A Means to an End, Beginning of Another

Episode 03: Not The Only One

Sighing softly, Dan pushed his messy black hair from his eyes, peering towards the aparition beside him. "Are you sure no one can see you?" The ghost, a mirror image of himself with the only difference seeming to be blue eyes, nods simply, bringing his arms up over his head and looking as if he were popping his back. Though he didn't have a body of course. "Yeah. Well, no one except for a few people. But that's only because they've been in contact with me or spiritual things." He seemed pretty knowledgable, his blue eyes seeming to shine, "Tucker and Sam can see me of course, just because of their long term exposure to myself and the other ghosts from the Ghost Zone. Sam has a better connection than Tucker cause we share a small psychic link. Your mother can see me because of the brother-sister bond we have. The goggles help too." Dan pointed to himself but remained silent as Danny continued, "You can see me clearer than all of them because one, you're part of my family like your mother, two, because I've been in your body." Dan slides his hands behind his head, looking up towards the sky, "So, basically it's a more extreme case of what Alex's parents have," the ghost nods to this, "How about Alex?" Danny pondered a bit, laughing, "I think besides the fact she has their combined intelligence, the spiritual residue from not only me but all the ghosts, ghouls, and general weirdness of being possessed; rubbed off on her. She can see me pretty clearly I surmise." Dan paused to let it all sink in. It was weird to be talking to his dead uncle like this. It had been a couple of days of getting used to having him in his room, it was taking a little while longer to have all this ghost business thrown at him. Dan didn't like the idea of someone taking over his body, to which Danny had promised to get express permission from then on. It made him a little comfortible, but didn't make him feel as easy as he should have. The spectre of Danny Fenton peers up into the sky, laughing a little, "I can say something good about being like this," Dan turned to look at his uncle, "I don't have to go to school." Dan groaned.

Danny smiles, his eyes shutting briefly, "Golden years aren't exactly golden are they?" Dan nodded in agreement, his hands shoving deep into his pockets, "You can say that again," he replied as they approached Alex's house. Sitting on the front doorstep was the girl in question, her elbows propped on her knees as she stared into the sky quietly. Her thoughts wandered, staring into the deep blue, the faint hint of clouds slowly passing by her vision. Today she wore a slightly less figure exposing garment in the form of baggy blue jeans and a white dress shirt, a black T-shirt pulled over it, exposing the collar and rolled up sleeves of the dress shirt. She wore a red cap on her head, having it tilted slightly to the side with her newly highlighted bangs hanging freely in a soft, scarlet color; violet eyes remaining fixed on the horizon. At first, she didn't even notice the hand moving in front of her eyes, it wasn't until twin images of her best friend appeared in front of her, the only minor difference being the color of their eyes. She blinked, slowly at first, then shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh... hey didn't see you there," she said lamely. Dan wrinkled his nose a bit speaking first, "We've been in front of you for about three minutes." Danny drew his hand back, blue eyes looking a little concerned. "What're you doing sitting on the porch?" asked the spirit, an honest smile crossing her face, "Sorry, my parents flew out of town for a few hours. They told me, to tell you, that the thermos would be ready later today." Dan wrinkled his nose a bit, peering between his uncle and his friend, "Thermos?" Danny laughs nervously, before making a motion with his hand, "You'd think it weird that a thermos worked well as a ghost capturing device." Dan's face showed a bit of skepticism, but merely replied with, "Stranger things have happened." With that, the three began towards Casper High School.

"Nothing's really changed..." Danny mused, his eyes darting around at the houses. It was true, the same dull colors, lawns, and even white picket fences. He couldn't believe how in twenty years time, hardly a thing changed. Sure, the hardware store was now a parking lot for the mall which stood on what used to be an empty field, and sure the ice cream shop was no longer in business, replaced by a fast food take out place, but largely, it was unchanged. Harold hadn't been to school since the incident, seemed as if he was shell shocked still seeing ghosts and goblins. Well... just ghosts. Alex and Dan were a bit worried about him, but largely tended to keep their concerns to a minimal. After all, who knew Harold better than his two best friends? He'd get over it in his own time. Danny floated quietly beside the two, taking in every sight, filling his vision with the vibrant life that was the living world. Ghost world, in comparison was bland by far, shades of green, black, electric blue sometimes, but never as fulfilling as this. Alex watched quietly, looking at her best friend a bit, then the profile of the ghostly boy. They were so similar and so different, it was weird seeing them. It was like they were two halves of one person. Apparently Dan was the more intelligent of the two when Danny recounted his favorite phrase, 'If I weren't a C level student', followed by the excuse. She found it mildly amusing, before seeing Danny stop in his floating, looking back behind them. She blinked and tugged on Dan's shirt, before both turned around. Danny erked as he was literally run through by a larger figure, soon showing itself in the form of Flash Baxter.

