A/N: Wow. So many up-dates in three days! I must have set some sort of new record! Enjoy!


The Art of Deception

Chapter Nine

(Beginning in Danny's P.O.V)


"No matter how hard they try and
No matter how loud they cry
They can't
Buy their way into heaven..."


"You can still choose otherwise, Daniel."

"I'm not going to be under your control, ever. I'd rather rot in ghost prison."

"You're not all ghost, I can get you out of here. Would you not rather be with Sam?"

"I stand firmly with my decision."

"I will not have this type of back-talk, Daniel!"

"Then leave me alone! I'm not going to join! I don't care if my parents forgot me! If my own friends betrayed and forgot me! I'm not going to join you! Ever! And there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

"You will regret this choice," Vlad had said.

To this day, nearly a year or so later, I do some times wonder if I regret my choice. There are times when I wished I had gone with Vlad, then tricked him and escaped. Then there are tomes when I knew I'd done the right thing by staying away from him and Sam.

Sam.

To tell you the truth, I think I still do, even after her betrayal, love her in a way I can't even describe. I hate her because I love her. Does that make any sense? And, also to tell you the truth, it scares me too. It makes me think that if we ever do come face to face in a real, all-out, straight-out fight, I wouldn't give it my all. I'm afraid that if it ever comes to the point where it's my life against hers, then I'd still choose her over me. Is that true love? Or hate?

Does it make sense if it's hate? Probably not. I believe that if you hate someone, you would want them dead. But if you truly, down-right, from the bottom of your heart hate somebody, then you'd want them to live and see them suffer. I can never decide if I want to see her alive because I love her, or because I hate her from the center of my soul. And to make things clear, some times I don't even want to know.

And after nearly a year and a half, I still don't want to know for sure. It's not so much now that I don't want to know, it's that I can't figure it out. My mind's been on so many other things I haven't been able to think about it.

Funny, huh? All this time in ghost prison and I haven't even had time for my own thoughts. It's not funny. I've been training myself both mentally and physically. In the lunch hour at the prison, I usually pick fights, trying to build a strong barrier against pain. And trying to to make my powers stronger too. I force myself farther and farther into a mind-state where nothing matters except busting out of this dump and resuming, hopefully, a normal life.

And when no one's around at night, I wonder if someone out there, I don't care who, still remembers me. I fool myself into thinking that there's one person out there wishing I'd return, awaiting my arrival back to Amity Park. Even though I know that no one remembers me. Jazz is almost going to go to college, just a little more to go. My parents are most likely still ghost-hunters, and the Mansons and Foleys probably are very convinced I never existed. But one person from my past still remains with the knowledge of my existence. Samantha Elizabeth Manson, the name I'd grown so used to.

She betrayed me a while ago, and though I forgave her, I made a promise I have to keep. That I will never let her forget what she did to me. As long as she remains within my grasp, I'll return the favor. And then I think that over and once again return to past thoughts of whether I love her from the bottom of my heart, or hate her from the very core of my soul. Then, I try to forget everything I told myself.

But not anymore. Today, I'm gonna kiss this place good-bye.


"One of the prisoner's escaping!" shouted one voice.

"How?"

"Just get that punk back in here! He can't go far! We've built more ground to this place! There are guards everywhere!"

"We're sorry, Walker, but the guards are searching the building, there's no sign of him! We've made a scan of the area and can't spot him!"

"Keep looking!"

"Yes sir," said the goon and ran off to find the mischievous prisoner. He'd tried before to escape. Little had they all known that he was merely testing the level of difficulty on this level of escape.

Walker was not happy. He'd only had problems since that ghost-kid had entered his prison. It was time to call in a professional. He held the walkie-talkie up to his mouth and said, "He's out again."

"Who?"

"That punk!"

"Danny? Again?"

"Just get him back in here this instant!"

"On my way!"

The said boy grinned as he remained pressed against a brick wall while goons and guards ran on the walk-way above him. It was dark in the Ghost Zone and a curious tension rose in the air. He'd done this so many times before he knew which escape routes would work, which wouldn't, which guards he should steer clear of, which guards he could easily fool, and more importantly, how to avoid any traffic.

Danny smiled again as he found that the place around him was currently vacant. "Suckers," he sneered, smirking, and ran across the empty courtyard and towards the barb-wire topped walls. One said wall had dull barbed wire should he fall, and the alarm set over the walls to set off an alert for Walker was presently out of order.

Danny wasted no time and was nearly then when a quickly blur of black landed in front of him. He scowled at the person there. "Hold on," she said, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Danny snarled, green eyes flaring with anger. He was in ghost form, he'd been for a very long time, only going into human form to avoid a few non-human-proof things in the prison, including the prisoners themselves.

"Long time no see and not even a hello," the girl said. Her lilac colored eyes glinted with joy. Danny's eyes narrowed and his hands tightened into fists. If she didn't get out of his way, he would...he would...Danny let out a groan and went out of his battle stance-like pose. His hands dangled freely at his side. Alarms wailed loudly all over the prison. Shouts and yells could be heard over them and it all echoed throughout the Ghost Zone. The girl smiled a little more broadly.

Danny made a disgusted sound. Why after all this time could he still not fight her? Why?

"Afraid to strike?" she asked. "They're coming for you, you know."

"I'm not and I know," Danny retorted. It was now or never and it had to be now! Danny's hands tightened into fists again. His left foot slid across the ground a little bit to give him more balance. His knees bent slightly and he leaned forward unnoticeably. One hand glowed with ectoplasmic energy. "I don't want to fight you, Sam," Danny stated firmly.

Sam chuckled. Danny heard some shouts, sounding closer but not yet in sight of them. He glanced behind him briefly to make sure and confirmed his hunch. They had not yet gotten to checking this ground. Then he turned back around to look at Sam. He gasped inwardly, his eyes widened. Sam stood in a casual pose. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were closed as she laughed softly. Her lashes lifted and she looked at him fondly. Danny was so astounded by the look on her face, his jaw nearly dropped.

Seeing his surprised look at her coolness, Sam held a hand out towards where his destination was, as if showing him the way. "Go," she said. "I won't stop you."

Danny's jaw dropped slightly as he looked at her. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Go before they find out what I'm doing," Sam instructed. "I'm letting you go without a fight. Take it."

"But why?" Danny asked.

"I want you to see for yourself how different the world is without you," she said. "How different everyone you knew is. I want you to see with your own eyes. Now go."

Danny wasted no time. He ran past Sam. shot into flight over the barb-wire topped wall and vanished from sight as he made his way away from the ghost prison that had encased him for so long. Sam watched with a small smile. From behind her, someone asked, "Did you stop him?"

"No," she said. "He slipped right through my fingers. He was gone before I got here."

"Walker's not going to be happy," the guard said.

"I'll explain that it was my fault, you needn't worry," Sam assured him.


Why did you do it, Sam, Danny thought as he flew towards the portal he'd used so many times before. Why did you do it. I hope you know this won't earn you any gratitude. So why'd you do it...

Sam walked over to Walker's office now, casually of course. On the outside she looked calm and ready, inside she was fighting her own battle. Why'd I do it, she thought. I know it won't change his hatred towards me. So why? Maybe you still like him...Maybe not. She sighed. Maybe I do...


"No matter how hard they try and
No matter how high they climb up the ladder
They won't reach up into heaven.."


E/N: I've got good news and the bad news. Tell me which you want to hear first!

Almost forgot! I don't own the song 'In This World(Murder)' by Good Charlotte! It's the last song that inspired this story!

--Airamé Phantom