A/N: And the person who got the correct answer was...

...Phantomschica! Whoo! Yay you! And, by the way, everyone else got the correct answer as well! The next three runner-ups were: Lt. Commander Richie, dannyphantomfanaticandDxSshipper, and Fantomgirl 1 on 1! YAY! Anywho, on with the chapter!

"I don't understand what could have possibly caused that," Joseph was saying.

"Don't ask me," Alice said groggily. "I'm smart but not that smart." Joseph looked at the pendant about her neck. It hadn't been there before. He pointed at it.

"That pendant, where-"

"Alice," Vlad cut in swiftly. "May I speak with you for a second?"

"Uhm, okay," Alice said warily. She walked over to Vlad. She felt way better than before, but was still a little shaky on her feet from the literal shock. Shaking her head and trying to walk straight, she approached Vlad. "What's up?"

"Do you feel any different, my dear?" Vlad asked. "Your powers should have become active now that they have been literally shocked out of their dormant-like state."

"I feel funny," Alice replied. "It's weird. Almost like when you get the shivers, or willies like some people call them? Or when static runs through your body and you shock someone. It's...hard to explain..."

Vlad nodded with some understanding. "Well, Alice, your powers may not exactly be under your complete control. They might become active during the most inconvenient times. You must try to learn to control them. Tell me, how are your grades in school?"

"Good," Alice said. "I'm not exactly the top student, but I'm getting there."

"Well done, and do you have much free-time on your hands?" Vlad asked then.

"It seems so," Alice said. She looked over her shoulder at Joseph. He was checking out the inside of the machine, probably trying to figure out what went wrong. He murmured something beneath his breath, the stepped inside the machine fully before climbing back out and running to get a screw-driver from the counter top.

"How would you feel if I helped you to control your powers?" Vlad said, snapping Alice out of her thoughts.

"That'd be great," Alice said. "The more help the merrier, I say. Hey, Vlad? What about my friends? Can I tell them about this?"

"By all means, you may tell anyone you want, Alice," Vlad said. Alice seemed to go into deep thinking at that. Could she tell her parents? No, that may not be a very good idea. She could already hear them talking about tests and scientists coming to see her. Not to mention the fact that she knows her grandparents were ghost-hunters scared her a bit. What if her dad decided to take up the sport and want to dissect her? She shivered at the thought. He wouldn't do that, but who's to say he won't mention something about it.

"I think I'll stick to secrecy," she muttered.

"I'm sure your friends will want to know," Vlad insisted. He would need a back-up plan should this plan fail. If he cannot manipulate the girl alone, then surely the other two would fall into his plot-line easily to keep the girl in check. As the saying goes: money talks. Alice looked at him and sighed.

"I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea. It's better than to let them think I'm running off somewhere to see someone," she murmured, crossing her arms. Only then did the trinket around her neck catch her attention. She slowly lowered her arms, then brought one hand up to hold up the crystal. It was a beautiful sapphire gem in the middle of a black and sapphire swirl. It wasn't a very large crystal, about the size of her finger tip, a little bigger maybe, but the whole design was pretty. The two rings outside the crystal were loose, so she could move them around as if a ring system around Saturn or Jupiter with separate rings. "Sapphire..." she whispered quietly.

Vlad watched her and she fiddled with the trinket and grinned. "Well, you best be going now," he said. "You're going to need your rest."

"Huh?" Alice looked up at him, eyes gleaming with both confusion and curiosity.

"Tomorrow, after school," Vlad said. "Go to the park. Either Joseph or me will be waiting."

"I'll what?" Joseph called, his voice sounding muffled. Alice turned towards the sound. Joseph was peeking out from the machine she'd stepped out of earlier, holding on to one of the straps in order to not fall. There was a screw driver in one hand and a couple of screws between his lips. The boy looked as if he was really into what he was doing, very focused.

"Though I doubt Joseph will be very much obliged to go," Vlad added quickly.

Joseph frowned and turned back to his work, disappearing once again into the machine. Alice smiled and turned back to Vlad. "Okay, well, how do I get back home then?" she asked.

"Take this," Vlad said, handing her a small bottle. It was about an inch high and half an inch in diameter. "Every morning take one. It should minimize the amount of times your ghost powers may go hay-wire. Also, this device may help you in getting from anywhere you are to my lab. It may come in handy for quick escapes." Vlad also handed her what looked like a small pencil-like device. It had a button right on the tip and was long enough for it to just disappear into her fist.

"Uhm, okay," she murmured. "But back to my question."

"Press the button," Vlad said. "It should get you back to the park area. Do not worry about anyone seeing you. There shouldn't be anyone there."

"Why not?"

"Trust me, my dear." Alice frowned, but nodded. She turned, but saw Joseph still gone.

"Okay then," she mumbled ad pressed the button. Before long, she'd vanished from sight, leaving a very Confused Joseph and satisfied Vlad behind.

"I don't get it. Nothing should have triggered that effect," Joseph said as he climbed out the machine. "I don't know what's wrong."

"Leave it alone, child. Everything is the way it is supposed to be," Vlad said. He grinned wickedly and turned to the screens he used to monitor most activity in the Fenton household. He turned on the screens and grinned as the image of Sam and Danny talking in the living room, obviously about something important. "Exactly the way it's supposed to be."

Alice felt her body become dense and solid again as she appeared back in the park. Her body became visible and she almost fell as she opened her eyes. Catching her balance, she clenched her teeth. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, standing back up straight. She looked around the park, afraid someone had seen that. But just as Vlad had said there was no one in sight. "Strange," she mused to herself. She shrugged and ran off towards the exit. She needed to get home. How long had she been gone? She didn't know. Two hours tops.

...maybe more...

E/N: Okay! Wow! Sorry it took so long for me to up-date! But I think I finally got the plot perfectly planned out! (I'm a perfectionist, in case any of you haven't noticed!) Anywho, 'til next time!

--Airamé Phantom