"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

-Abraham Lincoln

(WoM- Try saying that one out loud ten times fast.)

Explosion

Danny sighed as he slumped onto the couch, exhausted. He was considering turning in early, (though it would've meant playing 21 Questions with a hovering Jazz in the morning,) when the phone rang.

Danny groaned, knowing that Jazz was studying in her room and their parents were out on nightly patrol, meaning he'd have to answer it using the stupid pitch his mother and father had drilled into him since he was big enough to pick up the phone by himself.

"Fentonworks, Danny Fenton speaking." He started in a monotone voice, "My parents aren't in right now and can't be reached by phone. If this is about ghosts or any property damage my dad has caused, please either call back at a later time-"

"-or leave a message with me, including name, contact information, and the reason for your call," And amused voice at the other end said in union with him. Taking advantage of his surprise, the caller finished the pitch herself.

"If you'd like to hire the Fentons for a stake out or extermination, please note right now that we hold no responsibility for any and all damage to property or person. Also note that the Fentons are in fact the leading scientific force of the Paranormal World, and the only registered one in Amity Park,"

"Sam?" Danny said, doing little to hide his surprise.

"Hey, Danny," Sam said, a guilty smile carrying into her tone, "Sorry about… well… today,"

"It's okay," Danny said, smiling, "I shouldn't have been so hard on you. You were just watching my back. But, why didn't you wait until tomorrow to apologize?" Danny couldn't contain his curiosity at the sudden shift in an old tradition.

Whenever he, Sam or Tucker fought, they went their separate ways for the night to cool down and apologized come next morning. It'd been that way since Pre-Grade School, though the fights themselves had changed from things like who got the first turn on the swings to more serious topics. (At least Danny hoped they were more serious, anyways.)

"I just had an urge to call you is all," Sam said with a nervous laugh, "Hey, Danny? Do you have anything planned tomorrow?" Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes at the question.

"You're asking me?" Danny teased, "Sam, lately you know my scheduled better then I do," Sam laughed at that all too sad fact.

Danny was so busy fighting lately, he barely remembered if it was a weekday or not, let alone anything that might be considered important. Since the incident with Skulker had been such a disaster, Sam was put in charge of remembering any and all of Danny's important appointments. Though lately, Jazz had been something of a help there, too, subtly dropping hints whenever something vital was coming up.

While Danny was grateful for this, it also confused him. Before, Jazz told him it was everyone's personal responsibility to manage their own lives, including engagements. But Danny shrugged it off as more of the unusual behavior he'd been seeing from her since the Spectra thing. Maybe the fact that she was forced to admit that ghosts were real had knocked a screw loose or something…

"Well, it's just that my parents are gone for the weekend on a trip to Paris to meet some famous architect they want to redesign the entire fifth floor, and I was wondering if you and Tucker wanted to spend the next few days at my place. It'll be too quiet if it's just me, since all the servants have the weekend off. We can all camp out in the basement and watch movies."

"All weekend?" Danny asked, surprised. He and Tucker never spent more then a night on Sam's property, and then they usually stayed in one of Sam's many guest rooms. "Wow, what brought this on?"

"Nothing really," Sam responded in a casual tone, "It's just… the three of us don't hang out like we used to ever since Neris came into town," Danny flinched guiltily at that, knowing it was true.

"Well… yeah, that sounds cool. I'll just bring my clothes to school, and we can head over when class let's out," Danny said, already knowing his parents would agree.

They trusted him completely when he was with Sam and Tucker, who they'd known since all three of them were children. In fact, Maddie had insisted once that the two were practically family, which was the only reason they were allowed unsupervised in the Fenton's lab.

Danny felt guilty for betraying that trust so many times, using it as a quick cover for hunting down a fleeing ghost. Still, if a lie could give him a chance to save everyone else from evil embodiments of ectoplasm and post human consciousness, he supposed it wasn't so bad.

"Great!" Sam said, sounding relieved. "I'll call Tucker and tell him to pack his stuff, too. Any movie requests?"