Dan groaned, bringing his fingertips to his forehead. He knew that not seeing Flash yesterday was too good to be true. Taking a deep breath as his uncle watched on, he looked up towards the 'all American guy' and 'everyone's idol', flashing a smile, his eyes shutting, "Hey Flash, how goes it?" His tone didn't carry anything but the monotony of practice. Flash, of course, didn't notice it, nor did he feel the cold chill when he had run through the boy's ghostly uncle. "Hey Fenton," The ghost couldn't help but wince, he seemed to know that tone, "I heard you were eyeballing my sister in fifth period yesterday." It was true, he got caught, his mind mentally prodding that he should possibly give up and go for ... safer endeavors.The fact he got caught by the girl in question, as well as one of the players from the football team wasn't a good sign. Taking a deep breath, he laughs nervously, putting his hand behind his head, "Oh Flash, it must be some sort of mistake. I might have been looking out of the window and they mistook me for looking at your sister." Danny merely facefaults, his expression becoming rather disbelieving, with good reason as Flash growls, "She sits in the middle of the classroom." Well, you couldn't say Flash didn't have some intelligence. Flash pokes at Dan's chest, growling a bit, "Be at your locker in two minutes. Got it?" With that, he storms away, leaving the trio behind as Alex glances to him, "Why do you take this kind of junk from him?"

"Well, let's see," he begins counting off his fingers sarcastically, "He has the capability to beat me up, he has the capacity to sic the whole football team on me, and I don't want to get in bad graces with his sister." Danny looked a little surprised as he floated there, Alex turning to the ghost, noticing the slack jaw and the hanging mouth, "What's a matter?" Danny paused, closing his mouth as Dan turned to him as well, Danny closing his eyes for a few minutes, before bursting out laughing. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Dan blinks at his uncle, tipping his head, "What?" Shaking his head Danny begins floating towards the school again, "Seems my bloodline is cursed to running into his bloodline." Dan blinks as Danny tips his head back to him, "I'll let you out of the locker when he's gone. Don't want you missing your first two or three periods waiting for someone to let you out." Alex blinked as well, before moving quickly to catch up, Dan following suit. "How..." they both began before the ghost moved his finger to silence them both, "His father and I go way back. I wonder who he married?" A young woman stepping off the bus as the three arrive gave him the answer to that question. The girl waves towards Flash, smiling quietly to the taller boy, angry looks thrown in random people's directions as they began towards the school. Danny smirks, sliding his hands behind his head, "That's his sister?" Alex nods, seeming to become strangely aggitated, "Yeah that's her. Dan, stop drooling." Dan sighs, picking his jaw from the floor.

"Well," began Danny, "that's a dangerous combination. Never would have seen them getting together, but then again, like you said, stranger things have happened." Alex huffs a bit, holding her books closer to her chest. Danny, noticing this only smiles. It's almost like then too..., he thought quietly, deciding not to bring attention to it, he looks at Dan, "Hey don't you have an appointment?" Dan nods slightly, hanging his head. "Yeah no problem..." Danny smiles a bit after him, as soon as he leaves their eyesight, he whispers to her ear, "Hey get your phone out, I don't want them giving you weird looks." She nods a bit, picking her phone from her pocket. Flipping it open, Danny nods as she walks into the school with the ghost in tow. "So, how much time till class starts?" A mundane question he thought, but she replied anyway, "About fifteen minutes." He nods, thinking as they wandered the halls, the current situation seeming as if she were just talking to some friend on her phone, "Alright then," he looked her over a bit, floating in front of her, making himself a little more transparent as he floats backwards while talking, "So what's with the bangs and clothes?" She seemed a little less like her mother this way he surmised but she replied with, a small giggle escaping, "I've been watching too much anime lately." He paused, processing that, "Japanese cartoons?" he ventured as she nodded in reply. "Ahhhh..." as it dawned on him. And in all actuallity she didn't look bad that way. The way her ponytail tied back spiked out behind her, her bags frosted with hair gel, keeping it in place, even her clothes seemed to fit the look.

