A/N: Here's the next chapter!

I've been trying to find a balance with Alfendi, since I know he was originally Potty, but I don't think he was as bad when he was younger.

I know he definitely didn't snap at Layton, haha.

Danny met Pearl in one of my previous stories, "The Phantom Turnabout," when the Fentons stayed in Kurain Village.

To be honest, I was going to have sections of what's going on with Luke, with a pretty long one in this chapter, but I decided to nix them for the sake of mystery.

Of course, if I had kept that segment, this chapter would be EVEN LONGER.

Well, here we go!

…

Chapter Five: The Woods

A soft groan escaped Danny as he forced his heavy eyelids open. Above him were nothing but trees with the night sky behind them.

His body felt heavy, and he was exhausted.

"Sagain…?" he slurred softly. This was the first time since last time he had went ghost, and again, his ectoenergy was depleted, and he couldn't remember a thing.

"Danny?" Suddenly, a head blocked out the sky above, and Danny had to blink a few times before he could focus on the face.

"Sam…?" he muttered. She reached down, grasping his hand, and pulled him up to a sitting position. "Whoa…" he gripped her as his head swam.

"What happened?" she asked, worried.

"I don't… know…" he sighed.

"Are you good?" Sam asked. Danny nodded, and she pulled him to a standing position, letting him lean against her and helping him out of the woods and to her motorcycle.

"There was… a ghost…" Danny said, trying to work his way through the events before he blacked out. Sam nodded, urging him to go on. "It was… attacking… tourists… I tried to… stop it, but…"

"But you can't remember what happened once you went ghost?" Sam asked, remembering last time. Danny simply nodded, letting her help him onto the back of her motorcycle. She got on the front, and they sped back to Fenton Works.

…

"I found him!" Sam announced as she opened the door, helping Danny in. Jack, Maddie, and four unexpected guests looked up.

"It's you," Danny said in surprise, recognizing the top hat anywhere. Professor Layton quickly stood, putting his tea on the coffee table, and came over, helping Sam with the weakened boy over to the couch.

"Your ectoenergy, again?" Maddie asked, coming over to her son. Danny nodded.

"Yeah. I… a ghost attacked them—" he motioned to the professor and his charges "—so I jumped in, turned ghost, and… that's all I remember."

"You started mumbling about how you 'must find him'," Alfendi said, before shrugging. "Whatever the hell that means."

"Now, Alfendi, a true gentleman never swears. Especially not in the presence of a lady," Hershel scolded. Alfendi just sighed and looked down, crossing his arms.

"Yes, Father."

"I don't remember that," Danny said, unconsciously rubbing his wrist where the band sat.

"Maybe… he meant Luke?" the fourth guest, Pearl Fey, said hopefully. Danny looked over somewhat surprised at her presence.

"Pearl?"

"Hello, Danny," she said softly, playing with her Magatama. "Maybe you meant Luke? I mean… with who you had to find," she suggested.

"I highly doubt that," Sam said, crossing her arms thoughtfully.

"Danny, where did you wake up?" Hershel asked, looking over at the boy curiously.

"Hm… the woods, right?" he said, looking up at Sam, who nodded.

"Then, perhaps we should look into these woods," the professor said.

"Not tonight you shouldn't," Maddie said, crossing her arms. "They're probably pitch black by now. Why don't you all stay here tonight, and start fresh in the morning?"

"Especially since I want to come with you," Danny said. Alfendi huffed impatiently, clearly wanting to get the investigation underway, but the professor say the logic in Maddie's suggestion.

"Are you sure it will be no trouble, Mrs. Fenton?" he asked.

"None at all. Our daughter is currently away at school doing summer classes, so the girls can take her room, while the boys can take the guest room."

"Sam and I will just crash here in my room if you don't mind, Mom," Danny said. Maddie looked at him with crossed arms.

"You better be staying here," she responded, before turning on her heel and heading up the stairs to get the room ready. Flora offered Pearl a weak smile, hoping to make her feel better. Pearl gave a tiny one back, continuing to play with her Magatama, her thoughts filled with worry for Luke.

…

The next morning, the Professor woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee. Alfendi, who had slept at the foot of the bed, curled into a ball, was still asleep, and he decided to let him rest a little longer.

