Tales of Amity Park's Cemetery

Chapter Eight: The Library

Rain fell ever so violently over the many streets of Amity Park one gloomy afternoon, students were already marching off home while a seldom bunch remained to continue with their extracurricular activities, and a handful of students made their way toward the city library to finish the projects assigned to them by their teachers who were already halfway to their homes or nearby bars where they would complain about the idiocy of their pupils.

A sinister and most intimidating creature wearing a black robe walked out from a dark room holding a thick brown book in one hand that had a screaming face on the cover while the other held a steamy mug, his face obscure under the hood, it was then that his attention was drawn to the window where he saw the rain hitting the window frame. The cold was working its way into the library contributing to the sales of hot beverages from the indoor coffee shop.

The creature groaned in satisfaction as he lazily sat down on a wooden chair while leaving his drink on a nearby table, just as he opened his book noticed that the library was mostly empty save for a handful of students walking around and making too much noise despite wearing sneakers, more than one slipped on the recently polished linoleum floors that had been there for more than two centuries and still looked brand new.

"Nothing beats a hot chocolate and a good book on a cold rainy night." The reaper said as he took a long sip.

His eyes turn over to a trio composed of two boys and one girl by the corner table who were chattering as quietly as they could while doing their book reports. To the far right were two more boys working on some random school project, the librarian was busy returning books to their corresponding place while another of her coworkers was busy dusting the bookcases, a few students from the book club were helping organized the books, everything was done in absolute silence despite closing time coming up.

The reaper took a long sip of his chocolate but the soft tapping of fingertips bouncing off the counter drew his attention toward a tan girl chewing bubblegum in front of the "No eating" sign, despite having a face that could rival any top model, Paulina's expression was bored and dull, she would have preferred to be anywhere else other than the city library, the Latina wanted to play some of her music but the rules were written on a large whiteboard above the main reception that told her "No Noise." She could only get away with a certain number of things thanks to her position as cheerleader captain.

"Help you?"- the creature asked, his face nothing more than a black hole.

"Do you have any Ghostmopolitan Magazines or Ghost Allure Magazine"- Paulina Sanchez asked with a condescending attitude.

"Think you're at the wrong place." the reaper replied earning a scoff from the cheerleader.

"Fine! Do you have Thus Spoke Zarathustra?"- the Latina asked trying to sound like an intellectual, though was far smarter than what many people thought.

It was true that the cheerleader was part of the A-lister club or more commonly referred to as the popular kids due to her beauty and position as a cheerleader though it didn't mean she was brainless like her boyfriend Dash Baxter who relied on his official nerd to do all his homework. Paulina on the other hand prefers to do things on her own and pretend her nerd did everything for her to not lose face in front of the other popular kids. Though reading Nietzsche was beyond her capabilities, she only managed to remember the book's title after hearing it from Jazz Fenton minutes earlier as she checked out several books with long and complex titles.

"Sorry, checked out the last copy just a few minutes ago, perhaps you might find another of Nietzsche's books down the corridor but hurry we're closing in thirty."- the reaper replied.

Paulina wasn't interested in such books, she only needed to make time while waiting for her boyfriend to finish his football practice before going out on their Friday night date. The Latina rarely ever spent time at the library; she prefers to be at the local mall or the nearby café, but the sudden downpour forced her to seek refuge in the nearest building she could come across. The reaper watched as Paulina walked into the dark and lonely corridor swaying her wide hips from side to side, almost in an exaggerated manner.

(XXXX)

"Come on, Sam. It's already past closing, we're gonna get in trouble."- Danny half whispered as his gothic friend marched forward.

"You're kind of a wuss for a crime-busting ghost hybrid."- Sam retorted with a smirk.

Samantha Manson ignored her best friend frowning as she found herself too engrossed with the library, not for the interest of learning but for the structure itself. She had always enjoyed watching the two-hundred-year-old construction that stood out like a sore thumb among the more modern buildings around due to its gothic style, the first thing everyone noticed upon arriving at the library were the two stone statues of octopus monstrosities at the top of the flight of stairs followed by several columns that surrounded the building.

