Crystal: Huzzah, another update!

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all are doing well.

Crystal: enough chitchat, let's get to the chapter.

…~~~oOo~~~…

Previously, on "The Lost Child"

"Everyone grab hold of me." Danny instructed the others, his voice now having an echo-y quality to it.

Just as Tucker and the two boys grabbed onto him, Danny turned around, still keeping an eye on the opposite corridor. Now being able to see his face, she could see his eyes are now a glowing, neon green and his chest has the all too familiar logo. She didn't need to see his face though. She already seen and heard enough to know who this was. Turning them intangible, Danny flew up and phased them out of the building. Sea green eyes blink back the afterimage of the person that they thought they knew, but clearly didn't.

"Fenton- Phantom… Danny's the Ghost Boy?!"

…

"Fairies, godbrother, friends and aliens: welcome aboard the fathership."

Danny turned to give Timmy a baffled look. "Don't you mean mothership?"

Wanda sighed, "It's Cosmo's turn to commandeer the ship…"

Cosmo pumped a fist into the air. "WHOO! I finally have my fathership!"

"Okay team, let's get down to business…"

Chapter 13

Star stumbled down the hallway, keeping an eye out for the robots. The blond girl was battling a storm of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Star had begun to notice things about the youngest Fenton and realized she didn't really know anything about him. She had felt burning curiosity of many unanswered questions, with many more popping up. She was shocked to see one "supposedly wimpy" Danny Fenton deliver a strong blow to one of the robots, then sprinting away top speed while carrying two children to safety. Foley was barely able to keep up. She had, out of curiosity, slipped away from the group in an attempt to follow Danny and Tucker as they escaped.

'I better get back to the group before anyone notices I'm gone.'

She got too wrapped up in her thoughts and Star, not paying attention at that moment, bumped into a familiar person as she rounded the corner. "Val?"

"Star?! What are you doing out and about?" Valerie's tone thick with accusation.

Star narrowed her turquoise eyes. "I could ask you the same thing." She said defensively, crossing her arms.

Valerie huffed. "I'm looking for Danny and Tucker. My dad works here and I know it better than anyone."

"Oh really?"

Sea green eyes glared at the blond, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Gee Val, no need to bite my head off! I never did anything to you."

Guilt consumed Valerie's countenance. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind and I sorta took out my frustration on you."

Star gazed at her friend, eyes softening. "It's okay Val. You know I can't stay mad at you. What's on your mind that bugging you so much?"

"Let's just say that I learned that not everything I thought I knew was true." Val gave a rueful smile.

Something in her tone struck home to Star. "Yeah, I kinda know the feeling…"

Val looked at the blond inquisitively, as if wanting to ask. Before either girl could utter another word, another classmate joined.

"Paulina?!"

The teal eyed Latina froze, looking like she was caught sneaking the last double chocolate chip cookie. She then adopted a nonchalant expression. "There you are Star. You had wandered off and I was getting worried about you."

Val raised an eyebrow at the high school queen bee. "So you came looking for her? Is that it?"

The Latina gave a soft glare. "Yes. Why else would I be wondering about, Hmm?"

"That's what I would like to know…"

"Well we had better be headed back," Paulina began to strut down the hall, but then paused and faced the other girls. "Unless there's someone else that we're looking for~"

Star could tell that Paulina was hinting at something. Valerie must have caught it as well. She glared down the Latina, who returned it with a smirk while Star glanced back and forth between the two with uncertainty.

For what felt like hours, the three girls scrutinized each other. Valerie eventually started down the hall. Star followed, with Paulina matching her gait step by step.

"Okay Paulie, why did you wander away from the group?"

