measure of a Man

Writer's Note: Time for a little juggling…

This is the prelude to Danny Phantasm. However, first I must pinpoint exactly where in the series this begins, and how my previous story, Danny's Inferno, ties in and how it affects the show. Which is as follows.

Events happened in the following order.

-The entire first season of Danny Phantom, ending with Control Freaks.

-Danny's Inferno

-Season 2 of Danny Phantom up to The Ultimate Enemy.

-Time Phantom by the author Chaltab. (It's briefly mentioned so you may as well read it)

-I plan to start this story after the episode Secret Weapons. However, as of this writing it has not aired yet, so some changes may be done after the episode is aired. Also, I would like to note there are a few minor changes, mostly in how characters will act in Season 2 due to the storyline of Danny's Inferno. After Secret Weapons, this story will completely split from the canon DP storyline and whatever episodes air afterward and go off in a different direction. Just a heads up.

Got all that? Good. Let's start.

The Journal of Daniel Fenton, Entry #3

I had really hoped I would be able to fill this suggested diary with non-important stuff. By non-important I mean 'Anything besides stuff involving my secret'. But as I have discovered, outside of my secret my life tends to be rather…nondescript. As in, boring. And one can only write "I hung out with Sam and Tuck" and "Dash tried to stuff me in my locker" so many times. So here goes. I'm the only one who knows about this file anyway, besides Tucker, and he's made sure it's well concealed. The only way any 'undesirables', and I use that term loosely, will find this diary is by sheer chance, and we're talking the sheer chance that lets people win lotteries.

So here it goes: my secret. I'm half human and half ghost, a Halfa. I call myself Danny Phantom, and I protect my town against malevolent ghosts and spirits. My powers came about because my Dad built a portal to another realm of existence, the Ghost Zone, and I decided to take a look at it, while inside. I turned it on, and there was a great big flash and things just changed, my molecules got all rearranged…heh, catchy. There ought to be a song. In any case, my body was fused with ectoplasm, and I was granted ghost powers. How nice, right?

Well, it's had its moments. But there's a lot more stuff that counterbalances those moments.

Because as soon as I got the power, it was thrust upon me the duty of wielding them. And there were a lot of reasons I needed to. Some people theorize that once a hero is 'activated', villains will automatically appear to provide 'balance', or more accurately, 'to make my life as difficult as possible.'

It started quickly and it didn't let up. I was hunted by a ghost hunter/collector, dealt with a master of machines, got stuck in an eternal 50's nightmare realm due to supposed misuse of my ghost powers (I still say there was more justification in that then I was given credit for), had one of my schoolmates turn amateur (though still quite troublesome, of course) ghost hunter, nearly got locked up in a ghost prison for asinine rule breaking, got my emotions screwed with by a siren with a guitar, clashed with a fear wielding knight because I wanted to win a Halloween contest (I am SO glad that Lancer showed up and kept me from eating Dash's underwear: he was it was unsanitary and plus the school couldn't handle any lawsuits), was declared Public Enemy No 1 in the Ghost Zone and turned into a pariah in my town ('Inviso-Bill'? Even today I still wince), thought the girl I liked finally liked me back and found out I was being used in a couple's spat, was manipulated by a wannabe puppetmaster with a staff and a circus, and was constantly and doggedly hounded by a ghost with an unhealthy obsession with boxes. And of course, there's Vlad Masters, aka Vlad Plasmius, my nemesis as it were, who my dad inadvertently gave the same powers I have to twenty years ago, powers of course Vlad used for himself. Despite his occasional steps into 'more goofy then a threat', when Vlad's focused he's more dangerous to me then any of my foes.

At least, until Sizzle.

My god, I've thought it over a thousand times, and I still can't understand how I survived, let alone won.

All I can remember with perfect clarity is the brief flash I saw near the end, when I stripped away everything to get to the core of Sizzle's being…of a pain so dark and all consuming I'm lucky I didn't lose my mind. Like Sizzle did. The results were terrible all around…but I survived. I won, as it were, though there was no winning in my option. Sizzle was human once, and the way others treated her…it made…well, I don't like to think about it. I had no choice but to destroy her, and I hope that brought her release from her pain.

Of course, that didn't get me any breaks.

Oh sure, the town stopped hating me at least. They probably thought I somehow magically brought it back after Sizzle burned it to the ground (and I STILL don't know how that happened). They even gave me a little statue in my school. That was nice. Dash still bothered me and Paulina still didn't know I existed (though of course she was in love with 'Ghost-Boy', go figure), but it was nice.

Then my best friend Sam accidentally wished away my powers and memories.

And then a blasted bug gave all the kids in my school ghost powers. In retrospect, I'm amazed that Tucker visited me in the hospital after Sizzle, considering what I learned later. That must have taken a considerable effort. He's a good friend.

And then an annoying brat who wanted to be a pirate but didn't want to make the effort of doing proper research nearly enslaved all the grown-ups. Oh, and I had to fight without my ghost powers, an interesting experience. Hey world, DON'T DO IT AGAIN!

And then things got REALLY fun, and by fun I mean 'Terrible to the point where it gave Sizzle a run for her money.' For all his intelligence at times, Vlad sure can act stupid. He seems blind to the fact my mother will never like him, and he also seems oblivious to consequences of his search for power. How else can you explain his unleashing of Pariah Dark, the King of all Ghosts?

