Danerik immediately dove into a series of spirals and loops, avoiding the blasts issued by Vlad, and managed to penetrate his huge armor in order to score a hit. He was even able to swim through the strange mass, bodily grappling with Vlad in order to throw him from his avatar. Various ghosts summoned by Vlad's sorcery flew against Danerik, but he managed to dispose of them and send them fluttering back to the Ghost Zone.

This battle is stalemated, thought Vlad as he countermanded Danerik's attacks. I must have something to tip the balance!"Slave! My third wish!" he called in Desiree's direction. "I wish to become the most powerful halfa created!"

"As you have wished it, so it shall BE!" Another beam of light extended directly from Desiree to Vladimir, merging ghostly energy with human, and finally it faded, leaving Vladimir even more powerful as he assumed his ghost form, but causing Desiree to slump against her restraint, truly unconscious. Valerie immediately set to work on the scepter, attempting to pull it from the wall, while Danerik faced the ultimately powerful Vlad. Suddenly, the form of Tuck appeared behind the glowing energy of Vlad and Danerik halted in surprise.

A stream of gibberish poured from Tuck's mouth as he recited a spell from a book, holding up a cooking pot as ghost matter streamed around him. Vlad smiled at the tiny boy, then frowned as he felt a tugging at his essence. He pulled against the tug, but the pull increased as Tuck chanted, until he was falling down a whirlpool into the pot. To the other observers, both Vlad and all the extra ectoplasmic matter flowed into the pot, until Tuck stopped chanting and slammed the lit firmly onto the pot. Sam and Danerik stared in amazement at Tuck, while he smiled sheepishly back.

"How…Tuck, how did you do that?" Sam looked at her servant.

"I knew Vlad had been researching spiritual activity and methods for controlling them, so I found his library and picked a book at random. I knew enough Greek and Hebrew to translate these bits, so I found a capturing spell and, well…"

"You used a cooking pot?"

"That was all I had! At least on short notice!"

"Well, then-"

"Danny…"

"I guess-"

"Danny!"

"What? What is so important!"

"Danny! Ghost!"

Suddenly, Skulker slammed into Danerik, pulling him along the ground before shooting up into the air to become a speck against the brightening sky. Sam and Tuck watched in amazement for a moment before dashing over to Valerie, Tuck struggling to hang onto his cumbersome cooking pot.

"Val, what's wrong with her?" The trio looked worriedly to the ghost, when she suddenly woke and looked back.

"Where's Danny?"

"He's, ah-"

"Where. Is. Danny."

"Up there. With, ah, that other ghost."

"Skulker? Oh, Shiva and Ganesh, he needs me."

"No, you need to stay here, rest, build your strength!"

"He needs my help. Skulker nearly killed him last time." Going intangible, she flew through them and followed the speck, soon disappearing from view. Sam, Valerie, and Tuck watched in amazement as the trio of ghosts fought overhead, unable to help or interfere.

Danerik, already bleeding ectoplasm from various wounds, continued to dive at the mutated Skulker, attempting to inflict damage on the huge ghost. The contorted body was run through with veins of ghost matter and energy, rendering it impervious to most attacks, however. Danerik reeled back from a large blow from Skulker, when the poised form of Desiree rose above his limp form.

"Skulker. You will get out of that human now, or I will be forced to make you."

"Forced? Desiree, you couldn't possess a fly if you needed it. I saw what Master Vlad did. You're weak. You're useless. You're pathetic." He stood smugly in mid-air, facing the ancient ghost and her pupil. With blinding speed, Desiree dove toward Skulker's midsection, pushing herself into his trunk and forcing Skulker out. The other ghost fought for possession of the body, resulting in an ethereal shoving match which made the flimsy body contort under the influence of the ghosts. Finally, Desiree unleashed a beam of energy, piercing Skulker's ghostly form and scattering him into fragments, powerless and weak. Desiree released the Sultan's body, controlling it so that it fell gently to the ground, then followed it less gently. In her weakened state, her form flickered in and out of focus, blurring and morphing as it attempted to conserve her power. Danerik rushed to the side of the weakening ghost, frantic, while the other three remained behind.

"Desiree, what's happening? What's the matter?"

"Danerik, I…I think you're a pretty good kid. You could go a long way. But I don't think…" she gasped for a useless breath. "I'll be around to see it."

"C'mon, Desiree, you can't, I mean…you can't be serious, Desiree, you're fine. You're fine!"

"No, Danny. Leave me. I have no more to do here. My entire stay here-in the human world-has tired me, Danny. I'll be fine once I get back to the Ghost Zone, but I can't stay to help you. I'm sorry."

"How long would you be gone?"

"I'm an important ghost. A few hundred years or so…no more. Not much for a ghost like me."

"But…I'll never see you again!"

"I'm sorry, Danny. It was fun while it lasted."

"Don't worry, Desiree, I-I can still fix this, now…Desiree, I wish you were healed!"

"Danny, no, you can't-"

"I wish you were healed."

Struggling with herself, Desiree began glowing and wrestled against the powers growing within her. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, "As you have wished it…so-it-shall-BE!" Light shot from each of her wounds, closing them and healing them. The aura of energy grew and spun around her, obviously causing her pain.

"Desiree, what's wrong?"

"Danny, she needs help. Your help!" Sam remained far from the lights and energy, afraid to make a move.

"Desiree, what can I do?"

"Danny, it's-wishing takes my power, boosts it then drains it. I'll be gone-any time now-"

Plunging past the whirling energies that surrounded her, Danerik grasped his mentors shoulders and closed his eyes, focusing on his ghostly form. To Sam's perception, he harnessed the whirlwind of energy surrounding Desiree and focused it, acting as a conduit to let the healing power back into the female ghost. Startled, he broke the connection and stumbled back, staring in amazement as the other ghost contorted wildly under the influence of the power flowing into her. Finally, she lay limply on the tiled floor, unmoving, until Danerik and Sam rushed to her. Coughing weakly and shaking off some remnants of etheral energy, she smiled up at her pupil.

"You did it, Danny. You really did it!"

"I…I did! I did it! What did I do?"

"You saved me. And that is something I can never repay."

Suddenly, a bout of coughing interrupted them. Sam whirled around and dashed to her father's side, eyes glistening with tears, as she knelt by him and hugged him repeatedly.

"Daddy! You're alright! Desiree really did it, you're back, you're here…"

"I'm…alive. That in itself is the start of a good day."

"But, Skulker…he took over you."

"Don't-" he coughed. "remind me. That…thing forced its way in here." He tapped his temple in explanation. "Then everything went a bit hazy…I could feel something forcing itself into my muscles, making them expand, then strange, alien electricity ran through my body…It was altogether unpleasant." With Sam's aid, he sat up and looked to the other four beings in his courtyard and took them in without so much as blinking. A silence fell over the assembled company.

"Well, Samantha, aren't you going to introduce me?"