Author's Note

Two days left of Nano and only 1,263 words to go. Can I do it? Absolutely! Haha, I think this arc will actually be longer than 50,000 words - since I have projected that Danny will be getting his powers Chapter Thirteen and that's where I want to end it.

Just a quick note on the first scene of this chapter, the two characters are not from the Danny Phantom or Supernatural fandoms. They are from An No Exorcist.

Please enjoy and don't forget to drop a review. They motivate me to work. :)

Chapter Eleven
Trigger

I used to believe that anything was better than nothing. Now I know that sometimes nothing is better.

Glenda Jackson

"What is Azazel doing, brother?"

He frowned, the apathetically curious voice on the other end of the receiver difficult to mistaken. Granted, they weren't actually brothers – he had a tendency to refer to most demons as brothers, or at least, the ones who fell into a similar circle of power as he did. They weren't blood related, but then Satan wasn't actually their father either – they just referred to him as such. But, he was the first to fall and they followed after him, he became their leader and their king. The head of their twisted and demented little family, and so he became their father and they his children. Maybe that was why so many of them were inclined to mate with the humans they ensnared – there wasn't that awkward family title to get in the way.

Or whatever.

"Amaimon, recall that I am in Japan. I believe Azazel has taken to traversing the American continent, and I neither know or particularly care what our elder brother is up to."

Older and slightly insane demon that's higher up on the food chain might've been a better description than 'elder brother' but there you are. He leaned back in his chair, drumming one of his long fingers on the elegantly carved armrest. He hoped that his little brother would finish this conversation soon. The bill for a call to Gehenna wasn't a pretty one and he was a greedy creature by nature – even if he definitely had doe to spare.

"He's performed a Land Putrefaction, brother."

His back stiffened, he sat straighter, his venom-green eyes narrowing. Land Putrefaction was by no means an easy task, nor was it particularly common. Azazel was probably one of the few that could successfully accomplish such a thing, what with the ability to converse with ectoplasm necessary. He had heard that a few of his other brothers could accomplish it as well, but Azazel took the medal for understandable reasons.

"Where?"

"Amity Park." There was a pause on the other line and he could just envision the younger demon shrugging. "It is just festering right now."

"How do you even know? Aren't you with our father at the moment?"

"News travels. Azazel left the location and fathers not terribly pleased by that. You know how he is with jobs left unfinished."

"Indeed," he nodded absently, stroking his goatee. "So the decomposition has yet to be finalized?"

There was a sound of confirmation from Amaimon. "If a priest get wind, it could still be undone at this stage."

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want that." Areas that could actually sustain one were few and far in between. More often then not they were underwater, but no demon wants to live down there – except for a select few. "Where did Azazel go?"

"Some other state apparently. One of his minions sent word back saying that something urgent came up."

"Another one of his ingenious plots, then?" He sighed, rubbing his eyes. That demon had too much fun on that continent, causing problems every which-a-way. He almost envied him; he didn't have exorcists breathing down his neck. But then, he also had to make regular visits to their father below or keep finding meat-suits to inhabit. One would almost think he couldn't manipulate the ectoplasm at all. "Did he say he would return?"

"He did not."

"Fantastic. Is someone else being sent up to finish the job, before the Vatican or some hunter gets wind?"

"Yes brother, but it probably won't be pretty. Beleth is being sent up."

He cringed. Beleth wasn't his first choice for the job that was for sure. Death seemed to follow that brother around like a plague – he rode a pale horse after all. "Belial or Alastor can't do it?"

"Alastor isn't on good terms with the ectoplasm at the moment, and Belial has something else he's up to."

"Well, I hope there's enough left of that town when he's done."

Ashes to Ashes

The next week passed without much incident, or at least, without much incident as far as paranormal activity was concerned. Dash was still as unmanageable as he always had been, which was probably why Danny didn't feel the need to join any sports activities. He got enough exercise merely trying to dodge and avoid Baxter. At least he didn't bother him very much in the locker-room anymore – Danny suspected that Nurse Daisy had something to do with that, though he wasn't quite sure how she had done it. Though, that didn't stop him from singling Danny out during P.E. itself – which was fast becoming his least favorite subject, even after math.

