Part 4:

Though he'd only been there for about an hour (he still ran on his world's time), Danny had already become recluse, sitting in a far corner of the room as Ember rocked out on the stage, and the other ghosts chatted animatedly.

Boy, for a group of dead people, they sure know how to throw a lively party… Danny thought sarcastically.

Resting his chin in his hands, he once again felt the ghosts of those tears coming back… he was so busy focusing on suppressing his memories that he didn't notice the red-haired ghost standing next to him.

He jumped a little at the sudden hand placed on his shoulder. Turning, he faced the "school therapist", Penelope Spectra.

"If you're looking for misery, I've got plenty of it…" Danny said dourly. "Though I don't know if your powers work on other ghosts…"

"Calm down, Danny, I just wanted to see why you weren't out there with the rest of us."

"Isn't it enough I came?" Danny was starting to get irritated again.

"I know you think we're heartless, Danny, but maybe now you'll understand us all a little better…"

Danny stared at her, head tilted to the side. Oh, so now she decides to actually play the therapist role?

"I still don't regret sending you all back here. You belong here."

"And you don't?"

Danny scowled, realizing what he'd said. Dang, but she could be tricky when she wanted to be.

Softening her own look, Spectra leaned down into the boy's face and cupped his chin in her hands. Bringing his eyes to her own, she gazed at him.

That did it. As she opened her mouth to speak, Danny ducked his head violently, shoving her away. In a moment, he had flown violently out the doors, away from the "cheer" of the party.

The tears were back, he could feel the hollowness starting to unfold, and the memories wouldn't stay put anymore.

They're not supposed to be nice to me! They're supposed to hate me! Skulker should be hunting me, Vlad should be trying to steal my mom and clone me, and the Box Ghost hasn't bugged me even ONCE since I got here! Not even ONE "Beware!"… ENOUGH!

Danny increased his speed, looking for a portal, any portal that would take him back to the real world.

His thoughts were so blurred by pain and memories that he didn't notice Dani until he ran into her.

"Ofgh!" Danny grunted and Dani turned in surprise. Danny tried to hide his shock at how… mature his cousin had become in two years. I haven't seen her since Vlad nearly melted her…

"Danny! What are you doing here?" Dani's face lit up at seeing her "cousin". Her smile faded a bit as she noticed the fourteen-year old's face. He's… he hasn't changed…?

"Danielle… uh… why are you here?" Danny purposely dodged the question. Danielle noticed, but the look in Danny's eyes told her not to press the issue.

"Well, I was just on my way to visit Clockwork and—"

Danny looked surprised. "Clockwork? How do you know him? And why do you need to see him?"

"Well, after you helped fix me up, I decided to explore the Ghost Zone a little. That's when I found Clockwork, and I asked him to take me on as an apprentice."

"Wait, WHAT? YOU are apprenticed to the ghost of all time?"

"Well, actually, it's not official; he lets me hang around but he says he's 'not taking apprentices'. But I think that deep down, he's just too nice to turn me away, especially since I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Danny scowled a little, his eyes blurring as he gazed off to the side. "Of course you have places to go. You can go anywhere you want between these worlds…"

Danielle put a finger to her mouth uncertainly. She wasn't sure how to respond to that, and again she got the feeling that she shouldn't press the issue. But she felt like Danny needed help, and the only way to do that would be to ask…

Before she could open her mouth, she saw Danny's eyes widen, and suddenly they became bright. She was shocked to see a huge grin spread across his face. In eagerness, he grabbed her by the arms, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"That's right! You can go between the worlds! And Clockwork… he can help! Man, this is PERFECT!" Letting go of her, he glanced around randomly, as though trying to find a way to put his thoughts together. Man, how did I not think of this before? Danny thought excitedly. He ran his hands through his hair, and then he turned to speak to her again.

"Dani, can you help me with something? Can you see how my family is doing, and what they think about… well, my being gone?"

"Uh…" Danielle stared at him, confused. "Well, it might help if I knew what I was asking about, and why…?"

Danny visibly stiffened a little. That's right… she doesn't know… Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… but she's the only one who would be willing to help me! The others won't let me see them, so maybe she can…

Sighing, he lifted his eyes almost sheepishly to his cousin in front of him. That pang was back, but now he had some hope of knowing what his family was up to, and what they thought of his continued absence. And maybe… maybe Clockwork can…

That did it. Decisively yet gently, Danny grabbed Danielle's arm. "Come on. We'll talk about it at my…" Danny paused, not really wanting to call it a lair. However, for lack of a better word, he just let the sentence drift off, leaving Dani staring at him with even more puzzlement on her face.

Well, she'll understand everything soon…