It was one of the first buildings in Amity Park to use large cinder blocks in its five floors construction making it more of a fortress than a library, and surely served as such at one point in history, the reception despite being a cubicle was a wooden masterpiece that could only be made by the hands of master carpenters, rather than having angels or roses decorating the reception as was the custom there was more monster octopus. The main lobby had a marble floor and a large skylight that illuminated the interior daily, making anyone who ventured into the grand hall look in awe.

Sam felt like a kid in a toy store from the moment she entered the library as she stared at the magnificent stone statues of winged demons with a long snake tail in place of legs carved into each pillar. The girl took her two male friends, Danny and Tucker by the hand as she guided them further into the building despite being her first time at the library, fascinated by the unique design though the Ghostbucks by the entrance broke the gothic Victoria allure yet didn't complain about the fragrance of coffee filling the hall.

"Check this out."- Sam said as she looked over at a strange stone statue that resembled some sort of a scholar dressed in long robes while holding a book, most intriguing was the giant eyeball it had instead of a head. Such statues could be found at the entrance of each hallway and in the corner of each room making more than one feel uncomfortable.

"The observers… masters of knowledge."- Danny read the inscription at the base of the statue.

The lights suddenly turned off making Danny and Tucker groan in frustration as they were officially trespassing, but the building didn't go completely dark as there were sporadic yet dimly lit lightbulbs at every intersection and corner, surely, for the nightguards. Sam didn't seem to mind too much as she simply pulled out a flashlight to continue their exploration, she had always been something of a rebel taking up the most popular cause of the moment which bothered Danny as he often found himself at the receiving end of her shenanigans.

Soft tapping drew Danny and Sam's attention toward Tucker who was busy fooling around with his tablet, a mocking grin came about his face as he showed them the library map that he recently downloaded and earned a thumbs up from his gothic friend. The trio wasn't trespassing just for the kicks, they came with a mission in mind though only Sam was interested, in hindsight, Danny would rather be home watching a movie and Tucker would most likely be pulling a gaming all-nighter.

Ever since Sam discovered Danny's power and saw the realm of death with her own eyes became ever so fascinated with the paranormal and the occult, wondering how many legends were true, unbeknown to her friends had tried and failed to cast magic spells in the hopes of helping out Danny who served as an impromptu ghost hunter. The goth wouldn't dare yell out any incantation in front of her friends without proving its effectiveness and becoming a walking joke.

If monsters, ghosts, and the ghost zone along with a human-ghost hybrid existed, then it stood to reason magic had to be real at some level, so far, none of her attempts at magic, witchcraft, and other dark arts had given results not even with the use of an allegedly magic wand she bought at an esoteric shop though this didn't dissuade her from pursuing her goals, it only confirmed that the mainstream take on the matter was completely wrong or heavily alter. There was also the possibility of her books being poorly translated or that her pronunciation was wrong, words were very important when it came to magic along with having an affinity for magic.

"Is that Paulina?"- Sam asked as she briefly saw the Latina walking at the far end of the corridor.

"Maybe she fell asleep or something."- Danny replied though Sam noticed he was looking in the opposite direction. The goth pulled her two "boyfriends" down the hallway and away from the cheerleader whom she didn't want to speak with, much less tag along, she couldn't tolerate Paulina and her bimbo attitude.

Sam had heard countless legends and rumors surrounding Amity Park Library given its antiquity, though Danny didn't believe in such nonsense despite being an anomaly to nature as he shouldn't even exist seeing that he was half dead and half alive. Chief among these were rumors of secret hallways and chambers that appeared at midnight revealing bookshelves filled with authentic magic books that Sam wanted. Real magic couldn't be bought, it had to be found.

"If we go down this hallway, we'll be at the oldest part of the library."- Tucker declared as he looked down at the map on his tablet.

Nevertheless, there were no secret corridors or chambers anywhere to be seen after an hour of searching, furthermore, their search was constantly interrupted by Paulina's presence who seem to walk out of nowhere making Sam most frustrated as they had to hide from her more than from the guard who was in his late sixties, at one point Danny used his ghostly skills to walk through the thick walls only to find another corridor leading back to the main lobby.

