Hello, everyone! So, quick summary and onward!

Seven years have passed. The Human World and Ghost World are at war, and so far, the ghosts seem to be winning since the Ghost King has managed to overtake 75% of the human world. However, thanks to the Fentons and the invention of the Ecto-radium Ghost Shields, the Ghosts have been halted from their complete takeover, and both sides are now at a stand still.

Sam and Tucker, along with another group of teenagers have joined the Fentons as ghost hunters in hopes of protecting their city from being enslaved like many other places in the world. They are working as a secret rebel group since the ones who really call the shots are the government's Guys-in-White.

Still, because it is beneficial to him, Tom allows the Fentons to do their own thing for now. Gregor is still his weapon; but Gregor has grown up in many ways. He also has quite the many fans now that he's Freakshow's main attraction. But one thing that hasn't change is Gregor and Valerie's friendship. But now, Valerie is his partner in the ghost hunting business and working for Tom.

After a sudden attack by Nocturne and his Sleepwalkers, the Fenton group and the GiW were forced into a late night fight. Still, even with that unexpected turn, the Fenton gang managed to get the Ecto-converter hooked up to the city's ghost shield mainframe. Now, they can only hope the converter can absorb the energy released by the temporay portals and fuel the city's ghost shield permanently to keep out the ghost race…

...

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Ombre/Libro belongs to Truphan, who has been so dear to let me borrow him! And Vlad muse owns this AU plot. Geez. Don't I get anything out of this?

Vlad muse: How about a cookie?

Pearl: Eh. Better than nothing! *takes cookie*


Chapter 47: A Prince at the Core


In his large form, Cujo looked around his surroundings while sniffing at the air for a specific scent.

All the while, the ghost dog ignored the various ghost children chatting nearby or simply hovering and playing close to the largest building on Pandora's island. Cujo was hidden enough by the structures around him to continue his quest undisturbed.

Suddenly, the scent that he sought was there… But he couldn't pinpoint it. It kept moving around.

"Boo!"

Cujo yelped but whirled around towards the sudden voice that had whispered in his left ear.

The Ghost Prince materialized in front of him and chuckled at his companion's surprised look.

The nearly fifteen-year-old was a sight to behold. Bright pupil-less green eyes contrasted greatly against pure white hair, which had grown long enough to be tied back, much like the Ghost King's own. However, the boy's bangs were as unruly as ever and they kissed his white eyebrows and soft cheek bones. His smile glowed as brightly as the hue around his ghostly body. Developing muscles were in plain sight since the Prince wore nothing but loose black pants, white boots, and a silvery belt with a single green gem at the center of it. Silver arm bracelets adorned his upper arms, and his royal symbol was hidden under the only thing adorning his chest:

His mother's gem necklace.

The clear crystal was anything but dull as it glowed with the Prince's green energy that emitted from the core it rested on; but there was also a subdued pink hue barely visible around the chain's gem, which gave witness to its original wearer…

"Guess that nose of yours isn't as great as you think, Cujo," Danny said with a teasing grin.

Cujo softly growled in annoyance before his head lowered in a predatory manner and he began to advance on the Prince.

And seeing his intention, Danny's smile fell and he raised his hands up as he said, "Cujo, no. Down. Don't even—"

With a bark, Cujo pounced on the Prince; but at the last second, he turned into his small form. Still, the force was enough to send the teenager on his back with the puppy on top.

"Aw, gross! Stop, Cujo!" Danny protested as the ghost dog licked at his face repeatedly. "Okay! I'm sorry for insulting your perfect nose! Geez!"

Satisfied with the apology, Cujo climbed off the Prince and barked happily at him.

Danny sat up and lightly scowled at the puppy. But before he could say anything, someone else said, "Prince Phantom… I would think royalty such as you would carry more… gracefulness about him…?"

The Prince looked up and instantly smiled when he saw his instructor, Pandora, standing in front of him with a hand on her hip and a small amused smile on her face.

"You mean it's not prince-like to roll around on the ground?" he quipped back with a cocky grin.

The female ghost chuckled. "Perhaps just by your terms."

Danny finally got off the ground; and as he dusted himself off, he added jokingly, "Well, last time I checked, I was the only Prince around here; so then, 'my terms' are all I have to go by. Besides, what kind of Prince would I be if I didn't get down and dirty every now and then?"

"One with quite the witty banter, I would say…" she answered warmly.

Danny just grinned back.

Lowering her hand from her hip, she approached the teenager and placed a hand on his shoulder as she said in a calm and pleased voice, "I know I have dismissed the school session for today, but I could not let you leave without congratulating you on your last exam, Prince Phantom. It is quite commendable to see that in spite all your other responsibilities, you still show dedication and accomplishment in your studies. I will be sure to inform your father of your success when I see him. I am certain he will be as proud as I am."

But for some reason, Danny's smile fell slightly in spite of his teacher's praise. Still, he nodded and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Pandora."

"On another note… Try not to turn in your next assignment full of…" She glanced at Cujo. "—drool."

Danny had to hold back a grin as he answered, "Sorry about that… But Cujo doesn't seem to understand that my homework isn't food. I had to stick my hand down his throat to get it back this last time… Thought I had lost it, actually..."

The teacher's face puckered as she was unable to completely hide how repulsed she was at the mental picture the boy had put in her mind. But she quickly cleared her throat, and answered, "Yes, well. I still expect a better presentation next time."

Danny nodded and smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

Pandora nodded back. "I also came to inform you that Wulf sent word to me to apprise you of how he will be arriving a few minutes late. He asked me to tell you to wait for him here."

Danny blinked, but then nodded. "I see…"

"Well, Prince Phantom, I will leave you now. See you tomorrow."

As his teacher floated off, Danny bit his lip in thought as he looked after her. "So… Wulf's going to be late…"

Suddenly, the teenager smiled before he looked down at his belt and unclipped the small green-jewel on it. He then placed it on his right palm and encased it in blue energy. A second later, the jewel transformed into a black bag which would have fallen on the ground if the ghost boy had not curled his hand around its single strap.

The Prince quickly searched the bag, and then pulled out what seemed to be a black hooded cloak, but it was actually only black on the outside and pure white on the inside. However, the ghost boy just draped it on his arm and continued to look through the bag.

"Here it is!" he announced as he pulled out a rectangular box.

With a smile, he opened the box and pulled out the glowing golden feather that had been within.

It was the very same feather Anĝela had once given him as a gift when he had been very young. His father had kept it safe for him for many years until his fourteenth birthday.

The King now believed his son old enough to use it as he wished. And ever since Danny acquired it, he knew exactly what he wanted it for…

Satisfied that he had brought it along, the Ghost Prince closed the box again and put it back in his bag. Then, in a flash of blue light, his bag transformed back into the green jewel, and he clipped it back on his belt.

"Come on, Cujo. We're going on a little trip…" Danny said as he put it on his cloak with the black color on the outside. He clipped its single silver button at his neck and his black pants suddenly turned white to blend in with the inner white color of the cloak.

He then covered his tied-back white hair with the hood. Still, his unruly bangs refused to be covered completely and a few strands escaped being concealed by the hood.

Cujo instantly whined in response at the Prince's comment.

But Danny waved a hand in disregard as he said, "Yes, I know we're supposed to wait for Wulf… But Wulf won't let us go to where we're going. And I've been trying to find a chance to make this trip for a month now. Don't worry. If we get caught, I'll take the full blame."

Cujo growled softly but seemed to reluctantly agree.

Danny glanced around his surroundings to make sure no one was looking before he turned invisible and flew off and away from Pandora's island—and his school.

Cujo whined, but also turned invisible and flew after his companion.

As the Prince picked up speed, his legs transformed into a misty tail which stretched pass his cloak the faster he went.

He traveled by multiple floating doors and spinning Novas. But he didn't pay much attention to them. After so many years, he was just so used to them being part of his home. And yet, the Prince's pupil-less green eyes were focused and alert. And his developing muscles were just slightly tense.

It was quite the flight; at least two hours traveling at his full speed of two-hundred miles per hour.

Luckily, he knew a shortcut, which cut the trip in half. As Danny landed on a small shelf with a single cave, his legs reformed. But as he walked closer to the cave, he placed his hand against his glowing symbol and a brief expression of discomfort came over his features.

Cujo instantly whined.

Danny only glanced at him and replied, "I'm fine, Cujo. Come on…"

Lowering his hand, Danny walked into the cave until he reached the end of it. But although it seemed like a dead-end, the teen knew better.

Without hesitation, he and Cujo walked through the cave wall and ended up on the other side of what was a hidden door to the Realm Beyond Time.

Danny then took off again through the new area. And ten minutes later, he landed in front of a grand Clock Tower.

Sighing in relief at finally coming to the end of his long trip, Danny pushed off his hood before also pushing back his cloak, making it now seem like a white-and-black cape.

As he headed in, Cujo followed after him with a wagging tail.

"Clockwork?" Danny called as he briefly glanced around the large abode.

The Prince paused as he came into a large room with a viewing orb swirling with blue energy. The teenager moved over to it and brushed his fingertips along the large orb's surface. He smiled as he watched the swirling blue energy ripple like water with his touch.

"Danny…"

The Ghost Prince spun around; and finding his guardian floating in front of him, he grinned in excitement.

"Clockwork!"

Danny flew over to his guardian and wrapped his arms around him.

A small smile ghosted the older ghost's lips as he lightly hugged him back. But he soon pulled away and frowned down at the fourteen-year-old.

"Danny, you shouldn't be here."

But Danny's smile did not falter as he retorted with amusement, "You realize you tell me that every time I come here, right?"

"Because you seem to forget it," Clockwork answered calmly.

But the boy smirked. "Well, maybe I purposely forget it…"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "But you should not, Danny. Your father has forbidden me from being anywhere near you—and I know he has also forbidden you from coming here."

Danny's smile fell this time and he answered seriously, "My father isn't here."

"But if he was and he finds out you still keep contact with me… You know what would happen," Clockwork did not hesitate to reply; and though his words were heavy in warning, the time ghost's voice was as calm as ever.

Danny stared soberly at his guardian before he moved away to a nearby book shelf. The teen looked silently through the books for a moment; but then he causally voiced, "My father would never hurt you, Clockwork."

And yet, Clockwork heard the underlying uncertainty in the Prince's voice.

"And…" Danny suddenly glanced back and smirked at his guardian as he added, "I haven't been caught yet."

Cujo quickly barked his agreement.

The Time Master couldn't help but smile in amusement at his daring young protégé.

"Well, then… what brings you here this time?" Clockwork asked in his usual tone of voice as he turned his gaze to his staff and began to wind the clock piece on its top.

If anything good had come out of the King's banishment of the Observants from the Kingdom, it was that the Observants had soon after decided to revoke their decision to remove Clockwork's title as the Master of Time and furthermore had returned his staff to him.

The Observants had said something about being willing to 'forgive the Time Master and give him a second chance…' But Clockwork knew they had just been scared to live unprotected by the Kingdom and without the time ghost's visions of the future.

So, Clockwork had accepted their 'pardon' and once again worked with them—when he left like it, anyways.

"You mean besides coming to visit you?" Danny asked with a smile. "Believe it or not, I want to borrow a book from you…."

"A book…?" Clockwork asked, feigning ignorance.

The Prince nodded before he turned back to the Time Master's bookshelf and quickly pulled out the book he wanted. He then placed a hand on the book's cover and it shuddered to life.

Danny turned and showed the book to his guardian as he said with a grin, "This one."

Clockwork rolled his eyes. "No, Danny… You cannot borrow Ombre."

At the mention of its name, the ghost book opened in Danny's hands and its pages filled with words.

"Tell Clockwork I am giving you my permission to 'borrow' me."

Danny's grin widened and he quickly told Clockwork, "Libro says he's giving me permission."

Knowing 'Libro' was Danny's nickname for the ghost book, Clockwork almost rolled his eyes again. But instead, he asked, "And why do you need Libro, Danny?"

Danny quickly let go of the book, which floated on its own, and instead grabbed the jewel from his belt. He then transformed the gem back into his bag, and finally pulled out the box that held Anĝela's feather.

When he showed Clockwork the feather, he explained, "You know Anĝela's feathers have always had healing abilities; but it's not strong enough to serve my purpose, Clockwork. But I've done some research and discovered that it is possible to combine two power sources to enhance their individual abilities… Much like my mother used her own powers alongside the Infi-Map to increase the map's ability to control the permanent portals; or how my father now uses the Crown and Ring to do the same. If anyone can help me find a power source compatible with Anĝela's feather to enhance its healing ability, it's Libro."

"And why do you want to enhance the feather's healing properties?" Clockwork asked calmly.

Danny lowered his gaze to the feather and lightly touched it before muttering, "You know why, Clockwork…"

The Master of Time observed his protégé with an unreadable expression. But then, he suddenly turned away from the teenager and went over to his orb.

Of course Clockwork knew why the Prince needed to increase the feather's healing powers. Even with all the years that had gone by, it had not been enough to erase the lasting effects Thomas Chrome had caused on the Prince's core. The Skeleton Dagger and Key's poison might have not killed the young hybrid as it had been intended to, but his core never fully recovered from the damage the deadly black liquid had dealt it.

The Prince's core still had its regenerative ability; but it was unable to regenerate the hybrid's energy or absorb ambient energy as quickly as it should. As a result, when the teenager used large amounts of energy or used energy too quickly for his core to keep up, the consequences were a serious handicap to the Prince.

It had been quite the problem when Danny had been younger because he had yet to understand his core's limitations. Back then it was a regular occurrence for the Prince to experience fatigue and weakness, chest pain, and even fainting spells.

As he got older, the Ghost Prince had learned to adapt and train himself to know his core's limitations to avoid suffering from the negative effects of losing too much energy.

Clockwork had watched over the child through all these years, even if most of his observing had been done through his orb. But it was why he knew all the effort Danny had put into getting better—and to keep his damaged core from ruling his life. The boy's father had also done everything possible to help the younger hybrid. It was why Plasmius had encouraged his son to train regularly with Frostbite, who was an expert at dealing with cold cores and at energy control.

Still, Danny had never fully accepted living with his core's limitation. And as a result, he had spent the past year trying to find a way to heal his core using the gift Anĝela had given him so long ago….

"Please, Clockwork. I'll take good care of him," Danny said pleadingly. "In fact, I will return him in a few days tops! I just really need him to help me find a solution to my problem! You know how important this is to me."

Yes, Clockwork knew all too well how desperately his protégé wanted to be 'normal', and it saddened the time ghost to know he couldn't help the child in a more direct way… He supposed letting him borrow Ombre was the least he could do; but Danny still didn't seem to understand that his damaged core was the least of his problems.

Unfortunately, the Prince's damaged core was not the only consequence that had come as a result of the child's traumatic encounter with the Guys-in-Whites' leader…

But instead of giving the young hybrid an answer, Clockwork focused on another more important matter at the moment.

"How's your father, Danny?" he suddenly asked.