I'd like to say I beat Pariah, except I really didn't. Much like Sizzle, I adapted the mindset that all I had to do was stop him, no matter the cost to myself. If it hadn't been for Vlad locking the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, the Ecto-Skeleton probably would have killed me. Then Vlad stole the suit, and the Crown of Fire. Annoying bastard. Plus, I think something's a bit wrong with him these days: he can't look at me without a distinguishable twitch, as if he's trying to repress something. And I doubt what I did to him after my little time-traveling adventure helped much, but that comes a little later.

My next bright idea was to split myself in two. That created a walking cliché and a kid who could give Garfield a run for his money in the lazy category. And I was right in my theories that I can't grow my hair long: it turns into a mullet. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Then that annoying brat came back and used his gimmick to make people think I was nuts. I wish I'd kicked his butt harder. I think Jazz did too.

And speaking of Jazz, she was about to play a bigger role in my life…just when I found out how bad my life could be. And to think failing the C.A.T was something I once thought was terrible. What I saw when my evil future self showed up reminded me that as a kid, I still have a lot to learn about bad stuff. Sizzle and 'myself' aside. We altered the timeline, prevented the tragedy…but I know that evil, once more, can be harder then a cockroach to stamp out. But besides that…I found out that Jazz knew my secret. It was nice to be able to bring my older sister into my confidence: she may be annoying as heck but she's a good girl.

What isn't good is time travel. First it showed me 'myself' and then…well, sometimes I think it really happened and sometimes I think it was a dream. What happened was another dark future, where Vlad reigned supreme. A future I prevented, with the help of some friends…including some that really do make me wonder if it was a dream, a dream I may have had after eating some bad food and watching a Back to the Future marathon, hence my thoughts it might have been a dream. If it was real, most of it had faded from my memory…though I'm not sure why. Maybe its some kind of timeline correctence…is that even a word? Or maybe I just have a lousy memory. Would explain my grades. Maybe I should ask Jazz for study help now that she knows my secret.

Not that said knowledge is great all the time, as when she tried to help out. I should have told her to stay away from Vlad. I can't believe the bastard put her in the Ecto-Skeleton. That outfit nearly killed ME. What it could have done to my human sister…well, at least we removed it from Vlad's possession. I hope. I have a bad feeling at times that he might have gone through it and made blueprints...after all, he did built his own ghost portal, repeatedly. Who says he can't build his own suit...or maybe even worse...

I have a feeling I'll have to settle things with Vlad eventually. For now though, after the Skulker and Vlad incident, things have been quiet for the past few weeks.

Of course, my definition of quiet isn't quite the same as most people's…

(Several hours earlier)

"AYYYYAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Danny Phantom screamed as he flew through the store, crashing through several racks of clothing before coming to rest in a giant heap of them. He sat up, various blouses and pants and bras and panties colorfully festooned on his sitting form.

"Let's go to the mall, nothing will happen, your random ghost attacks are down." Danny said to himself, mimicking what his friends had said earlier. "Next time I hear that, I'm locking myself in my room for the rest of the day!"

A shadow fell on Danny Phantom, and he looked up with a gulp.

"Assuming I get a next time."

The blade slashed down.

(Danny Phantom Opening)

(Commercials)

Measure of a Man

(with picture…if I had one. Which I don't. Use your imagination.)

("He's a phantom, a phantom…Danny Phantom, Phantom…)

The advantage of being in a big tangle of clothes: it can greatly distort where your body is.

Hence all the blade slashed was several pieces that had been on sale (and were now quite literally 'half-off', HA, I kill me!) as Danny ducked back into the pile and struggled away for a few seconds…before he remembered he had ghost powers and just phased through the whole heap, spinning away and into the air as his attacker yanked his sword from his last slash into the clothes.

"There you are!" The ghost said. It was dressed in loose pants with sandals, and wore chest, shoulder, and ankle armor, as well as a full set of armor on his left arm, an armored 'skirt', and a helmet with a large, thin, crescent moon shape attached to the front, a long 'tower' of armor jutting from the helmet behind it, all of it colored in the usual muted greens and whites of ghosts, a long ponytail of tightly tied green hair trailing behind the ghost as it looked at Danny with a determined expression. The ghost wielded a long katana: he was clearly the spirit of or a manifestation of a samurai, which Danny had deduced within two seconds when he had popped out during his mall sojourn and tried to carve Danny into sashimi. Also, he could kick too, hence Danny's trip through the clothing store.

"Yeah, and here's something else!" Danny yelled, and fired an ectoplasmic blast from one hand.

The samurai deflected it off his blade, the blast crashing into the ceiling.

"Right, of course." Danny said to himself in dull annoyance.

"You seem willing to engage in long range combat: let us see how well you survive the range of a warrior!" The samurai yelled, flying at Danny, who yelled and went into a dodging frenzy across the store. He finally caught the samurai ghost in the face with his own kick and knocked him to the ground, flying down to his level as the samurai ghost got up…and then Tucker and Sam ran into the store. Of course, no sense ever making any of Danny's battles easier by not putting themselves in the line of fire.

"Your strike is impressive, if not painfully amateurish." The samurai ghost said as he wiped at his face.

"Uh, thanks." Danny said.

"Danny! Don't pursue Lu Bu!" Tucker yelled.

Silence, as Danny and the samurai ghost looked at him oddly. Sam smacked her hand into her face.

"Lu Bu is CHINESE Tucker. Samurais are JAPANESE." Sam chided.

"Yeah, and I doubt his name is Lu Bu. What is your name anyway?" Danny asked the samurai ghost.

"Minamoto Ieyasu!"

"…I'm going to call you Tom, ok?" Danny asked.

"Enough talk! Stand and fight or perish!" Minamoto declared, leaping at Danny, his blade slashing once more. Danny once again went into a dodging fit before he threw up a shield to stop Minamoto's blade and put some distance between him and the samurai.