Even the basement proved to be a fruitless endeavor despite being one of the oldest and most likely sections to have a secret chamber, unfortunately, all they came across were broom closets and piles of discarded books along with some broken computers and other office-related items. Sam was hopeful that Danny's paranormal nature would instinctively guide them to a magical source, just like a dog sniffing out roast beef, a crying shame the ghost boy didn't work that way.

Sam crushed unto a leather couch in one of the lounges wondering if she made some sort of mistake, perhaps the hallway only appeared during a specific day like Halloween though her greatest fear was that the door only opened for a brief moment every night. It would take her forever to find the entrance, the building had also gone through many renovations meaning that the entrance might have been destroyed without anyone knowing it.

"Hey Sam… I think it just found your secret chamber."- Danny half whispered.

The trio stood dumbfounded before the strangest entrance they had ever seen in their fourteen years on earth, located on the ground floor between the employee cafeteria and a staircase which made little sense as that would lead to the parking lot. Sam smiled as she looked at the winged demon resting on top of the doorframe though there were no Observers, the door seemed most out of place as it resembled a stone archway.

Sam didn't think twice about entering the chamber much to Danny's dismay who took an immediate dislike for the room, a large smile grew across Sam's lips upon seeing row after row of bookcases, antique desks, and all manner of diabolical decorations that included skulls with candles on the tables and horns that serve as torches, there was even a tea set on a corner table, the floor was red and the walls black making it a completely different style from the rest of the library.

"Check this out, man. How to get your skeleton the whitest. Demon resurrection."- Sam read the titles though one, in particular, caught her attention. "Get your dream body."- Sam read in silence wondering if she was tricked again as these titles were written in English rather than some ancient demonic language.

Danny on the other hand felt most uneasy as he could now feel a spectral aura overtaking his body, the cold breath that warned him of any nearby ghost constantly escaped his lips as if he was surrounded by all manner of invisible monsters, Sam quickly took notice of this and smile furthermore as she knew there had to be some level of ghostly magic within the book to set off her friend's ghost sense.

Sam felt like a kid in a toy store as she searched for some sort of incantation book to put curses or make a demon into her loyal pet as she had seen many terrifying entities flying around the ghost zone. Sam couldn't help but wonder if she would be able to cast fireballs, make ice walls, or produce thunderbolts from her hands if anime magic was anything to go by. Then, she fantasized about scaring away illegal woodcutters or forcing factories to go eco-friendly after flying around with a giant fireball over their precious factories.

The goth brushed her fingers over each book feeling the leather they were made in, words written in dark red which made her assume was blood; on any other occasion, she would have raised hell for using animal skin to make these books but now couldn't care any less. Upon reading the first paragraph felt a strong headache that forced her into the nearest chair, the scribbles on the page slowly reformed into English words that she could understand further strengthening her belief.

Even though the girl is an invaluable member of the team Phantom, she was still quite weak. Sam lacked formal training, and even armed with the finest Fenton Brand energy blaster was still no match against the weakest ghost if she were to fight them one on one. Sam was well aware of her lacking stamina along with her weak punches, in hindsight, few humans could stand against any ghost in a proper fight.

"Sam I think we should get the hell out of here."- Danny muttered as his body shivered though not in cold or fear.

"Relax, Danny. It's not like there's some hellish guard dog around."- The goth exclaimed as she examines the tomes one by one.

Several lights began to turn on scaring the trio, Danny put out his hand gathering energy and getting ready to blast any specter to kingdom come while Sam produced a Fenton brand GZ-2000 energy pistol from her backpack, Tucker pulled his weapon from the back of his pants. It was something of an instinctual move due to their constant ghost-fighting, the idea that one of the library guards got wind of their activity crossed their heads.

With a stern look from Danny was that Sam began filling her backpack with all the books she considered useful, she knew it wasn't a one-time visit as the door opened every night at the stroke of midnight, it was upon leaving the chamber that a wall appeared through magic, closing off the entrance which made them questioned if the door truly opens at midnight by its own volition or had something to do with a Halfa being nearby.

