WoM- I'm probably getting closer to the end now. I honestly can't see this story running for more then ten chapters. More about Neris and Siren are explained this chapter, and all is revealed in Chapter Eight. With that in mind, enjoy!

"Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."

-William Congreve

Answers

'Ding dong!'

"Pizza!" Danny yelled, grinning at Sam and Tucker as he jumped up. "I'll get it,"

"The money's by the door," Sam reminded him absently, eyes still glued to the gigantic screen of her TV. (Which both Danny and Tucker still insisted was bigger then the one at the local movie theatre.) which was now showing her favorite horror movie, It.

Tucker's frequent twitching confirmed he was still alive and in control of his body. And still very freaked out by the evil clown in the movie, which gave him nightmares when they were in third grade and Danny snuck the movie from his parent's collection to watch. Danny shook his head as he jogged upstairs to the door.

He was proud to say horror movies never really phased him. (WoM- Lucky. . I'm the girl who screamed out loud during Scary Movie III, and my friends won't let me forget it.) Even before being turned into a halfa, he was never too bothered with watching Silence of the Lambs or such. He figured it just ran in the family, since there was no Fenton that ever feared anything in a horror film.

…Excluding Jazz's extreme discomfort during Saw, of course. Good luck trying to get her to admit it, though.

Sliding the final few feet to the door on the hardwood floor, Danny grabbed the money (Shaking his head in blatant disbelief at the amount.) and threw open the large, heavy wooden door.

"Sorry it took so- Val?" Danny cut off his apology in confusion.

"Danny!" Valerie said in relief, "Thank God- We need to talk!"

"Uh…" Danny glanced back to the open basement door, where Sam and Tucker were. He knew that Sam at the very least was probably listening intently at the mention of the ghost hunter's name. "Now? Sam and Tucker and I-"

"Please!" Valerie said, worry shining in her eyes. "It's really important, Danny!" His resolve melting when he saw how serious Valerie was, Danny sighed.

"Hang on a sec, okay?" He said. Then turning back, he called out, "SAM?"

"Go ahead," Sam said irritably, coming around the corner "How long will this take, though?"

"A while," Valerie said, "Probably a few hours, at the least. Most likely more. Look, I swear I'll fill you in later, but right now I've gotta talk to Danny alone,"

"Look after Tucker, will you?" Danny said, sending Sam a look pleading with her to stay put. Only Sam's lingering guilt over ignoring Tucker so much lately kept her from protesting. And the fact that between Neris and Valerie, she trusted Valerie more.

Well, a little more, at any rate.

"Call me before you come back," Sam told him, "I'll unlock the door for you," Relieved the Goth was cooperating, Valerie hurried out, while Danny lingered, a reassuring smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Sam," He told her softly, "And don't wait up. I've got my own key, remember?" And, to prove his point, Danny turned his hand (Which Valerie couldn't see) invisible. Sam smiled, a little happier as she reveled in the fact that Danny trusted her with something he wouldn't let even his family know.

"Don't expect Tucker to save you any pizza," She warned him. Danny laughed.

"Be back later, Sam," Danny promised her before following Valerie, "Okay, now what's-?"

"Not here," Valerie hissed, covering Danny's mouth. "We need to find some place we can talk alone. Somewhere abandoned, where even ghosts won't go…" Danny frowned thoughtfully, then brightened.

"Got it!" He said, "Follow me,"

"Where to?" Valerie asked, jogging beside him.

"You'll see…" Danny responded.

"….The Amity Park Public Library?" Valerie blinked as she scanned the building, empty save the elderly librarian asleep at the check out desk.

"The last place you'll find anyone, living or dead, on a Saturday," Danny said in amusement. Valerie grinned, realizing it was all too true. (AN; Please note that I am an avid reader myself on a first name basis with my librarian. I don't want any nasty reviews about this, it's just I find it hard to see almost anyone on Danny Phantom willingly in a library on a weekend.)

