My Eternal Facade: Wow, thanks. What a flattering review.

Writer's-BlockDP: You think the cliffies so far have been bad? (cackles evilly)

GoingGhost: Yes indeed, very angry Danny.

Frodo01228: Wait 'n see...

Inumaru12: Happy new year to you too! Thanks for the cake...and...Vlad.

Ghostcougar: True, Valerie is WAY better than stupid Paulina.

crazyvi: HA! I'm early!

pottersparky: Thank you again and again. You rock!

IwuvMyKenshyPoo: Exactly how I feel.

I Brake For Ghosts: HAppy birthday tomorrow! And cheer up, surely it'll all turn out for DxS.

Riverfox237: Many good points there that but I still have two that I hold on to: 1) I will forever be a DxS shipper. 2) TV is meant to be an escape from reality and stuff...except dumb reality shows. But anyway, youu made a good pooint and I agree on some of it. .

the sleep warrior: Just don't haunt MY sleep after you read this chapter...

Spiffy McFloogan: Hehe...he...

TayloWolf: Thanks and I hate Vlad too! (Well only sorta, haha.)

A/N: Here's the next chapter; I know it's kinda short but hopefully putting it up earlier than expected makes it even. We're probably drawing to a close with this fic. After it's done, I'm starting two more Danny Phantom fanfics called Meet My Family and Blessing and Curse, both of which will be updated alternately. The summaries are on my profile page.

Chapter Sixteen

Sam started to climb to her feet and cried out involuntarily as pain shot through her ankle. She felt Maddie hurry to her side.

"Sam, are you okay?" she sounded concerned.

"I'm fine." Sam lied. "Just twisted my ankle." She expected to adjust to the darkness quickly, but it seemed blacker than the darkest midnight. "Where are we?" she wondered aloud.

"We'll find out soon enough." Valerie's voice assured her from the corner. It sounded like she was rummaging through her bag. A bright light clicked on and Sam's eyes watered at the sudden intensity of the flashlight. She closed her eyes for a second, red dots floating on the inside of her eyelids before she decided it was safe to peek.

Sure enough, when she opened them, she had gotten used to the light and could see the room. It was a high-ceilinged dungeon-type place, with cold dirt floors and stone walls. A heavy wooden door lay at the other end of the room, but none of them dared move towards it. Obviously, they were all recalling the fall they'd just taken.

"Well, we aren't going to know if this is a trap too, unless we try it." Jack said suddenly, breaking the silence. Maddie nodded in silent agreement and watched calmly as Jack went to the door. No traps sprung up, or down, for that matter, but the door was locked.

"That's not good." Jazz decided. The words were scarcely out of her mouth when a mass of ghosts, including the Fright Knight, materialized in the room, in a huge circle around them. "That's beyond not good!"

Sam had a moment to register that the sword the Knight was holding was one she hadn't ever seen before; definitely not the Soul Shredder, which struck her as odd. Then one of the other ghosts lunged at her.

She staggered backwards, out of sheer reaction, knowing that the ghosts could hurt her on this island, but the Fright Knight grabbed the ghost by the head and jerked him into the air, where he hung; limp, like a rag doll.

"I told you, she's not to be killed!" he raged, flinging the ghost aside. It was then that she realized there was a struggle going on. The ghosts were attacking the others, except, it seemed, Maddie and Jack. Sam looked up and saw the Fright Knight reaching out to grab her. She tried get away, but in the crowded room, with an injured leg, that seemed impossible. And she was positively certain that she didn't want to be captured.

Valerie fired a shot from her ecto-blaster at the Fright Knight, and he turned away from Sam and started towards her. She fired again, but accidentally hit one of the skeleton army instead, blowing him into a million pieces. Another jumped on her back and she whacked it with the butt of her gun. Yet another one wrenched her legs out from under her and she fell painfully to the floor. Luckily, she managed to knock its head off with a well-placed kick before it slit her throat. There were too many of them and there was no way six humans could hope to beat them all.

Two more ghosts came at her, one with a bat and the other carrying an axe. A blow from the bat hit her in the ribs and she dropped to the floor again, gasping for breath, completely winded. The second ghost intended to hack her head off, but she managed to roll out of the way just in time.

"Somebody, help!" she cried, dodging another blow. An intense white light came from nowhere and both the ghosts, and several others near them, were sucked into the Fenton thermos.

"It's amazing how many murderous ghost skeletons can fit into this thing." Tucker said conversationally as he helped her to her feet.

"I thought all your stuff got left in Vlad's house." she said, astonished and grateful that this was untrue.

"Almost all." he corrected. "Sam handed this to me before we came to the ghost zone and I just hung onto it."

"Wait!" Valerie exclaimed excitedly, remembering. "I've got one of those in my bag! We might be able to beat them!"

"Great! But where's your bag?" She scanned the room; it was in complete pandemonium--what with ghost rays and ecto-blasts shooting through the air. Still, she spotted her backpack; lying, discarded in the far corner of the room.

"I'll need your help to get me over there." she told him after pointing out the small purple bag. He pressed the button on the thermos and sucked several more ghosts inside, nodding. But they had barely taken two steps when Jazz's shrill scream floated over from the opposite side of the room. The two fourteen year-olds exchanged a panicked glance and Jazz screamed again.

"Go help Jazz, I'll manage!" Valerie shouted, tossing him the ecto-blaster--her last weapon besides the thermos, which was in her backpack. She dropped to her knees and began to crawl as Tucker vanished into the crowd of bone-ghosts. She wove carefully in and out between the boney legs of the ghosts, praying she wouldn't attract their attention. At long last, she got the wall and snatched up her bag. She was digging frantically in it for the thermos when the Fright Knight crept up behind her, holding his sword high above his head.

Valerie was so busy searching that she didn't notice him until he was directly behind her. She backed up against the wall and shrieked, wishing in vain that she hadn't given her ecto-blaster to Tucker.

A/N: That is, quite possibly my meanest cliffhanger yet! (I dunno why that pleases me so.) But anyway, R&R as usual, but answer this question in the review: What should happen to Valerie? I'm moderately certain of her fate, but I'm curious of your opinions and input. And I'll make a deal with you too: Please don't kill me for the cliffie and the next chapter will be up sooner!