WoM- I've gotta tear-jerker coming up in Erato's Abode tomorrow, so this chapter's gonna be a little slow. Things will pick up again next week, though, I swear! 'sweatdrops,' Eh… Anywho, read and enjoy, people!

"My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar - I went steady with a woodpecker till I was twenty-one."

-Bob Hope

"Well?" Kayla asked as she walked casually into Danny's room, glancing around in mild curiosity. "Anything?"

"Nothing visible," One of the men looking the room over told her. "We think he's hiding everything in places humans can't reach." Kayla chuckled.

"Clever…" She said, bemused. "And the parent's lab?"

"We've actually found several acceptable, working inventions," The man admitted, "We're copying the blueprints and designs for them now, especially those of the Fenton Battlesuit, which we're hoping to scale down to a less bulky but still fully functioning suit for our own purposes,"

"Excellent." The woman grinned, "and the sister's room?"

"Medical supplies," The man answered, "and several interesting diary entries that my men are photographing right now to study once we get back to base."

"Meaning the ghost boy was the only one who had the common sence to hide what was important to him," Kayla said, shaking her head.

"And even he didn't do a good job," One of the men searching the room announced, smirking down at the machine designed to find traces of ectoplasm. "I think I've got something here, under the floor." Kayla sighed in disappointment as two other men rushed over to help him, one donning an intangibility glove.

'That was far too easy,' She thought sullenly. 'Maybe I'm overestimating this boy…'

'Snap!'

Kayla looked up again when the man with the intangibility glove jerked his hand out of the floor, with what looked like vampire-like snapping teeth attached. He threw it off, and the teeth chattered on the floor for a while before coming to rest at Kayla's feet. Blinking slightly, the ghost hunter bent down and picked it up by the tag that was attached.

"'Better luck next time, Plasmius,'" She read, raising an eyebrow at the goofy little drawing of Danny Phantom sticking his tongue out that was also on the tag. She laughed slightly to herself, smirking and slipping the note into a pocket. "Cute…" Turning back to her men, she was all business again, "Has anyone been able to break the password on the computer?"

"Not yet," one of the men admitted.

"Confiscate it," She ordered, "And get ready to clear out. We need to leave before someone gets suspicious,"

"Yes Ma'am," the man in front of her said obediently, everyone jumping to obey her. Kayla barely noticed as she left, an amused smirk on her face.

'Okay, Phantom,' She thought to herself, 'Let's see what you've got…'

"Kill me now…" Sam groaned, slumping onto the bench.

"Aw, come on, Sam," Anna said, smiling at her encouragingly, "I mean, it could be worse, right?" Sam glared dryly at the girl.

"Don't make me hurt you, Anna," she warned. Anna flinched and backed away, her hands up in front of her submissively.

"What's your problem?" Marie asked, eyeing the girl coolly, "You act like going to the ballet is the worst thing that could happen to you,"

"It is when the ballet is called 'Love Life of the Pink Princess!'" Sam snapped, "Uugh, who picked this field trip, anyways?"

"Marie," Anna answered instantly.

"It was a joint decision of the student council," Marie snapped.

"Which you're the president of," Sam pointed out with a glare. She and Marie had a mutual hatred of one another since day one.

"Let's just go already," Marie said, sounding annoyed. She stormed off heatedly, Anna at her heels trying to calm the girl, the peacekeeper as always. Sam scowled after the popular, assertive red head, muttering a few names for her under her breath.

That's when she spotted the mailbox on the other side of the street. Her eyes widened as she reached instinctively into her bag for the letters she'd written to Tucker and Danny. Glancing quickly to make sure no one saw her, the girl stole across the street and dropped the letters in before heading back with a self-satisfied smirk.

'Well, at least this field trip was good for something…' She thought to herself.

BLACKBIRD

Chapter 8; The Sword Maker

"Uh, Gem?" Danny blinked as he kept one wary eye on Cujo, who was yapping happily in puppy form as he ran around between Danny's feet. The half ghost was careful not to trip over the small ghost dog. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost," The female ghost said cheerfully. "You're going in first, by the way. I don't trust this jerk for a second."

"Why?" Danny asked, his suspicion growing.

"He's a nice guy," Gem explained, "And really, really talented at what he does…"

"But…" Danny sighed.