Danny instantly shut the box close more forcibly than necessary as he took his guardian's change of topic as a 'no'; but also the question in specific bothered him greatly.

"I'm sure you'd know better than I," the teen answered bitterly. "I haven't seen him in almost six months now…."

"He hasn't even sent you word with Skulker?"

Danny's face tense even more; but he didn't reply and just put the box with the feather back in his bag before he turned it back into the green jewel. As he clipped the gem back on his belt, he finally answered coolly, "Skulker hasn't heard from him in more than two months…"

"Danny…," Clockwork began, only to be cut off.

"And I get it," the teen said, looking back at the older ghost. "I know he's busy, and I know it's not easy pretending to be human and keeping contact with the Ghost World… We are in the middle of a war! I'm aware. But… he could at least try, you know? He wasn't even here for his birthday! I mean, doesn't he—?"

But Danny suddenly stopped at realizing he was letting his emotions slip from his control. He realized he was very upset with Clockwork's apparent refusal to let him borrow Libro; and being forced to think of his missing father only made him feel worse.

The Prince sighed, and looking away, he asked quietly, "Can we just not talk about my father?"

"Alright…" Clockwork replied, though he stared with sympathy at the clearly saddened Prince. "How about your own birthday? It's in a week's time, is it not? You will be turning fifteen. Just one year shy of being able to become part of the Royal High Council…"

Danny nodded; but his voice sounded even more dejected as he replied, "Yes… Perhaps then I can be of some use…"

"You are of much use already," Clockwork answered with an encouraging smile.

But Danny just shook his head.

"Danny, you do not need to be on the front lines to be 'of use' to the world and your loved ones," Clockwork said seriously. "You know, your mother rarely involved herself in your father's… escapades into the Human World. She didn't even like all the politics involved in running the Kingdom. She only dealt with it when she had to—when your father was unable to… What I am trying to say is that her true passion was with helping others. She always made sure the Kingdom's inhabitants were happy and that this world was safe and healthy for all of us to enjoy… She held very important responsibilities… the very ones you carry now. You are much like your mother… and your biggest similarity to her is your kind core, Danny. So, how can you believe you are of no use to the Kingdom?"

Danny sighed again. "My mother… I would be happy to be half of who she was. And it is why I wanted to continue to do what she did; but… I feel it is not enough, Clockwork. I'm the Ghost Prince. It is my duty to… protect our world and the Kingdom. But… I cannot. Sometimes I wonder if I am 'Prince' by title and nothing more."

"Believe me, Danny, you are a true Prince. It's in your core—in your very soul," Clockwork assured him.

Danny placed a hand against his symbol. "My core…" he whispered in dismay.

"You will have to learn, my protégé, that true strength and power is not measured by the efficiency of your core…" Clockwork answered. "But then again, there is a lot you must still learn…And only until you do will you understand who you really are."

Danny's eyebrows creased as he stared at his guardian. But then he smiled weakly and said, "You and your cryptic words of wisdom…"

Clockwork smirked this time. "You best go now. Wulf is looking for you. And… take Ombre with you. Consider him my birthday gift to you."

Danny's face lit up again; and with a grin, he tackled the time ghost in a hug, "Thanks, Clockwork!"

"Just don't get me in trouble with your father. Don't let him find Ombre," Clockwork warned firmly.

Danny let go and nodded. "I won't. Don't worry."

Grabbing the floating book, the Prince closed it before he put on his hood again and covered himself with his cloak.

"I'll come back soon to visit you," he assured the older ghost with a smile.

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "Just not too soon…"

Danny chuckled before he said his goodbye and flew out of the time keeper's abode.

As he made the long flight back, the Prince opened the book in hands and asked, "Libro, do you know of any relics or stones with healing abilities?"

"Yes. There are a few… But many have not been seen for decades…" the book answered.

"Could you show me or tell me what you know about them?" Danny asked, hopeful.

"Oh course, Ghost Prince…."

Danny's eyes widened slightly as he saw Libro's pages fill with vast information on ghostly relics.

"Wow… I'd say this is more than a few, Libro…," Danny commented, still in awe.

The book shuddered in amusement.

Danny continued on, splitting his attention between his surroundings and reading up on the provided information in hopes of finding something that could serve his purpose…

"Gem of Life? Gem of Form? Gem of Fantasy…?" the Prince muttered as his eyebrows creased inward. "Those are the Reality Gems…. I thought they were just myths…"

"They have not been seen for over fifty years… But it is said that the Gem of Life has not only healing properties, but life-giving properties…"

"Sounds promising; but if it hasn't been seen in such a long time…," Danny sighed. "It's just another dead end."

He continued to scan through the book until something caught his interest…

"Wait… Life Energy? As in what every ghost has within their cores that keeps us alive and allows us to procreate?" Danny asked.

"Yes… Life Energy is probably the most powerful force known to the Ghost World. It gives life; so of course it has the power to heal…"

Danny placed a hand on his symbol. He supposed it made sense. Ghosts were quick healers for the most part. He just didn't know it was thanks to their Life Energy.

"But how can it be used to enhance another healing item's power? And wouldn't that be dangerous?" he questioned with a frown.

"It would be quite dangerous… As you know, a ghost can only spare half its Life Energy… As a result, only a ghost with its Life Energy intact could use it to enhance the healing ability of a stone or relic with similar power. It is not a certainty that trying such a thing will work—and failure could mean death."

Danny fell quiet as he thought about that more than he probably should have. But even if he wanted to try such a thing, he had long since learned that he only had half his Life Energy. According to his father, the damage done to his core had also resulted in his losing half his Life Energy.

When his father had revealed this to him two years back, Danny had only thought of one thing:

He would never be able to procreate.

Of course, forming children was not on his 'to-do list' any time soon. But… just knowing that he had lost half his Life Energy and what it meant was still hard to bear—and his father had asked him to keep quiet about this, too.

Danny knew why that was. After all, what will the Kingdom think when they learned their future King could not form his own heir someday?

Still, Danny had never completely understood why he lost half his Life Energy because of his core's being damaged, and his father never fully explained it to him…

But then again, there were a lot of things his father wouldn't explain to him…

Danny frowned at the thought of his father; but he quickly shook his head to banish the thought. But just as he was going to turn back to the book, Cujo suddenly growled and halted in mid-flight.

All at once, the Ghost Prince tensed, halted his own flight, and turned invisible. He then looked around his vast and empty surroundings as he tried to pinpoint the danger Cujo was picking up with his nose. They were still several miles away from a major landmark, which was the prison. All he saw around him was a few ghost doors; but they were sparse.

What made up most of his surroundings were Energy Novas. Danny was in the middle of what his kind called 'a field', which was just an open area where Energy Novas were created by the energy-rich atmosphere. As a result, these fields had so many Novas that many of them overlapped each other until eventually they would drift away to other parts of the Ghost World.

"Sorry, Libro," Danny whispered as he closed the book and touched it to the jewel on his belt. In an instant, the book was pulled within the jewel.

Danny flew over with Cujo to the nearest Nova; and though he regained visibility, the teen and the dog's glowing bodies were camouflaged by the Nova's own brightness.

The teen ignored the overwhelming feeling that came from being so close to the energy the Novas gave off, and continued to scan his surroundings for anything amiss. His companion was still growling softy, which meant the ghost dog still smelled something unknown.

But the Ghost Prince soon heard rather than saw what the problem was….

Narrowing his green eyes, Danny turned his gaze towards the soft humming as it grew louder. But Danny was stunned when he finally saw what was making the odd sound...

Coming out from within one of the Novas was a medium-sized human aircraft. It was some sort of green and white metallic ship.

A wave of dread washed over Danny as he found himself near humans for the first time since his time in the Human World all those years back. But as quickly as the fear came, it was swallowed by something fiercer.

The Ghost Prince quietly sneered with hate and his fangs drew out and showed for a second.

"Hunters," he muttered angrily. "You'd think they would figure out by now that their attempts to invade the Ghost World are in vain… Still, where did they come from? Humans usually attack at night when the temporary portals open… So, how did these hunters get in? The permanent portals are well guarded…"

But as he watched the ship flying towards another Nova, Danny realized these humans were not here to attempt an attack… They were taking samples of the Novas…

"I don't care how they got here. They're still not getting away with invading my home," Danny said with determination before he turned invisible again and darted towards the ship.

Cujo jolted in alarm and quickly followed after his companion. He quickly gripped the teen's invisible cloak and quietly whined.

"No, Cujo," Danny whispered as he briefly paused to get the dog to let go of his cloak. "We can't just stand here and do nothing! And by the time we go find help, they will be long gone—or worse, get the chance to hurt or try to capture someone! I have to do something! Just... stay here."

And before Cujo could protest, Danny teleported away from him. Just as the ship was about to disappear within another Nova, the Ghost Prince appeared in front of the ship, forcing it to a halt.

Danny's eyes quickly narrowed into dark and threatening green slits since the clear dome did nothing to hide the human male and female inside.

In turn, the two hunters gasped with the Prince's sudden appearance. But chances were that the hunters did not even know they had just been discovered by the Ghost Prince. After all, only a handful of humans had ever seen Plasmius' son…

Danny's focus only briefly left the hunters' own just enough to notice the ship was well-equipped with ghost weapons… and there was a pulsing green hue around the flying vehicle…

Still, the Prince did not show the slightest bit of fear or worry, as he floated just a few inches closer to the deadly anti-ghost craft.

"Quite the invention you two have here…" Danny said coolly.

The female within the ship quickly matched his tone of voice as she replied through a speaker, "Yes, and it is designed with enough weapons to turn ectoplasmic scum like you into a pile of goop—even a level seven ghost like you; so I suggest you back off."

"Yeah, what my wife said!" the man quickly burst out.

Danny regarded the two hunters with the slightest smirk on his face. He knew their bravado was just to cover their nervousness. They knew full well that they were in the lion's den, and obviously had not intended to be discovered. But the teen also hid his own nervousness and surprise at the hunters' ability to detect his power level.

"Stupid humans…," the Prince replied, baring his fangs just slightly. "You have no idea who I am and what I'm capable of… And you will regret daring to invade my home!"

Before the couple could react, Danny's chest expanded before he released a Ghostly Wail.

The hunters cried out in surprise as the ship was jolted back in spite of its thrusters fighting to prevent it. However, that was the least of their worries when the protective ghost shield around the ship suddenly shattered and then… the glass dome of the ship began to crack.

"Jack!" the woman yelled in alarm as she gave the ship all it had to keep it from being pushed further back or sent spinning out of control.

The male hunter quickly reached forward in his seat and slammed his hand on a red button on the ship's consol.

Instantly, the ship released two spheres from under its belly, and they just as quickly exploded, swallowing the ship in a cloud of green smoke.

The gas quickly expanded, and when it came near the Prince, his wail was cut short as he gasped in pain when he felt the fume burn at his skin. In an instant, he teleported away from the harmful smoke, and reappeared a safe distance away.

Danny hissed as he gripped his left hand at feeling it sting quite badly. It had been the first thing that the gas had touched, and as a result, it had done some damage. Luckily, it had been the only part of him that had received any real injury from the poisonous fume.

Cujo was instantly at his side, sniffing and licking at his companion's burned hand.

However, Danny ignored him as he turned his angry glare towards the human ship.

"I'll make them pay for this!" he vowed; but just as his hands began to glow with energy, the ship suddenly turned and took off so quickly that it turned into a beam of a light, which quickly vanished from his sight.

"No!" Danny exclaimed in alarm and fury.

He quickly flew in the direction of the vehicle; but only a yard out, he had to stop. He gripped at his core and squeezed his eyes close, realizing he had overdone it. His long trip to see Clockwork, the use of his Ghostly Wail, and now trying fly at top speed after the humans, had finally brought his core to its limit.

Cujo was quickly in front of him whining and licking at his face.

"I'm okay," Danny said as he slowly rubbed his chest. But when he then felt dizzy, the teen quickly reached for the gem on his belt. It took him a bit of effort, but he managed to pull out from his bag a small box containing glowing white pills.

With a sigh, he grabbed two and swallowed them. In an instant, his dimmed ghost hue brightened and the pain began to ebb.

Danny blinked back the spots in his vision before he turned his worried gaze to where he had last seen the hunters' ship. He felt frustration bubble up in his chest as he thought about how he could have been able to go after them and stop them if it wasn't for his damaged core!

"Come on, Cujo!" Danny said a bit more forcibly than he meant to before he suddenly took off in another direction. "We have to alert Walker and his guards…"

But as Danny took off towards the prison, he was unaware of the heavy amount of damage he had inflicted on the ship.

But more importantly, he wasn't aware that the hunter couple within the ship had been Maddie and Jack Fenton…


Sam sighed as she and Tucker parked their mopeds in front of Fenton Works. They had just left school, and they had wasted no time in coming to see the Fentons to find out what had happened with the Ecto-Converter.

"I don't understand, Tucker. We did everything like they said. So, how can there be a possibility that it didn't work?"

Tucker took off his helmet and hung it on the bike's handle as he replied, "I don't know, Sam. They didn't tell me much last night. They said they weren't completely sure yet, and that they would let us know today. But from what I saw after they ran some tests, it doesn't look good…"

"There's gotta be a mistake—something they missed or forgot to do," Sam muttered before she turned and headed towards the front door.

Tucker frowned and followed after his friend. He also felt disappointed that their late night excursion to set up the ecto-converter could have possibly been for nothing… But Sam was a bit more upset about it than he expected…

As the girl pressed the door bell, Tucker said, "Look, Sam, if… if the Fentons' plan with the ecto-converter didn't work out as we wanted, well, we'll just try something else, okay? You need to calm down."

"You don't understand, Tucker!" Sam replied, her voice laced with a tone of desperation. "I need this to work. If we can get the converter to pull enough ghost energy to power the city's shield during the night, then we could finally put an end to all this; and I could finally—"

But when the girl suddenly stopped, the boy's eyebrows creased as he asked, "You could what? What aren't you telling me, Sam?"

Sam looked away. "Nothing, Tucker… I just… I want things to be like before—before all the ghost attacks; before all the killing… before the war. I hate living in Wisconsin. I want to come back here to Amity, you know? I want my—"

But this time, the girl was cut off when the front door finally opened by the Fentons' only child…

"Hey, you two… Mikey's already here. Come on in," Jazz said.

Tucker stared worriedly at Sam; but made a mental note for them to finish their conversation.

Sam quickly stepped in and said calmly, "Are the others coming?"

Jazz shook her head as she closed the door after Tucker. "They called and said they had personal things; but they would be here tonight. We'll catch them up then."

Jasmine Fenton turned to look at the two younger kids. The almost seventeen-year-old had more of her mother's physic; and her red-hair and turquoise eyes were probably a recessive gene from Maddie's side, too. Still, Tucker and Sam knew the girl had inherited her father's personality—as well as his aim.

"You two can't make it tonight, right?" Jazz asked as she recalled the conversation she had had with Tucker over the phone before he got here.

