Author Notes: Hey everyone, good to see you. Sorry it has been long. I was busy with finishing my college semester, work, and also just been tired from work and trying to find a different job as my boss is an ass. Anyway, lets get onto the next chapter of Magical Phantom. When we last saw Danny, he had confronted the ghost of the house, who unknown to him is the spirit of Pedro Madrigal. Some have wondered why he is dark and evil.

It is because the darkness and negative emotions placed on by the family by Alma is effecting the magic and by extension Pedro. In a sense, he isn't Pedro. The real Pedro is locked away somewhere, his soul corrupted by the negative emotions surrounding the Madrigal Family. Also while he is in essence the spirit of the house, he more so powers the house. Casita still has it's own "thoughts" and "feelings" and acts independently of Pedro's influence.

Now with Danny, he was dropped out of the house by Pedro and has woken up with the whole Madrigal family surrounding him. How will he explain himself without revealing his secret.

Now on with the story.

Danny's Pov:

I could only sit there and stare, frozen at the sight of the Madrigal Family staring at me, each with different looks on their faces. There was Pepa and Felix with their family looking at him with looks of worry, shock, and suspicion. Alma and Isabela looked suspicion mostly, well mainly Alma. Isabela was standing there with her arms crossed in what looked to be anger, obviously miffed that Danny caused a whole bunch of trouble, and probably from the events of yesterday also.

"Great, just another thing for them to hate me for. My life can never be easy, can it?" I thought in my head, cursing whatever mystical force was out there that caused me these troubles.

Coming back to reality, I looked and saw the last face looking at me, the one with the most concern on her face, was Mirabel. She looked at me with so much worry, as if I was dying. I felt bad, having worried her and some of the others, but it is not like I had any control over the situation. I realized I had been quiet for too long and realized I had to say something. I started to get up and struggled a bit. That is when Mirabel held out her hand for me to take, a nice smile on her face. I smiled back at her as I took her hand.

"Thanks" I said to her, as she pulled me up from the bushes and onto my feet.

"You're welcome" Mirabel said to me. I let go of her hand and turned to look at everyone else. Before I could start, Alma came forward, eyes narrowed

"Hellos, Daniel. It is interesting seeing you at our home. May I ask wh-" before Alma could even finish, Isabela strutted forward and got in my face and started to basically interrogate me.

" What are you doing outside our house? Were you spying on us?! What was that screaming? Was it from you falling from that tree? That tree you were using to spy on us, RIGHT!?" She said, screaming in my face. Before I could defend myself, that is when Alma steps in.

"Isabela! Control yourself, my dear. This is not how a proper young lady acts, especially a member of the Madrigal Family. Plus you cannot go making accusations against Mr. Fenton here without proof or hearing his side of the story'' Alma said. This shocked me and it seemed to shock Isabela too, who tried fruitlessly to speak up against her to protest.

" Bu- but Ab- Abuela I- Isabela tried protesting but Alma quickly shut her down.

" Enough Isabela, silence yourself and stand aside, now" she ordered, almost like a general would order a soldier. She narrowed her eyes at Isabela, who looking defeated and deflated, slumped stood down, but not before giving me one more harsh glare.

"Yes Abuela" she said, practically clenching her teeth in anger, as she walked away.

Isabela walked back, returning to standing beside the rest of her family. I looked at Alma, smiling a little bit, thankful for her help.

" Thank you Alma, both for stopping Isabela and giving me the chance to explain myself and why I am here" I said smiling. I could see behind Alma that Isabela looked like she wanted to scream, feeling like I was mocking her to her face.

"Which I kind of am" I thought in my head, laughing on the inside. I returned my focus to Alma who had a cordial smile on her face.

"You are most welcome, Mr. Fenton. Isabela should know better than to react the way she did" Alma said, as she side eyed her oldest granddaughter, who could only look away in embarrassment.

