First, I will warn you that Sam is a little OOC in this chapter, mostly towards the beginning and it mellows out a bit around the middle. There is a reason for this behavioral change, but it won't be explained until NEXT episode. Just please trust that I do have my reasons for it. The overall feel of the first part of this episode also felt a little out of sync with the series, but it was important and needed to happen. Again, it will be explained a little more in Episode 61, but for now I hope it doesn't throw anyone off of this fanfic.

Now with the important stuff out of the way, I feel like bragging a little bit. In less than a month I will be moving to Japan for three years. It is the only place I ever wanted to visit so I'm really excited for it. Gotta start working on my Japanese! :D

I now gift you 11,571 words, which has taken the title of longest chapter from Episode 57: Driving Lessons.

I do not own Danny Phantom :'(


Episode 60: Ilu Shion

The three forms snuck through the dark building with a measure of experienced stealth. The only light to guide them was from a street lamp outside the large glass front of the store, obscured by the canvas overhang above the front entrance. It barely granted enough visibility for them to avoid running the counters and shelves methodically placed about the floor. This proved to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience for the trio, though.

Coming to a halt at the base of a large staircase in the center of the store, the girl in the lead stopped and turned back to her two companions. Purple eyes obscured by her dark bangs, Sam whispered, "I'll check out the upstairs. You two search down here." At their agreeing nods, she turned back around and carefully took the stairs one at a time.

At the halfway junction the stairs turned to the left, a glass case pushed against the back wall of the landing. Peering into the thirty-gallon terrarium, she watched a small frog hop from the dark soil into a small pool before saying, "Don't worry little guy, I'll help you out of there in a bit. Just gotta look around up here first." Then she continued on her way.

The upper floor was only about a third the size of the lower one, and like a balcony could look down on the space below. The majority of the space was filled with more shelving, but to the right of the stairs was more glass cases. She was just heading over towards them when flashing lights shown through the large windows. Shock clear on her face, she turned around just as a man outside could be heard yelling, "This is the police! Come out with your hands up!"


"This is the police! Come out with your hands up!" a man outside yelled, banging on the front door. From her perch, Sam could see her two companions slipping through the maze of shelves towards the back entrance, staying clear of the bright headlights illuminating the lower floor.

"Guys, what about me?" she asked as loudly as she dared, looking from the two to the where the base of the staircase was now bathed in light. She'd be spotted the instant she tried to go down them.

Stopping for a moment when they got closer to her position, the first of the two glanced up in her direction. His light hair covered half of his face, one brown eye peering out from underneath. He worse a dark glove and a hoodie, which he pulled up to help hide his face. "Sorry, Princess, you're on your own," he replied quietly. "No way for us to get up to you." And then he disappeared beneath the balcony.

"Sorry Sam, you heard the man," the other male remarked, hiding his lanky features behind a hood as well and following his friend.

"We have the manager here to unlock the store! If you don't come out now we will come in after you!" the officer hollered. And Sam could do nothing but back up farther against the wall. In a short moment, she'd be caught.

One up side to being to fly, vantage point. Soaring a hundred feet above the closest rooftop afforded him the view of half of downtown, easily, and since Amity Park was usually dismal and quiet, the flashing blue and red lights parked outside of Bob's Pet Emporium was definitely not normal. "I wonder what's going on there," Danny mused aloud, slowing as he neared the building. "Want to go check it out, Tuck?"

"If it means we will get closer to the ground, then yes, please," the technologically inclined teen replied, increasing his grip on his friend's arm as he tried desperately to not look down.

Chuckling at his friend's behavior, the half ghost remarked, "Okay, Tuck. Best go invisible, though, so they don't see us." The strange, yet familiar, sensation of ectoplasmic power permeated through their bodies, the white-haired teen deciding last second that he should probably use intangibility as well. Wouldn't do to have a baton or a can or something potentially worse flying at him accidentally once they reached street level. He could take a hit all day long, but Tucker… His prowess resided as far away from face punching as you could get.

"Open it," the policeman said to a gentleman holding a ring of keys. "We'll get those punks, sir. This isn't the first silent alarm they've set off, and we're getting closer to figuring out who they are." The man had unlocked the front door by that point, and moved to the side as the officer headed in.

The two teens looked at each other and nodded, the one with ghost powers flying them up just a few feet above the roof. "Just a regular, run-of-the-mill break in," Danny sighed, thankful it wasn't another ghost to have to give a beating to. "Time to head back to the Lab then."

Sam could do little but watch as the three men filed into the pet store. There was a solid wall behind her, the only exits were on the first floor, and none of the shelving was anywhere near sturdy enough to support a human's weight. Her eyes snapped around the open space, having thought about simply jumping down and running for the back exit, but anywhere she would have landed would be in the revealing beams of light. That was also before they got the front door open. Now flashlights shone between aisle and into cages, disturbing fowl and rodents alike as they were stirred from their rest. One bird started squawking loudly and she thought she saw an opening, even standing from her crouched position next to a turtle display, but the distraction didn't last more than a second. The police immediately went back to searching for the intruders.

Heavy footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs. Looking from one side to the other, the man gave his fellow officers a quick nod in agreeance before taking the first, creaking step. The wood groaned under his weight, but held firm, and he cautiously started towards the second floor.

She could hear him getting closer from her spot nestled back next to the turtles. Her breath held in her throat. Remaining quiet just prolonged the inevitable, yet she couldn't find the voice to just tell them she was there. The light rose with every step he took until it peeked just above the lip of the floor, shining on the short stalk of black hair tied up by a green hair tie. Just a couple more steps and he would see her…

A pair of hands roughly grabbed her shoulders, and had a third one not slapped over her mouth she would have screamed. Her skin prickled at the touch, spreading from those contact points as her body became less than tangible. If she had to describe the sensation it would probably be something like a soft energy burrowing under her skin. Not painful, but just, weird… Once it spread completely she felt herself being pulled backwards, and by the time the man climbed enough that his eyes were level with the floor his flashlight fell on a barren wall.

Reaching up to get a grip on his arm as her friend sped away from the seen, Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, thank you Danny," she said, looking up to find the half-ghost was glaring straight ahead.

"Don't thank me," he bit out, turning his green eyes to face her. "What were you doing there, Sam?"

"I was fighting for my cause," she shot back, leveling a glare at him as well. The angle, unfortunately, also directed it at Tucker, and she was halfway through mentally apologizing for that when she noticed his odd insistence to not look down and how both arms were clinging to their friend. "What's his problem?"