"I told her to get rid of those old rags." The trio heard a voice coming from the corner which made Danny turn himself and his friends invisible. Paulina was talking to someone, most likely a guard. "That skirt was so last season." The girl added before walking away.

Sam frowned in utter frustration as she couldn't tolerate the cheerleader whom she considered nothing more than a shallow nuisance, always talking about what was in fashion or the latest trend while bragging about her good looks, worst of all, was that she hardly ever study and still aced all her exams. Surely, a biased attitude toward the football team and the cheerleader squad which the teachers favor greatly.

The soft fragrance of coffee emanating from a nearby office reached the goth who slammed against Danny as he stops abruptly, the trio was dumbfounded upon seeing Paulina reading a book inside one of the lounges which they found odd as they had seen the girl minutes earlier walking in one of the hallways further back, a steaming mug resting over the corner table by her side, even though the corridors are linked together there was no way for her to enter the lounge and brew herself a mug of coffee in such little time.

A growl escaped from Sam as she once again thought the Latina was getting her way just because she was a little pretty, the idea that one of the guards brew her the beverage while waiting for a cabbie crossed her mind with much annoyance. Had it been any of the trio who got caught, they would have either kicked them out or had called the police called on them without a single doubt.

"Hey, guys, does Paulina have a twin?"- Tucker asked while pointing down the hallway.

"Oh dear lord, I hope not."- Sam exclaimed.

(XXXX)

It was then that the goth watched with the utmost horror as her worst nightmare came to life, not only was there a second Paulina Sanchez walking down the corridor but a third one came up holding a book, Danny then pointed over to a small group of Paulina clones chatting at the office while another group that reaches almost twenty copies of the Latina could be seen dancing at the rhythms of hip-hop music that Sam loathed due to how denigrating it.

The goth couldn't believe what she was seeing, dozens among dozens of what could only be described as Paulina clones could be seen walking around the aisles, casually chatting about fashion and what was popular at the moment which made Sam feel sick. Was it some sort of punishment for stealing the books? Or was it perhaps a test to see if she was worthy of reading its content? Whatever the case, Sam wasn't willing to leave without the books.

"What in darnation is going on here?!" a security guard in his late fifties demanded to know yet froze upon seeing the many replicas, he was left flabbergasted. "All right ladies, time to pack it up and scram."- the man ordered as more girls emerged from the nearby rooms alarming him even more.

All the girls went silent as they glued their eyes over the old security guard who stood firm despite internally shivering, only the music coming from one cellphone continued blurring its obscene lyrics. The old guard wasn't going to be intimated by a bunch of schoolgirls even if they all look the same which made him wonder if their mother was some sort of a rabbit or if they were all related, he did wonder if he was being a racist for not being able to distinguish the Latin girls who in his opinion look the same after a while.

"Let's scratch his eyes out with our perfectly manicured nails."- One of the Paulina clones suddenly yelled out taking the guard by surprise.

Like a pack of wild and ravenous hyenas, the Paulina clones ran over to the guard who screamed as he tried to pull out his nightstick while backing away, the clones' eyes were glowing bright red, hissing like angry cats. Danny and his friends watched with the utmost horror as one of the replicas leaped over the guard screeching like an animal, soon enough there were dozens of girls over him, clawing the man apart in a matter of minutes.

Blood stained the marble floor as a few girls dragged his organs making Tucker feel sick to his stomach, it was then that Sam's backstreet ghoul's ringtone alerted the clones to the trio's presence making the girl curse the device for its inopportune ringing, though felt more embarrassed for having her two boys find out about her taste in music as it didn't match with her rebellious and unique persona. The inhuman shrieks that came out from within the crowd were more than enough to send the kids running away.

Danny wasn't sure if he should fire his energy rays over the girls or simply flee until finding a proper solution to their predicament. More and more clones started to rush out from the corners giving chase to the kids, glowing red eyes manifested within the dark forcing the kids to constantly turn around. Sam had the hardest time keeping up, the stolen books were starting to weigh her down yet refused to part from them, the girl was more than sure that if given enough time could find and cast a spell to rid themselves of the clones.

