Danny Phantom in Terror 60 Leagues Under

by TrojanHalks2012

Danny, Sam and Tucker visit a friend of theirs in Scotland whom they met through a pen pal program. While out fishing on a nearby lake, Danny and Tucker make the catch of a lifetime, but Skulker has other plans for their lucky payday.

3. Part 2

We are back and with the concluding second part of the story. We left off with Nessie making her entrance. Knowing Danny, he's probably going to fight it to give Tucker the chance to escape, and because it's not a ghost he could have a harder time defeating this legendary creature. And if the Loch Ness Monster is ferocious enough to give Danny a run for his money, Skulker is obviously going to start contemplating capturing the serpent for himself. If it comes down to that, whose side will Danny take? Skulker's, one of his many ghostly enemies or Nessy, the monster that is trying to kill him? Whoever wins, Danny loses. Enjoy.The Loch ness monster roared with a deafening screech as it launched itself at the two teenage ghost fighters. Its mouth was wide open and it was expecting an easy meal, but it's never tried to eat these two before.

---

"Eat this!" Tucker yelled as he grabbed the boats motor and turned it on before they took off in a swirl of waves. The giant serpent crashed into the waves right where they had been floating. The rest of its body that was currently surfaced followed behind it. "I think we lost it," Tucker yelled joyfully as he looked behind them.

Tucker failed to notice the legendary serpent emerge from the water in front of them. "Negative," Danny yelled in horror. "Incoming!" he screamed as he pointed ahead of them. Tucker looked forward and gasped to see the monster charging straight towards them with its mouth open, and they were skipping across the water straight towards it.

"YAAAAAAH!" they both screamed in terror.

Tucker took a sharp left turn with the motor and the boat lurched in the same direction, taking them out of danger's path just as the monster dove back beneath the waves at the spot where they swerved.

The boat jumped across the wave crests as the giant serpent's head protruded above the surface with its mouth wide open right behind them.

"Time for evasive action!" Tucker yelled over the roar of the motor. He served the boat to the right and continued going straight just as the serpent sprang forward and snapped at where they once were. It once again disappeared beneath the waves.

Tucker suddenly jerked the boat back to the left just as the serpent's head erupted through the water right where they once had been again and missed catching them in its razor sharp teeth. It disappeared beneath the waves once again only to have Tucker jerk the boat back to the right just as the serpent snapped at where they once were. This continued for a few more circulations before Danny had had enough.

"I'm gunna take this thing head on!" he yelled to Tucker over the roar of not only the wind, but the screeching serpent that was in hot pursuit. "You get back to Sophia's place!" he advised his friend.

"Be careful dude," Tucker advised him. "Take that thing down," he added with a quirky smile. They knuckle bumped before Danny transformed into his ghost form.

He squatted down and built energy up into his hands; he released a massive wave of energy out beneath him, luckily avoiding the boat, and blasted himself high into the air over Tucker and straight towards the charging beast.

He pulled one of his energized fists back and swung it forward; hitting the serpent in the side of the snout, sending it crashing back into the waves below.

"OWW!" Danny yelled in agony as he suddenly grabbed his aching hand and soothed it; blowing on it didn't quite help because of his glove but it was instinct. "That thing's scales are as hard as diamond," he complained, mentally noting that he probably should avoid doing that again.

While he was busy rubbing his throbbing hand, the serpent rose from the water until its head was directly behind him. He heard a growling sound; his eyes bulged before he turned around and came face to face with the beast.

It roared with its well known deafening screech, causing the ghost boy to cover his ears and wince as he slowly backed away.

"Whoa, two words," Danny said as he uncovered his ears and held out two fingers. "Breath mints," he mocked yet in a very subtle tone. The beast roared again; Danny didn't have enough time to cover his ears he just closed his eyes and winced. "And perhaps some anger management counseling!" he yelled in terror before he took off through the air with the monster in short pursuit.

With a terrified look on his face he looked back to see the monster gaining on him quickly. He yelped as he turned his legs into a ghostly tail and stretch his arms out in front of himself, increasing his speed to about 150 mph through the air, but it stayed right on his tail.

He smirked before splitting his form, duplicating himself so that two of himself were evading the monster. They both split up; one going in one direction while the other went in the other direction.

The serpent didn't hesitate before it chose which to follow and continued to give chase. "Uh oh," the Danny that the serpent decided to follow said before he turned and flew straight up to avoid the monster's sharp teeth as they snapped shut.

He flew in several aerial spirals and multiple corkscrews to throw the serpent off his trail, almost losing the monstrous animal on numerous occasions, but it always regained itself and continued to chase him down with unrelenting force.

"Don't you ever give up!" Danny asked it angrily. He was answered when the serpent suddenly dove back beneath the waves and disappeared from sight for a moment. "Huh?" he questioned before the serpent suddenly sprang from the water and opened its mouth wide before shooting a blast of water directly at him. "YAAH!" he yelled as he instinctively formed a ball of freezing energy in his hand and shot it at the stream of water. The entire thing froze solid and formed a fifty foot long icicle that splashed down into the water.

Danny looked up and smirked as the giant serpent screeched in agony before it swam around the giant mound of ice floating in the water and continued to charge at the ghost boy.

Having noticed its hesitation, Danny looked out across the water to his other self and nodded to him. The other Danny nodded in return before taking a sharp left turn and dove closer to the surface of the water.

Looking back at the charging beast, the first Danny smirked and crossed his arms in front of his upper body just as the serpent sprang out of the water and snapped its jaws around him. He suddenly burst into a blue mist that immediately took off through the gloomy daytime air and merged back with the other Danny that was flying away at great speed while he skimmed the water. The Danny that was 'eaten' was the duplicate and this Danny was formulating a plan.

The serpent had followed the blue mist with its eyes and growled when it realized it had been fooled. It roared with a massive shriek before it dove head first into the water and skimmed across the water as it gave chase to the real Danny.

"Time to put my plan into action," Danny said in a stern tone as he crunched his forehead and crossed his eyebrows. "This had better work," he half yelled.

He stuck out his left hand and plunged it into the water, kicking up a massive wake behind him. The sudden drag gave him the opportunity to arc around in a large half circle before he charged straight towards the beast.

With his hand still in the water he built up a large amount of freezing energy and with a strong forward motion he sent a massive wall of water nearly thirty feet into the air. He blasted his built up freezing energy at the wave, freezing the entire structure solid.

Realizing what was now in its path the giant serpent screeched with terror and halted its attack; coming to a stop in the water only a few yards from the wall of ice. It screeched again before it turned and swam away.

"HA! Scared of a little ice are yah!" Danny mocked the monster. "Such a wuss," he chuckled as he wiped away a tear. "Cold blooded creatures are always trying to avoid things that'll just slow them down," he said to himself. "Hey, biology has actually paid off for once," he said joyfully.

What he failed to notice was that the serpent wasn't retreating. It was simply swimming away to give it plenty of space between itself and the wall of ice. It is heard screeching from a far away distance before it straightened out its body and charged for the wall of ice at full speed.

It lowered its head and collided with the ice, shattering it, sending ice shards in all directions. After shattering its way through the barrier it charged straight for Danny once again with its mouth wide open.

"Ah crud," was all Danny had to say before the serpent collided with him. He was slammed into its snout and ricocheted off and was just barely able to grab hold of one of the long whiskers that protruded from its snout.

Realizing the ghost boy was clinging to its whisker, the serpent tried desperately to get him to let go. It swung its head from side to side ferociously; Danny managed to keep a firm grasp on the animal as he was flung around like a rag doll.

It flailed its head about enough so that Danny even managed to hang out in front of its mouth on a few occasions. When this happened the creature only snapped at him but would always miss because its own movements forced him out of its reach.

It finally resulted in spinning him in vertical circles before snapping its head immediately to the side. Unable to keep his grip when the serpent suddenly snapped its head to the side, Danny was sent flying. He skipped across the surface of the water several times before splashing down into the water and disappearing beneath the surface.

Underneath the water's surface, Danny appeared to be unconscious as he slowly sank into the water's depths. His mouth was hanging open, thankfully he didn't need to breathe underwater while in his ghost form, and his hair moved about with the water's movements. He floated upright and had his back facing the readers.

The entire background suddenly erupted with bubbles that came down from the surface as the giant serpent became submerged beneath the surface. The bubbles vanished and it was at this point that the creature's entire body could be seen.

Its entire body length was about one hundred feet long; a sharp spiky dorsal fin ran along its entire length. It had two front arms and two back legs that were webbed at the finger tips allowing for movement in the water. Its head was separated from its front legs by about thirty feet. Its four limbs were separated by about forty feet, leaving it a thirty foot long tail. At the tip of its tail were four razor sharp spikes that stuck out at ninety degree angles of each other.

It roared with another screech, although the water managed to muffle it out some so it wasn't as deafening. It charged through the water fast enough for the water to swirl around it as it charged through the water. Its mouth hung open as went straight for its unconscious pray.

Just before it could reach him, Danny's eyes shot open and they were glowing a solid blue. His teeth clenched together and he crossed his eyebrows as his ghostly glow turned blue; he had lost himself in his powers. He suddenly began to spin in the water and propelled himself forward, freezing water in his wake.