Thankful for the change of subject, since he had been about to explode at the girl, Danny replied, "He got snatched up by the Buzzard Brothers about four seconds into our patrol. They flew him all over town before finally dropping him from about a hundred-fifty feet high."

"More like you pulled them into the Fenton Thermos," Tucker interjected.

"I knew I could catch you," Danny supplied, phasing down through the top of his home and strategically avoiding any room his parents might be in on his way. Peering his head into the lab to make sure no one was in it, he floated the three down and landed gently on the floor.

"Yeah, when I was about five feet away from being road pasta," Tucker huffed, crossing his arms and looking away from him. He only half listened to what Danny said next, instead walking over to one of the many counters in the room.

"And I already apologized for that," Danny sighed, shaking his head as he let the twin rings form around his waist and change out of his alter ego. "Anyway, since we were then so far away from his house we decided I'd fly him back rather than him walking. Now, Sam, wh—"

"I don't think I've seen this thing before," Tucker interrupted, holding up a one of the many inventions in work in the Fenton Works Lab. It was cylindrical in shape, with two sets of parallel prongs on one end. Two green buttons were along the shaft, and like any other thing his parents made it had a bright green "Fenton" sticker on the side.

Walking over to take the item from his friend's hand and put it back on the stand he'd taken it from, Danny said, "Eh, it's something my parents have tinkered with off and on for the last couple years or so. Seems they can't get the bugs worked out of it so most of the time it is in storage."

"What does it do?" Sam asked, coming up beside the boy.

"Don't know," he admitted. "It doesn't zap me, follow me, or try to tear me apart 'molecule by molecule,' so at the moment, I don't really care. What I do care about," he turned to face her, "is what you were doing in that pet store, Sam."

Steely harshness returning to her eyes, she angrily replied, "We were trying to free those poor, helpless animals from oppression," emphasizing that she was not alone. He didn't even have to ask to know who she had been with. He'd had a bad feeling about the pair from the beginning. "Someone had to do something."

"Someone, maybe, something, perhaps, but what you were doing, Sam, is illegal!" he scolded, throwing his arms wide in hopes of better conveying his agitation. "And next time I am not going to bail you out."

"I don't need you to bail me out of anything," she shot back, leaning into her anger.

"Not by what I saw," the young hero scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. They matched glare for glare, the third member of their group nervously glancing between the two as sweat formed on his brow. He could almost see the steam rising off the goth girl and the tiny fuse slowly burning down on the back of his other childhood friend. The situation was growing more and more volatile, and if he didn't find something to distract them they could easily explode at each other.

"So, um, wonder what those ghosts were up to," he tried feebly, though neither seemed to actually hear him.

"You saw wrong," Sam said icily, turning from the infuriating boy and stomping towards the stairs leading out of the lab.

"Where are you going, Sam?" he inquired hotly, jogging to catch up. Grabbing her arm, he wheeled her back around to face him as he hissed, "I'm not done talking to you."

Yanking her arm out of his grasp, the girl spit back, "Well, I'm done talking to you. See you later, Danny." Then she stalked up the stairs and out of sight.

Danny was fuming, green ghost energy collecting in his fists. He wanted to just yell at the top of his lungs, but his current setting would not allow that, so as he heard the front door slam closed he took several deep, calming breaths before shouting, "How can she be so… Why won't she just listen?"

"Danny, maybe we should get some rest," Tucker interjected, holding up his PDA. The time flashing on the front screen read 11:52. "It's getting pretty late. Maybe once we've all gotten some rest and calmed down we can talk about it then."

"Yeah, if Sam will get her head out of the ground," Danny griped, taking the stairs two at a time. He had to admit, Tucker was right about one thing; he was tired. Seeing his friend to the door, he sighed and said, "Sorry for snapping just now Tuck. I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you."

"Don't worry about it man," the other teen replied coolly. "Just get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow…" Danny mimicked lifelessly. He was not looking forward to 'tomorrow.'


The next morning found Danny sitting at the table, bowl of cereal in front of him and TV absently droning in the background. He was halfway to taking another bite when something else caught his attention and he sat the spoon back down in the bowl, blue eyes rising to watch the screen.

"And in non-ghost related news for once," the anchor started—and of course only Amity Park could use a line like that—"Bob's Pet Emporium was robbed last night by three unidentified individuals. Police say when they stormed the shop the cash register and safe were found open and empty, the loss totaling around $2000. Three hooded forms were caught on a neighboring surveillance camera sneaking in through the back entrance. Any tips leading to the capture of…" He stopped paying attention at that point, going back to eating his cereal quickly so he could drop the bowl in the sink. "I'm heading to school," he stated dourly as his parents and sister entered the room, snatching up his backpack and heading towards the door.

"Is something wrong, Danny?" Jazz asked quietly, coming up behind him.

"Nothing I want to talk about," he replied, a hostile undertone to his words. He stopped as he went to open the door. Voice softening, he said, "Sorry Jazz, it's something I need to discuss with someone else. I'll be fine."

"Okay, Danny," she smiled, then stood and headed back to the kitchen.

Exiting the house, he swung around into an alley and double checked no one was within sight before calling on his powers. Now sporting his black and white jumpsuit, he took to the air and zipped over to school, going intangible down through the roof and landing with practiced precision in a stall in the boy's bathroom. Since no one was already using it, he surrounded the lock in ghost energy and snapped it closed before a flash of light issued that turned him back into his normal attire. Exiting the stall, he was pleased to see that his unpopularity still made him invisible, for no one asked what the flash had been as he stepped out into the hall. Weaving his way through the early morning crowd, he made it out the front door with plenty of time to spare. Leaning against a nearby light pole, he set to waiting for his two friends.

Sam showed up first. He could hear her bike coming from a mile off. As the roar of the engine came to a halt, he looked up from the pavement and pushed off his support, folding both arms over the red oval on his chest and gaze turning sharp. The goth girl seemed just as unhappy to see him as well, eyes narrowed and deep set frown on her face as she walked up to him. "Did you see the news the morning?" he asked as a greeting, the goth girl coming to a stop just a few feet from him.

"Didn't have time to watch it," she replied, a hint of anger still in her voice. Neither had really cooled down from the previous night.

"Your new 'friends' made off with about two grand from the pet store last night," he stated harshly.

"The media will take any opportunity to portray youthful causes in a bad light," Sam retorted, although her words lacked a sense of conviction. In his frustration, Danny didn't notice, but the other boy coming up on the two did. Her faith in the two young men she'd recently befriended was starting to waver.

"So you're saying they made up the two thousand dollars that went missing from the store?" he asked crossly, uncrossing his arms to clench his fists at his sides.