"Danny! Why don't you just go intangible?" Tucker called, as Minamoto slashed his way through the disintegrating shield.

"Hide from the strikes of a fellow opponent? Avoid, counter, deflect, yes, but only a coward hides!" Minamoto said. "And even if this child dares to meet me with spinelessness, my blade is enchanted to cut through ALL aspects of reality! He cannot hide from me even if he chooses to!"

"Actually I was going to say I forgot, but thanks for the heads up." Danny said.

"It is no trouble! I do hate for a foe to die embarrassed!" Minamoto said, as he lanced towards Danny again. Danny formed another shield…and found the blade slashing through it, as Minamoto spun with the blow and thrust out with his foot, sending Danny crashing through another wall. He bounced off the floor and pushed himself up and back into the air as Minamoto phased through the wall after him. Danny glanced around: he was in a sporting goods store.

"All right samurai! Allow me to show you my country's favorite 'combat sport'!" Danny said, as he snatched up a wooden baseball bat and swung it at the samurai

Minamoto cut through it with one slash like it was made of butter.

"Of course. Shoulda gone with the bunt." Danny said, dropping the bat and spinning away from another slash. He flew over and grabbed a hockey stick, and then thrust it up to block Minamoto's downward slash. It held, amazingly.

"Hey! Penalty! Two minutes for slashing!" Danny said, as he twisted the hockey stick free and slipped the end around Minamoto's ankle. "Two minutes for hooking!" Danny added as he tripped the samurai, causing him to fall to the ground. "And hey, why not, two minutes for high sticking!" Danny said, as he tried to hit Minamoto in the chest while he was down.

The samurai rolled out of the way, and the hockey stick, already damaged by the samurai's previous slash, broke in half when it struck the ground.

"I find it disconcerting that Canada's national sport held out better then ours." Danny said, looking at the broken stick.

"You can muse if you survive child!" Minamoto said, as he attacked again. Danny yelped and tried to use the remaining part of the hockey stick as a makeshift wooden sword, and actually managed to parry several of Minamoto's slashes with it.

"So, you do know how to use a blade!" Minamoto said, as Danny parried another slash.

"No, just trying to stay alive!"

"This is natural then? You have potential! Let us see if you can tap it well enough to keep me from cutting you down!" Minamoto said, as he finally managed to dig his blade into the chipped hockey stick and yank it from Danny's hands. Danny flew backwards, hunting for another weapon.

His next choice was a golf club that he yanked from a bag of them.

"Shall I yell a certain word that sounds like a number? Nah, not gonna go there." Danny said, as Minamoto slashed.

The impact from the blade rang all the way down Danny's arms and shoulders, and while it wasn't painful it was unpleasant enough for Danny to drop the club.

"Shoulda used a nine iron." Danny said, and dodged away again, as he grabbed for the nearest wall, coming back with a…

"Cricket bat?" Danny said, looking at the flat paddle like piece of wood.

Minamoto's sword inflicted the same fate as the regular bat on it.

"Never understood that sport anyway!" Danny said as he flew away once more, Minamoto in hot pursuit.

Then a soccer ball slammed into his face. The samurai staggered back.

"What strangeness is this?" He asked.

"GOAL!" Danny yelled, and kicked another ball into the face of the samurai. The ghost retreated once more…but only a little. The next ball was sliced in half with his sword, and the next, and the last.

"Interesting! But innovation on a battlefield does not always lead to survival!" Minamoto said as he came in slashing once more, as Danny retreated and grabbed up…a tennis racket?

"Ah, where's Agassi when you need him?" Danny said, as Minamoto stabbed the blade at Danny.

Danny dodged to the side as he held up the racket, and the blade sliced through the tightly tied wires. Seized by inspiration, Danny twisted the racket around, twisting the blade in turn and loosening Minamoto's grip on it…as he seized the end of the sword with one hand.

"GO GHOST STINGER!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Minamoto yelled as the ghost power surged through his blade and slammed into him, throwing him backwards as he lost his grip on it. He flew out of the store and crashed into a vendor's cart, causing it to disintegrate into a shower of knick-knacks.

Yanking the sword free, Danny flew out of the store himself, as Tucker and Sam ran up to him.

"Thermos." Danny said.

"Ahhhhhhh…small problem with that Danny." Tucker replied.

"What kind of problem?"

"Small problem."

"Small as in the thermos is dirty or small as in it's not here at all?"

"…The latter."

"Oh great." Danny said, as Minamoto emerged from the wreckage of the cart. He looked at Danny for a second, and then dropped to his knees.

"You have taken my weapon. I have lost. I submit myself to your hand." Minamoto said.

"…You want me to kill you." Danny said.

"You have bested me."

"You're already dead."

"It does not matter! Do not dishonor me with weakness! Follow the code of the Bushido and strike me down!" Minamoto said.

"Ok…" Danny said, as he tried to think it over.

"What are you waiting for?" Minamoto said.

"How about we pick Door Number 3?" Danny said, as he turned the sword around and tossed it back to Minamoto. The samurai looked stunned.

"How about this? We keep going. The only condition is we leave these grounds. They are not suited for battle." Danny said. "Then we can really see who is the best. Do we have an agreement?"

"…They are strange terms, but I accept!" Minamoto said, as he picked his sword up off the ground.

"You guys go to my house, get the Thermos, and then we can settle this." Danny said to his friends.

"How are we going to find you?"

"I'm going to try and lure him to my house."

"What if that doesn't work?"

"Tucker, are you going to help or just stand around and point out tactical flaws?"

