Soooo some of you guys have been trying to guess what the other nightmares are going to be.

I KNOW that, realistically, Danny's greatest fear would be becoming Dan, but as that is extremely difficult to portray in a nightmare, and even more difficult for the others to fight, I'm going to pretend that Danny's greatest fear is something else.

Please, don't kill me. I'm sorry. (:

So like I said before, this chapter deals with the details and mechanics of fear and nightmares (FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS STORY AND THIS STORY ALONE. IT IS COMPLETELY FICTIONAL AND I LITERALLY MADE IT UP AS I WENT. DON'T MISTAKE THE INFORMATION RELAYED IN THIS CHAPTER TO BE FACTUAL)

Sorry. Had to say it.

Just like I have to say that I OBVIOUSLYYYY don't own Danny Phantom. But I do own this plot line. MINE.

Enjoy (:

Nightmares

Chapter Four: Valerie's Confrontation

"The Plaza?" Danny asked incredulously. The five teens were standing in front of the huge building dubbed The Plaza New York. "Seriously?"

"Hey, my dream," Valerie said. She stepped toward the door, which swung open with a single push.

"I still don't understand how all of this works," Tucker said as Sam vaulted the front desk. "I mean, are we in a dream or is this really happening to us?"

"Both," Sam said, sifting through the drawers without looking up.

"Oh, well, thanks. That clears that up." Tucker rolled his eyes.

"It's hard to explain." Sam said, lifting a room key over her head triumphantly. "This is a dream, but...it's come to life. Remember, we're in an alternate universe, so that's possible."

"Okay...okay..." Tucker clutched his head. "I don't get it,"

"Why don't we talk about this when we get up to the room?" Danny suggested. Sam nodded and rounded the desk. "What room is that to, anyways?"

"Why don't we ask Valerie?" Sam turned to face her, offering the key to her.

Valerie stared at the card, reaching slowly to take it from Sam. "Seriously?" She whispered. Sam nodded.

"Penthouse," The girls grinned.

They boarded the elevator and punched the button that would take them to the penthouse.

Once inside, they gaped around at the spacious, luxurious room. It was huge, seemingly going on forever. The boys searched the kitchen for food while the girls went around the apartment, gathering pillows and blankets to be brought back to the main room of the apartment. They were all far too anxious to be sleeping seperately.

"Okay, so," Danny said after they were all settled. "Sam? Do you want to explain to us what's going on?"

The gothic beauty sighed. "Well, we're in an alternate universe, where dreams and reality have sort of...fused together. It's like a dream, in that if we imagine something, it'll come true, so long as it complies with certain rules."

"So why couldn't we have just...imagined the clowns away?" Tucker asked, glancing at Valerie.

"God knows I was trying," Valerie said, shivering. Tucker wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"That's why there were so many," Sam said. "There were way more clowns here than there usually are in this nightmare. Weren't there?"

"Yeah..." Valerie said slowly. "That was because I was trying to imagine them away?"

"Yes," Sam said. "Try to stay with me, it's going to get a little confusing. The clowns...weren't real,"

They stared at her. "But you said in the forest that they would be real." Jazz said slowly.

"And I'm pretty sure the fact that your face was shredded by one is proof that they were definitely real," Danny said, pointing to the four thin cuts across Sam's cheek.

"Actually, I said our fears and nightmares would be real. When I say they weren't real, I don't mean they were just a figment of our imaginations," Sam rolled her eyes. "The clowns weren't real. But the fear was. Valerie's very real fear of them made them real. So wishing that they would disappear made it worse, since wishing that made the fear that much more real, more tangible. It was like throwing gasoline on a fire,"

"I'm a coward..." Valerie whispered.

"No, you're not," Sam said as Tucker tightened his grip on her shoulders. Valerie buried her face in his shoulder and cried. "Valerie, if anything, you're the bravest one of us all. You fought your fear first, you experienced it before any of us had to face ours. And you saved my life," She touched her knee lightly.

"Okay, so how do we get out of here?" Danny asked as Sam leaned back against the cushion she was resting against.

"The fear has to cease existing," Sam said, watching Valerie and Tucker. "Valerie has to stop being afraid,"

"I don't know if I can do that," Valerie sniffled. She peered at the other three with bloodshot eyes around Tucker's shoulder.

