RiverFox237: Well, this is basically an AU version of the show, so yes, it's more episodic than other fics. However, I don't want to throw stuff out the window at random. For example, the whole thing with them being a dragon when ticked off is going to be resolved here. As for Jazz and Tucker, yes, they do make a good rescue team; they'll do it at least one more time in the near future.

CelloSolo2007: No, it's not done yet. But, it can be done whenever you please, as this is an episodic fic; you can stop reading whenever you want.

Rosecat: Truth be told, I find classic music very (and only) relaxing.

Kenastar101: Well, I try. :-)

This week, Skulker returns and the resolution of Danny and Sam's "anger issues..."

"So, you two feeling any better from your, uh, concert?"

"My ears are still ringing," Sam replied to Tucker as she wiggled a finger in one. "But, other than that, yeah, can't really complain..."

"Let's just say I won't be going as a KISS army recruit to a Halloween ball anytime soon," Danny drawled as they walked through the not-so hallowed halls of Casper High. "I mean, that was just... wrong."

"So you guys remember what happened?" Tucker asked.

"Some of it," Sam nodded. "Sorry about the whole 'trying to kill you' thing back there."

"Eh, it happens," Tucker shrugged.

"Yeah... it does," Sam answered softly, hanging her head. Tucker frowned.

"Still sore on the whole prom thing?" he asked Danny.

"To put it mildly," the boy answered.

"I could have hurt people, Danny!" Sam cried as she jerked her head up.

"Sam, I've told you over and over," Danny replied as they reached his locker, "you didn't, and it wasn't you. It was the amulet. I just wish you'd believe me about that," he continued as he worked his combination and pulled the handle. "I mean, if I really thought you were some kinda monster, I wouldn't b--" Danny was cut off as a ball of energy hit him and the moping Goth in the chest. They were flung against the opposite wall with a grunt, their arms shackled at the wrists.

"Oh, great," Sam muttered icily at her bound hands.

"Hello again, ghost children," a voice boomed as the familiar silhouette of Skulker faded into view. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Well, you are interrupting our lives..." Danny growled.

"Ah, yes, sore about my passionate chase for your hides," the ghost continued as he picked the teenagers up by their shackles. "I must congratulate you, though. You are the most elusive prey I've ever had."

"Look, you junkyard reject," Danny hissed, "I'm the one you've been hunting, not Sam. Leave her out of this." Skulker laughed.

"You're a funny one, child. 'Sam' here is the only female human/ghost hybrid known to exist... she's just as worthy a prize as you, perhaps more so."

"Then let Danny go and take me!" Sam yelled.

"You two watch far too many soap operas," Skulker replied with a raised eyebrow as a portal opened nearby. "Now come. My trophy room awaits," he added as he began walking for the portal.

"Tucker... little help here!" Danny singsonged.

"Oh, right, right!" the boy blurted, snapping out of his daze. Not knowing what else to do, he hurled his math textbook at the ghost's head. It collided with a resounding smack, making Skulker grunt. On reflex, he dropped his prey, their bonds evaporating as they landed. Wasting no time, Danny and Sam jumped to their feet and ran for their lives. "Run for it, guys!" Tucker cried.

"Already on it, Tuck, thanks!" Sam replied as they sprinted down the hall. Skulker growled as he rubbed his head, glaring at Tucker.

"...hi," the bereted one muttered, waving his hand shyly.

"...quite," Skulker replied before decking him with a single punch. Observing his fleeing prey with a frown, he raised his arm and fired a net towards them. It its mark, snagging the teenagers and compressing them into a tight ball with a yelp. "As I said, children," he continued as the net began to rebound back, "let's be off!" Tucker, who was just coming out of his daze, could only look on helplessly as his screaming friends were dragged into the vortex, which promptly vanished.

Laughing happily, Skulker hurled the unfortunate halfas into a small cage, locking it behind them. He stepped back and looked happily upon his catch, like an art collector would savior his new Monet or Van Gogh.

"At long last, the ghost children are mine!" he cried, pumping a celebratory fist. For their part, Danny and Sam hugged their knees and looked dejectedly at the metal floor of their cage.

"Congratulations," they mumbled quietly, their usual sarcasm gone.

"You know, I was going to gut and stuff you, but you two have been a real thorn in my and many others' sides. I think... I'll leave you alive," Skulker said as he stroked his chin in thought. "Yes, yes, that will do nicely. Leaving you to rot will be fitting." This only made the teenagers moan and slump further.