He could see a lot of her mother in her, from those deep pools of violet that seemed to hold a bit of mystery, a bit of mischief, and a lot of reason behind their depths, to the smile she projected at his inquiries. If he knew what he knew now all those years ago with Sam, things might have been different. He might have been able to have her first kiss. Danny Fenton regretted very few things in his life, and kissing Sam was one of them. He seemed a little lost before noticing Alex's worry etched expression. Tch, he'd been staring too long. He smiles softly, reaching out lightly, brushing his cold fingers by her forehead, causing her to flush lightly and shiver a bit. "You're worried about him." She blinked, nearly dropping her phone, "What?" she asked, a little shaken by his sudden statement. "Dan," he said, smiling, "You're worried about him getting hurt with that girl huh?" She paused, thinking it over. Deciding that confiding in him was okay, she nods a bit, "I am. I'm worried she's going to really hurt him, y'know?" The ghost nods a bit as she finds her locker, leaning against it with the phone still propped on her shoulder, watching the students mill about. The ghost sits above her on the top of the lockers, looking down upon her, her eyes cast up as if looking at the ceiling. He pondered his next statement, leaving a little hint, maybe some ambiguity, "Sam used to do that with me a lot. I guess you got that from her too." She rolls her eyes a bit before offering a warm smile. "Guess so." She made a small glance around before continuing, "Better go let Dan out of the locker. It's almost time for class." He opened his mouth to speak but caught him before he said anything, "371." With a small smile, she closed her phone, tucking it safely away into her pocket, then headed into the classroom.

The ghost quietly smiled, watching after the young girl, his arms folded over his chest. He takes a deep breath, grinning halfly to himself, "If only I were still alive," he said to himself, pushing off from the lockers and began floating towards the numbered locker, "Dan you have no idea what you're missing out on."

Dan picked his head up from his table, sighing lightly. The day went by incredibly slow, it was probably because he wasn't stuck in his locker for the first three periods. Note taking had lost it's interest and he found himself looking out the window. His ghostly uncle sat on the back of his chair, whispering to Alex every now and again, her replies written down on the paper she was taking notes on. At least they were entertaining themselves. Alex tried involving him into their conversation and looked a little disappointed when he declined in favor of trying to look busy. He had been wide awake up till fifteen minutes ago, especially after the way he got out of the locker. It was weird, when Danny took possession of his body briefly (only briefly, he agreed to it while in the locker), and he walked through the metal door. The feeling wasn't unpleasant as much as it was disturbing. Danny seemed to have made it look as if he had done it on multiple occasions and to his surprise apparently he had gone through practically the same thing. The coincidences were a bit disturbing, but he chose to dismiss them and just focus on resting his weary mind. The last few days, what with his uncle taking his body, the fight, the whole thing about being related to a ghostly hero was all a little disturbing. He still hadn't grasped everything but Alex took it in stride. He made a small side glance to her, watching her smile towards the ghost of his uncle. They seemed to get along quite well, he seemed to be telling stories about her parents which amused her to no end.

He felt a strange bit of resentment, maybe jealousy? ...he wasn't sure or would admit to himself so he quietly turned his head in the other direction, quietly thinking as he watched the wall. He tried his best not to look in the direction of Gwen, he'd already gotten caught last time and he didn't feel like getting throw into his locker again so soon after getting out. A small inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he continued looking at the wall, tracing his pencil along the lines of his notebook paper idly. Today was going by so incredibly slooooowww... he quietly shut his eyes, allowing them to rest, lest he strain them from staring at the wall.

Alex glances out of the corner of her eye towards the black haired young man. Scribbling down her question, she pointed to it with her eraser as Danny leaned over, looking at it. 'What's wrong with Dan?', he blinked, merely shrugging as he whispered, "I dunno." he peered towards the tired looking mirror image. Dan didn't move much but his pencil appeared to keep moving back and forth while his head rested quietly. It looked as if he were taking notes to the casual onlooker but to those who knew better, he was just plain bored out of his mind. He wondered if it had anything to do with the excitement his mind felt when he was in Dan's body and fighting Spectre. He hoped he didn't leave any residual emotions, that could lead to a whole lot of confusion. While pondering what possible causes it could be, Alex quietly folds her arms over her table, leaning her head on her forearms to watch his back silently. Dan, he meant a lot to her ever since they had become friends, and over the years it just continued to grow. She honestly wished him happiness, her eyes momentarily glancing towards Gwen, whom seemed to be in her own little world, twirling her hair around her finger idly waiting for the bell, and the school day, to end; but she couldn't see him happy with that shallow woman. Her eyes slid back over to his back, watching him shift slightly. He was aggitated about something, for what, she didn't have a clue. She could only tell so much without him saying anything. She guessed that he'd tell her when he was ready.