Actually, mathematics wasn't terrible. True he was still awful at it, but Mr. Worth had the patience to teach him. He'd taken to tutoring him during his lunch periods – he got a better grade and avoided Dash. It was two birds with one stone, really. Sam and Tucker were a little miffed by his sudden obsession with school work, but they left him to it. It got his mind off the more pressing matters, allowed him to stop thinking about Azazel and stigmas and ghosts. If only for a brief while. He could never allow the subject to leave his mind completely, would never want it too. He knew that the instant that he let his guard down that it would be the day, it would happen.

Of course, he had no idea what would happen. Or When.

He heaved a sigh and glanced back down at the science textbook that was open across his desk, the anatomy of a frog doing little to interest him at the moment. Having just finished the cellular unit – which had been painful to say the least, especially considering that his attention had been on other things at the time – they had moved on to the basic anatomy of organisms. The only interesting thing he'd learned so far – that he hadn't already known – had been that some frogs change their sex when trapped in a single sex environment. He and Tucker had sniggered at the idea for a short while, until they had imagined turning into girls. The one upside to this unit was that they would get to dissect a frog instead of a final exam and that would be way cool.

"Can someone tell me what organ this is here?" Webb called from the front of the class, gesturing to a large diagram of a frog on screen. She glanced around the room, and then her eyes met his. He didn't look away in time.

"Danny! Can you enlighten us?"

Danny glanced quickly back at his book. "Um… the liver, right?" he said tentatively. She smiled, nodded, and went back to her lecture, which now related the functions of the liver – a basic overview he assumed.

"Dude."

"Yeah, Tuck?"

"Are you almost done with that portal thing yet?"

Danny nodded. His dad hadn't been letting him hang out with them after school until after he had finished the portal – something he had mixed feelings about. No kid would like being unable to hang with his friends after school, but at the same time he was rather eager to see the thing completed. Granted, he wasn't near as excited as his parents were, it had been their life dream.

"I finished last night. Dad just wants me to help him clean up the mess so that he can get to work actually building the thing."

"Really?" Tucker looked thoughtful for a moment. "How look will it take him and your mom to finish it, do you think?"

"I dunno, maybe another week or two? They already have all the material bought and anything that could've been assembled ahead of time has been finished."

"Cool." Another pause. "Can I come and see it, when it's done I mean?"

Danny grinned. "Of course dude."

"Hey," Sam hissed from his other side, looking rather cross that they hadn't bothered to include her in the conversation.

"Yes, you can come too Sam," Danny said with an eye roll. As if he would be able to keep her away from it anyway. Or would want to. While ghosts were no longer the main topic of the majority of their conversations, she till took it upon herself to research the topic every night for him. Not to say that he didn't too, looking for something that mentioned giving the land a stigma, but it was nice to know that she was still very much invested in ghosts. Tucker not so much, he tended not to care about something until it was right in front of his face.

"When do you think you'll be done?"

"Well, I got homework too so…" he paused a moment, thinking it over. "How about right after dinner?"

"Wait, so seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Shall I come up to your place this time?"

"Yeah," Tucker grinned. "That way your dad can't rope you into any other projects."

"Okay, Sam?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

Danny considered asking if he should bring the book from Miss Invisible, but quickly disregarded. Tucker probably didn't want to spend their time going over the subject. He sighed and Sam looked at him quizzically, though she didn't say anything for Webb was now handing out worksheets. A simple fill in the blanks of the diagram type paper, but it'd probably take up what was left of class period. Danny didn't talk much while he worked on his, Tucker and Sam providing more than enough conversation. They were trying to figure out what they were going to do, whether or not she should bring a movie or a game or something. Usually he would join in, help steer the conversation toward a horror film or a sci-fi game, but lately he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He knew he'd end up turning it into a conversation with ghosts.

Then, a short coughing fit seized Sam making him glance at her quickly. It was over in a moment, and she shrugged in reply to his cautious expression before returning to her paper. This wasn't anything weird either; ever since the incident she and Tucker – as well as every other person in town – experienced bouts of coughing. However, it was never at the same time and he couldn't correlate it to anything. All anyone thought was that there was a persistent flu going around, though he knew better. He would turn sharply every time, watching, waiting for something to happen. Something to break this unbearable spell of boredom that had settled over him.

He knew he was going to end up regretting that, but he was young and impulsive. He didn't always think before doing something, leaping without looking.

Ten minutes later, the bell blared signaling the end of class and freedom. He packed up his stuff with a smile; chuckling as his two best friends argued over which game they would entertain themselves with tonight. Danny decided not to get in the middle of it – since the guy code demanded he side with Tucker and he didn't want to encourage Sam to berate the both of them.

