AN: Wow. This story has gotten a whole lot longer and more complicated the more I write. Can you believe that I originally intended it to be a one-shot of Danny explaining why he does what he does to his parents after they capture him? Once I finished that, I thought it needed more action, so I added the note and him going to Plasmius. I still wasn't satisfied with that and it has grown into this huge monster of a story because of it. After seven chapters it seems to have taken a life of its own. When I started posting it, I only had parts of the story through Chapter 4 handwritten. Now, less than a week later, (in actual writing time, because this still has to go to my beta) I have just typed three more chapters from scratch. It seems that every time I have a free moment, I just start typing, and before I knew it, I had fifteen more pages typed. Well, sorry to bore you with my rambling- here's the next chapter, where we find out more about the plan and who the real culprits are, and what our heroes are doing back in Amity Park to find Danny.

I know I haven't put this on every chapter, but here it is again: I do not own Danny Phantom. I do, however, own this plot and any OCs.

Chapter 7

Don't hate me!

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"He agreed to it," Vlad crowed as he entered Walker's office, pulling the bandages off his eye and hands. He also removed the fake collar and wristbands and the prison uniform before transforming back to his human self. "Everything is going according to plan. Do you have the remote?" Vlad asked Walker, who handed the remote to Danny's collar to him.

"So you finally got him to trust you?" a silky female voice asked. "It took you long enough."

"Yes, I know, Penelope, but these things cannot be rushed. You know as well as I do that he had to come to the decision of his own free will, even if I had to lie to him to get him to agree. I am just glad it's over," he said as he wiped the makeup that had transferred over to his human form off his face. "That uniform and collar are not comfortable, and that slop you call food is hardly edible," he added as he looked over to Walker.

Walker just grinned and said, "That's the point."

"Yes, well, it was getting annoying having to pretend to be your prisoner, and quite humiliating I might add. If it hadn't been necessary for our plan, I certainly would not have put myself in that situation. I had to beg," he said with a shudder.

"When will you make your attempt?" another female voice asked. "I will have to be nearby right after it happens."

"Tomorrow night, Patricia," was Vlad's reply.

"Good," she said. "I think I can be ready by then." Patricia Spectra, Penelope Spectra's sister, had not been around as long as her happiness sucking sister, so she was not as strong. She could only affect humans, so she knew that her powers might not work as well on a halfa like Danny, and Vlad was certainly not going to volunteer to test it. She thought about it for a minute and added, "You need to make sure and get him plenty exhausted. He needs to be completely drained of ghost energy if my abilities are to work correctly."

"Yes, I'll make sure he is drained before you step in, Patricia. What I am worried about is his mental state. One of his more admirable characteristics is his fiery spirit, which we knew could cause us some trouble. That's why allowed you, Walker, to treat him the way you did, but I think you may have gone too far. We needed him to quiet down some so he could be released into the general population so I could talk to him, but I don't like seeing him in such a state. We don't need him to be completely broken. He'll be of no use to us then. What do you think, Penelope? After all, it is your area of expertise."

"I don't know, since you won't let me anywhere near him to sense how much he is suffering," she sniped. "I can't sense it long range either, because there is so much misery here anyway thanks to Walker. I wish I had hooked up with him years ago; the pain and anguish his inmates put off are enough to keep me young forever," she said as she hooked an arm around Walker's shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek. (eww!)

Vlad looked at them with thinly veiled disgust and continued, "I had to pull the 'attack the human world card' to get him to agree, so I don't know how effective the memory wipe will be. You told us that the emotions that your victim experienced just prior to an attack, as well as how strong they were, can effect how well it works. I don't know if he will be feeling enough anger for your power to be successful, Patricia. It needs to be stronger than any depression he might be feeling."

"Oh, don't worry, I have that covered. Skulker has gone to retrieve some items from the real world that might just make him angry enough," Walker put in.

"Really?" Vlad asked. "Then this might just work. We have worked hard for too long for this to fail. Daniel will be ours," he said, beginning his villainous laugh. The others in the room soon joined in, their minds filled with the possibilities of what would happen with Danny Phantom on their side.