"Surprise me," Danny said, grinning. He already knew what Sam wanted to watch. He was actually looking forward to a night of the entire works of Tim Burton and anything starring Johnny Depp (One of the only actors actually worth seeing in today's media, according to Sam, who saw Pirates of the Caribbean twelve times in theatre.)

"Well, if you insist," Sam said, a smirk evident in her tone, "See you tomorrow, Danny!"

"Yeah, see ya, Sam," Danny grinned, "Oh, and Sam? Thanks,"

"For what?" Sam, asked, obviously caught off guard with that one.

"For being someone I can count on," Danny answered, "Sorry I haven't been the same way lately,"

"Don't be ridiculous, Danny!" Sam protested, sounding slightly guilty "You've just been a little busy lately. No big…"

"Well, it's big to me," Danny said firmly. "Anyways, I catch you in school," And with that, Danny hung up. Yawning, Danny stretched and headed to bed.

In the Manson Household, Sam laid on her temporary bed and stared at the phone guiltily before slowly hanging it up.

She felt really bad for taking advantage of Danny's guilt like that, but she promised Valerie some time so she could confront Neris. Besides, it was the truth. Lately, Danny had drifted away to be around Neris and, Tucker was acting weirder by the second.

With a new resolve shining in her eyes, Sam got ready for bed. After all, now that Valerie had the Neris thing covered, it wasn't like she had anything to worry about any more, right?

"Danny!" Sam couldn't restrain a slight growl as a certain hateful red head bounced over to her best friend. She took a deep breath and tried counting to ten. She gave up around eight when it did nothing to quell her murderous thoughts. "Oh, hello, Samantha." Neris added, like she'd just noticed Sam standing there.

"Neris," Sam responded, her tone clipped.

"Hey, Neris," Danny said, turning from his locker momentarily to spare the girl a distracted smile before focusing his attention back to the landfill he called a locker.

Ever since ghost hunting took up so much of Danny's time, he'd taken to hastily shoving things in his locker, and the result was chaos in the form of papers, folders and books. Sam was actually surprised he could fit so much into such a cramped space. But it always came back to haunt him whenever an important papers or assignment was due. Like today.

"Danny, I was wondering if you could help me with an assignment after school today?" Neris asked innocently. "I just can't understand Mr. Felucca's lesson!"

"Sorry, can't," Danny responded absently, "I'm hanging out with Sam and Tucker this weekend." Sam grinned at Neris' shocked look at the casual denial.

"Yep," Sam said, "Just the three of us!" Neris narrowed her eyes at the Goth.

"Really?" She said in a tense tone. Danny continued to look through his locker, cursing every now and then, oblivious to the vibes coming from the girls behind him. Leaning forward, Neris hissed a single word meant for Sam's ears alone. "Coward,"

"Excuse me," Sam whispered back, narrowing her eyes, "I'm the coward? You're the one who's more phony then the Easter Bunny!"

"And you're the one who can't tell the guy you like how you feel, and uses your friendship with him as a cover to keep other girls away." Neris sneered back. "Make a move or back off, but just get out of my face, okay?"

"Whoever said I liked Danny that way?" Sam asked, "I just be protecting him from a two-face evil little-!" Danny's triumphant yell cut off the rest of Sam's insult, and the girls jumped away as he turned around.

"Found it!" He grinned.

"Well, I better get to class," Neris said, smiling, See you later, Danny!" The red head bounded away, after one last pointed glare at Sam.

"Hey, where's Tucker?" Danny asked, looking around "I haven't seen him all morning…" Sam started, realizing that their other friend hadn't arrived yet.

"Yeah, come to think of it, he's been acting weird lately…" Sam muttered, concern and guilt shining in her eyes. She'd been focusing so much on the Neris Problem and Danny in general, that she hadn't been paying too much attention to the talkative tech geek.

In fact, yesterday he'd been asleep in the bushes near the entrance of the amusement park and very confused when Sam found him. He'd apparently blacked out while doing his homework and had no idea how he'd gotten from his house to the amusement park, which was a good ten miles away. And in the span of ten minutes, no less. Sam was about to confront him more about it when she'd spotted Neris and Danny, and all other thoughts took a backseat.

