Phantom: hey everyone. Don't be mad at me if you were expecting part 2 to come out right after I did part 1. I need time to type and look it over. Even then, I still find mistakes that really annoy me since I would have already posted the chapter.

Trainer: stop complaining. That's my thing and you know it.

Phantom: … point. But I complain just as much.

Trainer: whatever.

Phantom: back to the story. This is part 2 to Horrible Clues. In the first part, you guys heard about what Skulker had been doing during the time everyone else had been travelling through the Ghost Zone, and then what he did part of the day that they had returned. You also heard about part of Vlad's day and how he's having so much trouble himself. Heehee. Ok, but this part is focused mainly on Danny and his friends, and some trouble they run into.

Vlad: *teleports into the room* alright, I know you two know the whereabouts of those books. So hand them over.

Phantom: not this again. Vlad, this is the writer's booth. You can't be in here. And besides, didn't Clockwork tell you to keep an eye on Danny? *smiles mischievously*

Vlad: yeeeeeeeeeeees, but I don't see how that's releva–ahhh!

Trainer: thanks Danny. Mind taking Vlad back with you?

Danny: no problem.

*Vlad and Danny return to the story*

Phantom: just for the record, that was totally weird.

Trainer: yeah…never speak of this to anyone?

Phantom: agreed.

Trainer: well, on with part 2 of the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and some ideas are owned by Pearl84 and Truephan, but the plot is mine!

Chapter 6: Horrible Clues, Part 2

*At the same time that Skulker was running for his after-life…*

Danny sat at his family's kitchen table, munching away at his morning cereal. For once, he had gotten a fair amount of sleep and was running on time. The fact that he wasn't running out the door with a pop tart trying to beat time and get to school was a rare occasion in itself, and he was going to relish it.

"No early morning ghosts to disturb me, no crazy new invention to scare me, and no chaos of any kind making me move through the day faster. Whatever is happening today, please don't let it stop!" Danny thought to himself.

Today was going to be good, he could just feel it. Not only was the school day shortened for a staff meeting, but he was planning on having some quality time with his friends; even if it would probably end up with them patrolling Amity Park and catching stray ghosts from the ghost realm. But that was always fun for all of them… right?

Danny had to push his thoughts for the day out of his head as he saw his sister come down the stairs and into the kitchen. Danny quickly swallowed the spoonful of cereal and said, "Hey, Jazz."

The red-head smiled at her half-ghost brother as she went to the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Morning, Danny. What's gotten you out of bed this morning? Was it another," she paused and looked around, making sure their parents weren't around before continuing, "ghost?"

Danny smiled at her and replied, "No, no ghosts. I just woke up on time for once. I guess having a good night's sleep really helped me get back on track, if only for a little while."

Jazz was somewhat shocked. Since when did her brother, the infamous Ghost Boy, ever have a full night's sleep… and wake up on time, let alone before her? "I'm proud of you little brother. Maybe you're finally getting the hang of things." She looked at her brother as he blushed and turned his attention back to his breakfast.

He then paused when he realized that his sister had stopped and searched the area as if their parents were around. "Jazz, you do know mom and dad are still away, right?"

Jazz blinked a few times, confused by the question. She then realized that she had instinctively looked for any signs of their parents. She slapped her forehead at the realisation and said, "sorry, Danny. It's become sort of like an instinct now."

Danny blushed again, knowing that he had just made his sister stoop down to his level of thinking. If only for a minute.

Jazz cocked an eyebrow and sat down with her coffee in hand. "What are you eating this morning? Normally, you're out the door trying to get to school with a pop tart stuffed in your mouth."

Danny blushed even more by her comments, but knowing that the question was a normal one, he knew he should reply. "You're just going to laugh when I tell you," he complained, stuffing another spoon full of the cereal into his mouth.

Jazz just gave him the look that said; try me. Danny sighed, knowing exactly what would happen once he named the cereal. But he also knew that his over-protective and psychology-obsessed sister wouldn't let him worm his way out of this; even with his ghost powers. Bracing himself for the worst, Danny took a deep breath before mumbling something under his breath.

Jazz made a confused faced and said, "Danny, speak up. I can't understand you when you mumble." She really did hate it when he did that. At first, she thought he was going crazy or something when he started to mumble to himself whenever they brought up the topic of Vlad Masters. Now she knew it was because Vlad was a total fruitloop and he was releasing pent up emotion that he couldn't really say in front of their parents… ok, in front of their dad. Mom had learned from that time she and Danny had landed in the Rockies how much of a creep Vlad could be. Unfortunately, dad was still oblivious.

Danny's eyebrows furrowed and for a second his eyes glowed their ghostly green. He really, really, really didn't want to say it, but he had to. Danny took another deep breath and said clearly, "I'm eating… Fruitloops."

Danny cringed as he heard and then saw his sister laugh, only to try and stop herself at his statement. After a few awkward minutes of Jazz trying to calm herself down and Danny resisting the urge to turn invisible, Jazz finally said through her giggles, "Danny… I know… I know you like the… cereal, but –"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's one of the many things I call Vlad. But you have to admit, it is an awesome cereal," Danny interjected. He just continued to eat his breakfast like nothing had happened.

Jazz smiled at him. She did have to admit, the cereal wasn't half bad… but she wasn't about to tell her little brother that he was right. She left the room to go pack her back for the day ahead of her, while Danny finished his breakfast to soon do the same.