Tucker blushed as he replied, "Yeah, I have a date… and Sam's going with me since it's more like a group date. I've been holding it off… but if you guys need us…?"

Jazz shook her head. "No, it's okay. My parents have nothing important planned tonight. And you two need a break, especially you, Tucker. You've been spending your nights here nonstop for the past month. As for Sam…."

The older girl raised an eyebrow at her. "You haven't stopped ghost hunting since you got back from Wisconsin; and I'm sure you ghost hunt over there, too. So, I'm glad you're both actually taking a night off for once."

"Not by choice," Sam answered with slight annoyance. "But Tucker won't leave me alone about going with him tonight…" She suddenly glared at her best friend and warned him, "You better not be trying to set me up with someone, Tucker. If I find out this is some—"

"It's not!" the boy replied nervously. "I swear!"

Sam stared suspiciously at Tucker for a second more before looking back at Jazz and asking, "So, what's the news?"

The older girl sighed. "Well, there's good news and bad news… But I think we should head down to lab so Mikey can explain it better."

"Where're your folks?" Tucker asked before he and Sam followed Jazz further into the house.

"They're in the 'Ghost Zone'—as my dad calls it," Jazz said, rolling her eyes. "They needed samples from those energy spheres they have been studying."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "They're in the Ghost World at this time of day? What if they're spotted?"

"Actually, my dad just invented a new ghost device, which they also wanted to try out and another reason why they went in there."

"Oh, yeah?" Tucker asked with curiosity.

Jazz shrugged as she stopped in front a heavy metallic door. "Supposedly, they managed to find a way to mimic a ghost's ability to turn invisible and use it against them so that they can't visibly perceive humans. It's some kind of cloaking device that only works against ghosts… I don't know how it works exactly. That's not exactly my area of expertise…"

Jazz frowned in slight displeasure with her last comment. The fact that she ended up involved in all this ghost-stuff sometimes left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was sure if it wasn't for the war, she would have stayed far away from ghost hunting. But like many others, the war with the ghost race had forced her into a different life than what they had wanted.

So, instead of studying psychology or psychiatry in a pristine college, she had ended up doing her own research at home on ghost physiology and psychology. She had even written a thesis on 'ghost envy'.

But even if it was not the life or future she had wanted, she knew it was essential at the moment. Her father might be the inventor, her mother the brains, Tucker and Mikey the tech guys, and the rest of the team the ones who got the jobs done… But she was the analyst of the group. She studied ghost behavior as well as their physical make-up to learn more about them.

After all, in a war, you had to know your enemy.

"Anyways," Jazz continued, "Let me show you the results of the converter last night." But then she suddenly paused as she remembered something and looked at Sam as she added, "And by the way, Sam. What you did yesterday was dangerous. You could have gotten killed. We had a plan, and it was wrong of you to change it last minute. We work as a team. You can't forget that, especially in the middle of a ghost attack!"

Sam nodded soberly. She knew that last night she hadn't just exposed herself, but her teammates, too; and she could admit that it had been rash and even selfish of her to do what she did—but she also felt it had been necessary.

"You're right, Jazz… I just wanted us to get this plan with the converter completed. If I hadn't split us up like I did, it would have taken us weeks to set all those receptors and then get the converter up!"

"I rather have a plan take weeks, Sam," Jazz retorted sternly, "—than to watch one of you get killed by those monsters. So, please, don't ever do something like that again."

"Alright. I'm sorry," Sam said, raising her hands up in surrender.

Jazz nodded before they finally headed down into the lab. They all quickly spotted Mikey working on a computer.

The boy was short, very skinny, and with freckles and glasses on his face. He was definitely not physically attractive; but everyone knew that Mikey was a whiz at computer programming."

"Tucker! Sam! You guys made it!" Mikey said as he waved enthusiastically at them.

Tucker quickly went over to the skinny boy and high-fived him. "Mikey! Dude! How's our baby looking?"

Sam rolled her eyes, knowing Tucker referred to the mainframe.

"She's running smoothly and beautifully. But now that you're here, maybe you can help me run a few diagnostics? We wanna keep her happy after all!" Mikey asked.

"Sure thing, man!" Tucker quickly pulled up a chair and began to boot up the second computer next to the one Mikey was working on so they could work together on the mainframe.

"Wait, before you do that, maybe we should discuss the ecto-converter," Jazz interrupted. "My parents wanted to talk to you all in person about it; but I don't know if they'll be back anytime soon, and you guys have plans."

"Plans?" Mikey asked, but then he grinned. "Is it with that babe, Valerie?"

Tucker smirked. "Yup!" But then quickly added, "But Sam and one of Val's friends is also coming…"

Mikey shot Sam a teasing smile as he replied, "Oooo. Double date."

"Look, can we focus?" Sam asked, annoyed.

Mikey laughed. "Yeah, right!" But then his expression melded into a weak smile as he asked, "Good news or bad news first?"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other before replying together, "Bad news."

"So… even with all the close calls," Mikey began, "—you guys managed to set everything up perfectly. Last night, Tucker and I ran some diagnostic programs on the city's mainframe controlling the shield, and it looks like we're in. I've been able to access the city's mainframe's archives and its programmed commands for the shield. Tucker did an awesome job at integrating the converter's channel into the mainframe. Mrs. F worked on it last night, too, and she got the system up and running…"

"Mikey, we asked for the bad news first," Sam interrupted with a worried frown.

The freckled-face boy sighed before looking at the two and saying soberly, "It didn't work…"

Sam's eyebrows creased. "But you just said we did everything right, and that the system is up and running!"

Mikey quickly replied, "Yeah, because it's true. But the problem isn't the programs, or the converter, or accessing the city's mainframe. The problem is the one variable in all this. It's the power source that we need to make this work… The temporary portals. They're the one thing we can't control in all this."

Tucker interrupted with a frown. "But the portals release a huge amount of energy. So, why can't we use them like we planned?"

"Because," Mikey answered, "although they do release high-levels of ghost energy, they don't stay open long enough for the converter to absorb that energy and then convert it into useable energy for the shield. By the time the converter detects an open portal, it's already closing before it can begin to absorb any of the energy it expels while open."

"So, another failed plan, then?" Tucker asked dejectedly.

"Well, that's where the good news comes in," Mikey said with a small encouraging smile. "Mr. and Mrs. F think there is another way besides the temporary portals to fuel the ecto-converter, and in turn, the city's shield."

Jazz suddenly joined the conversation as she asked, "Do you remember those energy spheres my parents talk about? And how the samples they get from them is what they use to power the portal here in the lab and make other weapons?"

Sam glanced at the sealed portal at the far end of the lab. It was the only man-made portal, and the only true means they had of going in and out of the Ghost World without their knowing… In short, it was the only trump card they had against the ghost race…

"What about them?" Tucker asked.

"Well, from my studies I learned that ghosts called those spheres, Energy Novas," Jazz explained. "And they are what provide the Ghost World with its needed energy. It other words, it is what gives that world life. Without those Novas, ghosts and their world would die. My parents are still trying to find a way to, well, destroy those Novas…"

"Wait. You just said doing that would destroy that entire world," Sam said with a frown. "That's genocide, Jazz. Not even the Ghost King has retorted to that. I mean, enslavement of an entire race doesn't fall short, but still… We're not like him. Killing off an entire world… We can't do that, Jazz."

The older girl nodded. "I agree, and I've talked with my parents about it; believe me. But they said we have to have a back-up plan if we can't find any other means to stop the Ghost King and his race. But my point to bringing this up is because those Novas give off a massive amount of energy. So, my parents believe those Novas might just be the battery—so to speak—that we need for Ecto-Converter to permanently power, not just Amity's ghost shield, but the ghost shields all around the world."

Sam's eyes widened. "Is that really possible? But how are they going to harvest the energy in those spheres and bring it over to our world?"

"Well…that's what they are working on. But they are closer to figuring it out than it seems," Jazz replied.

"How close?" Sam asked eagerly.

Jazz's eyebrows creased. "I don't know, Sam. But I'm certain they will figure it out. And when they do, and when we're able to keep those ghost shields up continuously, we will be able to protect all the remaining cities from anymore ghost attacks. Not only that, but we could help push back the invasion in other enslaved places and set up these same shields to keep the ghosts out."

Jazz then paused before she added more soberly, "Still, this only solves half the problem."

"Yeah, we can keep the people safe, which is what's most important," Mikey continued. "But it doesn't solve the problem of the ghost race running amok in our world. So, Mr. and Mrs. F are also working on a way to completely seal all the portals and stop the temporary portals from forming again."

"You mean seal the ghosts in their home forever?" Tucker questioned in surprise.

"Exactly," Jazz said. "It's either that… or destroying them entirely. I think the former is the better option."

Sam's frown remained on her face, but didn't say anything else. She knew they were right; but… she wished there was some other way—even when she knew there really wasn't.

But if she was honest with herself, she would do just about anything at this point to put an end to this war—even accept killing all the ghosts. She had become that desperate. Still, it didn't keep the small voice in her mind—the old Sam that had once believed every living thing had a right to live—from nagging at her. But she had long since thrown her morals out the window; so how they took care of the ghost problem was pointless to worry about anymore.

She just knew it had to be solved, and soon.

"Look, we can't lose hope," Jazz said as she took Sam's silence for sadness. "We'll find a way to make everything like it should be. We just have to trust in each other and stick together."

But when Sam didn't reply, Jazz sighed and changed topics, "So, since you guys will be here for a little while longer, can I offer you something to eat or drink?"

Sam smiled weakly. "I'm alright, thanks."

"Mikey? Tucker?" Jazz asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Tucker replied with a grin.

Jazz smiled back before she turned to leave the lab.

"Wait," Sam suddenly said.

Jazz looked back curiously at the younger girl.

Sam nervously fixed her skirt as she said, "So, I was going to ask your parents, but since they're not here…" The girl frowned and stopped her nervous movement, and just asked the older girl, "Do you guys have an extra Specter Deflector? Mine was destroyed last night by Nocturne…"

Tucker blinked. He knew the ghost had fried his friend's wrist-rays; but he hadn't been aware that the ghost had also damaged the deflector. Actually, he didn't recall Sam had even had it on last night…

Jazz shrugged. "Yeah, just take mine. My parents are always making more of those belts for all of us anyways."

Sam smiled weakly. "Thank, Jazz."

"Sure," Jazz replied; but internally, she didn't understand why the younger girl was so nervous about such a simple request. But she quickly dismissed it, and walked out of the lab.

Tucker and Mikey quickly began to talk about the computer systems; so Sam just went over to the Fenton's weapon vault. She quickly typed in the password, which the Fentons had provided her and the rest of the team. She only glanced around briefly before walking over to the far wall. She then grabbed from the wall one of the anti-ghost belts known as the Specter Deflector. They were amazing tools. Their ability to harm and repel ghosts was definitely a life saver during ghost attacks. Shame she didn't have hers anymore; otherwise, that Sleepwalker would not have been able to grab her as it did last night…

But for some reason, the thought put a scowl on Sam's face before she angrily stuffed the belt in her bag. She glanced around a bit more before pulling out her camera. She looked at it with an unreadable expression before she took a few pictures. Since she was little, she had always loved taking pictures. She still kept a lot of the ones she took—including the ones she had accidentally taken of Danny…

The girl paused in what she was doing as she thought of the little ghost boy. He represented a time in her life where she had believed that not all ghosts were evil; and though deep down, she still believed because of Danny that there was goodness in that race, she knew that idea was now too dangerous to even consider while in a war. But the memory of the ghost boy also reminded her of a time where her life had been different—happy. And a time where she still had morals…

Shaking her head, she put away the camera and walked out. She made sure to close the vault before heading back over to Mikey and Tucker.

However, just as she was going to ask what they were doing, an alarm blared in the lab, and the three teens jolted to look towards the portal.

It quickly lit up with green light before its doors pulled open, and soon a flying vessel all but slammed into the lab.

But seeing the ship's backside on fire, Sam's eyes widened and she yelled, "Tucker! Get the extinguisher!"

Sam ran over to the ship, and attempted to pry the door open; but it wouldn't budge. "It's stuck!"

"Oh, my gosh!" Jazz suddenly screeched as she ran into the lab and saw the chaos, "Mom! Dad!"

The older girl came over and also began to attempt to open the ship's door.

Tucker and Mikey were already blasting the aircraft with the extinguishers, trying to put out the fire.

Sam quickly ran over to a nearby bench and grabbed a weapon on it. She then went back over to the ship, and yelled at Jazz, "Get out of the way!"

The older girl quickly jumped away just before Sam fired and blasted the door in.

A fume of smoke poured out from within the ship before Maddie and Jack came rushing out in coughing fits.

"Mom! Dad!" Jazz exclaimed again as she went to their side.

"Kids, get back!" Maddie choked as she noticed all of them so close to the burning ship. "Jazz. Sam. Get the hydro guns from the weapons vault. Mikey. Tucker. Turn on the ventilation system before we all suffocate in here!"

The kids quickly nodded and did as they were told, while Maddie and Jack continued to cough. For a moment, they had been sure they were not going to make it from how badly the ship had been damaged.

As soon as she returned, Sam quickly turned on the hydro-gun and fired its icy slush at the speeder. Maddie then grabbed the second gun from her daughter and helped the younger girl put out the flames.

A loud humming soon followed as Tucker and Mikey commanded the mainframe to activate the lab's ventilation system at full power.

It took a few a minutes, but the team finally managed to get the situation under control.

"Oh, that was a close call," Maddie breathed out before she went to sit on a nearby chair and pulled off her hood.

Jack did the same, but continued to cough.

"Are you guys okay?" Jazz asked fearfully. "What happened?"

"We're okay, honey," Maddie said with a small smile; but then she shook her head. "And I don't know what happened…. It makes no sense."

"Yeah, how did that spook even see us?" Jack asked angrily before he coughed some more.

"What spook? A ghost saw you?" Sam asked in alarm.

Taking a deep breath, Maddie began to explain, "We went into the Ghost Zone just to take some samples of the Novas. Unfortunately, the Ecto-Converter—"

"Didn't work. Jazz, told us," Sam cut her off. "She said you both are looking to harvest the Novas' energy, instead, to fuel the converter."

Maddie glanced at her daughter, who shrugged helplessly. She knew her mother wanted to be the one to tell the rest of the team the results of the Ecto-Converter; but Jazz knew Sam wouldn't have waited that long.

"Yes," Maddie continued, looking back at the teenagers. "We also went in there to test—"

"—the new cloaking device you and Mr. F made," Tucker finished with a small amused smile.

Maddie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Jazz really was her father's daughter.

"Correct. So, we took the Speeder to do just that. We kept close to the portal's opening just in case it didn't work; but it was working fine because we flew pass several more primitive ghosts and even a few ghost guards, and none of them saw us! So, we decided to venture further into the closest Nova field we know, since we were sure the cloaking device was working…"

"But then just as we were gathering samples," Jack continued since he had finally managed to stop coughing, "This spook with white hair appears out of nowhere and attacks us! The thing saw us even when we had the cloaking device on!"

