This may well be the last update today, but I promise more for tomorrow! I just couldn't leave you guys on too much of a cliffie... .

I hope you enjoy!

Vlad Masters mystery finally solved

It took three years, but Vlad was found at the bottom of the tallest tower of the Masters mansion. Forensic evidence suggests that he was only very recently deceased. Suicide is the most likely cause, but due to the fact that he was missing for three years, and some other anomalies, foul play has not yet been ruled out.

"It's time to lay this case to rest," Mayor Masters says. "I'll always keep his spirit close at hand."

Mayor Masters has also recently stated her intention of running for president for the next term.

Jazz stared in horror from behind a counter at the thing struggling on the second observation table. It still had the signature jumpsuit on, but its face was the same sickly blue as Vlad's, its hair looked to be on fire, and it had an impressively deadly set of fangs.

Jazz peeked the other way, at the Danny she knew and loved. It was... not a pretty sight around the abdomen, to PG the least. He was awake, but not having a lot of luck with those restraints fastening his arms to the observation table. Only his arms, luckily; on the other side, the monster had thick green restraints on both arms and legs.

Both of them had a time medallion on them; it must have somehow duplicated during the split.

"You're mine!" Jasmine was still babbling at the monster she had created, which stuck out a forked tongue and hissed at her. Jazz crept out from behind the counter and dashed towards Danny. "I knew it would work, but this... it's beyond my wildest imaginings, and I bet it still has enough base instincts to recognise me as family, though most likely not enough intelligence to speak. How do you feel, slave? One hiss for forever in my service, two hisses for forever in my service!"

Jazz pryed at the cuffs surrounding Danny's arms, and felt it give a little. She tried harder.

"I feel powerful." A deep voice penetrated the room, and Jazz looked up. The monster was talking.

"Why, my slave talks!" Jasmine frowned. "This is-"

"You naive girl." The monster growled. "You really think I'd happily do your bidding?"

Jazz looked around her feet, and found a crowbar. She managed to break the first cuff.

"What are you talking about?" Jasmine spoke with a tremor in her voice. "You wouldn't hurt me. Besides, right now you can't. Nothing could break those cuffs I put on you, not even a creature from the very depths of the Ghost Zone!"

"I take that as a challenge." There was the sound of twisting, grating metal, and with an effort, the strange hybrid ghost had freed one of his arms. "Oops." It grinned at Jasmine, who had gone very pale all of a sudden.

"That's impossible!" She declared. "But even if you could, you couldn't kill me!"

Jazz destroyed the second cuff that Danny was trapped in, and she dragged him off of the observation table and the two of them hid behind it. He felt very warm... very human. To her, he felt very, very vulnerable.

"Jazz?" Danny groaned, and Jazz slapped a hand across her brother's mouth.

"Really?" There was the sound of another cuff breaking, and when Jazz peeked around the side, she saw it break off the two that restrained his feet at once. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't incinerate you where you stand."

"Why-why would you do that, Danny?" Jasmine cowered. "Go kill that useless part of Danny over there, or something! Just don't hurt me! Please!"

"Call me Dan."There was a pause, and Jazz could almost feel Dan's eyes boring into the back of her. But if they kept still, if they kept still then maybe there was a small chance that they'd be saved? Please?

Jazz drew her feet up to her chest, but as she did so, they made a squeak along the floor. She froze like a deer caught in a car's headlights.

The entire slanted table Danny and Jazz were hiding under started to move, and before they knew it, Dan had ripped it out of the ground and there was nothing, nothing in between them and the monster. Jazz grabbed Danny.

"It seems my little sister came to enjoy the birthday." Dan charged up an ecto-bolt. "Any last words?"

"You can't waste me!" Jazz tried to sound braver than she felt. "If you waste me, my future self doesn't exist. If my future self doesn't exist, what happens to you?"

Dan stopped to consider. "You really dulled with age, you know. But you are right." He started to grin. "That reminds me of something. I still haven't cheated on my CAT test, have I?"

"What?" Jazz frowned.

"I'm sure your future self can fill in the exposition before I return and finish her off." Dan grinned evilly at Jasmine, who gulped. "But I've got to get to where I need to be."

With that, he lifted off his time medallion, causing him to disappear.

If Jazz hadn't been so worried for her brother, she might have realised that it really was that easy to travel back to their time period; Jasmine had simply lied to them.

"Danny, are you okay?" Jazz shook her brother, whose eyes were closed. "Danny!"

Danny opened his eyes part way. "Jazz?"

"Don't you fall asleep on me. Hey, you!" Jazz shouted at her older self.

"Don't talk to me!" Jasmine paced to and fro."I'm busy. I have two days to figure out how I can save myself from the monster I've created!"

"Jazz-" Jazz balled her fists.

"Jasmine. I'm not a saxophone!" Jasmine corrected her. "Now if I upgrade those ghost gauntlets..."

"Fine. I'll just call you a heartless jerk then," Jazz snapped, exasperated. "You got us into this mess, and if you don't help, Danny might die!"

"It's really cold in here," Danny spoke softly, driving home Jazz's point.

"So what? He's died on me before." Jasmine retorted. "What's in it for me?"

That statement alone made Jazz's blood boil, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Look, we're really great ghost fighters. I don't know if you remember the time back when you weren't a crazy sociopath, but we can take Dan down, if only you'd help my brother, you know, not die."

"It's no use. This half of Danny is just a vulnerable human. We'd need a Ghost Por-" Jasmine stopped midsentence. She snapped her fingers and grinned.

"Hello?" Jazz waved her hand at her future self.

"That's it! I know just what to do to save me." Jasmine produced a large first aid kit from seemingly nowhere. "Our brother will be back to health in no time."

Jazz had a bad feeling about this little plan her older self was concocting, but she didn't have all that much a choice at the moment. "You mean, my brother."