After all, today looked like it would be an exciting day.

Carefully getting out of bed so as to not disturb his son, he quickly changed into this normal clothes, donned his ever present top-hat, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Danny and Sam were already awake, Danny looking a lot better then last night, and talking to a person Professor Layton had yet to meet.

Tucker Folly looked up from the plate of eggs and bacon Mrs. Fenton hat placed in front of him when he heard the footsteps at the door.

"You must be Professor Layton," he said with a smile. The Professor tipped his hat.

"I see you have me at a disadvantage," he said.

"Oh! I'm Tucker," he said. The professor smiled at him with a nod before sitting.

"Coffee, Professor?" Maddie asked. The Professor's face fell slightly, having been hoping for tea.

"Ah, no thank you, Mrs. Fenton," he said.

"Don't worry, Professor. I'll make you some Earl Gray," Flora said from where she stood at the stove.

"Do we have tea bags?" Danny asked, surprised.

"I bought some with me," Flora said, holding up the box she had brought downstairs with her. "After all, the Professor is a huge tea connoisseur," she added with a giggle. The Professor chuckled at his own expense, watching as she worked.

"So, we're going to the woods today?" Tucker asked. The Professor looked over at the three young adults in time to see Danny nod.

"Yes. There might be clues there, not just to whatever has been happening to me, but also Luke's disappearance," he explained.

"How do you know of Luke?" The professor asked, remembering how he and Sam spoke as though they already knew about it last night. Danny sighed, looking over at him.

"I… met his father at the dig a few days ago. I went to ask about something that happened after a ghost fight there, and… Dr. Triton was a mess. He even dropped a bin full of old arrowheads," Danny explained. Hershel winced at the thought, feeling for his friend.

He had almost forgotten that Clark had been in Amity Park as well.

"When I asked why their tent was so empty, they told me that the artifacts they found disappeared, along with Luke, on the day of the ghost attack," Danny finished. He shook his head. "The police have come up with nothing, so in my spare time, I've been searching for clues as to his disappearance."

"And what have you come up with so far?" the Professor asked. Danny sighed, resting his head on his hand.

"Not much," he admitted. Then his head popped up, and he turned to his friend. "Tucker, can you hack the park's video cameras from that day?" he asked. Tucker rose an eyebrow at his friend.

"I think you mean 'will I,'" he said with a grin, whipping out his trusty PDA. The Professor watched in interest as Tucker's fingers flew across the buttons of the small device, until finally, he turned it to show the group.

On screen, the five archeologists were working in the same area, the two younger ones occasionally saying something to each other and laughing. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light, and they were blasted from that spot. Two of the older one's fell unconscious, and the ghost Danny fought that day appeared on screen. He seemed to be targeting Luke specifically. The three still conscious, however, didn't seem to notice and were trying to stop it, but they were blasted again. Professor Layton narrowed his eyes slightly, having seen another, softer light flash at Luke's chest. He was the only one to not fall unconscious from this blast, but he fell to his knees next to his father, trying to wake him up. Just then, Danny came onto the scene, fighting the ghost until he was thrown into the ground.

The ghost turned back Luke, who dove for something, hit the ground, and rolled onto his back, opening something that sucked the ghost in.

"A Fenton Thermos," Danny said. "I must have dropped it during the battle," he added sheepishly.

"Well, now we know what happened with your ghost," Sam said.

"Question is, where is the thermos now?" Tucker added.

"And why was the ghost attacking Luke?" the Professor added.

They continued to watch as Luke dragged/carried the others back to the tent. He was gone for a bit before coming out, searching for something.

Suddenly, the video crackled and froze.

"Huh?" Tucker said, pulling it back and checking his PDA. "It's not this. It must be the camera there…"

"Find a different one," Sam suggested. Tucker went through all of the cameras that looked onto the dig, but each froze around that point.

Finally, one jumped forward to where it was already dark. Clark rushed out of the tent, looking around frantically. Gregory followed him, looking almost as upset, and placed a hand on the first man's shoulder, drawing him back into the tent.

"They must have realized Luke was missing then," the Professor sighed, his heart twisting at seeing the pain in one of his closest friend's eyes.

"I was correct when I said it had nothing to do with the ghost," Alfendi said from behind, having come up in time to see Luke capture it. The professor jumped, looking over his shoulder at his son.