The giant serpent chomped down on the ice and shrieked in agony before it gave chase once more. It spiraled its entire body around the underwater icicle, tearing it apart with its limbs as it went.

Danny emerged from the water with a giant spike of ice protruding from the water where he had emerged. He descended from the air and formed a giant slab of ice in the water before landing on it. He then put his hands out behind him and fired off a continuous ray of ecto-plasmic energy, propelling him across the surface of the water. The serpent broke the surface of the water and screeched before it continued its relentless chase in the ghost boy.

Danny looked back with a piercing stare from his solid icy blue eyes. He growled before he stopped firing his energy out behind him and built up his freezing energy within. His eyes returned to normal, although blue instead of green but his pupils had returned, and he front flipped in the air while spinning around in a corkscrew so that he had turned his body around.

He raised his arms high over his head and bent his back as he formed a pulsating blue ball of freezing energy the size of a beach ball in his hands. "ARGH!" he yelled in a fury as he brought his arms down and forward and launched the ball of pulsating freezing energy straight towards the charging creature.

With its mouth open wide, the creature began to roar but the energy blast went into its mouth and exploded in a bright flash of blue light that was powerful enough to break apart the clouds, leaving behind a cloudless sky so the sun could shine down through.

By the time the light had subsided the serpent had been forced to halt its attack for the final time. Every part of it that was above the surface had been encased in a thick layer of shiny blue ice. Its head and most of its neck were now frozen in place, along with its angered expression towards its prey. It moved its eyes side to side before it focused on Danny as he flew over and landed on the serpent's snout.

His eyes had turned from blue to green, his ghostly glow had returned to normal; he was basically back to his normal self. "This ice will melt soon in this sun," he informed the creature. It never took its eyes off him as he took flight once again. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before trying to take on the one and only, Danny Phantom," he advised his warning to the creature before he took off across the lake to catch up with Tucker whom he knew should have made it back to Sophia's home by now.

Now floating alone out in the middle of the lake the serpent was at the mercy of the cold ice as the sun slowly melted it. Unfortunately Danny had failed to freeze what was below the surface. Its four limbs and its tail clung to the ice as it tore huge chunks off underneath the surface.

It eventually resulted in bending its body above the surface so that all four of its legs and tail could tear the ice apart from above the surface.

Before the ice could even melt a small portion of it, the ice started to crack. It eventually gave way and the entire thing shattered, freeing the creature from its icy prison. It roared with its deafening screech before it dove back beneath the water to recuperate.

High above, Skulker was watching everything unfold from the safety of a cloud that hadn't been dispersed from the freezing light explosion earlier. He was still invisible so Danny couldn't detect him but he figured Danny was far enough away for him to appear without his ghost sense going off. He appeared in mid air, scaring a bird that just happened to be flying by. It squawked in terror before it flew away as fast as it could.

"My prey has gotten away from me," he growled angrily. "He did good taking care of that giant snake though," he figured as he scratched his chin. "If that thing was able to give him a run for his money it must be worthy of me catching and mounting on my wall," he said with a grin. "I should probably learn a bit more about this creature before I go and try battling it myself; I need to know what I'm up against. He became invisible again and flew off in the direction Danny had flown off to.

A couple hundred feet from the docks next to Sophia's other boats, Danny finally caught up with Tucker as he slowed the boat down. "Welcome back," Tucker said as Danny landed in the boat and reverted back into his human form. "Whoa, battling that thing took a lot out of you," he observed Danny's exhausted condition.

"You have no idea Tuck," Danny responded as they pulled up next to the docks. "Something happened to me out there that I just couldn't explain," he informed him.

"Like what?" Tucker asked as he shut off the boat's motor.

"Well I fell unconscious after falling into the water and the next thing I know I'm holding a pulsating ball of freezing energy over my head. That thing was charging towards me so I just threw it and ran…oh wait, no, I stayed behind and mocked it and then ran."

"This just blows man," Tucker huffed. "You'd think Sophia would have warned us about what was out there before she let us go fishing," he complained.

---

A pair of fists are slammed into a table making a small flower vase that was sitting on the edge to wobble before it settled back down. They were obviously Sam's hands due to the black bracelets she wore around her wrists. "She did warn you, you morons!" she cussed them out. "We've been worried sick about you two for the last three hours!"

"Hey, she didn't tell us anything about a giant snake with whiskers," Tucker complained, pointing at Sophia.

"That's because the two of you ran off in the boat before she could tell you what was out there," Sam informed them in a very stern yet angry tone.

"Now that I think about it, she was quite nervous about us taking her boat out to go fishing," Danny remembered, thinking back to just a few hours ago.

"Oh sure, take their side," Tucker pouted.

"You're not listening Tucker," Sam half yelled. "The two of you could have been killed; you're just lucky Danny was able to hold it off while escaping with his own life," she added with an angry huff.

"Somethin' 'at mah faither tint tae 'at monster ten years ago," Sophia spoke up, bring their attention away from each other to her instead. A tear rolled down her face as she sat down in a wicker chair. Sam sat next to her and held her hand to comfort her. Not wanting to make things worse, Danny and Tucker sat on the floor in front of her like little kids waiting for a story. "Ah saw whit happened, an' 'at wasnae somethin' onie seven year auld shoods ever hae tae see."

A flashback occurred; everything went fuzzy before becoming clear once again on a sunny day ten years in the past. A seven year old Sophia is seen playing with a couple of dolls on the pier near her house as her mother stood nearby. They were waiting for their father/husband to return from a fishing trip out on the lake.

The vessel's sails appeared through a dense fog that had accumulated on the water's surface. The first man to be noticed was a man standing high up in the wooden structure of the sails as the wind blew through his long red hair. He smiled when he saw his wife and daughter waiting for his return.

When he and his crew were about one hundred feet from pulling up to the pier something rocked the boat. The sudden jolt nearly made the man fall from his high perch.

"We've bin struck by somethin' keptin," another man yelled up to the man. "Ah hink it was jist a wae," he concluded.

"'At wasnae onie wae," Sophia's father said to himself; apparently he was the captain and he had been doing this long enough to know that wasn't a wave. "Cheil th' helm!" he yelled down to the man who saluted before he ran for the vessels wheel. He was determined to get back to his family, even if he had to fight for them.

Suddenly the boat was rocked again and the man almost lost his footing. "Sairrr, it's Nessy!" another man yelled up to the captain as he held firmly onto a mooring line that kept the sail in place.

The sailor growled as the giant serpent surfaced in front of the boat and looked right at the man standing in the wooden structure with its piercing red eyes. It roared with a deafening screech which didn't seem to affect the man. "Come an' gie me ye coward!" he challenged the ferocious beast.

It screeched before it lunged into the air and over the sails of the ship before it came back down and crashed into the stern of the ship, shattering it, sending shards of splintered wood in every direction. It also took the sailors that were at the stern with it so Sophia's father, the captain, was all that was left on his half of the fishing vessel.

The serpent's head became submerged but its tail surfaced, it was curved around the bow of the ship. It tightened around what remained and threw it across the water, causing the ship to spin a few rotations in the water before it started to tilt and sink like a reverse of the titanic, back first so the bow was in the air instead of the stern.

Sophia's father was just barely able to hold on to the sail lines. He looked over towards his family. Sophia had stopped playing with her dolls and her mother was in sobs, wishing that her husband would make it out of there alive.

The serpent resurfaced and screeched as it dove for the other half of the ship with the captain still clinging to it. He closed his eyes tight and waited for the inevitable to happen. He disappeared with the serpent's mouth as it crashed onto the rest of the ship, sending more shards of wood in every direction.

"NAAAAAAAAE!" Sophia's mother screamed in horror as tears streamed from her eyes. Sophia's eyes were wide and her mouth hung half open. She didn't quite know how to react; she had just seen her father die right before her eyes, and at such a young age.

A shot from behind her showed the young girl standing on the pier with her dolls at her feet. Her mother had fallen to her knees and was crying into her hands as the remains of the fishing vessel sank into the lake, never to be seen again.

"Mah faither's nam was Merry Weaither," Sophia informed the others, having emerged from her story with tears streaming from her eyes. "We hud tois fishin' vessels back 'en, when mah faither's ship was destroyed we hud anither built an' it was named efter him; hence, th' Merry-Weaither," she added as she wiped away her tears.

A glance out the window showed 'The Merry-Weather' and the other ship which was turned so its name could be read, 'The Sea-Bass', floating, tied to the pier as the wind caused the sails to flutter and the waves caused the ships to rock.

"Now do the two of you understand the consequences of your actions?" Sam scolded the two boys. "The two of you could have been killed out there and there wouldn't have been a thing we could have done. Do you think I'd want to go back home at the end of the week and tell your parents that their two boys had been killed!" she yelled her last statement.

Danny and Tucker fell silent and seemed quite ashamed of themselves. Sam was right; they shouldn't have been so arrogant, they didn't want to put Sam in that kind of position. Danny didn't even want to think about how sad his parents and sisters would have been too have learned that he died while fishing in Scotland.

"Sorry Sophia," they both said in unison, their tones saddened and depressed.