"We get the point," Danny moaned.

"Do you really? I don't think you do, child," Skulker grinned as he sat down. "It's all over, you know. No more school, or seeing your friends or family, or anything else to look forward to... just you, that cage, and eternity. I find it... apt, personally." Danny and Sam's lips quivered for a moment, then they buried their faces in their hands and started sobbing quietly. Skulker scowled. "What the devil are you doing... crying?"

"No, we're laughing in glee," Sam sniffled, her tear-streaked face peeking over her hands for a moment before vanishing again.

"Stop that this instant!" Skulker snapped, standing up. "How worthy is my greatest prize if it sits there blubbering!" he screamed at the bawling teenagers. "I order you to stop that immediately!" He clenched his fists in anger, growling lowly. "Very well... I shall release you," he muttered as he pressed a button on his arm. With a flash, the three vanished.

"There, happy now?" Skulker groaned. Danny and Sam wiped their last tears away and looked around, seeing the same jungle Danny and Valerie were forced to fight through months earlier. "I told you I'd release you... just not to Earth."

"Oh, this is much better, thank you..." Danny huffed.

"Well, child, you know the routine... scurry, scurry! Flee, flee!" Skulker replied mockingly. "Then, embrace oblivion."

"We should go..." Danny told Sam mentally. "This guy means business when he's here..." The two of them had used the psychic connection they'd formed since Sam's transformation mostly to keep in touch when apart, but it suddenly hit Danny that this was about to become a valuable asset.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Sam responded as she nodded. The two raced off into the jungle as Skulker set his timer and yawned. The two fled for a moment before crouching behind a rock, panting.

"Any ideas, Danny?" Sam asked him as she slid into a sitting position.

"Well, other than 'stay alive...,' not yet. I'm working on it."

"You said you and Valerie were here once... what'd you do then?"

"Outsmarted him, I think.." Danny replied as he peered over the rock to see if they were being followed; they were not, at least for now."

"Well, I would like to think we can fool an egocentric midget," Sam responded, crossing her arms with an out loud sigh.

"Ready or not, ghost children... here I come!" Skulker suddenly called in the distance. They heard the whine of his jets starting up, heading in their direction.

"Can I at least advise we go ghost..." Sam thought wryly.

"Yeah, that'd be smart," Danny nodded. The two transformed and dove into the ground. Skulker arrived a few seconds later, slowing to a stop with a confused look on his face. He frowned.

"Where are you, children..." he said aloud. Behind him, the phased halfas popped out of the ground and sped off in flight. Just as they were gaining distance, a small explosion blinded them. They unphased from the shock, coughing. Skulker whirled around, grinning.

"Ah, so that's where I put my proximity mine," he feigned surprise as he sped after them. Found, Danny tugged Sam's arm, and the two were swallowed up in the foliage of the jungle. Skulker chuckled and flew after. "You poor little fools," he gloated. "You honestly think you can hide from me in my own j--" He was cut off as a branch slammed into his face; he went reeling against a tree.

"No, but thankfully you have an ego the size of Manhattan," Sam scoffed with a grin as the branch she had bent back wobbled back into place. Skulker roared and dove at the hovering halfa; he was greeted by yet another branch, this time smashing the tree he landed against in half.

"Oh, our mistake... the size of New York City!" Danny smirked as his own branch snapped back. The two hi-fived and peeled off into the forest again. Skulker grumbled, rubbing his throbbing head.

"This is getting most annoying," Skulker growled as he stood back up. He resumed his hunt, looking every which way for his elusive prey. He hovered to a stop in a clearing, looking around him. "Where are those whelps..." he muttered to himself. The hunter was just about to resume his tracking when a heavy object slammed against his back, pile-driving him into the ground. Skulker groaned, rolling the rock off his body as he looked upward. His eyes were greeted by a mocking salute from Danny and Sam, who again peeled off into the forest. "Impossible," the hunter fumed as he got up. "They're but pests... how can they best me!" he roared as he sped after once more. A few minutes later, he found them in a clearing, arms raised.

"We give up," Sam sighed.

"Yeah, you're just too good for us," Danny added, hanging his head.

"Oh, no, I'm not falling one of your tricks again!" Skulker hissed as he dove at them in a sprint. Just as he was about to grab their necks, the two jerked away, and Skulker found himself belly flopping into a river, shorting out his suit.

"You... were saying?" Sam drawled, arms crossed.

