Documnet upload trouble forced me to write this over an old document. I hope this doesn't cause problems. Anyway, review replies!

Strawberry Jelly: Thanks for reading! Peace to you too!

unknown20troper: Glad you like dark - there'll probably be more coming... Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

OddAuthor: Thank's a bunch, and uh-oh indeed! :D

Chapter 10: Cats Out of the Bag

Timmy Turner and Dani.
Day Two – 11:35 US West Coast Time.
Dimmsdale, California.

"Well, Turner, here we are," grinned Crocker, "Me, you and…who are you?"

"Dani," replied Dani.

"Yes," nodded Crocker, "Thank you for finding my fairy finder, I've been looking for that for weeks but now…"

Crocker put on a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm…I don't need you, nor can I kill you in mother's house, so I'll just settle for taking my tracker back and extracting information from you."

"What information?" demanded Timmy.

"The words in the sky when the school exploded, Turner…your time is up," snarled Crocker, "What do they mean?"

"Uh…school's out?" guessed Timmy.

"Are you willing to say that in front of the Fairy Grinder?" demanded Crocker.

"Fairy Grinder? What the heck is the…"

Timmy shut up quickly as Crocker produced what appeared to be a helmet/blender combo from a closet.

"Is that legal?" whimpered Timmy.

"Only in New Mexico," grinned Crocker, an evil expression on his face, "So tell me…what does it…"

Crocker gasped suddenly, his eyes clasping shut. When he opened them again, his eye colour had turned green.

"Uh…is that a side affect?" asked Timmy.

Crocker grinned.

Then he began punching himself.

As he did so, a voice that was distinctly not Crocker's came from his mouth, repeatedly stating "stop hitting yourself." In fact, it was Dani's voice.

Timmy's jaw dropped as Dani literally walked out of Crocker, having finished punching him with his own body. Crocker immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.

Dani was grinning – but she stopped grinning when she saw Timmy looking at her.

"I forgot to turn invisible, didn't I?" she asked no-one in particular.

M.E.R.F. Information Roundup, Dimmsdale.
Day Two – 12:05-15:23 US West Coast Time.
Dimmsdale, California.

Danny and Vicky had yet to find Timmy, and Vicky had continuously asked why 'the twerp' was needed specifically. The Director, therefore, decided on an information roundup – the capture of all those close to Timmy Turner. His parents were exempted…for now.

AJ had been expected to be a goldmine of information, but he had refused to talk – his loyalty impressing even the Director. As a result, eight agents were deployed in four pairs – Saunders and McDonald, Brown and Pearson, Patrick and Warburton, Smith and Anderson.

Agents Patrick and Warburton, perhaps the least intelligent but most persistent of M.E.R.F.'s agents, went first, to capture Chester McBadbat. They pursued the boy across the entire Happy Trails Park and about half a mile down the railway line, but managed to bag him when his escape was cut off by the 12:30 freight.

Brown and Pearson converged on the rich district of Dimmsdale, grabbing four of Timmy's classmates – Trixie Tang, Veronica Star, Tad Strong and Chad Grey. This was done with little trouble, as only Richard Tang resisted heavy bribes in exchange for the kids – he failed to stop M.E.R.F.

Saunders and McDonald fell on the sister of Vicky, Tootie (naturally, neither Danny nor Vicky had been informed, just in case). They were in and out in four minutes, with Saunders being attacked with a fake wand in the process. He never underestimated vaguely sharp plastic again.

Smith and Anderson were the last to return, grabbing Francis Abrahams, Elmer Boyle and Sanjay Bradley, which went like clockwork. As Francis lived out in the sticks, it took them a long time to drag him back.

Now, the Director said, it was time to wait. Anti-Cosmo, he claimed, would have noticed that their focus had turned to Timmy, and his response was sure to follow…

Timmy Turner and Dani Phantom.
Day Two – 15:23 US West Coast Time.
Dimmsdale, California.

Mr. Bickles, the drama teacher at Dimmsdale Elementary, had had another lifelong dream. Bickles' Parlour, an ice-cream parlour a few blocks away from Timmy's house, had been the result.

No-one came here much. Bickles could be heard sobbing that his dreams were ruined in the back, if you listened hard enough.

"…so what you're saying is," repeated Timmy, "That you're a clone of Danny Phantom, and you were created by that guy who owns Microsoft who is actually a ultra-powerful ghost super villain, and that he nearly killed you except a rocket landed on his head."

"Kinda blunt, but yeah," nodded Dani.

"Well, it says a lot about my life that I believe you," deadpanned Timmy.

"Yeah, what's up with the fairy tracker stuff?" asked Dani, "Why did you need one?"

Timmy looked at the tracker in his pocket and sighed.

"Look, I wish I could tell you everything, but I can't," he replied, "Let's just say that fairies are real and that I really need to find…one…because his home got blown up and he got taken away from…someone I know."

Timmy was immensely relieved to find his vague sentence did not summon Jorgen to wipe his memory in an explosive fashion.

"His home got blown up?" repeated Dani, "How?"

"Well, there's this place…I can't tell you what it is, but pretty much all fairies live there…and it got destroyed," replied Timmy.

Panic struck him as a thought struck him.

"Wand…err…someone I know…was there when it…oh no…"

"What's wrong?" asked Dani, concerned.

Timmy didn't answer. He was so lost in this panicked thought that he failed to realise that he'd begun to cry.