"I'm saying they will find any excuse to cover up the truth," she shot back, gritting her teeth in anger. "They manipulate facts to brainwash people into falling into a social construct.

Rushing up between the two, placing one hand their shoulders to try and separate the two a little, Tucker chuckled nervously, "Now now, maybe we should simmer down a bit?"

A shrill ringing echoed around campus right at that time, all three teens looking up at the school. "Oh, look, saved by the bell," Danny said harshly. "Time to get to class." Sam just pushed between her two childhood friends and stomped up the steps. As they made their way through the hall, Danny ranted, "I just don't get why she won't listen. We've been telling her for a couple weeks now that those two were bad news, but when there is finally evidence to support it she acts like it was all made up."

"Danny, I know you're angry at Sam," Tucker started, stopping as the ghost-boy opened the door to their class, "but do you really think she doesn't see it? Maybe she just needs us to be there for her right now." The two walked over and took their seats, the third member of their trio already in the desk ahead of them.

Knowing that she would hear him, Danny bit out, "Yeah, well you can go talk to her if you want, Tuck, but I'm not going to until she apologizes." With her back to them, he couldn't see the down expression marring her face. He waited a second, breath held, to see if she would react, then exhaled it loudly and shivered slightly at the cold treatment.

The second bell rang and Mr. Lancer stepped into the room, reading something off of a clipboard. "Okay class," he started, "we have a foreign exchange student coming to class today. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The girl who stumbled into the classroom—literally, she seemed to have tripped over her own feet—was short of stature and meek of will. She kept her dark eyes directed at the ground and wrung her hands behind her back as she toed the floor with one of her simple, black dress shoes. White, knee-high stockings came up just below the bottom hem of her dark blue accordion skirt, a matching color to the blazer she wore over a white, fitted, collared shirt. "A-ano," she stuttered, absently tucking strands of her long black hair behind an ear. "M-my name is I-Ilu Sh—"

"We can't here you!" Dash yelled obnoxiously, laughing as he noticed her flinch.

"M-my name is Ilu Shion," she started again, a little louder this time. "B-but you can just call me Shion. I-I'm a f-foreign exchange student from Japan. P-please take care of me." The last sentence was accompanied by a bow.

"There you go," Mr. Lancer praised. "Why don't you go take a seat and we'll get started."

"O-okay," the girl replied, making her way through the crowd to an empty desk, right behind Danny.

The bell rang at the end of class and Sam was out the door before anyone else had even finished packing their bag. The beret-wearing team awkwardly glanced between the door and his other friend, not entirely sure what to do while the only two people he hung out with were fighting. While he wanted to try and get Sam to smooth things back over, he didn't know if following her would be the best idea right now. "Go ahead, Tuck," Danny spoke up at that point. "I'm not going to hold it against you, you know. Do what you think you need to."

"Thanks Danny," the other boy said, scooping up the last of his things and running out the door.

Sighing, a saddened expression crossed Danny's face. He really didn't like fighting with Sam either. "I probably shouldn't have blown up her this morning like that," he muttered to himself, dropping his textbook in his bag. He was just slinging it over his shoulder when a soft voice behind him stopped him.

"Eto," Shion said quietly, "Do you think you could show me around a bit?"

Looking both left and right to be sure she actually was talking to him, Danny pointed a finger back at himself and asked dumbfoundedly, "Huh, me?"

"Yeah," the girl replied. "I don't really know my way around, and all of the other students are a little… overbearing." She paused for a second between the last two words, as if trying to find the right adjective. "You seem pretty easy to talk to, though. Not intimidating at all."

He believed that was a compliment… Anyway. "Sure, no problem. What class do you have next?" he replied, taking a step closer and looking down at the sheet of paper in her hand.

Tucker ran down the hallway after his friend, slowly gaining on the goth girl who really shouldn't be able to move that fast just walking. "Sam," he called out, causing her to turn and look at him in confusion.

"Tucker?" she asked, momentarily stunned by the unexpectedness of him following her. Then she regained her composure and hmphed, turning away as he drew closer and said, "If you are coming to give me a lecture as well then don't bother."

"Danny was just worried about you, you know," the technogeek stated. "He doesn't show it very well, but he is. I'm worried about you, too. It seems like recently you've become a bit distant from us, ever since you started hanging out with those two. Is everything alright?"

"I'm okay, Tuck," the girl replied softly. "Just need some time to sort my thoughts out. I'll… I'll go apologize to Danny once I get everything straightened out. You should go get to class before the bell rings. Different second period classes and all."

Giving her a slight nod, Tucker turned to run back in the direction he came, shouting back over his shoulder, "If you need to talk someone you know how to get in contact with me."

Sam just smiled and continued on her way.


The two boys were walking down the hall again, stopping by their lockers just long enough to toss their unneeded books. "Sam hasn't talked to me in three days now," Danny said, staring at the ground as he walked. "Maybe I should go talk to her." He started ruffling his hair and groaned. "No. I know I was a bit harsh, but she just wasn't listening. Maybe I could have worded it better, but would it have gotten through her thick skull?" He had stopped now, sighing and letting his hands drop to his sides.

"I'm gonna go on ahead and get lunch," Tucker started slowly, pointing in the direction of the cafeteria with both hands. "Feel free to come join me once you're done moping."

"Sure, Tuck," Danny mumbled, not looking up as his childhood friend left. He wasn't really hungry. Still, he should probably get something to eat. Letting out another heavy sigh, a cool breeze wafted through the hall at that exact same time and caused him to shiver.

"Hey Danny," Shion said suddenly, making him jump. "Sorry, did I startle you? I ddin't mean to. I was just going to ask if you could help me with some of my homework. Since I transferred in a week after semester start I have some backlogged and I'm not the best at math."

Turning to look at the new girl, a soft smile on her face, Danny chuckled a little at himself. What was he being so jumpy for? "Sure, I don't mind," he replied kindly, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Do you want to meet at your place?"

Turning away a little, an inkling of shame crossing her features, Shion stuttered, "M-my place is no good. My host family doesn't really like guests. They don't even seem to want me there, really."

For a second his expression dropped in sadness. Then he shook his head and put a smile back on. "Then you can come over to my place," he said, the girl's gaze turning back towards him. Tears dotted the corners of those dark pools, but they held a sense of hope in them. "My parents won't mind, though my dad will probably talk your ear off."

Something in the dark-haired girl snapped. She came around the corner just in time to see her best friend sling an arm over another girl's shoulder, a wide grin on his face, as he asked her to come over. Any thought of reconciliation she might have had flew out the window as she stomped over to the two. "What's your deal, Danny?" she yelled, two sets of eyes looking up at her she drew closer. "Are you already trying to replace me with someone else?" The pair of blue held a measure of confusion, their owner absently returning his arm to his side, but when she looked into the other pair… A bone chilling cold ran up her spine.