Paulina made a humm in response to the question, choosing to instead focus on her nails.

~~~Behold, The Line Break!~~~

Sam watched from where she and the others had ducked down for safety. More of the mechanical warriors had been unleashed on the town. Fortunately, from what she had heard, it seemed that the robots were only guarding the lab and preventing anyone from entering or exiting; nothing more. Unfortunately, they were blocking the exits, so they were stuck in there. When asked if there were other means of leaving the building, the staff that was with them responded "no".

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam spotted Star coming from a hallway. 'Since when did Star leave the group?' She was quickly followed by Valerie and Paulina. Star had a conflicted expression, Valerie looked like she was ready to slug someone, and Paulina, while she was still acting like her usual self, seemed occupied by something.

Static from the Fenton Phones drew Sam away from her musings.

"What's the status of the robots?"

Sam glanced at Jazz, who was keeping an eye on Timmy's two friends. Knowing the goth girl's intent, Jazz nodded. Scooting away, Sam activated her set. "It's quiet over here; besides the ones combing the lab and the ones standing guard outside, they're not doing much." Sam peeked at the robot in the hall, standing at attention.

"Well, the one they're targeting isn't in the building anymore…" Tucker hummed thoughtfully through the link.

"Don't you think it's strange that the robots aren't doing much?"

"So long as *static*-ing hurt, we can *static*"

"Danny? You're breaking up."

"*static* -am, the- *static* -gic won't wor-*static* -to run!"

The line went dead.

Jazz and Sam exchanged concerned looks. Sounds of weapon fire derailed the two female teens' trains of taxed thoughts. The robot Sam was spying on pivoted, briskly marching down the hallway. A larger explosion shook the building, causing some students to scream. Soon the shaking subsided.

"Pride and Prejudice people, calm down!" Lancer called out to the students who were still panicking. "Miss Gray, you know these labs well as your father works here and you come in to help frequently; is it possible that you are able to lead us through a less-known route to the exit?"

Valerie nodded, her facial features steeling. "Yes."

"What about Fenton and Foley?" Asked one of nerds in the group.

"Danny called me a bit ago. He, Tucker, and their partners had managed to slip by the robots and escape." Sam blurted out. "And by what I can see, the robots have vacated the hallway."

"How do we know that's what happened, and not something like MAGIC!"

"Thank you miss Manson." Mr Lancer said, ignoring the crazed teacher's comment. "Everyone, follow miss Gray in an orderly line. Swiftly, calmly, and quietly now."

…..

The students, teachers, and parent chaperones had exited Axion Labs through an 'Authorized Personnel Only' side door after confirming the exit was clear of robots. More sounds of weapon fire came from the front of the building. As the group distanced themselves from the lab, Sam and Jazz spotted several armored vehicles parked to form a barricade, the men firing at the robots.

Sam rolled her eyes when phones were whipped out, recording the scene playing out. Because a majority of the group was occupied with filming, the overall pace was slowed.

"Idiots…" Sam muttered under her breath. She and Jazz nudged their partners onward, with Chester grumbling about wanting to watch.

The group made it to the parking lot when the familiar screech of the GAV reached their ears. The armored RV pulled up by the buses, with the Fentons leaping out the vehicle, armed to the teeth with various weapons.

"Don't worry kids, the Fentons are here to kick butt," boomed Jack Fenton, hefting a bazooka.

"Who's that?" Chester asked, staring at the jumpsuit-clan adults owlishly. So were the other residents from Dimmsdale. The Amity Parkers, who were more than familiar with the Fentons and their antics, just looked on.

"My parents." Jazz said semi sheepishly. "Mom, Dad; what are you doing here?"

"Are you gonna fight the alien robots?" Questioned AJ.

Through her googles, Maddie tilted her head questioningly. "Aliens? We're here because a ghost came up on our radars, and we tracked it here."