Yet another tear rolled down her face, she promptly wiped it away. "Ah need tae be aloyn fur a while," she said sadly as she got up from her chair, crossed her arms and walked out of the room in silence. Sam got up in silence and walked out of the room and went out on the patio to look at the lake which seemed quite peaceful this late in the evening.

Danny suddenly felt himself being tugged by the collar of his shirt. "YAAH!" he half screamed before his mouth was covered by a hand to keep him quiet. Tucker dragged him through a doorway so no one else could see or hear them. "Tucker, what on Earth are you doing!" he snapped and he rubbed the base of his neck.

"Dude, the story that Sophia told us, don't you know what this means!" Tucker asked excitedly.

"Ugh, that we've had a near death experience and we should be more careful in the future?" Danny asked in response, only guessing that that might have been what he was talking about.

"No," Tucker said before he looked around cautiously. "It means that we've seen the Legendary Loch Ness Monster," he told him in an excited whisper. "We'll be labeled as legends back in Amity Park for this story."

"And nut cases," Danny informed him. "Very few people believe in this myth because they've never spotted the thing before. People will just think we're making up stories to gain attention; its best that we keep this to ourselves," he advised.

He turned to walk back out into the other room but Tucker grabbed him and pulled him back before forcing him up against the wall by pinning both of his arms. "That's why we need to prove to the world that this thing actually exists," Tucker hinted.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Danny asked. He shook Tucker off of him and stepped away but didn't take his eyes off his friend. "That thing is a one hundred foot long lizard; people have been trying to prove it exists for decades; how are we, two teenagers, going to prove something like that exists when it has evaded prying eyes for that long?"

"Well your sister's proved the existence of Bigfoot," Tucker hinted, implying that Danielle, Nicole or Becky went against Jazz's plan and squealed. "Now it's our turn to prove a mythological fact to be true."

"Well yah, but they only told us under the promise that we didn't tell anyone else," Danny reminded him. "Now you're talking about revealing the existence of a legendary creature that is probably the only of its kind." This statement caught the attention of an invisible ghost hunter not too far away. His invisibility cloaking him from Danny's ghost sense.

"That's just the thing dude, it's the only of its kind in existence," Tucker said excitedly. "If we can capture that thing it can be sent to live in a zoo or some kind of preserve where it'll remain safe from those that want to harm it. Not to mention we'll become world heroes if we're the ones responsible for its capture. And capturing it would be easy, you said it was afraid of ice; just use a little ghost freezing power and we'll have that thing in no time flat!"

"I'm already a world hero three times over," Danny reminded him. "I don't need any more publicity. Besides, after what I had to do for us to escape and after Sophia's story AND after what Sam said, I don't think I want to risk it again. If my parents found out I was killed my father would seek revenge, Jazz would probably be so depressed she'd drop out of school and Danielle…" he paused when he said her name. "Danielle was once a part of me; we share the same DNA; if I was killed far away from home she would no doubt be hit the hardest. I just can't do that to her…to them!"

"And I respect that dude," Tucker said, placing a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. "But I'm still going back out there."

"What!" Danny half yelled. "Tucker, you can't capture that thing all by yourself," Danny warned him. "It'll eat you alive," he reminded him, remembering back to Sophia's story about her father.

"Well you're not gunna stop me," Tucker said as he turned his back and started to walk away. "If you plan to protect me from my own actions; you'll just have to come along," he said slyly as he glanced back with a wicked smile.

Realizing there was nothing he could do to sway Tucker's mind, Danny gave in. "Alright," Danny said with a heavy sigh. "I'm in."

Tucker rushed back and draped his arm across Danny's shoulders while holding his other hand out, palm open and facing away. "I can see the newspaper headlines now," he said as he began to move his hand sideways. "World Hero Danny Phantom and friend prove the existence of Loch Ness Monster."

"Don't you think there will be repercussions though?" Danny asked, as Tucker's eyes sparkled as he daydreamed about fame and glory. "I mean, what if Sam and Sophia find out about this? Sam made it pretty clear that she was disappointed with us the last time we went out," he reminded his overjoyed friend.

"That's why we keep this a secret from her right up until we capture it," Tucker said secretly. "She's always for the protection of endangered species; well if this thing is the last of its kind then after we capture it then we'll just sell it to a wild life preservation where it'll be protected and cared for. Besides, studies have shown that wild animals live longer in captivity than in the wild; so this will definitely be a positive," Tucker added with a thumbs up.

"This thing is already over one hundred years old easy," Danny said skeptically. He cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms. "I don't think living longer is on its mind right now."

"Meh, what does it know, it's an animal," Tucker said as he waved his hand. "Now the sooner we put our plan into action the better," he said as he rubbed his hands together.

"So when do we go back out?" Danny asked out of curiosity.

"As soon as possible," Tucker informed him. "After today Sophia is probably going to have the groundskeepers keep a closer eyes on her fishing vessels so we need to do this, TONIGHT!" he said as his eyes widened.

"TONIGHT!" Danny gasped before he hushed himself. "But how are we supposed to get together the right equipment to capture that thing?" he asked.

"Easy, those larger fishing vessels out there already have the tools we need for a big catch," Tucker said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at a window that showed the two boats down by the piers. The smaller motor boat was lower in the water so it couldn't be seen from a distance, especially from inside the house. "We just sneak out of the house quietly at about midnight," he moved his fingers as if they were a person walking, "we'll commander one of those boats and set sail."

Tucker's plan seemed simple enough, but Danny still seemed unsure about all of it, especially after the close encounter they had earlier, and after the story Sophia told them about her father's gruesome death.

They both walked off elsewhere into the house as Skulker's invisible outline became visible in a dark corner. "So that thing is the only one of its kind huh?" Skulker pondered. "Definitely worthy of my hunting skills," he said with a great big evil grin. "But I don't have the tools to capture something that big," he said to himself. "The ghost child's ghost portal is halfway across the world so I have no hope of going home and gathering the sufficient supplies needed."

That's when a thought popped into his head. He turned and looked out the window at the two fishing vessels tied up to the pier. By now the sun was starting to set below the horizon in the distance; lighting the sky a pretty pink, purple and orange.

"Yes, the fishing vessels," he said with a snicker. "I will let the ghost child and his friend work their magic and after they've lured that thing out into the open, I will use their own resources to capture it for myself, ingenious!" he half yelled as he widened his eyes. He laughed evilly as the scene faded away.

---

Back in Amity Park, the sun was only just setting on the town; the sun had set long ago for the others over in Scotland. Nicole, Becky and Steven sat in the park under the light given off by a light pole high above. They all had clipboards and appeared to be doing homework with each other.

"Either of you know how to solve this math problem?" Nicole asked the other two as she held up her math homework and pointed to a math problem halfway down the sheet.

Steven shrugged his shoulders but Becky took a good look at the problem on her own homework sheet. "Oh, you have to divide this number here by the sum of its factors," she instructed. "Like this," she said before she demonstrated how to do the work while Nicole and Steven looked over her shoulders.

Nicole and Steven's eyes widened and they started to sweat nervously. "So glad you're the one in this group with book smarts," Nicole complimented.

"Well I guess it makes up for my apparent lack of street smarts," Becky said with a smile. "Unlike you," she said, eyeballing Nicole.

"I lived in San Francisco for more than half my life," Nicole retaliated. "Up until I was ten I grew up on those streets and let me tell you, despite my age I had to find my way around pretty quickly," she informed the other two.

"Well as long as someone's got street smarts," Steven added before another small explosion is heard going off some distance away. "UGH! That girl has got to calm down some," he half yelled as he got to his feet.

"Hey, she's your girlfriend," Nicole said, clearly wanting to stay out of the way.

"Yah, but she is also our friend," Becky stated getting to her feet. If Nicole wouldn't help then she at least had to do something along the lines of moral guidance. "We need to help calm her down because that is what friends do for each other."

"Darn you and your strong will and moral fortitude," Nicole growled, getting to her feet to follow Becky and Steven out from underneath the street light and a little further into the park.

It wasn't lit with anything except the moon which hung overhead. The grass had recently been cut the day before and only a few trees stood nearby; but other than that there was a nice big field before them. And low and behold, right out in front of them was a cloud of dirt that was constantly being replenished with new dirt as a fight ensued within it.

The box ghost was suddenly sent flying out of the cloud of dirt and sent careening into a tree, knocking loose some of its leaves.

Next Danielle emerged from the cloud of dirt, allowing it to finally settle and clear away. She was still in her powered up mode, complete with flaming hair and white energy, as well as some new burning sensation that heated up anything around her, although she seemed quite oblivious to it.

She flew up to the box ghost and grabbed him by his throat and pinning him up against the tree. Some of the leaves above her began to wither away from the intense heat, but luckily the tree didn't burst into flames.

Fire burned in her eyes as she built up a finishing move made of white energy in her hand that wasn't pinning the now minor threat to the tree. "This is gunna hurt you more than it's gunna hurt me," she hissed angrily.

"Danielle!" Steven's voice is heard calling out from behind her. She didn't look at him nor did she acknowledge him, but she kept her hand at bay, holding back her attack. "Put…him…down," he ordered him.

