DGG: Well, I'm not gonna say that much right here only b/c I'm sure u all would love to get to the story...unless of course u don't read this part up here from me so then it really wouldn't matter then...so I'll just stop typing and let u all get to the story...unless u don't read this part anyway, then you've already gotten to the story. heehee.

( And I'm sorry about not updating...I just lost interest in the stupid slow computer that I have. Stupid dial-up. So yeah.)

Chpt 7: A Plan Set Into Action

Danny looked at his alarm clock.

" One-Thirty A.M," he read aloud. " Does no one sleep in this town?"

Danny looked back out his window to the dimly lit streets below. Everyone was still out trying to find the ghost-boy they'd seen earlier. They were definately determined.

Danny began pacing around his room. The whole town was now mad at Sam, and it was somewhat his fault. If he would have just thought of going invisible and going home in the first place, Sam wouldn't have had to remind him. Sure the whole town was chasing him, but why couldn't he have just stayed calm? Maybe it was just because the town accused him of being the halfa, eventhough they were right. Maybe it was the fact that his own parents were out to get him, eventhough they didn't know it.

" Man this sucks!" cried Danny, kicking his dresser and making a few things fall off. One of the items that fell caught Danny's attention as it made a crunch sound when it hit the floor, like something broke.

Danny looked down to see a picture frame lying face down. He picked it up, a few pieces of the broken glass falling to the ground, and looked at the picture of his family. He and Jazz were standing in front of their parents. They all looked so happy. The picture was taken before Danny became half ghost. Everything seemed more peaceful then. Back then, all he had to do was think that his parents were crazy for trying to hunt ghosts. Back then, ghosts hadn't been real. All he had to worry about was school. Now, he had to worry about what ghost could be lurking around the next corner, waiting to strike like a cat about to pounce on its prey. Now the whole town thought they were Danny's prey. He sighed, putting the picture back on his dresser. What he wouldn't do to have his care-free days back.

The next day, the only people within the Fenton household were Danny and Jazz. No one had come home from the night before, but they weren't too concerned about it at the moment. They stayed in Danny's room all day, sitting on his bed and talking most of the time.

" So, how long do you think your powers will be secret?" Jazz asked.

Danny looked at her, " Probably not much longer. Vlad will eventually lead them right to me if they don't fine me on their own."

Jazz thought about Danny's words. He was right. Plasmius' clues would narrow the search until it directly targeted him.

Danny suddenly turned from his sister and walked to his window to look outside at the dreary skies. " I can't believe they're all out looking for me."

" Don't worry, Danny," smiled Jazz. " This'll all be over sooner than we think."

" It'll be over sooner if I just turn myself in," said Danny.

" Don't talk like that!" cried Jazz, startling Danny.

" Don't worry, I'm not going to turn myself over to them," said Danny reassuringly, still staring outside.

" Well, don't scare me like that!"

" Sorry, Jazz. I didn't mean to."

Suddenly, Danny's bedroom door burst open with a loud bang against the wall, making Jazz and Danny jump as they turned to see who was at the door. It was Tucker, and he was breathless.

" Dude, what's up?" asked Danny, slightly alarmed as he ran over to his friend, Jazz right behind him.

" They...they think... they found...the ghost-boy..." Tucker panted.

" What!" cried Danny and Jazz.

Tuck walked over and sat down on Danny's bed to catch his breath. After a few moments, he finally spoke.

" No, dude... get this!" Tucker laughed a little. " They think it's Dash!"

Danny's jaw nearly hit the floor. " Are you serious!" he laughed too.

" Yeah! Everyone's chasing him around the town!"

Tucker and Danny both fell to the floor in a fit of laughter, leaving Jazz to roll her eyes at them, but at least Danny was happy.

" Dude, why do they think it's Dash?" Danny asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

" Because they threw a stick at him and he dodged it, but they all thought it went through! They also threw him up into the air and he grabbed onto a tree branch, but they thought he was floating!" cried Tuck.

" Man, it was all pretty obvious, but I guess most of those guys haven't slept for awhile."

" So how long do you think we have before they figure out that Dash is just a human?" asked Jazz.