The drum of the bell shook the three out of their thoughts, Danny floating down to the ground, people beginning to file out towards the door, the ones in Alex's row walking through him, getting a cold chill as they moved by her. They cast her a few strange looks as she placed her things into her bag, sliding it onto her back while gathering her books. Dan moved quietly, sliding his things into his bag and tossing his pencils into the smaller compartment. The bored looking expression was further reinforced by his yawn, his eyes shutting as he threw an arm into the air, stretching quietly. "God today feels longer than it should..." he mumbled to himself, Alex offering a smile. He was just being his normal self, she didn't need to worry so much. ...that is until she made her way to him. Dan blinked as the girl of his affections stood near his desk, offering him a bright smile. Alex made a scowl, Danny blinking as he lightly sets his cool hands on her shoulders, her body feeling his cold enough to calm slightly as the sultry young woman opened her mouth to speak, "Fenton?" He winced a bit, unnoticible apparently to the woman currently in front of him, but he tried to look calm about it, clearing his throat to keep it from cracking. It only worked halfway as he replied, "Yeah Gwen?" The woman reached up, throwing her hair back over her shoulder, her tubetop holding lightly to the curves of her body, her soft, deep emerald gaze causing something inside the young man to melt. "I don't understand too much of this physics stuff," she said, Alex muttering audibly enough for Danny to hear, "Or much else..." Danny winced, hearing the bit of venom on her words. He wondered if that's how Sam acted when he talked about Paulina.

"Yeah?" Dan sounded lost, dumb, totally at her mercy as she smiled, another part of him melting, and if it could be seen, hearts floating out of his ears. Her full lips seemed to pout slightly, causing something inside of Dan's heart to skip a bit as she said, "I heard from Flash," the name caused him to wince unconsciously, "that you're actually pretty good at this stuff, so, would you mind coming with me to the mall and tutoring for a bit?" His eyes half opened, he looked elated, as if he'd just been offered eternal life, or something to that effect. He nodded dumbly, smiling stupidly as she lightly trailed a finger beneath his chin and turned, "Alright... I'll see you around 4?" He nods again stupidly, watching her wander through the door, leaving him in an elated stupor. He leaned against the wall, sighing happily, as if the simple question of being asked out like that meant he might have a chance with that girl. Alex frowned, her eyes narrowing a little as she watched Dan, mumbling to herself. Dan hearing a bit of her mumbling looked towards her with a sort of dazed expression, "You say something Alex...?" he looked as if he were on cloud 9. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she looked at him, forcing a smile, "No, nothing at all." with that she began to walk to the door, leaving behind a bewildered Dan. Danny blinked a bit, beginning to float forward as a wisp of blue vapor escaped out of his mouth, his eyes glazing over slightly. Dan stopped, noticing this as Alex did in her glance back to call Danny. "Er..." blinked Dan as Danny began glancing around, "Crap," was his only response as he began floating towards them, "Something from the Ghost Zone is around here. I'm uh, going to need your body Dan."

Dan blinked, "Oh no. Not today. This is the first and only time Gwen has even asked me anything remotely resembling a date. Can't this wait?" Danny was about to speak as Alex seemed to burn red with a little resentment and maybe a little anger, "Let him go on his 'date' Danny. I'll go with you." she reached out to the spectre's wrist, leaving him awestruck and momentarily materializing his arm to let her drag him out of the room as she stormed out in a huff. Dan blinked after her, looking confused. Alone in the classroom he scratches his cheek lightly, "What's her deal today...?" he said to no one in particular, bringing his hand to his head and scratching furiously. "I'm never going to understand girls." with that, he began out of the classroom to change into some casual clothing, hoping to impress the object of his affections, at least just a little.

