Is this a good length for the first chapter? i hope so. Danny or Lancer might be a bit OOC, i dont know. I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed. I got a bunch of nice comments and a lot of good ideas. :D THANKS AGAIN!

Chapter One

I glanced up from my desk, which was covered in spit and something that could be related to blood. I groaned, unnerved and lifted my head into my hands, trying to get rid of the crick in my neck.

"Mr. Fenton, if you would please pay attention instead of sleeping in my class, I would much appreciate it!" Lancer barked at me, again. Apparently that was what had woken me.

I glared at him, and I could tell my eyes were spitting green sparks of rage. Looking in the mirror this morning, I could tell that I had bags under my eyes the size of Cleveland, and that I was in no mood for games. I hadn't slept very well for around a month, mostly originating after my last fight with Nocturne. He was probably not allowing me to get a wink of sleep these past few nights. That and the ghosts, and I was spending more time out of bed then in it.

Sam sent me a worried glance out of the corner of her eye. I knew she cared, deeply, but I couldn't let her know the stress I was going through. It was something for me to deal with on my own. She would try to take my sleeping into her own hands, and that would end up resulting in her getting no sleep too.

I glanced out the window, at the gathering clouds. They were very black, and looked like they would open up and explode with rain at any minute. Just my luck, because flying and fighting in the rain is miserable, and takes longer. Judging by my calculations, which were almost never right, I wouldn't be home until around five if the rain falls and a ghost comes right after school. Later, if I had to wait around for some ghost to show up to terrorize the townspeople.

"Mr. Fenton? The answer, please?" Lancer called. Doesn't he realize by now that I don't have the answer, and I probably never would?

"Uh? Shakespeare?" I muttered, totally oblivious to the question.

"No, Mr. Fenton. I asked, 'Which Shakespeare play are we going to be studying next?' You would know if you did the reading last night."

Obviously I didn't. Does he just enjoy humiliating me? I think so. I was actually out saving HIS butt last night. Does he remember Danny Phantom swooping down at one o'clock in the morning, saving him when he was still in his pajamas, when I could have been curled up under the covers? I doubt it.

I sighed and looked back at the rain, which had started while the conversation was going on. It streamed past the window, blurring the outside world.

I glanced back to the board, trying to make sense of what was going on. The writing on the board, probably Shakespearean, looked like nonsense to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tucker madly typing away on one of his new tech stuff, totally ignoring Lancer as well. I didn't see him getting in trouble. Sam was drawing on her notebook, wait… was she drawing me? That looked like my profile, but I couldn't be sure.

I leaned a bit closer to see if it was me, when a black shape moved in the corner of my eye. I froze and my breath caught.

Normally, I wouldn't care if something passed in front of the window of the school. I wouldn't give it a fleeting thought unless something bad related with it. And I would say my ghost sense puffing out of my mouth at the very moment the black thing flew by signified that it was bad.

"Danny? You ok?" Sam muttered to me, because my eyes were quickly scanning the surroundings with a new light.

"No." I snapped back.

She looked at me, confused and now concerned.

"What is it?"

"Ghost. Big, and new. I can't identify it."

Fear lit in her violet eyes, and then was quickly dulled by determination.

"Go, Danny."

I stood up. Lancer stopped lecturing and turned to me, annoyance flashing in his little eyes.

"Mr. Fenton, sit---"

CRASH!

Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by the enormous crash of thunder and the crack of lightning that flashed near the windows.

Another crack of lightning, and the screaming started. A black figure was silhouetted there, turned into a shadow from the lightning. Its red eyes gleamed with malice as it caught me in its sights.

It was a madhouse in the classroom. People were screaming and crying, trying to get to the door first. It was all I could do to get through the mass of people without phasing through them and blowing my secret, or shoving them aside and hurting them in the process, but it was just as much of a madhouse out in the hallways as it was in the classroom. I swore under my breath, totally annoyed.

I turned around and fought my way upstream back into the classroom, where the ghost was, hoping no one would still be there and I could change there.

I opened the door, my ghost sense went off again, and everything exploded into blackness.

**(A lot like the preview)**

I wrenched open my eyes, and had a moment of panic. Why couldn't I see? I strained my eyes, but I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Was I blind? I couldn't have been blind, it wouldn't of made a lot of sense. What would I have done to become blind?