"…Going!" Tucker said, running off.

"Be careful Danny!" Sam said as she ran off with him.

"You lack arms still. And you have been fortunate so far. Do you really insist on fighting with no blade?" Minamoto asked.

"I have no blade." Danny replied, as he glanced around. His eyes fell on the store next to the sporting goods one: a plumbing store. And the exhibit at the front of it. "But sometimes…" He continued, as he walked over. "When the stars line up right…"

Danny selected one of the pipes, long and thin.

"I can actually think on my feet." Danny said, presenting the pipe as his sword. He'd find out if he had any idea what he was thinking in a second.

"Let us see if that allows you to keep your head!" Minamoto replied, as he flew at Danny. Danny flew straight up, phasing through the roof of the mall, Minamoto following him as they took the battle to the air.

Danny's first realization that he wasn't as clever as he thought was when the weapons clashed together and Minamoto's katana slid down Danny's pipe and nearly sliced off his fingers. He yelped and flew back, as Minamoto followed, attacking aggressively. Danny did his best to fend off the blows, but the pipe remained too smooth and proved to be almost as much as a hazard as Minamoto's own weapon.

Until Danny, in frustration, bent it a bit.

The next strike caught in the notch, and didn't slide down. Danny blinked, and then shoved the blade away. Well, that was a bit better.

Now all Danny had to do was survive against a master swordsman when Danny was making up his combat technique as he went along.

Paulina was doing something she rarely did: biting her tongue.

"Uncle Josh…" She said, trying to sound nice, trying not to let her annoyance and mild disgust slip out through her voice, something she would never think to do in her usual human interactions, considering how she treated her peers…but this wasn't a peer of hers. This was her mother's brother.

"Yeah P?" The man replied. He was in his early forties, and despite a deep tan, he was clearly Caucasian. Something that some people might have found strange if they didn't know the back story. Paulina's grandparents on her mother's side has been a Hispanic/Caucasian couple: Paulina's mother had been born with the Hispanic features and her brother, Joshua, had been born Caucasian. The two siblings were different in other ways too: Paulina's mother was a social climber (hence why she'd met and married her dad), while Joshua fancied himself a modern day cowboy (though that had calmed down as he got older: he no longer wore a hat everywhere like he had when he was younger, though he still thought that jeans, a casual shirt, and leather boots fit any situation, whether it was a day at work or a wedding, and was also what he was wearing now), and had spent most of his life working on ranches, farms, and in rodeos. When Paulina had been young, and her father and mother had been working their rears off in their respective ways to provide for her (which they now did so in grand fashion, the result of many years' work paying off), Joshua had moved in and served as her babysitter, looking after Paulina, taking her places, and so on. But when her parents' duties had lessened when Paulina was about 11 or so, Joshua had seen he was becoming a third wheel and headed back to the Western states. He'd started up his own ranch, and hence hadn't been seen by Paulina and her parents for several years. Now, on a long overdue vacation, he'd headed back up to see his sister and his favorite niece.

And while Paulina had been glad to see him, she'd changed a lot in those past several years. She'd hoped that her uncle had realized that.

He hadn't, or so it seemed.

"…Why did you bring me here?" Paulina finally said.

Here was an outdoor firing range on the outskirts of Amity Park, where various men (all men: Paulina was the only woman) practiced shooting with various firearms. The only reason Paulina could talk normally was because there had been a lull in the number of men who were shooting.

"You used to love coming here P."

"That was when I was seven! And stop calling me P." Paulina said. Her uncle got a serious look on his face, not mad but not exactly happy either.

"I see." Her uncle said, as he leaned against a table that held various equipment: guns, ammo, earmuffs, and so on.

Paulina instantly felt bad…but she knew she had to put her foot down as well. She wasn't the little girl her uncle had taken here years ago.

"Uncle Josh…I don't want you to think I don't appreciate the time we spent here…but well…that's just…not what I do any more…"

"You were a damn good shot." Joshua replied, glancing absent-mindedly at the targets in the distance. "Even for your age. And you liked doing it. I remember that."

"Well yes but…Uncle Josh, I don't do that any more."

"Right. I know. You're a young woman. Your thoughts are probably on clothing and makeup and boys, maybe a career? Lot of you seem to be thinking of that at this age these days." Joshua said. "Ah…just forgive this old man then P…Paulina. I was just thinking of older days. I guess they're gone."

"…I guess." Paulina said.

"Well…do one thing for your poor uncle, will you?" Joshua said as he pushed off the table. "Just shoot off a round or two."

"Uncle Josh…"

"Just humor this old cowpoke, will you? Just a bullet or two. Then we can do whatever you want. Who knows, you might find you still like it." Joshua said.

"…Ok, ok. I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Paulina said, though she figured the odds of finding she still liked shooting guns were pretty small. She was a lady now, not a little kid who thought falling on her rear after shooting a pistol was the most fun thing since the hula-hoop.

"Better put on some earmuffs: looks like a new batch is coming in." Joshua said as he looked around. Paulina did so: she hadn't liked the loud noises of gunfire when she was a child and she sure didn't like it now. She looked over the selection of guns and picked the smallest one she could.

Other men had started shooting around her, and she was all too aware of the stares she was attracting…some less then pleasant. She shuddered inwardly: one shot. That was it. Then she would be able to get out of here.

Danny's plan had backfired.

At least in regards to the part about luring Minamoto to his house.

He should have expected that after Danny had gotten his sword away from him and then given it back, Minamoto would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again. Hence, his refined fighting style had drastically increased in aggressiveness, and Danny had found himself unable to do anything except retreat and defend himself, going anywhere but Fenton Works. And if he didn't think of something soon, he was going to be known as the Fulla instead of the Halfa.

