A/N: Here be Chapter Two.

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"Please, I need to see if he's okay!" Daniel woke up to a voice yelling.

"I'm sorry, miss, but we can't let anyone in." That was one of the guards.

"Please, I'm—I'm a good friend of his! I need to see him!"

"No one is allowed to see him unless they're family or a detective."

"Fine! But I'll get in there somehow!"

Daniel sat up, but fell over while trying. It was then that he realized how badly his head and wrists hurt. He lay back down slowly, staying off his hands. He raised them in front of his face, muttering, "What the hell happened?"

"I think that's the question everyone's asking nowadays," Sam Manson said, walking into the room. "What the hell happened?"

"I—I dunno. I pulled that book, and the shelf turned, and…" His eyes widened, and he sat up. "I hit my head on a rock! Someone… someone said… said it was… about time I got there…. Then, then they… they put shackles on me… and they said… 'You can't…you can't…'" Daniel broke off, gasping.

"What?" Sam asked, blinking in confusion. Why couldn't he continue?

"The—They won't let me… they won't let me say what they said…." He pulled his legs up to his chest, laying his chin on his knees. Sam suddenly got the feeling that Daniel had been forced into this kind of life at much too young an age. So young, in fact, that he probably didn't have a childhood.

Or very little of one.

She knew all the cases from her lifetime. She had heard of the Fenton case. How could she not have? It was on the news for weeks after it happened. It had never truly been solved, either. No one knew how the parents had mysteriously died at the same time in the same way while their two daughters disappeared completely. The only known survivor, the youngest, was a boy named Danny, aged about six at the time. He was taken in by some anonymous uncle and moved far, far away from the small town of Amity Park, Arizona.

Now, this man named Daniel sat in front of her, rocking on his toes. The Fenton boy would've been around nineteen this year, it being the thirteenth anniversary of his family's death. Sam had definitely been right.

Something was seriously off about him.

-!))3\ )347-

Sam left her station by Daniel's bed for only a minute, but when she was on her way back, she heard two voices coming from inside.

"What, Vlad?" Daniel was saying.

"This is what I get for coming to see you, huh? Accusations?" a second voice replied.

"Cut it, Vlad. I can tell when you want something, and you definitely want something. What?"

"…I know what happened to her."

"How? They shouldn't have released the story to the public so soon! Or at least, I wouldn't have…."

"Dan, I moved you for a reason. And not just because you'd be closer to your sisters."

"Vlad, I am close to them."

"I know." There was a pause. "What? You think I wouldn't notice all the calls you were getting from Jazmine Smith and Jackelyn Ryder? Come on, boy, I may be old, but I'm not blind!"

"…It's my fault…."

"How, Dan? You've only been here one day. No one could have found you that quickly!"

"Some already knew."

"Are…are you saying… Clockwork did this?"

"No, I'm saying Plasmius did."

"Wh—What? Plasmius? You think I—he did this?"

"Yeah, especially given Jazz's statement and MO. She was hit through the stomach, Vlad, just like Plasmius normally does."

"Daniel, Plasmius didn't get here until today. How could he have—?"

"He can freakin' fly, Vlad! Chikoshu, I'm not an idiot!"

"I know that, Daniel, and so does he! You think he'd be stupid enough to attack like this, huh?"

"I—I… I dunno." There was another pause as Sam snuck closer to the door, now able to see Daniel as he shook his head. "I just dunno, Vlad. I dunno who I can trust. I haven' known since I was a kid! The two of you have always been pushing at each other, and I Just Dunno!"

"I see," Vlad said, his lips forming a thin line. "Fine, Daniel. I'll be back later." Sam backed away again as a man walked out. Daniel flopped back down onto the bed, groaning. His groan promptly turned into a yelp, however, as he landed on the back of his head.

"Kuso…" he murmured. "Chikoshu kuso…."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly, walking into the room.

"Yeah." He slowly dragged a hand through his hair, wincing slightly. "Though I have this feeling my uncle's going to disown me…."

"Why?"

'Because I accused a friend of his for something."

"What did you accuse him of?"

"…Killing someone."

"Who?"

"…my…my sister."

"Your… who was she?"

"J—Jackelyn. Jack." He sighed heavily. "It's not like her death was a big deal for me. After all, I haven't seen her since I was little, but we talked. Now, she's just… gone. And I guess I feel… like it's… my fault."

"But it's not. It's the fault of whoever killed her."