"Clever," She complemented him, before tugging him over to the corner furthest from the receptionist. "Look, about Neris…" Danny sighed.

"Not you now too…" He mumbled.

"Listen to me, Danny, this is serious," Valerie insisted, surprising Danny slightly. "She's dangerous. Really dangerous. I need to know, did she do anything to you when you two were alone? Anything that felt off, or didn't seem human?" Danny thought back to the strange sensations he'd gotten around Neris those two times, and wondered about how he could approach this with Valerie and even if he should tell her at all. After all, if it led to something to do with his ghost powers…

"Kinda," Danny said, deciding to take a chance and trust his friend with at least this much. "There were these times- twice actually- when Neris brushed me and I felt something weird.

"Weird how?" Valerie pressed, happy to be getting somewhere.

"The first one was just a chill, so I didn't pay too much attention to it," Danny explained, "But the second one… it was a little stronger, and I got this weird burning feeling in my stomach."

"That's not much, but at least it's something to go on…" Valerie sighed.

"Aren't you gonna tell me what this is all about?" Danny asked the girl.

"Well…" Valerie hesitated, knowing that giving the whole truth would be telling Danny more then she wanted him to know at the moment. "You know that woman, Siren, who robbed the Plaza?"

"Yeah…" Danny said slowly, not making any connections.

"Well, I kinda accused Neris about knowing something about her, and Neris flipped. She mentioned something about being a Moonblood, and her eyes started to glow." Then, Valerie began talking much faster. "I know this all sounds really weird and you probably don't believe me, but-!"

"Relax, Valerie," Danny cut in, "I believe you,"

"Really?" Valerie said, relieved.

"Yeah," Danny sighed, "I don't think Neris is really as dangerous as you think she is- at least not to me- but I know she has something to do with all this weirdness."

"Thanks, Danny," Valerie said, smiling, "For trusting me, I mean." Danny felt a stab of guilt at that.

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Danny asked.

"You're parents are ghost-hunters, so you know more about all this paranormal stuff then I do," Valerie said, "I was hoping you could help me get something solid on her, so we know what's going on." Danny frowned.

"Can't we just ask her?" He said, clearly disapproving of snooping around in other people's business without their permission.

"She's in a bad mood right now," Valerie said quickly, "Her apartment was trashed- someone broke in or something- and I don't think my visit helped things." It was just excuses, actually. Valerie didn't want Danny within ten feet of Neris until she knew what the girl was capable of. Danny sighed.

"Well… I do know this one site that may be able to help us," Danny said thoughtfully, "It has a lot of through information. Accurate information, too." At the very least, the parts devoted to ghosts were accurate. Danny would know, he spent at least a few hours online every day looking into it and comparing it with what he'd learned.

"Great!" Valerie said, grinning, "You're a hero, Danny,"

"You have no idea…" Danny muttered as he followed the girl to the computers.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

"You know, I doubt staring at the clock will make Danny come back any faster, Sam,"

Sam yelped at the voice that came suddenly over her right shoulder. Reacting on instincts brought on by helping Danny, she jumped to the side and grabbed the nearest blunt object (Her father's decorative French swords. Sam never cared too much for weapons, so never bothered to learn the proper name.) and lashed out at the offender.

Luckily, Tucker had been on just as many of those hunts as Sam. Even with the minimal warning Sam gave him, he managed to dive and dodge the blade, knocking into the expensive armchair and falling into it in a confused mess.

"Damn it, Tucker!" Sam yelled, "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry," Tucker apologized, "I didn't think getting your attention would mean being decapitated." Sam blushed and scowled at him slightly before turning to put the sword away.

"Anyways, who said I was waiting for Danny? I could've been watching to see when the Metropolis Marathon started for all you know,"

"You could've," Tucker agreed, standing and brushing himself off. "But then you would've stopped staring at the clock half an hour ago."

"I'm just worried," Sam sighed, "What the heck could be so important, anyways?"