"But he thinks the women are more interested in him then they actually are," Gem said in a droll tone, rolling her eyes. "I'd hate to hear what he says if he thinks I came in there alone… but you've just gotta see it!"

"See what?" Danny asked. Gem didn't seem to hear him, though, too excited about the thoughts she was lost in. Danny exchanged uneasy looks with Cujo as he followed the girl to a dark, medieval-looking shop.

"Like I said, after you," Gem said, stopping in front of the store. Danny sighed and went in, raising his eyebrow when a bell chimed.

"We're closed today," A male voice called out from somewhere in the back as Gem followed him in, "Come back on-" A young male ghost, somewhere around seventeen or eighteen, came into view, in the middle of stripping off thick leather gloves. "Holy-!"

"Mind your manners, Jon," Gem said, bemused. "We've already traumatized the poor boy, anything from you'd probably scare him off for good," Jon came out of his shock to scowl darkly at Gem.

"Ever hear of advanced warning, Gem?" He asked pointedly. "And I'll talk however the hell I want in my own shop!" The ghost then glanced anxiously at Danny, "Ah, no offence,"

"None taken," Danny said, a little amused. Gem shook her head.

"Anyways," Gem said, "I just met Danny not too long ago in the forest," Jon raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Danny.

"Kidnapped ya, huh?" He asked, leaning against the counter.

"Of course not!" Gem scowled darkly. Besides, you make it sound like I could've even if I wanted to!"

"Well, that's true…" Jon chuckled, "There's no way you can stand up to Phantom, Gem, even being the daughter of Pariah Dark."

"Wait, you're What?" Danny asked Gem, his jaw gaping. Gem glared at Jon irritably and he winced.

"He didn't know that, did he?" Jon asked meekly.

"What was your first hint," Gem growled back. Jon laughed sheepishly.

"Know what? I think I'll go get Equilibrium…" Jon said with a nervous laugh.

"You do that." Gem glared as Jon slinked back into the back room before laughing meekly when she noticed Danny's intense, suspicious look. "Um, guess I should've mentioned that, huh?"

"Yeah, that might've been a little important," Danny said sarcastically. Gem blushed slightly.

'That's why she freaks everyone out so much…' Danny realized, thinking back to what she'd said before.

"Okay, look," She sighed, "I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner, but I don't think it's as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be. I never knew my father, and from his rep I'm definitely glad to say that. And as for my powers…" Gem shrugged, "There's nothing special about me, okay? Just basic ghost powers."

"Really?" Danny said, a little surprised. Gem grinned.

"Hey, it's more common then you think, pal," She told Danny, apparently finding his surprise funny. "Not all ghosts have a million and one powers like you do,"

"I don't have that many!" Danny protested. "More like 18… well, 19 now." Danny said, almost forgetting to add duplication. Gem gaped at him.

"How long have you been a ghost again," She asked, her voice squeaking.

"I dunno…" Danny frowned thoughtfully. "Not that long… seven months, I think. Why?"

"Most ghosts are lucky to get more then three in the span of five years," Gem said, "Even Dad usually only ghost five a year or so. If you got that many in that short a time, you've gotta be some ghost prodigy." Danny shifted uncomfortably at that.

"Look, I'm not a prodigy, alright?" He sighed, "I'm just a kid. I don't have any control over this at all." Gem raised her eyebrow but said nothing.

'This is getting really weird for me…' Danny realized, taking to the air.

"Look, I'd better go," He said, starting for the door.

"What?" Gem said, aghast. Jumping forward, she latched her arms around Danny's waist, dragging him to the ground and earning a yelp of alarm from the half ghost. "No! Look, I'm really, really sorry for not telling you about my dad! PLEASE don't go now!"

"Gem," Danny said, exasperation clear in his voice. "Get off me! I need to get back to camp before someone starts looking for me."

"Come on!" Gem grunted, refusing to let go as Danny struggled to free himself from her grip. "you've gotta at least stay long enough to see Equilibrium!"

"Let go Gem!" Danny glowered, "Maybe another time but right now it's-!"

"Tada!" Jon said proudly as he re-entered the room, a sword in his hands. Danny's eyes widened when he saw it.