At least no one could see them any more. After a few panicked citizens had fled screaming after seeing a mid air ghost sword duel, Danny had convinced Minamoto to turn invisible so that 'they would not be interrupted'. He had a feeling that saying 'Quit scaring the townspeople' wouldn't work. Though in retrospect maybe he should have said 'Ok I give, quit trying to cut me into pieces.'

Too late now. He needed a plan.

The first thing he decided to do was head back to the ground. There were too many options in the air, and despite his practice in air combat Danny found that engaging in a sword fight in it when one had no real experience in such a thing afforded his opponent too much of an advantage. On the ground, Danny would have a set idea of which way was up…which might help. Or not. But the air wasn't working for him.

He dodged away from the latest sword slash, and then zipped down to the ground…and looked around. He was on a small plain, where people were gathered on one end and there were…targets on the other end. What was this?

"Do not flee! It is not honor…" Minamoto said as he flew down to attack Danny anew.

The gunshot sounded like a thunderbolt, and it made both the combatants jump.

"What devilry is this?" Minamoto said as he looked around, and Danny realized that he and Minamoto had landed on a firing range. There was the old Fenton luck holding true to form.

"We've picked a bad area! We must go elsewhere!"

"Are those rifles?" Minamoto said, turning to face the clustered shooters. "Aragghhh. Accursed dogs and their firing sticks! Thinking the ability to kill from a distance grants them a higher degree of skill then that of a sword! It poisons the art of war, denotes skill in favor of numbers, I despise such men…"

A light blast of ecto-energy hit Minamoto on the back of his shoulder, and his head snapped around.

"Then they're not worth your time! Your fight is with me!" Danny said, and brandished his pipe in a way that he hoped looked good (but knowing his luck he probably looked like a lesser skilled Steven Seagal, if that was possible).

Minamoto chuckled.

"You may lack experience, but your valor is clear! Perhaps you truly are an opponent worthy of my best!" Minamoto said, as he turned and swung his sword back.

He STILL hasn't fully cut loose? Oh great! Danny thought, and then Minamoto was on him again, slashing furiously, as Danny tried to keep himself alive.

"You continue to claim amateur status in swordsmanship?" Minamoto said when Danny once again managed to fend off all his sword strikes.

"Swordsmanship yes, but I'm a master of saving my own skin!" Danny said, and then Minamoto attacked again.

"ARGH! OW! OWOWOW!" Paulina yelped as she dropped her gun and hunched down, holding her aching hand. The entire firing range had stopped shooting to watch the teenager (hence letting Danny and Minamoto to fly down without noticing anything was wrong), and upon her reaction they all burst out laughing. Everyone except her uncle, who walked up to see if she was ok.

"You all right?" He asked.

"Hurts…"

"Even small guns have recoil. Your wrists forgot what it was like. Relax, it'll fade quickly." Joshua said, even as the men around the two continued to snicker and comment.

"What are you doing man?" The closest one, a particularly seedy looking fellow, said. "Trying to make the bitch remember her place in the kitchen?"

Paulina would have burned with humiliation if her uncle had given her a chance: she never did see where he produced the revolver as he snapped it out and aimed it at the man…or more specifically, his crotch.

"That BITCH is my NIECE, and you better apologize to her right now or you're going to be VERY sorry for the rest of your already sorry LIFE." Joshua said in a low, dangerous voice, and cocked the hammer back.

"AHHHHHHHH! SORRY! SORRY! GOOD GOD AHHHHHH!" The man screamed, exposed as a coward as the types usually were, as he stumbled backwards, fell down, and then scrambled off. Joshua uncocked the hammer and sheathed the gun.

"I'm sorry about that. The clientele seemed a better sort when you were younger. Maybe the fact that you're not so young any more encouraged them. You were right: we'd better leave." Joshua said as he tried to help Paulina up.

Paulina chose to stand up herself, her humiliation starting to dissolve into anger. Despite her uncle's little display, they were still laughing at her, mocking her. If this was her school, Paulina knew the kind of unholy wrath she could unleash…but this wasn't school. Her technique was useless here.

But she had another option.

"You know Uncle Josh, you're right." Paulina said in a deliberately loud voice to draw as much attention as possible as she walked over to the table of guns. "I've grown up and grown out of doing this with you, and I admit I don't much like spending an afternoon shooting off guns even if I was good at it…"

Danny grunted as he blocked another blow: his fingers were starting to grow numb and he was getting pretty tired. He wasn't going to win a swordfight: Minamoto kept pushing him back: his back was almost pushed up against the nearest target.
Paulina snatched up another gun, this one a revolver like her uncle had drawn, and walked back to the standing area.

"You know what I like even less?" Paulina said. "Being laughed at."

And Paulina snapped up her arms and fired off all six shots in one quick, efficient spray.

Danny heard the shots, though he couldn't see them.

"AH LOOK OUT!"

Paulina lowered the smoking gun, her eyes have settled into a state she had long thought lost to her. But to her, it appeared to be like riding a bicycle.

"So make sure you consider that." Paulina said as she dropped the gun on the ground. "We can go now Uncle Josh."

Later, the target would be brought in to reveal six tightly packed shots in the middle of the target Paulina had fired at. Her uncle hadn't been lying: she had been good at it, as strange as it sounded. And nothing stirred reflexive memory then a desire to put people in their place.

And much to her Uncle Josh's surprise, Paulina managed to keep a stone face until they were out of sight, at which point her façade collapsed.