"Correct," he said, before looking forward at everyone again. "I would actually like to start the investigation at the dig before we enter the woods," he said. Danny nodded in understanding.

"Right. After all, that's where this all started, right?"

"Right."

…

Once everyone woke up and ate breakfast, they began their investigation. This time, it was the Professor, Flora, Alfendi, Danny, Same, Tucker, and Pearl. Long gone were the days where the Professor would leave his adopted daughter behind, and Alfendi and Pearl refused to be left behind as well.

The group went to the park first, where Eric, Loudon, Greg, and Clark were already working. One glance told the professor just how distracted his friend was. He glanced back at the group.

"Stay here."

"But Professor—"

"I shall be right back," he said, gently cutting Flora off. He then ducked under the rope, holding the brim of his hat to keep it in place, and walked over to the other archeologists.

Gregory was the first to notice him.

"Professor Layton!" he called, waving. Clark quickly looked up, a look that was almost like relief crossing his face.

"Hershel!" he cried, abandoning his spot and walking swiftly over to him, grabbing both of his hands. "It is so good to see you again, my old friend," he said. The professor nodded with a small smile of his own.

"The feeling is mutual, Clark. I simply wish it were under better circumstances," he sighed. Clark's face fell, and he nodded.

"Of course." He looked back up at Layton. "But you're here to find him… right?" he asked apprehensively. Hershel's smile grew, and he nodded.

"Of course. After all," he started, putting a hand to the brim of his hat and closing his eyes. "A true gentleman never abandons a friend in need."

"Thank you, Hershel. You don't know how better I already feel hearing you say that," Clark said, his shoulders slumping slightly in relief. The professor smiled and patted his shoulder.

"To that end… was Luke acting strangely since you have arrived?" the professor asked. Clark crossed his arms in thought, tipping his head to the side.

"Well… in his free time, he tended to go off on his own to explore Amity. I thought nothing of it, considering Luke's always been curious, especially considering the reputation this town has…" Clark explained, dropping his arms and putting a hand in his pocket. "We weren't here very long before… well, you know…" he finished. Professor Layton nodded, considering this information.

"Luke has always been curious…" he muttered.

"But?" Clark asked, sensing it.

"But I'm not sure that was his only motivation for going off on his own." He sighed. "Clark, did he tell you about his discovery?"

"Discovery? No… what discovery?" Clark asked.

"Luke wrote me the night you all arrived here. Apparently, he had discovered a Venrin artifact. A band, covered in the ruin for spirits," the professor explained. "I believe he was looking into this."

"What? But we didn't start our own digging until the next day," Clark replied, looking confused. Eric, on the other hand, stared at the professor, his eyes wide.

"Did he go off on his own that day?"

"Why… yes. Right after dinner. He said he wanted to explore," Clark said with a sigh. "Do you think he came to the dig instead?"

"It would seem that way," Layton answered.

"Damn it, Luke. What did you get yourself into?" Clark scowled at the ground, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hershel, but that's all I know."

"That's fine. We are going to go investigate another lead."

"Professor," Loudon said, gaining Layton's attention. "Do you think this has to do with the Venrin?"

"It… might. I am unsure at the moment," Hershel admitted. Loudon nodded in understanding, and the Professor made his way back over to the group, leading them away.

"Luke never told any of them about his discovery of the Venrin Spirit Band," he said.

"The 'Venrin Spirit Band'?" Danny asked, looking at the band around his wrist.

"Yes. A band that Luke wrote us about. He discovered it the night they arrived. Apparently, he had come back in secret," Professor Layton explained.

"That… would be my fault," a voice said from behind, killing the 'Idiot' that was forming on Alfendi's lips. The group turned to find Eric standing behind them.

"What do you mean, my boy?" Hershel asked.

"At dinner… I might have been bragging about my own discoveries. You know how competitive we always were, Professor. It must have sparked something in him," Eric explained. Flora scowled at the boy, crossing her arms and turning away.

"And now he's missing," Alfendi said thoughtfully, looking down, his arms crossed.

"I never meant for something like this to happen," Eric said, before looking at Professor Layton. "Please, let me join the investigation. Please." He pleaded. The professor studied the man in front of him for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. You may join us."