The trio found refuge inside one of the lounges on the second floor, Tucker quickly put the lock on but it was Danny who barricaded the door with a large bookcase, many would be highly impressed upon seeing a puny teen lifting an antique hundred-kilo bookcase as if it weights nothing. The sounds of heavy pounding and scratching could be heard on the other side, but if the real Paulina was anything to go by, she would give up soon. Sam yelled upon turning around and seeing a clone coming towards her which forced the goth to draw her energy gun and blow up the fake cheerleader's head.

"Holy shit, Sam. You killed Paulina's clone."- Tucker declared.

"That was a clone?"- Sam asked.

Bright green slime came out from the headless corpse creating a puddle around the body while assuring the trio that it was a clone and not the real Paulina. Upon closer inspection noticed how uncanny the resemblance was, the same clothes, manicure, and even accessories, if she still had her head would have seen the same makeup, though Tucker pointed out the lack of a belly button. A hand suddenly broke through the wooden door and bookcase sending books across the floor and taking the kids by surprise, they looked in disbelief as more hands pushed in ripping the wood apart, Sam was the first to fire her energy pistol bursting an arm and a hand leaving a behind a large green stain more green slime gushed out.

Danny wasted no time as he took hold of both teens by the shoulders and tried to phase through the wall but found it impossible as they bounced off, literally hitting a solid wall, the ghost boy rubbed his nose incredulously as he stared at the wall as if it was some sort of cosmic mystery. The clones made quick work of the door and gain access, breaking Danny's stupor and forcing him to drag his friends through the side wall.

"What the hell was that?!"- Sam demanded to know once located on a lower floor. "I thought you could go through any solid object."- the girl continued waving her hands in the air.

"Remember when I said I didn't like coming here, I guess this is the reason. If I have to go on a limb, I say there's some sort of ancient ghost shield."- the boy explained while demonstrating his theory by shoving his hand against the wall and finding it impossible to phase through. "The main door is the only way in or out."- he added.

"We gotta find a way to put a stop to this." The goth commanded.

The sounds of footsteps echoed within the hallway in a matter of minutes, Sam and Tucker ready their energy blasters mentally preparing to fight. Even if they knew these creatures were nothing but copies, shooting at something with a human face was much harder than firing at a deformed snarling monstrosity with a hundred fangs, it was upon hearing the loud banging on the door that an idea came to Danny who transformed into his alter ego, Danny Phantom.

"I'll distract the girls while you guys search for whoever or whatever is making Paulina copies. Give me a call."- the ghost hybrid instructed, though was wishing to keep a clone or two for those cold and lonely nights. "First one to catch me gets a kiss."- Danny declared as he flies out of the room yet was dumbfounded by the sheer number of copies that reach the hundred if not more.

"OMG! It's Inviso-Bill! I wanna have your ghost babies!"- Danny was shocked to hear the copies speak in perfect unison.

"Um, aren't you a little young to be saying such things."- the boy retorted before flying away.

(XXXX)

Sam and Tucker hurried down the corridors guns in hands and using the ghost tracker to find the source of the clones but found that the bleeping dots on the screen were everywhere, confirming the ghostly origins of the copies. There were far too many copies to allow Sam to search the library properly making her most frustrated, out of nowhere three clones cut the duo's path, their eyes glowing red, and long fangs protruded from their mouth, out of instinct Sam fired upon the girls whose heads burst like balloons making Tucker nearly vomit his double Nasty combo burger.

The goth pulled her friend by the hand who couldn't take his eyes off the corpse or the large puddle of green blood, two more girls charged from behind shrieking like banshees, hissing like wild animals, their manicured nails transformed into long and sharp claws. The sheer sight alone was enough motivation for Tucker to fire his energy pistol over the girls who fell one after another yet more came rushing down after them, not even Danny's presence was enough to distract all of the clones, there were just too many.

It was upon turning the corner that they came across another copy, only thanks to Sam's quick reaction that she prevented her face from being sliced in four pieces, the fake cheerleader's forehead caved in after being instinctively headbutted by goth, green slime came out from the cracks. Terrible shrieking reminded the duo about the rest of the copies, Tucker fired an energy bolt at a fire extinguisher earning valuable seconds head start.