Jazz and Danny were out the door and mad their way to school. Jazz had opted to walk with him instead of driving. There was something about walking with her brother that she missed ever since he became distant with her and their parents. She knew it was because of his half-ghost status, but she welcomed the chance to be a good older sibling and sped some time with the awkward boy her brother was.

About a block from their house, they met up with Sam and Tucker and talked the rest of the way to school. Sam raged about her parents and how they had tried to make her wear pink again this morning. Of all the colours her old fashioned parents could want her to wear, it had to be pink. She nearly barfed after saying the single word.

Danny and Jazz tried to calm down the agitated Goth and then explained to her and the techno-geek what they had discussed between themselves. Just things like Danny's powers, his enemies and what they might be up to. The normal things in their lives.

Tucker almost never participated in the conversation until they got to the part about Danny's abilities and enemies. Other than that, he kept to himself; trying to create a program for his PDA that would help with his Esperanto and translating what other ghosts said. "It's like the Ghost Gabber. But this way, even if we don't actually have it on us, we can communicate with the ghosts that don't speak English," the technology loving boy explained.

Sam and Jazz nodded as they understood his reasoning for creating the program, but Danny stared at them utterly confused. Yeah, it made sense for them if he wasn't around, but other than that, what use was it?

"Sorry, Tuck, but I don't understand. Why would you need to use something like the Ghost Gabber unless I wasn't around?" the young ghost teen asked.

The other three teens looked at him like he was the crazy one and chanced glances at each other before staring back at their hybrid friend/brother.

Jazz was the one to ask the question burning in their minds. "Danny," she said, "can… can you actually understand the ghost animals?"

Now it was Danny's turn to look stunned. "Yeah," he stated slowly, "they speak English just like the rest of us." Danny paused for a minute before continuing, "Ok, almost perfect English. Ghosts like those vultures that Vlad has speak Yiddish or something like that."

Sam, Tucker and Jazz just stared at him. It was really creepy to Danny; he eventually had to ask the impending, "what?"

"Danny!" this time it was Sam, "ghost animals don't speak English! For us, all we hear is the growls, squeaks and yells that most animals make anyways!"

Danny's eye went wide, but Jazz spoke up before he could freak out, "Danny?" this caught his attention. "I know this might sound weird, but I think you can understand all these ghost because you are part ghost. Vlad said something to me once when you were stuck living with him about how what we thought was just animal noises was actually understandable for him… and even you. Does that make sense?"

Danny had to ponder the information given to him. It was true, everything that any ghost said to him had sounded like his tongue, in some sense at least. Some ghost he couldn't understand too well, but that was probably because he was constantly forgetting that they were ghosts and not animals. Like Cujo! Cujo he could understand at most times, but at other times he felt like he was just talking to an over-active bipolar puppy. Danny just nodded his head to his sister comment since they had just arrived at school.

As they entered the school, Jazz said farewell to her brother and his friends and they went their separate ways. Danny, Sam and Tucker made their way through the crowded halls to their lockers to grab their books.

Danny had just finished packing his bag and had plenty of time to get to his first period class with Mr. Lancer. He was about to close his locker door when suddenly he was lifted off the ground by the back of his shirt and everything went black with the sound of metal locking on metal.

"Take that, Fentina!" a jock with blond hair and his standard red and white jacket laughed. The jock walked away laughing as the rest of popular kids followed his lead.

Danny's eyes glowed green as he realized that it was Dash laughing, but no one could see from the position he was in. even though he knew the answer, he had to ask, "What just happened?" his voice echoing from within his locker.

Sam leaned on the locker next to his and said, "Just another day in the life of Danny Fenton. Dash shoved you into your locker again."

"He's early today too. Guess it has something to do with the fact that today is cut short," Tucker added, skimming through his PDA at the events that usually happened at school.

Danny growled and said, "Since when do you have the time that I get pushed into my locker on your PDA Tucker?"

"Ever since that time when you had to do that research paper on the purple-back gorilla," he announced proudly.

"I thought I told you to destroy that stupid schedule a long time ago," he growled.

"Awe, come on Danny." Sam said. "How else are we supposed to evade Dash and his demon followers if we don't know the times they like to come and bother you? Also, do you want us to open the lock for you, or are you going to wait until you can escape with your abilities?"

Danny thought about the choices for a moment, considering both for any problems. If Sam and Tucker opened the lock, then he could get to class without receiving detention for once. But if he waited for the halls to clear and escaped with his intangibility, it would not only put a downer on his day… it would most likely cost him his freedom that was reserved for him and his friends.

Well this was an obvious choice. "Open the lock," he dead-panned to his two friends.

"One more question," Sam said. "Do you want to give me the combo to your locker or do I have to smash it open?" she smirked at her last statement. It would be the perfect way to release her pent up emotions towards Paulina.

Danny's eyes widened at her second question and quickly told her, "Use the combo. USE THE COMBO! I can't afford to lose another locker!"

Sam frowned, seeing that her suggestion wasn't going to work. "Fine. What is it?" she grumbled.

Danny let out a sigh of relief and told her what she needed to do. "Alright. The first number is 7, followed by 13, and ending with 58."

After a few clicks, Danny sighed again as he heard the wonderful sound of his locker opening. He jumped out and looked at the clock hanging on the hallway wall. Wrong as usual. Danny turned to his male friend and asked, "Hey, Tucker. Do you have the time?"

