Danny sped through the Ghost Zone his white hair flew backward his legs had changed into a ghostly black tail. He only had seven days. It seemed impossible, at the beginning of the month his only problem was school, and of coarse the occasional ghost attack. Then, the killings had started; the cops were baffled by these similar yet seemingly unconnected murders. Now he was the next one to die, he only had seven days! The floating doors that dotted the Ghost Zone were only blurs in Danny's sparkling emerald glowing eyes. He just couldn't seem to fly fast enough, this had never been a problem before every second of his life became the most precious thing he had. Still not fast enough for him, he had to speed up he was wasting time! Danny zoomed at a speed he had never before reached in his short time as a half ghost. He felt the wind trying to hold him back as he flew, but still it wasn't fast enough. This seven day thing was driving him to do anything no matter how dangerous. He was going to find the ghosts who knew what was happening. His thoughts wandered back to Victoria Specter. She had known all about this tape, her warning…'We shall meet again Ghost boy sooner then you'd like,' those final words had been a warning. Danny clenched his teeth; he had been too idiotic to figure out what she had meant. Then again she could have been more straight forward with her warning…right? Danny wasn't sure what it was about Victoria that made him think maybe she couldn't be more specific with her warnings. Danny could still see her in his memory, her deep blue eyes had no pupils at all, and she always seemed to stare past him, through him, at something that only she could see. Now Danny had to track down the ghosts he though he'd never have to see again: Ember, the Princess Ghost, and the Box Ghosts. Hopefully they knew what was happening, and if they couldn't provide enough information then maybe they could direct him to someone who could. Danny was racing by at rocket speeds; he had left as soon as the tape was over each second was ticking by each time drawing him a bit closer to his doom at the end of seven days. He thought he saw her, she was talking to Ember and wasn't too far ahead. He tried to stop but suddenly he couldn't. He found himself unable to even slow down, realizing the dangers of pushing his powers too far over the limit. "Victoria! Ember look out!" Danny cried, but was a bit too late with his warning. He crashed into both of them, but he grabbed Victoria so as not to waste more time trying to find her once again. She seemed to be thinking of words to say as Danny continued flying through the Ghost Zone. "Hey Victoria," Danny said calmly as if this were a perfectly normal meeting. Danny had no idea where he was going, or even how to stop or slow down. He was starting to feel a bit uneasy.

"Hello Phantom," Victoria said at last. "When I said we'd meet again soon this is not exactly what I had in mind." Danny grinned nervously at the comment. There was an awkward moment of silence before Victoria spoke again. "Having trouble stopping?" she inquired seeing that Danny hadn't even slowed down. He nodded unsure if she could do anything to help him or if this was another tight spot he'd have to get out of on his own. "Allow me to help you," Victoria said. She wrapped her arms around his neck so that she was facing him. She reached up with one arm while keeping the other around him; her raised hand became engulfed by sapphire flame. A sapphire chain appeared in her hand and she threw it latching it onto a door. With a hard tug she sent them both spiraling downward. Danny didn't want to risk flying again; luckily the ground broke his fall. Victoria fell on top of him the chain vanishing from view. "Let us all keep in mind for future reference that going that fast is not a good idea." Victoria said pushing herself to her feet. She offered Danny a hand and pulled him up as well. "So to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" she asked her cool blue eyes staring past him once again.

"The video…" Danny said softly. Victoria looked at him; he could feel the gaze of her ocean blue eyes on him instead of past him like he normally felt. Her gaze changed from the probing stare to a frightened and concerned look. She tightened her grip on Danny's hand bringing his attention to the fact they were still… technically it wasn't holding hands was it?

"Phantom… no…" Victoria said in a small whisper. Danny wished with all his heart it wasn't true. He felt the fear surge through him once again; He had no time to just stand here he had to get going there had to be a way to lift this curse, but how? The haunting voice whispering the words of seven days was on repeat inside his head.

"Victoria, I need your help, I need to know how to lift the curse. I only have less then seven days left. I've already wasted two hours I can't afford any more. Please you've got to help me." Danny said turning the gaze of his glowing emerald eyes so that he met her ocean blue ones. Surprisingly she turned away refusing to meet his gaze.

"Danny I've never been curse. I know a lot of people who have and only one of whom is still alive today. He doesn't remember anything about being cursed, he was still very young when it happened and his mother lifted the curse for him. His mother was killed a long time ago, not by the tape but by something else, and so the secret to lifting the curse is lost." Victoria said pulling away from him, breaking her hand free of his grasp. Danny felt his hope shatter and fear welling up in the place that his hope had once occupied. His thread was broken; there was no way to break the curse now. He only had seven days.

"Victoria there's got to be something you can do. Something you can tell me!" Danny pleaded. Victoria stood now with her back to him, her long white hair flowing behind her in a cool wind. Fog swirled around them, Danny assumed the fog was traveling through the wind therefore it was nothing to be concerned about. "Something…anything?" Danny asked softly almost hopelessly.

"I can give you a name," Victoria said still not turning to face him. "The name of the boy who survived. Yoichi Asakawa he is currently attending Casper High. I'm afraid I can't be of much more help Phantom. I shall see you again in the very near future." Victoria said walking away through the fog. Her shadow slowly continued to grow smaller before she vanished into the mist leaving Danny alone with his mistake. Danny watched her leave tears of all the fear he had been concealing finally spilled from his glowing green eyes. He was going to die. This information finally began to sink in. He only had seven days before it was over. He was going to die. Suddenly he felt his blood run cold in his veins. He thought he heard something behind him. He shivered Goosebumps prickled his skin even through his ghost suit. He shivered with the sudden feeling of being watched. He closed his eyes becoming aware he could feel someone staring at him. He could feel their eyes piercing the back of his neck. Though he could hear nothing he could sense them drawing closer and closer. In his mind's eye he could see a little black haired girl walking toward him. Reaching out a cold, gray, dead hand with blood dripping from the fingertips ready to touch him. She was drawing closer; he dared not open his eyes though he could sense her presence all around him. He could almost feel the girl's hand as it reached for his shoulder… His eyes snapped open and he turned around. There was no one there, though through the fog he though he saw the small outline of a little girl. But when he looked again she was gone.


Hurray for the next chapter! For thoes of you who are unfamiliar with the Ringu series, Yoichi is the son of Reiako the young news reporter who first discovered how to lift the curse. Please Review!