Both teens were forced to run around the open hallway overviewing the grand hall, much to their horror saw the copies piling over one another to gain access to Phantom who was flying overhead with a perplexed expression. A little mountain of bodies had formed just to reach the teen, glowing red eyes suddenly turned over to Sam sending shivers up her spine before the replicas started leaping against Danny who easily dodged them.

"Why won't you date me!"- The copy yelled out before jumping over to Danny and splattering on the ground. Both Sam and Tucker screamed as several copies landed on the second quickly taking notice of the duo and giving chase.

"Shoot them down!"- The girl commanded wondering if the authorities were on their way,

Surely, by now, someone must have heard the screaming and the gunfighting, it was true that the energy blasters made far less noise than a regular handgun but weren't silent either, though it would matter very little if police forces were to arrive at the scene, their guns would do nothing against ghosts and slime-filled copies, on the other hand, if GIW troopers came, then things would turn ugly for Danny.

Both Sam and Tucker slowly back away firing their pistols over the wall of Paulina replicas, as much as the goth hated to admit it found some pleasure in shooting the fake cheerleaders, something that she wouldn't do to the real one, no matter how much she detested her, there were some moral principles to follow. The duo barricaded themselves within one of the offices before being cornered by the copies who now scratched and scream on the other side of the door.

"According to my calculations, the copies are coming from the fifth floor."- Tucker declared as he looked over at his ghost tracker, dozens of dots appearing one after the other in one room in particular.

Before Sam could utter a single word a pair of hands broke through the wooden door wrapping around her neck, half a dozen more followed taking hold of the goth who looked with horror at Tucker as she was yanked away. Tucker yelled for his friend as he fired at the mass of girls who turned around with the sole intention of ripping Tucker apart who despite being a nerd was no pushover when it came to fighting the paranormal, a will that he would like to employ against his bullies.

The techno-geek blasted away at least half a dozen copies but more and more girls continued to barge in, their pretty faces contorted into something more hideous, it wouldn't take long before he was forced to resort to his amateur boxing skills as there wasn't enough time or room to fire his blaster, Tucker had never punch or even considered hitting a girl but with them wanting to slice his face off left him with little options, just as demonstrated by Sam, the girl's face easily caved in with each strike but numbers can overwhelm. One of Tucker's many attributes was his high stamina which allow him to outrun the girls with fair ease and take cover inside another lounge, his back pressed again the door.

"For fuck's sake, these shallow bitches got me. They're dragging me somewhere."- Sam said through the Fenton earphones. Gunshots could be heard in the background.

"I'll go rescue you!"- both Danny and Tucker said in unison.

"Negative! Find the source and stop these clone bitches!"- Sam countered while recalling what happened to the nightguard.

Danny sighed as he saw the copies merging until forming a large humanoid mass, a fat version of Paulina with small thick legs, and cubby arms though on closer inspection one could see the slim versions of the girl holding onto each other to form the monster. A truly grotesque sight that reminded Danny of the monstrous version of the Lunch Lady whom he fought weeks ago.

"Can you handle that one for me Tucker got some issues here."- Phantom added.

(XXXX)

A soft groan escaped from Sam's lips as she was cornered by nearly two dozen copies of the odious Paulina Sanchez, their maniacal expressions were enough to send shivers up the girl who contemplated the idea of forcing her way through. Since she wasn't planning on going host hunting or being attacked by such a large number of paranormal creatures meant that she didn't bring more than one additional energy clip for her pistol. It was then that she realized the copies weren't as perfect as initially presumed, the differences were subtle but notable, their eyes were tinted red and their fangs much longer but most important was their lack of a belly button that Tucker pointed out earlier.

Even so, Sam was more than sure that she could muscle her way through as they were mere copies that as much as she loathed saying were no match to the original. Before the goth could take any sort of action was placed in a tight neck hold by a copy that sneak behind, even with their fragile bodies, she couldn't break through the grip, two more girls grab Sam's wrists preventing her from moving, an unexpected change from their attack patterns.