Tucker looked at his half dead friend and gave an exasperated sigh. "Dude, for your next birthday I am soooooooooooo getting you a watch." The techno-geek said before replying, "It's almost time for first period. I am so happy today will be over fast. I need some proper R and R."

Danny closed his locker and walked with his friends to their first period. All three were laughing, but on the inside, he was scheming revenge against Dash. And he knew just how he was going to do it. This just made him laugh even more, but his friends didn't seem to care.

Danny was tired, but not physically or mentally like he would be if he had to fight ghosts. He was tired of being in school for the day. Tired of his classes, tired of his teachers, and most importantly; tired of his pears judging him.

"I'm almost free" the ghost teen told himself. This was the worst part of his school days was waiting for the bell to ring. Sure, this bell would just signal an early lunch (which was really just going to be a break between his morning and afternoon classes), but he really just wanted a small taste of his soon-to-be freedom.

As soon as the bell rang, everyone shot up out of their seats and raced for the door. Danny was following his friends and almost had one foot out the door when his teacher called him back with those oh-so-famous words, "a word, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny looked back at his most common teacher before sighing and telling his friends that he would be out as soon as he could. Walking back into the room, Danny looked at his teacher/vice-principle.

Mr. Lancer looked up from his seat at the teen before him. The man stood up and gave Danny his well-known look. Finally, he said, "I'm surprised, Mr. Fenton. You're actually on time for school, paid more attention in all your classes so far and didn't run out for some unknown reason. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Danny looked back and forth, hoping to come up with a good excuse. But the first thing to come out of his mouth didn't help his position. "Um… uh…" he stammered.

Mr. Lancer raised an expectant eyebrow at the nervous teen. Danny finally managed to make his words and figured it was best to give him some form of truth. "to be honest, Mr. Lancer, I don't see anything wrong with my behaviour today. I just got a better sleep than usual and had no need to run to off to my… locker or to the bathroom." Ok, that last part was a lie. He never had to really go to his locker or the bathroom.

Danny looked at his teacher, and by the look on his face, he seemed to buy his half-lie. "Well it's good to know that you were able to straighten some things out in your life. Even if it was very minor. Just try to keep this up, alright Danny?"

Danny smiled at his teacher and ran off to catch up with his friends before they had to get back into class. Yep, he definitely had to say that today just seemed to go his way for once. He continued to run; even as he saw his friends come into view. "I really hop this isn't a dream. And I really hope that I didn't just jinx that," he said mostly to himself.

For the rest of the free period, Danny, Sam, and Tucker talked about the usual things they talked about. Of course it wasn't what everyone else would normally talk about. The talked about ghosts, events that have happened over the year, and the new devices that Danny's parents had made.

"Before my parents left, they showed me this new form of ghost detector. I think it actually might come in handy," the young hybrid announced.

Tucker and Sam stared at him with astonishment. Since when did he think that a host hunting device was a good thing for them?

"Danny, you know that we all find some of your parents' inventions very useful," Sam started.

"Yeah! Like the Spector Deflector and Fenton Thermos," the techno-geek said proudly.

The Goth girl stared daggers at her friend and he shrank away with a sheepish smile and let her continue. "But how is this new form of the ghost detector going to be useful?"

Danny gave them a small smile before he explained, "When it's complete, it's supposed to act like the Fenton Boo-merang, but not completely. While the Boo-merang locks onto the ghost, this device locks onto the location of the Boo-merang, so the thrower doesn't have to go chasing it immediately. It also has another function."

The two other teens looked at their ghostly friend with anticipation.

Danny continued, "it's currently able to identify a ghost's power level, abilities and even tell if a 100% human," he emphasised, "has any unusual abilities." He finished with a smile.

Tucker gave a concerned look as he said, "dude, aren't you afraid that this device will reveal your secret to your parents?"

Danny shook his head. "Like I said, Tuck. It can tell if a 100% human has any unusual abilities. You know, like a witch or psychic or something."

Sam seemed to catch on and smiled. "Wow! I'm impressed. This device really could be useful to us. But what do your parents want to accomplish with finding out if someone has supernatural abilities?"

"Well, it's mostly to detect if someone if overshadowed or not," Danny replied. "It was a fluke that my parents made something like this anyways. I'm just afraid that they might come across someone who actually has ghost abilities but is entirely human."

"Danny, there's no way your parents device would be able to tell if an ability was ghostly or not. Sometimes it is just a natural ability. People in the past thought that ghostly abilities were magic or godly powers. Vlad's little trip to ancient Greece proves that point," Sam commented.

"I guess you're right," Danny conceded. But it didn't entirely rid him of his doubt.

*riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin g*

The bell rang, signalling that the next period was about to start. And Danny needed to set up his revenge for Dash. Splitting into two, the real Danny went back to class while his duplicate went off invisibly to set up his master plan.

Danny chuckled to himself. Well, he didn't like using this ability yet, but getting revenge on Dash required him to be in two places at once. So being able to do exactly that made this all the sweeter.

"If Vlad saw what I was about to do, I wonder what he would think," Danny thought to himself. Not really needing much imagination for the idea, Danny thought, "He'd probably laugh and say something like 'I'm so proud, little badger'. Boy, that would actually be… really creepy." And Danny cringed slightly at the idea. Finally, he and his friends re-entered the school for the rest of the school day.