"COOL!" He yelled, jumping up and flying over to admire the blade up close. "Aw, man! This is the coolest sword I've ever seen! Even the Soul Shredder doesn't come close!" Jon laughed at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Glad you like it," He grinned. "Danny, meet Equilibrium. A real beauty, huh?"

"I'll say!" Danny laughed, never taking his eyes off the sword.

Equilibrium was a long, graceful looking sword, that had a silvery blade with a curving, edge trimmed in some strange black metal. The hilt of the sword was black as well, with gray trimming on both ends and three emeralds set on both sides of the sword symmetrically. The grip of the sword was black with a gray cord crisscrossing it, leading up to the end with was a smooth emerald easily big enough to fit in Danny's palm.

"AWESOME!" Danny laughed. Then his eyes widened when he noticed something else set into the hit on its dead center. A very familiar something he wasn't expecting at all.

A symbol of a P inside of a D.

"Hey…" Danny said when he saw this, "That's-!"

"All yours," Jon finished for him, holding Equilibrium out to Danny, "You were the inspiration when I made her, kid, it's only right that you have her," Danny's jaw dropped and he gaped openly at Jon, who flinched, "Of course if you don't want her, I'll understand completely…"

"Are you KIDDING?" Danny said, "Of course I want it! It's just… I don't know it I deserve something like this!" Danny stared at the sword again. He didn't know much about weapons, but Equilibrium was clearly a masterpiece to be revered. "Besides, I'm not a swordsman,"

"Of course you deserve her!" Jon said, though he seemed pleased with Danny's awe of the weapon, "I made her for you! And from what I heard, you're good enough to at least get by. Equilibrium's made out of special ghost metals, completely indestructible and perfect for channeling your powers. And you were right about this baby being able to kick the Soul Shredder to the curve," Jon smirked smugly at that. It obviously did he ego good to hear his creation compared with a legendary ghost sword. "Well, at least in your hands,"

"On it's own, Equilibrium's just a regular sword." Gem piped up. "When a ghost holds it, it reacts to his or her powers."

"Hey!" Jon said, insulted, "Don't call my baby regular! She's a work of art, Gem! There's nothing 'regular' about her!" Danny laughed, shaking his head. Obviously, Jon's speech patterns had changed since the 1800s, adopting to the modern society.

"I… I don't know what to say…" Danny confessed as he took the sword.

"You can start with agreeing to tell every pretty female ghost you meet that I'm the guy to go to if they're looking for some fun in the afterlife!" Jon volunteered cheerfully. Danny rolled his eyes, bemused.

"I think I'll just say thanks," He said, his tone dry and playful. Jon sulked slightly and Gem rolled her eyes.

"You see what I mean?" She said pointedly to Danny. "I can't tell you how many times Flair's had to smack him senseless."

"I can imagine," Danny laughed. "Anyways, thanks again. This really means a lot to me,"

"Like I said, Equilibrium was born to help you," Jon grinned. "You're the half ghost, born to walk the line between life and death and keep balance on both sides. Equilibrium was created to preserve that balance too, so she will serve no better place then in your hands,"

"As you can see, Jon is a romantic," Gem said in bemusement, "When he wants to be, anyways,"

"Haha," Jon said, giving Gem a dark look. "Anyways, Equilibrium can be summoned and sent away the same way your ghost half can."

"Really?" Danny said, holding the sword out parallel to his right arm and concentrating on it. He grinned when Equilibrium started to dematerialize from the top of the blade and ending at the tip of the hilt. "COOL!"

"Yeah, well I figured a sheath might just get in the way," Jon shrugged as Danny called Equilibrium forth again before making it disappear, obviously testing the feeling to get used to it. Jon was a little surprised at how quickly the boy had caught onto the concept, which had taken him a good week to master.

'Then again, I wasn't meant to wield swords,' Jon reminded himself, 'Just make 'em,'

"Thanks again." Danny laughed warmly, moving to shake Jon's hand. The undead sword smith took it eagerly, his chest puffing in pride.

"Glad to be of some service," He said, "Don't be a stranger, okay? I wanna make sure my baby's being taken care of,"

"Don't worry," Danny said as he released Jon's hand, "I promise I'll take the best care of her that I can! Thanks again!" Jon shook his head as the giddy Danny left with Gem and Cujo, heading back to the mortal plane.

