Big thanks to all the kind people who reviewed for me. You are all wonderful! A/N and plea to review following the story.

Chapter Two

Danny didn't fight The Fright Knight as he was taken into the forest. What was there to fight? He couldn't change in to his ghost form. There was no way he could beat this ghost without his powers.

"Could you do me a favor?" Danny asked as The Fright Knight reached their destination, a hunter's shack deep in the woods.

"I am a creature of honor," The Fright Knight said. "What is your final request? I will do my best to adhere to it."

Danny took a deep breath as he knelt on the ground before the ghost. He assumed he was going to have his head chopped off, any other possible gruesome end to his life escaped his mind.

"Can you tell my sister, Jazz. That I love her? Tell her, I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to leave her, I'm all she has left you see and without me she'll be alone." Danny took another deep breath and tried not to sob at what he said next.

"Tell her, Tell her I am so sorry for what I did to Bearbert Einstien. If I knew I was going to leave her, I would never have let anything bad happened to him." Danny wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up to The Fright Knight, readying himself for a blow.

The Fright Knight dropped his sword and began sobbing. "I-I had a bear once too," He said softly. He looked at Danny for a moment then pointed deeper into the forest.

"Go," The Fright Knight ordered. "Go and do not look back. Should we meet again, I will not spare your life." Danny didn't stop to say thank you, he picked himself up off the ground and ran for dear life.

Running through the deep, dark, dense forest, isn't advisable. Ever. Danny found himself in a dead run, dodging trees, ducking under limbs, his clothes becoming torn by shrubbery which reached out to try and drag him into their thorny embraces. He ignored everything, even the pain of his scratched face. He saw red from the blood pouring into his eyes and still her ran.

Finally he came to a falling halt in a bright, sun filled clearing. Off on the other side of the clearing, along the woods was a large cottage. He took a deep breath as he limped across the meadow. He knocked on the door, hoping someone was home. Hopefully they would give him a little shelter while he rested and regained his ghost powers. If he had his ghost powers, at least he could get away from the forest and plot out a way to rescue his sister from their wicked stepfather.

The door to the cottage swung open with an eerie creak. Danny hesitated for a moment before peeking his head through the doorway. "Hello," he called. "Is anyone home?" No answer came. He hesitated for a moment. He really needed to do something about the cuts on his face, they were beginning to ache and sting. He stepped inside the house and looked around. It was empty save for seven beds placed along the wall.

Danny looked at each bed as he passed them. On the first bed sat a glittering green amulet. It looked rather fierce. He knew better than to touch anything that remotely resembled ghostly jewelry. Upon the second bed was a genie's lamp and several translucent blue scarves. Braced against the third bed was a pink musical instrument. Danny frowned as he moved on to the next bed which was covered with knives and ecto guns. He quickly turned and looked at the fifth bed. PDAs tons of PDAs and other electronic gadgetry lay neatly on the bed. Danny shook his head and stopped at the foot of the sixth bed. Boxes. The bed was covered in boxes.

"What kind of weirdo collects boxes?" he wondered out loud. The final bed contained several hand written pages. Danny would have sat down on one of the beds, but for some reason he was loath to disturb any of the objects he'd found.

Danny suddenly heard voices. Laughter and chatter, the owners of the cottage were returning. He hoped they wouldn't be upset at him for finding his own way inside. He stood and waited patiently, a look of fear and hope on his face.

A ghost with blue flaming hair entered the cottage first. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Danny with wide green eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I-I am…" Danny stuttered.

"An intruder!" A tall ghost wearing a plethora of body armor pushed the blue haired ghost aside and stalked forward.

"Who are you? Who sent you? What do you want?" The ghost questioned.

"Leave him alone dipstick," The blue flame haired ghost said. "You're intimidating him."

The armored ghost looked at the blue flame haired ghost and replied, "It is my job to intimidate intruders Ember."

"And it's my job to indoctrinate new members," Ember told him. "This kid might be a new member."

"You're not talking about your stupid "We hate Vlad club," are you?" asked a raven haired harem girl as she strode into the room then stopped in her tracks and looked at Danny. "Who's he?" she said as she pointed.

"It's not polite to point Desiree!" Ember said as she slapped the other ghost's hand down.

"Skulker," Desiree said as she turned to the armored ghost, "Tell Ember there is no "We Hate Vlad club."

Skulker shook his head and walked to his bed. He picked up a knife and turned to watch Danny as he twisted the tip of the blade over his finger. Danny wished he could sink in through the floor. Under normal circumstanced he could.

"I say we box him!" Another ghost said as he flew into the room. "Shove the intruder into the smallest box we can find!"