"What are you even talking about, Sam?" he asked, taking a step towards the irritated goth.

She grabbed his wrist and started dragging him down the hall. "Come with me a bit," she said simply, making it even with the first classroom before he wrenched his arm from her grip.

"What is your problem?" Danny asked, his own frustration and anger seeping into his voice.

Turning back to him and placing both hands on her hips, she scoffed, "I need to talk to you for a moment." When he indicated to the nearly deserted hallway, only Shion standing several yards behind them, she hissed quietly, "Alone."

"Unless it is about that you can say anything you want right here," Danny said, not budging in his stance.

"Fine, I don't like her," Sam stated, although trying to keep her voice low enough that the girl would have trouble hearing. "Something doesn't seem right. Her eyes, the emotions in them just seem so… flat."

"Cause you're such a good judge of character recently," the half-ghost retorted, crossing his arms.

Scoffing at his remark, she rolled her violet eyes and shot, "This isn't about Josh and Thomas. This is about Shion. Do you really not notice how unusual she is?" When he remained silent she added, "Why won't you listen?" His eyes narrowed at the comment, an inkling of realization dawning in hers. "Fine," she said, turning from him and storming back down the hall.

Danny sighed as she rounded the corner, cold expression melting into a forlorn sadness. Soft footsteps came up behind him, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder as the Japanese girl peered around his hunched form to look at his face. "You really like her, huh?" she asked.

"Sam is my best friend, of course I like her," he replied, angling his eyes slightly away from the girl.

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Shion corrected.

He looked at her now, studying for a way to get out of the question. She didn't seem like she was going to relent, though, and letting out what had to be the half-a-millionth sigh that day, he softly said, "Yeah. I… I guess I do. But we got into this big fight recently and I probably shouldn't have said some of the thing I did, or at least said them nicer, but she's been so distant and… rebellious, I guess… lately that I didn't think she'd listen to me any other way. Now we can't say three words without yelling."

"You two are strong," the girl started, taking a step back putting a cheerful smile on. "I'm sure you'll work through it."

"Thanks, Shion," the half-ghost replied, giving her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Anyway, you coming over. Is there a time that works best?"

Toeing the floor with a shoe again, something he guessed was a nervous habit, she said in response, "Probably around six."

"Then I'll see you then," he agreed, waving as he headed off towards the cafeteria.


This had to be the sixth time his ghost sense went off, a chill running up his spine as it did. Had he not been sitting at the table in his own kitchen it might have worried with, but with his dad down in the lab it was pretty much normal. So long as none of them phased up through the table he was perfectly fine with it.

He had just finished setting out his textbook and notes when a sharp knock echoed through the house. "I'll get it!" he yelled, bolting up from the table. Granted the only other person who might have heard it was his sister, Jazz, who happened to peer down the stairs as he ran to answer the door, since both his parents were currently working on something in the lab. Casually opening it, he stepped to the side and motioned wide with one arm. "Hey Shion," he greeted. "Come in." Closing the door behind her, he felt a pair of eyes on his back and quickly whipped around. From her place at the top of the stairs Jazz let out a strangled gasp, the only part of her he saw as she retreated behind the pallid wall being a shock of red hair. That was kind of odd, and he raised one brow at it, but then again it was Jazz, and she didn't always make sense.

The pair walked into the kitchen, Shion slipping her bag off her shoulder as she took a seat opposite organized mess of papers and books. Unzipping the main pouch, she retrieved her own stack of miscellaneous assignments, dropping them a little harder than intended on the table and watching the other items comically bounce a quarter of an inch from the impact. She would have laughed if not for the looming undertaking in front of her. "I don't even know where to begin," she breathed anxiously, cringing away from the intimidating pile as if it had red eyes and teeth.

"I find that when I have a lot to do that if I start on something I don't care for as much it's easier," Danny started, walking over to watch as she sorted things out by course. "Since I have more focus at the beginning if I start with something difficult to concentrate on I tend to do better than if I save my least favorite for last." At her thoughtful nod he asked, "So which subject do you like the least?"

She thought it over for a moment, dark eyes scanning between two stacks, before finally pointing to one and saying, "History, although science is a close second."

"Then I'd suggest starting there," Danny smiled. "Do you need any help or pointers on getting it done?"

"No, I understand it well enough," Shion replied. "I just don't like it."

"Well, if you need help on anything feel free to ask," the boy remarked. "Want anything to drink before I go to sit down?"

"I'm good, thanks," she answered kindly, flashing a shy smile before turning back to her textbook. She opened to the page her notebook was marking, briefly looking over the neat handwriting in the upper right corner that specified the page this particular assignment went to, before glancing towards the doorway out of the corner of her eyes. Dark brown met blue, locking gazes for several seconds before the redhead gulped and withdrew into the living room and the Japanese girl went back to her work.

The hands on the clock slowly turned. It ticked by in almost utter silence, the occasion question tossed between the pair, first reaching the bold number three on the side, then the six on the bottom. The dark-haired girl complained at that time about her brain feeling like it was melting, which drew a chuckled out of the male who suggested she take a break by doing a bit of her favorite subject for a moment. Coincidentally, it was math, even though she stated she wasn't the best at it, which allowed him to help her understand the plethora of equations the homework was calling for. The hands continued their slow journey, sluggishly limping passed the nine on the left of the clock face and the twelve at the top, signaling almost an hour straight of work. Danny, having finished his homework, had moved around the table with a few select notes, aiding his new friend whenever he possibly could with her daunting task. Most of it was pretty simple, just time consuming and monotonous, but there were instances when she asked for clarification or explanation, particularly in English. While her understanding of the language was fairly good, and she admitted to having enjoyed the experience of learning it, she didn't entirely grasp all the nuances of it.

It was right at 7:19 that a loud bang could be heard from below them. The unexpected noise caused the girl to jump. "What was that?" she asked, standing up out of her chair.

"It's just my parents, down in the lab," Danny remarked, walking over to the sink to refill his glass of water. "My dad probably knocked something over or blew something up again."

"Right, I heard your parents were ghost hunters, or something similar," Shion commented offhandedly. A somewhat despondent expression crossed the half-ghosts face for a second before she continued, "That sounds pretty cool, if you ask me."