"The nerve of that idiot," she huffed, her eyes narrowed as she continued storming in the direction of the library. Danny was still held by her fingertips, which wasn't all that unpleasant despite her anger. He lightly tugged back, feeling her jerk back a little, her face turning to him in a bit of surprised, "Ah... is something wrong Danny?" He scratched his cheek lightly, floating slightly in front of her, "Er... well kinda and sorta..." She blinked a bit, tilting her head, seeming to ask a question in her gestures. "Well, y'see, we don't have a body to use if we do run into the fight..." She blinked, before a large smile crossing her face, "Well, you could use my body, right?" she said cheerfully, before scowling, "Unlike Dan who thinks that a date with that wench is worth more than doing what needs to be done." She huffed angrily as a bead of sweat pops off the back of Danny's head. Well, seems she's got Sam's temperment times three. I wonder if it's that time of the month... he thought dryly as he lightly pats her shoulders. "Well, it's not entirely that simple." He lightly patted her shoulders, having her sit on the steps leading towards the library. She blinked, "Isn't it just possession?" He winced slightly, laughing nervously, "No it's not as simple as that." He waved his hand, producting what looked to be a diagram, "See, normal ghostly possession is sort of... unorthedox. When ghost A possesses a person, they're trying to change the person's body to suit them. Hense when people are possessed their skin tone changes to that unnatural green, red eyes, scales sometimes, etc. Now, when I possess someone, it's not because I want to change them into a form I can use. No, far from it, I'm merely borrowing them as a vessel, placing my knowledge, my reflexes, my abilities, and pretty much, my ghostly powers to use through them. Sure, with Dan it seemed like possession, but when we collided... I sort of knocked him out, so that doesn't count. You follow?"

She nodded slowly, trying to absorb what he was saying. He takes a breath briefly, before continuing, "With Dan, I was able to use my abilities to the fullest, for one, because he was blood. Family. The second, and biggest reason, is his body type and build are an exact match to what mine used to be. I was comfortible in the body so I could fight to my full extent. I'm sure I can possibly get into your body with little trouble," he paused, his eyes shutting as a faint stain crossed his face, "Okay that sounded wrong." It was Alex's turn to blush as he waved a hand, continuing, "What I mean to say is, I wouldn't have a problem bonding with you. But since I don't know your equilibrium, I'm not sure how well I'd be able to handle it..." She blinks a little, sorting it out a bit. "Well..." she thought, carefully placing her words together, "would it be possible for me to be in control of my body, while using your abilities? You could teach me as we went along?" He blinked. It wasn't that bad of an idea he thought, he was actually planning on doing the same thing with Dan. Though... he tapped his cheek, looking over her, before voicing his thoughts, "Well, it wouldn't hurt. It'd be a nice back up plan in case Dan decides to pull something like this again." She nods enthusiastically as Danny felt a wisp escape from his mouth, the cold vapor familiar as he slowly floats down. "It's here."

She glanced around, before looking back at him, "So what do we do?" Danny began glowing, before constructing himself into a little blue sphere. The sphere poofed into a bright blue flame, his face appearing on the face of the ball, before shooting to her chest. She lurches back a bit, stumbling while closing her eyes as she felt the cool flame contact her skin and into her body, sending a warm, pleasant shiver down her spine. Then she felt it, his voice in her head, 'Okay. This isn't a bad start. You mind letting me control your body for the moment?' He was pretty polite about it, so how could she refuse? She shook her head a bit, feeling a little detached, yet still there as he took her form. Her eyes opened, the normally violet irises shining a soft, soulful blue. The smile that crossed her features didn't seem to fit as her body began moving into the library, pushing the heavy door open and moving into the darkness. 'So,' she asked within the mindscape, watching Danny take control of her actions. 'what do you think it is?' Danny pondered, Alex's face seeming to follow the thoughtful look, before Danny replied using her voice, in a soft whisper "Well, it's probably a librarian ghost. Ghosts tend to haunt places they have an affinity or familiarity with." Inside of her own mind she nodded, watching as Danny carefully rounded the corner with her body. Blinking, her body moves back quickly, flipping onto one hand as a plasma covered book goes crashing into the wall where she once stood, her eyes flashing to look into the darkness. Slowly coming into her newly aquired ghost vision, she found the librarian. The portly spectre floats, holding what looked to be one of those library carts.

The ghost hovered, holding a book and hissed between what would be considered teeth, "Quiet!" she ground out while seeming to reload another book into her hand. The large glasses overshadowed what would be considered her eyes, casting a strong glare from them, her large beehive hairdo showing that she'd died quite some time ago. Anny (which she will be referred to from now on while Danny's in her body), narrows her sapphire eyes, Alex inside of the mindscape folding her arms over her chest, a little surprised at the manuver that Danny was able to perform with her body. Time inside of her mind seemed to move slower as Danny made a motion for her, 'I'm really going to need your help now.' She nodded. Both their forms seemed to blur together, Danny's superimposed upon Alex's as her blue eyes snapped open once more. Anny brought herself to stand up straight, lowering her hand and snapping her fingertips downward lightly, "I'm goin' ghost." Light began to expand from her abdomen, Alex within the mind gasping quietly as the cold ran throughout her body, sending chills down every nerve, the light circling her abdomen. Eyes shutting as the cold consumed her, she heard Danny's calm voice inside of her mind, 'Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you.' The reassurance from his kind tone was enough to put her at ease and continue with the transformation.