" Probably not for too much longer, but it's good to savor it while it lasts," Tuck laughed some more. Then calming down, he changed the subject. " So, have you talked to Sam?"

" Not since last night," Danny answered, shaking his head. " Man, I can't believe she got grounded."

" Everyone's acting pretty crazy, dude. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see Sam in a day or two."

" I hope so."

" Well, if you didn't want your friend to get in trouble, you should have just given up and let them capture you in the first place," said a fourth voice.

Danny's eyes began to glow green with anger at the sound of the foreign voice. Then, Vlad appeared in the center of Danny's room.

" Why are you here?" Danny roared.

" That's not any way to greet a guest, Danny," Vlad smirked.

" What do you want?" Danny asked, his voice full of venom.

" Oh nothing. I just came by to see how my favorite young ghost was doing," said Vlad as he began to pace around Danny's bedroom.

" Why are you doing this to Danny? You know he's the halfa!" roared Jazz, equally infuriated by the evil halfa's presence.

" I know, but I thought it would be fun to watch him suffer," Vlad chuckled.

" Why don't you just destroy me, and get it over with?" Danny asked, his voice a mixture of hate and sadness.

" Because I'm going to make sure that the whole town knows you're the one they've been searching for! What will your mother and father think when they find out you're the halfa? And what will the town think about your parents - the ghost hunters- if they can't even figure out that it's their own son they're looking for? I can't wait for the day you're found out, Danny," said Vlad.

Danny couldn't take anymore; he turned into a ghost ready to attack his arch-rival.

" Are you really going to fight me, Daniel? You know that you don't stand a chance against me."

" That doesn't mean I won't try!" cried the young halfa as he lunged for Vlad.

He was just about to reach Vlad when the older ghost stepped aside and Danny flew past. Just before poor Danny flew through the window, Vlad grabbed his left leg, spun the boy around, and let go of him, making Danny fly headfirst into his bedroom wall with a great amount of force.

" Danny!" cried Jazz.

Danny fell to the floor with a thud onto his stomach. After a few minutes, he began to get up but kept falling back down. His arms were so wobbly, and his legs didn't seem to want to cooperate with him at the moment. He managed to look up at where he'd hit the wall and saw a huge dent with tons of small cracks protruding from the area; it resembled a spider web to Danny. Suddenly, he started to think that he was a small, care-free fly who was zooming blindly into that web where he would be caught forever in the spider's sinister strings; the strings that would be his downfall. Vlad was the spider who was weaving his web of pure evil and tightening the strings around him. Then, Danny fell back down one last time to the ground and blacked out...

" Danny? Danny?" asked a far-away voice.

" Is he any better?" asked another.

" He's still knocked out," said the first voice again.

" When do you think he'll wake up?"

" Hopefully soon."

As the unknown voices began to get louder and come in clearer, Danny began to remember who they belonged to; Tucker and Jasmine.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and came into focus at the two faces that were staring down at him with concern.

" Wh-what happened?" he asked.

" Um, you hit a wall and passed out," answered Tucker. " And it is as lame as it sounds."

" Okay, then what?" asked Danny.

" Well, after you were completely out cold, Vlad laughed evilly and started saying how he just won this little battle, then disappeared," finished Tuck.

" Man," whined Danny as he put a hand to his throbbing head.

" Um...he gave out another clue too," Jazz piped up.

" Yeah, he said that The Halfa is younger than eighteen," said Tuck.

" Great," Danny said sarcastically.

" Maybe we could send you into hiding or something?" suggested Tuck.

" That's a good idea, but I think they'll suspect something if Danny goes missing," said Jazz.

" Who knows? Maybe the town will think the ghost-boy kidnapped Danny or something."

" Hey, he may have a chance of getting by with that. The town is acting crazy. Danny is the last person they would suspect, especially our parents. Of all people, they would think Danny got kidnapped."

" And where exactly would I go to?" asked Danny.

" Well, I don't know. Somewhere away from Amity Park," said Jazz.

" Yeah, I could do that, but then Vlad will probably follow me and tell whatever town I'm in or near about me so they can search for me there too. I probably won't be safe anywhere," Danny told them.

" Y'know, I think he has a point," said Tucker.

