A/N: MUST NEEDED UP-DATE! XD

Chapter Eight

Bags, Flags, and Gags

Sam froze on her feet, but quickly thawed and followed to the top row of seats. Dan was back? But how? Clockwork had him. Clockwork would have stopped him! He couldn't get out, could he? Danny told them so! But wait...Oh no! DANNY!

"Are you alright?" the girl's voice drifted into her ears and Sam shook her head, focusing on the more important things. She turned into the narrow aisle of seats where someone was huddled up on the ground in the dark. The girl was helping him up. Sam's breath caught in her throat. "Danny..." she mumbled, "Danny!" and walked towards the fallen figure hastily. The silver-haired girl got out of the way, knowing Sam would want to see Danny first.

Sure enough, said Goth girl got down to her knees, immediately tried to helpd Danny to stand. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asked, mind racing. Danny winced, but nodded his head, trying to stand.

"I'm...fine," he groaned. He tired to put on a shakey smile. "The...chair broke my fa--gah!" He touched his back, sitting up instantly. Sam flinched, afraid she'd caused him to be pained.

"Careful. Maybe you shouldn't move," she urged. "How did you fall? What happened?"

"Dan..." Danny gurnted, beginning to stand. Sam helped him up, albeit despite her best interests for him, and lowered down one of the folded seats of the the theater. She gulped and nearly winced herself as Danny made another pained groan as he sat. He was breathing hard, hugging his arm close to him. "Dan's back..."

"But how...?" Sam questioned, sitting down next to the boy.

"He got out of the thermos, no doubt," the silver-haired girl said. All this time she'd been looking around the room, making sure there wasn't anyone around to have seen such an event. Sam looked at her, narrowing her eyes.

"Just who are you?" she asked pointedly, narrowing her eyes. Nemisis turned to them and rose an eye brow before putting on a sly girn.

"Why, how rude of me! I'm Nemisis," she said, putting out a hand to shake. Neither teen moved. Frowning, she sighed deeply and said, "Well, I guess it's about time I start to tell you about them, now that things have gotten complicated."

"Tell us about who?" Danny asked, voice pinched.

"Well, Dan for starters," Nemisis said and approached him slowly. Her eyes swept over his figure, almost analyzingly. "I can tell you about him for the moment. The rest will become apparent in Time." She stopped right next to him and touched his shoulder, sitting down on the chair next to him. "Does this hurt?" she asked, lifting the arm he had been hugging to his body. He flinched. "I'll take that as a yes..."

"It's not broken," Sam asked quietly. "Is it?"

"No," nemisis replied and lowered it. "Just don't move it much for now I'll see if I can help with the pain in a minute." She continued inspection. "Tell me when you think it's getting uncomfortable," she advised and ran her hand firmly but smoothly up his arm to his shoulder. "And tell me when it hurts..."

"What about Dan?" Sam asked, returning to their previous topic. She watched as she began to trace down Danny's side before tracing his chest.

"Well, his getting out was kind of an accident," she said, voice soft. "Apparently someone decided it'd be fun to sneak into Clockwork's lair and mess with the thermos. They didn't know what they were dealing with, though, Dan was kept pretty much a secret from everyone. Dan got out and let's say it was an...explosion of fun for hi-" Danny winced.

"Sorry," Nemisis murmured, keeping her hand on the lower left of his abdomen. "Looks like you being Mr. Machoman now kinda came in handy. No broken bones at all..."

"I don't know whether to say thank you to that comment, or say 'thank god'," Danny groaned. "Now, what can you do about it. My arm's useless..."

"Be patient," Nemisis frowned and rolled her eyes. He hand began to glow an eerie blue color and Danny relaxed visibly. "Anyway," Nemisis continued. "He made a run for the nearest ghost portal which just so happened to be blocked off by a giant football and that's how he got into the human realm."

Danny and Sam shared a glance. "Vlad."

Nemisis rose an eye brow, but continued with the healing process. "I see you know the owner?" she asked. She hadn't searched into Danny's personal connections. Was this Vlad guy some relative or friend of the family?

"Boy, do we," Sam murmured, breathing in deeply.

"Any chance you might be worried about him?" Nemisis asked. Her hands stopped glowing and Danny flexed his fingers, sighing.

"Not really worried," Sam answered. "Why?"

Nemisis sank into the chair and shrugged her shoulder That healing thing must take a lot out of her. She smiled and looked at them.