"A ghost with white hair?" Sam quickly asked as her mind quickly reminded her of Danny; but then she just as readily dismissed it. No. Danny was gone. Her uncle had killed him.

Tucker glanced at Sam only briefly since he knew full well who she was thinking about. But they both know it wasn't possible.

"That makes no sense," Mikey spoke up. "How could one ghost suddenly see you, when all the others before had not? Unless… the cloaking device stopped working…"

Maddie sighed. "I thought so, too… Until…"

"Until what, Mrs. F?" Tucker asked with apprehension.

"The ghost looked young… But it was at a level seven," Maddie began with a troubled frown. "And yet, with the power it displayed, it can't possibly be as young as it looks…and the massive energy it released you would expect from a level ten ghost… not a level seven… But the Ecto-Scale reader couldn't have been wrong."

"Mom, what happened?" Jazz asked, now worried, too.

"I'm not sure… One minute the creature threatened us, and the next, it released this… wail."

"Yeah, kind of like how Vortex uses that sonar blast of his," Jack spoke up. "But it was different. It was tangible. And it not only could touch us, but it began to damage the ship."

"That level seven spoke destroyed the Ecto-Radium ghost shield around the Speeder," Maddie finished with trepidation.

Everyone just stared back at the woman in horror.

"Mom… Are you sure?" Jazz whispered. "No ghost should be able to break through those shields!"

"I know, Jazz," Maddie answered in confusion and worry. "But this ghost did. It almost killed us…"

"It destroyed my baby!" Jack added in lament.

Jazz frowned thoughtfully before she broke the silence, "What symbol did it have on its chest? Or, did it have it covered?"

Maddie shook her head. "No, it wasn't covered; but everything happened so fast that I did not really notice its symbol… Jack, did you?"

But the man shook his head.

Looking back at the teens, Maddie said, "Kids, this is bad. If there are ghosts in there that are capable of destroying the Ecto-Radium shields, then… we're all done for."

"No, it can't be," Jazz answered. "It must have been some fluke. Mom, if there were ghosts capable of such power, the Ghost King would have already used them to break through the remaining shields and enslave us all."

"I gotta agree with Jazz, Mrs. Fenton," Mikey added.

"Doesn't the speeder have a built in camera? Is it possible that it capture footage of the ghost?" Sam suddenly asked. "Even if it was a fluke, we should try finding out what ghost it was that did all this."

"Yeah," Tucker continued, "Fluke or not, if it did all that—" He pointed at the all but destroyed Specter Speeder— "It's gotta be bad news; and we gotta know what we're up against in case it decides to come out here and cause trouble."

"Good thinking, kids!" Jack exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "I'll go pull out the recording box. Maybe it's still intact!"

Maddie quickly stood, "Let me help you, honey. We need to first make sure nothing combustible is leaking from the Speeder's engines."

Mikey wasted no time in going over to the mainframe as he said, "I'll get the programs started so we can upload any images the speeder could've recorded."

Tucker was about to follow the other boy when Sam's phone went off, and he paused to look at her.

The goth girl sighed as she saw the caller ID indicated it was her mother...

She quickly accepted the call and spoke, "Hey, Mom…." The girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes when her mother cut her off and began to demand where she was. "No, Mom… I… I didn't know that was today. Do you really need me there…? I'm… kind of busy right now…." The girl sighed as her mother protested at her answered. "Alright…. Fine. I'll be there. But I cannot stay long, okay? ….Love you, too. Bye."

Sam looked at Tucker and said, "I have to go. But I'll meet you at the Nasty Burger. Just give me a call when you're on your way."

Tucker nodded. "Will do, Sam. See you in a few hours."

Sam sighed helplessly and nodded.

"Mrs. Fenton?" she then called.

But Maddie quickly smiled; and already guessing what it was, she replied, "Don't worry, Sam. It's okay. We'll see you tomorrow…. But just don't think I've forgotten our pending talk about last night, young lady," she added in a more stern voice.

Sam blushed. "Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Sam," Maddie said with a warm smile.

Even when Maddie and Jack were aware that the girl was Thomas Chrome's niece, they cared deeply about her. They knew the girl struggled with keeping her ghost hunting life a secret from not only her parents but from her uncle. At first, Maddie had been opposed to letting her join the group. Not just because of Tom, but because she felt wrong helping a teenager hide something like this from her parents. But Sam had lost someone dear to her in this war, and Maddie had been able to relate to that. She understood the desperation of feeling helpless.

Turned out Sam was a great hunter; but even so, her emotions—even if she kept them hidden—sometimes did get the best of her—like last night.

But again, Maddie could relate—but she was going to have a talk with a girl about it when she got the chance.

Nevertheless, Jack and she were blessed to not only have Sam, but also a wonderful group of teenagers who were passionate about defending their rights and freedom and fighting for the safety of all humankind.

Maddie glanced over at Tucker as she thought how he was the luckiest out of the group. His parents were also part of the team. After watching so many of their friends and family suffer from ghost attacks, the Foleys had come to them and offered to help any way they could. They had been the first to join the team. Soon, Sam followed after her grandmother's… death.

A year later, Nester and Lester lost their father to ghosts; and without their mother's knowledge, they had become ghost hunters.

Mikey, on the other hand, had made the choice to join them simply because he felt he could put his mind and tech-savvy to good use. And when he overheard the twins talking about their joining a rebel group, he wanted in. He told them he had nothing to lose; since he was an orphan anyways.

So, Mikey became part of their ghost hunting family. The last to join recently had been Star. The girl's story was a bit complicated since her father worked with the Guys-in-White and was the head engineer that kept the Amity's shield's mainframe and the towers functioning. Star had joined the team more out of spite. She hated the Guys-in-White because they had all but stolen her father from her. It was a miracle if she saw him once a month. And it was out of a need to rebel that Star had joined the Fentons—since she knew that the GiW hated them.

At first, Maddie had been against it. Again, she wasn't sure how safe and wise it was to have someone related to the Guys-in-White being part of their team. But Jack had always been so trustworthy, and he always believed in giving people a chance. So, Maddie had conceded. And so far, Star had proven to be a great resource. Without her, they would have never been able to get into the city's mainframe…

All-in-all, even if Maddie had never planned for any of this, she had to admit they were for the better of it. With the help of 'Team Fenton', they had been able to get so much more accomplished.

And she was sure that if anyone would be ending this war and putting a stop to the Ghost King… It was Team Fenton.


Danny landed at the kingdom's prison, and quickly ordered, "Cujo, stay."

The dog whined in annoyance, but did as he was told and sat down at the entrance of the prison to wait for the Prince.

Danny walked past the guards, who respectfully greeted him. But the teen only nodded back as his black-and-white cape fluttered behind him in his haste.

When he finally made it to his destination, he knocked twice on the door in front of him before stepping in.

He found Walker, Bullet, and another guard inside the warden's office reviewing some of the prison's protocols. They instantly silenced and looked up at the Ghost Prince.

"Forgive my interruption, Warden," Danny said, "But I just saw two ghost hunters in some aircraft near the Nova field just ten miles from here, and they fled in this direction. I need you to send a group of your guards to scout out the eastern side of the immediate area and as far as the islands around Ancient Paradise."

Walker frowned at the news before turning to Bullet and saying, "Do as commanded, Bullet. Send word if you or the troops find anything."

"Yes, sir," Bullet answered and gestured for the guard in the room to go with him.

"Your highness," Bullet and the guard said with a small bow at the Prince before they headed out.

Danny watched them go before looking back at Walker and continuing with concern, "Those humans were gathering samples of the Novas… I do not understand, Walker….Why would hunters come in here at this time a day for some energy samples? As detestable as we know it is, isn't it easier for them to just gather the energy they want from the ghosts they capture? So, why take such a risk?"

Walker shook his head. "It's hard to say… They could just be trying to study the Ghost World… Or, they could be trying to use the pure energy to create stronger weapons. Whatever the reason, it can't be good news for us…"

Crossing his arms, Danny muttered, "Perhaps we should gather the council…"

"King Plasmius is not here… And I do not see a reason to call for one…" Walker said with disregard before he began to stack the papers on his desk to put them away.

Danny frowned in annoyance with the sheriff's tone of voice, "Well, maybe I do, Warden. I know what I saw. And I think it would be best to alert the rest of the Kingdom's warriors to a least make them aware."

"Need I remind you, Prince Phantom, that you are not yet part of the council?" Walker asked as he paused in what he was doing to meet the teen's gaze. "You see, there are rules of which you are not aware. We do not call emergency meetings without the Ghost King unless there is a real emergency."

Danny narrowed his eyes slightly as he asked coolly, "Are you questioning my word, Warden Walker?"

"Prince Phantom, do not take it personally," Walker replied with a sigh. "I believe you. But until King Plasmius returns, I cannot call a council meeting unless it's a matter of life-and-death."

But then the Warden paused and asked, "Were you alone when you saw these humans?"

Danny's frowned deepened. "I was with Cujo."

Walker almost smirked as he asked with feigned ignorance, "So, Wulf was not with you? I was under the impression that your father had ordered him to accompany you everywhere… I mean, considering our home is not as safe as it once was… and by your encounter just now, there is not doubt of that… I hope you were not harmed by those humans, Prince Phantom…"

Danny raised an eyebrow and dryly replied, "Do not worry, Warden; I just suffered a small scrap on my hand. Surprisingly, even I can recover from such an injury. As for Wulf, you do not need to tell me what I already know. That is my problem."

"Of course, Prince Phantom," Walker said calmly. "But I only ask out of concern. I would never want anything to happen to you. You have been through enough."

The teen's hard look faltered before he masked his emotions with slight indifference. "And I appreciate your concern. However, as I said, I am unharmed. Even if you do not agree, I intend to put my father's own guards on alert. I do hope you at least consider gathering the council, Walker; at least to make them aware of what is happening."

"I'll think about it," Walker replied, all but matching the teen's tone of voice.

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and instead said, "Anyways, even before all this, I had planned to stop by for another reason… You have not handed me the monthly report of the prison's activities. I am going to pretend it has slipped your mind to give me your report, and that you have it ready for me?"

Walker nodded, "I do have it ready. In fact, I was also planning on seeking you out today to hand it to you myself."

"I guess we think alike then," Danny replied with a tight smile.

He watched as Walker quietly turned from him and walked over to a bookshelf; but the Warden's tension was visible in his twitching muscles. Danny was aware Walker was less than happy that the King had put the Prince in charge of overseeing the prison's activities when he wasn't home. But too bad for Walker that he would just have to swallow his pride and do as commanded.

Danny respected the Warden's position within the kingdom; but he also made sure the older ghost remembered his position as well.

Once he found it, Walker walked back over to the Ghost Prince and handed him the large file.

"Everything is accounted for down to the last detail," he told the teen. "I hope it is to your satisfaction and that you can report my efficiency to the Ghost King once he returns…"

"Hmm…" Danny simply replied as he took the file and briefly flipped through it before closing it. "I'll have to review it in closer detail. I'll let you know if I have any questions. But I'm sure it is as commendable as usual."

"Yes, it helps that the King and I now see eye-to-eye on the importance of making sure everyone follows the rules," Walker said with a smile. "And I also know you're a great help with this as well… I still remember when you were just a small child and you didn't understand the importance of keeping the rules… But it brings me relief that you're now old enough to understand, Prince Phantom…"

Danny nodded. "Yes… But I'm now old enough to understand a lot more than just the rules… Walker."

The ghost sheriff chuckled in mild amusement. "Oh, there's no doubt… You'll be turning fifteen soon. Just think, in two more years you'll be old enough to take the throne. Or, at least rule beside the Ghost King… And speaking of him, any news on when he'll be returning?"

Danny ignored the older ghost's earlier comment, and just answered his question with slight disregard, "No. I know as much as you in regards to his return. But I'm sure he'll return whenever he is finished with his latest takeover in the Human World."

"Yes… Hopefully it will be in time to celebrate your fifteenth birthday…" Walker said with a small smile.

Danny shrugged. "That hardly matters. I must go now, but thank you for your time, Warden. I will review the file tonight and we will discuss it tomorrow. Keep me notified if your guards find those humans."

"Certainly, Ghost Prince," Walker replied.

Danny nodded before he turned and left.

But the moment he did, Walker scowled at the closed door. "Damn, arrogant little punk… coming in here and thinking he can tell me what to do. At least I only have to deal with him whenever Plasmius is not around. God, I hope the King returns soon. At least, Plasmius has become tolerable in the past years."

Walker growled in annoyance. "Shame those hunters he supposedly saw didn't kill that brat."

But then the Warden smirked as he added wickedly, "Wait until Plasmius finds out his 'little Phantom' was flying around by himself. Shame that I won't be able to witness your father put you in your place, Phantom punk…"


Once outside, Danny stored the file Walker had given him in his jewel. But he seemed bothered by something. He just couldn't get the encounter with the humans out of his mind; and he doubted Walker was going to gather the council as he had suggested….

The Prince turned his gaze to Cujo, who was looking up at him intently.

"Cujo…. I think we should go see Skulker…"

The ghost dog barked his agreement; and when the Prince took off, the puppy followed.

However, just as they were about to pick up speed, something caught the teen's attention. Danny slowed to a halt when he saw Bertrand talking with Bullet close to the permanent portal near the prison.

The Ghost Prince's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. What was Bertrand doing so close to the prison? His father had a strict rule about only those with duties to the prison were allowed to come here. But… since Bertrand wasn't technically in the prison, Danny couldn't really say anything. And though the male ghost could just be chatting with Bullet, it was still a strange sight.

"Well, if it isn't my sweet little nephew…."

Danny startled with the sudden voice; but when he found his aunt floating to his right, he quickly composed himself and calmly greeted her, "Hello, Aunt Spectra…."

Of course. Where his aunt was, Bertrand was never too far away….

Spectra grinned. "Hello to you, Danny! It's been a while! Oh, but you just get more and more handsome every time I see you!"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Thanks… I guess."

"Oh, Danny! Always so modest!" Spectra said with a small laugh before she pulled the teen into a sideways hug.

Danny allowed it for only a second or two before he turned intangible and floated back about a few feet from his aunt. He then asked soberly, "What brings you and Bertrand to the prison?"

Spectra shrugged lightly and said with disregard, "We were just in the area. Bertrand wanted to stop briefly to talk with Bullet. We were actually on our way to Ancient Paradise…" She suddenly smirked and asked, "Remember when I took you there, Danny? "

"Hard to forget," the teen answered with slight sarcasm as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Oh! I have an idea!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Why don't you go with us now? There're these hot springs out there that are to die for! I'd be good for you. You know, help you release all that tension you always carry around!"

Danny stared at her with a closed expression before he suddenly replied with indifference, "Maybe another time…" And with that, he turned and flew away from his aunt.

But Spectra quickly followed after him; and when she caught up, she pouted, and questioned, "Why not now? We don't get to spend as much quality time anymore! It makes me so sad!"