The Danny duplicate watched as his real self returned to the school. It was only when everyone entered the school that the Danny duplicate went to work. He had about an hour before they all got out because of the staff meeting. He really didn't even need all that much time, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The duplicate flew around the area of the school a few times before he was satisfied that no one would interrupt. Flying over to the gardening shed, the duplicate opened the door and peered inside. Even though it was bright out, the inside of the shed was close to pitch black. Good thing he had ghostly vision.

The duplicate chuckled to itself. "One of the good things about being part ghost," the copy thought, "is that I now have enhanced senses."

Walking in, the phantom look-alike rummaged through the different tools and supplies. Finding a bucket and a pack of soil, the phantom smiled mischievously. Oh yeah, he could make this work.

Suddenly, the duplicate froze and instantly it frowned and its eyes were full of rage. Oh, he was going to make his revenge even more sweat.

Looking around again, the duplicate grabbed another bag that was similar to the bag of soil, except it smelled horrible. The duplicate smiled as it had everything it needed to fulfill his little 'prank'.

Thinking of another thing, the duplicate vanished in a cloud of green smoke and then reappeared in the same manner. But in his hands was a camera when he returned. Now he was ready to set it all up.

The duplicate took an even amount of soil and fowl smelling stuff and put them into the large bucket. He couldn't find a shovel, but he had the next best thing. He had ghost powers. All it took was a little levitation and that's it!

"Ok, Vlad would definitely say something about me being like him with all this," the copy said to itself. He had used almost every trick the older hybrid had taught him to create this plan. He had used teleportation, duplication, and even levitation. If he had to suddenly use blue energy, he might just freak out. True, it wasn't exactly what Vlad's revenge would be like, but it was still revenge; just… more childish.

The duplicate went to the front doors and peered inside. No one was out of class yet, but they would be. He just had to make sure to hit his target. Just as he thought that he heard the bell ring and he smiled as he prepared himself. "It's show time!" he announced.

*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*

All the students made their way towards the school doors. Danny had to resist the urge to just start laughing now. When his friends looked at him, all he could say was, "you'll see what laughing about in a minute."

They were almost to the door when Dash came up and pushed Danny aside. He sneered at Danny and said, "out of the way Fenturd. I've got places to be and don't need to deal with a loser like you right now."

The rest of the A-list followed after the jock, not aware that they were in a very dangerous position. Danny brushed it off, knowing what awaited the blonde boy and his friends. But that didn't stop him from glaring right along Sam.

"Those jerks. I hope they get what's coming to them," the Goth girl fumed.

Danny put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at him confused. Why didn't her friend seem very angry? She was sure that he would be even angrier than her. But his eyes weren't even glowing! Danny just smiled and said, "Do you guys want a good seat to the show?"

Not sure of what he meant, both Sam and Tucker followed their friend out the doors and off to the side. There were tons of teens scattered on the school lawn, but there was one area that they could plainly see; the area the popular kids were. No one dared go near them, so the space was clear for them.

Sam and Tucker were about to ask what show Danny had talked about when all of a sudden, a bucket flew through the air and landed on the unsuspecting jock. Dash screamed out of surprise as the bucket landed on his head, covering him in a disgusting mixture. Dash wasn't the only one who got hit though. The other A-listers near the jock had whatever was in the buck spray onto them as well; just not as much as their once oh-so-proud leader.

Paulina and Star shrieked as their outfits were ruined. Kwan didn't care all that much, he hadn't been close enough to get much more than a handful fall on his shoulder and he just brushed it off.

Dash threw the bucket off and looked at his current state. Almost instantly, he smelled something fowl. "Awe, gross! What's that smell?" the jock asked.

Everyone was stunned, to say the least. Sam and Tucker stared in disbelief but then looked at their hybrid friend. He was smiling quite smugly at the scene. Tucker leaned closer to Danny and asked, "When did you put this together?"

Danny answered just as quietly, "After we re-entered the school. It was going to just be soil, but remember when Dash started bragging that he and Danny Phantom were close?" Danny received a nod from his friend, but the techno-geek was still more focused on Dash. "Well, I sent that information to my copy and placed a special surprise inside the bucket."

Sam then heard the jock yelling something about the smell; she walked up to the jock and looked at the substance on the jacket and the jock's head. She then smiled and started laughing, thus, prompting the other surveyors to join in.

Dash glared and asked, "What's so funny?"

Sam returned his glare but then smirked smugly and replied, "What you smell is the combination of planting soil with decomposing digested food."

Dash was now completely lost, "What?" was all he could say.

Sam had to laugh again, but this time she couldn't stop. This time Danny stepped forward with Tucker following close behind him. Danny looked the jock in the eyes before saying, "what Sam was saying was that that bucket was full of dirt and manure."

Everyone was laughing now; well, all except for the kids who were covered in filth. Everyone was so preoccupied that none of them saw or heard the clicks and flashes of a camera from somewhere in the air.

Dash was turning redder by the second, Danny didn't know if it was out of rage or out of embarrassment. He soon found out that it was the first idea and found himself running along with his friends back to his house with a totally pissed Dash chasing them.

The three ran down the street and into the ghost hunting family's house. They closed the door faster than they ever thought possible and listened for any sign of the jock. A second later they heard the peeved teen run by screaming, "Fenton! When I get my hands on you, you are so dead!"