She seemed hesitant but after a few tense moments she tossed the box ghost to the side. He crashed into the ground face first and slid to a halt at Becky and Nicole's feet.

"Good, now listen to me," Steven spoke up as he approached the fuming halfa. "You need to calm yourself down," he requested. "This is growing out of control."

Danielle turned around quickly and glared at him. "You are not the boss of me!" she screamed at him. Flames literally erupted from her mouth as Steven jumped back and covered his face to avoid it getting burned.

"Oww!" he yelled in pain as he fell over backwards. Becky and Nicole gasped before they ran to his aid.

Realizing what she had done, Danielle's rage disappeared completely and she had a genuine look of fear and shame in her eyes. "Oh no!" she sobbed as she ran to his side. "Oh gosh, I'm so, so, so sorry," she wept as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I seriously didn't know what had overcome me," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's ok," Steven said as he patted her shoulder. "You missed; I got a pretty nice tan by the looks of it," he said as he examined his skin in what little light the moon and Danielle's ghostly glow provided. "What kind of attack was that?" he asked her out of curiosity. "I thought you had ice based attacks, not flames."

"I didn't realize either until just now," Danielle responded as she looked at her own hands. "I guess this'll constitute a trip into the ghost zone with Danny to see either Clockwork or Frostbite," she figured.

A low moaning is suddenly heard that startled the young ghost fighters. The box ghost was sitting up in the grass. "What the heck just happened?" he asked himself in a daze as he rubbed his head.

"Grrr," Danielle growled as she got to her feet and marched towards him.

"YAH!" he screamed as she kicked him away, but didn't give chase.

She stood their steaming as Steven walked up beside her and grabbed one of her arms, making her jump slightly before she realized who it was. He looked her in the eyes and shook his head in a disapproving manner.

Danielle's look of anger once again dissipated as she gave in to what she knew he wanted out of her. "Violence isn't the answer in this case," Steven advised her.

"Forgiveness is the right path to choose instead," Becky implied on her as a small hint of wisdom.

"She's right," Steven continued. "He may have ruined your night at the play, but you'll have many more nights just like that one that will mean even more to you," he reminded her. "Just look on the bright side of things; he knows you can beat him and so that will impart fear into him to stay away; hopefully," he added the last part figuring that the box ghost would probably be back to causing no good the next day. "You've taken your anger out on him for now so just let it go," he advised her.

"I am so glad you of all people decided to ask me of all people out," Danielle said flirtatiously, and with a sparkle in her eye.

The scene pans away to Nicole and Becky as one of Danielle's legs lifts into the air as the sound of them kissing makes Nicole and Becky gag. The box ghost phases through the ground and gags with them before Nicole holds up a Fenton Thermos and promptly sucks him into it. "I'm going home to puke," she said gloomily as she walked away.

"Same here," Becky seconded as she walked off screen.

---

By now several more hours had passed and the sun had finally set in Scotland. The time was 12:00 am and all were fast asleep, all except for two young ghost hunters as they crept their way out onto the front lawn with nothing but the light from the moon to guide them.

Tucker wore all black clothing including a black beret and black eyeliner used by hockey and football players. Danny was in ghost mode and so was more easily spotted but nobody was awake to see him anyway.

Tucker slinked across the grass, first hiding behind a tree before he walked out into the open just as the sprinkler system was activated. The metal nozzles protruded from the ground and unleashed a fury of water that made Tucker yelp.

He covered his face to keep out the water but couldn't see where he was going. "YAAH!" he half yelled as he slipped in the wet grass. He only half yelled because he was trying to keep quiet. His arms flailed about as gravity pulled him downhill in the wet grass. He went straight for the tire swing and went through it head first. His stomach got stuck and he was swung forward before he was brought back to Earth. He fell out of the swing and landed in the grass in a heap.

He looked up when he heard Danny laughing. He pouted as Danny sailed by him as he too slipped in the grass; although he was doing it more on purpose. He was actually freezing the water so he was skating on an ice ramp. "Common Tuck," he called out to his friend as he 'skated' his way to the pier.

Tucker stood in a huff and patted himself off before he stomped after Danny. He walked onto the pier as Danny walked alongside 'The Merry-Weather, feeling the side of the boat with his hands as he walked along its length. "For being out in the water all day and night for the last ten years, this thing is remarkably dry," he complimented as he stopped to examine a rope that hung down. "Alright Tuck, looks like the coast is clear," he whispered.

"Great, time for some upper body strength," Tucker groaned. He spat in his hands and rubbed them together. He grabbed the rope and tried to hoist himself up unsuccessfully.

"Perhaps I could just fly us onto the boat?" Danny suggested.

Tucker was blowing air into his hands to sooth them. "Sure let's do that," he agreed. "We'll need our strength to get this thing out of port."

"Thes boat is stayin' tied tae th' pier," a girl's voice is heard booming above them. Danny and Tucker gulped nervously before they looked up and saw Sophia standing atop the 'Merry-Weather'. She was looking down at them with a scowl on her face. "Ye tois ur plannin' oan gonnae back it thaur tae capture 'at hin'," she conferred before she grabbed the rope and hopped over the edge. She slid down the rope and landed on the pier in front of them. "An' Ah want in oan it," she informed them.

"You wanna go?" Tucker asked with doubt.

"But I thought you were against us going back out there?" Danny asked her.

"I've bin livin' in fear ay 'at hin' fur far tay lang," she said with slight anger in her voice. "Eh'd kill 'at hin' if given th' chance, but Ah can settle fur ye troaps capturin' 'at hin' an' gettin' rid ay it," she said as she crossed the pier.

"Well if we're going, then we need to take the boat," Tucker said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"Nae mah faither's ship," she growled. "We can tak' th' other a body," she said as she grabbed a mooring line keeping the boat next to the pier.

"You're sure you wanna go with us?" Danny asked her out of curiosity. "I mean it is gunna be quite dangerous," he reminded her. "You said so yourself, that thing can kill us."

"Ah need thes," she said as she untied the boat from the pier. She then tugged on another rope that hung down from the side and a rope ladder fell down to the pier. "Besides, hoo dae ye expect tae gie th' ship it ay port?" she mocked them; turning to smile at them before she proceeded to climb the ladder.

Tucker slapped his forehead. "I did not think this thing through all the way," he complained before he and Danny climbed the ladder after the girl.

They climbed onto the deck and were rocked around as the waves moved the boat from side to side. "I'll keptin us it ay haur," she informed them as she opened a wooden chest and put a pirate captain's hat on her head. "As lang as th' tois ay ye ur alrecht wi' bein' captained by a lassie," she informed them in a mocking tone.

"No captain," they both saluted in unison.

"Hoist up th' anchur an' open up th' sails," she commanded as she rushed towards the stern of the ship and took hold of the wheel.

"Ugh, we don't know how," Danny said innocently as Tucker grabbed the chain for the anchor and tugged on it and fell over backwards after losing his grip.

"Och, weel, pull oan 'at lever an' pull oan 'at rope," she instructed them. Danny pulled on the rope she had pointed to and the sail unraveled the rest of the way while Tucker pulled on the lever she had indicated; a metal clanking is heard as the chain was wound around a small platform while the ships anchor was pulled from the water. "It's time fur us tae gang catch th' loch ness monster," she hissed.

The wind suddenly picked up and the ship lurched forward, making Danny and Tucker nearly fall over as the ship began its journey towards the lakes center.

---

Out in the middle of the lake the moon provided the only source of light as a couple dozen buckets of fish guts were tossed into the water to lure the prey. Tucker placed the buckets at his feet and patted his hands as Sophia supervised. They had lowered the anchor so the ship stayed in place.

"Hoo is th' nit comin' alang?" she asked, turning around to see how Danny was doing with the oversized fishing net. He was in his ghost form so he was ready for the monster to attack.

The net was old and gray, but was turning blue due to Danny using his powers to freeze them over with a light frost. This should aid in capturing the beast and the added frost would only help further.

"I've almost finished frosting over the net," Danny answered as he held up the now glowing blue net. He pulled on it to show how springy it still was; it let off snowflakes as it snapped between his hands. "By the time I'm done this thing, that lizard won't wanna come near us. It's scared of ice so we know this will be able to hold it, actually, I just finished," he said as he held up the frosty net.

Sophia helped him drag it over to the edge of the boat and they draped it over the side and into the water. The net was quite large so it took a few minutes to lay out the entire thing in the water. It had buoys all along its length to keep it from sinking, but it was nearly invisible as it floated on the surface.

"Alrecht, th' trap has bin sit, we jist hae tae bide fur it tae be sprung," Sophia said as she clapped her hands together.

"So now we wait?" Tucker asked as he walked up with the empty buckets slung over his shoulder.

"Now we wait," Danny confirmed as he pulled up a wooden box and sat on it.

---

A view of the sky shows the moon moving across it indicating that a few hours had passed by while they were waiting. The view panned down to show Danny and Sophia sitting on wooden boxes while they played cards on a third wooden box between them. They were both holding a few cards in their hands while two piles of cards sat between them, one rather neat and tidy while the other was spread out.