Chuckling at the jovial smile she sported, Danny retorted, "Yeah, until you have to live with them. Then every day becomes a life or death struggle against—"

As if on cue, Jack came running up the stairs, half covered in green slime and lugging a Fenton Bazooka on his shoulder. He tromped right through the kitchen without so much as looking at the two, across the living room, and almost right through the door. It seemed like he would for a moment, but at the very last second he threw it open. Right on his heels was the blue clad woman, who stopped for a fraction of a second when she saw the teens. Perhaps she was going to ask who the new friend was, but whatever words she had been going to produce were cut off by the sound of an ecto blast outside. "Wait for me, Jack!" she hollered as she took back off into a run. Zipping out the door, she at least had the sense to close it behind her as she left.

"Well, that," Danny finished, motioning to the trail of glowing green goop that indicated where his father had traversed the house. "And this," he added, opening the fridge for a second to show the girl the ghost hotdogs still living in the meat compartment.

"At least it isn't boring," she countered, a quiet giggle on her lips. "And I bet the lab is really cool. Kinda wish I could see it."

Mulling the idea over in his head for a moment, Danny finally said, "Well, so long as you don't touch anything I don't think my parents would mind. But some of the stuff can be very sensitive, so be careful, okay?"

"Really? Are you sure they won't mind?" she asked excitedly.

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, he replied, "Yeah. I mean, Sam and Tucker go down there all the time. So long as nothing gets broken they don't really care. Just make sure my dad doesn't find out or he'll talk your ear off for the next three hours." He made his way over to the top of the recessed staircase as he spoke, looking back over his shoulder when he took the first step. "Watch your step as well. It's kind of steep."

Giggling a little, she fell in line behind him, a cheered, "Gotcha," on her lips.

The narrow staircase opened up to a large room. Counters lined its walls, all manner of mechanical contraptions, bubbling beakers, and electrical equipment littering the surfaces. Shoved off to the left, but centered between the three closest walls, was what looked like a giant glass room. It was currently empty, but whatever ghost his parents managed to fish out the ghost zone to use in their experiments was usually kept in there. When not in use it would collapse down, the exterior actually being made of a thick, clear plastic that became rigid as glass and phase-proof when given an ecto-charge. Due to the large amount of energy it required to run, though, it had to stay near the Ghost Portal. As Danny stepped into the steel understructure, his companion gawked at the large space before running over to the large, hovering vehicle parked along the right wall. She remembered to keep her hands off the equipment, though, although it looked like she really wanted to hop inside the machine.

"What is this?" she asked, indicating to the vehicle.

"That's the Specter Speeder," Danny replied, coming up beside her. "It's made to easily traverse the ghost zone, but it can fly as well."

"The ghost zone?" she inquired next, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, he placed both hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face the large, titanium blast doors situated in the far wall. "The ghost zone is a world parallel to ours that can't normally be accessed from ours. My parents built a portal that connects our worlds, so the ghost zone is right behind those two doors."

"That. Is. Awesome!" she squealed, turning from it and rushing to one of the counters. "What does this do?"

"That's a vacuum my dad has modified to suck up and contain ghosts."

"And this?" She pointed to a long metal cylinder similar to the bazooka.

"Fenton Foamer. Seems to make more of a mess than anything."

"Do your parents normally eat soup down here?" She was continuing along the counter, pointing out anything that looked complete.

"That's the Fenton Thermos," Danny explained. "It can also trap and contain ghosts, although on a lot larger scale than the Fenton Weasel. The vacuum," he clarified at her confused expression, hollering after her again as she took off to find something else to ask about. "Watch where you walk!" he shouted, the girl barely skirting around a small green explosion on the floor. "So that's what the loud boom was," he mumbled to himself. "Dad must have dropped one of the ecto-containers for the bazooka again."

From across the room, Shion hollered back, "What does this do then?" She was bending to the side at the waist, heading craning to see the label half-hidden by the way the item was turned. Without touching it, of course. "'Fenton Anti-Creep Stick'," she read, drawing a laugh out of the dark-haired boy that came up behind her.

"That… is just a normal bat," he said, drawing out the first word for dramatic and comedic effect. "Come on, we should get back to your homework now." He placed one hand on her far shoulder to steer her in the direction of the stairs, waiting to make sure she was going to follow before letting her go.

"Aw, do we have to?" she whined, but sure enough she kept moving. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, she turned and looked back at the room one last time before following her host back to the kitchen.


A trail of icy breath rose from his mouth, the young hero sighing as his shoulders slumped. "Why do ghosts always have to attack during lunch?" he asked himself, ducking into the nearby broom closet to change into his fighting form. Luckily, it was the one right next to his locker so as he phased out of the cramped room he was able to drop his bag off there and snatch the Fenton Thermos on the way. "Not that I'm ungrateful, because it means I don't have to come up with some excuse to leave class, but I would like to eat my lunch in piece. Now where are you?" He was flying in the general direction in which he felt the ghost, but it wasn't always entirely accurate. Sometimes he couldn't even feel the ghost at all, but with this one he was getting a sense they were just around… "Oof!"

A long tentacle shot out from around the corner, catching Danny right in the chest. He flew back into the lockers, the standard school structures oddly being one of the few things that never seemed to get damaged in his fights. He'd created holes in the ceilings, blown out the windows with his Ghostly Wail, but could barely remember ever denting a locker. Not that that was what he should be focusing on. Looking up from his new seat, Danny took in the appearance of his newest opponent. The ghost was a giant squid, mostly white in body with green accents along its sides and long tentacles. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're a bit early," he started, floating up from the floor and dusting off his behind. "Seafood Friday is not until tomorrow."

The squid ghost gave a comical confused expression, or as much of an expression a seafaring invertebrate with large, pointed teeth could before spewing a jet of ink at the boy. It landed with a wet splash against the far wall, seeping through the vents in the locker and no doubt getting ghost ink all over the content inside. The ghost-boy, though, was nowhere in sight, and the creature made a few gurgling noises as it looked both left and right to try and find him.

"Heads up," Danny called, phasing down through the ceiling. Fist connecting solidly with the point of its squishy cranium, the aquatic ghost slammed into the floor before bouncing once, twice, and coming to a rest a few feet away. It laid there, dazed for half a moment before it roared again and shot back up into the air. The two ethereal being exchanged hardened stares for a moment, then the green-eyed teen exhaled dramatically and said, "Why am I wasting my time?" Grabbing the metal tube at his waist, he angled it directly the ghost and flipped the cap off with his thumb. The enraged snarl vanished into shock as a thin, blue beam emitted from the device in the half-ghost's hands, pulling it forward against its will. Like many enemy Danny used the Thermos to catch, it tried to turn tail and flee out of the contraption, and like all those before it its plan didn't work. A couple seconds later the boy was replacing the lid on the device and glancing around to ensure no one would see as a pair of white rings formed around his waist and changed the black and white hazmat suit into a pair of jeans and a white and red t-shirt.