"I doubt that," Danny retorted bitterly.

"Well, you shouldn't," Spectra continued with her sickeningly sweet voice. "You know, after your mother's death, I promised myself that I'd look after you for her. And I intend to keep my promise!"

Danny instantly halted with the mention of his mother; and he quickly turned his icy glare at his aunt as he demanded, "Stop pretending! I can tolerate your fake kindness with me; but I will not tolerate that you use my mother's name to do so! We both know you don't like me, Aunt Spectra! So, why do you bother pretending that you really care?"

Spectra frowned in sadness. "Danny… I know things have been rough between us…"

"Yes, because you still blame me for my mother's death!" Danny answered angrily.

"Well, aren't you?" Spectra asked calmly.

Danny's glare faltered; and this time, he was at a lost for words.

"Tsk…" Spectra said before pulling her nephew against her again. "Listen, Danny… Everyone, even you, knows that Desiree's death was your fault… And I might not be able to forgive you for that, but I am still your aunt; and you're still my nephew…. I love you…. So, there's no reason for you to be so cold with me… Not when I care as much as I do. Not when I'm just trying to close this gap between us… I want us to trust each other again. You know, like before?"

Danny looked away from his aunt and briefly regarded Cujo, who was growling softly in annoyance.

"You know…" Danny said with a tired sigh before pulling away from his aunt and looking at her, "My mother's death might be on me, but… you weren't exactly the best aunt. You should have known better than to give a kid human toys…"

Spectra frowned.

"Yes, Aunt Spectra… I remember our 'little trips'…." Danny said with slight bitterness. "And I remember all the reasons why I have stopped trusting you. So, no, thank you. I'm not interested in making any trip with you again. Your words, as nice as they are, cannot replace what I felt for myself that time you forcibly touched my core… Or, did you think I forgot that, too?"

"All that was a long time ago, Danny," Spectra said with seriousness. "You were just a small child. What you think you felt…. I've never done anything to purposely hurt you. Not when I touched you. And definitely not when I gave you those human toys. But I will agree on one thing with you: I did make a mistake in giving you those toys. I made the mistake of thinking you were ready to know about the humans…. But you can't completely blame me for that. I was just trying to teach you about them so you wouldn't be so curious about them. And that was something your parents failed to do. Because if they had… maybe you wouldn't have made all the mistakes you did."

Danny's face tensed; but he controlled himself, and instead replied, "You're my aunt… My mother's sister. And because of that, I owe you my respect… But that is where my obligation with you ends. I'm not interested in bonding with you again; and I hope you can understand and respect that. My father might believe in your… change; but I cannot."

"You break my core, nephew…," Spectra replied with a sigh. But then she smiled warmly, and said, "But I'll prove to you that I still care for you and that you can trust me… I'll win your love again. You'll see."

Danny sighed before he said dismissively, "I have to go…"

"Wait!" Spectra quickly said and flew in front of the teen to stop him from leaving. "I've been meaning to ask you about daddy dearest… You know I worry for him, too… When's he coming home? Bet you miss him as much as me…."

"I don't know when he's coming home, Aunt Spectra… Now, please…" Danny began, this time sounding deeply stressed.

"But doesn't that trouble you… Not knowing about him? What if…?"

Danny's eyes narrowed again as he snapped back, "He's fine! He's just busy!"

"And I hope that, too… But what if he's not? Ever, you know, consider… looking for him?" Spectra asked innocently.

"Are you telling me to go into the Human World?" Danny asked with a displeased frown.

"Of goodness, no!" Spectra replied with alarm. "I don't ever want you going out there again! Especially now with your core… You'd be too weak to—"

"I'm not weak!" Danny cut her off defensively. "And if I do not go out there, it is only because my father has commanded only his warriors and he can step out there—and I will not disobey him!"

"Calm down. I completely agree with you!" Spectra said, raising her hands up to pacify the teen. "I didn't mean to say you're weak. What I meant was that I wouldn't want you to expose yourself. You could just send some of your daddy's guards to search for him—give us both some peace of mind?"

"My father's fine," Danny insisted; but then he shook his head and added more quietly, "I… I have to go."

Danny quickly turned and flew off. He never saw the wicked smile on Spectra's face as she watched after him…

Moving a little faster than he probably should, Danny continued towards Skulker's island. But then, suddenly, Cujo flew in front of him forcing him to a halt. The green puppy sniffed at him before he whined.

"Stop it, Cujo!" Danny snapped, pushing the dog slightly away. "I don't need a break! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine!"

Cujo barked in alarm when his companion took off even faster. The puppy quickly gave chase but he was barely able to keep up. But just when he was sure the teen was going to leave him behind, the boy abruptly halted.

Danny gasped as his core sent a jolt of pain through his body. He knew Cujo was right. He had been pushing his core more than he should.

The young hybrid could only squeeze his eyes close and grip his chest as he waited for the pain to subside.

Eventually it did; and as the Prince opened his eyes, he found Cujo floating in front of him with his ears pressed back in concern.

"I'm not weak, Cujo…," Danny muttered with slight despair.

Cujo licked at his face before he suddenly turned into his large form and rolled over on his belly. He stared at the Prince with his tongue hanging upside down and wagging his tail.

Danny couldn't help but smile at his companion's attempt to cheer him up. "You're so weird…"

The dog just wagged his huge tail faster before barking encouragingly.

The Ghost Prince sighed in surrender before he flew over to the dog and landed on his stomach. As his legs reformed, he sat crossed legged on the dog and scratched his belly.

"Come on, then. You must work for these belly scratches," Danny said with a small smirk.

Cujo barked before he turned them upright. And once the Prince was comfortably seated on his back, he continued the flight for the both of them so that his companion could take a break.

Feeling extremely fatigued and emotionally spent, Danny allowed himself to fully relax and he lied on his stomach on top of Cujo; but keeping himself propped up by his elbows, he still lightly scratched the dog's neck.

And yet, Danny remained sober as he thought all his aunt had said to him. It didn't matter how old he was, his aunt always had a way of getting to him. Lies he could tolerate; but when all she ever told him was the truth—the reality of himself and his life—it was why he avoided her.

"Cujo… I'm really worried about my father," Danny finally admitted to the dog now that they were alone. "He's never left for this long, and… I want to go look for him. I want to so bad; but… I can't disobey him on that again, Cujo… I just can't."

Cujo whined his reply.

And he must have said something good, because Danny perked up with his response and sat up. "Hey, you might be right… Maybe 'Uncle Skulker' has some news."

Danny smiled as he felt hopeful again. He absently rubbed his symbol; though he was aware that the small break, thanks to Cujo, was helping him feel better.

If anyone would have any news on his father, it was Skulker—or as he playfully called him, 'Uncle Skulker'. Now that Danny was older, he and the hunter had a more eye-to-eye type of relationship; but that didn't stop the teen from annoying the hunter by calling him 'uncle'. Besides, he knew that Skulker just pretended to be bothered by the nickname so to keep up his hunter pride. But they both knew he cared for Vlad as his brother, and in turn, Danny as his nephew…

By the time they made it to Skulker's Island, Danny's core was feeling a lot better. And as Cujo turned back into a puppy, the Prince floated down in front of main walkway and headed towards the skull-shaped house in the center of the island.

Knocking, Danny called, "Skulker? You home?"

Danny frowned when there was no answer. As he knocked again, the teen wondered if the hunter had gone on another trip. Or, perhaps, the King had called him to his side…

But… the Prince was sure his 'uncle' would have told him…

"I wonder if he's just in the forest…," Danny muttered as he moved away from the front entrance and took another pathway, which led him behind the hunter's home and into the thick forest that made up most the island.

Looking around, he did not see nor did he hear any signs of Skulker.

Danny sighed in disappointment. "I guess, he's not—"

"BAM!"

The Prince yelped as a force from behind propelled him forward and threw him to the ground where he rolled until he hit a tree."

"Ow…," the teen muttered as he rolled on his back. It was really all he could do, actually. The net now tightly wrapped around him had barely allowed him to turn on his back, let alone sit or stand up.

Danny looked up through the net, and wasn't surprised in the least to find Skulker's smug face looking back at him.

"Whelp, what have I told you about letting your guard down?"

"Gee, I don't know. I wasn't aware I had to guard my back while I'm visiting my father's best friend," Danny replied sarcastically.

Skulker grinned as he answered, "You must always be on guard, Ghost Child. Or, what? Do you think the enemy will care where you are?"

"Fine…. I get it already…" Danny said with an annoyed sigh. "Can you please release me now? I'm starting to lose feeling in my arms from how tight this net is."

"Release you? Not on your life, whelp. You should have been paying attention. So, now, you'll have to free yourself," Skulker answered as he crossed his arms.

Although the net was quite strong, the hunter had used a breakable net on the child. Not because he was going easy on him, but because his intention was not to truly capture the Prince, but to teach him a lesson—a lesson that was going to cost the child some energy if he wanted to get out of it.

"Of course, I'd be stuck with the type of uncle who treats his nephew like prey," Danny muttered dryly.

"I'll have you know my methods are quite effective. Ember never complains," Skulker answered smugly.

"I doubt you trap Ember with a net when you train with her," Danny replied back with a scowl.

Skulker suddenly grabbed the net and lifted the trapped Prince up to his eye-level before he retorted with a smirk. "Of course not, whelp… She doesn't let herself get caught."

Danny yelped as he was dropped on the ground again. But then pulling on the net and not wanting to spend energy on breaking it, he protested, "Oh, come on! You're really not going to let me out of this thing?" But then the teen paused and grinned sweetly as he added, "You're not going to let your only nephew suffer like this, right? Uncle Skulker?"

Skulker narrowed his eyes a bit. "I'm not your uncle, Ghost Child."

"Of course you are… Unckie Skulker," Danny answered with a grin this time.

Skulker growled. "Do not call me that."

"Why not, Unkie? Pretend all you want, but we both know you like it!" Danny retorted with a laugh.

"Whelp, don't make me skin you," Skulker warned in annoyance.

"Eww….," Danny muttered, scrunching his nose. "I think I prefer the, 'head slicing' threat instead."

Skulker rolled his eyes, though there was a small smile on his lips.

"I guess I can go easy on you this time…" the Hunter said before he pulled out a blade and cut open the net.

Danny got to his feet and dusted his cloak off as he answered. "The day you'd go easy on me is the day I'd have green flames for hair…"

And yet, Danny wouldn't have it any other way. Out of everyone, including his father, Skulker was the only one that treated him as an equal and as a normal ghost—and not some porcelain doll just because of his damaged core.

The Hunter once told him that there was no such thing as physical limitations if you had the will to overcome them. Perhaps Skulker understood because he knew personally what it was like to have a disability.

The older ghost had taught Danny not to let his damaged core drag him down. And it was why Skulker never did go easy on him—and why he was Danny's favorite ghost to train with.

"Keep mouthing off, whelp. Let's see if it helps you keep your head from being mounted on my wall," Skulker said smugly as he pulled out an energy blade.

The Prince tensed in anticipation, and he quickly formed his own blade out of his energy before replying, "Uh…. I prefer my head mounted on my shoulders. And I actually came to talk with you about something important."

"It can wait," Skulker answered with a predatory grin before he suddenly brought his sword forward in a horizontal motion.

Danny immediately raised his energy sword upward to block the attack; but the force of the clashing blades forced him back a few steps. He hardly got time to recover, however, when Skulker made an attempt to slash at his head.

Danny ducked before saying, "Geez, I hope you aren't serious about the whole 'head slicing' thing."

The Prince abruptly teleported to the Hunter's left and then went on the offense.

Skulker blocked the teen's own quick attacks as he replied smugly, "Only if you don't move fast enough."

Skulker could smell that the younger half-ghost was not at his strongest. For some reason, the pup had been overexerting his core today, which the Hunter made a mental note to ask why. The child was usually very good at controlling himself and conserving energy; so whatever had happened today to make the Prince use so much energy to make it noticeable to Skulker had to be serious.

All the same, Skulker was not about to give the child a break.

Everyone else, including Plasmius, believed they could simply protect the Prince by keeping him away from danger. But Skulker preferred to protect the Prince by teaching him to defend himself.

Still, in spite of Skulker's good intentions, if the King knew he was teaching his son hand-to-hand combat and how to use weapons as humans did, Plasmius would be furious with him… But not even the Ghost World was safe anymore. So, Skulker preferred to risk suffering Vlad's wrath than to risk the chance of seeing the Prince hurt again.

It was why the whelp needed to learn to be ready for a fight regardless of his physical condition. After all, the humans would not have any consideration for the child's limitations—so neither would he.

Skulker came at the young hybrid at full force and slammed his blade against the teen's own.

Danny's arms shook in response, and he had to bend his knees slightly to keep from falling down from the force in the Hunter's attack. Even with all his training, Skulker was still much older and much more experienced than he; so trying to match physical strength with one of his father's best warriors was impossible—let alone a battle he could win.

Still, Danny had one thing going for him:

Speed.

Turning intangible, the Prince slipped from the sword-lock and flew to the hunter's right to get an opening. The teen then fired an energy blast from his sword and it hit the older ghost in the stomach and pushed him back. But as Skulker tried to recover, Danny came at him again with a pulsating green sword ready for an attack.

The older ghost saw it coming at the last second, but still managed to side-step the teen's attack to evade it. Then, before Danny could react, Skulker swept his sword in an upward motion, and the force of the attack knocked the Prince's sword clean out of his hands.

Danny gasped in surprise; but then with a quick sweep of his foot, Skulker knocked the teen's own feet from right under him and he fell to the ground on his back. But when Skulker's sword instantly came down on him, Danny instinctively drew out his claws and stopped the sword from piercing him.

But… as Clockwork had said, Danny's damaged core was not the only lasting consequence of his encounter with the Guys-in-White…

His claws had also suffered permanent damage.

Although they had grown back, the brutal way they had been cut had resulted in nerve damage, which made his claws too sensitive and fragile to use in battle. And Danny quickly realized his mistake at using them now to block Skulker's sword…

The Ghost Prince cried out in pain; but he quickly swallowed it back and squeezed his eyes close.

"Fight it," Skulker commanded him; but he did not release the pressure he was exerting on the Prince's fragile claws even when he knew how painful it was to the teen.

Turning the sword more horizontal, Skulker then pressed down even more and the blade drew closer to the teen's neck.

Danny seemed about to give up when Skulker said more firmly, "Fight it, whelp."

Forcing himself to focus through the pain, Danny's hands began to glow with blue energy, which quickly spread around his claws and coated them in a protective layer of ice and energy.

Danny's eyes snapped open before he then narrowed them in determination as he pushed back against his uncle's sword. Suddenly, he released more ice energy until he froze Skulker's sword over. Then, with a quick upward thrust of his claws, he broke the offending sword in two and the pieces fell to the ground and shattered like glass.

Skulker stepped back. But Danny teleported to a standing position and just as quickly raised his still ice-coated claws and aimed them at Skulker's chest and head.