Danny phased his head out the door and watched as Dash ran away from the house. Tucker took the opportunity to pull out his PDA and sit on the steps leading to the second level of the house, while Sam stood next to her half-ghost friend with her arms crossed and a smile gracing her lips.

"Danny, I know Dash is a bully and has bullied you for year and totally deserves any punishment that you could dish out, but did you need to go that far?" the Goth asked.

Danny phased his head back into the house and smiled back at her. He then replied, "Oh, come on Sam. You thought it was just as funny as I did. It was only a bonus that Paulina got caught up in any misfire." He finished with a shrug.

Sam giggled and said, "Yeah, I'll never forget the look on her face when that mud fell all over her face. But you do know that Dash is probably going to kill you for that."

Danny just shrugged again and responded, "Again, he had it coming. He claimed that he and the infamous ghost boy 'Danny Phantom' were as tight as they could be. Yeah right. Having a pile of dirt and manure fall all over him was the least he deserved for making up that lie. Plus, he has no proof that it was actually me. He just blames me for everything so he can justify why he's beating me up."

The two of them laughed at the memory of the popular kids being covered in muck. But then they both realised that their other friend wasn't even paying attention. Danny walked over to the Afro-American teen and said, "Tucker, what are you doing?"

The boy didn't seem to hear him as he started to say, "Ĉu vi ne kredas ke estas stranga ke Dash nur kuris estinteco vian domon?"

Danny looked to Sam, but she just shrugged while the techno-geek continued, "Mi volas diri ... Ne evidentas ke vi provus kaj foriri de li de atingi ie sekura similan al via hejmo?

Danny called to his friend, but was only responded with what Vlad thought was gibberish. Danny tried again and Tucker said, "serioze!"

Danny finally got annoyed and shouted, "TUCKER!"

Surprising the boy, Tucker looked at his friends. The Goth girl asked, "Tucker, what are you doing?"

Tucker looked at her and responded with, "Kio?"

Receiving an annoyed look from both his friends, he smiled sheepishly and then said, "What?"

The other two looked at each other and Danny said, "Were you talking in Esperanto? We couldn't understand you very well."

"Yeah, no kidding. The only word I caught was the last one," Sam muttered.

"Oh, sorry guys. I was practicing for the next time we run into Wulf. Or if we have to read something important. You never know. Those books we're looking for might be in Esperanto," the boy said.

Danny nodded and said, "Well, since I can only read it right now, thanks to all our work sessions, how about you tell us what you were saying… but in English please."

"No problem dude," Tucker said. "I said: Don't you think it's weird that Dash just ran past your house? I mean... isn't it obvious that you would try and get away from him by getting somewhere safe like your own home? Seriously!"

Danny laughed and replied, "Tucker, Dash might be bigger than me, but he definitely can't out smart me. Me hiding at home is the last place he'll look. And by the time he finally figures that out, he won't care anymore."

All three laughed as they headed out of the entryway and up the stairs to the young hybrid's room. Once they arrived, they found Danny's duplicate hovering above the bed with a camera in hand. The real Danny took the camera and then let the duplicate return to him.

Danny turned and faced his friends and said, "Want to see some pictures?"

Both teens smiled; but while Sam nodded her head, Tucker said, "How about we mess with Dash a little more."

The trio went over to the hybrid's computer and an hour later, the pictures of Dash and the other popular kids was on their website; of course under a fake name and untraceable thanks to Tucker.

"Hey, guys. Where should I put the one of Star and Paulina?" the techno-geek asked.

"Put it next to the one of Dash with the three of us laughing," the young ghost hybrid said.

"Ok, boys. I think that's enough for now," the Goth girl said. "You want to go over to the Nasty Burger?"

Both boys stopped and eagerly nodded their heads. It was still before noon, but by the time they got to the restaurant, they would be even hungrier than they already were.

The trio reached the Nasty Burger and were eating their usual me

als at one of the booths. After finishing with embarrassing the popular kids Tucker finally noticed that Jazz wasn't around. Turning to his hybrid friend he asked, "Dude, where's your sister. Not that I don't mind not hearing her go over strategy and everything."

Danny thought for a minute and replied, "I think she said something about going to the library and looking through our ghost database to see if she could get anything on our mystery book thief."

"Well that's good," Sam said. "We honestly have no leads on who they are."

Danny took another bite of his burger before saying, "Yeah. I know what you –"

"GHOST!" someone from outside yelled. And a second later, Danny's ghost sense went off.

"That's weird. My ghost sense usually goes off before anyone screams," Danny commented.

Everyone in the building suddenly panicked and ran out of the building leaving the trio of ghost hunters alone. The three looked around before Danny said, "well… this makes things a lot easier." A second later he yelled, "Going Ghost!" and his famous white rings emerged from his waist and travelled in opposite directions turning Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom.

The trio ran outside and almost stopped dead in their tracts at the sight before them. Obviously, people were in a panic and running away from the ghosts, but the ghosts weren't following them like they usually did. Instead, they all stopped and… turned towards them!

They didn't know it, but these were the same ghosts that had attacked Skulker earlier that day. But there was a figure among them that Danny, Sam and Tucker assumed was the leader. They were as tall as an adult man, and had a very familiar black cloak with a hood covering its body. The figure seemed to be occupied with the smaller ghosts, but stopped when he saw that a handful had stopped attacking and stared at something behind him.

