They all met in Danny's basement at nine the next morning. The Spectre Speeder was pointed at the Fenton Portal, waiting for the expedition to begin.
"Man," yawned Tucker, "This is too early to be up."
"You'll get over it," said Sam, "Everybody brought their lunch and jacket?"
There were various answers, and Danny showed them a compartment for stowing them. Ember had brought her guitar, and added it to the equipment.
"I want to thank you all again for doing this," said Ember, "Getting my memory back is important to me."
"I know. It's important to us, too," said Danny.
Jazz was standing halfway up the basement stairs, listening to the preparations.
"Well, how sweet!" she thought, "I'll do what I can to help."
She snuck back upstairs and went into the kitchen. "Danny?" she called. There was no answer.
"DANNY!" she called, much louder.
"It's Jazz," said Danny, "I'll be right back." He went ghost, and flew up through the ceiling and back into his room. As he walked downstairs, Jazz met him at the bottom.
"Oh, there you are. I wanted to tell you that Mom and Dad won't be back until late, and I'm going to spend the day at the library," said Jazz.
"Okay, thanks for the heads up," said Danny.
Jazz picked up her purse and some books. "I've got my cell if you need me." She was out the front door and gone.
Danny went back down to the lab. "Well, Jazz just left," he said.
Tucker was standing at the computer next to the Portal control console.
"Hey Danny, we just caught a break," said Tucker.
"What is it?" asked Danny, approaching him.
"Apparently the Fenton Portal takes a spectral signiture of every ghost that passes through it. I'm downloading the data into the Speeder's computer. We can use it and the navigation system to find any ghost we want," said Tucker, beaming.
"Hey, that's great, Tuck!" said Danny.
"Yeah, good work!" added Sam, and looked at Danny. "Any idea what ghost we should look for?"
"Technus," said Danny, "He told me he made Ember's guitar."
"He did? Technus? I don't know that name," said Ember, looking surprised, "I just found it and kept it. I didn't know where it came from."
"We fought while you were missing. I asked him about you, trying to get a clue about what happened to you. He told me then," explained Danny.
Ember nodded, thinking of the event.
"If we're ready, let's go," said Sam, taking her place as the pilot. Tucker slid in as navigator. Ember sat in one of the rear seats.
Danny opened the Portal, and joined Ember in the other seat. A burst of accelleration,
and they were in the Ghost Zone.
"Let's start at the beginning," said Sam, "Ember, can you direct us to where you first woke up?"
"I doubt it..." said Ember, unhappily, "But I do know it is a long way from here."
"Would you know it if you saw it?" asked Sam.
"Mmmmmaybe..." answered Ember, even more unhappily. She had just discovered that a part of the spell gave her almost physical pain if she disappointed or upset Sam.
They flew along for a while, looking at the strange sights the Ghost Zone had to offer.
Finally Danny said, "This sightseeing is fun, but let's set a goal. Tuck, see if you can locate Technus."
"On it," said Tucker, tapping keys. A picture of Technus appeared on the monitor.
Ember looked at it closely, then shook her head. "I've never seen that ghost," she said.
"It looks like we've found another clue," said Sam, "Somebody blocks her memory, then gives her a guitar anonymously. Doesn't make any sense."
"Maybe it will when we have the whole story," answered Danny.
"I can't seem to find him," said Tucker, looking up with frustration on his face.
"What about the Box Ghost?" asked Danny.
Tucker tapped keys. "Got him. He's not too far away."
"Walker?" asked Danny.
More keys. "Found him too," was the reply.
"How about Ms. Spectra?" put in Sam.
"I met her once," commented Ember, looking at the picture, "She seemed nice, but I got major bad vibes from her."
"You have NO idea," said Danny.
"No, no sign of her... Bertrand either," said Tucker.
"Jonny Thirteen?" asked Danny.
"Yep, him and Kitty," said Tucker.
"Hmmm... so Technus, Spectra, and Bertrand aren't in the Ghost Zone... let's file that away for later," said Danny. "Who could we talk to, then?"
They spent some time discussing the possibilities, but none seemed promising.
"Well, I don't know, then," said Sam, "There are big reasons for not talking to every ghost we can think of, except the Box Ghost, and I doubt he'd be much help."
I wish we knew what to do now..." said Tucker.
There was a long silence, then suddenly Danny brightened. "Tucker, that's it! I know who we can ask!"
"Huh? What did I say?" asked Tucker, looking at Danny with confusion.
"You said, 'I wish', and that means only one ghost!" said Danny with excitement.
"DESIREE!" said Danny and Tucker together.
"Who?" asked Sam, while Tucker went back to the keyboard.
"The Wishing Ghost we told you about. She gave Tucker ghost powers that were greater than mine," said Danny.
Looking at the picture on the monitor, Ember smiled. "I've met her! She was nice!"
"I found her," said Tucker. "And there's something odd. She doesn't seem to be moving."
"What do you mean?" asked Sam.
"Every other ghost I found moved around on the navigation screen. But not her," explained Tucker.
"Hmmm... maybe something is wrong with her. Let's go and find out," said Danny.
"On the way," said Sam, and the Speeder turned in the direction indicated, and moved off.
They travelled in silence for a while, until Danny turned to Ember. "You've been really quiet today. Everything okay?"
"I'm fine," said Ember, distracted.
Sam sighed. "She talked me into casting the spell on her last night. So now I have my own personal ghost."
Danny and Tucker looked at Ember, who smiled. "Don't worry, I'm happy with this. Besides,
I'm now taking Sam's well-being very seriously. Nothing will harm her if I can help it."
"Good to know, thanks," said Danny, and squeezed Ember's hand.
Unseen by Danny, Sam blushed lightly.
After some time, a floating island came into view.
"Oh, great, that's Skulker's headquarters," said Danny, grimacing.
"Well, according to the locator, she's there," said Tucker, who tapped keys, "So is Skulker,
but he's not with her right now."
"I guess I'll have to risk it," said Danny. He grabbed a pair of Fenton Phones, when ghost,
then went intangible.
"As near as I can tell, she's in that building between the palm trees," said Tucker, pointing.
"Okay, I'll try there. You guys be careful," said Danny.
"Don't worry, Sam will be safe while you're gone," said Ember.
"HEY!" said Tucker.
"Oh, uh, Tuck too..." she added quickly.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," said Danny, and flew through the side of the Speeder. He looked back and waved, then turned invisible and was gone.
"I'm sorry, Tucker," said Ember, "I didn't mean to leave you out, but my attention is focused on Sam."
"That's okay. You seem to have a lot to keep up with," said Tucker. He called up Danny's spectral signature so they could track him.
Danny flew to Skulker's lair, feeling more nervous by the second. He kept watching the trees and bushes, but saw nothing. Finally he landed beside the large white building.
"This must be it," he thought. and tried to walk through the wall. He slammed into it, and fell over backwards.
"Oh, right," he murmured, holding his sore nose. He stood up, transformed to human, and THEN proceeded to walk through it unimpeeded.