They both drew cards from the tidy pile and smirked at each other before they laid down their cards. "Straecht!" Sophia said quite proudly, but Danny's smirk only grew.

"Full House," he said proudly as he laid his cards out on top of her straight.

"Ugh, 'at means Ah lose reit?" she asked as if unsure of what a full house meant.

"Sorry, but yah," Danny confirmed. "You did good though; you should consider yourself lucky for picking up on the game so quickly."

Sophia smiled at the compliment but news given to them by Tucker wiped away her smile. "Hey, guys, we've got company," he informed them. He had been looking over the edge of the boat to keep an eye on the trap. "And it's not the serpent; although it could be just as dangerous," he said nervously.

"What could possibly be worse than the loch ness monster?" Danny asked as he walked up beside his friend. Sophia walked up to Tucker's other side as they saw something approaching them.

"Sam," Tucker said in monotone as he lowered his eyebrows.

"Oh boy, not good," Danny gulped nervously.

"Diz she pure scaur ye tois 'at much?" Sophia asked the two boys.

"She scares us more than you will ever possibly know," Danny and Tucker said in unison.

They knew she'd be angry with them so they willingly tossed the rope ladder over the edge so she could climb up it. She moved the motor boat up next to the larger fishing vessel and turned it off before proceeding to climb the ladder.

While she climbed up the side of the ship, a large dorsal fin protruded from the water on the other side of the ship before it disappeared beneath the water.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" Danny asked her as innocently as possible after she had climbed over the ships railing. He suddenly got a slap to the face for a response. "Ok, I deserved that," he said as he rubbed his cheek.

"What did I tell you about coming back out here!" she snapped at her boy friend. "You were almost killed!" she screamed in his face. "And you!" she yelled at Tucker. "How low do you have to go to trapping an animal, especially one that is near the brink of extinction?" He wanted to say something to this but she continued ranting. "And Sophia; I would have thought after the story you told us you wouldn't dare treed out in these waters. What were you thinking coming out here! Did these two morons convince you to come along because they didn't know how to navigate this ship!"

"Actually, Ah cam under mah ain free will," Sophia retaliated, not appearing to lose her cool. "Ye main want tae protect 'at creature, but 'at hin' has haunted me an' mah fowk fur years."

"Besides, we've figured on a compromise," Tucker added to try and lighten the situation. "Sophia wants that thing gone, you have its survival in mind, Danny wants what you think is best and I want to sell it to a preserve so it'll be appreciated by the rest of the world," he said as he rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

Sam smacked him across the back of the head, nearly knocking his beret off. "That's just like you Tucker, always thinking out of greed instead of with your head," she snapped at him. "And if Danny has what I think is best in mind then he never would have let you talk him into doing this."

"Hey, how did you know it was me that talked him into coming?" Tucker asked her out of curiosity.

Sam turned towards Danny to answer this question. "I got up an hour ago to get a glass of water. It was then that I found I was alone in the house with one of your duplicates," she informed him as she held up a functional Fenton Thermos and tossed it into the air. It opened up and unleashed the Danny duplicate she had captured. "The next time you try to trick me with a duplicate, make sure it's in human form," she growled.

"Sorry dude," the Danny duplicate said to the original. "She trapped me and forced me to tell her everything," in confided before Danny reabsorbed his duplicate.

"I just can't believe you guys would go behind my back like this," Sam complained as she threw her hands over her head. Her angered tone had turned into a depressed tone. She seemed more disappointed with them than angry at this point. "You know just how against this I am," she reminded them.

"Yes," Danny said as he lowered his head. "I'm sorry Sam; if it means anything to you I didn't want to come back out here, I was against it. I only came because Tucker said he was and someone's gotta protect his butt," he said as he pointed his thumb at his best friend.

"Hey," Tucker complained at being made to sound like a weakling; bringing a few giggles out of Sophia as a result.

There was a moment of silence between Danny Sam before she looked down and smiled. "Alright, you're forgiven," she said softly as she looked back up into his glowing green eyes. "As for you," she half snarled as she pointed into Tucker's face, making him really nervous. "Considering how much danger you can get yourself into, I suggest a little more backup than just Danny," she implied. "So try to include me in your adventures in the future, ok?" she asked with a smile as she playfully punched his chin.

"Ugh…sure," Tucker said with a smile and a nod.

"So, what exactly is your guy's plan for capturing this thing?" she asked as she leaned over the ships railing at the trap they had set.

"Well, the monster is afraid of ice so I've coated the entire net with a layer of special ice that won't melt in the water; it'll keep its cool temperature until I tell it to," Danny explained to her as he leaned on the railing next to her. "Now understand that nature is much more cruel than the human influence so we've spread fish guts around the net to lure the serpent into it."

"We chose fish guts because I highly doubt that thing will be attracted to rye bread with edible mold growing on it," Tucker informed her.

"I get it Tucker," Sam growled, obviously annoyed with his allegations. "It's not an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian."

"All we can do is wait," Danny suggested as his final words.

"We've bin waitin' fur hoors," Sophia informed the other three as she looked at her wrist watch. "Ah say we caa it a night; th' creature isnae gunna shaw."

Then right on cue, something rocked the boat causing them all to lose their footing, or in Sam's case, to fall overboard. "SAM!" Danny yelled before he jumped into the frigid water after her. Tucker and Sophia stayed on the boat, praying that they would make it back out alive.

Below the surface, Sam struggled to hold in her breath as she tried to get her bearings in the water. She opened her eyes and nearly gasped when she saw a pair of blood red eyes right in front of her. Bubbles escaped from her mouth as she screamed, but she stopped before she ran out of breath.

Next thing she knew, Danny had jumped in after her and was swimming up next to her. While in his ghost form he didn't need to breathe underwater. "You alright Sam?" he asked her without even noticing the giant red eyes. Unable to answer, Sam simply put her hands on her hips and glared at him angrily as her cheeks held in as much air as she had. That's when he turned to see the red eyes for himself. "Crud," he yelped.

It roared, but the water muffled its deafening screech. It then opened its mouth wide and charged forward. Danny grabbed Sam out of instinct and propelled them though the water with a blast of ecto-plasmic energy from his free hand. They swam deeper into the water with the serpent right behind them. They curved up and aimed straight for the center of the net.

"Get ready Sam!" Danny called out to her. "Here we go!" he yelled as they approached the surface. Knowing they'd be breaking the surface, Sam plugged her ears with her fingers so they wouldn't pop. Danny turned them intangible and they went from one barrier into the other without disturbing the water's surface or the net.

Sam took a deep breath of air after resurfacing and shook the water out of her hair. They watched with awe from high in the air as the loch ness monster surfaced right in the middle of the net. It screeched when it realized it had been fooled.

It screeched in agony as it flailed about, desperately trying to get the frozen net off its head and neck. The net wasn't big enough to trap it. It only covered its head and most of its neck. "But 'at was th' biggest nit we coods fin'," Sophia yelled in shock at the apparent failed attempt to trap the beast.

"Great, now what?" Tucker sighed as he stared with awe at the serpent as it flailed around in the water as it tried to get the frozen net off.

"Danny," Sam screamed in fright as she punched him in the arm. "It's in pain," she screamed as she felt bad for the creature.

"Alright," he sighed in response. He flew her down passed the flailing creature and set her down on the boat next to Tucker and Sophia. He turned to rescue the creature but it let out one final screech before it collapsed back into the water and sank below the surface, taking the net with it.

Its midsection came out of the water and went beneath the waves moments before the tip of its spiky tail broke the surface before it to sank below the water's surface.

"Did we win?" Tucker asked as they looked out over the lake. "Is that thing dead?"

"WIN! DEAD!" Sam snapped at him angrily before the water started to bubble ferociously.

None of them knew quite what was going on, but when Danny's ghost sense, still a darker blue, went off he knew instantly that a ghost attack was imminent. He just didn't expect what would happen next.

The bubbling became more and more intense before Skulker flew up and out of the water; he was laughing maniacally as he was dragging a long glowing blue rope behind him. The rope turned out to be tied around the open end of the net that was wrapped around the serpent's head; and inside the net was the loch ness monster itself. It was curled into a ball and had absolutely no room to move inside the now tied off net.

"He's getting away with our catch!" Tucker yelled as he pointed into the air.

"Not today he's not!" Danny growled before he took flight and flew as fast as he could to get ahead of his enemy.

He easily caught up with the creature as one of its eyes looked helplessly at him. Now able to get close enough without being attacked he could see that amidst its glowing red eyes it had a shiny black pupil that just begged for his help in its release. He smiled and nodded at the creature before he took off as fast as he could go to get ahead of Skulker.

Skulker was laughing menacingly at his lucky break with catching the legendary sea creature, but he almost failed to notice Danny flying beside him. "Hey dude," Danny called out to him. He stopped laughing and cocked an eyebrow at the ghost child. "You're over your catching limit for the day," Danny mocked before he fired an ecto-blast at Skulker, who easily deflected it.

He stopped flying and the net dropped below him as his grip remained strong on the rope. "Not now ghost child," Skulker said as he pointed his free hand at him. "I must return home so I can mount my new prize on my wall. It's not very often I get to hunt legendary creatures that are even less abundant than yourself," he said with a wicked smile.

