And here is chapter 3! Enjoy it!

I don't own Danny Phantom

Chapter 3

~ The Next Day ~

SPOV

I groaned groggily as my eyes opened from my deep sleep. I sat up and stretched, trying to overcome a yawn, and then hastily got out of the bed only to feel my head sway and a slight spell of nausea hit. I placed my hand on my stomach in confusion as the feeling settled.

Was I sick? How did I possibly get sick?

Once I was sure the feeling had passed, I carefully walked to the bathroom and checked my reflection. Nothing looked too out of place. My hair was disheveled from sleep and my eyes still looked drowsy. Nothing unordinary, so I shrugged it off and began getting ready for another day of ghost hunting. Maybe I would run into Danny again… For some reason that idea made me smile slightly.

What was going on?

Ever since I had met Danny, I've felt different; before my mind felt blank, but now it felt…cloudy. As if there was something there. He had done this to me, and I was determined to find out why.

NPOV

"The weakness should be kicking in about now…" the female stated proudly.

"And how long will it take until it overwhelms her completely?" her partner quizzed.

"It's a slow process. She'll grow weaker every day, especially since she's become so active thanks to your ghost hunting idea. I'll estimate around a week before she dies," her voice smooth as silk, devoid of any care, "Though the boy could complicate things. She's probably already starting to have flashes of old memories."

"You said yourself, it would take a miracle. But, what memories is she recalling?"

"I don't know. It could be any memory from any time. All I can tell you is that they're probably really blurry and dim, at least for now. Over time they will gradually grow clearer, especially if she sees something or someone she recognizes…"

"How long do you expect it would take?"

"At the rate she's going, it could only take about a week for her to remember; of course it would be too late, unless the boy can save her."

"Doubtful. I've been inside of his mind, and he's hopelessly clueless."

"Well then, I suppose the odds are in our favor," she sighed as she drifted to look down at the peacefully sleeping soul without an ounce of sympathy.

DPOV

I sighed as I looked down at the limp spaghetti on my fork.

"What's wrong?" Tucker mumbled through a mouthful of his own food.

"Not hungry," I stated, shoving my tray away from me.

"You're thinking about Sam and Shadow aren't you?"

"Yes. It's just that Shadow seemed so familiar..."

"What? You think she's Sam in disguise?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling that she's the key in finding Sam."

Tucker opened his mouth, about to say something, but was cut off by a high pitched voice talking loudly a few tables away.

"Like, can you believe they still haven't found little miss pale, dark, and freaky?" Paulina stated to her crew of jocks and drama queens.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be found," Star suggested mysteriously.

"What do you mean by that?" Kwan questioned curiously.

"I mean like, what if she, you know, just ran off? I mean, if you think about it, it's the perfect crime. Poor thing all alone in the world decides to bail and make it look like foul play…"

"Where did you come up with something as ridiculous as that?" Paulina scoffed, wrinkling her nose.

"Lifetime. Happens all the time on there."

"Well, I heard that it's all for show, like her parents paid the cops to search and all that stuff and it's all just a big publicity stunt!" Dash exclaimed wildly.

"Please, like she has the money to pull that off," Paulina disagreed, "I think she just hit the ground too hard on that unfortunate fall she had and just forgot everything and wandered off."

I shook my head in disgust at the conversation. Honestly, did Paulina ever know when to stop? I knew that she knew that I was right there and was perfectly able to hear every word that left her mouth. Sam was right. She really was a shallow little witch.

"I'll tell you something. I've heard the rumor about Sam's parents paying for the whole thing and passing it off for a publicity stunt and it's just insane. They couldn't possibly act that well," Tucker said.

"I know. The other day they saw me walking home and asked me if I was alright! They hate me!" I cried.

"Man, Sam would never believe this," Tucker sighed shaking his head.

"Believe what the buffoons are saying about her, or that her parents are insanely worried about her?"

"Parents, definitely parents. If she were here she'd be rolling her eyes and mumbling some nonsense about how predictable the 'prissy squad' was being," Tucker chuckled, using air quotes around Sam's nickname for Paulina's group.

"True," I agreed with a weak smile.

Tucker nodded slowly as he continued with his meal. I just looked down at the table and tried to piece things together. There was some connection between Sam and Shadow. I could feel it. The only question: what was it?

SPOV

"You seem distracted!" I called to Danny as we flew through the air, after some ghost who called himself Technus.

"Just thinking!" he shouted back.

I narrowed my eyes in thought. What was he thinking about? And better yet, why did I care?

I shrugged my shoulders and stopped once we had cornered Technus at a building.

"Please children, do you honestly think you're a match for me? Your technology is no use against mine, for I am Technus—" he continued to droll on and on.

"Are all the ghosts around here this full of themselves?" I asked Danny.

"Now you understand what I go through," he replied dryly.

"Are you even listening to me?" Technus suddenly shouted.

We looked back at him and shook our heads.

"So rude," he muttered before trying to attack us.

I lunged away and whipped out my disks and hurled them at him one by one. They circled around his computer suit—or whatever you'd call that hunk of junk—and sliced it open before he could even blink. The disks returned to me and I quickly had my spear in hand and in position as the suit crumbled to the ground.

Technus looked around wildly as he noticed the absence of his armor and quickly began firing off ecto beams at me! My eyes widened as I tried to dodge the oncoming threats, but they were just so fast! One slammed into my stomach, and knocked the air out of me! I gasped on what air I could get in as I tried to send a beam his way, but before I could, another one of his flew into me and sent me flying to the ground! I landed with a loud thud and a groan.

"Are you okay?" someone suddenly asked as they began helping me to my feet.

I looked up and noticed that it was Tucker, Danny's sidekick I guess. I wasn't sure what he was honestly. All I knew was that he hung around Danny all the time and helped him fight ghosts.

"Yeah thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said as I turned to fly back up only to have his hand reach out and keep me in place.

"I think Danny's got this," he explained pointing upwards.

I looked up at the battle that was waging above and was honestly shocked by what happened. Danny began putting off an eerie blue glow, and suddenly blue beams shot out of his eyes and right into Technus! The bewildered ghost only had time to squeak in shock until he was frozen into a block of ice! Then Danny whipped out his thermos and sucked him in.

"What was that?" I demanded once he had joined Tucker and me on the ground.

"Ice," he explained raising his hand and forming a small ice crystal and offered it to me.

I took it carefully and gasped when a picture of my vision from before flashed inside my head. It was the object that the girl had held up! I quickly jumped back and dropped it as if it had burned me, which in a since it had.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked with concern.

"Nothing. Just startled," I muttered.

"Oookay…" Tucker trailed off awkwardly.

I bit my lip as I considered what was going on. Could Danny have been the boy in my vision? If he was, then who was the girl? And what did it have to do with me? Suddenly, my questions were interrupted by a fit of nasty coughing that just exploded from my chest. Danny quickly began thumping me on the back trying to help, and once it passed he looked at me nervously.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

Was I?