"Boxy," Desiree said. "Can't you think of a better punishment for an intruder intent on robbing you of all your precious boxes?"

"No he cannot," Another ghost replied as he sailed into the room. "For his mind is puny and weak. His past life was lonely and bleak. All he has left in his mind are boxes and boxes."

"Man G.W." Ember said. "You're really off on your rhyming today." The ghost in question shrugged his shoulders and gave Danny a curious look as he sat on his bed and picked up his writing papers and began to write.

"He has not touched my PDA has he?" A disembodied voice asked from the bed containing all the tech equipment." A ghost appeared from one of the gadgets and he smiled. "No he has not."

Ember shook her head at Danny. "That's Technus. All he cares about are computers."

"Computers?" Danny asked in bewilderment.

"That's my sentiment exactly," Desiree said as both she and Ember checked Danny out.

"He's cute!" Ember announced as she extracted a few twigs and leaves from his hair. "What should we do with him?"

Desiree laughed, "More importantly. What shouldn't we do with him?" Both girls laughed and Danny covered his face with his hands, and was again reminded of his mad escape through the forest.

"He's bleeding," Another voice said from the door. "You two are standing there just watching as our visitor bleeds to death?

"Don't be so over dramatic Dora," Ember said. "He's fine."

"I say we skin him," Skulker said as he eyed the knife in his hand. "Slowly."

"We'll do nothing of the sort," Dora said as she strode into the room and looked at Danny.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"D-Danny," he answered.

Dora nodded her head and looked at Desiree and Ember who had their heads together and were whispering. "Girls," she ordered. "Get this boy a cloth for his face."

Ember narrowed her eyes at Dora. "Just because you were a princess, doesn't mean you can order us around."

"Now!" Dora said, her eyes changing draconic and frightening. Both the ghosts jumped to do her bidding.

"What are you doing here?" Dora asked Danny gently as she showed him to a chair. Danny was keenly aware that the rest of the ghosts were watching him, though they appeared to be doing something else all together.

"I was escaping," he said. "My…my stepfather was trying to kill me, but I escaped. Now I'm here."

"And," Skulker said from the corner. "His stepfather is Vlad."

Danny turned his gaze to Skulker, the ghost seemed to be ignoring him still. "How did you know?"

"It's written all over you," Skulker replied. "I can smell it in your clothes along with the smell of fear and horse manure."

Dora put her green hand on Danny's shoulder. "Skulker is a gifted hunter. He can find out the answers to almost anything by smell alone."

"So," Skulker continued. "You managed to talk The Fright Knight into showing you mercy. Poor sap."

"It's true," Danny said. "My stepfather, Vlad ordered me dead."

"Liar!" Skulker accused. "Vlad doesn't send The Fright Knight out to execute defenseless little boys. Tell us what you're hiding!"

"Nothing!" Danny said. He wondered what these ghosts would do if they found out he was Danny Fenton, son of the famous ghost hunter Jack Fenton, it wouldn't be pretty. "I'm hiding nothing. Vlad was angry because I wouldn't join him. He decided I was better off dead."

"Because you are a threat to his power," G.W. said from his bed. "He wished you dead upon the hour. But how could one so small threaten Vlad, who would have the gall? Oh dear she's right! My rhyming has gone viciously bad."

Skulker rolled his eyes at G.W. and then said, "There has to be more. You can't be just a boy. Who are you? What are you?

Desiree and Ember reappeared with clean clothes and bandages. They began to see to Danny's wounds. Skulker remained where he stood as he stared Danny down.

"Tell us your secret!" Dora asked. "We cannot risk much. We must know you cannot harm us, or destroy you." She gave Danny a look of desperation. Ember and Desiree stopped working for a moment then looked back and forth between Skulker and Dora, wondering what would happen next. Who would get their way, Skulker or Dora? It was a toss up between the two, the fight could go either way.

"I am a halfa," Danny admitted and closed his eyes as every ghost in the room gasped.

"He's like Vlad!" Ember said as she moved away from Danny, as if she was frightened.

"He's not like Vlad," Desiree laughed as she patted Danny's head. "He's pure of heart. Look at his aural glow!" Ember gave Danny a quick once over then seemed to relax as she picked up the bandages she dropped and moved back toward him with a gleam in her eyes.

"If he's so halfa," The Box Ghost said from a box beside his bed. "Then why didn't he just become a ghost when Vlad came after him? Humm?"

Danny sighed. "Because he did something to me. I can't transform right now."

"For twelve hours," Technus said from his bent over position over his technological gadgets. "He used the Plasmius Maximus. You can't transform for twelve hours."

"I still say we skin him," Skulker growled as he loomed over Danny. "Eat him for dinner."