"You tell me," Tucker shrugged, "You and Valerie have been acting pretty chummy lately." Sam's face flushed.

"We're not 'chummy'" Sam said with a scowl. "We've just found a common enemy is all."

"Mmhm…" Tucker's eyebrow kicked up, "In other words you like Valerie more then Neris?"

"As of now, I like everybody more then Neris," Sam said, plopping into her armchair. "And I'm including Dash and Paulina in that generalization." Tucker gave a low whistle at that.

"Man, what the heck did she do to you?"

"She's just a bratty little hypocrite trying to wrap Danny around her little finger," Sam grumbled, slouching a little more, "You know, she had the nerve to call me a coward?"

"You?" Tucker said doubtfully, "The girl who'd let a 400 pound gorillas run free without a second thought or remorse? What the heck did you do that gave off that impression?"

"Nothing," Sam said shortly. Tucker cocked his head at her.

"This is Danny related, isn't it?" he asked. Sam didn't answer, and Tucker (thankfully) didn't press the subject anymore. "Anyways, you all set for next Monday?" Tucker asked. Sam gave him a blank look, and Tucker rolled his eyes. "It's Freak Week, remember?" Lilac eyes widened.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I nearly forgot!" Sam moaned.

Freak Week was a tradition started back in the Second Grade, something Sam and Danny (reluctantly) stuck true to no matter what. It began when Sam stole some of her Mom's make up and badgered the boy until he allowed her to try it out on him. Sam had been so excited about the results of her first 'experiment' that she kept using Danny as a test dummy for the rest of the week, something that really got a laugh from Maddie, who'd made sure to take pictures of her son every day.

After a week, though, Danny decided enough was enough and refused to let her use him to test out make-up any longer. This led to the seven-year-old girl bawling her lungs out for hours at end, making Danny frantic. Finally, he agreed that to let her play with his personal fashion again a year from then, obviously hoping the girl would either forget or lose interest.

Not such luck on Danny's part, though, and thus 'Freak Week,' as it was so affectionately dubbed by Jazz, was born. It'd become a time of year Sam, Tucker and even Maddie (Who'd developed a separate picture album for it and always made sure to send doubles to Sam) anticipated with as much glee as Christmas (perhaps even more so on Sam's part) while Danny dreaded it as Sam's taste in make-up and clothes became darker and more morbid.

"I saw this pair of boots that would've been perfect on Danny, too," Sam grumbled, pouting. Tucker chuckled.

He smiled to himself proudly as Sam took out some spare paper and began to plot out how she was going to have Danny dress for the week, along with listing what she'd need to buy tomorrow. Though it was at the poor halfa's expense, Tucker was glad he got Sam into a good mood. (Well, for Sam, anyways.)

She'd been so tense and cranky lately, that Tucker had to admit he was more worried about her then Danny. Danny could take care of himself, he'd faced worse then Neris and whatever Siren was. Sam, however, seemed to be worse for the wear lately. She was the one who needed to be helped right now, not Danny.

Though when Danny found out that Tucker reminded Sam about Freak Week, the techno-geek would be the one in need of help. He was looking at a month of 'Awkward Moments Due to Overshadowing' for this one, and that was only if Danny was either too tired to care or feeling unusually generous.

Before Tucker could muse about this any longer (Or plot out escape routes and ways to avoid being caught in public places with his hybrid friend until Graduation.) a sweeping chill went up his spine and he started to feel very sleepy…

"Hey, Tucker, do you think I should make Danny wear the black pleather trench coat on Wednesday or Friday?" Sam asked absently. No response. Knowing the tech-geek was still in the room, Sam looked up, frowning, "Tucker?"

She just had enough time for her eyes to widen before the little shovel used for the fireplace came down hard on her head.

"See anything yet?" Danny asked absently, looking over at Valerie.

"No, but I've learned more about Arachnoids then I ever wanted to know," Valerie shuttered slightly. Danny chuckled.