Now to get home.

Science was one of the few classes that did not have Dash in it – Danny assumed he was taking history this semester instead – and though it was nice not having him in the same room, it also meant he could ambush him when he came out into the hall. It was rather painful the first time, being tackled bodily to the floor. Although, that seemed to be all he dared to do right in front of his Advisor. In any case, it meant that he left the room after Sam and Tucker, peering around them like some four year old before actually leaving. Tucker thought it was hilarious.

"Do you see him?" Danny asked.

"No dude," and Danny followed him out into the hall – though that didn't stop him from walking a little closer than usual to his friends. Tucker chuckled. "I feel like we're a couple of body-guards."

Danny opened his mouth, but something very hard had just collided with him making it a tad difficult to say anything intelligible. He was slammed against the lockers, though he'd had the sense to turn his head to the side so that his nose wasn't smashed, again. He spluttered, getting back to his feet as Dash sneered down at him before striding away with his arrogant head high in the air.

"Who can't actually guard," Danny shot crossly, hoisting his backpack back onto his shoulders.

"Right…"

"Well, look at the bright side," said Sam. "At least he'll leave you alone now."

You know how the instant you say, 'this couldn't get any worse' and then it immediately does? Somehow, Sam's words had the same effect. There was a furious yell – which, by the sound of it Dash had failed an assignment for one of this classes – and then a thunderous shout that sounded vaguely like Danny's last name. He knew he didn't have anything to do with the poor grade. Dash just wanted someone to take out his anger on and Danny happened to be within eyesight.

"I'll see you guys later," Danny called to them over his shoulder, already pelting for the doors. Tucker shouted something after him but his words were lost as Danny was washed by warm sunlight. But he didn't slow down; he probably wouldn't until he absolutely had to. He wouldn't doubt it if Dash chased him all the way home – or into some dark alley. Danny grimaced at that and pushed the thought from his head. He could hear Dash approaching and tried to increase his speed, though he knew it was fruitless. Dash had much longer legs, could cover twice as much distance…

Throwing caution to the winds, Danny dove into the street receiving a few honks as he jay-ran to the other side and then turned down the first street he came to. He took another sharp turn, almost zigzagging, trying to lose him. When his lungs were burning from the effort, he turned again and crouched down behind a trash bin. He clapped a hand over his mouth and nose trying to quiet his ragged breathing. He couldn't hear Dash's footsteps anymore, only the sound of the passing cars. He didn't move though – just in case. As he waited, a flicker of black caught his eye and he turned.

Coal Tar.

There were maybe six or seven pieces, all looking curiously up at him. He smiled back at them, the thudding of his heart slowly returning to normal. He was so used to seeing them around now. He almost liked their presence, appreciated their constant reminder and the curiosity they called to the surface. The one that had sat on his shoulder at the theatre had stopped following him around town, seeming to prefer waiting for him back in his room. He held out his hand, letting them circle around it for a moment. Then the patter of shoe against asphalt reached his ear and he dropped his hand, pressing himself tightly against the grimy wall of the alleyway.

If Dash found him here…

"Danny? Is that you?"

Danny blinked and looked up into a freckled face. "Martin!" he said getting to his feet. "What—" he glanced around him, back down the alleyway. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw that Baxter kid rush in here." The sandy-haired boy shrugged.

"So you just followed him?"

"Oh please, he's gone now. He got turned around at that second junction." He grinned. "I was a little curious, so I kept walking through. Surprised I found you, actually."

Danny grinned at him, dusting some of the dirt from his pants. "Thanks. Least I know that this trick works now."

"Yeah." Martin's eyes narrowed, but only just. "This happen a lot?"

Danny shrugged, not feeling particularly keen to talk about it. "Not really," he said attempting to sound casual. Martin didn't buy it. He raised one his eyebrows as if to say, "Really?"

"Regularly," Danny allowed. "I've worked out a schedule by now."

"Right." Martin sighed, but to Danny's relief didn't press the issue. "C'mon, I don't fancy standing in this alleyway."

"Uh, yeah." Danny nodded and walked beside him as they headed back to the main street. It was silent for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence. He didn't need to say anything, but he wanted to.

"So, how've you been?"

Martin shrugged again, though Danny saw a smile playing about on his face. "Pretty good, I guess. Been working on a new song."

