I descended the staircase into the basement.
When I stepped off the last stair, I looked up and saw Sam staring at the empty wall where the Fenton Portal used to be.
Her arms were crossed and her head was cocked to one side.
"I was wondering when you were going to come down here." I said.
She whirled around like I'd startled her.
I watched her breathe a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that."
I grinned. "How should I scare you?"
She tried to glare at me but cracked up.
I snickered and walked over to her. "I barely remember when I said that."
"I remember it. Some of those days are etched into my brain." She said as I pulled her into my arms.
"Yeah? Like which ones?" I asked.
She shrugged. "What did your parents want?"
"Nothing. Just asking how I was enjoying the party." I lied.
I hated lying to Sam but I really didn't want to drag her into the mess of dealing with the Guys in White.
As it was, I was going to have to convince Jazz not to tell Tucker.
Sam was giving me a look.
"What?" I asked.
"Are you going to tell me the truth now?" She asked.
I sighed. "It's just…some ghost stuff. It's no big deal."
"Did you tell them about what Skulker said?" She said.
I shook my head. "No, it's some stuff to do with the Guys in White."
Her eyebrows drew down. "What's going on?"
I shrugged. "It's nothing you need to worry about yet."
Sam pulled away from me and crossed her arms. "I want to know."
I sighed. "All right, fine. The guys in white do standard monthly ghost screenings on the remaining inhabitants of the town."
Her eyebrows drew down again. "They're looking for you aren't they?"
"Not exactly, but if they found me-or at least, the Phantom part of me-I'd pretty much be dead. Literally." I said.
So much for not scaring her.
Her eyes were bulged. "What?"
I shrugged. "I'm gonna handle it, Sam."
"How?" She asked.
"I've got it figured out, ok? I'm going to tweak an old picture of myself at middle school age and take one of Jazz's x-rays from this year and combine the two." I said.
"Are you sure that will fool the guys in white?" She asked.
"Yeah. Don't you remember them from when we were in high school? They were about as competent as a brick wall. And that's being kind." I said.
She gave me a small smile. "Yes. But that was five years ago. They're probably not the same government agents that they were back then."
"I know. But neither am I, Sam. I'm positive that this will work ok?" I asked, putting my hands on either side of her face.
She gave a small sigh. "You sure?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Trust me, ok?"
"Ok. I trust you." She said, leaning back into my arms.
I pulled her against my chest and kissed the top of her head.
"We should go back upstairs." I said.
"Do we have to?" She asked.
I laughed. "I think so."
"All right." She linked her arm through mine and we went back up the steps.
When we got back to the party, I saw Vlad leaning against the wall close to the punch bowl.
He had a cup of punch in his hand and was smirking at me as he drank it.
I squeezed Sam's hand, my eyes on Vlad instead of her. "You want some punch?"
She looked over to where the punch bowl was a made a noise.
"I don't think that's a good idea." She whispered.
"I'll be right back." I said, my eyes still on Vlad.
"Danny…" She called but I slid my hand out from hers and walked over to the punch bowl.
"Brave move coming back home, Daniel." Vlad said as I stopped in front of the table.
I picked up a plastic cup, my eyes never leaving his, and filled it with punch.
"What are you doing here, Plasimus?" I hissed.
He chuckled. "Same as you. Catching up with old friends."
I gave a growl. "Don't play head games with me. Why are you here?"
"Because I'm secretly plotting how to bring your father down and humiliate him in the process and I'm trying to come up with a way to date your mother." He stood up off the wall and dumped his punch cup into the trashcan next to him.
"Is that what you want to hear?" His arms were crossed now.
"Is that why you're here?" I asked, putting the cup down on the table.
"No. Please, boy. Been there, done that." He smirked. "Besides, your father already has already been humiliated. All by himself."
I clenched my fists, feeling the burning sensation that comes with an energy blast.
Taking a few deep breaths seemed to help a little bit, but it didn't cure it completely. I could still feel the anger inside of me.
"Yes. Calm down, Daniel. Wouldn't want your energy beams going off in the middle of this party, now would we?" He grinned.
I gritted my teeth.
"You have heard about all the ghost attacks, I assume?" He asked.
I took another deep breath as I steeled myself for whatever he was about to say.
"Because if your powers were to suddenly mess up, you wouldn't have the Ghost Zone to disappear into." He was still grinning.
I calmly let out a breath.
"Listen very carefully, Plasimus." I started.
He raised one eyebrow and his grin faltered.
"I'm not the same boy that ran away five years ago." I said. "I'm faster, stronger and I could rip you apart with my bare hands."
His eyebrows drew down as his grin disappeared completely. "Is that so?"
I gave one nod. "Yes. And if you're smart, you're not going to get on my nerves. And if you're really smart, you'll leave me alone entirely."
I grabbed the punch cup off the table and walked back over to Sam.
He was staring at me as I walked away, and I could tell that he was warring with attacking me or not.
Whatever he decided, I was ready.