"In the words of my father: check and mate…" Danny said smugly.

Skulker raised his hands up in surrender but still smiled. "Very good, Ghost Child." But noticing ectoplasm dripping down the teen's hands from his claws, the hunter added, "I think that is enough sparring for today. We'll do something else in a moment. Let's get your claws fixed up."

Danny looked down, and as he let the ice melt off his claws, he finally noticed his claws had small cracks along them and they were bleeding. But without the ice-shield, he could also feel the painful throbbing of his injuries.

"Yeah…," he replied with a frown when he remembered how they had gotten damaged.

"Snip-snip, ghost…"

Danny's frowned deepened; but he quickly pushed aside the sudden memory when his uncle asked, "So, what is this important matter you wish to speak with me about?"

As he followed Skulker into his house, Danny told him what had happened at the Nova field.

The hunter quietly listened while he led them to his kitchen. He then went to a specific cabinet in which he kept medicines and first aid supplies. Just as he found the healing ointment he had been searching for, the teen finished.

Skulker turned to face the young hybrid with a frown as he asked, "So, they were taking samples of the Novas?"

Danny nodded. "Yes… And though I found that strange, I didn't wait for them to finish what they were doing and tried to stop them. But…. they still got away…"

Skulker's frowned deepened. "You tried to stop them…That explains why your energy reserve is so low. What it doesn't explain is why you were off on your own, Ghost Child…?"

Danny lowered his gaze to his sore claws and ran a finger on top of each one as he muttered, "I needed to see someone…"

Skulker sighed loudly before he said with irritation, "Whelp, if your father learns that you still have contact with Clockwork, you are going to cause a serious problem."

"He won't find out, Skulker," Danny assured him, looking back at him.

"Yes, he will," the Hunter answered firmly. "We both know there is very little that can be kept from your father. If you keep this up, he will find out sooner or later."

"But—" Danny began, only to be cut off.

"You cannot keep exposing Clockwork like this," Skulker said seriously. "If you truly care for him… Even if it means not seeing him again, you need to do just that."

"But it's not fair, Skulker!" Danny exclaimed angrily. "All that happened was years ago and it wasn't Clockwork's fault! He should have never been exiled when he's innocent! And it's not fair that my father won't let me see him! It's the least my father could do when he has practically abandoned me!"

Skulker's eyebrows creased. "Whelp, he hasn't—"

"Don't defend him!" Danny said firmly. "Do not. Nothing justifies that he has left me alone for almost six months, or that he hasn't even sent me a message to let me know he's alive! So, do not reproach me for seeing Clockwork. At least he's there for me when I need him!"

Skulker silenced as he stared back at the livid Ghost Prince. And yet, the pain in his eyes was more apparent.

"You're right, whelp," the Hunter eventually replied. "And I wish I could tell you that your father has attempted to contact me since his last update two months ago…" Skulker paused before offering the teen the healing ointment and adding, "I just want you to understand all that you are risking by continuing to see Clockwork…"

Danny's anger melded into weariness, but he didn't reply He just took the ointment and quietly began to coat his claws with the clear oily substance.

Skulker also kept quiet as he debated if he should continue on this topic.

If the child had learned one thing from the Ghost King, it was to mask his emotions; but the Prince was only good at it with those that didn't intimately know him. But although Skulker had suspected that the young hybrid was affected by his father's absence; he only now realized just how much.

Skulker finally broke the silence, but decided to turn the subject back to their previous discussion before the mention of Clockwork or Vlad.

"This human ship… What did it look like?" the older ghost asked.

Danny shrugged lightly and kept his eyes to his claws as he replied, "I don't really know how to describe it… It was metallic, like most human hunters' weapons and equipment… It had a glass dome at the front… Had white and green markings… And I think it had a bold green 'F' drawn on its side…"

"Did you say an 'F'?" Skulker questioned with a surprised look.

"Yes…" Danny slowly replied as he finally met his uncle's gaze and saw the surprise in his expression. But raising an eyebrow, the teen then questioned, "Is that important?"

"Perhaps… I've seen the symbol on a certain pair of ghost hunters," Skulker explained as his expression melded into a frown to hide his real emotions.

Danny carefully studied the Hunter as he tried to understand why the older ghost sounded so… cautious suddenly…

"What's so special about them?" the Prince asked curiously as he closed up the ointment container and then slipped his claws back into his fingers. They already felt better.

Skulker hesitated only slightly before answering, "Well, if the two humans you encountered are the ones I think, then it explains why they were gathering samples… You see, whelp, what's unique about this human couple is that they are not just hunters, but scientists and inventers—a combination that makes them very dangerous to our kind."

Skulker's eyebrows creased deeply with confusion as he then questioned, "You said you damaged their vehicle with your Ghost Wail… There wasn't a green barrier around that flying contraption…?"

"Actually, there was….," Danny answered as he thought back to his encounter with the hunters.

But when he saw Skulker staring back at him in disbelief, the Prince blinked and asked, "What?"

"How sure are you that there was a green barrier around that ship, whelp?"

"Skulker, I'm sure," the teen replied with a small annoyed frown. "But so what? It's just a ghost shield. I've seen hunters use them before."

"You have not seen these shields, Ghost Child," Skulker assured him seriously. "The shields Hunters use nowadays are coated with Ecto-radium."

"And… that is…?" Danny asked slowly.

"It is an anti-ghost element only found in our world," the Hunter explained. "However, it only exists as a compound in our world. It is bonded with other elements; but it is this unique radium element in certain ghost compounds that prevents us from using intangibility and other ghost powers on many things."

"You mean like the gems caves found at the Forest of Emotion and how they block most ghost powers?" Danny asked curiously.

"Yes," Skulker said. "Ghost compounds containing Ecto-radium are very common; but in most parts of our world, the element exists in small amounts within said compounds. However, in caves like those and other natural structures, the Ecto-radium element makes up more than half of the minerals they are in."

"I still don't understand why adding Ecto-radium to ghost shields is so significant…," Danny replied, confused. "Does the element make them stronger or something?"

Skulker's eyebrows creased again as he gravely said, "Whelp, those humans I mentioned to you found a way to isolate Ecto-radium from natural ghost compounds. In its elemental form, Ecto-radium is extremely harmful to ghosts—even fatal with prolong exposure."

"Oh, my gosh!" Danny whispered as his eyes widened slightly in fear. "But… where are they even getting the radium from? You said it can only be found in the Ghost World…"

"That is a question your father has also been asking himself for years," Skulker answered. "You see, the human hunter couple I mentioned has successfully built a man-made portal. Your father, I, and every one of his warriors have been searching for the opening ever since they managed to build that cursed portal years ago… My conclusion is that those humans continuously come in here without detection and gather enough ghost compounds from some natural structure to then take it back to their domain and extract the Ecto-radium… And apparently they are able to gather so much of it that it has become a serious obstacle in your father's takeover of the Human World…"

The Hunter sighed as he added with frustration. "Now, almost all ghost shields in the Human World are made with Ecto-radium. These types of shields do not just create a barrier for ghosts but any ghost trapped under one is also harmed—and easily subdue—by it."

Danny stared in alarm at his uncle as he hesitantly said, "Now it makes sense why my father has been having so much trouble in the Human World…"

"Yes. The element is untouchable even by him. In his human disguise, he can tolerate its affect to some extent, but his powers are useless against it. Ecto-radium can somehow trace even the smallest amounts of ecto-energy and attack it. So, do you see why I am surprised by what you are telling me?"

Grabbing the teen by the shoulders, the Hunter said gravely, "Whelp, your father has tried everything to break through those Ecto-radium shields—or, at least momentarily disable them—and has failed. His strongest warriors, such as Fright Knight and Vortex, have not been able to put a crack in them. And yet, you are telling me that you not only cracked that shield, but that you destroyed it completely?"

Danny rubbed nervously at his neck. "Maybe the shield around the ship wasn't coated with Ecto-radium…"

Skulker let go of the boy as he replied seriously, "No, pup…Those humans do not use any other type of shield. After all, they were the inventors of adding Ecto-radium to ghost shields…"

Danny just stared in silence at the older ghost.

Skulker stared thoughtfully at the Prince for a moment before suddenly saying, "Come with me…"

Danny hesitated, but still followed after the Hunter. However, at that moment, the teen remembered something else he had been meaning to discuss with the Hunter.

"Hey, Skulker? Where's Ember?" the teen questioned with a worried frown. "Last time I saw her, she said she was taking to a trip to her parents' old house… but she didn't want me going with her… And she usually goes for a day or two… It's been a week."

Skulker only glanced at Danny before looking forward again. The older ghost didn't reply right away, but when he did, he answered, "She told me she would be gone for a week…"

"She didn't tell me that," Danny grumbled under his breath.

Skulker smirked, "Relax, whelp. She will be back tomorrow. Aside from visiting her parents' abode, she took Safear to the fire canyons. Ghost phoenixes require exposure to intense heat from time-to-time to keep their hot cores at the high temperature they require."

"I'm surprised that you let her go off on her own like that," Danny replied with a raise of his eyebrow.

"You confuse me with your father, whelp," the Hunter smirked again. "Naturally, I worry for her, but… she is with Safear, and… I trust I have taught her enough for her to defend herself if necessary… "

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just admit you placed a tracking device on her without her knowledge, and demanded she contact you through the communicator you make her carry around everywhere she goes?"

Skulker laughed. "Whelp, if I admitted to that, I would have to kill you to keep you quiet!"

Danny scowled, but just as he was about to retort, he suddenly realized the Hunter had led him down some dark corridor he had never seen before… and at the end of it was a solid metal door…

Before the Prince could ask where they were, they made it to the metal door and Skulker unlocked it. But when the Hunter led him in, the teen stopped all together as he realized… Skulker had brought him into some type of… lab."

"W-What is this… place, Skulker?" Danny asked with quiet dread. A flash of an all white lab, the sound of screams, and a man with evil laughter flashed and echoed in the young hybrid's mind, and just as quickly, a deep anxiety began to bubble up in his chest.

The Hunter paused, and quickly looked back at the Prince when he suddenly smelled the barely contained panic within the child.

Skulker mentally berated himself for not warning the Prince before bringing him in here. The older ghost clearly remembered all the times in the past the child would suffer panic attacks when in small spaces or in any place that reminded him of the trauma he went through.

Sadly, just like the Prince carried the physical scars left from that horrible experience, he also carried emotional ones. But as he had gotten older and had gained more confidence in himself, the teen had stopped having anxiety attacks. Not only had he learned to mask his emotions, but to keep calm even around situations that frightened him.

But clearly, he had caught the Prince off-guard.

"Easy, Ghost Child," Skulker said in a surprisingly soothing voice. But then he added in a more causal voice, "This is my weapons' lab. I use it to create my own weaponry and also to study the human's own. Sometimes it is necessary to study the enemy's arsenal to know how to combat against it…"

Danny forced his paranoia aside. And passing a hand through his messy white bangs, he consciously relaxed his tense muscles before finally, though carefully, walking deeper into the lab.

Skulker watched him carefully for a brief moment; but then sure the child would be alright, he turned away and headed towards a specific area of his lab as he said, "Aside from making weapons, I have also created my own samples of Ecto-radium in hopes of finding a way to neutralize its harmful effects against ghosts."

Danny watched as Skulker picked up a remote from a small table before he aimed it at the back wall of the lab. Instantly, the wall, which was actually two unseen doors, opened outward and revealed a metallic closet, no deeper or bigger than the doors that had kept it hidden.

But aside from having strange green prongs lining it, the small metallic space was empty.

Skulker then took a few steps back until he was standing beside Danny. Only then did the older ghost aim the control at the wall again; but this time, clicked a different button.

The prongs hummed to life and began to spark with green energy before they created a green barrier, sealing the metallic space behind it

Danny's face tensed as he stared at a ghost shield for the first time since he was a child. And yet, he could see the difference right off in this one from the ones he had seen… The green energy making up the shield wasn't static like in normal ghost shields; this one moved in ripples with slight sparks coming off it.

But then, as if in a trance, Danny moved towards it until he was just a foot from the shield—and then he suddenly reached out.

A metallic hand instantly stopped the Prince from touching the barrier.

"What are you doing?" Skulker asked with slight alarm.

Danny seemed to snap out of it and quickly pulled his hand away at feeling the heat just radiating off the humming shield.

"It's hot…," the teen muttered.

Skulker eyed the young hybrid with worry but still nodded, and said, "Yes. It is the Ecto-radium coating this shield. It gets hot whenever anything with ecto-energy comes into proximity with it. Believe me, whelp, this is something you want to stay away from. It is very unpleasant.

Danny stared at the shield for a moment more before he looked at the hunter with a frown and asked, "Does my father know you have this ecto-radium shield here? Actually, does he even know about this lab?"

"Yes, to both. However, he will surely use my pelt as a rug if he knows I brought you in here. So, not a word, pup," Skulker warned with a small glare.

The Prince couldn't help but be amused by the Hunter's words. The teen smirked as he answered, "My lips are sealed, Uncle Skulker. I mean, I've been good at keeping our secret, remember?"

"And that means you add this one to the list," Skulker answered sternly before saying, "Now, this lab is ghost-proof—or rather, more ghost-proof than things generally are in the Ghost World. My point is that even high levels of ghost energy cannot destroy it. Still, I have very delicate devices here, too. So, I want you to attempt to control your Ghost Wail. Got it?"

Danny blinked. "Wait. You want me to use my Ghostly Wail in here? For what?"

"It is the only way to prove if you really are capable of breaking through ecto-radium shields," the older ghost answered seriously.

Danny bit his lip as he turned to face the shield. Reflexively placing a hand on his chest, he weighed whether or not his core could take him expelling the amount of energy he needed to create a wail. He had already used more energy than he should…

"Ghost Child, we can do this another day if you prefer. When your core is better rested…," Skulker suddenly said seriously.

But the Prince quickly shook his head. And taking just one step forward towards the shield, he inhaled to build the energy in his core before he forced it out through his vocal cords and then out of his mouth in energy waves.

After so many years, Danny had enough control of his wail to get the waves to go where he wanted. So, the ecto-waves perfectly slammed into the ghost shield.

As it quickly began to crack, Skulker's eyes widened with disbelief. But it didn't stop there, and soon the shield completely shattered before the prong-like reactors along the outline of the metallic space exploded one by one.

Danny then quickly cut off his wail, only to cringe as a sharp pain gripped his chest. But his head also began to spin and he felt more than saw his ghostly hue dim significantly.

Knowing from previous experience what that meant, the teen quickly reached with shaking hands for the gem; but even when he managed to unclip it, he couldn't spark enough blue energy to cause the gem to turn into his bag.

Luckily, Skulker stepped forward and grabbed the gem for the teen. He then activated it, changed it into a bag, and quickly searched through it and found the energy pills.

"Thanks," Danny whispered weakly when his uncle handed him three glowing white pills.

