-bursts in flinging through the air- Yaaaayyy!!! I'm back! -tumbles and lands in a tanlge- Oops.

Straight to business.

Chapter 7

"Plasmius?" Danny should've known that creep was somehow involved. "I know he stoops to low levels, but I didn't know he'd go as far as murder."

Lyric sighed to herself and began her sad song again. Danny felt numb as he stayed beside her and listened to the heart-felt lament. Vlad killed a child? This wasn't something like taking over the world or trying to ruin a life. It was bigger than that. He had taken the life of a small kid. He had taken Innocence personified and revoked its right to live.

"I'm so sorry," Danny finally said.

"Don't be," her gray eyes revealed a soft peace that instantly consoled him. "I'm okay. I told you, I haven't fully died. There are many ways to enjoy life...even if you don't have all of it."

The halfa gave a small chuckle, "Don't I know it." There was an awkward pause. "Lyric, if you ever turn into Conflagration again, is there some way for me to stop you with hurting you? ...that sounded weird."

Lyric gave a small laugh that rang majestically through the air, then quieted and pondered the situation. "I'm not sure why I was able to snap out of it earlier when we were fighting. I guess you'll just have to find a way. But if you can't, do whatever you need to do. I don't want anyone hurt because of me." She turned her head and looked straight into his eyes. "Take any necessary steps to stop me. Promise?"

"Promise," Danny floated up into the air. "I'd better go."

"Might I come with you?" Lyric asked. "It's rather lonely sometimes."

"I guess that would be okay..." Danny watched as the little angel bounded up into the air, her great wings unfolding around her. She sped past him and began to circle in glee.

"Do you want to race before you go?" she asked him, a mischevious twinkle present in her eye.

"Bring it on." With a burst of speed, the two spirits cut through the air. They dove off of the school building and began to stream around Amity Park. At first it seemed that they were evenly matched, but after a few minutes, Lyric pulled ahead. They began to tire and Danny led her to FentonWorks.

"This is your house?" Lyric gasped quietly, obviously suprised.

"Yeah, why?" Why was she suprised? Of course it was his house! Did she forget the whole 'You have some nerve to burn my house' thing?

"No reason," she brushed it off, but it obviously concerned her.

"I'll see you around," Danny bid farewell as he flew through his bedroom wall.

"I honestly hope not," Lyric whispered as he disappered. She was about to leave herself, but then her childish curiosity took ahold of her and she invisibly peeked through the wall. There stood Danny Phantom in the middle of the room. Before she could give a sigh of relief, a white circle surrounded him. It broke into two pieces, one moving up him and the other moving down. When it disappeared, there stood a sleepy Danny Fenton.

Lyric pulled herself out of the room a very confused angelic being. Phantom was Fenton? That was definitely something to keep in mind...

The next morning revealed a beautiful Friday sky with perfect weather. Danny and Sam met Tucker at the front of the school, and they walked through the hallway. When they reached Danny's locker, the boy filled his two friends in on what had taken place the night before.

"Vlad did what?" Tucker pronounced madly.

"Took a life. That's the reason that Lyric died and he's been using her the entire time!" Danny angrily complained.

"We have to do something!" Sam insisted. Her eyes looked deathly acidic. "NO ONE kills a child and gets away with it."

"I've decided I'm going to confront Vlad after school. He lives in Wisconsin though, so it's going to be a long flight." Danny took out his books for biology and shut his locker. Tucker and Sam agreed to go with him as the bell rang. They began to mingle in with the other students and followed the flow to their class.

A girl walked out of the bus station after having bought a map. She looked down the road and saw a long line of cars. "Taxi!" she called out.

A yellow cab pulled up on the curb beside her and the driver rolled down the window. "Where to, miss?"

"Airport, and hurry. It's an emergency." She opened the door and pulled herself in, clutching a small parcel tightly.

The bell shrilled through the empty halls of Casper High, signaling the arrival of the weekend. Hundreds of students flocked out of their rooms instantly and integrated within themselves. Alicia exited her creative writing class and immediately began to look for Danny. She strained to see above the crowded hallway, but finally spotted the bobbing clack head she was looking for.

"DANNY!" she called out. She saw him turn his head around in an effort to discover who was calling his name. Alicia waved her hand wildly and he instantly spotted her. It took him a moment to manuver through the crowd to the wall where she waited.

"Hey Alicia, what's up?" Danny asked in a slight hurry. He had to meet Sam and Tucker back at his house so they could leave soon.

A look of concern passed over his neighbor's face. "Danny, was there a fire at your house last night? My parents said they smelt smoke at an odd hour."

"Yeah, we um, had a little mishap in the kitchen and-"

"Oh, I see." Alicia gave a knowing smile. "I've had mishaps before too. Was everyone okay?"

He didn't have time for this! He had to go. "Yeah, everyone was fine. I actually have to run home, so I'll catch you later!"

Before he could run off, Alicia grabbed his arm. "Danny wait! We both have detention today!"

Oh yeah. Detention. He would just have to accept the punishment and try not to miss next week. "Something important came up. I'll serve it some other time." With that, he ran off, leaving Alicia staring behind at him, thuroughly confused.

An hour later, he, Sam and Tucker were in the lab packing some items into the Spector Speeder (SS from hereforth).

"Fenton Thermos?" Tucker asked, looking at his checklist.

"Do we need one?" Sam wondered. "We've never put Vlad in one before..."

"Three words," Danny said sarcastically. "The. Box. Ghost."

"Good point," Sam agreed as she handed the thermos to Danny, who stuck it in the SS.

An hour later, they were on their way to Wisconsin.

This chapter's kinda short because each part sets the stage for another scene in a later chapter.

I'd like to thank my awesome reviewers!

JesusFreak991- glad you liked the new characters. Like the new ones in this chapter? -winkwink-

phantomphriend-promise not to make anyone wait that long again, don't worry. : )

witchdoctor42-I personally enjoy writin those parts too. We'll see one or two more before the story is over.

Amber-Phantom-yay! That makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Nikky Phantom of the Opera-hope you enjoyed this update

PinkBlueLilac-you're most likely the first person who has been pondering about that. It would be funny, in my opinion, to see conflagration try to burn sam, tucker or jazz...

You guys all rock!!! Same thing on reviews goes for the next chapter as well. Only five: )