"Look at it this way," Danny responded lightly, "That might be the next thing that comes to Amity."

"God forbid." The ghost hunter grumbled.

She and Danny had been looking over The Forbidden Almanac for a good half hour now, Valerie going over creatures A-M (Though Danny cringed when he realized she'd be reading the ghost part.) and Danny going from N-Z.

Danny sighed as he clicked back out of O, finding nothing useful there. Clicking on S, he continued conversing with Valerie.

"What, are you scared of spiders or something?"

"Or something," Valerie said a little too quickly. Danny took his eyes off the description of Sand Demons long enough to give her a quizzical look, but Valerie didn't meet his eyes.

"Relax, Val. Everybody's scared of something." Danny said, clicking back and going down to Saviors, next on the list.

"Oh, what are you scared of?" Valerie challenged.

"Losing," Danny responded simply. 'I'm scared I won't have the strength to protect everyone, that I'll be killed and they'll be defenseless. I'm scared I can't hold back the evil in me, that I'll become just like Vald and all the other ghosts I fight. I'm scared that I was wrong about my parents, that they'll hate me for being a halfa…' Valerie, though, couldn't read thoughts, so she just gave Danny a confused and skeptical look before letting it slide.

That's when Danny's eyes fell upon a Creature a little ways down on the list.

Seductress.

Danny hesitated for a moment, then clicked on it instead of Sea Serpents, knowing from the name alone his answer was probably there.

Seductresses are mysterious creatures that inhabit Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. They are tied closely with Greek and Roman Goddesses Aphrodite and Venus, along with Selena and the cycles of the moon. Because of this, they were once incorrectly assumed to be 'night creatures.'

While it is true a seductress is more powerful in the night, most particularly the night of a full moon, a seductresses powers are only very minimally decreased during the day. As the name suggests, a seductress is a female creature with the power to control men, and even in rare cases other women. As far as can be told, they have a natural hormone in their body that combines with their kinds powerful and unique magic and draws men to them.

However, with this powerful magic comes an even more powerful curse, put upon them by a great wizard who grew mad with jealousy when the Chieftain of the Seductresses refused his advances. This offered a slight control over them so they could no longer take whatever men they pleased, and created the Four Rules of the Seductress.

1; Seductresses cannot lure a man who is already fully committed to another woman. This meant men who were married were immune to a seductresses charms.

2; Seductresses could not control a man who was already on friendly terms with his 'match.' The man himself did not have to know it, but if he had already befriended someone he could grow to fully love, a Seductress' charms had no sway over him. Unless, of course, the one in question was killed or separated from the man long enough for the man to move on, then the immunity diminished as well.

3; A seductress cannot re-cast her spell over a man who has broken free of her control. Once any human's body learns how to overcome any kind of spell or charm, the spell is useless if tried again. Another, more powerful seductress can perhaps overcome his will, but the one who failed is deemed useless.

4; Seductresses could not overpower the man they love. If a seductress falls in love with a man her magic diminishes, and she has little or no power over the man in question. However, to make this curse even bitterer on the race's part, the Wizard also instigated it so a seductress could only truly fall in love with a man who would never return her affections.

A seductress can only ever truly love one man at a time, and cannot regain her full powers until the man she loves dies. The more powerful the seductress, the least likely they are to fall in love.

Seductresses can only give birth to another seductress, never males. From birth to some point in the late teens, a seductress appears to be no more then a normal child. At some point in her late teens, though, seductress blood kicks in, and men begin to find her irresistible. After that point, a seductress will stop aging for about 200 years. After that, she loses her powers and begins to age again like a human.

These women are known as the Elders, and they spend their time guiding and teaching younger Seductresses, as well as thinking of ways to disguise their kind from the rest of the world. While they have their powers, though, the Seductresses are divided into five Groups based on strength.