"Oh that's gross," Ember said as she put herself between Danny and Skulker. "Leave the kid alone Skulker. He's on our side."

"For now," Skulker said. "But the day he turns on us, do not come running to me asking for help." Ember rolled her eyes and turned back to Danny.

"I think," said G.W. from the bed. "That it may be dangerous to keep one such as he, here. We need to find a safer haven for him."

"Ha ha!" The Box Ghost said. "Where are all your rhymes now?"

G.W. gave The Box Ghost a tired look then returned his gaze to Danny. "I suggest we send for our ally, the princess of Amity Park, a missive explaining our dilemma. At the very least, she may be willing to take this creature off of our hands."

Dora walked to her bed and placed the amulet around her neck. The rest of the ghosts looked at each other in fear. Danny looked at Dora, waiting her to transform into something. He couldn't imagine what at this point.

"I have fought off The Fright Knight on each occasion he has come for us," she said. "I do not fear him or any so called retribution he may bring. I feel we can adequately protect this child."

"It's your skin," Skulker said as he eyed Dora for a moment. Danny thought he could detect a slight flush of color on Dora's green cheeks.

"I like him," Desiree said as she combed her fingers through Danny's tangled tresses. "There is something comforting about his presence, and I quite enjoy the thought that Vlad will be vexed that he is with us."

"Vexed?" Ember said with a sneer. "You've been kissing G.W. too much. His way with words is rubbing off on you."

"I've never kissed G.W!" Desiree said in shock.

Ember smirked. "That's not what he told me!" Desiree turned on G.W. and was about to let lose with a litany of angry insults when Dora stopped her.

"This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves," She said. "It looks as though we may have an ally in our fight against Vlad."

"Or a more powerful adversary than Vlad," Skulker pointed out. "What will you do if the boy turns on you? He's not some needy animal you've rescued from the woods, he's a dangerous being."

"I'm writing a letter to the princess of Amity Park," G.W. announced.

"Oh great," Ember said. "So who is going to wake the Princess from her twelve thousand year slumber after she finishes reading G.W.'s work of art?'

"Shut up!" G.W. said then returned to his writing.

"Enough of this!" Dora yelled. "I'm sure Danny has some questions." She looked at Danny who was watching Ember bandage his arm. He looked up at Dora then his face took on a deer in headlights look. Skulker chuckled and The Box Ghost laughed.

"Okay," Danny finally said. "I have a question. Who are you guys? And how come you're here? I mean what's your story?"

"That's three questions," Technus said. "You said you had a question, but you ask three." He shook his head.

"Okay so three questions," Danny clarified.

"Much better," Technus said as he stood. He threw back his coat and announced. "I am Technus, Master of Technology. I was happily going about my business infecting files with a nasty little virus with Vlad Plasmius yanked me into his realm and demanded I bow to his whims. He forced me to construct several firewalls and safety nets on his network then cast me out here in the wilderness to fend for myself. I was lucky that Dora took mercy upon me and let me live with her." Technus glowered at Skulker for a moment then sat back down.

Dora smiled a little then smoothed her skirt with the palms of her hand. "Thank you Technus," she said softly. He cast her a quick glance, looked at Skulker and then turned back to his work.

"My name is Ember McLain," Ember told Danny as she gently wiped the blood from the gash above his eye. "I am a singer, musician, song writer. I was happily going about my business mesmerizing the world's youth and melding them to my whims when Vlad captured me. He studied me for a few weeks, drained me of power and cast me out into the wilderness. I was lucky that Dora took mercy upon me, and let me live with her."

"Wow," Danny said then looked at Dora who smiled sweetly.

"My name is Desiree," said the wishing ghost. "I was trapped for thousands of years in a lamp. Vlad found me, released me, forced me to grant him several wishes then proceeded to drain me of my power. As with Ember and Technus, he cast me here and Dora took mercy upon me, and let me live with her."

Skulker snorted and Danny turned to him, expecting him to talk next, but instead The Box Ghost stood. "Beware!" he shouted. "I am The Box Ghost! Master of all things cardboard and square! I accidentally bumped into Vlad on one of his explorations. He captured me briefly but quickly became frightened of my amazing power over boxes, so he cast me here. Dora took me in and now this is where I maintain my domain!"

"He ran into you and you annoyed him," Ember said. "No one is scared of you Boxy."

"That is what they all say!" The Box Ghost declared, "Until the come up against the power of the box!"

Ember rolled her eyes and whispered to Danny, "Don't listen to him he's a little crazy."

"I suppose," said G.W. as he put aside his pen. "It is now my turn."

"Grab a pillow," Ember warned. "This is going to take awhile."