"Who needs Danny anyway?" That voice sounded like Tucker.

"Certainly not us, if he's going to keep acting that way," a second voice that reminded him suspiciously of Sam answered. They were coming from the next hall. Sprinting as fast as his human legs would carry him, he skidded to a stop at the t-intersection. Blue eyes went wide as they fell on the two forms just ten feet away from him, completely oblivious to his presence.

"Yeah, I mean he made such a big deal out of it," Tucker agreed, arms folded over his chest. "It's not like you were hurting anyone. And then he comes and complains to me about it. 'Those two are bad news.' 'Sam won't listen to me.'" He was using his best high-pitched whiny voice for the complaints, opening and closing his hands like the mouths of sock puppets. "It gets super annoying and makes me want to just suck him up into a Thermos."

"Tell me about it," Sam scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe he would want his own friend to get in trouble like that. And when I tried to talk to him about Shion he just gave me a 'you're such a great judge of character' attitude, like I can't notice something off about someone." Stunned into speechlessness, Danny flipped back around the corner, back leaning against the wall. "If that is how he is going to treat his friends then I say good riddance. His enemies get better treatment than we do."

"Is that how they really feel?" the ghost-boy muttered to himself, sliding down the wall until his butt touched the ground. Was he really just a nuisance to them? Their words hurt and he closed his eyes against the mental pain. His hands finding their way over them, pale fingertips digging into his scalp, he tried to block out their conversation. It couldn't be real. He wouldn't believe it. Something—something—had to be wrong. It was his only hope. What was happening just around the corner had to be a lie, and he just wanted to know the truth. To see the truth.

He nearly jumped in surprise. Palms still pressing into his eyes, he lifted his head off of his knees. His vision was cut off completely, yet the he could see exactly what was near him in his mind in crude detail. It seemed to extend the length of several hallways, rendering the landscape like an incomplete level in a game. The walls and lockers were the generic shapes of a maze, a moving figure a bit over five feet tall strolling down the center alley of one. Mr. Lancer. He was about to come to the junction at the end of the hall, and if this scene was real… Danny opened his eyes, vision blurry and unfocused for a second, turning to watch the most diverse teacher in the school pass by the several feet of the opening and disappear behind the other wall. If Mr Lancer was there…

Danny closed his eyes again, willing that scene to return to him again. He could still hear his friend's conversation, joking with each other while still sending a few choice insults his way on occasion, but in his mind's eye they were not there. That hallway was empty, minus a small box pushed against the lockers. Listening a little closer, the voices sounded a little off, too.

Picking himself up off the floor, he steeled himself with a deep breath and marched back around the corner with false confidence. He was not being quiet, but the two made no indication they had heard him. It might just be that they were ignoring him, but Danny had to believe in what this new ability had shown him. Reaching out with one arm, he waved it right through the bodies of his two friends.

The disturbance dispelled the illusion, revealing an empty hall with a small voice box pushed against the side. The conversation was issuing from it, and as he infused it with ghost energy and friend the circuitry, he closed his eyes. He knew who he was looking for. There had only been one ghost he'd encountered that could pull off a trick like that. She was standing behind him, his Spectral Vision revealing a tall female ghost dressed in the interpretation of a kimono. Blue-eyed gaze narrowed and harsh, he spun on his heels only to come face-to-face with— "Shion…"

"Eh, I thought I did pretty good on imitating their voices," she drawled out monotonously. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Shion!" he growled louder, jumping about a foot off the ground as he transformed back into Danny Phantom and his hovering took over.

The girl gave an expression of mock surprise, clasping both hands over her gaping mouth. "You're the ghost hero?" she asked with obviously fake astonishment.

"You can quit the act, Mirage," Danny shot back, green eyes glowing brighter out of rage and frustration. "I know who you are." Blue energy lined his hand, the appendage swinging as a pendulum until his open palm was facing her.

Shaking her head slowly, Shion quietly tsk'ed at him, but didn't even start to move. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," she stated.

"And why is that?" the ghost-boy said angrily, an icy ball forming in his hand.

Smirking sardonically, she replied, "Because while you may know who I am," her eyes flashing a radiant amber for the shortest moment before returning to their dark brown hue, "no one else here does. And, I'm not going to get startled out of my illusion like that last time. It will just look like Amity Park's hero is on a bad streak again, attacking students."

His hand had lowered slightly at her words, not doubting that she was being truthful about her abilities. "Not if I suck you up into the Fenton Thermos first," he countered, other hand slowly reaching towards it.

"That might just cause more panic," she replied coolly, linking the fingers of both hands behind her back. "'Oh no, the ghost-boy can kidnap humans in that thing now!'," she imitated, a satisfied smile never leaving her face. As if to add insult to injury, she continued, "'Wait, didn't the Fentons make that thing and the ghost-boy just took one to use?'." She watched calmly as his bravado deflated, voice for a short moment turning a lot gentler. "Do remember you aren't the only one affected by your actions. Besides…" The smug expression returned to her face as both heard a loud crash issue from somewhere else in the school. "You have another mess to clean up."

Glaring at the female ghost for a second longer, he quickly stated, "I will be back for you," before zooming off to the newest threat.

"I know you will," she said calmly, quietly after him, reaching up with one hand to tuck some strands of hair behind her ear.

Danny completely ignored the walls as he sped towards the source of the sound. Personal experience told him that noise was a cafeteria table connecting solidly with a concrete wall, since it seemed like at least month something was destroying that particular room in the school. Maybe not as literally as the destruction he was seeing now, with snapped lunch trays and fractured tables piled up against most vertical surfaces, but some manner of ghost always made a mess of it. This one in particular was a giant wolf. It stood as high as a horse at the shoulder and had a color scheme to match the seafood special he'd caught just moments before.

"I know most of this stuff can barely pass as edible, but that doesn't mean you need to take it out on the tables," he chuckled, drawing its attention away from the student it had cornered between two piles of debris. "It's not their fault—woah!" He dodged the thing's lunge, razor claws coming with a fraction of an inch of his midsection. "Hey, it's not my fault either. Some evils just can't be conquered." He dodged another lunge, this one with the powerful jaws as the main weapon, before leveling an ecto-beam at the canine ghost. It hit the beast square in the side, stunning it momentarily so the young hero could go down to check on the harassed student. "Hey are you okay?" he asked as they came fully into view. "Sam…"

The girl looked up from her seat, opening her mouth to say something, then stopping before any words came out. Turmoil swirled in her purple eyes, an internal conflict waging over whether or not she could speak to the other teen like they normally would. True, they were in the middle of a nasty fight, but they were also in the middle of a nasty fight. As if to remind them of that, she yelled, "Danny get down!" right as a streak of white and neon green flew over his ducked head.