"Song? You're a musician?"

"Yeah." Martin glanced at him and grinned broadly. "Guitar."

"Acoustic or electric?"

"I dabble a little into both actually, but mainly electric." He laughed. "My parents hate it."

Danny blinked. "How come? I thought they would like it if you're doing something musical."

"Yeah, but they don't like me playing while they're in the house and they never seem to leave." He sighed, shaking his head. "They don't think it's a good career either. You know, the music industry is a little dodgy."

"Um…" Truthfully Danny had no idea, having never really looked into it himself. All he knew were his favorite bands and when a live concert was within driving distance, otherwise he didn't care much for the drama.

"It's hard to get started and make money," Martin explained, seeing the blank look on Danny's face. "You have to be true to yourself, but also market it to the masses. I dunno, they want me to do it as just a side thing. Or maybe I'll just become a Hobo playing on the street for coins," he laughed though it sounded to Danny as though he seriously had considered that option.

"Well," Danny said running a hand through his hair. "You don't have to decide now do you? I mean, you still have two years before you graduate."

"That's what I told my folks." He shrugged. "Anyway. Which way is your place?"

They had come to the main road. Danny was relieved that he couldn't see Dash in any direction. He gestured to a large metal contraption that was just visible on top of a house a few blocks down.

"That's my place."

"Somehow, I think I should have known that."

Danny laughed. "Yeah, probably."

Martin nudged him in the ribs, and indignant "Hey, give me a break!" on his breath, making Danny only laugh harder. "Well," he said after a moment. "I'll see you tomorrow at school then. I'm in the other direction."

"Right, see you!" Danny said, giving him a wave as he started to walk.

"Try to stay out of trouble!" Martin shouted after him.

For once, Danny couldn't reply to that statement with the affirmative. He only nodded and waved again, before heading down the street.

Ashes to Ashes

He dumped the dustpan into the trash, coughing as some of the dust fluffed up into the air. He waved at it, trying to get it to dissipate before turning to the completed hole. Or, as completed as it could be being a giant gaping hole that opened up into the black void of the space behind it. It was actually quiet a bit larger than he thought it would be, the gap behind the as perfect a circle as could be managed large enough for him to walk into and stand. It was freezing cold inside, his breath coming misting before him.

He grinned. Strong ghost activity then. Apparently his parents had been very thorough with where to build this portal of theirs. If it didn't work here, Danny had no idea where it would. He stood there, suspended in the cold blackness for a few moments. His heart fluttered with excitement, the prickling on his arms felt good after so much inactivity. He wanted to know what would happen when it would be finally completed. He was so eager he had half a mind to call Tucker and cancel, just so he could help his dad begin the installation. Of course he wouldn't do that though, Tucker would probably come and drag him out for some healthy normal life. He chuckled at the thought of it and stepped out of the hole, dusting off his clothes as he did so.

That was it then. He stared at it for a moment longer before grabbing the bag out of the trash and tying it closed. His mom had probably finished cooking dinner by now and after a speedy homework session – good thing that he didn't have very much – and he would be off. He couldn't even remember now what they were going to do. He was just trying to remember when a tremor rippled through the ground beneath him.

He froze. Had that just been an earthquake? They didn't get earthquakes here. At least, he didn't think so. He remained still for several minutes, wondering whether or not it was his imagination. But it wasn't. The ground shook again, harder than the last time before stopping abruptly. If he didn't know better, it was like someone was trying to start a faulty engine…

And then they finally succeeded.

He was thrown to the floor as a violent quacking took a hold of the earth. He yelled, trying without much success to get back to his feet. Instead he ended up crawling across the floor – which was moving in such a way that he had never seen before, the metal of his parent's lab bended and moved with the earth, like waves were ripping across the surface. The door was thrown open and the rest of his parents tumbled down the stairs, landing in a haphazard heap on the ground beside him. Glass beakers were shattering as they fell to the ground; the tables were bouncing, his father shouting for all of them to huddle together. He didn't really have a problem with that; it was getting over to them that was the issue. He did make it though, eventually.

His sister's face was stark white, and she seemed to be mumbling something to herself. Danny couldn't really understand, it sounded like some sort of calculation or else notes. His ears weren't working properly and the alarm that had suddenly started blaring wasn't helping matters. He could feel his mother gripping tightly to him. He wanted to tell her that she was hurting him, wanted to ask his dad to stop shouting back at the alarm, but he didn't. His icy blue eyes were wide, soaking up the thrill of the adventure.