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Jazz and the others thought it was odd that there hadn't been a single major ghost attack in Amity Park since her brother's disappearance, and even more, that no ghosts, not even the Box Ghost had appeared since her brother's 'funeral.' That was until Skulker showed up last night and attacked Tucker. He hadn't appeared to be after anything but to rough him up a bit, and for some reason took his beret. Tucker certainly hadn't been happy about that.

"That was my favorite one, too," he had said lamenting over the loss of it, but thankful that, "At least my baby wasn't harmed", stroking the PDA in his hand lovingly. "I don't think I could have stood to lose both of them."

Team Phantom was having a meeting shortly after Skulker's attack when Sam asked, "Do you think that attack had anything to do with Danny's disappearance?"

"I don't know," Jazz responded. "I've told you before that I think there is something more going on. We still don't have any evidence that Danny ever left the Ghost Zone."

"You don't think Skulker finally got Danny as part of his 'collection' do you," Tucker asked with horror on his face, "and why would he want my hat?"

"No, I don't think so," Sam said. "But if he did, then he probably took the hat to show he would hurt one of us if Danny tried to escape, but I doubt it. I know Danny is stronger than that and would have already gotten free if it was Skulker who was holding him. It has to be someone else."

"Any of Danny's enemies could have gotten him once he entered the Ghost Zone. We have no idea where to start!" Tucker exclaimed.

"I agree with Tucker. It could be anyone. We are just going to have to rule them out by a process of elimination. It is going to take some time unless we get some more clues. We also have to deal with the disappearance of Plasmius for nearly a month," Jazz said calmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you, Vlad was spotted two days ago at one of his corporate buildings. Apparently his explanation for his absence was some sort of 'sabbatical'," Tucker supplied while pulling up the files he had hacked on his PDA for Sam and Jazz to see. "Apparently he went off grid as a part of some kind of 'cleansing ritual', Tucker said as he snickered. "I have a hard time believing that."

"Me too," Sam replied.

"Well, we can't just go barging into the Ghost Zone demanding answers. It's just too dangerous for us to go in there alone, and we have no way to track Danny once we get in there. I still don't understand what happened to the Boomerang. There haven't been any ghosts around for weeks, and Mom didn't even get any information out of the ghosts she captured before they found 'Danny's remains.' We are going to have to get answers some other way. Any ideas?" Jazz said logically

"I think I may," Sam answered. "Since we believe that he is still in the Ghost Zone, I went to the liberty of going to my favorite bookstore and finding several books about the Ghost Zone. I think if we split them up to read, it would be faster than me just reading them myself," she said as she handed Jazz and Tucker a book each. "I left the one I am reading at home, but if you could start on these soon, I think it would be for the best." Tucker gave a slightly displeased look at the book in front of him, preferring it were at least a little thinner, but he knew that reading an actual book was a sacrifice he was willing to make to save Danny.

"Well, it's getting kind of late. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have an early class in the morning, and I really need to get some sleep." Jazz said as she put the book Sam had given her in her bag. "I'll drive you both home if you want." Both teens nodded their heads as they left the Nasty Burger for Jazz's car.

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"Oh my God!" Sam exclaimed as she finished a section of the book she was reading. "This has to be it. This has to be the reason Danny went missing." She grabbed her cell phone and called Tucker, "Tucker, I need you to meet me over at the Fenton's right away. It's important. I think I know what happened to Danny." Not even allowing Tucker a chance to respond, she snapped the phone shut and pulled on her boots, grabbing her backpack and the book on the way out the door.

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"Where is she?" Tucker asked Jazz as they waited for Sam to arrive. "She said it was important and she should have been here by now."

"I don't know, Tucker. Do you think maybe she had a hard time getting around her parents?" Jazz asked.

"No, her parents are out of town this week. I'm beginning to think that something happened to her. Maybe we should go look for her," he said with a growing sense of panic.

"Omygosh, Tucker, you could be right! You try calling Sam on her cell while I get my keys. Meet me at my car."