"'Cause I hear he's staying at Amity Park Emergency Hospital."

NEXT DAY...

"What happened?" Tucker asked yet again as the trio waited for one of the blue or white clad doctors to allow them into Vlad's room. Danny groaned and slumped his shoulders.

"Tuck, we already told you three times," he said exasperatedly. He leaned forward on his knees. "Dan's back. Someone accidentally released him from the thermos and he attacked Vlad."

"But, tell me again exactly how he's a threat? You beat him last time, how much more powerful can he be?" Tucker asked, sitll unbelieving.

"All we know is that he is, plain and simple," Sam said, shrugging her shoulder.

"He's got some new powers that's gonna make real combat pretty hard," Danny mumbled.

"Plus, it looks like there are some rules of ectoplasm that we didn't know before," Sam added. She sighed and tapped her foot, leaning back in her chair and shaking her head. "There's a lot we didn't know."

"And how are we going to find out?" Tucker asked.

"We've got help," Danny said simply and before Tucker could ask another question, a soft voice broke into their conversation.

"Danny, Sam, and Tucker?" the woman clad in blue asked.

"Yes, that's us," Sam said. The tiro stood up on silent comand and the woman looked them over with her brown eyes.

"Alright, come with me," she said and turned and walked away.

"Here we go..." Danny whispered and they followed suit.

Vlad's room was very quiet and very private. The nurse let them in and closed the door securely behind her. There had been two bodyguards standing outside his door, even. The man himself held a small control-like device in his hand and Danny knew it was to buzz for help in case of emergency. He stared at Vlad and a strange loathe-filled feeling washed over him. Vlad was all bandaged up so that skin was only visible in a few places. His hands, his arm, his forehead. He even had a cast on his leg. And where skinw as visible, bruises aligned his body.

The heart-monitor beeped slowly, regularly. Danny only stared.

"So I have visitors," came the croaky voice of Vlad.

"Hi, Vlad," Sam whispered softly and was the first to move, then Tucker, and finally, Danny. Sam pulled up a chair and sat at Vlad's side, staring at the thin tubes attached to him that lead to a bag of clear liquid that was hanging form a portable pole thing. She sighed and stared back at the man, who was staring back. His eyes looked tired, hurt, and weary. He looked so...old.

"How are you doing?" Danny asked, standing at the foot of Vlad's bed.

Vlad switched his attention to him and a small smile stretched his lips. "Why, Danny, I never thought you'd ask..." he whispered. But the smile vanished. "Not so well...I got pretty - how do the kids say it - beat up...?"

"Yeah," Tucker murmured, eyes staring around the otherwise empty room. "That's exactly how we say it."

Vlad sighed. "But that is not the only reason you came here, is it?" Vlad asked, staring at Danny, who solemnly looked down. Vlad's gaze fell. "I thought so..."

"Vlad, who did this to you?" Danny asked, looking shyly at him.

Vlad stared at the ceiling. "I'm not sure..." he whispered, aware of the three pairs of eyes settled on him. "It's a blur. I remember reading at my desk and then...an explosion from the portal...A firgure stepped out and I tried to fight back but..."

"...he was too powerful..." Danny completed.

"Yes," Vlad said, closing his eyes and nodding. "He was but. But - how did you know it was a "he"?"

"Quick guess," Dany mumbled. "Let's just say he's my latest enemy."

"I won't ask questions," Vlad said. "But I do caution you, Daniel, and friends - take good care of how you use your powers and how you play along with that ghost's mind games. I do not know anything that might be able to help you in your fight with him, should it come, but I do know how you may be able to help yourself."

Danny stood up straighter, ears eager to hear what he had to say.

"There is a stone. It-" Vlad didn't complete the sentence. A cough escaped his throat, triggering a long line of other coughs until he could hardly speak.

"Vlad," Sam asked, scared. She stood up slowly, not knowing what to do. As if on cue, a nurse entered the room. "You kdis have to leave now," she stated firmly and allowed them exit before getting to work on calming Vlad down. A couple of other nurses came in as well as Danny, Tucker, and Sam were kicked out. The door closed and the last thing Danny saw was Vlad pointing at a duffelbag that was half-open at the corner of his room. Danny didn't catch sight of what was in it. "W-wait!" he shouted.

But the door had closed.

E/N: I think I'm starting to get interested in this fic. 8) It's somewhat of a mystery to me now XD

--Airamé Phantom