"Funny, when it's a stranger she is punished, but not when tormenting her own sister. A Madrigal family member has to be nice to the community, but to her own flesh and blood, no not at all she's fair game, that makes sense" I thought bitterly in my head. Alma refocused her gaze upon me and now looked at me with a serious and suspicious gaze like before.

" But now Mr. Fenton, I believe we must get down to the pressing matter at hand. Why do we find you out on the front yard of our home, fallen in our bushes, and having heard you scream?" she asked me. I knew I would have to give an answer, but I had to make it sound believable. Luckily having hid my secret identity for around a year at this point, and having to come up with so many lies and excuses, I became a master at it, and I already had a good excuse.

" Ok Fenton, just like usual, play it with the three C's, Calm, Cool, and Confident. Don't be defensive when giving your answer, don't sweat,stutter or be nervous, and answer questions in the most confident tone you can. These three C's have helped you hide your ghost powers and secret identity for nearly a year, surely you can explain something as simple as this" I told myself in my head. I looked at her and gave the calmest look I could give.

" Well it is not that hard to explain Alma. You see I was coming to apologize for yesterday. I wanted to apologize for losing it on you guys yesterday, especially you Alma. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and let my anger get the best of me. I lost my family and traveled for weeks in the wilderness on my own, and all the stress I had was taken out on you and your family. I hope you accept my apology and we can all start over" I said. Alma looked surprised, as if she was not excepting that from me. The rest looked passive and not much of a reaction but to look at each other, as if wondering if they should accept my apology. I looked and saw Mirabel, who just smiled at me. I could tell, she didn't hold anything against me and knows I do not need to apologize to her, but she wants me to get along with her family and not have any problems with them. I looked and saw Isabela, whose look hasn't changed.

"Well I can't please everyone, and out of everyone, I really don't care that much about Isablea's opinion on me. If anything, I would stay civil with her but that is all. I do not care that much for her immature games and attitude." I thought in my head.

I looked back at Alma who had regained her composure and cleared her throat before giving her answer

.

" I…. appreciate the apology, Daniel. It is very mature of you to admit when you are wrong" she said. My eye twitched a bit in annoyance at hearing that for a second time, which she seemed to notice but didn't comment. She then gestured to her family for their response.

"Do you forgive Daniel for his…. Explosive yet understandable transgression" she said. I wanted to scream even louder at this. I looked and saw her turn back to look at me and she had a subtle smile on her face, almost cunning and slick in appearance.

"She is messing with me! She is trying to get in my head and make me explode again, making her look like the innocent one. Well I won't play along. Remember the three C's, it doesn't just apply to cover stories. I have to keep it together. This is a battle of not fists, but wills and character. You did this with Vlad all the time, and succeeded many times. Alma is nothing compared to Vlad" I said in my head. I could tell while Alma is not like Vlad in the sense she is some super powered evil villain( as far as I knew), however she had the same look in those eyes. The eyes of a cunning manipulator. She had the whole town under this good image of a family that helps the community, and even controls her own family members. I will not let her win this battle. I immediately took a breath and calmed down, and straightened up and smiled. I could see Alma's face slightly fall at that, which I came a slight smile back. I could tell this upset her but she didn't make any more efforts to start more trouble. We turn back to the rest of her family, who are looking at me. They each start to speak.

"I understand Daniel why you reacted that way, I have… trouble controlling my emotions also'' Pepa said, grabbing her braid and pulling on it, as if trying to calm herself. Felix put his hands on her shoulders.

"Relax Peps, and yeah Daniel I accept your apology. You were under a tense situation and with so much happening at once, it was very overwhelming" Felix said to me, very understanding. Camilo and Antonio spoke next

"Hey man, it's fine. You lost your family, and were in the woods for weeks. I would react the same way in your position, I'm sure Antonio forgives you, right little guy" he said as he picked up his little brother. Antonio laughed and smiled, as he looked at me and gave me a thumbs up.