Skulker watched the Prince swallow the pills. A frown on the Hunter's face hid well his sympathy for the child. Just like he hated being pitied, Skulker knew the young hybrid did, too. It was why the older ghost had long since made a silent promise to himself that he would never treat the child as inferior just because of his physical limitation.

Then again, the child was strong where it mattered: at the core, even if the organ itself had limitations. His soul was strong, and the fact that the Prince was still standing after all he had been through proved that in the Hunter's eyes.

Once Danny recovered, Skulker moved away from the teen and walked over to the metallic space where the shield had been. He reached out and touched the burned-out prongs and felt nothing. The Prince had completely fried the shield's generator.

But how? It couldn't simply be because of the sound waves. Vortex had a similar power to the Prince and it had proved useless against an Ecto-radium shield. It also couldn't be the force or strength of the ghost energy that had been slammed into the shield. Other higher-level ghosts had also tried that and failed. So, what was unique in the child's Ghost Wail that could do what no other ghost—not even the King himself—could?

Whatever it was, the proof that the Ghost Prince could destroy the Ecto-radium shields was right in front of him. Yet, Skulker still couldn't believe it.

All this time, the key to the human's utter defeat had been in front of their faces.

Turning to look at the young hybrid, Skulker said with disbelief still in his voice, "Ghost Child… Do you realize what this means? You alone hold the power to end this war in our favor…"

All Danny could do was stare in shock at the Hunter.


"So, where is your loser boyfriend?" Gregor asked, annoyed as he pulled off his sunglasses while he stood next to Valerie outside a fast food restaurant called the 'Nasty Burger'.

Valerie elbowed the older boy on the side as she demanded, "Stop calling him that! He's not a loser. He's a very nice and cool guy once you get to know him."

"Once I get to know him? Sounds like a warped version of 'beauty is on the inside' or whatever the crap ugly people say to make themselves feel better," Gregor answered with a roll of his eyes.

"The only warped thing around here is your head," Valerie snapped back with a light glare.

Gregor grinned. "Can't deny that… But we're talking about your geeky lover boy, not me. "I could let slide that he's a dork, but what guy invites his girl to eat at the place she works and is late for their date?"

This time, Valerie got even more defensive as she quickly answered, "First, Tucker has never been late to one of our dates before; so I'm sure something important is keeping him. And second, I happened to suggest we meet here. I know he loves Nasty Burgers and it was easier for me to meet him here since I just got off work anyways! So, stop talking bad about him! You said you'd give him a chance, Gregor!"

"Alright. Alright," the older boy replied, raising his hands up in surrender. But then raising an eyebrow, he curiously asked, "Why do you even work at this dump? It's not like you need to. Your foster parents live comfortably, and you have a filthy-rich benefactor who does a really good job at taking care of the money your father left you and multiplying it for you."

Valerie shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but… it gives me a cover for my other job."

Gregor frowned as he muttered mostly to himself "…Guess we all need some kind of cover…" But he sighed away the thought before he suddenly grabbed from Valerie a duffle bag from Valerie which the girl used to carry her work uniform after changing out of it now that her shift had ended.

"I can carry it, you know," Valerie said with a small amused smile.

"Yeah, but it's better that I carry it," he answered causally. "You smelling like fries is bad enough. You don't need to be carrying greasy clothing in this old gym-smelling bag of yours… You might scare off this guy you're so hung up on."

Knowing he was just teasing her, Valerie narrowed her eyes playfully and replied smugly, "Good thing this 'guy I'm hung up on' loves fries, huh? It'll probably be a turn on for him..."

Gregor smirked before grabbing the girl around the waist and pulling her against him. "I like fries, too, you know…" He took a whiff of her and added, "Actually, you smell good enough to eat… Or kiss."

"Gregor! Cut it out!" Valerie protested as she tried to pull away from him. "Seriously, I'm about to kick your butt if you don't let go."

But the older boy just chuckled and narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I like a challenge."

"Fine! You asked for it!"

Valerie quickly grabbed the boy's arm around her waist and attempted to wrench it behind his back. But Gregor easily freed his arm by twisting around and then pivoting behind her. And before the girl could react, he grabbed her and pressed her against him so that her wrists were now against her sides. "Ha! Gotta be quicker than that…" Gregor taunted, but then added in a whisper against her ear, "…Red."

Valerie suddenly slammed her foot down on his left one, and Gregor yelped in pain and let go. But then the girl turned back around and punched him in the stomach.

"I warned you," Valerie said, crossing her arms.

Gregor cringed as he held his aching stomach. "Yeah, okay… You can kick my butt. Got it."

Valerie grinned smugly. "Got that right."

"Valerie?"

The girl jolted and whirled around, "T-Tucker!"

Straightening up, though still holding his stomach, Gregor said, "Oh, look, Mucker's here… Hope you like abusive relationships, dude."

Tucker blinked at the older boy. "What?"

Valerie shot a glare at Gregor before looking back at Tucker and smiling nervously, "Hey, Tucker! You made it!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm late, Val," he quickly said. "I was working on, um, some thing for my parents, and well, I lost track of time. I'm really sorry!"

She moved over and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry about it." She then grabbed his hand and brought him closer to Gregor.

"So, this is my friend, Gregor. Well, he's more like my older brother since we grew up together."

Gregor smirked. "Yeah… her brother."

Tucker frowned at his tone of voice, but still extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, man. Valerie talks about you all the time. It's cool to finally know you in person."

"Likewise," Gregor replied as he shook the younger teen's hand. As they let go, he added, "Apparently, you've done something right since Val's been talking a lot about you lately… Still…." He sized up the other boy before saying, "Not sure what the big deal's about."

Valerie laughed nervously and quickly said, "Don't listen to him, Tucker. Gregor has a weird sense of humor. It'll grow on you as you get to know him."

Gregor just continued to stare at the other boy.

Tucker felt more than a little 'weirded out' by the older teen's unwavering gaze. If he didn't know any better, he would think the boy was thinking of different ways to murder him.

"Uh… So, is it true that you work at the circus?" Tucker asked in an attempt to break the awkwardness around them.

But it was Valerie who quickly answered, "He does more than just 'work' there. He's the main attraction. He's amazing on the high wire!"

Gregor's eyes narrowed slightly on the younger teen as he added, "Yeah… I'm also amazing at joggling swords and knives and all sorts of things that could easily kill someone with a single slip of the hand…"

Tucker blinked. "Uh…"

"Anyways, are you guys hungry?" Valerie questioned, eager to change the subject. She didn't know why Gregor was being so hostile; but when she had the chance, she was going to give him an ear-full!

"You know I'm always down for some good-eating," Tucker replied with a grin at the girl. "But did you want to eat here? I mean, I know you just got off work…"

"I don't mind. And Gregor loves fries, right, Gregor?"

When Valerie glanced at him, the older by smirked, and answered, "Yup. Love 'em."

Valerie rolled her eyes at her partner before shrugging, "The Nasty Burger it is. We can hang out at the park after or maybe just go directly to the movies?"

Tucker nodded. "I think we'll have time for both. Movie doesn't start until seven. Oh, but before we head in to eat, I wanted to tell you something that I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier…"

"What is it?" Valerie asked curiously.

"Well…" Tucker began with a nervous smile. "Since you did mention Gregor would be hanging out with us tonight, I, uh, asked Sam to meet us here, too. You know, make it a group thing."

"Oh…" Valerie replied with an awkward smile.

Although she knew Sam since they were kids from school and then that one time Mr and Mrs Foley took her, Sam, and Tucker to the circus, she never had developed an actual friendship with the other girl. And it didn't help when Sam had moved to Wisconsin.

But apparently Tucker and Sam had stayed close even when Sam only was in Amity only a few months out of the year. But, still, as they got older, Valerie couldn't say she liked the girl. She had become such a spoiled rich girl; and worse than that, she had recently learned Sam was a big hypocrite!

Valerie still couldn't believe Sam Manson was a ghost hunter—or, that's what it appeared last night when she and Gregor found her in the middle of a ghost fight, and Gregor and her had to end up saving Sam from that Sleepwaker.

The reason why Valerie had been so mad with Sam last night—even when Sam didn't know she was the Red Huntress—was because Valerie had learned at that moment that Sam was lying—she was lying to her parents, to her uncle, and worse, to Tucker!

She pretended to be this quiet and snobby rich girl by day—and at night she was out playing ghost hunter! After all, the girl had no proper training! She was just putting herself and everyone that cared for her in danger! Ghost hunting wasn't for people that had something to lose! It was too dangerous!

Valerie knew she shouldn't judge when she had her own secrets, but at least she didn't lie to the people she cared about. She only just started going out with Tucker; and although she was omitting some details about her life, she didn't plan on keeping it a secret forever if things really got serious with him…

"Is that okay?" Tucker asked, noticing the tension in the air.

"Y-Yeah!" Valerie quickly said. "I just didn't know Sam was back from Wisconsin…"

The girl mentally cringed at her own lie.

But before she could say anything else, Gregor suddenly interrupted. "Wait… Who's coming again?"

He had to have heard wrong. Or, maybe it was another 'Sam' … right?

"Sam Manson. She's my best friend," Tucker replied with a smile. "She's an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian; but once you get past that, she's great! Wait till you meet her!"

But Gregor suddenly became very nervous, and replied, "You know, maybe we should do this another time… I just remembered I have something to do for my… um, boss, at… work."

"Boss?" Valerie asked in confusion. The older boy never called Tom or Fredrick by that title.

But when the older teen turned to leave, she quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Gregor, wait! You said you'd hang out with me and Tucker today! Whatever your 'boss' wants, I'm sure it can wait."

"I'm sorry, Val, but it can't…" Gregor replied with a sad frown as he pulled away from her.

But just as he turned to leave towards the parking lot, he froze when he saw Tom's niece walking towards them.

"Oh, crap," Gregor thought in despair.

"Hey, Tucker." Sam greeted the boy with a smile. "Sorry I'm late. I had to literally escape from my parents to get here."

"Figured as much," Tucker answered with a knowing smirk.

But Sam then looked over at Valerie, and said with less enthusiasm, "Hello, Valerie."

The purple-eyed girl was less than thrilled that Tucker was now dating Valerie. But she also knew her best friend had had his eyes on the dark-skinned girl for a while—so, Sam was happy for him.

But, still, Sam had her reserved opinions about whether or not Valerie was a good choice for Tucker. Problem was that the dark-skinned girl didn't give her a good vibe. She came off as shallow and snobby—and the fact that at school Valerie was part of the popular crowd only spoke worse about her. She acted selfish and arrogant at times. And Sam was worried the other girl would just take from Tucker and not give him anything back. Sam was afraid the girl's shallow nature would end up hurting her best friend…

"Hey, Sam," Valerie replied with some tension as well. But then sighing, she jabbed a thumb towards the older boy in the group and added, "That's Gregor. My best friend. He's also the main performer at Circus Gothica."

Sam quickly looked at the white-haired boy, and her purple eyes widened in disbelief as he stared back at her with bright green eyes.

Gregor seemed to grow more nervous and quickly put on his sunglasses. But he mentally cursed again for even taking them off!

"Wait… Circus Gothica…? I… I know you," Sam whispered as she moved closer to the boy.

But Gregor quickly took several steps back. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." He looked at Valerie and then said, "Val, I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Gregor! Wait!"

But the boy darted off to the Nasty Burger's parking lot. Valerie sighed as she watched Gregor jump on his motorcycle and speed away.

"I don't know what got into him," Valerie whispered in disappointment; but looking at Sam, she asked in surprise, "You know Gregor?"

Sam just stared in the direction the older boy had vanished before shaking her head. "I'm not sure… I thought he was…" Sam frowned. "Nevermind."

The kid she found in the cage at Circus Gothica so long ago could not be the same boy she had seen now, even if they had similar bright green eyes… It just wasn't possible… was it?

"Sam was just surprised that you mentioned Gregor works at Circus Gothica," Tucker explained. "She hates that place… And I do, too. Guy that owns it is a real jerk!"

"No kidding…," Valerie answered as she remembered how Sam had almost been trampled by elephants because of that man when they had been kids. And, of course, she also knew how horrible 'Freakshow' treated Gregor—or she thought she knew.

"Anyways! Come on, ladies! Let's get this party rolling; but, first, Nasty Burgers!"

Sam smiled weakly at her best friend. She really didn't want to hang out with Valerie; but she had promised Tucker she would give her a chance…

So, mentally sighing, she prepared herself for a long night…


Danny glanced at an Energy Nova as he landed in the middle of the Forest of Emotions. It was getting late, and he knew that in a few hours, the temporary portals would begin to go crazy as they did every night. He needed to get home before then but he still had time; so he wasn't all that worried about it. And besides, the palace was just on the neighboring island in the distance.

The only true hurry he had was due to his grumbling stomach. Although his Uncle had offered him something to eat, Danny had declined since he had been too nervous with all he had just learned. All he had been able to accept from Skulker was something to drink. So, technically, he had not had any solid food since lunch at school…

He was hungry. But before going home, there was something more important than his stomach that he needed to tend to...

Walking with Cujo along the meadows of purple grass, the Ghost Prince only glanced at his surroundings, watching how they brightened and cooled in arrays of blue and green as he went by.

He finally stopped at the mermaid lagoon and smiled as his childhood playmates squeaked in excitement at the sight of him.

He took off his cloak and it quickly vanished within his green gem, while his white pants turned black once more. Then, when he knelt in front of the ghost mermaids, they quickly began to crowd closer to each other to be closer to him.

"Hello, my friends. Any of you seen Lu?" he asked with a warm smile.

The leader of the group pulled closer until she was inches from his face as she whispered back playfully, "What will you give us if we tell you?"

Danny smirked and pretended to think about it.

"Hmm… I don't know… Anything I could give you would dim in value and beauty to you all… So, perhaps, my endless care for you all could suffice?"

The mermaids giggled before their leader reached out and brushed her fingers along the ghost boy's tied white hair. "Your words are as kind as you, sweet Prince… But if you care for us as you say, then you will play with us… Or, at least join us in a swim…"

"It's getting late," Danny replied with a small woeful smile. "But if you help me find Lu, you have my word that I'll come by for a swim tomorrow…"

"Alright… Look behind you, sweet Prince," she replied; but before he could question her words, the mermaids suddenly turned, and with giggles, jumped back into the water.

Danny jolted to his feet, and barely avoided getting soaked—but still got wet. He looked down at his partly wet pants before rolling his eyes in amusement and saying, "You sort of forgot to keep your end of the deal…"

"No, they didn't," he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

Danny whirled around and blinked at finding Lu floating in front of his face. Oh. So, that's why they told him to turn around.

The ghost boy grinned. "Hi, Lu…. How's my favorite fairy-butterfly?"

Lu's wings flapped brighter and she quickly went over to the Prince and pressed affectionately against the crook of his neck.

Danny chuckled before he gently grabbed her in his hands and brought her up to his eye level again, and told her, "I missed you, too. Sorry I didn't come see you last week, but I've been really busy with school and… everything else. You know…"

Lu pouted and stomped one of her feet on the palm she was standing on. "I thought you were just busy with Ember."