The circular light split in two, one running down her body, the other drawing up her form. Instead of the black jump suit Danny had worn, it seemed to create a negative effect upon her clothing. Her white dress shirt became black, the black T-shirt turning white, while her pants shifted from blue to red. Her sneakers seemed to follow suit as her hat dissolves away in the process. Her hair wisps around her face, seeming to make her almost angelic in a sense as the pigment in her skin dissolves away, making her skin a porcelain tone. Her hair fades, bleaching out to a stark white, the highlights glowing in an eerie luminescent blue. Snapping her eyes open, the electric green flooded her irises as that confident smile crossed her features. Knowledge flooded her brain as she adopted a stance, reeling a fist back to her hip. The ghost, stunned while the transformation went on, instantly regained composure, growling. Her form expanded as the anger grew, eyes narrowing dangerously as she growled out, "Halfa..."

Dan sighed, sitting in the chair. His arms felt like giving out, he'd been carrying her bags and they hadn't gotten to do any studying at all. He had brought his books and things for nothing, and she hardly talked to him only to tell him to carry something. He wondered if she was even concerned at all about what she was doing to him. Felt even worse than when he just looked at her, being ignored like this was terrible. Currently, she was trying on another dress, and left him to rest his weary legs in a chair. He made an inventory of the bags, counting ten in all, each filled with various designer apparel. How could a girl wear these many outfits? He sighed again, beginning to regret he agreed to this. Lightly fingering his backpack with his index finger, he stared blankly into the space before him. Alex had been pretty cross with him and Danny looked lost when she dragged him off to do this whole ghost hunting bit. It wasn't that he wanted to, but how many times do you get to go out with the school's most popular girl? He couldn't help that his hormones were dictating him. He rubs his nose idly, staring up at the ceiling, letting his muscles relax.

Here he was, with the school's most popular and beautiful girl, he should be happy. He glanced at the closed dressing room door, watching her slowly exit, smiling quietly at him. He felt his heart drop to his feet, along with his jaw. She wore a rather revealing sundress, perfect for those summer occasions. Her slightly tanned skin seemed to glow, her slender legs and arms accenting the dress quite nicely as she brought her hands to her hair, pushing the long locks up. "How does it look?" He blinked, picking his jaw up from the floor, before finding his voice, "Uh... g-great..." she giggled, quietly stealing into the dressing room, leaving him stunned. Yeah she did look good in that outfit. Or any of the hundreds of other outfits she tried. Though a soft, incessant sigh escaped his lips as he sank in his seat. A little voice in the back of his head kept nagging at him, well not nagging, more like yelling at him. She was ignoring him for her outfits, he barely got several sentences out since they came and humans, being the social creatures they are, demanded conversation. Though he'd never say that to her face. He sighs again, intertwining his fingertips together and laying them over his chest. He honestly felt bad about not going, he was more than a little worried about what would be going on, especially with Alex involved. '...especially with her involved?' he thought, then stopped thinking. Thoughts like that didn't belong there, he told himself, before lightly tapping his fingertip on the arm of the seat, looking at the time.

He felt like he was waiting for the bell to go off all over again, time seeming to go by so incessantly slow he felt like he was dying under a microscope, every little detail of the world around him being absorbed. Hell he felt like everything around him was in slow motion. His fingertip began tapping a little faster as he became impatient, his eyes half open as he glanced off to the side. His eyes scanning the entrance to the mall with a bit of scrutiny. His eyes finally settled on a large screen display inside of a video store. Apparently they were playing some animated movie of some sort, it looked to be a samurai drama. The male was leaned against the wall, his red hair hanging over deep golden eyes, tied back in a ponytail and a single scar along his left cheek. The main character his mind supplied. Behind him stood a young woman, about his height, her eyes holding fright as she grasped onto a scarf. The couple were surrounded, the hand of the male moving to the weapon, Dan's eyes focusing more on the TV as he watched the man charge into the alleyway beginning to attack their would be capturers. The scene focuses back upon the woman, her eyes never tearing from the display as their shadows danced over her and on the wall, the men being cut down quickly, remorselessly. His attention drawn further, the red haired man grabs onto her hand and begins to lead her away, possibly to safety.