For a few minutes, everyone in the room sat in silence. Minutes passed by when suddenly they could hear a faint pinging sound coming from down the hall.

" My computer!" cried Jazz as she ran out of the room to get it. When she came back she was carrying her laptop with a smile on her face. " Guess who it is."

" Sam?" asked Tuck and Danny.

Jazz nodded her head and sat the computer down on Danny's bed and brought up the webcam box with the goth girl's image on it.

" Hey, Sam, what's up?" asked Tuck cheerily.

" Um..not too much," she said before catching sight of Danny. " Whoa. What happened to you?"

" He ran into a wall," answered Tuck.

"...Okay..." said Sam. " Guys, I don't have much time...actually I might...but just in case, I need to tell you this."

" What?" all three teens in Danny's room asked.

" I heard my parents talking last night. They said they heard something about a ghost attack that will happen sometime today!"

" A ghost attack? Why would the ghosts be planning an attack? They practically already run the town now, don't they?" asked Tuck.

" Oh no!" Jazz gasped. " Danny can't fight! If a whole horde of ghosts suddenly appears, who's going to try and stop them?"

" I probably couldn't stop 'em anyway," Danny said, sounding a bit groggy.

" Well, I don't know why they'd be planning one, but someone has to do something! The ghosts are coming from the ghost zone right?" asked Sam.

" Yeah," Jazz and Tuck said together.

" And who has a ghost portal that needs to be closed?" Sam asked them.

" Oh no," said Jazz.

" Do you have anymore info, Sam?" Tucker asked as Jazz ran from Danny's room.

" Not that I know of," she answered.

" Okay, well, keep us posted, Sam. We'll try to find a way to prevent this ghost invasion."

Sam nodded. She looked over at Danny who looked like he was in agonizing pain. " Are you going to be all right, Danny?"

" I'll...be fine. I just need to rest for awhile," he answered, pain evident in his voice.

Both Tuck and Sam looked at him with concern on their faces. He practically just got out of the hospital, they didn't want him back in it.

" Okay, I made sure the door is closed," said Jazz as she came back upstairs. " We don't have to worry about a ghost invasion happening today."

" Au contraire, Jasmine," said Plamius's evil voice.

Danny's eyes flared green again. He began to get up, but Tuck held him down.

" Let go of me!"

" Sorry, dude, but you need to catch up on your rest!" cried Tuck, the strain from trying to restrain the young ghost-boy showing in his voice.

Suddenly, Danny turned into a ghost, went intangible, and floated just over Tucker's head.

" Hey, man, that's not fair!" cried Tucker, trying to jump in the air and catch his friend.

" Where are you?" cried Danny angrily.

" I'm right here," answered Plamius.

" Show yourself!"

" Oh, but I already am."

" D-Danny, look," Tuck pointed to the computer screen.

Danny looked down and saw Plasmius's face.

" What did you do with Sam!" Danny cried.

" Nothing, Daniel, she's perfectly fine. You always have to assume the worst, don't you?" answered Plamius.

" Then why are you over there?" asked Jazz, sitting down on the bed and facing the computer.

" I just wanted to see how young Danny was. Can't I check up on the boy?" asked Plasmius.

" Where's Sam?" asked Danny, faltering in the air a bit.

" Right here," Plasmius held up the goth-girl by the back of her shirt; she was unconscious.

" You'd better leave her alone!" yelled Tuck.

" The whole town is on my side. They see me as a kind of savior. I wouldn't harm this girl. Yet," Plamius finished darkly.

Tuck and Jazz looked from the screen to Danny. He was floating in mid-air just staring at the computer screen. It looked like he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, Vlad's voice snapped them all out of it as they looked back at the screen.

" This town will hate you even more, Danny. As soon as I tell them this girl has been kidnapped by The Halfa, you'll be doomed for sure," Vlad's face wore a twisted smile.

" That plan won't work because I won't let you take her!" Danny cried, darkness in his voice.

" Trust me. You can't stop me. In fact, you won't make it here in time. With your little head injury, you'll never get here before I hide her from the light of day."

" We'll see about that," said Danny as he flew out his open window.

Tuck and Jazz ran over to the window and looked outside as Danny flew towards Sam's home.