5; Commonblood; the weakest and most common Seductresses, with only basic powers and ability to control men for no more then a night. Often used for 'grunt work.'

4; Flowerblood; less common and more powerful then Commonbloods. They have some control over their own personal scent, making themselves far more attractive to men.

3; Hopeblood; even more powerful then the Flowerblood, Hopeblood can control stronger willed men for longer periods of time.

2; Songblood; Have the ability to control men through song and dance. The most well-known Seductresses, as they tend to be allowed more freedom for their craft then any other Group.

1; Moonblood; the most powerful of Seductresses. The Chieftain and her ten consorts, they have enough power to control men for as long as they please, and have all the powers of the previous four groups, only intensified. The Four Rules alone have sway over a Moonblood's powers.

Danny stared at the screen, not bothering to read on. This was it. This was what Siren and Neris were! There was no doubt in his mind, none at all. The only problem now, though, was confronting Neris and getting more information on Siren. Like why they'd suddenly decided to pull him into their bizarre little world.

"Danny?" Danny yelped loudly, jumping about ten feet into the air and falling to the ground, computer chair and all.

"J-Jazz?" Danny said, wheeling around, wide-eyed, to meet his sister's bewildered look, "Jeeze! Warn a guy, why don't you!" Jazz didn't respond to that, confusion still shining in her eyes as she looked between Valerie (Who'd torn herself from Changelings to see what was going on) and Danny. (Who was standing up and brushing himself off,) Before she blurted out.

"What are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Sam's house, Danny?"

"Leave it to my sister to spend a free Saturday in the library…" Danny muttered dryly under his breath. "Nothing," He told Jazz, "Just research is all."

"Research?" Jazz repeated, craning her head to look over Danny's shoulder at the computer screen. Danny hastily exited the Internet, glaring at his sister.

"How bout some privacy?" He asked irritably. Following suit, Valerie logged out as well. She didn't want Jazz to know about the Siren thing any more then Danny did. Jazz looked hurt for a moment before realization struck her and she cast Valerie a strange look.

"Well, I'd better go check out these books," She said, hurrying away, "See you on Sunday, Danny. Any by the way, mom's charging up the digital camera tonight for the Freak Week pictures." And with that, Jazz was gone, missing the horror that last statement had put on Danny's face. Valerie looked confused.

"Freak Week?"

"It's nothing." Danny said hastily, hoping against hope that Sam'd forgotten this year. Seven years worth of Freak Weeks had left him dreading the tradition, and he was constantly begging Maddie to let him burn the Freak Week Album. "I'd better get back to Sam's place. Knowing Jazz, she's gonna rat me out and Mom'll call there demanding to know why I was out somewhere and she didn't know."

"Yeah…" Valerie sighed, regretting that she couldn't find anything. "I'd better go, too. Dad said if I break curfew again, he'll add another ten years to my grounding sentence and take away my free Saturdays."

"I'll see you later, Val," Danny said, smiling sympathetically as the two left the library.

"Just make sure to take care of yourself, okay, Danny?" Valerie asked him, looking worried, "I've got a bad feeling about all this Siren stuff…" Danny gave her a reassuring laugh.

"Come on, Val, what would someone like that want with me?" Danny asked her, "I'll be fine." Not looking that at eased by his words, Valerie headed off to her apartment. Danny lingered a while before he started off himself, in a different direction.

He needed to talk to Neris about all this, one on one.

WoM- All done! I've given myself deadlines for all my updates now,deadlines which will be posted at the end of each chapter or (If I forget) On my Profile under Stories.

Thanks to;

fang 50

DJ Rodriguez

Rob the Hedgehog

XXMIDNIGHTWOLFXX

Questions;

Rob the Hedgehog (Yeah, I read your stories. Didn't have time to leave a review, but they were really well-written! Can't wait to see what you do on the Danny Phantom Front!)

XXMIDNIGHTWOLFXX

Next update; 11/23/05

See you then! And REVIEW PLEASE!