The figure turned and was then face to face with the trio, their eyes still wide. Danny was the first to finally recognize who the being was, but wanted to make sure. Taking a defensive stance, Danny asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The figure looked at him and chuckled, easily receiving an annoyed look from the hybrid. The figure took a step forward and reached his hand towards his hood. Danny, Sam and Tucker on the other hand moved back a step; still not sure what this being could do.

The ghost removed his hood and as a result, his cloak moved back flowing like a cape. While the outside of his cloak was black, the inside was a deep, but vibrant purple. His entire attire looked like something from the medieval section of the Ghost Zone. He looked like a noble or a prince, but without all the grace that one would possess. He had an over-shirt and pants that were black like his cloak, and were trimmed with a red boarder. He wore a shirt that was a dark blue and then a waist cloak of the same colour. The waist cloak was trimmed red at the bottom and went all the way down to his knees. Finally, he wore cloves and boots that were reddish-brown with the same red trim at the tops of them. Around his waist were two crossing belts, the same colour as his gloves and boots.

At first glance, the ghost was quite handsome, but it was his face that Danny really looked at. It just reminded him of his evil future self. His skin was a pale blueish colour. His ears were pointed and his eyes were blood red without pupils. Finally, his hair was long and kept back in a braid that stayed at least a foot off the ground. His goatee and hair were a bright blue that almost rivalled Ember's and both were flaming.

The being took another step before stopping and flashing them a grin that could almost be Vlad's when in ghost form. Suddenly, the being spoke. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. I wasn't expecting to see you three here, but you can never expect anything to go your way in this town." His voice was smooth, but unmistakably young. Possibly in his late thirties, Danny presumed.

Danny weakly glared at the being and said, "you didn't answer my questions."

The ghost looked at him and then scoffed at the hybrid. "Didn't anyone teach you manners, boy?" the being said as he made a 'tsk tsk', like he was reprimanding a child. Danny glared even more and the ghost gave a fake, exasperated sigh and continued, "If it will make the child happy, I'll oblige. My name is Koŝmaro Magiisto, but in your tongue it would be –"

"Nightmare magician!" Tucker finally found his voice only to shrink under the gaze of the ghost before them.

"Yes," the ghost drawled out. "But you can just call me Koŝmaro. And as for what I want, I'm looking for something that I dropped, maybe you've seen them?"

"If you're talking about those books, we wouldn't tell you even if we knew," the Goth girl spat.

Koŝmaro glared at the girl before chuckling at the three's attempt to look menacing. "If you think that you're a threat to me, then you are sadly mistaken," he said before his hand blazed with his dark purple energy.

The trio's eyes widened as Koŝmaro shot an ecto-ray at them. In the last second, Danny put up a shield; but it instantly shattered from the force of the attack. Danny, Sam and Tucker were blown backwards, but otherwise were not harmed. Koŝmaro sneered, "You three are much easier to face than I was expecting. You were far more powerful when I had last seen you."

Danny was back on his feet, green eyes ablaze. "What are you talking about? This was the first time we've even met!" Danny didn't get a chance to continue, since the smaller ghosts around Koŝmaro attacked. The ghost hybrid shot at them, but they just returned after the smoke would clear. So instead, he froze them. With all of them stuck within their icy prisons, Danny returned his focus to Koŝmaro.

Said ghost was smiling at the exhausted teen. Without warning, he shot Danny in the chest with a purple ray, knocking him back against the wall of the Nasty Burger. Sam and Tucker had split ways because the ghost magician had decided to practice his aim while Danny had been busy.

Sam watched as Danny collapsed to the ground, reverting to his human form. Tucker rushed to their friend's side and gave her a thumb up, saying that Danny was ok. She sighed in relief but then glared at the ghost responsible. Unfortunately, before she could even pull out an ecto-gun, she watched as Koŝmaro fired another shot at her friends. Without a second thought, she ran towards them and jumped. Instead of Danny, who was the prime target, getting hit by the ray, Sam took most of the blow. She was thrust back into her two friends and they all glowed a deep purple for a minute.

Koŝmaro stared on in absolute shock. His blast was meant to at least physically hurt the ghost child, but when it hit that girl… it was almost like she absorbed it! "Strange," he thought to himself. But seeing no need to stick around, he disappeared into a black swirling void.

Danny and his friends came to just after Koŝmaro left. Danny held his throbbing head while Tucker checked his PDA for any damages. Sam wasn't facing them, but her already purple eyes seemed to glow for a minute before returning to normal.

Danny looked around and was disappointed when he saw that not only had their mystery ghost disappeared, he took all the frozen ghosts with him. "Well this I just perfect," he thought. Not only had their book thief gotten away, it seemed like he had also lost the books he stole. This made things a whole lot more difficult.

The trio looked at each other before Danny finally said, "Let's head back to my place. Maybe Jazz is back and we can tell he what happened."

Sam and Tucker agreed and they headed back.

Vlad was sound asleep, but he had always been a light sleeper. So it came to no surprise that he woke up when he heard an alarm from his lab. Vlad got up from his comfy position and headed down to his secret lab.

"This better be something good," Vlad thought. "I had been in a fantastic dream."

As soon as he reached the bottom of the staircase, his eyes went wide. Everything involving his young rival was on red alert. Racing to his computer, Vlad typed in several commands and yelled over the alarms, "Maddie! What's going on?"

Soon enough, a holographic Maddie appeared trying to find the source of the alarms just like the billionaire next to her. Then she dutifully said, "Alarms are due to video taken of subject Daniel Fenton. It appears that something has happened and any settings concerning subject's health and safety were activated."