"My name is Ghost Writer, but you may call me G.W," The ghost began. "I made the mistake of haunting his royal highness one evening, due to his massive atrocities against grammar. He drained me of my power then, as with the rest I ended up here, where our lovely mistress Dora took us in and gave us refuge."

"Thank you," Dora said to G.W. who nodded his head, glowered at Ember then went back to his writing."

"I'm the only one left," Skulker said then looked at Dora a moment. "Almost."

"Yes," she sighed. "Almost."

"Despite what you may think, I came to live with Dora first!" Skulker began. He cast a quick angry glance at Technus who was ignoring the hunter. "I am the former lackey of His Royal Highness. I did his bidding before The Fright Knight came along and proved himself a little more loyal. Vlad sent me to find a rare and precious item, but I was unable to secure it for him, despite my repeated attempts. Vlad grew angry at me, so I ended up here, with Dora who took me in and gave me comfort." He smiled wolfishly and again Dora blushed.

"So you are all outcasts from Vlad in some way or another?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Dora replied. She walked around the room a moment. Stopping briefly to look at Skulker. Something silent seemed to pass between them and she sighed in defeat.

"I was once Vlad's betrothed," Dora started. "My name is Dora Mattingly. I am a princess, of what realm I'd rather not say. I did not wish to marry Vlad, but he did have an obligation to me through a pact with my family. When he decided to break our engagement and marry another, he cast me out into the forest and barred the way to my homeland. I am unable to return to my family, or to my brother who would surely take revenge upon King Vlad from the travesty he has committed upon my honor.

I found this cottage and set up house keeping alone until my dear friend Skulker arrived. We lived peaceably together for several months. Desiree came to us next. She does not mention that she was broken and weak upon her arrival."

"I'd rather forget that part of the story," Desiree said as she laid her head against Danny's shoulder.

"Technus arrived next," Dora said as she cast a tender gaze toward the technology ghost. "He improved our quality of life immensely."

"I tried at least," Technus sniffed.

Dora cleared her throat and continued. "Boxy and Ember came next both in conditions which required they be cared for gently."

"I hate Vlad," Ember said softly as she squeezed Danny's hand.

"After that it was G.W," Dora continued as she placed her hand on Ember's shoulder. "He luckily was spared some of the rough treatment the others endured."

"But was no less wounded," G.W. added.

"And now you all have me," Danny said softly. "I can't stay though. I have to go back. I have to rescue my sister!"

"Your sister?" Dora exclaimed. "Is she half ghost as well?"

Danny shook his head, "No, she's completely human. I hate the fact that she's still there, in that castle. If she were with me, we'd run away where Vlad could never find us."

"If Vlad has his way," Skulker said. "That would never be possible. Vlad's mind is set on world domination, soon no one and nothing will be safe from his evil attentions."

"You will say here," Dora ordered. "At least until you are well. Then we will contact the Princess of Amity Park. I'm sure she can figure out some way to help rescue your sister. She's a very clever girl."

"Thank you," Danny said. He wasn't sure what to do next. He was tired, hungry and scared.

"Don't worry," Ember said her eyes glittered mischievously. "We'll take good care of you Danny." That's what he was afraid of.

"Has the task been completed?" Vlad asked as The Fright Knight returned and knelt before Vlad.

"Yes my liege," The Fright Knight answered as he handed Vlad a black box. Vlad smiled and placed the box upon a high shelf.

"You may depart," Vlad said. "Go do whatever it is you do when you're not needed."

"Thank you my lord," The Fright Knight replied, then vanished.

Vlad smiled evilly as he walked out of his receiving chambers and into his laboratory. "Getting rid of Daniel was easier than I thought," he said to himself. He opened the ghost portal and smiled. He was again the most powerful being in the world.

"I just need to hear you say it Portal," Vlad said as smoothed his hand under his chin. "It will be completely gratifying to hear it repeated again and again."

The portal's green spiraling surface stilled as if in anticipation of Vlad's question. Vlad sighed and savored the moment of anticipation.

"Portal, Portal on the wall," Vlad finally began. "Who is the most powerful being of them all?"

The ghost portal was silent for a few moments as if it was considering the question, then music began to play. Vlad stepped back in horror.

"Da da da da da da He's a phantom!" the portal sang.

"Noooooo!" Vlad wailed as he put his hands over his ears. "No!"

Ha ha poor Vlad! Mua ha ha I hoped you liked how I dealt with the seven ghosts. I had fun writing them. I know it's kind of weird that I put Dora, the dragon ghost in charge, but she seemed the natural choice to be kind, yet powerful enough to want to take Danny in.

I wonder who the princess of Amity Park is!

REVIEW! I'm sick. I'm deadly depressed. I've got the flu! I'm seriously, seriously depressed. Review! PLEASE!