Soon after the initial shock of not being able to see passed, I tried to penetrate the darkness by forcing my aura to thrive and become much brighter. That worked… slightly. I could make out that where the walls ended and the floor began, if that was much of a help for anything. The floors and the ceiling were both black as well.

I dragged myself off the ground, trying to support myself. An ecto-ball sprang to life almost effortlessly on my palm, because my eyes told my body I couldn't see. At least whatever happened to me didn't inhibit my powers at all. I would've been in a bad situation if that happened.

A unknown voice echoed around me, eddying and flowing through the bumps and canals in the walls.

"You know why you're here, don't you?"

I froze, almost literally. As soon as I stood up and got myself vertical, a biting wind had blew through me and turned my insides to ice. I moaned, and hugged myself with my arms, trying to preserve body heat.

This was the first time in a long time that I had ever felt extreme cold. Or cold at all, actually. My ice powers usually protected me from cold and frost, counteracting the cold. I could lie in a snow bank and only feel the slightest discomfort.

The voice came again, driving the wind through my slight frame again.

"You spited me, boy. Nocturne, the ghost of dreams. This doesn't happen often, and the people who do get severely punished." A cruel laugh full of hatred and pain ricocheted off the walls and into my ears, making me cry out in pain and cold. The voice seemed to carry a winter storm all of its own.

"Wha-?" I called to the now-identified voice, after recovering from the cold. I sent one of the coldest and meanest glares I could muster up shooting off into the shadows. Apparently it didn't work, because Nocturne just replied:

"The rules, young Phantom. You have 48 hours to navigate your way through the mind labyrinth. You don't get out, you die. You have to fight your fears. You die in a fear, you get sent back to the beginning. You hit a dead end, you get sent back to the beginning. You have to get to the middle. It is impossible, and no one has done so yet. I wish you luck."

The voice cut off suddenly, leaving me alone. I coughed, a rasping sound, and then shivered horribly, writhing as the shiver fought its way through me. My teeth chattered and wouldn't stop.

I only had 48 hours, and I had to get out of this maze, with a cold. Just my luck. Sometimes I think the Mistress of Fate just doesn't like me.

I shivered again and sighed, before stepping forward into the maze. The door to the waiting room slammed shut behind me. There was no turning back.

***

I glanced back at the now pitch-black wall obstructing my limited view to the 'reception' room. There was something that looked like a neon sign over the top, reading:

"RECEPTION ROOM"

Figures. I shrugged off the annoyance this gave me (like I was too stupid enough to figure that out?), and turned to stare now at the menacing tunnel. Not many people, even with ghost powers, would willingly chose to meander down a tunnel that you could only see a couple steps in front of you.

An old comment of Jazz filtered through the rest of the clutter in my brain.

"If you want to get to the end of the maze, Danny-boy, just follow the left hand wall until you either get to the middle, or you hit a dead-end. If you do hit a dead-end, double back down the right path!"

I remember when that was. Jazz and I were going through a corn maze at night, and I was about five. I was freaking out that we would get lost inside the maze forever, and Jazz filled me in on the secret of mazes. That would help me now.

I let a conniving grin slide onto my face. Maybe I wouldn't be fooled by this maze after all, I just needed to let Jazz's advice lead me.

I stepped forward with my arm on the left hand wall, and started walking.

***

This wasn't working. I was following the trail, but I wasn't getting anywhere. Following the left-hand path didn't seem to get me to these 'fears' that I had to find. Not that I wanted to find them. Just the opposite actually. It was just a little bit more than odd. I had expected the fears to appear right in front of me. Apparently this required searching, but I refused to leave the wall. It was my only life-line in this ultimate black. I needed something to do. Just then a song Tuck was obsessed with when he was littler flew into my head.

"99 bottles of pop on the wall, 99 bottles of pop, take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of pop on the wall."

This was fun! I continued walking, singing, and laughing. What? It was entertaining!

***

"1 bottle of pop on the wall, 1 bottle of pop, take one down, pass it around, 0 bottles of pop on the wall!" I finished extravagantly, complete with hand gestures with my free arm.

I glanced at the wall in front of me.

"FEAR 1" was labeled in neon letters.

Here goes nothing. I held my breath and jumped through the shimmering portal.

You peeps were great reviewers last time, hopefully you are again this time! Love you guys! HAPPY EASTER IF YOU CELEBRATE! If you dont...well...forget i said anything. lol.

~Hawkie