A/N: Finally got this one up too! Hope you like it!

Chapter Twenty-One

Trials One, Two, and Three:

Ghostly Jungle:

Part I

"Good job, Daniel," Vlad's voice echoed as the surrounding area seemed to dematerialize into a large, white room.

This caught Danny's attention, him quickly sitting up and getting to his feet. So this was how he did it. It was all just an illusion. A pretty darn good one too.

"What now?" he asked quietly, looking around the room he was in. He could see Sam, but she was separated into another room, them only having a glass barrier between them. It was just him in this big room.

"The next round, dear boy," Vlad said. "In this round you will have to face many creatures, as I've explained before, in an environment suited for the challenge: a jungle-like surrounding. These creatures are ghosts. The rules for this round are as follows:

"A. You must get every single ghost into a device that is very similar to the Fenton Thermos. B. If you get attacked, then you must fend off the ghouls quickly or else your time will be deducted. C. You have the choice of using weapons. If you choose to do so, then you will lose one hour of your time no matter how much time you have left. You may make the decision any time during the trial. And D. The ghouls can get out of the thermos if you should capture them without weakening them first."

"A lot to remember," Danny mumbled as a new environment began to materialize around him. It was night as well in this surrounding. There were trees, shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation everywhere in sight. Not to mention all the different sounds he heard. They resembled that off crickets, rustling sounds, shuffling, and certain whispers all around him.

"Yes, well, wish you luck, Daniel," Vlad said. The same giant tripod appeared in the distance once again, with the giant screen up over it. The same three numbers glowed and blinked at him: 3.0.0.

He put one hand up only slightly as he expected the 'thermos' to appear. It did just that. It began to materialize out of nowhere into his hand. Once it's formation was complete, it became solid.

"Remember, Daniel, your powers are not intact as they used to be, weapons might be your last resort should you become to weak," Vlad said.

"Forget it!" Danny shouted and quickly began the search. Vlad chuckled and the time began.

The beginning of the trial was easy. Danny found ways to capture the ghosts without having to fight. But they also seemed to be getting stronger with each catch. And the fuller the thermos, the more difficult it became to capture them. He found hiding places and things to use against the ghosts. Luckily, this was just like the Ghost Zone: ghosts could get hurt with solid objects and they couldn't go intangible.

It had been only about thirty minutes into the trial, and Danny was feeling a little tired. Some of these ghosts actually put up a big fight. In his hand was the thermos and a branch he'd carefully semi-carved into using it as a weapon. He'd tried before to use his ghost powers, but found his ectoplasmic energy beams, ghost rays, and ghost stinger to be unavailable to him. He couldn't even produce enough energy to create an ecto-fire as he'd done before. Now he could only produce a bit of light for himself in the darkness of the jungle.

Danny leaned against a tree, watching the next ghost he was to capture. This guy was small, almost like the Box Ghost, but he'd seen what he could do. He had control over any solid object including Danny himself. He had to find a way to capture him before he could use his powers against Danny. Taking a deep breath, Danny quickly used every single thing he'd learned before on catching ghosts like this. Except, all he could do was hope they would work since he'd never come across a ghost quite like this guy.

Just then, something hit him from behind, knocking him forward and into the danger zone. The ghost quickly turned to him, angry now. Danny looked at him, then behind him to see who'd hit him. It was another ghost. This one was female. Her hair was cut very short, her bangs falling over her eyes. She was dressed in a type of primitive warrior clothes with a belt going about her waist and diagonally across her torso. Her skirt was a dark brown color and her boots were the same. Her shirt was also the same color. The perfect camouflage in a place as dark as this. She had countless little hand knives she could use to hurt Danny. Worst yet, she was probably one of the strongest Danny had seen and had driven himself to keep away from her.

"Can't sneak up on everyone, ghost," she sneered. She picked one knife from the belt across her torso and held it tightly in her hand. Danny found his way onto his feet and stumbled a step or two. He was definitely trapped. He could also sense another powerful being begin to near them.

The girl seemed to see the fear on his face. She smirked a tiny smile. "Listen," she said. "That other person coming up, he's a friend of Kent and I."

"We've been watching you, Keena and I, but we still have yet to find what you are doing here," the ghost named Kent said. "Who are you?"

"I-I'mPhantom," Danny said. He didn't want to say his full alias just yet. Besides, the name Phantom seemed perfectly well to him.

"What is your purpose for coming here and capturing these ghosts?" Keena questioned then.

"Vlad sent me into this place because it's one of my trials," Danny said. He didn't get it. "This place actually exists?"

Kent and Keena shared a glance, then both burst into laughter. "Of course it exists!" Keena exclaimed. "This place is located inside a forgotten region of the Ghost Zone. Many get trapped here and most of them are warriors from many different times. Therefore it had been for so long called the Warriors Grave."

"The Warriors Grave," Danny repeated. It rung a small bell, but he didn't care. This place was real. So then the carnival place had been real too. Somehow Vlad had found a way to teleport them into different dimensions with only the snap of his fingers and will. And if this place was in the Ghost Zone, then no wonder the ghosts could get hurt.

"Is something puzzling you still?" Kent asked.

"Vlad sent me here because of my trials, but I'd thought this all some sort of perfect illusion. I thought you were all just ghosts he'd captured and pit against me." Danny was genuinely in conflict with himself. How could Vlad keep an eye and ear out for him if this place were real and far from his portal? Surely he had this all somehow planned.

"What trial?" Keena asked.

"My friend, Sam, was captured and the only way to save her is by passing three trials. This is my second trial so far. I've got three hours to capture every ghost in the area or else she'll die." There was something in his voice that caused Keena to feel a little sorry.

She smiled. "I'll tell you what, Phantom, we may be able to help," she said. Danny's face lit up a little. "We can help you with this round only because you seem to be growing on me for some reason. Otherwise I'd leave you here to fend for yourself."

"I don't know whether to say thanks or not," Danny said sheepishly.

"Just think of it as a favor for bringing a little more adventure to us. This place is so boring, some times. I can't stand it," Keena said. Kent grinned wickedly at her. She scowled. "Stop that, Kent, you know me better."

"Sure," he said. "You're only helping him because you seem to like the guy a little bit too much."

Keena, despite her being a ghost, blushed noticeably. Danny could feel his blood begin to rise to his face as well. A ghost had a crush on him? That was definitely new!

"Forget it," Keena said. She suddenly threw her knife towards Danny. It flew right past his ear, startling him into a frozen state. "Stop right there, Dean," she said. Danny spun around quickly only to find another ghost had arrived. Keena hadn't even been looking in that direction and she still sensed him. Danny was really impressed. Dean, as she called him, was big. He looked muscular and was dressed in warrior clothes as well. Except he had an ax, not a bunch of hand knives. "This boy is our friend," Keena explained to the growling ghost.

"I do not trust him," Dean said.

"You will," Keena snarled, grabbing another knife from her belt. "I am leader here, you obey my orders."

"Leader?" Danny asked, astounded. Keena smiled and winked at him.

"You bet," she said. "This place needs a strong leader, I'm the best for the job, now let's go. We're wasting your time."

E/N: Okay. So not much fluff anymore huh? Don't worry! I'll make it up in some other way! I promise! Oh, and Ojeda better be reading this! I told you the site already bone-head! It's bad enough you bailed on me for the science fair! Well, bye for now!

--Airamé Phantom