"Ow ow ow ow ow…" Paulina whimpered, her hands throbbing with pain. Maybe she had remembered how to shoot, but her hands hadn't been properly re-trained, and as a result the considerably more powerful recoil had cramped up her muscles pretty bad.

"Come on. I have some ice in the car. It'll pass. Then we can go for ice cream." Joshua said.

"Ice cream would be good." Paulina said, constantly wincing. The things she did to show people up…which made her think. Being laughed at hadn't been much fun: heck it had motivated her to fire off a gun like she was Annie Oakley. Yet she was always poking fun at people in her school. Maybe she should reconsider her actions…

…Nah.

Danny blinked open his eyes, and looked down at the six concentrated shots that his ghostly form had coiled around, the body having barely avoided the shots. It was all he could do after he shoved Minamoto out of the way. He reformed his body and checked for extra holes. None.

And then his pipe was knocked out of his hand before he realized what had happened. And no sooner had he realized that than Minamoto's sword was at his throat.

"…I don't suppose we could just play mah-jongg or something." Danny said. If Sam had been there she would have pointed out mah-jongg was Chinese too.

"Your breed destroyed my way. You adopted firearms and chose tactics of mass slaughter and destruction over honorable combat. A warrior no longer belongs, only a tool to pull a trigger, thinking their ability to deal death by swift distance means they are a superior combatant." Minamoto said.

"…Sorry?" Danny said.

"…No need."

Minamoto withdrew the sword and sheathed it.

"You understand the old way. You were willing to engage in it despite how disadvantageous to you it would be. Despite your lack of experience and skill you survived on a great natural talent I have not seen in centuries. You have honor. For that, I will spare you."

"Uh…thanks." Danny said, a bit stunned by the turnaround.

"This time. I expect better from you next time! Because I will return, and then, we shall TRULY see who is the better!" Minamoto said, and then he was gone, flying off into the sky.

"…Well uh…see you Tom. Great. As if my life wasn't complicated enough." Danny said.

Then the men on the range started shooting again.

"ACK ACK BULLETS! BAD, BAD!" Danny yelped as he flew off.

Paulina would never know how close she came to filling her precious 'Ghost-Boy' with holes.

So that was my excitement for the day: a duel with a samurai ghost. I suppose it's good to know I seem to have a natural talent for swordsmanship, though I don't know what I'm going to do if Tom comes back. Hey mom, can I have a katana for Christmas? Oh no, I just want to admire it! And I doubt the Plumber's style of Swordplay is going to catch on any time soon.

I say that was my excitement for the day, but that's not entirely the case. I mentioned my time travel adventure before (See Time Phantom by the author Chaltab, in case you forgot). Well, if you recall, Valerie Gray and I recently did a little teaming up before around the Pariah Dark incident. The result was Valerie ended up hating my ghost form and…well I'm not sure about the real me.

And in the time travel incident, she found out we were one and the same.

Bad, right?

Well now, that's the weird thing. I expected some kind of counter attack. Then again, I expected to remember the incident clearly. That clear memory lasted approximately one night: when I woke up the memories had become foggy as heck. I don't know WHY this happened: like I said, it may be some kind of time line correctence (I checked the dictionary, that's not a word, but then again neither was the phrase 'wardrobe malfunction' one before the 2004 Super Bowl, so cut me some slack). So maybe if it happened to me, it happened to everyone else involved in it.

Because that's the only way that explains what happened afterward. I hadn't seen Valerie since that incident (including at school, considering I was trying to avoid her), so I must admit that what happened wasn't what I was expecting…

Sighing, Valerie Gray ducked into the woman's restroom to change out of her ghost hunter outfit. She'd heard that the Ghost Boy was there, but by the time she got there he was gone. And she didn't want to fly around in case word got back to her father: he thought she had given up ghost hunting at his insistence. She sighed: sometimes she felt rotten taking advantage of the fact he was starting to get back on his feet and hence had little time for her, which allowed her to sneak around like this. He'd confiscated her ghost equipment, but it hadn't taken long for a nice new package of gear to show up in her locker (Vlad, she assumed. He sure was helpful in the supplies department) at school. And Valerie hadn't waited a long time to start using it. Despite her father's opinions on her choice, Valerie knew there were bad ghosts out there. Sizzle and Pariah Dark had taught her that. She couldn't just let them go around doing bad stuff, not when she could do something. And while she knew Danny Phantom wasn't bad any more, that didn't mean she'd cut him any slack for the mess he'd made of her life. She was in charge of it, and he didn't have a right to cut her out of the action because he thought her life was in danger. That was her choice, not his.)

Back in her normal clothes, Valerie tucked all her gear into the specialized backpack (gear that could become very compact and hence easily cartable, gotta love it) and left the bathroom. Maybe she'd do a little window shopping and reminiscing of her old life before she left. No harm remembering it, she wasn't going to be returning to it, even if her father got back in business. She'd learned a few things about people. Take Danny Fenton. In the old days she'd considered him a loser. Now…

Much to her surprise, Valerie found himself flushing a bit.

"…Where did that come from?" Valerie thought out loud, and then shrugged and walked on.

Danny snuck back down into the mall through a bathroom himself. He hadn't found Sam and Tucker at his house, much to his surprise, and several passes over Amity Park hadn't turned them up. And Danny didn't have his cell phone on him. In the end, Danny headed back to the Amity Park Mall, deciding that was as good a place as any to use a phone. Or maybe they'd go back there. Or something. In any case, Danny ducked into a bathroom, transformed back into his human self, and quickly left the bathroom before anyone who might be inside could question the sudden flash of light.