"You mean there's aliens invading the town? COOL!" Mr. Fenton exclaimed excitedly, then caught his wife's glare. "I mean- those space punks won't get away with this!" He amended, shaking his fist.

It was then Mrs. Fenton noticed the absence of one of her kids. "Jazz, where's your brother?"

"Umm, well-"

"The robots were going to nab Fenton and Foley with their partners. They escaped, but the robots chased after them." Yelled out one of the Jocks.

"What?!"

Before anything else was said, several robots dropped down, surrounding the group.

"Designated command: capture humans and await further notice."

"ALIENS!" Hollered Crocker.

The students scampered away from the robots while the Fentons sprang to action.

"You think you can come here and mess with my kids… Well think again!" Maddie cried out, using her Fenton BOO-staff to attack. Her battle prowess kept the robots at bay. "HEEYAAAAH!" Swinging the BOO-staff, she knocked the head of one clean off.

Jack hefted the bazooka, firing at the robots and miraculously hitting his targets. "Madds, I got the robots! EAT FENTON BAZOOKA YOU ALIEN FREAKS!" He let out a few more blasts. "I always wanted to say that…"

During the skirmish, Valerie had snuck off to change into her suit, joining the fight. She zoomed across the battlefield, dropping more of those EMP mini grenades, causing the robots to fall. Using up her EMP grenades, the then switched to her blasters on the rest of the robots.

Sam and Jazz didn't sit idly when they could pull out their own weapons to lend cover fire. They even had spare Wrist-rays for Chester and AJ to use.

"Man, we have the coolest partners ever!"

Static garbled in Sam's ears, the Fenton Phones sputtering noise.

"*static* -most got- *static*"

"Tucker? Is that you?"

"*static* -an yo- *static* -ow Sam?"

"What? Foley, you have better start making sense before I somehow find a way to send my combat boot through this earpiece." Sam hissed into the mic.

"*static* -an you hear me now Sam?"

"Finally! What took you so long?"

"Her highness was blocking all frequencies that weren't her own. I had to hack into the mainframe -man, so cool!- and reconfigure some things. Oh, and by the way, I heard your comment about the combat boot. I don't appreciate being threatened."

"How's my little brother? And what about the others?" Jazz asked, worry lacing her tone.

"Okay, let me back up to where the comms were blocked. It turns out that Bodacian tech can cancel out fairy magic and Mandie was ready for Timmy and the Fairies. We ended up getting split up, me with Mark's two friends, Zeke with Mark-"

"Wait, Zeke's there?"

"The dude's like Loki or something-" a war cry from Maddie rang out. "What's going on over there?"

"Mom fighting the robots" *explosion caught by the earpiece*

"Man, Danny and that Mandie chick are really at it. Where can I get a plasma sword like that?" There was some more sounds of destruction filtering through the earpieces, along with the sound of Danny's voice in the background. "And she's back to flirting with him. So sad, can't take no for an answer and won't realize that there are other eligible bachelors in the room…" Tucker muttered to himself.

Sam and Jazz rolled their eyes at the last comment. An explosion caught the girls' attention as they whirled to see the smoking remains of the Fenton GAV.

"NOOOO~!" Wailed Danny and Jazz's dad in anguish over the destroyed vehicle. Using this as an distraction, the robots swiftly restrained the Fenton parents. More robots started swarming Valerie.

"Tucker, are you able to hack into the robots?" Jazz asked nervously.

"I'm working on that-"

"Well 'work on that' faster or I will send my combat boot through this earpiece!" Sam threatened as she as Jazz grabbed the smaller boys and began to retreat.

"Almost-

*crash*

(Tucker the genius friend of Phantom, the robots are breaking in!)

Keep them occupied a little longer!"

Metal hands grabbed the teen girls and Timmy's friends.

"Tucker!"

…~~~oOo~~~…

Crystal: What will happen to our heroes? What's going on with the space team? Will Sam and Jazz escape the clutches of the robots? Will Jack Fenton get vengeance for his Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle? Will Tucker finally get a girlfriend? And will Tiamat finally bring me those Nach Bungle chips that I absolutely love?! Tune in next time to find out in "The Lost Child".

'Til next time!