"You don't get it!" he snapped. "No one does! It's my fault because of my stupid side job! She's gone… and it's because of me."

-!))3\ )347-

Sam was still going over that conversation in her head, even after Daniel was released from the hospital the next day. Even as Lancer went over the evidence from the murder.

"We've got nothing!" Lancer yelled, slamming a hand onto the table. "We don't even know who our vic was! It's like she dropped off the face of the planet!"

Daniel fidgeted in his chair, glancing about before standing and sneaking out. Sam noticed and turned back to the other three.

"Guys, he's hiding a lot."

"We know that, Sam."

"No, I mean…." She sighed. "Look, I heard him and his uncle talking. Just… cross-reference Jazmine Smith, Jackelyn Ryder, and Daniel Ryder. Hell, throw in the Fenton case from years ago, too! But do it quick, before he gets back."

Tucker nodded. "Right." He quickly started up the computer, adding in the data where it was needed. A minute later, he said, "Didn't get much, just… dates…."

"What?" Lancer gasped, moving closer. "My God… the daughters disappeared, then Smith and Ryder show up. They've been in contact with Daniel!"

"He said one sister died… Jackelyn. He also called the vic Jackie over the phone!"

"He's not stuck between three random people, he's stuck between his sisters and a family friend!"

-!))3\ )347-

Daniel breathed in deeply. "Fresh air," he gasped as he exhaled. His heartbeat was returning to a normal speed—well, for him. Now if he could just get some info….

"F—Fenton?" a voice asked from behind him.

His heart rate skyrocketed again. "Kami, Baxter, don't sneak up on me!"

"Sorry, sir, force of habit," the blonde replied, smirking.

"That's right, you all liked to test out that rumor that I didn't have a heart by giving me heart attacks. Well, congrats. I do."

"Sorry, sir."

"What are you doing here, anyway, Dash?"

"I'm warning you."

"Oh? Of what?"

"Of her. She found out where you moved to. She's following you, Danny."

Daniel gaped. "No…."

-!))3\ )347-

"Guys," Sam said, eyes wide, "we've got to find him! If someone went after his sisters, they could be after him, too!"

"You're right. We need to start looking and—" Lancer was cut off by a loud cry outside.

"There you are!"

Everyone jumped, running to get out the door.

-!))3\ )347-

"She can't—" Daniel gasped. "How'd she find me? How'd you find me?"

"Your uncle told me where you'd gone. She eavesdropped on us."

"Wh—when did he tell you?"

"Last night. We got the first plane we could."

Daniel's eyes widened. "…He…he wanted her to…."

"Wha—"

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"Just—Just Kwan. We split up to look for you, and—"

"There you are!"

Both men jumped, Daniel putting a hand over his heart. "Yes, Kwan," he said, seething, "here we are."

"I was looking all over for—"

"Back away from Ryder!" Sam screamed, her gun out and pointed at Kwan.

Daniel, who had jumped again, looked up to the sky, saying, "Just kill me now!"

Lancer grabbed Daniel, pulling him behind Valerie and Tucker. "Arrest them, Sam!"

"What?"

"Yes, sir." Sam moved forward, dragging out her handcuffs.

"Danny, call off the guard dog!" Dash yelled, pushing Kwan out of Sam's reach.

"Not my guard dog," Danny replied.

"What? But—" Dash paused, and he and Kwan shared a look before laughing. "Bottom of the barrel again, huh, Fen-dork?"

"Shut it, Baxter. My uncle's still your boss."

"…right…."

Danny sighed, turning to Lancer. "Sir, they're my friends. Please don't arrest them."

"They're… what?"

"They're friends from Madison. Please don't arrest them on their first day in Amity."

"…Sam, you can stop."

Sam looked up from where she had just handcuffed Dash, pausing in her quoting of the Miranda Rights. "Oh, okay." She left the two men and walked over to Lancer.

Dash rolled his eyes. "Great. Since we're all buddy-buddy now, can someone uncuff me?"

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A/N: Introduction of Dash and Kwan. Now, they came in to provide more of Danny's background. Slowly. Insanely slowly. ;P Yeah, so they used to work below Danny because he was in charge of their unit at Madison. So even though they're like six years older than him, they had to follow his orders. Unfortunately for Danny, that didn't mean they had to show him respect all the time, thus the always-sneaking-up-behind-him.

Dash's comment on Sam being Danny's guard dog: Thrown in for humor, but my friends all say that that line was a little, uh, yeah…. ;