"Thanks, Sam," he replied, turning to face the wolf as it wheeled around for a fourth attack. Just as it was pushing off the ground he whipped out the ghost containment device. Midair, the beast could do nothing to dodge the blue beam and was pulled in alongside the giant squid. That taken care of, he turned back to the girl before floating down the ground, landing a couple feet in front of her. "I… owe you an apology, Sam," he started, eyes diverted to the side as he replaced the Thermos on his waist and extended a hand towards the seated girl. "I'll have to give you a proper one later, but for right now I need your help. It's Shion." He paused for a moment, half-expecting the goth to come out with some 'I knew it,' or 'I told you so.' All that she did was accept the offered hand, the two of them flying back through a wall to the hallway. "She's Mirage," he stated a minute later as they landed at Sam's locker.

"So just ice her like you did last time," Sam suggested, releasing his hand once they landed.

Shaking his head, Danny stoically replied, "That won't work this time. I need some way to dispel her illusion before I capture her, otherwise it will just look like I'm attacking a student. I thought maybe you'd have something you thought might work, and if not you could run back to my place and find something while I keep her distracted."

"Well, luckily I happen to have something that might do the trick," she said nervously, spinning the dial on her locker. The metal door swinging open on its hinges, she cautiously pulled a somewhat half-moon shaped item from its interior.

"The Fenton Peeler," he enthusiastically cheered, recognizing the device instantly. It had saved their behinds a couple times before, and while the small group of renegade ghost hunters would always comment that 'it was still weird' none of them could deny its worth. But… "How did you get that?" Considering that his parents only ever made one of the device Danny had been unable to ferret one away. Every time it had to be used a member of his family had taken it, and replaced it right afterwards.

Still a little sheepish, Sam admitted, "I asked Jazz to help me. You weren't listening so I figured if I got proof then you would. She'd seemed really reluctant when I asked, but brought it to me this morning anyway. Something must have changed her mind."

"Well, I'm glad you did," the half-ghost remarked, again grabbing Sam's hand and levitating them off the ground. "That should be just what we need to expose Mirage. And then… then we'll have the talk we should have had days ago…"

Shion was leaning against a wall when they arrived, arms folded across her chest and gaze directed at the ceiling. "Took you long enough," she stated, voice indifferent. She let her head loll down so she was facing the two, brown eyes once again a glowing yellow. "I was starting to get bored. So what plan did you come up with?"

"This," Sam answered, pressing the button on the Fenton Peeler's handle with her thumb. The metal shell extended down her arm, around her torso, over her head, and down her legs. A clear face shield extended over the front of her helmet, small shoulder guards extended over the vulnerable joint, and heavy, metal boots encased the combat ones she was already wearing. All without so much as pinching a strand of hair in her ponytail. She had to admit, despite how crazy the Fentons were, the stuff they made was amazing how it worked. "It's still weird, though," she told herself offhandedly.

"And what is that supposed to do?" the oriental girl inquired, glancing up and down the strange armor that by all manner of physics did not seem possible to come out of that little handheld contraption.

A smirk on his face, Danny stated grandly, "That is the Fenton Peeler. It strips away ghost energy. That should include your illusions."

They were almost thinking it strange how no one had come upon them fighting in the hallways yet. If not for the fact they had been thankful for it at the time they surely would have noticed something was a little off about the whole thing, but as it was it wasn't until Mr. Lancer came around the corner flanked by two police officers that the two friends realized something had been amiss. Whatever conversation their bald teacher had been having was cut off immediately, the man instead opting to yell, "Sam Manson, what do you think you are doing?"

The goth looked from the girl she was pointing a Fenton(trademark) weapon at, to the three men standing awkwardly several feet away, and back to the girl. Before any of them could move to interfere in the situation, she pulled the trigger, a wide beam encasing the recent transfer student.

The space seemed to ripple around her for a moment, a look of shock crossing her delicate features before the air itself tore and landed in shreds at her feet. Where the short, shy girl had once stood a tall adult ghost now floated. Her long kimono barely brushed the ground, painted beautifully in flying birds with a koi fish pond around the lower hem. "The Portrait of a Lady," Mr. Lancer exclaimed, both hands clutching his head as he desperately tried to stop his feet from fleeing. The officers at his sides didn't do any better, not even managing to get any words out before turning to run.

"I guess it is time for my involvement now," the ghost of illusions sighed.

She conjured up a blinding flash, although the Fenton Peeler's armor managed to protect Sam's eyes. Danny was left momentarily blinded by the attack, and as the field disappeared they found that Mirage had vanished as well. Eyes already closed, the boy quickly scanned the area for their target. She wasn't too far away, and as he flew forward he yelled back, "This way!" Then he phased right through another wall.

Knowing very well what was on the other side, Sam hit the retract button on the Peeler and let the armor fold back up into the apparatus. "I think I'll take the door," she replied, unamused, to the empty air.

Right when he exited the wall Danny had to dodge an ecto-blast. It was easy enough to do, considering it was brightly illuminated in the layout in his mind, prompting him to send a blast of his own at the floating figure. "So pure ghost energy lights up," he muttered absently to himself. Of course, he hadn't expected the shot to actually hit her, so when she avoid it he wasn't surprised.

"Woah, which one is the real one?" a voice below him asked. It was Sam. Of course he had seen her coming, but with his vision normal vision still dotted with shiny sparkles he had yet to open his eyes.

"So there's more than one right now?" he asked, and while he couldn't see the expression on Sam's face well in the rendering he was sure she looked confused. Most likely more so when she angled her head up and noticed his eyes were closed. "I'm seeing through some sort of Spectral Vision right now," he explained quickly, "like my ghost energy is mapping out the world close to me. Similar to sonar, I guess, except through objects as well. I'm kinda surprised you just stood there while I explained. Would have been the perfect chance for a cheap shot." The last line was directed towards his opponent, the woman replying with a ghostly chuckle.

"To be entirely honest, I was curious as to how you'd seen through my illusions not once, but twice, so it was for my own satisfaction," she replied. "Now, though, it's time to end this."

