It took several moments before Danny's eyes adjusted to the dimness around him. He couldn't hear any noise around him, so he decided that it would probably be best to stay put. After a few seconds, he heard a popping noise behind him, and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You're very trusting," he heard Alesha's voice. "I could have left you here."

"But then Vlad wouldn't have been very happy," Danny pointed out.

"How would he know it was me that left you here?" Danny nodded at her comment, his eyes beginning to adjust to the world that was the ghost zone.

"Well, thanks for not leaving me," he nodded and grinned. "And remind me to close my eyes next time I come across a portal," he said, rubbing them. "They're still adjusting." Alesha's laugh at his comment was contagious, and he couldn't help but smile himself.

"Come on," she said, taking his arm and floating off in one direction. "It's this way, although we still have a while to fly."

"Lead on," Danny muttered, still trying to get the flash out of his eyes. At least he could see where he was now. If only the bright purple light that seemed to grace his vision would go away…

8 8 8 8 8

"Okay," Jazz said, "I'm going to go over this again." She started pacing in the small room she and Sam shared. "Danny comes home late one night. You guys said he was fighting ghosts, and mom came in asking where he was on the same night." Sam and Tucker both nodded. "Then, for whatever reason, he decides to tell us his secret."

"I still can't believe you knew the whole time," Tucker muttered. Jazz shrugged and continued. "I remember opening my window, knowing that he likes to sleep with his window open, so I would know what was going on. I don't remember what happened, so I must have dozed off, although I did want to see if he got home safe…" she faded off, tapping her lips with her finger, but shook her head and continued.

"The next day, he tells you guys about the plan, and comes home to tell mom and dad. They freak out, and kick him out, but don't remember. I know this conversation happened because I heard them, but they insist that they never talked to him." She looked at Sam. "So, he turns to you, and claims that you freak out on him as well, although you insist the same thing my parents do." Sam looked down, shaking her head. Jazz put a hand on her shoulder before continuing. "Unwilling to believe everyone had turned on him, he just decided to cut his losses and leave." She looked around. "He ends up going to New York for three months, but then he gets on a plane and travels here in style. Now, he couldn't have earned that much in three months…unless he was…" she faded off. "Well, that's beside the point. I don't know how he could have made that much in three months as a 14-year old. Let's just leave it at that."
"So, he ends up here, in the mansion of a billionaire 'friend' of my fathers," She looked around, "So angry at his friends that he refuses to even talk to them for more than a few minutes." She sighed. "There are things here we don't know, and we can't get the whole story until we have everyone's point of view."

"How do we do that?" Tucker asked. Jazz glanced at Sam, who still sat on the edge of the bed, looking down.

"Well, you guys tried," her face hardened, determination showing in her eyes. "So it looks like it's my turn." She sat down by Sam. "Don't worry, we'll find an explanation for all of this, okay?" Sam nodded at her words, but Jazz could tell that she didn't really believe it.

"Right," Sam sighed. It was the first thing she'd said in over an hour, and Jazz was afraid it would be the last thing she'd say for a long time to come.