Something had finally happened.

Of course, he knew it wasn't a good thing. The lights went out then, plunging them all into pitch black and silencing that blasted alarm. It was kind of cool, he thought. Sitting there while everything that should have been solid moved. But he was a little concerned over how long it was going on. True, he had heard that time seemed to go on forever when your stuck in a situation like this, as though time slowed down, but this was a really long time. He bit his lip, shutting his eyes. He hoped their house wouldn't collapse. It wasn't made to withstand this kind of pressure, the lab maybe, but not the actual house. And if someone got hurt—what if Sam or Tucker got hurt? He shivered, finding himself praying for the speedy end to this catastrophe. He would never forgive himself if they got hurt from something that he had been hoping would happen. Then at long last, after what seemed like an eternity, the rumbling stopped.

He didn't move – couldn't move would be more accurate – for several minutes. His mother's ironclad grip was definitely going to leave a bruise. He tried to take her hand off with his other hand and after a moment she seemed to come to herself and let go.

"Is everyone all right?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yeah," Danny said massaging his throbbing arm. "Jazz?"

"It's—It's just not possible. Tectonic activity hasn't been documented in this area for nearly a millennia, we just aren't in a suitable position. Nothing I've read explains why—"

"Yeah, Jazz is fine." Danny rolled his eyes, a move that no one saw in the darkness. That solved the mystery as to what notes she had been muttering during the event. Sometimes Danny thought she seriously needed to go to a spa or something and just relax. Let go, loosen up, release control for a little while. Then again, this might be good for her, if she realized that she wasn't always right.

Or she could turn into a babbling idiot and they'd have to institutionalize her. Maybe he could turn her room into a game center.

"Jack?"

"Just a second."

Danny blinked as a beam of light fell on them. His father had finally found the flashlights then. He was a little surprised though, he hadn't even heard him moving around the room.

"Right, we have just experienced a paranormal event."

"It was an earthquake!" Jazz said almost shrilly. "Not a—"

"Er, Jazz? Give him the benefit of the doubt. Just this once," Danny shot across her sentence. "Unless you have a better explanation why there was an earthquake in a non earthquake prone area?"

She glared at him, but didn't say anything. His father looked immensely grateful and cleared his throat. "Be very careful as we ascend the staircase. We need to check the state of the rest of the house and the town. Stay behind me, try not to make any sudden movements."

Danny felt idly like he was half expecting someone to attack them. Then again, maybe someone was. Danny could feel the temperature dropping steadily, and after his mother shot him a worried glance, he knew that she did too. Ha! Now Tucker would have to—

"Tuck!" Danny ripped his phone out of his pocket. No service, just his luck. He felt a hand on his shoulder and was surprised to see Jazz.

"They're okay," she said firmly. Danny stared at her. He had never seen her look so freaked out in his entire life. It was a Kodak moment, really. "They're all okay." She seemed to be trying to convince herself more than him. He nodded mutely and followed his orange-jump suited father up the stairs. The wood creaked from under his feet, seeming a great deal louder than he recalled them being before. Jazz didn't remove her hand, but he didn't shake her off. He could feel her quivering slightly and knew it was more for her own stability that she held onto him. He would tease her about it later, after she had bounced back to her usual annoying self.

He couldn't see the rest of the house when his father opened the door, his sheer bulk blocking his vision, but then he moved aside. Everything was still standing at least, though it was a terrible mess. Several cabinets had been thrown open and bits of food and glass littered the linoleum floor. Some of the chairs had fallen over and the table had moved several feet from its usual position. He could see that the kitchen window had shattered and some disconcerting cracks were evident in a few walls. His father led the way over to the living room. Dark golden late afternoon sunlight streamed through broken windows, causing Danny to blink rapidly after the coarse darkness of the lab. At least the TV hadn't been damaged, he thought with relief. His father seemed equally happy by the fact, glancing back at him and nodding toward it with a large grin. And then he opened the front door.

Even though it was far warmer than it had been down in the basement, Danny was struck by how cold the late summer day felt. It felt a good five degrees – or more, he was so very terrible at math – than he would have expected. But that was only his first impression; more important matters were rising to the surface as he glanced hurriedly up and down the street. It mimicked the mess of their house, though on a much larger scale. The asphalt had large cracks and bumps in it, several fire hydrants gushing water in torrents over their respective sidewalks. The sound had also returned, the alarms of cars that had been jostled just a little too much combined with the shouts of neighbors and families checking if everyone was all right. Fire sirens blared through the streets, and police cars sped past. Danny looked at his mother.