"I forgive you Danny'" he said. This surprised everyone, Alma and I included. Only Mirabel out of the whole family yesterday called me Danny, and Alma flipped out on her. As much as I do not like her right now, she wouldn't flip out on her four year old grandson, right? I mean Mirabel, while I don't agree with how she was treated, is a teenager. I could understand some form of scolding for not having proper or formal etiquette, even though I said I did not care. Antonio though is only four and wouldn't understand why his grandma wants him to talk that way. She isn't that much of a witch, is she?

I was getting my answer it seems, as she looked ready to say something, whether to Antonio or Pepa and Fleix, I don't know and I didn't know if she would respond to Antonio the same way she responded towards Mirabel, but I didn't want to find out. Before Alma even could open her mouth, I looked at her with the same hard look she gave me, except harder. It basically said one thing.

BACK OFF!

I could tell, she did not want a repeat of yesterday , and after a moment, stepped down and moved back, but I could see her giving dagger eyes from the corner of my eye. I decided to ignore her and look back at the rest of the Madrigal Family.

Dolores was up next,

" I forgive you Daniel. I understand you were going through an emotional time, and I don't blame you for how you acted, even though the noise hurt my ears a bit" She said. I remembered she had super hearing and decided to apologize.

" I am sorry about that and offer my sincerest apologies for making you go through that" I said. She looked at me and smiled.

"Apology accepted" she said as she moved back with the rest of her family. I looked around and saw only three remained

Mirabel, Isabela, and Agustin.

I looked towards Mirabel but she seems to know what I am about to do but waves me off

"you have nothing to apologize for" she said. She looked nervous but she started to walk towards me which confused me. She approached my side and leaned in close and whispered into my ear.

" I Should be thanking you" She said to me in a low whisper as she pulled away. The next thing she did shocked me and her family.

I felt something soft on my cheek and when I saw what it was, I was shocked.

Mirabel planted her lips on my cheek and gave me a soft kiss. After a few seconds she pulled away, blushing. I was blushing also at the action. She looked up at me nervously, waiting for my reaction. I was frozen for a moment, but gave her a small smile. She looked shocked but smiled back and walked back to her original position, still blushing. I turned and saw the rest of the faces of the Madrigals. All of them, even Isabela were shocked beyond belief at what Mirabel just did. I decided to move on before this became the topic of discussion. I looked at Agustin

" Agustin, or Mr. Madrigal, I wanted to apologize for how I reacted yesterday. I shouldn't have gotten angry like that with Isabela, and I offer my deepest apologies for it. " I said. This returned Agustin's focus to me and he smiled at me

" I accept your apology. You were dealing with a great loss you could not take time to cope with as you had to survive for weeks out in the wilderness on your own with no help or human contact. And Please call me Agustin.I'm not the only Mr. Madrigal here afterall" he said jokingly, pointing to Felix and his boys. I cracked a smile at that.

"Fair point, and I also apologized to Lusia and Julieta when I saw them in town" I said. Agustin and Alma both nodded at that. Now there was one person left. I looked in her direction.

Isabela Madrigal.

When she saw me looking at her, she tensed up. I was about to apologize but she cut me off

"Look I accept your apology or whatever, can we just now focus on the main reason, why you were in our bushes" she said, dismissing me. I was a bit annoyed and was about to say something but Agustin beat me to it

"Isabela Madrigal, don't you dare use that tone in this house" he said. I was surprised by his tone and action. Isabela reacted negatively

"Dad, come on can you blame me with how-" but before it could continue Alma raised her voice

"ENOUGH! Agustin , back off. While I will speak to Isabela later, She makes a good point." She says, wanting to get back to the REAL order of business now that pleasantries and apologies were now out of the way. Agustin protested

" I can perfectly discipline my own chid Al- '' but he was stopped with one look in his direction. With this he slumped down and backed off. I instantly felt pity for the poor man.

" Cant even parent his own child?How much of a grip does Alma have over her family, let alone the community" I thought as I looked up and saw Alma staring at me, with a little glint in her eye, telling me she was excited to get back to the knitty gritty. I was ready also.