"So, that's the kid who's gonna save the Ghost Zone, huh?" he said to himself as he watched Danny through the window, recalling the rumors that had been buzzing around about the young half ghost. "Well, we could've done a lot worse…"

"DANNY!" Valerie called out, trying to keep her voice under the hearing of the sleeping hunters, yet loud enough for her friend to hear.

"Its not use," Jazz sighed, "Maybe we should go back for mom and dad…"

"And get Danny into trouble?" Valerie frowned. "No way!"

"Mr. And Mrs. Fenton will know what we're up against better then we will," Raven reminded them in a placid tone she usually reserved for reasoning with her teammates when situations got tough. "If Danny really was captured by a ghost-"

Just then there was a flash of bright light and a loud yelp, and Danny Fenton fell through some bushes and into the clearing, earning stares from the three girls.

"Danny?" Jazz stepped forward to help her brother. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Danny said. "I just lost track of time is all. Stargazing." Valerie chuckled.

"How 'bout joining everyone here on earth once in a while, space cadet?" she teased warmly. "Getting your head out of the clouds every once in a while will really help you in the long run,"

"Don't scare us like that, Danny!" Jazz scolded her little brother soundly. "We thought you were taken by ghosts!" Danny look bemused at that for some reason.

"Come on, Jazz," He said, standing up and brushing himself off, "You know me,"

"Anyways, we better get back to camp," Raven reminded them, "Before someone catches us out here,"

"Got it," Danny said, "Go on ahead. I'll catch up." All the girls hesitated and Danny blushed, "Look, It won't take me more then a few minutes, alright? I need to tie my shoe," Jazz sighed.

"Go on," she told the other two girls, "I'll stay here and make sure he gets back in one piece." After exchanging glances, the other two girls walked away silently, obviously deciding that Danny was safe with his sister and vice versa. As soon as their footsteps faded, Jazz turned back to Danny. "Okay, what really took you so long?" Danny grinned widely at her question.

"Watch this," He said, holding his right arm out. Jazz's eyes widened and she gasped loudly when Danny's fist started to glow and Equilibrium appeared from the hit to the blade.

"That… wow, Danny!" Jazz gazed at the sword in awe, "That's so cool!"

"Isn't it?" Danny laughed. "It's called Equilibrium. It's a gift from a ghost I met," Jazz frowned.

"Wow," she said, "You're getting a lot of gift recently. I mean, first the necklace and now this?" Danny didn't miss the suspicion in his sister's tone.

"Aw, come on, Jazz," He sighed, "Jon was just thanking me. And I trust Clockwork. There's nothing to worry about, okay?" He stood up and starched as he said this, "We better get back to camp before Val freaks out again and drags out her hunting gear," Jazz winced before her eyes widened.

"But Danny," She started to warn her little brother, "you're shoe's still-!"

Too late. Danny had already stepped on his lace and went crashing down another hill to land in a tangled, Daze heap at the bottom.

"…Ow…" Jazz sighed and started down to help her little brother up.

'It's a really good thing ghosts are intangible,' She thought in dry amusement, 'Or else Amity Park would be in big trouble with a superhero like Danny…'

WoM- This was actually just a little bit longer then I thought it would be. Lil foreshadowing, and a new weapon for Danny. (YAY!) Those of you who want to see Equilibrium up close and personal (And I'm quite proud of how it turned out) Check out my deviantart account for the fan art (Link's in my profile)

Thanks to;

epobbp, IwuvMyKenshyPoo, AirGirl Phantom, shojobutterfly, Firefury, Seeker Carter, Moss Royal, Firehedgehog, Missmeliss4251, misaoshiru, midnightgoth9, shadowspinner1, enigmatic penguin, littlekittykat, Darth Frodo, DannyPhantomFAN#1, Mistress of Darkness, Lunaqua, arc angel michael, Shiva the Sarcastic, conan98002, Samantha-Girl Scout, Lumias, BratCat, Black Mage758, phantomshadowdragon, Darkingfire, puppyface, Ghost Writer's Assistant Light Dragon SunsSong shaylateii, Horselvr4evr123, Goofn1, Invader Johnny, Bermudian Chaos, spirit1s, GhostAnn, Vincent-Strife65, Ghost Kat, JPElles, kdm13

Next update; February 25th

See you then!