Vlad looked at the hologram just as the alarms subsided. "Something's happened to Daniel?" Vlad worried. Taking on a more serious look, Vlad commanded, "Maddie! Bring up any recent information concerning Daniel. Anything and everything that happened while I was asleep!"

The Maddie hologram typed something into the computer and Vlad watched as Danny's vitals appeared on the screen first. Everything seemed normal up until a few minutes ago when it all suddenly spiked and then went back to normal. The next thing to appear was the video that Vlad had asked Maddie to record.

Clicking on the video, Vlad watched as the three teens did their activities from that day; from them setting up the website to them going to the Nasty Burger. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not even when someone had shouted 'ghost'. But as he continued to watch, he gasped as he saw the creatures that Skulker had shown him earlier that day surrounding the boy and his friends. What was even more frightening for the older hybrid was to see the ghost from the ice cave. He watched it all with complete volume.

He watched as Danny disposed of the smaller creatures only to be attacked by this Koŝmaro Magiisto. But what really shocked him was how easily this ghost had taken out his young foe. True, Vlad could have done that by simply electrocuting the boy, but this ghost did it with a single ecto-ray!

Vlad almost turned away from the monitor as he watched Koŝmaro fire another blast, but he didn't hear what he thought he would hear. Instead of the faint sound of the blast hitting Danny, he heard a female shriek and then a soft thud. Vlad watched as Sam jumped in the way of the beam and took the majority of the hit before falling onto the two boys behind her. All three then glowed purple before it disappeared.

Koŝmaro vanished and the three teens got up; not one seemed all that hurt. Vlad let out his breath as he realised that he had been holding it. Daniel had been attacked, but seemed fine. Vlad just hoped that the glow that had surrounded them wasn't something dangerous for the boy.

Turning from the screen, Vlad let a small smile grace his features. Well, now he knew who he was dealing with and that he had lost those books. That meant that he now just had to find them before Koŝmaro did.

Vlad paced around his lab before coming to a conclusion; this Koŝmaro person was in the human realm because that's where the books are, or more specifically, they were in Amity Park.

"Why on earth is it always in Amity Park? It's nothing but a ghost ridden town!" Vlad mused to himself. Turning to his Maddie hologram, Vlad said, "Maddie, get me in contact with Skulker. I have something important to tell him."

With his Maddie hologram telling him that she was making contact, Vlad sat back in his seat and waited.

Skulker was checking another section of the Ghost Zone, and he was becoming very agitated. It would be days before he found those books or the mystery ghost from that video Plasmius had given him.

Suddenly, Skulker's wrist rang; telling him he had someone trying to call him. Pressing a button, he spoke, "This is Skulker. This better be important, Plasmius. This day is just going from bad to worse."

"Don't worry, Skulker. Actually, this might brighten your mood a bit. Those creature you fought earlier today are somehow connected to the mystery ghost from the video," Vlad said from the other end.

Skulker grumbled, "I still don't see how this is relevant, Plasmius. Get to the point."

Vlad sneered, "Fine! The point is Daniel had a little run in with him and I now have his name and what he looks like under that cloak. I also have his last known location, since he has… misplaced those books we're looking for. I'll send you the information."

Skulker couldn't speak for a moment as everything that Vlad said settled in. he was so excited that he almost yelled in to his communicator, "who and where is he, Plasmius?"

Vlad chuckled on the other end, "his name is Koŝmaro Magiisto. Apparently, that means Nightmare Magician. I don't know if he's actually running this operation or if he's just a minion, but he's extremely powerful. He took down Daniel in a matter of seconds. He was last seen travelling around Amity Park, meaning –"

"That the books are no longer in the Ghost Zone!" Skulker concluded. "I'm on my way Plasmius. When I arrive, I'll keep you updated on any troubles." And with that the hunter hung up and raced towards the Fenton portal.

Vlad stopped the communication and started to do more research concerning their mystery ghost, his companions and the books. He wanted to be prepared.

Turning to the hologram, Vlad quickly commanded, "Maddie, keep a close eye of Daniel would you? We don't want something happening to him."

"As you wish, sugar lump," the hologram replied, her features smiling the whole time.

"Perfect!" Vlad said.

Danny, Sam and Tucker were all exhausted by the time they got back to Fenton Works. Jazz was at the kitchen table, looking through several different books from the library. She looked up at the worn out teens and asked, "What happened to you guys?"

Danny took a seat and said, "Ghost attack."

Sam and Tucker followed their friend's lead and sat down as well. The three began to tell the red-head about the attack and following result.

Jazz listened to them but then asked, "Did you say that the ghost you fought was called Koŝmaro Magiisto?"

Danny looked at her and said, "Yeah. Why?"

Jazz grabbed one of the books from the table and started flipping through the pages. Sam looked at the cover and read "Myths and Magic through the Ages"

Finding the section she had been looking for, Jazz showed them a picture of a man who looked like the ghost they just fought. His skin was more human, his eyes where a stunning gold and he had brown hair. He still had the same reddish-brown boots, gloves, and belts, but the rest of his attire was different. His shirt and waist cloak were a forest green and trimmed with gold. His pants and over-coat where pure white and also trimmed with gold. Finally, his cloak was white on the outside but ghostly green on the inside. He was even smiling in picture.

Danny, Sam and Tucker stared at the picture completely stunned. Was this even the same person that just attacked them?