"Let the battle of wits continue" I thought. I was ready.

Alma started off.

"So Daniel, now that the apologies are done, back to the main question , why were you in our bushes" She asked, looking at me hard, looking for any deception. I took a deep breath and started.

" Well as I said, I was coming to apologize to you guys, when I saw your house. I was impressed with the architecture of it. We don't have houses like this in America, so I wanted to get a closer view of it. I decided to climb the tree and have a closer look" I said in the most convincing voice I could muster. Alma was silent for moment , walking around me,staring me down. She was like a lion waiting to pounce but I kept my cool. That is when she responded

"I… believe you" she said. I inwardly sighed in relief. Everyone smiled at that

Well….almost everyone.

Immediately, Isabela starts to freak out a little bit.

"Abuela, you believe him?! But what about the falling and the screams of let me go Dolores heard" she said. I quickly responded.

"I was climbing down and I got tangled on some branches. I was screaming as I was tangled, then I slipped and fell out of the tree" I said. To make it look convincing, I pointed to some broken branches on the ground.

"See here are the branches that broke when I fell" I said, picking them up and holding them out for Isabela and all of them to see, Isabela's face turned into one of confusion and shock, and she started stuttering, trying to come up with anything to use against me.

"Bu-bu- but Abu- Abuela, he-' however she was cut off by a low voice from her grandmother.

" That is enough Isabela, All the evidence points to him telling the truth. Plus I am a good judge of character, that is what has helped this family and community thrive. Are you questioning my analysis?" she asked. This caused Isabela to back off and scurry off.

"No Abuela, sorry Abuela" She said, backing off. \

I smiled and was glad this was over. I prepared to leave.

"Well, now that everything is done. Apologizes out of the way, and the situation with my fall resolved, I shall bid you all a fond farewell for the day" I said. I started to walk off when I felt a strong grip on my hand. I turned and saw Alma grabbed my hand and was smiling at me.

"Oh, don't go yet. I want to invite you in to see our Casita and get to know you a little more, isn't that right everyone" she said. Everyone else, especially Mirabel nodded and was smiling. They started begging me to stay and have a meal with them. I tried to refuse.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go and start getting items for my new home" I said, thinking they would understand. Alma responded quickly.

"Oh dear, don't you worry about that. I will help you get the items you need, on the house. Lusia will even help you move in. Isabela can decorate it with nice flowers. It is no big deal and no rush" she said. I tried to refuse

"I'm sorry, I appreciate both offers,but I have to decline and head ou-" That is when I felt her grip on my hand tighten. I looked at her as she smiled bigger.

"I insist. I mean you'll be able to see our Caista's beauty even more from the inside. After all that is why you were in that tree, right?" She asked with a subtle tone in her voice, almost daring me to challenge her. I realized I had to relent to this.

"Yes and you know what your right, I would love to see more of your lovely Casita from the inside, lead the way" I said. She smiled.

"Splendid. Let us go in and Agustin and Mirabel shall prepare a nice lunch. Let us go in" she said, practically dragging me along . Everyone else smiled, except Isabela, who looked miffed but didn't say anything in fear of being scolded.

I looked ahead.

As I passed through the doors, I realized.

The lion pounced

I was now in the den

I realized…

The battle of wits and mind have only just begun

END

That was a tough chapter to make but I did it

To say, no Alma isn't a villain but she is just being cunning and trying to throw Danny off. She doesn't not necessarily believe Danny's story. She is just testing him, as he is her. It is a battle of wits and mind as they fight. Danny is now in the lions den. How will he survive hear. He has to deal with a ghost and the mind games of the guardian of the miracle. Danny just cant catch a break, can he?

The battle of wits and minds has only just begun. Who will emerge victorious, Danny or Alma? Who won the first round in your opinion? Mine is on Danny. He won the morale part of the round at least.

Either way, let me know what you think.