"This coming from the girl who was crawling around in the bushes spying on me yesterday?" Danny teased, delighted at Sam's blush.

"Haha…" She grumbled, "Come on, let's go find him," and with that, Sam grabbed Danny's hand, pulling him towards Tucker's locker. Danny didn't protest or make any move to remove his hand from Sam's, so the girl didn't bother to let go.

'Coward,' Neris' voice hissed in the back of her mind. Sam shook her head.

"Sam?"

"I'm fine, Danny," Sam answered the unasked question with a smile back at her blue eyed halfa friend. Maybe Neris had something of a point, maybe she was a coward for not telling Danny how she felt and getting it over with. But that was something she could change.

…Right after checking on Tucker, of course.

"Tucker?" Danny gaped, "Man, you're a mess!" Tucker blinked at Danny in a daze, seemingly confused to find the boy standing there. All Sam could do was stare at their friend.

She thought Danny was being a little too nice in his description. Tucker's clothes were torn, ragged and looked like they had a trip or two through a dump, and the boy himself was paler then usual, with circles under his eyes and a glassy, out-there expression.

"Really?" Tucker asked, "How bad of a mess?"

"Nothing a paper bag and a tub of cologne won't fix," Sam told him honestly, "What happened, did the football team dump you into the trash bin again?"

"I… I don't know," Tucker said, confused. I just… I left the amusement park when you and Valerie were talking and when home. After you called I blacked out again and woke up a six in the morning on my front porch. My parents when ballistic, didn't believe me when I said I didn't know why I'd been out all night. Can't go to you place, by the way. Grounded. At least, I think I am…" Sam and Danny exchanged worried looks.

"Come on, Tucker," Danny said, lifting the boy up easily by his arm, "Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up a bit."

"I'll see if anything big happened last night we haven't heard about yet," Sam said, after casting Tucker one last worried look. After seeing the state he was in, she felt even guiltier for ignoring him lately.

Shaking that away, Sam glared in determination and headed purposely towards a group of gossiping girls, not joining in but hovering close enough to catch the conversation without making it appear she was listening. Teenaged girls might not be the most reliable source of information, but at the very least she'd get the bare gist.

Unfortunately, this meant Sam had to listen to about ten minutes worth of useless information on who was dating who, and what styles were in and out when finally something interesting came up, via an excited girl who apparently just got the memo herself.

"Did you hear what happened to the mall? It's totally in ruins! Like a mob when through and trashed the place. All the good stuff was stolen and everything else was left all over the place!"

"Ohmigawd! Do they know who did it?"

"No, but like twelve other places were hit, too. They think it was ghosts!"

"Why would a ghost clean out the mall, moron?"

"Well just because your dead doesn't mean your fashion sense is, too. Look at Phantom, his outfit's cool." (Sam couldn't suppress a smug smile at that one. Though she wasn't sure exactly how it was a good thing to share tastes in anything with airheads, her own contribution to Danny's ghost form made her proud to hear it praised.)

"Maybe, but a grocery store was hit, too, and all the good chocolate places! Ghosts don't need to eat! (Slight pause) Do they?" the girl's friends shrugged and turned the conversation towards another topic (An absolutely killer party Paulina was throwing this weekend,) while Sam trailed away, one thought haunting her as she left.

'Isn't the dump two blocks west of the mall…?'

"You're kidding?" Danny said, doubtfully.

"Well, that's what the rumors going around the school say," Sam sighed, "You'll probably have to check out the mall yourself to get the facts,"

"I don't get it…" Tucker sighed in frustration, "If I helped rob the mall, why don't I remember anything?"

"It's just a theory, Tuck," Sam said hastily, not wanting to accuse her friend of anything. "And I'm guessing if you did do it, it wasn't willingly. Someone must've been controlling your mind, like Danny and Freakshow."

"Is there any ghost you know that can do that?" Tucker asked Danny worriedly.

"Not that I can-" Danny stopped abruptly, an image of Siren flashing in his mind.

"Danny?" Sam asked, concerned at the way his face paled.