Back in normal form, Danny felt pretty good. The battle with Mitsubishi or whatever his name had been had been long but relatively injury-free. Putting his hands in his pockets, Danny started strolling around, hunting for a phone.

And it was during that stroll that Valerie spotted him.

"Huh. Speak of the devil." Valerie thought out loud again. She looked around for Danny's friends, and was a bit surprised to find him alone. Usually Tucker and Sam were attached to him at the hip.

…Maybe it was a good thing they weren't around.

Valerie's eyes flicked upwards, as a ghost of a memory popped up. There was something different about the way she perceived Danny today…but exactly WHAT it was, she couldn't place.

Except…

Valerie blinked, and thought of Sam, Danny's usual lady friend. She knew there was something there…but sometimes spark wouldn't light a fire. And she'd told Sam, in her own words.

"Because if you don't, SOMEBODY will."

…And as far as she could tell, no move had been made.

So…why not?

"Hey Danny."

"AHHHHHH!" Danny yelped, as Valerie suddenly appeared in front of him.

"A tad high strung, aren't we?" Valerie said, and smiled slightly, putting just the faintest hint of sultry in the expression.

"Uh…Val! Hi! It's…been a bit!" Danny said, as he tried to figure out what was going on, or more precisely, how Valerie was going to attack him. She had been pretty mad when he'd yanked off her mask after all.

"Yeah it has. Little too long for my taste. Where you been Danny?" Valerie asked.

"Uh…around!"

"Fair enough. Where are your friends?"

"Uh…around! Well, another around! Not this around! Because if they were this around they'd be here instead of around, ha ha ha ha ha!" Danny said. He wondered why the hell he was this nervous: sure he thought that Valerie might be after him but after Sizzle that really shouldn't have worried him too much. Heck, the worst she could do was smack him around some. Not that Danny wanted to be smacked around.

"I see. You doing anything?"

"Well uh…just…walking! Around! Yes, around! Using up my daily supply of round, yes I am!" Danny stammered. Valerie found his nervousness charming.

"Well if you're not doing anything, want to go get a coffee?"

"A coffee? With you?" Danny said.

"No, with the Shah of Iran. Of course me."

"Y-y-you mean like a-a date?"

"…Well, I wasn't going to put it that way, but since you introduced the term, sure, a date." Valerie said, and gave Danny that smile again.

"Well uh-uh Valerie not that uh but you see uh…I must say uh…"

"Oh geez Danny, it's just coffee. Come on. I won't bite." Valerie said, as she looped her arms around one of Danny's and walked off with him, dragging him a bit. She had a feeling Danny just needed a little prodding in this situation, and eventually he'd do what came naturally.

And as she expected, he did.

I won't lie: for the first 45 minutes of that coffee I kept a laser lense like eye on Valerie, as I expected her to slip something into my coffee or prop a gun under the table and do a "Greedo sure as hell didn't shoot first" moment. I think she interpreted my alertness as interest.

And the thing is…it wasn't exactly a false interpretation. Because…I was interested. And as my paranoia faded, my interest grew.

We sat and talked for 2 ½ hours, just about stuff. In reality it was kind of funny how we danced around not revealing any secrets. I know she's a ghost hunter, and she…well I THINK she knows I'm a Halfa. I think. I'm really confused on that issue now.

As well as a few other things.

Sam…I don't know what's with Sam. I know she's my good, dear friend. But beyond that…it just gets so complicated that I can't make heads or tails of it. With Valerie…things just seem simpler.

That's probably why I had my official first date with her.

Now…if I could only find a way to explain that to Sam…

And Sam, on one hand, probably would have liked an explanation.

Considering she found Danny and Valerie in the midst of said date.

She'd known Danny and Tucker a long time: they could almost predict how the others would think. After finding no sign of Danny around Fenton Works (bad traffic had delayed them, and by the time they'd got there and got the Thermos Danny was already finishing his fight with Minamoto up: they'd hung around for a bit, but eventually gotten restless and then gone looking around the town, which caused Danny to miss them again) and around Amity Park, Tucker had suggested going back to the mall. Sam had planned to make the suggestion herself if Tucker hadn't (he'd beaten her by about seven minutes), and so they'd headed back to the mall.

And instead of finding Danny locked in mortal struggle…she'd found him having coffee. With Valerie.

"Wh-wh-wh-what? What the heck just happened?" Sam said: she was some distance away and hence Valerie and Danny didn't see or hear her.

"I must admit, of the possible situations I expected this was probably near the bottom of my list…" Tucker commented, before Sam yanked him behind a large plant.

"Why is he having coffee with her? Doesn't she know his secret? Doesn't she have a grudge against Danny's ghost half?" Sam almost hissed, much to Tucker and her surprise. Get a grip girl.

"Maybe they're making a truce?" Tucker suggested.

Sam peered out from behind the plant. Danny and Valerie were laughing. Tucker also glanced out before Sam yanked him back.

"That is not truce-like behavior! There is certain ways of acting in forming a truce! There isn't a trace of truce in the whole thing! So what is going on!"

"…Sam do you want me to be honest?"

"Please!"

"You may not like it."

"Tucker, the day you start lying to me about serious matters is the day I don't know you any more."

"Well…sorry Sam. Val said make a move. You didn't, so it looks like she did."

"But…but Danny's…I mean…!"

"Sam, I know. I'm a best friend to both of you. But Sam…nothing's certain in this life. I was there before Danny went off to fight Pariah Dark too. I saw what happened, and it wasn't just because Dark had a bad sense of timing. And I guess that what happened…well, she stepped in Sam."