"You didn't hunt that thing down," Danny retaliated as he pointed down at the sea serpent trapped in the net. "You're nothing more than a common thief, stealing something that others caught."

"I didn't have the resources needed to capture such large prey," Skulker informed him. "I followed you here to capture you, but instead I learn about a legendary creature that is the last of its kind. It gave you a run for your money so it is worthy of my hunting skills. Without the proper tools and equipment I decided the best tactic to use was to wait for you to provide them before I used them to complete the hunt."

"Just one minor detail you forgot to add into your calculations," Danny said with a sinister smile as he held up one finger. "The only thing preventing it from tearing that old ratty net to shreds is a layer of frost I coated it in, and that frost will melt away under two conditions." This seemed to get Skulker's attention. "One: if sunlight hits it, it will melt."

"HA!" Skulker laughed. "I'm traveling back home with my lucky pay day which is in the opposite direction that the sun will be rising," Skulker informed him. "I'm not gunna see sunlight for another ten hours; so don't even bother wasting my time," he warned the ghost boy.

"OR TWO!" Danny half yelled to retake control of the situation. Skulker cocked an eyebrow in interest. "If I command the ice to melt away," Danny said with a sinister snicker. He raised his hand and infused it with freezing blue energy. He then snapped his fingers and the blue glow disappeared.

Down below the net started glowing a brighter blue before the ice melted away. Water dripped off the net as the serpent lay nearly unconscious in a ball in the net. A close up of one of its eyes showed it open abruptly, its pupil contracted before it screeched into the night sky. It used its claws on all four limbs and even its tail and teeth to rip its way from the net.

Free from the confines of the tiny net, it fell from the sky and landed back in the water head first right next to the boat. Sam, Tucker and Sophia watched in awe as its entire body slithered back and forth as it disappeared beneath the waves.

"NOOOOOOO!" Skulker yelled in anger after his prize had been returned to the water from hence it came. "You will pay dearly for this ghost brat!" he threatened as Danny folded his arms and smiled as if he didn't take the threat seriously.

Skulker roared ferociously as he charged for the ghost boy. He pulled his arm back and brought it forward, sending a fist flying. Danny's eyes shined bright green as his smirk turned into a frown. He unfolded his arms and stretched them out to his sides as he screamed out, unleashing his energy; only it couldn't be seen until Skulker came to a stop in mid air, having punched the outer edge of a spherical ecto-energy shield that surround Danny.

Danny then brought his hands forward and put them together as he unleashed a wave of energy that broke through the barrier and sent Skulker flying backwards across the night sky. He then gave chase to the ghostly predator.

"Common!" Sam yelled as she raced passed Tucker and Sophia. She ran up to the lever that raised and lowered the anchor and kicked it with her military boot, causing the anchor to be raised out of the water. "We've got to follow them and help out in any way we can," she informed the other two. "He needs to use this," she said as she held up a Fenton Thermos and pointed to it with her free hand.

Sophia nodded in agreement and rushed off to get the rest of the ship ready, leaving Tucker to sigh in boredom. "Ah man," he pouted. "My chances for fame and glory have all been washed down the toilet," he complained.

"Oh get over it," Sam growled as she pushed him off to do something useful.

---

A streak of green light sped across the sky before it crashed into an old brick wall which was crumbling and nearly on the verge of falling over anyway. The green energy exploded sending a small shockwave outwards from the crash site. Dirt and dust rose in the aftermath of the explosion before it all settled down and all was quiet.

Danny had caught up just after the explosion had settled and hovered over the scene. "Urquhart Castle," he said to himself in monotone. "Something told me I'd be coming back here," he said as he looked down to see Skulker toss a large boulder away. "This place is a national landmark; I'd hate to have to ruin this place in our fighting, but looks like I haven't got a choice."

Skulker looked up at him and growled as he raised his arm and aimed it at Danny. A side panel opened and a rocket appeared. It was suddenly launched at Skulker's command and sped towards Danny.

Acting on instinct, Danny figured he'd have to take out the flames at the back of the rocket before he redirected it away. He took a deep breath of cold air and blew out deeply. His icy cold breath hit the rocket; it started to frost over, starting from the tip and making its way back until it stopped the flames. No longer being propelled by its own chemical force it started to slow down as it got closer to Danny.

He continued to exhale his icy cold breath as the rocket slowed down and stopped in mid air right in front of him. It hovered for a moment before it was forced backwards, letting Danny's breath carry it back towards Skulker.

Skulker's eyes widened when he realized what had happened. "Crud," he said with disappointment. He was able to put up an ecto-shield just before the rocket hit the ground and exploded in a massive fire ball.

"AHH!" Danny yelled as he covered his face with his arms and was blown backwards as clumps of rocks flew by him.

From out on the lake the large explosion could be seen. Everything was lit up with bright orange light as flames erupted twenty feet into the air. Rocks rained down on Sam and Tucker as they ran around to dodge the flying rocks. There was no pier next to the castle so they couldn't get any closer to help.

"They ur destroyin' Urquhart Castle!" Sophia shrieked. Her eyes were wide as they shined orange from the light of the explosion reflecting in them.

"Isn't that place already in ruins though?" Tucker asked, his tone indicating that he wasn't too concerned.

"Tucker!" Sam scolded him. "That castle is a national landmark," she reminded him. "It's hundreds of years old!"

"An' if thes keeps up thaur will be naethin' left," Sophia wept.

"Common Danny," Sam whispered. "Bring the fight back out into the lake," she prayed.

Back on land Danny touched down just as Skulker emerged from the settling smoke, dirt and other debris. "You are causing me too much trouble Ghost Child," Skulker growled. "Because you lost me my legendary prey, I will make sure that before I mount your pelt on my wall you suffer for my inconveniences done by your hand." He raised his arm and a mounted ecto-gun appeared. It hummed before it fired a continuous stream of blue energy.

Danny put up his hands as they started glowing with a green mist. "I haven't used this move in awhile," he said to himself as he formed a small square shield that caught the energy blast. "Eat my Ghost Stinger!" he yelled as he closed his fist around the energy in his hand. He grabbed his fist with his other hand as it too became infused with energy.

He brought his hands over his head, dragging the energy beam with him before he transferred his own energy into the rope like attack, changing its color from blue to green as it transversed its length and went back towards the original source; Skulker.

"ARGH!" Skulker yelled as he was hit with the ghost stinger and blasted backwards into another brick wall before it crumbled onto top of him.

Skulker shifted some of the rubble off of himself before he noticed Danny standing over him with his hands firmly gripped onto one of his metallic legs. Danny was smirking but it turned into a frown as he started to spin Skulker in circles.

They spun faster and faster until Danny lost his grip, sending Skulker flying off over the lake without any further damage falling upon the castle ruins. Danny then became airborne as he gave chase to Skulker.

"Danny!" Sam called out to him from the ship's deck. He looked down to see her getting ready to toss the Fenton Thermos to him. He dove to catch the ghostly containment device just as Sam wound up her arm and let the cylindrical trap fly.

Danny stretched out his arm and just barely missed catching the device. "Darn it!" he called out in anger as he looked up to see the thermos fly by him.

Skulker noticed Danny's fumble and activated his booster rockets to stabilize himself in the air before he flew forward and caught the thermos.

"HA!" he laughed evilly as he uncapped it and aimed it for Danny who had flown up to catch the thermos only to find that Skulker had intercepted it. "What now ghost child?" he asked sinisterly as they both slowly descended towards the water.

Danny put his arms into the air as if surrendering but he tried to defuse the situation with words. "This isn't the proper way to capture me Skulker," Danny said nervously. "Using your opponents own devices against him?"

"That's what hunting is," Skulker informed him with a grin. "Using whatever resources you have available; in this case it involves using your own resources against you," he snarled. Danny gulped nervously as the thermos began to hum. "Don't worry; you'll be set free temporarily after we get back into the ghost zone."

He lifted the thermos and the open end started glowing with a blue light as it began to hum louder and louder. Danny quickly glanced down to see the water below them beginning to bubble. He smirked before he looked back up at the thermos. It was ready to fire, but Skulker couldn't figure it out.

"How does this blasted thing work!" Skulker shouted angrily as he started to shake it wildly. Danny snickered to himself at Skulker's misfortune.

The water suddenly exploded and the loch ness monster emerged with its mouth open wide. It roared with a deafening screech as it set its sight on Skulker. Skulker looked down to see what was causing the commotion and gasped out of fear.

"ARGH!" he screamed as he suddenly disappeared in the giant serpent's mouth. The sea monster then flopped over and splashed back into the water; sinking below the surface with Skulker still trapped in its powerful bite.

Not wanting to hesitate, Danny flew down at full speed and dove into the water head first; disappearing beneath the waves as his friends cheered him on from the safety of the boat.

Underneath the water, Skulker was fighting to get free from the serpent's mouth. A gun emerged from his shoulder plate and aimed down; firing off an electric bolt that shocked the serpent. It screeched in agony; opening its mouth and releasing him before it swam away to avoid getting shocked again.