Tucker grabbed his phone and began dialing as he walked down the Fenton's stairs towards the front door. After two rings, he heard Sam pick it up. "Tucker, not now. I'm having some problems." Her voice was punctuated by the sound of what appeared to be a jet pack and ectoblasts being fired.

"Sam? Sam?" Tucker asked. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine for now, but I need you to come quick. Skulker's after me. I managed to take out one of his jets with the Fenton Lipstick Danny gave me for protection, but I need a thermos. It won't take long for him to recover and come after me again." The sound of another blast floated over the line. "Scratch that, Tucker. Just get your butt down here with a thermos, NOW!"

Tucker rushed out the door and into Jazz's waiting car, "Sam's in trouble. Skulker's gone after her now. We need to find her before it's too late."

At this, Jazz sped off in the direction of Sam's house, scanning the skies and alleyways for any signs of Sam or the hunter ghost. Finally they found them, less than two blocks from Sam's house. Skulker was standing over Sam's prone form about to fire at her when Tucker and Jazz ambushed him from behind. They managed to get him away from Sam and after Jazz used the Fenton Peeler to strip him of his armor, it was easy for Tucker to get him in the thermos. By the time the battle was over and they made it to Sam's side, she was unconscious and bleeding from an injury to the side of her head.

"Tucker, grab her bag and things. We need to get her to the hospital," Jazz said as she assessed Sam's injuries.

"Hhhospital?" Tucker stuttered.

"Yes, Tucker, she needs to go to the hospital. Now grab her stuff and help me get her into the car. Oh don't look like that. I think I have a paper bag for you in there somewhere," she said with a sigh as she saw the look of horror on Tucker's face.

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"Sir, I have news about Skulker. It appears he has failed his mission by being captured by the ghost kid's friends," a guard said as he stuck his head through the door to Walker's office. "I do have some good news though. Apparently his gothic girlfriend is in the hospital because of the attack and she still has not woken up," he added quickly and left, so as to not incur Walker's temper.

"Yes, well, I am not surprised about Skulker. That girl is a lot tougher and more resourceful than she looks. This may still work out though. I think I'll send someone to look up on her," he thought aloud. Pressing a button on the intercom on his desk, he said, "Tell Bullet I need to see him."

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Trying to track down Sam's parents had been a real ordeal. Jazz had managed to get hold of her grandmother to get consent for treatment, but the hospital staff still wanted her parents' signatures on the paperwork. She and Tucker had managed to finally contact them somewhere in Switzerland, and they were on their way back now. What worried her now was the fact that Sam had still not woken up. What had Skulker done to her? What had been so important that she called a meeting at Fentonworks in the middle of the night?

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AN: Patricia Spectra's powers are very interesting in this fic, as is her character. Her main power is to manipulate and suck out people's memories, using them in a manner similar to her sister's, though not as a way to keep from aging. The reason why she takes people's memories will be outlined later (I hope). The thing about emotions is important, because apparently the emotion that her victim experienced right before her attack is what they will feel and remember after she is done. If a person is depressed, they will remain that way, because the memories of their depression will remain with them. If they are angry, then memories of rage and anger will be retained. They want Danny mad before his memory is wiped so he will be angry when he recovers from it. They believe his anger will help turn Danny to their side.

TexasDreamer01: I wasn't lying when I told you it wasn't Vlad in Walker's office. It was Patricia Spectra the first time, alone with Walker. She was watching the footage in an effort to learn more about Danny. Patricia is going to be an interesting OC to write because she has never had a run-in with Danny before, and only knows of him through her sister. The second time it was all of the players except for Vlad, who was off making preparations for the plan with Skulker. Also, Vlad is not one of the 'helpers,' they are all somewhat equal partners, even though most of the plan was orchestrated by Vlad and Walker. Each of them has something to bring to the deal, and they will all benefit in some way from the plan if it is successful.

Sasia93: I guess you see the reason for Danny's apparent depression now. Danny knew from some of his sister's psychobabble that it would be a good idea to become more docile in order to be allowed more freedom and interaction with others. He decided to completely ignore Walker and go catatonic, appearing to be depressed just to piss Walker off. By doing this, he got what he wanted, but he unknowingly played right into the bad guys' hands.