"Great, another idiot to get in the way," Alfendi mumbled.

"Be nice," Flora hissed, elbowing him. Alfendi scowled at her, rubbing his arm where her elbow had hit, but didn't say anything.

The group of eight made their way to the woods on the edge of Amity Park, searching around for any clues that would lead them to their missing friend.

Tucker, seeing his chance while the professor was distracted, moved closer to Flora.

"I don't think I've had a chance to properly introduce myself," he said to the older woman, gaining her attention. "I'm Tucker, Tucker Folly. That's TF as in 'Too Fine,'" he said with a smirk, winking at her. Flora, surprised, couldn't think of a proper response, those she did catch Eric scowling at the back of Tucker's head.

Flora didn't have to think long though, before Alfendi responded for her.

"Keep talking to her like that, and I'll cut out your idiotic tongue and feed it to you," he growled, his scarlet hair falling into his flashing, amber eyes. Tucker's eyes widened as he looked at the teen, sensing that he was deadly serious.

"Guys! I think I found something!" Sam called from a few feet away. The group rushed over to her, and she pulled back the bushes.

Beyond looked like an abandoned camp site. A blanket sat next to a ring of rocks. The professor stepped into the camp site and looked around for any other sign of inhabitance.

"These ashes are cold," Eric said, kneeling next to the fire ring.

"There are multiple foot prints here," Hershel said, motioning to the edge of the campsite. "And they're deep. Whoever was here, they left in a hurry. Not only did they leave their blanket, but the deeper prints mean they were running," he explained.

"But do we know who it was?" Danny asked, looking around.

"Luke," Eric said, studying the blanket.

"How do you know?" Pearl asked.

"This blanket went missing from our supplies the same night Luke did," he explained, picking it up.

"If that's true… that means Luke left on his own," Alfendi said.

"Perhaps he felt he didn't have a choice?" Hershel suggested, cupping his chin. "After all, these footsteps show that he was clearly being pursued."

"We should follow them," Sam said. The suggestion was met with nods, and the group began to follow.

"He wasn't being chased by a ghost," Danny said after a while. "A ghost wouldn't have left tracks. They would have flown after him," he explained. Professor Layton nodded.

"I was thinking the same. That means his pursuers were human," he said.

The group followed the tracks for a while longer until finally, the trail came down to one just one set of shallow footsteps, and Alfendi noticed something near the tracks.

"Father," he called, stooping down and picking it up. Between his fingers was an old, stone coin with ruins on it. The others came over, and Eric carefully took it, studying the ruin.

"This is Venrin currency," he explained. "We hadn't found this, though…" he said, before noticing a strand of blue thread stuck to it.

"I believe Luke did," Hershel said, also spotting the thread. "He must have dropped it while he was running though."

"Makes sense," Danny said thoughtfully.

"I… don't think that's all he dropped," Flora said, pulling the branches of a bush. Behind them sat Luke's duffle bag. Professor Layton knelt beside the bag and unzipped it. Eric, who had been watching over his shoulder, gasped.

"Those are the artifacts we found! And our maps… our books… Everything!" he said.

"Luke took them all?" Flora asked.

"It would seem that way…" Layton hummed, cupping his chin in thought.

"This is very unlike him though," Pearl said, her hands clasped over her Magatama, the twin to the one she gave Luke.

"There seems to be something deeper going on here," Hershel said thoughtfully. Eric nodded in agreement, zipped the bag back up, and swung it over his shoulder.

"Should we continue forward?" Danny asked, rubbing the band on his wrist thoughtfully.

"Yes," Layton said, leading the way. The other's exchanged glances before following him.

They soon found a second camp, although it was little more then a fire pit.

"Luke again?" Tucker asked.

"It looks like it," Pearl said with a sigh, gripping her Magatama.

"I don't see any footprints this time," Danny said.

"But these ashes are still warm, which means he's close," Eric explained, his voice full of excitement. Professor Layton looked around, trying to determine which way his former apprentice would have went.

"Over here!" Sam called, pointing to some trampled vegetation. The group searched around for a while until they came to the outskirts of a clearing.

The clearing was swamped by men in white suites, studying a large monument-like stone and the area around it with strange devices.

Danny gasped, just as multiple devices went off in the clearing.