"I always wanted to give you a makeover!"- one of the copies declared in a cheerful yet sinister tone.

Sam's eyes opened wide in utter horror as one of the Paulina copies yanked her top off with a single movement, a second girl pulled her skirt down but earned a powerful kick to the face in retribution shattering her perfect face, it was then that two more girls lifted Sam from the ground as they pulled her boots off. All the copies went silent as they stared at the goth who wore cute pink lace underwear with red hearts, even her socks matched perfectly.

"Those are some rather cute undies you got there. I honestly thought you were going to have some kinky lingerie or at least some black panties… maybe a thong."-the leading Paulina said as she scrutinized the goth.

"It's laundry day! And my mom bought these for me! I always wear lingerie; garter belts and thongs are my thing, not this pink kiddy underwear!" Sam found herself justifying her underwear.

"Don't worry I got just the thing for you"- the leader said as she produced a pink G-string thong that made Sam blush.

The goth yelp as one of the copies yanked off her bra followed by her panties which made her turn red as a tomato, she had never been exposed in such a horrid manner making any bullying that she had endured at the hands of the real Paulina seem like child play, a wicked grin came up the leading copy as she slides the thong up Sam's ass lifting her the ground as the rest of the replicas laughed.

A pink long-sleeve crop top was placed over her followed by a white skirt with a brown leather belt, Sam tried to kick her assailants but was grabbed by the legs. She saw as a pair of white high-heeled boots were forced upon her feet, surely, her mother had wanted to take such measures to dress her up properly, she was then placed on her knees as the copy made sure she didn't move her head.

Sam's eyes opened wide as she saw one of the copies walking towards her with a pair of heart-shaped earrings that were violently incrusted into her ears making the goth cry in pain, a sliver of blood ran down, long razor-sharp nails cut through her punkish wrist bands' as they were replaced by a pair of heavy golden bracelets. The girl struck with her elbow in an attempt to free herself but a well-placed punch to the stomach knocked all the wind out of her.

She couldn't help but feel like a dog as a diamond necklace was placed around her neck almost as if she was being branded, it was then that she was slammed onto the floor with brutal force, a knee over each of the arms prevented the goth from rising. Sam never thought that having nails painted pink could be so traumatic, but having her hair pulled back had to be the worst part.

The goth looked defiantly at the copy as she painted her lips with pink lipstick, Sam remained motionless as the girls applied mascara, and violet eyeshadow not wanting to have her eyes gauged out by accident, she was then tossed and held down to a couch making her cursed out to the replicas who pulled out a curling iron. Sam raised an eyebrow wondering why would Paulina have such an item on her person, all the replicas slowly moved away from the goth admiring their handwork with great pride.

"And done! Now you look like a real girl."- the copy declared with pride as she shoved Sam forward.

The goth slowly walked toward a large mirror hanging on the wall with dreadful eyes, a horrified expression overtook her face as she looked at her wavy hairstyle and doll-up face, despite the short skirt, the outfit in itself was somewhat modest but felt like a brainless bimbo upon seeing her reflection. A pair of sunglasses was put over her head while one of the copies sprayed perfume all over her body, the goth stood dumbfounded as her gothic persona that she had spent an entire year building was demolished to the ground.

The girl moved her eyes to the side of the mirror where she saw the copies showing off their long sharp nails and fangs along with their menacing glowing red eyes, she now understood they simply wanted to doll her up so they could enjoy tearing her apart. Sam's feet slowly moved to the side preparing herself to barrel roll to the side and pick up her pistol, just as she was about to perform her move, the door was kicked wide open.

Tucker Foley marched in dual wielding a pair of energy pistols that he used on the replicas, firing both pistols from the hips and bursting their heads one after another in quick succession, his marksmanship was flawless which allowed him to slay the copies within seconds, the leader tried to charge Tucker but was met with a flurry of energy bolts that she tried to fend off with a silver platter but was sent flying over a table. It took Tucker a great amount of willpower not to burst out laughing upon laying eyes on Sam and her new outfit, he had to admit that she looks great in such clothing.