"This is getting most tiring, children," Skulker replied as he dragged himself out of the river. "Most tiring indeed."

"Aw, is the big mean ghost angry that the small nice ghosts are showing him he can't hunt his way out of a paper bag?" Danny mocked.

"Yes, but only with my current strategy. I shall merely switch it... to divide and conquer," Skulker assured them. He paused for a moment, then dove at Sam. The girl barely had time to widen her eyes in shock when the full weight of the hunter slammed her small frame against a tree; she cried out in shocked pain.

"Don't you DARE hurt her!" Danny screeched as he dove at the larger ghost. He was answered by a back fist to the face, which sent the boy sprawling.

"Stop hurting him!" Sam snapped before Skulker punched her in the face.

"I said 'no!'" Danny screamed, his eyes blazing green as he charged again. Skulker yawned and kicked him in the chest.

"You're not listening to me!" Sam growled, her own eyes starting to burn.

"Fine, girl. You want the child so much, have him!" Skulker smirked as he hurled Sam at Danny; the two collapsed in a tangled heap. Like a tiger leaping at wounded prey, he began to pound the dazed teenagers, taking pains to punch only one at at a time. The growing anger building from Skulker hurting their loved one dulled the two from the pain. Finally, he tossed the bruised and bleeding forms down the clearing; they skidded to a stop against a rock. "I feel I've made my point," Skulker said as he flicked gooey ectoplasmic blood aside. "Allow me to put you out of your miseries."

Skulker strode calmly to the panting forms, charging his arms for a death blow when they suddenly turned toward him. The hunter jerked to a stop as he saw the two halfas. Their eyes were reptilian, teeth fanged, and skin almost scaly in appearance. "What the devil..." he managed before both gave an inhuman roar and seemed to melt into each other. Skulker found himself being blown backwards as if by an explosion. When he came to, he saw a very large and very angry dragon staring down at him.

"YOU WERE SAYING..." it growled.

"I didn't know you could turn into an animal, children!" Skulker said in genuine shock. The dazed expression reformed into a grin. "You're much more impressive like this than skinny teenagers," he finished as he prepared to open fire. The dragon swatted him aside with its tail, then ran into the forest, bulldozing the trees before it to the ground. After a moment, it took flight, shaking the branches off its back. "You're also going to be much easier to hunt," he added after a pause before racing after.

Sam felt like she was in a blender, or at least something close to it.

She felt herself getting up, and the different flavors of pain from the beating tearing through her body. Looking down, she saw her ghost form, jumpsuit torn and matted with blood. "This is going to take a while to heal..." she said to herself.

"Sam?" a familiar voice called groggily. The girl turned and hobbled best she could towards the voice. She found an equally battered Danny lying on his side. She helped him into a sitting position, sitting down herself after. "Where are we?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing..." she replied. The two glanced around their surroundings, it seemed as though they were in some great, black void. What little light they had was streaming in through two small windows to their left sides. "I feel like I've been here before, though..." she said. "And that its frustrating to be here."

"Me too," Danny agreed as he struggled to stand up. "So, we're obviously familiar with this place, but we just can't put our fingers on it..."

"Seems it," Sam agreed. She jerked her head to the right as several dull, distant booms sounded behind them. "Hey, did you hear that? Sounds like something going off right behind u--" Her question was cut off by a larger explosion that actually shook them and the place they were in; searing fresh pain tore into their right shoulders. They hissed as they gripped at the new wound, then looked at each other, confused.

"You too?" they asked each other simultaneously.

"Where the heck are we?" Sam asked again. "We're in this black void, two small windows, it seems familiar, we get hurt at the same ti..." She trailed off, getting a thought. "Danny... I think we're in the dragon."

"It ate us!" Danny asked, dumbfounded and confused.

"No, you dip," Sam sighed. "By 'we,' I meant our subconscious and personalities...?"

"Oh, that," Danny replied. "I knew that."

"Oh, of course." Sam smirked. The booms continued, and their world veered from side to side periodically. "Question is, why are we here this time..."

"That's a very good question... We've done it at least twice, and barely remember it. And no offense, Sam, but how are you taking this so well?"

"Probably because I'm worried about dying," the girl shrugged. "As for why we're aware this time... maybe the first few times, we were just really angry, but the fact we're in a lot of pain is preventing our total submerging?" she shrugged.

"Works for me," Danny shrugged back. "Question is... how do we stop or use this to our advantage?"