"The Guys in White?" Tucker asked, tipping his head to the side in confusion.

"Danny Phantom!" Operative K said, pulling the bushes back and spotting the group. Danny stood up straight, a scowl crossing his face.

Since his secret came out, the Guys in White hounded him for a few years, then ignored him.

Now, however, they were swarming around an artifact that seemed to be the last known location of a missing archeologist.

Something fishy was going on here.

"What's going on?" Danny demanded, crossing his arms. Operative K went to say something when O, who had come up to his shoulder, grabbed his arm.

"Look. His wrist," he said. K's eyes dropped from Danny's and found what O had pointed out.

The band gleamed in the sunlight that filtered through the trees.

"Danny Phantom, you are under arrest," O suddenly said.

"Excuse me!?" Danny demanded.

"Wait, what!?" Sam asked. Hershel, however, narrowed his eyes, looking between Danny, the band, and the Guys in White. Like Danny, he felt something was off here.

Both men moved towards the Halfa, one pulling out an ecto pistol, the other a pair of glowing handcuffs. Danny quickly backed up, making it impossible for either to get behind him.

"May I ask for what he is being arrested for?" Professor Layton asked, adjusting his hat.

"For stealing Venrin artifacts," Operative O said. Danny glanced at his wrist and frowned before looking back up at the men.

"You're ghost hunters. These artifacts should mean nothing to you!" he said. Neither man answered, but continued to advance on the world-renowned hero. Not seeing another choice, Danny turned ghost to fend them off.

He froze, his body going rigid. He tipped his head to the side, as though listening to something audible to only him.

"It's happening again," Alfendi said. Danny glanced back at him, his eyes flashing red, before suddenly shooting into the air and towards the park. Sam and Tucker exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking. The last time they saw their friend like that, Freakshow had control over him.

"The dig!" Eric gasped, pouring on the speed. The others followed, including a few of the Guys in White Operatives.

The last thing Clark, Loudon, and Greg expected was for Danny Phantom to attack the dig, meaning they were taken very off guard. Danny flew straight at the dirt, digging deeper into it with his ectoblasts and ignoring the archeologists.

Operative K scowled, aiming a large ectonet launcher at Danny and shooting it. The net wrapped around the ghost boy, bringing him to the ground. He didn't stay trapped long, using brute strength to break out of it.

"Hershel!?" Clark called when noticing his old friend. He ran over, bringing the other two with him. "What's going on?"

"Something is wrong with Danny. It is… almost like he is not in control of his own actions," Layton explained, watching the battle. The Guys in White were clearly at a disadvantage as Danny out powered and out maneuvered them.

Danny's eyes glowed blue, as did his hands, and he shot ice spikes at the Guy's in White. They managed to dodge the spikes and retaliated with their own guns.

A few shots hit Danny, but he didn't even seem to feel them. Instead, he dove right at them.

That's when Sam got an idea.

"Tucker, you have the Specter Deflector, right?"

"Of course," he said, pulling his shirt up to show it. Sam smirked, reaching over and yanking it off. "Good."

"Whoa! Hey!" Tucker yelped, surprised. Sam ran over to where Danny was still close to the ground, and tackled him away from the Guys in White, clasping the Specter Deflector around his waist.

With a gasp, Danny shuddered. A ring appeared around his waste before splitting into two, one going up, the other down. After only a few seconds, Danny Fenton laid under Sam. He groaned, putting a hand to his head.

"Wha…?"

"Flank him!" the Guys in White yelled. Before the rest of the group could move to help the ghost boy, a large silver and green RV flew into the park, over their heads. Eric threw his arms around Flora, protecting her head.

"Get away from our son, you government goons!" Jack's voice boomed from the RV. A few guns popped up from the RV and began shooting at the two Operatives, forcing them to back off and go back to where they came from. Sam looked down at Danny.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Ow…" he mumbled, putting a hand over one of the spots on his chest that the ectoshots hit. "What happened?"

"You went ghost, attacked the dig, and battled the Guys in White until I got the Specter Deflector on you. You don't remember any of that?"

"No… not at all."

…

A/N: Longest chapter ever. This took WAY too long to write, and I'm not even entirely sure it'll be the longest (4,000+, by the way).

What is Luke up to, by the way?

Maybe we'll find out next time, hehe.