He snickered to himself as Danny swam up near him. "HA!" he half yelled as he pulled up the thermos and aimed it at Danny again, but the serpent's bite had punctured the device, making it inoperable, even though he never knew how to use the devise to begin with. He looked at the devise and mumbled to himself angrily as he tossed it over his shoulder. It slowly descended into the abyss, never to be seen again.

"Looks like you won't be capturing me too easily," Danny mocked him with slight laughter.

"You won't be laughing for too much longer," Skulker seethed. "Not once I wipe that smirk off your face!" he yelled as he raised his arm and fired a volley of ecto-plasmic attacks at him.

"WHOA!" Danny half gasped as he just barely dodged the first attack. He manipulated his body and contorted it into odd shapes as the energy attacks whizzed by him. After dodging several attacks he caught one and threw it back at Skulker.

Skulker fired off another energy attack from his wrist mounted gun; the two attacks collided and exploded, sending out underwater shockwaves that knocked them both out.

From above water, the large explosion sent a column of water high into the air. "YAAAAH!" Tucker, Sam and Sophia screamed as a giant wave crashed over the boat, soaking them all. As the water washed off the deck; Tucker's beret is seen to have spun around and hung in front of his eyes. He also had a fish's tail wiggling as it tried desperately to get its head free from his mouth. "PEW!" Tucker spat the fish out of his mouth and spun his beret around before he scowled at the two girls as they laughed uncontrollably.

Back underwater, Danny and Skulker had recovered from the explosion and Skulker was giving chase to Danny. The rocket boosters that came out of his back had been replaced with a large turbine that propelled him through the water.

Danny seemed to have things under control because as Skulker was giving chase he was brewing a plan. His eyes glowed blue before he shot twin beams of freezing energy out ahead of him, freezing a boulder of ice out of the water around him. He phased right through the ice, leading Skulker right to it.

Skulker used his physical strength to plow right through it, shattering it, sending hundreds of shards of ice floating towards the surface. This of course was a trap. After breaking apart the block of ice, Danny had turned around and landed a powerful punch to Skulker's face, sending him careening backwards.

When he recovered from the surprise attack, Skulker rubbed his chin as Danny floated out in front of him. He was breathing heavily despite not really needing to breathe while under water. 'I can't keep this up,' he thought to himself as Skulker prepared himself for battle. 'I've got plenty of fight left, but I need to take this guy out.' Skulker was also breathing heavily due to exhaustion but Danny knew he had plenty of fight left too. 'I need to send him back to the ghost zone, but my thermos is broken and I need more power to open my own ghost portal.' That's when it hit him. "Why didn't I think of doing that sooner?" he asked himself after slapping his forehead.

He searched deep within himself to find his inner power. He tightened his body as his body started to give off more heat. Skulker noticed that the water around Danny was starting to heat up and boil. He slowly backed away as Danny's ghostly glow thickened. His eyes turned gray and his hair turned into flames that were nearly extinguished by the water, but with an increase in power his head erupted into flames that weren't affected by the water.

Back on the surface, more bubbles and steam rose from the water next to the boat as the three teens looked over the edge. "The loch ness monster is coming back!" Tucker screamed.

"No, it's something else," Sam spoke up, interrupting his freak out moment. "When that thing surfaced the water just bubbled, this is boiling."

"Thes battle is becomin' quite intense," Sophia said. "Fa dae ye hink is winnin'?" she asked.

"Danny is winning duh," Tucker answered joyfully. "He's finally decided to turn up the heat," he punned without realizing it. Sam slapped her forehead in frustration with him.

Back underwater, Danny had finished powering up; the water around him was boiling due to the excessive amount of heat he was giving off. Danny looked down at his hands as boiling water droplets came off his gloves, along with the rest of his body. "Well this is new," he commented to himself before he focused back on Skulker.

"I've got to get out of here," Skulker half yelled in terror. He turned to run and came face to face with the loch ness monster's piercing red eyes. It was showing its teeth and snarling at him. It was blocking his escape.

"I'm not gunna fight you anymore Skulker," Danny said. Skulker turned around to face his prey. "Instead, I'm gunna send you back into the ghost zone; I don't have enough power in my normal form to open a portal," he informed the ghost hunter before he turned and put out his hand and formed a flat, vertical disk of white energy. "But now I do," he snickered.

As the disk grew, the color changed from white to green as the portal swirled into life right in front of him with ease. Danny then used his powers and pushed the portal over until it was horizontal without physically touching it. Then after a series of hand movements Danny made the portal sink down into the dark abyss.

As soon as it went beyond their sight, water had begun being sucked down into the abyss in a whirlpool that had formed. Apparently the ghost portal was acting as a drain, emptying the lake of its water while sucking everything down with it.

The Loch ness monster roared before it fled to the other side of the lake before it got caught in the swirling water. Danny was flying/swimming against the flow of the whirlpool to prevent himself from being sucked down. Skulker on the other hand wasn't as fortunate.

He had his back mounted turbine working overtime to keep himself out of the whirlpool but it just wasn't strong enough. He swung his arms as he tried to paddle to safety but it only ended with him being sucked into the swirling water. "ARGH!" he screamed as he was dragged around the edges of the whirlpool. He continued to scream as he was thrown around and dragged further into the depths of the lake, only later to disappear into the darkness where he is sucked into the ghost zone by the swirling water.

Feeling his apparent victory at hand, Danny swam/flew faster, propelling himself through the water at a greater speed, allowing him to reach the surface much faster.

Back at the surface and a minute before hand, a small portion of water began to swirl like a whirlpool. The three teens didn't think anything of it until the whirlpool grew to a point where it stretched part of the width of the lake and started to suck the ship down with it.

"We've got to get out of here!" Sam yelled over the sound of the rushing water as waves rammed the edge of the boat, rocking it enough for them to lose their footing.

"Aam tryin'!" Sophia yelled as she turned the ships wheel drastically. "Th' water is overpowerin' th' ship; we're gonnae doon!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Tucker said confidently. "Sam, open up that extra sail on my command," he yelled to Sam as he pointed towards an extra sail that hadn't been opened. She got in position as she grabbed hold of a rope that would opened the sail. "Sophia, on the same command I want you to turn the wheel as far to the right as it will possibly go!" She got a firm grip on the wheel and waited for her command. A few seconds passed and the boat continued to rock in the waves as they circled around the massive whirlpool. "NOW!" Tucker yelled out.

Sam tugged on the rope and the sail rolled open, allowing more wind to push on the boat. At the same time Sophia turned the wheel clockwise as fast as she could. While she was doing this Tucker was grabbing an anchor lever and pulled on it, releasing an anchor on the starboard side.

With the combination of the extra push from the wind, the turning of the ship and the weight of the anchor on the outside of the whirlpool, they were able to turn out of the swirling water and sail to safety.

"Phew," Tucker sighed with relief after the success of his quick thought out plan.

"Tucker!" Sam called out joyfully. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. "You did it! You're plan worked! You saved us!" she wept happily before releasing him from her grip.

Sophia ran up to them and kissed Tucker on the cheek before she threw her arms around him. "Mah hero!" she cheered, making him blush as he smirked happily.

Suddenly the boat jerked and they were all thrown to their feet. "We've hit land!" Tucker called out.

"But hoo?" Sophia asked. "We ur a mile frae th' nearest coest," she explained. "There's nae way we've burst lain awreddy."

"Oh yes there is," Sam informed her. She was the first to her feet and she was looking over the edge of the ship. "All of the water is being drained from the lake like a bathtub," she explained. "The water level is lower so we're closer to the coast now; and the water level is still receding."

The other two stood and looked out to see that the boat was now completely out of the water; it was resting on a pile of algae covered rocks. The whirlpool was still swirling and had greatly shrunk as less and less water fueled it.

Suddenly a large bulge of water bubbled up before exploding, releasing Danny as he flew higher into the air. He returned to his normal ghostly appearance as he descended towards the now dry lake bed.

It was several more minutes before the entire lake was completely drained leaving the swirling green ghost portal sitting on the lake bed at the very bottom of the terrain that made up the lake.

Danny approached the portal with his friends close behind. He placed his palm into the portal and reabsorbed the energy that was keeping it open. The portal closed and the residue energy glowed white in his hand before he reabsorbed it into his body. "Well that takes care of that," he said as he lowered his arm.

"That didn't take care of everything," Tucker's voice is heard from quite a distance away. Danny turned and glanced at Tucker, Sam and Sophia as they ran towards something that was lying on the dry lake bed.

Flying closer Danny realized it was the loch ness monster. It had avoided being sucked towards the ghost portal but it lost all of the water that it lived in. The monstrous serpent's one hundred foot long body lay curled up on the lake bed as it struggled to hold onto life. Danny flew over closer to it and landed near its head.

It sensed his presence and looked at him without moving its head. It's once piercing red eyes had faded and the creature looked at him helplessly. It moaned as Danny placed a hand on it. "I know you're hurting; I'll find a way to fix this mess," he reassured the creature.

While he soothed the creature, Sophia scavenged around and found the antique remains of a water logged harpoon in the mud and picked it up. With fury in her eyes she sensed her moment to strike was near. She walked up beside Danny and raised the weapon. "This is for my father," she growled.