" We have to follow him! We can't let him get caught!" cried Jazz.

Tuck nodded in agreement and they both ran for the front door.

&&&

Danny flew through the skies, not taking any notice at how many people gasped and had started to chase after him. He had to get to Sam. He just had to. He got her in enough trouble as it was. Suddenly, a splitting pain when through Danny from the top of his already throbbing head. He lost complete concentration and crashed into a nearby tree. Danny layed as limp as a noodle on one of the tree's upper brances. After a few seconds, he began to sit up, and he rubbed his head.

" Ow. What the heck just happened?" he asked himself. He put his hand to the top of his head which sent a small lightening bolt of pain throughout his ghostly body.

While sitting there, Danny decided to test out some more of his ghost powers. He tried going invisible and intangible, but they both didn't work.

' Great,' he thought to himself. ' Things couldn't possibly get any worse!' Danny leaned back against the giant trunk of the tree and was suddenly proven wrong.

The young boy looked down passed the other branches jutting from the tree down to the ground where an angry mob had formed.

" We've got you now, Halfa!" cried someone from the mob, the rest of the people cheering.

Danny sat frozen like an icicle. What could he do? His powers were shorted out for the moment! Danny thought everything through in his mind, but couldn't think of anything he could possibly do to get out of this. They were going to catch him and expose his secret, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

&&&

Tuck and Jazz were still running. They'd lost sight of Danny some time ago, but they knew where he was headed. Hopefully he made it in time to help Sam. Suddenly, Tuck and Jazz stopped as they saw a massive crowd surrounding a giant tree and listened to the things they were saying.

" Oh no! I think Danny might be stuck!" cried Tuck.

" But if he's a ghost, shouldn't he just be able to turn invisible and leave?" asked Jazz.

" I don't know. You'd think, but we have to help him anyways," said Tuck. " HEY EVERYONE!" Tuck yelled at the crowd. They all turned to face the young tech-geek. " I SWEAR THAT A GHOST WAS JUST CHASING US!"

" Don't worry, Tucker, we've cornered The Halfa in this tree," Jack answered excitedly.

" Well you must have the wrong ghost then! We watched someone go into an alleyway and...and..." Jazz stammered.

" There was a huge flash and suddenly a ghost flew out!" Tuck finished for her. " Yeah, and he saw us and he threatened us!"

The crowd looked from the tree to the two teenagers. Finally someone piped up, " Well where is he?"

" Um...he's that way!" cried Jazz, pointing behind Tucker and herself.

Instantly the mob went stampeding in that very direction. Tuck and Jazz had to run off to the side of the road onto someone's front stoop in order to escape being trampled. When the crowd was out of sight, Tuck and Jazz ran to the tree to find that Danny was sitting way at the top.

" Dude, what are you doing?" asked Tuck.

" My powers shorted out while I was flying," Danny answered. " I'll bet Vlad's taken Sam far away by now." Danny looked down sadly.

Tuck and Jazz looked up at him. Neither of them were sure of what to say. Then, Tucker got an idea.

" Hey, I'll go on to Sam's and see if everything is all right. Okay?" Tuck called up the tree then took off running. Danny's green orbs went wide with a hint of fear inside them.

" No, Tucker, don't!" he yelled, but it was too late. Tuck wasn't turning back.

Without thinking, Danny jumped into the air to fly after his friend, but instead ended up falling towards his sister.

" Danny!" cried Jazz.

The ground came closer and closer to the young ghost. He had to think fast. Just before he hit the ground he reached out and grabbed a tree limb, stopping his descent. Jazz heaved a sigh of relief. Danny looked down at her and smiled. Suddenly, the tree branch snapped and he fell the much shorter distance to the ground onto his bottom.

" Danny, are you okay?" asked Jazz, knealing down beside him.

" Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get to Tucker before he gets to Sam's," answered Danny, rubbing his now sore backside.

" I know. I was just about to run after him," agreed Jazz. " You don't think that he could be..."

Danny looked his older sister in the eyes, " Yeah. He's headed for a trap."

Suddenly, and ectoplasmic net flew out of nowhere trapping the ghost boy within its confines.

" You don't know how right you are, Ghost-child."