They arrive at a home, apparently the enemy had already cleaned it out of possible friends, he couldn't tell. The red haired swordsman leans against the wall, obscuring him from the vision of the assailants, and began reaching for his sword, before showing a surprised expression. His eyes slowly move away from them and draw upon her. Her eyes, soft and sorrowful hold onto the weapon and his hand, shaking her head quietly. She seems to whisper something, and from Dan's distance, he couldn't tell, and his eyes soften upon gazing upon the woman. Quietly, they turn away, slowly stealing away into the night, leaving behind the scene of battle or a would be battle. Dan continued staring, replaying the scene in his head a few times, before shaking out of his state by a soft tap against his shoulder. Finally able to rip his eyes away from the display, he found two very disapproving eyes upon him. He blinks, smiling sheepishly, "Er sorry, you were saying something?" She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "I said let's get going." He nods a bit, dumbly in fact, and quietly gathers the bags, playing the scene back in his head. Taking a deep breath, he wondered quietly how Alex and Danny were doing at the moment...

A blast of energy in the shape of an ectoplasmic book zips by Anny's head, her eyes narrowed as she growls a little bit. "That almost hit my face!" Unlike Danny, who risked his body, she didn't want to have scars or bruises to show for her fighting. At some level she was really self conscious and proud of her body. She, like all women, liked taking care of their bodies. Danny was helping her as best as he could, but despite their bonding it was hard for her to keep up with all of the reflexes he had. Bringing her fist back, several after images followed before throwing the punch forward, the after shadows following her line. The force from the punch was launched, sending her skidding back as the librarian took the force of the blow, with little effect. She was faster, much faster than Dan, but she didn't have the type of power he did, which made it that much harder for Danny to properly guage her power for proper retailiation. The Librarian's right arm transforms into a ghostly tentacle, swinging it back and throwing it forward towards Anny, who brings her arms up, channeling spiritual forces and constructing a lime colored shield. The force sends her skidding across the room, her body moving quickly as she pushes off into the air, flipping and landing onto the table. She pants heavily, her eyes half open as her mindscape tries to hold the two of them together. 'Alex, you're running low on spiritual force...', Danny spoke inside of her mind, voice etched with worry. She growls, her bangs lightly trailing over her slightly fading green gaze, "I'll be fine, we need to send her back to the Ghost Zone, right?" He only nodded inside of her mind as she renewed her assault.

Drawing her hand out, she pulled back, drawing her fist to her hip as the energy began manifesting, her knee bending before throwing herself up into the air with a jump. Pooling it from her spiritual force, the green light began to wisp around her fingertips as concentration etched its way across her features, her green eyes focusing. Poking her index finger out, she growls, pushing what she had left into this one shot, forcing it forward and pushing her finger towards the librarian, "Mashin Gaaaan!" The energy begins lashing out from her fingertips, a rapid fire of ectoplasmic bullets raining down upon the librarian, effectively pelting her and just about everything around her, the sound of gun fire echoing out from her fingertip. The force of the blast was enough to keep her airborne a little longer as she began falling backwards, nearly stumbling on her landing. She coughed, down on one knee, the electric green fading from her eyes a bit. She tried hard to focus, her vision getting blurry as she grinds out, "Did I get em...?"

Cutting through the smoke, laughter erupted as a tendril swings out through the smoke, heading towards her at alarming speed. Dazed she begins to try to manuver but feels the exhaustion taking over. Concentrating vainly, she feels Danny pulling out of her body, her voice now a mere hoarse whisper calling for him, "D..Danny...?!" Bringing his arms up, he concentrates, making himself quite solid as he deflects the attack aimed for her, keeping her relatively unharmed. He skids backwards from his position, nudging her away quietly as he grits his teeth, "Hurry, get back... I can't hold it mu-" with that, the tendril breaks through his shielding, crashing against his body and sending him high over her head. Finding her savior, her eyes and body returned to normal, she screams in horror as he is sent careening into, then through the ceiling of the library. Turning her head, she could clearly see the aparition now, her arms drawing up to her chest as she stared. The laughter from the librarian sent chills of terror down her spine as she began backing away. "N..no..." The librarian's eyes flushed into anger, growling out, "No yelling in the library!" swinging the tendril back, she made a swing for Alex. Shutting her eyes tightly, she screamed, her voice carrying up into the rotting library and through the hole in the ceiling, "DANNY!"