Jazz turned the book back towards her and said, "This guy's name was Koŝmaro Magiisto in his time period. According to this book, he was a famous magician who was found as an infant by the king of that time and raised as one of the king's own. Since he didn't have a name, they waited to see if one would present itself to them, but when a spirit presented himself, he told them to name the child Koŝmaro and give him the title Magiisto. The king and queen loved the name, but didn't know what it meant, and they believed that Magiisto was another way to say majesty."

"Well that explains his princely appearance," Sam noted dryly.

Jazz nodded, but continued, "As Koŝmaro got older, his adoptive parent found out that he was gifted with special powers. They called him a magician and encouraged him to work with his abilities. One day, Koŝmaro went missing and wasn't seen for over a year. They searched for him but never found any traces of their son. The following year, their son returned to the castle, but he was with someone none of them recognized. The next thing that happened was a tragedy for this kingdom."

Danny looked at her with an expectant look in his eyes. "Well? What happened?" Danny asked.

Jazz swallowed the lump in her throat as she skimmed through the information. Taking a breath, she continued, "They don't know how it happened, but the castle burned with purple flames. The only ones to make it out was Koŝmaro and the man that was with him. But Koŝmaro had been crying the entire time. Then the two hadn't been seen in the kingdom again." Jazz looked at them and asked, "Was this the same guy?"

The trio looked at each other and nodded. Tucker commented, "Yeah, it was the same guy. Just this time, he was on his own and was a ghost!"

"Ok, now that we know who we're dealing with," Danny started, "how are we going to beat him? He beat us without even breaking a sweat."

"Sorry, guys. I don't know what we should do yet. There's so much to consider," Jazz said.

The three teens nodded and decided that they should all go home and rest. There wasn't too much they could do right now anyways. Tucker and Sam made for the door when Sam suddenly said, "you go on without me Tucker. I need to go get a new gun from the lab. That blast I took fried my last one."

Tucker nodded and left for his own home. Sam walked down the steps to the basement lab and went to the counter to pick out a new gun. She chose one that worked just like the last one but then paused. Next to where the gun had been was a strange new device. "This must be the thing Danny was talking about," she mused. Without a second thought, she ran back up the stairs and out of the Fenton's home and towards her own. What she didn't see was that the device had activated by her presence and on the monitor it read: "Samantha Manson. Supernatural abilities detected."

*Later that night*

Sam was getting ready for bed, but something didn't feel right. Ever since that afternoon, she felt… what was the word? More powerful? Yeah, that was it. But why? She didn't know.

"Maybe I should call Danny and Tucker," she mused. Before she could even reach for her phone, the phone floated over to her. Sam just stared at it as the object floated before her eyes, encased in a light purple glow. She looked around and sighed with relief. No one was around to ask any questions. She jumped off the bed and looked into her mirror, her cell phone following her. The first thing she noticed was that her eyes were glowing. They were still purple, but now they were glowing. Looking around her room again, she realised that she could see pretty well, even within the darkened room.

Staring back at her phone, she thought about not controlling the phone anymore. As soon as she thought it the glow around the phone faded and the phone began to fall. She caught it and stared in amazement.

"Ok, I have to admit, that was pretty cool, but how…" Sam started only to stop mid-sentence. Her eyes widened as she realised what may have happened. "That beam that Koŝmaro shot me with!" she exclaimed, but almost slapped herself for being so loud.

They knew that he was a magician ghost, but that was a basic ecto-ray. There was no way that the ray was anything but energy for destruction. But then how did she get these powers? Was it a different way to gain ghost powers?

Taking the chances, the Goth looked back at her mirror and stammered, "Um… Going… Ghost?" she closed her eyes, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Opening her eyes, she saw that nothing about her had changed. Well, at least she knew that she didn't have ghost abilities like her friend; but then, what were these powers?

Sam thought about it for a moment before deciding that she would tell her friends about it tomorrow. Maybe that new gadget would come in more use than they thought. All she had to do was get through tomorrow's school day, and then she wouldn't have to worry so much. It was a Friday after all. No biggy… right?

"I wonder if this was how Danny felt after he got his powers," Sam grumbled to herself. As she went to sleep, she didn't realize that her eyes were glowing again. Nor did she know that both Danny and Tucker had unconsciously heard her in their heads as they all fell asleep.

Clockwork watched his viewing screen as the images flipped between Danny, his friends and sister, Vlad Masters and Skulker; showing the future events involving the group. Then the image rested on Sam in her room, staring at her floating phone.

A small smile appeared on the time master's face as he watched the stunned girl. Finally, he let the screen fade to black and floated away down the many halls of the clock tower.

He fiddled with the time piece on top of his staff and said, "Everything is as it should be." And the master of time disappeared within his clock tower.

Phantom: Well, there you have it! In the next chapter, you guys will find out what happened and why Sam suddenly has these new powers.

Trainer: about time. We're almost at the part I've been waiting for! I can't wait to see the look on Skulker's face!

Phantom: me too.

Trainer: but did you have to leave it at another cliffhanger?

Phantom: honestly, I didn't try to. It just ended up that way. Hey, you can't have everything you want.

Trainer: whatever. But now I can't wait for the next chapter.

Phantom: well you'll have to wait. But to everyone else, please feel free to comment on the chapter by pressing that button at the bottom of the screen. Thanks!

Trainer: Until next time!