"I need to go check on Sam and Tuck," he said firmly. She looked as though she wanted to shoot that idea down, but must've seen the determination in his face. He was not going to take no for an answer.

"Okay, just be very careful. Okay sweetie? Oh. Take this with you," she handed him a small ecto-gun from her pocket. "Just in case."

Danny nodded, pocketing the thing – it was about the size of a peashooter – before taking off at a run down the sidewalk.

The destruction in this section of town was a little worse. He could see that a few roofs had collapsed and a telephone pole had sliced one house in half. He grimaced at the sight, sincerely hoping that everyone was all right. He checked his phone again and though it said he had service, he got an annoying message of 'all lines are busy, try again later'. What good was a cell phone if it didn't work in an emergency situation, really? He turned the corner and spotted Tucker sitting on the steps to his place, his parents conversing behind him, Sam next to him.

"Tuck! Sam!" Danny shouted.

Tucker jumped when Danny said his name, and he looked up quickly, breaking into a relieved smile. Danny saw that he had a scratch above his left eye. He looked like he wanted to jump up and run to him but Sam had a hand on his arm, keeping him there. She looked okay, shaken, but okay.

"Danny! Thank God you're okay. We tried to call—"

"Yeah, I know. The phones don't work." Danny had reached them. He gave Sam a tight hug, before turning his attention to his best friend. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Tucker grimaced. "I'm fine, I think."

"He got knocked out," Sam cut in. "He got hit in the head from one of his Dad's old baseball trophies."

"I didn't even know your dad played."

"Neither did I!" Tucker said exasperatedly. He groaned, and clutched his head. "He had hidden it away on the top shelf. Who knew that was why they kept those things in trophy cases."

Danny laughed. "At least you're okay. Do you have an ice-pack or anything?"

"Mom and Dad are a little too nervous to go back into the house to fetch me one." Tucker sighed. "Our house isn't really meant to withstand something like this."

"I don't think any of ours is," Sam said, folding her arms. "I mean, we don't get earthquakes here."

"It wasn't an earthquake," Danny said slowly.

"Uh, dude? That's what it's called when the earth shakes."

"No, I know I mean—" Danny glanced at Tucker's parents and dropped his voice. "My parents say it was a Paranormal Event. Probably caused by what the demon did last Saturday."

There was silence after he had said this words, or at least, the absence of speech as the world around them was very loud. Tucker opened his mouth, and then shut it again furrowing his brow. Danny could probably guess what it was he wanted to say, simply because it was on his mind as well. What had would happen now? What did the earthquake do or rather, what had caused to ground to shake like that if it hadn't been an earthquake?

At long last, Sam said, "Your parent's didn't say anything else, did they? About what might happen next?"

Danny shook his head. "No, but my mom did give me this," and he produced the small weapon from his pocket.

"That's comforting."

"Hey, well at least if something happens we're prepared, right?"

"Uh, guys?"

"It also means that something might happen," Sam went on, ignoring Tucker.

"Maybe it's just a precaution type thing."

"…Guys?"

"Or a warning."

"You're a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Tucker had started tugged on Danny's arm. "What is it, Tuck?" he asked finally, turning toward him. Tucker was staring up at the sky, and it was then that Danny realized what.

Though the sun still shone from his place in the sky, his light not longer touched the ground around them. It was as though some kind of filter had been placed over the sky, casting everything into shadow even though there was no obvious reason for it. Danny slowly got to his feet, his friends joining him as they stared up into the sky. The ground started shaking beneath them again, but this time it was almost like a soft hum, barely noticeable. After a moment it had disappeared and screams filled the air.

"What's happening?" Sam shouted over the noise.

Almost instinctively, Danny cocked the weapon. And then, from right before them, rising out of the ground like an elegant cloud of mist was the spectral form of a dog. If he was shocked, it was nothing compared to his friend's. Tucker's maw was hanging open, Sam's eyes popping. It looked at them curiously before taking off down the street. All around them, mist was taking shape, sometimes out of thin air, sometimes rising out of the ground.

Danny exchanged looks with his friends.

"I'm going to need a bigger gun."