"I'm such an idiot!" He yelled, making his friends jump. "Tucker, do you remember seeing a girl? Purple hair, red eyes, really pale?"

"Maybe…" Tucker said, straining. "Yeah, kinda. It's fuzzy, but I remember. She was singing something… a weird language, I think. why?"

"Siren," Danny groaned.

"Who?" Sam asked, the name not ringing any bells.

"She's a… well, actually I don't know what she is. Just that she's not a ghost, and that she says 'her kind' can control and manipulate men without even trying,"

"Oh, so she's just like Paulina," Sam said, ignoring Danny's dry look.

"I think she lives longer then humans do, too." Danny said, going over his conversation with the woman again, "And that she was looking for something in me. Someone else sent her, too. Or at least put her on my trail."

"Lives longer then humans, can control men by singing…" Sam began to mutter under her breath, "And she calls herself Siren?"

"Yeah," Danny confirmed.

"Well, she can't be an actual mermaid if she'd on dry land," Sam said, "And I think we can be pretty sure she isn't a vampire. She doesn't fit in with that kinda of description. Nymph's probably out too…" The boys stared at Sam, mouths gasping, "What? Danny's the ghost expert, so I decided to check out everything else. Gotta problem with that?"

"No, it's just…" Tucker struggled for a word, "…unexpected,"

"Leave it to you to find ways to surprise us even now, Sam," Danny laughed. "So, what's your best guess as to what Siren is, other then a pain in the neck?"

"To be honest, I couldn't tell you," Sam shrugged, "But what I find weirder is that she can effect Tucker and not you. I wouldn't think ghost powers have anything to do with neutralizing the effects of other creatures, unless it was to kill 'em or something. Can't die twice, after all…" Tucker paled and Sam realized how that must've sounded to him, "Not that this girl's powers will kill you or anything," She added quickly.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact I've broken through mind control before?" Danny suggested.

"That's probably it," Tucker said, relieved. "I don't feel weaker or anything, so I don't think she's draining my life away…" Sam looked amused at that.

"You've seen too many horror movies, Tuck," She stated. Then she grew a little more serious. "But we need to stop her from doing this again, and find out exactly how many guys she has under her spell,"

"From what I've seen, she likes clothes and jewelry stores," Danny stated, "But now that she's cleaned out the Plaza and apparently the Mall, I don't know where she'll strike next."

"But Tucker will," Sam stated, turning to the boy, "When she takes over his mind, he can lead us right to her, and then we'll get all the answers we need and be able to stop her!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tucker protected, "I thought the goal was to get her out of my head!"

"It is," Danny replied, "Tucker, all we're asking is that you if that you let it happen one more time so it'll never happen again," Tucker sighed.

"You guys owe me for this," He said at last, "You know that, right?"

"Now the problem is getting him away from his parents…" Danny sighed. Sam smirked.

"Leave that to me…" She said, a plot already hatching in her mind.

'Ring! Ring!'

"I'll get it, dear," Mrs. Foley told her husband, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Foley? This is Dr. Francis Dublin from the Science and Computer Institute, are you the mother of one, Tucker Devin Foley?" Mrs. Foley blinked.

"Why, yes. Yes I am…"

"Well, Ma'am, you're son is invited to take part in a weekend long exhibit and tour of our campus, as well as an opportunity to compete for a fully paid four year scholarship to SCI." Mrs. Foley gasped. "Naturally, Ma'am, we need your permission before we can bring him along, but rest assured your son will be taken well care of,"

"I-I don't know, this is so sudden…" Mrs. Foley said uncertainly.

"You must understand, Ma'am, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if your son does not attend now he will not get a second chance."

"Well… Alright then…" Mrs. Foley said, "You have my permission."

"Thank you, ma'am. I wish you and your family the best of luck."

"Thank you," Mrs. Foley said in a daze. Slightly stunned, she hung up the phone. In the Manson Mansion, Sam grinned into the speakerphone.

"Thanks, Dr. Dublin," She said gratefully.

"No problem, Samantha!" Dr. Dublin responded, "Anything for the little sister of one of our best!"