"I think we should try the latter... this thing seems to be holding up a lot better against Skulker than we w-- Ow!" she cried, gripping at a nonexistent wing. "Well, a little better, anyway."

"Okay, fine... But, how do we take control?" Danny asked.

"Let's think about it," Sam suggested.

Danny nodded, and the two held hands and concentrated on taming the beast. After a moment, the void shook, then began to slowly brighten. They opened their eyes to see larger windows, pink surroundings, and all manner of switches in front of either eye, with a chair in front. Puzzled, they came forward and took a look.

"'Direction?' 'Speed?' 'Fire Breath?'" Danny asked as he read labels. "We turned our head into an airplane cockpit?"

"Maybe it's our subconscious again," Sam said as she sat down. "I suggest we see what we can do with this. Danny, if you'd be so kind?" she asked, nodding to the other station. Danny muttered in confusion for a moment, then joined her. Another blast; this time in their right legs.

"Okay, what now?" Danny groaned, rubbing at his leg.

"Uh, let's try direction," Sam suggested. The two spun the wheel simultaneously, and to their astonishment the windows pivoted to show Skulker, on a dead-on collision course.

"What now there, Captain Janeway?" Danny quipped.

"Uh, the fire breath one," she called, yanking the switch. Instantly, a torrent of fire flooded out before them, and Skulker flew right into it. He screamed in shocked pain, and began to retreat.

"That creep's getting away..." Danny observed in annoyance.

"Fine with me," Sam replied. "I just wanna go home... do you know how we can do that, Danny?"

"Yeah... I think it's that door over there," the boy answered, pointing. "We just gotta go through there, and we should reappear at Casper High."

"Sounds great!" Sam chirped as she steered for it. Her smile fell after a moment. "How do we, you know, get out of 'dragon mode?'"

"...maybe hit the big button labeled 'Separate?'" Danny shrugged sarcastically. Sam scowled.

"Ha ha, Mr. Comedian," Sam muttered as she pounded the button. There was a flash, and the two found themselves human and separate again. Their joy was cut short by the return of the painful wounds of their battle. Limping as much as one could flying, they opened the door and stumbled in...

"Guys? Guys!" Tucker cried at the empty hallway. "Oh, jeez..." The boy was just stumbling to his feet when with a flash the portal reopened; a badly bruised Danny and Sam stumbled out, panting in exhaustion. "Yikes! Are you okay!" he asked, rushing to their side.

"Do we look okay?" Sam managed.

"Oh, right," Tucker blushed. "So, how'd you beat Skulker?"

"If you don't mid, Tuck, we're kinda in pain right now..." Danny gasped.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Tucker replied. He squinted at them. "Hmmm, nothing that some Band-Aids and ice would fix... but, how are you going to explain this to the family? I mean... it's not just a paper cut or a bump on the head."

"Oh, right," Sam said as she bit her lip. "What do we tell 'em, Danny?"

"We got jumped by bullies," Danny replied. My mom and dad should buy that pretty easily; they already know I have bully problems," he sighed, reflecting on the many, many tangles with Dash and Kwan. "Will your family buy that, Sam?"

"Sure... as long as I convince them not to arrest half the school over it," she groaned. "They're... protective."

"To put it mildly," Tucker smirked.

"Well, if anything good has come out of this," Danny sighed as he and Sam sat down and changed back, "we finally got the dragon problem under control."

"You did?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, our being hurt prevented us from being totally consumed by anger, so we managed to take control. That's why we made it back," Sam added.

"Silver lining," their friend shrugged. "I'm gonna get some ice and Band-Aids for you guys. Be right back," he promised as he ran off.

"Well, that was fun..." Sam groaned as she leaned back.

"Yeah, but we did get a new ability... and I'm proud of you Sam."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, when we were a dragon, you didn't freak out or panic or go on a guilt trip... how'd you do it?"

"Because this time," Sam replied as she laid against him, "I was in control in the end." Danny smiled, and the two pecked each other on the lips and wrapped their arms around the other. They quickly jerked back, hissing in pain.

"Maybe... we should avoid the hugging for a while," Sam croaked with a small smile on her face.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Danny replied. "At least the getting hurt part's over... Hey, Tuck's back," he added, nodding towards his friend. His brow furrowed. "What's with the bottle?"

"Orders from the nurse," he sighed. "I have to dab all the cuts with hydrogen peroxide." Danny and Sam lolled back with a groan and passed out.