"I've said it once, I'll say it again," Sam said. "You're one of the best ghost hunters in the world. And you're afraid of some stupid guy with facepaint and a wig? Seriously, it's just a man under there. He won't hurt you. All those scary movies where the clown is the murderer are stupid. Clowns are harmless."

Valerie sat up a little straighter, staring at Sam as she spoke. "You beat the living crap out of Danny every other day. Danny's a freaking phantom! He has ghost powers, stuff that can seriously hurt people! And you're afraid of a guy who makes balloon animals for fun?"

"You know what?" Valerie whispered. "You're right. It's stupid that I'm afraid of clowns, isn't it? I mean, there are so many other things out there that are really terrifying."

There was a knock on the penthouse door. The teens froze, the color in their faces draining quite quickly. No one moved.

"Someone has to answer it," Jazz whispered.

Sam stood, ambling around the tangle of legs they had created. "Sam, no...!" Danny reached for her hand, attempting to pull her back toward him, but was too late.

She slid her hand around the doorknob slowly, casting one last glance at the others, before twisting the knob. The door eased open; a clown was standing in the doorway. Valerie gasped, but did not scream.

The clown simply stood, gazing into the room almost apologetically. He wore a sheepish grin beneath his red and white painted face, his sparkling green eyes trained on Valerie.

"Val, you know what you have to do," Sam whispered, ushering the clown inside.

Valerie nodded. She sucked in a deep breath, glanced at Tucker, and stood. The clown stepped cautiously toward her, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Wh-what's your n-name?" Valerie asked him.

"Bobo," He said, flashing a quick toothy grin at her before returning his gaze to the ground.

"Bobo." Valerie repeated. She glanced at Sam, who nodded encouragingly at her. "You...you're a c-clown. And I'm not afraid of you,"

Bobo's head snapped up. A huge grin split his face. "Well that's just grand to hear!" He shouted. He leapt toward Valerie, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. She closed her eyes and stiffly patted him on the back. The other four teens burst into laughter.

"Alright, Bobo," Sam laughed as he pulled away from Valerie, still beaming. "Your job here is done,"

"What was that about?" Tucker asked, wiping away a tear as Valerie settled back down beside him.

"Valerie just confronted her fear," Sam smiled at her.

"Wait so...what was that clown apocalypse we went through?" Danny asked.

"Valerie's nightmare," Sam rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fears and nightmares are two completely different entities. Fears exist in our conscious and subconscious minds. Nightmares are the manifestations of those fears in our subconscious,"

"Oh,"

"It's a lot to have to process, I know. It took me weeks to figure this out."

"How did you figure this out?" Danny asked, scooting closer to her.

"Books," she shrugged. She began toying with the zipper of his jacket, which was still around her body. "I've read a lot about dreams and nightmares, and I have a pretty good idea of how they work. I never knew that knowledge would ever actually come in handy, though,"

"You know, I'm actually kind of glad that you feel the need to know about weird stuff, Sam," Tucker said, chuckling lightly. Sam smiled in response, but Danny sensed a trace of sadness in her violet eyes.

They stayed in the apartment for the rest of that day, sitting around in a circle and talking. A few hours after the sun had dipped below the horizon, Valerie nodded off, leaning heavily against Tucker. Tucker himself appeared exhausted, but extremely pleased with the sleeping arrangements. He rested his cheek on Valerie's forehead, slowly drifting to sleep with a small grin on his face. Jazz was curled between Valerie and Danny, snoring lightly on her side. Sam was dozing on Danny's other side; her head continually sank downward slowly, before snapping up again as she jerked herself awake. After about four times of her doing this, Danny took pity on her.

"You can lean against me, if you want," He whispered, moving closer to her. She gazed at him groggily, before nodding and leaning into him. Her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck perfectly; his jacket creating the perfect blanket for her. She sighed as he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She pulled the hood of the jacket up over her head, providing Danny with a cushioned surface to be used as a pillow.

And with that, the couple joined their friends in a fitful night of sleep.

End scene (:

Hokay, chapter five will be up tomorrow peoples.

And, hey. You guys make fun of me for being afraid of clowns. Not cool :P

I STILL LOVE YOU THOUGH (:

Review, review, gotta submit a review, if you don't I'll find you and sing Friday really loud, oh yes, that's right, the one by Rebecca Black, so review if you know what's good for youuu...