The Prince tilted his head. "Lu, why don't you like Ember? She's always been very nice to you."

"She wants to take your love from me," Lu grumbled and crossed her arms. "She can't have you."

Danny chuckled again before he brought her closer and replied with a small smirk, "Lu, Ember is my friend… And you know my core belongs to you. You're the only fairy-butterfly for me."

Lu quickly brightened before she leaned forward and pecked the Prince on the lips.

"You make me the happiest ghost in the world, my dearest Lu," Danny said playfully before the little ghost transformed back into a butterfly and flew off his hand.

Now that he had found his small friend, the Prince looked around for a place to relax for a moment before he had to leave. He soon found a gathering of whispering willows and walked over to them as a happy Lu continued to fly circles around his head and Cujo followed after him wagging his tail.

Danny soon sat against one of the trees and looked out in the distance at his palace home. He frowned briefly before lowering his gaze to the gem on his belt. As Lu quickly made herself comfortable on the teen's shoulder, he changed the gem into a bag and then pulled out Libro.

Danny paid no mind to Cujo, who was rolling around on the grass in front of him, and opened Libro. However, just as he was going to continue to read where he left off, he felt his stomach grumble again.

The young hybrid pressed a hand against his stomach before looking up at the trees above him. He smiled and then turned slightly to place his glowing blue hand against the trunk of the tree against which he rested.

The tree instantly shuddered before one of its branches lowered and offered its fruits.

"Thanks," Danny said as he picked a fruit off the tree.

He quickly took a bite of the fruit, and he was reminded again just how hungry he was. But the fruit would hold him for a bit more. He just didn't want to leave so soon. He enjoyed the peace of his former playing grounds as well as the company of his dearest friend Lu.

"There must be something that could help me," Danny muttered in worry as he focused back on Libro.

Lu suddenly turned into her fairy form again and flew off the teen's shoulder. She then fluttered just above the book and curiously touched it. But she was even more delighted as it shuddered in response.

Danny smiled at the little ghost before offering her a piece of his fruit. Lu quickly perked up, took the fruit, and settled back down on the teen's shoulder again.

The Prince finished off the fruit before he focused completely on the book.

However, just as he got to another item of interest, something hard fell from above him and hit him on the head.

"Ow," Danny muttered as he instinctively looked up while he rubbed his head; but then he glanced around him in hopes of finding what had fallen on him, but found nothing.

The teen shrugged it off and just turned back to reading his book.

Just a minute later, something hard hit him on the head again.

This time, Danny glared and got to his feet. He looked up at the tree before looking down at the grass. This time, he found what had hit him, and he frowned as he leaned down and picked up a small ball resembling a marble, only it was glowing.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes for some reason. But sitting back down, he pretended to go back to reading.

Only a moment later, he heard the rustling of the branches above him, and the Prince instantly teleported.

"I knew it!" Danny exclaimed as he reappeared on top of the trees branches, grabbed the ghost in the tree, and threw him on the ground.

"Hey!" the young ghost protested when Danny landed in front of him and snatched the bag of marbles and a sling-shot away from the ghost.

"Hey, nothing, you brat," Danny replied with a glare on his face; and yet, there was hidden amusement in his eyes. "You should learn to pick on ghosts your size."

The nine-year ghost child stuck out his tongue at the older teen. His bright green eyes narrowed as he replied, "Ha! You might be bigger, but you got nothin' on me, Princey!"

Danny scowled. "Name calling now? Fine, Young-butt. What are you doing here? It's late. You should be at home getting ready for bed."

The younger ghost quickly flew up to the Prince's eye level and snapped, "It's Youngblood! Get it right! And I can go wherever and whenever I want!"

"Right, Young-brat," Danny answered with a smirk. "Let's see what your parents say when I tell them you snuck out again."

Youngblood gasped before pleading, "Don't tell them! They'll take away my costumes! And I just got this new one." The young ghost boy suddenly grinned. "Guess what I am today?"

Danny looked at the child up and down. He was currently wearing a big black hat, dark clothing, boots, and carrying a hook for some reason.

"Uh… a coat hanger?" Danny asked.

"No! A Pirate!"

Danny frowned. "A what?"

Youngblood rolled his green eyes. "It's a type of human. Duh. I read it in a horror fiction book at school!"

The Ghost Prince crossed his arms. "Are you even old enough to be reading from that section?"

Youngblood scowled, "Of course I am!" But then he smiled meekly and added quietly, "…Well, sorta. I took it when the library teacher wasn't looking."

Danny shook his head. "Anyways, if you don't want me to get you in trouble with your parents for being out here all alone—"

"I'm not all alone!" Youngblood protested.

"Your bird-brain companion doesn't count," Danny replied dryly. But then he paused and asked, 'Where is he, by the way?"

"Um…," Youngblood began timidly. "He's hiding… and we're kinda not alone."

Danny frowned in brief confusion, but it quickly melded into annoyance as he realized what the younger ghost meant.

"Box Lunch!" the teenager suddenly called out as he began to look around for the other nine-year-old. "There's no use in hiding!" He paused before he looked up at the whispering willows again and ordered, "Get down from that tree!"

The ghost girl and Youngblood's companion quickly turned visible and flew down in front of the Prince. The ghost parrot looked annoyed with the teenager, while Box Lunch smiled nervously at him, and said, "Hi… Prince Phantom."

"Box Lunch," Danny began, his eyebrows creasing with actual worry this time. "What did I tell you and Youngblood about escaping from home and being out here by yourselves?" But knowing the boy was the instigator, Danny focused his gaze on Youngblood as he further said, "Seriously, it's not safe. What if you would get caught in the temporary portal formation? Or, you ran into some human hunter trying to kidnap ghosts from our world? You could be hurt… or worse!"

"Aww, Danny!" Box Lunch whined. "We just wanted to play!"

"Playtime is for earlier in the day and with adults around," Danny replied seriously. "Now, come on. I'm taking you both home. Your parents are probably looking for you two."

"Okay," the two kids said with pouts on their faces.

"And you, bonehead," Danny added as he turned his gaze to the ghost parrot, "You should be keeping Youngblood out of trouble—not encouraging him to get into it. Keep it up and I'm going to let Cujo have you for dinner."

Cujo barked and licked his mouth in agreement.

"I'd like to see you try!" the bird replied.

But when Cujo suddenly jumped up in an attempted to grab him, the parrot squawked in alarm as he barely managed to escape.

Annoyed, the ghost parrot flew back down and pecked the Prince on the head once before perching on the younger boy's shoulder.

Youngblood snickered.

Danny playfully narrowed his eyes at the duo. "I don't know why I bother with a bratty kid and his creepy bird." He looked back at Box Lunch, and added, "You need to stop hanging out with Youngbutt, or his 'brattiness' is going to rub off on you."

"Stop calling me that!" the ghost child protested, while Box Lunch giggled.

"Fine, then, Youngbrat. Let's get you home."

Youngblood just stuck out his tongue at the Prince again; but this time the teenager laughed.

Saying his good-bye to Lu, Danny then grabbed Box Lunch's hand and flew off the Forest of Emotions with Cujo, Youngblood, and his parrot companion following after.

However, the Prince glanced over at Youngblood when the younger ghost came up alongside him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, um, Phantom? Can we get a lift?" the little boy asked hopefully.

Danny rolled his eyes and pretended to be annoyed. But then he smirked and replied, "Why not?"

The boy squeaked in happiness before he flew on the teenager's back and wrapped his arms around the older boy's neck.

Danny then grabbed Box Lunch by the waist with both his hands and placed her under him before saying, "Hang on!"

The Prince picked up speed, and the kids screamed in excitement as they raced through the Ghost World at 100 miles per hour.

However, just as they were nearing Box Lunch's home, which was the closest of the two kids', Danny abruptly came to a halt as he spotted something up ahead.

It was both Youngblood's and Box Lunch's parents. But… Wulf was also with them.

"Uh-o," the young kids said, and Danny echoed them in his mind.

"There you are!" Youngblood's parents exclaimed when they finally made it to their child.

"Box Lunch!" the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady exclaimed in both relief and irritation.

But as the parents fussed over their children, Wulf came right over to Danny and began to sniff him everywhere.

"Wulf, Stop! Stop! I'm fine!" Danny protested as he jolted with the feel of the ghost werewolf's cold nose invading his personal space.

Wulf stopped, and the Prince suddenly wished he had not when the older ghost growled angrily at him.

"You did not wait! I went to your school and you were not there! You are a bad pup for scaring me!"

"I know. I know," Danny replied as he raised his hands up to pacify the ghost. "I'm sorry, Wulf. But I couldn't wait."

But seeing Wulf still looked annoyed, Danny smiled and floated closer. He then placed his hand against the werewolf ghost's symbol and said sincerely, "Really, Wulf, I'm sorry. I promise I didn't mean to worry you. But I'm okay. I just had some things to do. Please do not be mad. You know I'm thankful that you always take such good care of me."

Wulf's frown melded into a smile before he suddenly grinned and kissed the Prince with a huge slobbery tongue. He then replied, "I forgive my pup!"

Danny just sighed as he did his best to wipe off the saliva all over him. Wulf was one of his father's best warriors but that didn't stop him from being an overgrown puppy when he wanted. And yet, ironically, Wulf enjoyed calling him a 'pup'.

Now that Youngblood's and Box Lunch's parents finished scolding their kids, Danny flew over to them.

"GHOOOOST PRIIIINCE! THANK YOOOOU FOR FIIIINDING OUR DAUGHTER! YOOOOU DESERVE MAAAAAAANY BOOOOXES!"

Danny chuckled. "I think you gave me enough boxes last week to last me a lifetime, Box Ghost."

"Then perhaps a nice pie, Dearie?" Lunch Lady suggested sweetly as she conjured one up from thin air and offered it to the Prince.

Danny smiled. "Sure, why not."

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Prince Phantom," Youngblood's father then said. "Thank you for keeping our son safe."

"Yes," the young ghost boy's mother agreed before shooting a stern glance at her son and adding, "We will continue discussing his little escapade once we get home."

Danny nodded. "Yes, I'm sure he will listen this time. That is, if he doesn't want to lost his brand new coat-hanger costume…"

Youngblood quickly stuck out his tongue at the Prince, only to get hit in the back of the head by his father for his disrespect.

Danny grinned. "Well, I best take my leave." He bowed respectfully, and the older ghosts returned his gesture, before he departed with Cujo and Wulf.

They flew in silence for a good mile, and Danny was beginning to think Wulf was still upset with him, when out of nowhere, the ghost werewolf grabbed the teen and cradled him in his arms.

"Wulf! What the heck? Let go!" Danny protested, feeling a bit more than embarrassed at being carried like a child—or a misbehaving puppy.

"Not letting go," Wulf replied with mock sternness; but the smile on his face killed the effect. "This is your punishment for not waiting for me."

Danny struggled to get away but the ghost held him tight. "Oh, come on! I already said I was sorry!"

"Yes, and you said sorry just last week—and the month before. So, I decide now to carry you like a bad pup every time you fly off, Prince," Wulf replied with a pleased look on his face as he continued to fly them towards the castle.

"You know, I'm not 'the pup' you and my father make me out to be," Danny grumbled, this time sounding a bit more serious.

Wulf suddenly stopped and lowered the Prince so that he was floating in front of him. He stared at the bothered child's face before saying gently, "Prince, your father asks me to protect you…"

"Wulf, I appreciate it but I can protect myself!" Danny exclaimed; but then added more desperately, "Look at me, Wulf. I'm… I'm not some weak child anymore."

Wulf nodded before replying, "Yes… not weak. You are strong. But I protect you not because you are weak or strong. That not matter. I protect because I care. You are my pup, my prince, and my… friend. Yes?"

"Yes…," Danny said sadly.

"And your father protects because he cares also," Wulf added with a small smile.

But Danny's expression melded into bitterness, and he replied angrily, "Let's not talk about my father…"

Wulf's ears pressed back in worry. "You angry?"

"Yes, Wulf!" Danny replied with a glare. "I'm angry. No, I'm furious! I'm furious that everyone keeps asking me about him, and all I can say is, 'I don't know!' I'm furious because everyone says he cares and that he's looking out for me when he's not even here! And I'm furious that everyone keeps mentioning him to me!"

"Not furious…," Wulf answered, and pressing his hand against the teen's symbol, he added, "Hurting… here."

But Danny pulled away slightly even when he knew the werewolf ghost was right. He sighed and glanced at his home in the distance as he muttered quietly, "It's late, Wulf. Can we just go home?"

But Wulf shook his head and said, "Being King…. Not easy. War makes core…" He pressed his hand against his own chest. "—Hard. But King is good. Good ghost. Good King. Good leader… Good father."

Danny looked sadly at the older ghost. "I don't want to believe otherwise, Wulf… But… I feel like… I don't know him anymore." Passing a hand through his white bangs he added, "Did you know he won't even talk about my mother anymore? He acts as… as if she never existed. And the worst part is that… I feel like I'm forgetting her, too! I can barely remember her face anymore; and it's his fault, Wulf… And now he's… forgotten he even has a son. So, what am I supposed to think?"

"Not think," Wulf replied with a warm smile before touching the Prince's core again. "You feel here. He loves you?" he asked.

Danny thought back to the last time he had felt his father's touch, and he nodded, "Yes… He loves me."

"Then, it will be okay. You see. He come back soon," Wulf assured him.

Danny smiled weakly. He was still sad and upset, but he felt a lot better than he had all day. "Thanks, Wulf."

But the moment was short-lived when the wind suddenly began to pick up around them, and soon a hissing sound echoed through the dark purple atmosphere.

And then began the all too familiar ripping sound as the fabric separating the Ghost and Human Worlds split open again and again…

Danny frowned as violent portals began to form around them. He didn't remember the last time he had been near a temporary portal…

"Time to go!" Wulf said urgently.

But Danny continued to stare at the portals. He could feel their pulls from a distance before he unconsciously began to drift towards the closest one.

"Prince!"

Danny halted before he nodded. "Alright, I'm coming."

With one last look at the portals, Danny flew alongside Cujo and Wulf and they quickly headed within the safety of the nearby castle…


And there you have it. Prince Phantom at last. Now, don't go complaining about not seeing Vladdie. 'All good things come to those that wait'. Lol! Yes, but you'll see the Ghost King in the next chapter.

So, how did you like this version of Danny? I had to keep in mind that he was raised by Vlad and he's a Prince, so I believe he would have a more proper way of talking; and of course, would act more proper when around someone like Walker, who likes to forget his place! Heheh! But I do hope you all still see 'our Danny' in here, too!

More to come, this chapter was supposed to contain a lot more; but it just got way too long; so I chopped it, and I will be adding the rest of it to the next chapter. Heh. Let's see how that goes!

Well, let me know what you think!

Next update, Endgame.

Ta for now!

Pearl