Sam stared.

"You going to be ok Sam?"

"Why would you ask that! Of course! I'm not some silly bimbo who needs a man to define her! I'm perfectly fine! Fine!" Sam snapped.

Tucker didn't say anything: he just pulled a tape recorder from his pocket, rewound it, and played it back. Sam's eyes went wide as she heard her snarling, angry tone.

"…Oh Tucker. I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be spoken to that way."

"Extenuating circumstances." Tucker said as he tucked the recorder back into a pocket. "Now Sam…far be it for me to give relationship advice. I've not exactly scored a lot of success there myself, if truth be told. But this isn't the end of the world. Despite what you feel."

"Well…yes you're right…but…Danny…" Sam said, glancing around the plant again, a whirl of emotions flowing through her. She didn't know what she was feeling. Was she jealous? Angry? Feeling betrayed, even though there really wasn't a basis for it? Was she upset? Maybe offended? Perhaps a little of all of them?

"…I need to think this over." Sam said, turning and walking away.

"Whoa Sam wait up!"

"Really Tucker, I need to give this some thought."

"And I'm going to come along until I make sure this is going to be thought and not bitter navel gazing. Because 1, you're above that Sam, and 2, it doesn't help anyone."

"…Thanks Tuck."

"No problem! And if worse comes to worse, maybe I can get somewhere on the rebound!"

Sam stomped on Tucker's foot.

"OW! OW! I was joking!" Tucker said, hopping around. Despite herself, Sam smiled a little.

"I know. But you still deserved that."

That incident happened after Sam and Tucker had put some distance between themselves and the coffee shop. Danny never knew they were there.

"Well I better be getting home. My dad's uh, been stricter then usual lately." Valerie said.

"Oh really? Ok." Danny said, knowing the translation was "My dad's still ticked at the whole ghost hunter thing". "Well it was nice to…what are you doing?" Danny said, as Valerie began writing something.

"Giving you my number." Valerie said, as she handed him the paper. Danny found himself flushing, despite his best efforts.

"Your number? Is that needed, ha ha? I mean, you're in the phone book, right?"

"My PRIVATE number." Valerie said. Danny found himself suddenly sweating.

"Well uh…I uh…"

"Danny, I had fun. So did you. So just call me. Don't make every molehill into a mountain. Life's too short for that." Valerie said as she got up. "See you later Danny."

And off she went.

Danny watched her go, still not sure what to make of the whole thing.

And I'm still not sure.

Is this some elaborate revenge scheme? Is Valerie even capable of those? Has she forgotten I'm the Halfa? Perhaps because of time travel muckiness to the human brain? Does she really like me for me?

…I still don't know.

Even in regards to how I feel.

I could say I plan to call her. I could say I'm doing so because I'm following the 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer' mindset. I could say it's better to see her coming then be surprised.

But the truth is…I want to call her. Just to talk.

Just for normal teenage reasons.

I think my experiences have given me a bit more perspective then the average teen of what's going on here…I have some thoughts. Some terrify me…and some make me feel like I'm on top of the world.

As for Sam…I'm going to see where this goes. There's too much between us to try and hide it. I owe her that.

As for Valerie, well.

She wears a nice perfume.

I never noticed that.

I think that says it all.

I'm done for now.

Daniel Fenton out.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Vlad Plasmius bellowed from where he sat on his throne. "YOU HAD HIM AT YOUR MERCY AND YOU LET HIM GO?"

"He fought well, with skill and honor. Honor I increasingly realize you have none of." Minamoto said as he stood up from his kneel. "I performed this task because of what you claim to be. But even if it is true, I will not follow someone who does not understand the way of Bushido. I will have my own dealings with the child now, with none of your input. Do not call on me again." Minamoto said.

Vlad's blast of power came too quickly even for the samurai to react, but his eyes showed no fear as he saw it coming. Only naked contempt.

And then there was nothing left but a smoking scorch mark on the floor.

Vlad remained standing, angry noises coming from between his clenched teeth, as the figure stepped out of the shadows where he had observed. Darkness still shrouded him, leaving him nothing but a vague shape.

"It is never wise to destroy your own subordinates in such a nakedly aggressive way." The figure said.

"I didn't destroy him. I just scattered his essence. He'll pull himself together after a very long and painful experience. Then he'll have learned the folly of defying the Primmortal." Vlad snarled, sitting down again. "Had him and let him go because he fought well? What kind of an idiot was he?"

"One with a code. That is the disadvantages of using their kind." The figure said. Vlad looked at him.

"I brought you here for a reason. Well, the reason is now necessary. I want the boy destroyed!"

"Patience, Plasmius."

"PATIENCE HELL I WANT HIM DEAD!"

"Your ways will fail."

"WHY YOU…"

"Go ahead and attempt the same tactics you used on the samurai. I ASSURE you, they will not be as effective." The figure said. Vlad snarled to himself again, and then leaned back.

"What do you have planned?"

"You seek to punish the boy. I understand punishment. I will do as you ask. But you will have to wait."

"How long?"

"As long as necessary. It should not be too long though. After all, he is just a child."

"That child attempts to steal my destiny!"

"So I will show him the error of his ways." The figure said. "You seek judgment? Then judgment he will find."

"What kind of judgment?"

"The gravest kind." The figure said, and explained his plan.

"…I like it! Judgment! And he'll never realize just who is blind in the end! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vlad said, as he went into a typical mad villain laugh.

The figure just stared. The hybrid's mind was slowly unraveling, this he knew, but that didn't concern him. Just what needed to be done, as he turned and headed back into the shadows.

Soon.

To Be Continued