He saw the energy forming in her palm, felt the heat of its power as it shot passed him, deduced the angle at which she would retreat while he was distracted. As she weaved around the branches of the oak he memorized the pattern he had already construed, he gathered a ball of ghost energy into his palm and opened his glowing blue eyes. A dozen Mirages dotted the sky, flying in every direction like a confusing dance. He just had to trust his instincts, and flying in the direction she would emerge from, he waited until the last second to launch his attack… And two forms flew from behind the tree. Having anticipated such a maneuver, he threw the blast at one form while a beam of blue shot from his eyes.

The first attack is the one that made contact, exploding on impact and sending the woman into the dirt. The multitude of illusions around them faded into mist, the half-ghost landing just a foot from her and holding a charged Fenton Thermos in her direction. "Not going to conjure up another Shion?" he asked.

"It takes time to construct an illusion like that," she replied simply, one hand over the still smoking scorch mark on her chest. Her expression was so… soft, caring almost… and something in Danny's heart clenched.

"What are you waiting for?" Sam asked irately, seeing the turmoil in her friend's green eyes.

"I just have one question for you," he started, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Why?" Absolute silence. She refused to reply.

Right as he pressed the button on the Thermos, as the blue beam was pulling her body in to join the two animal ghosts already crammed inside, she softly said, "I told you everything would be alright."

Jogging up beside him, Sam shoved the cap back on the Thermos as her friend just stared at the spot Mirage had landed, now empty aside from a small crater from impact. "Danny, what happened?" she asked, halfway between worried and angry.

"I don't get it," he sighed, turning to face her. "Both times I've fought Mirage she hasn't given me a reason why. And as Shion… she was so nice and caring. Even in this fight, I just keep getting the feeling she was trying to help me, even though we are enemies. It's hard to explain."

"Danny, she was a ghost," Sam berated, huffing in frustration.

Shaking his head to clear it, he slowly started, "You are right, Sam. And, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have been so hard on you, and I shouldn't have blown up at you when you came to talk to me. You were right about Shion, but I was too caught up in my own anger to hear a word you were saying. I should have listened." He wasn't sure if the goth girl would accept his words, but he wasn't sure of what else to say.

Things were silent again for a moment, and then Sam softly spoke, "…So should I. You and Tucker both tried to warn that Josh and Thomas were bad news, and I wouldn't hear it. And while I noticed that something wasn't entirely right I still got caught up in it, and then got hostilely defensive when you pointed it out. You were saying you shouldn't have blown up at me yesterday, but I shouldn't have blown up at you then. That's what started this whole thing. Would you… still be willing to be friends?"

Giving a relieved chuckle, Danny replied, "Of course." And, Thermos still clasped in one hand, the two shared a warm hug.

They had just released each other when a sour voice rang through the schoolyard. "Sam Manson," Mr. Lancer called, albeit looking a little exhausted. He was once again flanked by two police officers. "These gentlemen would like to have a short word with you."

She was just about to snap back a retort, rebellious nature bubbling to the surface, but she quickly bit it back. Glancing back at her best friend, she gave him a short nod and, with a small smile on her face, said, "Alright."

She had just taken a step when a scream broke through the area. A large snake, the third member of their trio screaming in its white and green painted coils, soared right between the goth and the officers, five sets of eyes following the somewhat comical scene. Green met violet for a second, the latter giving a soft affirmative, before the white-haired male nervously chuckled and said, "I'd best go save him." And taking a second longer to watch his disappear, Sam turned back to the officers and made that next step.

Catching his friend, this time when he was a lot farther from the ground than five feet, he decided to make a quick stop at his house to deposit the four ghost he'd caught just during lunch before returning to school. "Well, I'm glad that's over," Tucker sighed as the Portal ding!ed, signifying the attached device had been emptied.

"Tell me about it," Danny agreed, giving him a ghostly chuckle. "I still can't believe I didn't notice Shion was a ghost. Looking back on it, my ghost sense even went off right before she showed up. Every time. I was just so distracted by the fight with Sam to even notice it, and when I did I attributed it to something else."

"Hey, she had us all fooled," the technogeek started, pausing for a moment before adding, "Except Sam, but she's weird like that." They were just about to fly back up through the ceiling when he noticed something, taking two steps forward to get a better look. "That device is gone," he commented, pointing to the spot the weird pronged contraption had been just a few days before.

"My parents must have put it back into storage," Danny reasoned. "Guess they couldn't get the bugs worked out of it this time either." Then he grabbed his friend's arm and they were flying again.


The three friends lounged around the park. Or more accurately, two of them were lounging. Sam was sporting a bright orange vest and a PikStick, stabbing discarded wrappers and empty Nasty Burger drink cups and sliding them off with a foot into the large plastic bag she was lugging around. "I was let off pretty lightly," she was saying to the other two. "Since they found all the cash on Josh and Thomas's person they were willing to drop the burglary charge."

"And with you pleading guilty to breaking and entering that reduced your sentence as well," Tucker provided, munching down on the burger he had brought with him.

"Add to that that I'm still a minor and Bob even told the judge that so long as I was willing to reflect on what I'd done that he had no problem with a light sentence," Sam added, looking up from her work for a second to look at her friends. "You'd better toss that in the trash," she remarked offhandedly, pointing to the Nasty Burger bag fluttering slightly on the picnic table in the slight breeze. "So in the end I was given a hundred hours of community service."

"I see you're hanging out with your criminal girlfriend," came an all too familiar voice, accompanied by an obnoxious laugh. Made sense that Dash would show up to make fun of them.

"Orange is so flattering on you, really highlights the trash," Paulina added, one arm linked with the football player's.

Getting up from his seat, Danny placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Ignore them," he said, bypassing their normal 'not my girlfriend' routine as the pair continued by. "I'm proud of you. Not many people would have admitted it. I sure know Dash wouldn't if he knew he would get in trouble for it."

"Yeah," she agreed, returning to her task before the closeness between them could bring a hint of color to her cheeks. "I just wish I could use my time hunting ghosts as community service. I would have this knocked out in a week."

"Hey, if I can't use my ghost hunting as an extracurricular then neither can you," the half-ghost teased, a wide grin on his face. And all three of them shared a good laugh.


For those of you who don't know, ano and eto are basically the Japanese equivalents of um and uh. From what I've seen, ano tends to be more of a nervous interjection, while eto has a more questioning connotation to it. Since Shion is supposed to be from Japan it made more sense to me to have her use the interjection words she was used to since their usage is often unconscious. Also, Japanese refer to people by last name, and really only close friends/family/partners use their first name. This is the reason Mirage asks to be called Shion, when she introduces herself. Do note they also introduce themselves last name first, but since she is speaking English and such she obviously used first name first.

As always, reviews are luffed and appreciated.