She began to lunge the harpoon towards the defenseless creature, but she was stopped short when Danny grabbed the harpoon. He didn't pull it from her grasp, he just held onto it firmly so she couldn't kill the creature. "No Sophia," he stated as she struggled to pry the harpoon free from his grasp.

"Lit gang Danny; thes doesnae concern ye," she growled at him.

"Yes, it does concern me," Danny responded just as firmly as his grasp. "You're letting your hatred for this creature blind you from the fact that it is just an animal trying to make its way in our world."

"'At creature ruthlessly killed mah faither in braw bluid," she reminded him. "It took heem awa' frae me when Ah was seven years old; Ah watched mah faither gie eaten alife by thes hin'." By now she was starting to tear up. "I've bin wantin' revenge fur mah faither's death fur ten years," she yelled as tears flew from her eyes.

"Killing this thing isn't going to bring your father back!" Danny snapped at her. Sam and Tucker hadn't seen him like this in a while. They almost seemed nervous and stepped back to give them some room. Even Sophia seemed to have had a nerve hit that calmed her down slightly. "You have to understand that violence isn't the answer," he consoled her. "It never is. The only true way to get over such feelings isn't to throw absolution to the wind, but to take it head on and face it not with violence or rage or hatred; but with forgiveness, something that can be an even worse punishment than death."

"Hoo sae?" Sophia wept quietly.

"Nessie is lying here, knowing that death is only inches away," Danny told her as a view showed the sharp end of the harpoon only inches away from striking the giant serpent right between the eyes. "Forgiving it and letting it live will allow it to understand that it hurt you, that it did something wrong. She knows now that you are capable of killing it, but giving into mercy and letting it live is the only way for it to truly understand what's happening."

There was a moment of silence before Danny continued.

"Do you honestly think your father would want you to kill this thing?" he asked her. "Would he really want you to avenge his death?"

Sophia had to think for a moment but she finally answered. "Nae," she said in a low whisper as more tears rolled out of her eyes.

"Now I pray that when I let go of this that you will make the right decision," Danny said calmly. "Don't give into hate, show mercy and forgive it," he advised. "Otherwise, this could lead down a dark path that you don't want to follow. So please," he said as he finally let go of the harpoon. "Make the right choice."

He backed away leaving Sophia to make her final decision with the harpoon in hand. Danny had made his speech and this time he wasn't going to stop her. It was her decision to make and he could only hope that she chose wisely.

She sobbed for a few more minutes before she lifted the harpoon over her shoulder. "Aam sorry," she whispered so only the creature could hear her. It looked up at her with fear in its pale red eyes. "ARGH!" she yelled as she threw the harpoon.

Sam and Tucker looked way and covered their eyes as a slicing sound was heard followed by a gushing noise. A few moments passed and they looked to see what choice the girl had made.

They were both surprised to see that the harpoon hadn't even come close to hitting the creature. Instead, it stuck in the mud a few feet away from the creatures head. Sophia had missed the creature on purpose. She had made the right choice; she had let it live.

She sobbed and stepped back from the creature before turning to look at Danny. "Ah cooldnae dae it," she sobbed quietly.

She practically jumped into Danny's arms and sobbed uncontrollably onto his shoulder. "You did well," he reassured her. "You made the right decision in not killing it."

Sam and Tucker felt it was ok for them to approach. Danny turned Sophia so she could be comforted by her two other friends who hugged her in return. "Glad you decided to keep your sanity," Tucker said patting her on the back, but Sam punched him in the arm. "Oww!" he yelled as he rubbed his arm.

"Tucker, we're trying to comfort her not make things worse by making her feel bad about it," she scolded him.

"Sorry," Tucker apologized. Sophia managed a smile through her tears and landed a kiss on his cheek making him blush in embarrassment. "I didn't see that one coming," he laughed nervously.

"Alright," Danny said, they all turned to look at him. "Now that we've got this ugly little mess behind us; we need to fill this lake back up with water pronto before Nessie here dies," he informed them as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the massive serpent behind him.

"We passed over a large dam on our way out here yesterday," Sam reminded him.

"Good enough," Danny said. "I'm gunna blow the dam flooding this lake with water, filling it back up. I want the three of you to get back to that fishing vessel," he instructed them. They all nodded in agreement before they all went their separate ways. Sam, Tucker and Sophia for the boat and Danny for the dam.

---

It didn't take Danny long to find the dam holding back a massive wall of water off to the side of the lake. "Time to work my magic," he said as he cracked his knuckles.

He flew straight towards the dam wall and built up energy in his hands. He twisted his body and wound up his arms before throwing one of his arm forward, unleashing a sharp disk of energy that cut a deep slice into the concrete. Water began to spray from the deep cut as Danny wound up again and threw the other energy as another sharp disk.

The disk whirred through the air before it struck the concrete perpendicular to the first gash in the concrete. Now water sprayed through the addition sign shaped hole much faster.

Danny landed on the vertical concrete dam and wall-walked up to the leak. He built up his cold energy and shot a beam of freezing into the water, freezing the leak until it ceased. He then added more ice; manually forming it into a very large wedge.

The end that disappeared into the cement was shaped like the addition sign; it rounded out as it extended away from the dam, ending in a flat edge that was nearly six feet in diameter. He then infused the entire thing with ecto-energy so that it glowed a mixture of green and blue.

Danny admired his ice sculpture as it glowed in the moonlight as his energy flowed within it as if it were hollow. He took off into the sky before turning around, he looked down at the dam and prepared himself for what was about to happen. "I'm gunna need a lot of speed to make this thing work," he advised himself.

With a burst of energy he raced towards the wedge made of ice and slammed into it. The ice wedged itself deep into the cement before it exploded in a blinding flash of green light.

Further down in the lake, the loch ness monster heard a rush of water coming towards it. It summoned what strength it had and lifted its head so it could see what was making the noise. Its eyes widened when it realized a wall of water was crashing down on top of it.

The entire scene became engulfed in water; everything became dark blue as bubbles floated into view before continuing on towards the surface.

The underwater scene faded away to a few short hours later as dawn was just starting to break as the four friends stood on the edge of the lake after it had refilled with water. All four were silent as they watched the marvelous sight before them. The sun was rising in a clear, cloudless sky on the other side of the lake.

Danny, Sam and Tucker stood behind Sophia who stood out in front of them as a tear rolled down her cheek. Danny, back in his human form, walked up beside her and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about anything anymore," he reassured her. "You made the right decision out their earlier. Forgiveness is always the best course of action to take, even if violent cases of pure rage make you seek out revenge. It's just not the answer to your problems; it never is."

"Och aye, thenk ye Danny," she thanked him with a tearful smile. "Ye certainly hae yer way wi' words. Ah can only imagine jist hoo mony li'es yoo've changed wi' sic' inspirational words," she said as she wiped away her tears.

"Heehee, yah, I've changed a lot of live alright," Danny said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Sophia turned to look at Sam. "Yoo're huir uv a luck tae hae heem," she said softly to her new Gothic friend from America. "Baith ay ye," she added, looking at Tucker.

"Well we have known each other since we were five years old," Tucker informed her. "Kindergarten would never have been the same if I never met these two fruitcakes," he said as he wrapped his arms around Danny and Sam's necks.

"Who are you calling a fruitcake?" Sam growled angrily.

"The point is," Danny said as he pushed Tucker off his neck. "It's thanks to these two that I became who I am today; and I'm not talking about my ghost hero status," he informed her. "You just needed the right guidance to find your way in life; even if it did only revolve around a very small portion of it."

"Weel 'en aam glad th' thee ay ye got detention an' waur sent haur fur a week 'en," Sophia said sinisterly as she cocked an eyebrow at the three teens.

"Well if we hadn't ever gotten detention in the first place we would never have showed up to-" Tucker said before Sam elbowed him in the stomach.

"Efter ye gang back tae America, please be sure tae keep in tooch," Sophia requested as Sam and Tucker walked up beside her and Danny. "Ah dornt hae mony other friends haur an' it can gie quite lonely in thes wee toon, ye ken?"

"Will do," Danny said with a chirpy smile as the four friends crossed their arms over each other's shoulders as they looked out over the lake. The sun shone brightly after just rising over the horizon on the other side of the lake. The loch ness monster's slender body and its sharp dorsal fin protruded from the surface of the lake as it let out a roar before it sank beneath the waves as the scene blacked out to end the story.

---

There you finally have it. Skulker has been sent back into the ghost zone and Danny saved Nessie's life twice, once from Skulker and once from Sophia who was looking to avenge her father's death. Through a select choice of words he was able to convince her to forgive the creature instead of killing it. essie is seen to be alive after the lake was re-flooded but this is probably the last time we'll see of her. This will not be the last time we hear from Sophia. I doubt I'll bring her back in anymore stories, but I'll be sure to mention her from time to time. They did promise to stay in contact after all.

Now for a few tid-bits on my next story. It will be called "Irish Horror" and will take place shortly after this story. I won't give away too much info other than Danny, Sam and Tucker return to America after having been sent to Scotland for a week; and they've got a little visitor with them that they don't know about. Danny and Danielle will also begin to understand for themselves that a new power is awakening within them and they need to seek help to control it before they boil in their own skin.