She cringed, bracing herself and awaiting the impact that never came. Still terrified, she slowly slides one eye open to find a familiar back in front of her. His loose fitting T-shirt slightly shifted to one shoulder as black hair and his figure filled her vision, making him seem taller. His right arm was up in a blocking position, the tendril wrapped around his forearm, his fingers tightly grasping it. He had his left hand in his pocket, the gesture making him seem nonchalant, as if he were just passing by. Her violet eyes focused upon him, watching his back, a small, green aura fluxuating around him. "...D... Dan..." she whispered, Danny making a small glance over his shoulder, offering her a half smile, "I found him on the way back." Elation and relief flooded through her as the blue burned into a menecing green, his hair wavering growling out, "I'm goin' ghost." The light once again expanding from his abdomen, the cold covered him once more in his costume, and electric green eyes focusing upon the librarian ghost as his white gloved hand began to crush the tendril; before swinging the ghost about, throwing her into the air. Pulling his hand back, he held his fist by his hip, channelling the combined spiritual force into his fist, drawing it together with focus, and taking aim. His eyes seeming to glow, sending vapor from them, he growls lightly, "This is for picking on her..." His index finger poking out of the fist, he points upward, his free hand wrapping around his wrist. Bringing his thumb out, he grins, "MASHIN GAN!"

Luminescent green bullets fire from his fingertip, sending him skidding slightly against the ground as he began to pelt away at the falling spirit of the librarian. The bullets impact repeatedly, keeping her airborne for a few moments, a gun shot effect accompanying each bullet fired. When he had concluded firing, he swings his hands down, his fingertips snapping slightly as he flicks his wrist downward. Snowy white hair settles into place as the heat in his eyes dies down a bit, his breathing becoming more normal. Alex watches his back quietly, her arms bent and her fists resting lightly against her chest. Casting a momentary glance at the spectre whom now hit the floor, it looked as if she'd been pummelled repeatedly into submission, the ghost wearing a black eye and bruises all over the body. Bringing his hand to his waist, he seemed to be carrying something as he pries open the lid for what looked to be a high tech... thermos. Pointing it down at the ghoul, light begins to fire out from the thermos, pulling and drawing the ghost into its depths, before being consumed completely by the light. Quietly, he sets the cap on top of the thermos, closing it as he looks it over. "Huh... not bad, Tuck should be proud it worked on the first try..." She blinked as Danny turns towards her, his eyes fading to a soft blue, before becoming a deep brown, the spirit quietly popping out of Dan's chest and assuming his usual form.

Smiling softly, Alex moves towards him, sliding lithe arms quietly over his shoulders, wrapping her arms around Dan's neck and hugs him tightly. He blinks, flushing slightly as he peers down at her, feeling her squeeze a little tighter. Danny snickers a bit before Alex pulls away, pointing at him accusingly, "What took you so long?!" Her face was red as well, and anger seemed to be the most comfortible emotion right now. Blinking stupidly, Dan slides his hand behind his head, scratching lightly, "S-sorry." He slides the thermos into his pocket, beginning to explain himself, "I was worried about you so I dropped by your place seeing if you got home already. Your father gave me the thermos but said he didn't know where you were. So, I wandered around aimlessly and found my way here. Danny flew out the roof at that time and I caught him, we merged, and ..." She blushed quietly, anger subsiding a little. She paused, before asking, venturing, "You... were worried about me...?" He blinks a bit, scratching his cheek lightly, "Uh... yeah." She wrinkled her nose, remembering the reason why he hadn't been there in the first place, "What about Gwen?" Obviously, when she spoke the name she practically spat it out, causing Dan and Danny to wince. He laughs nervously, fingering the thermos sticking out of his pocket, "Well, I got someone to stand in for me. Turns out she needed a pack mule instead of a tutor so I found someone from the football team to do it." She looked skeptical as she scrutinized him, his hands moving up as he waves them in front of himself placently, "It's the truth, honest."

Pausing as if processing it into her brain, she nods, accepting it for an answer before smiling a little. "At least you apologized." then began heading for the door, leaving Dan stumped. He looks after her, eyes focusing a bit more, for some strange reason, she was glowing, radiantly at that. He began wondering about that, before Danny shook him out of his thoughts. "C'mon," the spectre said, "We better catch up before she leaves us here." Nodding quietly, Dan begins his jog to catch up, Danny in tow. Ahead, Alex smiles quietly, her eyes shut as she recalls the battle. A warm shiver of happiness washes over her as she realizes, for the first time, this is something she's really, honestly shared with her best friend.

To Be Continued...