"Any chance you can look into that scholarship for me?" Tucker asked hopefully. Now that they had a plan so he could get back to normal, Tucker was in a much better mood, already almost back to his normal self. Dr. Dublin couldn't help but laugh at the tech geek's enthusiasm.

"We'll see, son," He said, bemused. "I don't know what you kids are involved in that you need to make up these kinds of stories, but try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Sure thing, Doc," Sam said, reaching to hang up, "Thanks again, Bye!" in the corner, Danny snickered slightly.

"Your middle name's Devin?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Tucker. Tucker blushed.

"It's my grandfather's name!" he said stiffly. Sam and Danny looked at each other and bust out laughing.

"I tell her to cut back on the time, and what does she do?" Valerie growled in slight annoyance, "Ooh, man is she gonna get it!" Still grumbling slightly, Valerie knocked on the door.

"This had better be very, very good!" An irritated voice on the other side said. The door opened to reveal Neris, apparently in a very bad mood. Her mood worsened, however, when she saw Valerie. "Oh. You."

"Cut back on the enthusiasm why don't you?" Valerie smirked, much happier now that she'd gotten a rise out of Neris. Then she glared, all business. "We need to talk,"

"Says who?" Neris countered, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.

"Either you talk to me or I talk to Danny," Valerie snapped, "And I don't think you'd like what I tell him," Neris seemed to consider this for a moment, then she stood and walked back into her apartment, clearly indicating that Valerie follow, which she did.

Valerie was a paralyzed in surprised at the condition of Neris' apartment. Couch cushions had been torn off the couch and ripped open, dishes and cups laid shattered paintings had been torn off their canvases and the wall had been punctured in nine or ten places, and that was in the living room alone.

"Throw any fits lately?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl. Neris narrowed her dark violet eyes at her.

"I was vandalized, thank you very much," She said shortly, "Someone broke in and trashed my house,"

"You make friends left and right, don't you?" Valerie sneered.

"Can you please just get this over with so I can get on with my life?" Neris growled.

"Fine," Valerie said shortly, "I know your secret," Neris froze.

"Oh? Her eyebrow kicked up, "And what 'secret' may that be?"

"You're Siren, aren't you?" Valerie accused her, "Don't say you're not, it can't be anyone but you, you two even look similar, save the hair color and eyes." Then, Valerie frowned. "Hey, didn't you have green eyes before?" Neris paled slightly, turning frantically to a mirror (Almost completely shattered,) and gasping. "Hello?"

"Contacts," Neris said, not meeting Valerie's eyes. "I'm wearing contacts right now. I was invited to Paulina's party and thought I'd show them off a bit. Violet eyes are all the rage in Paris."

"What kind of sap do you take me for?" Valerie said, delighted at her new discovery. "That's your natural eye color, isn't it? And what a coincidence, it's the same shade of Siren's hair! And her eyes match your hair, too! Same height, same body structure same all knowing cocky attitude…"

"I'm not Siren, okay!" Neris snapped, looking insulted. Her eyes began to glow, "How dare you come into my house, and accuse me of being that traitor! I'm a Moonblood, not some outcast looking for revenge!"

"Traitor?" Valerie repeated. "Moonblood?" Neris glared, apparently furious she'd said so much.

"Get out," She hissed, "Now,"

"Not until you-!"

"NOW!" Valerie gasped as a violet aura surrounded Neris menacingly. Any glass left unbroken began to crack, and the ground began quaking in the girl's fury.

Valerie was brave, but she wasn't stupid. Diving for the door, she slammed it behind her, Leaning against it and panting, wincing when she felt it shaking due to Neris' power. Then, still trembling slightly, Valerie hastily made her way out to the door of the apartment.

She had to call Sam and tell her about the meeting-gone-wrong before anything happened to Danny…

Thanks to;

fang 50

DJ Rodriguez

Rob the Hedgehog

luvdp88

Questions;

(Yeah, a friend gave me the heads up. is pretty restricting when it comes to these sort of things, but I love responding to people, so I'll take a chance by responding to questions alone, and hoping all you are nice enough not to report me.)