"Not a word!"- The girl threatened as she picked up her pistol but saw her favorite outfit torn to pieces. "Why did you come back? Didn't I specifically tell you to find the source and stop this?" Sam added with a calm expression.

"Couldn't leave you behind, besides you were on the way."- Tucker continued with a playful smile.

(XXXX)

Danny swirled and twirled in the air avoiding by mere inches a long and thick tentacle composed exclusively of Paulina clones, their glowing red eyes added to the dread the teen was feeling, and with cat-like reflexes managed to avoid another attack, though the tip crushed unto the wall throwing away hundreds of books into the air, Phantom's energy rays struck the main body with little effect.

The monster continued using its feelers to attack the town's hero who constantly became intangible to avoid getting hit. It didn't long for Danny to realize the abomination could only use physical attacks despite the ecto-energy rays being a common skill among ghosts and other paranormal monsters. A moment of distraction was all it took for the great hero to be swatted away like a fly, crushing unto the reception cubicle.

The library's prize lobby was a mess, the reception cubicle was destroyed as Danny landed over it, books were thrown all around, and the pillars and walls were heavily damaged by either energy rays or by the horrid monster who constantly tossed anything and everything that it could, the marble floor that had been placed centuries ago was wrecked under the creature's weight, surely, town hall would be both morally and financially devasted once this came out to light.

"Jazz is gonna be heartbroken after she sees this mess."- Danny whispered upon pulling himself out of the debris.

His eye opened wide as the monster hurled a giant ball over him, it would have been nothing short of a dream come true to have dozens of hot girls over him had not been for the tiny and most insignificant detail that they were trying to claw his guts out. Their maniacal expressions made their murderous attempts ever so frighting, and the monster's smile vanished as a powerful energy ray blasted through the mass of girls that entrapped Danny.

Dozens of Paulina copies flew into the air, their body parts scattered on the ground leaving green blood puddles as Danny floated over the ground, his eyes glowing neon green. The teen instinctively avoids using his strongest attack due avoid damaging the library and instinctively because the monsters had the same face as Paulina. Without so much as a warning, the creature swatted Danny across the room.

Strong energy rays came out from the plum of dust that formed after the boy crush landed on a bookcase, each ray hit home making the abomination yell in pain. Green blood spurt after each attack, but horrible pain overtook his lower left side forcing him to turn around and see one of the copies stabbing him with a set of long nails. The girl burst like a balloon once Danny blasted her away with an energy ray.

More and more copies continued to emerge from the corridors and doors forcing the boy to pick them off with his rays while simultaneously fighting off the walking mass that was constantly repaired by the new arrivals. Little by little came to realize that the copies were becoming more corrupt, some arrived with large bellies that made their running awkward, and a few others had their limbs either malformed or asymmetric. Whatever magic or demon that was invoking the girls was running out of ink for a lack of a better word.

Danny, himself wasn't doing much better as he was already becoming breathless due to his constant flying and dodging, fighting the copies even with their lack of range attacks was proving to be difficult, the girls were surprisingly athletic. It was then that he noticed a small group of Paulina performing a cheerleader routine making him wonder if their creator was also running out of brain material.

"Catch me Inviso-bill!"- Danny heard from his side.

Whatever the girls were doing served to distract him long enough for him to be pinned down by over a dozen girls who claw and cut him with sharpened nails. Their brutal attack didn't last for too long as Danny became intangible and flew away but not without leaving a mighty ecto-bomb, the blast was strong enough to obliterate the copies, Phantom sighed as he looked at two more blob monsters that had recently formed.

(XXXX)

Sam and Tucker rushed down the corridors feeling already tired from the constant running and dodging, most of the copies were located in the main lobby, though judging by the blast and yells, things weren't going as expected. Sam was sure Danny was planning on having a temporary harem due to the real Paulina being in love with the Phantom, there were only a handful of girls roaming around, and the majority of them met a gruesome end at the end of Sam's energy gun.

Tucker felt most uncomfortable upon seeing his gothic friend shoot one of the fake Paulina in the head before walking away as if she had just stepped on a bug, a large green stain on the wall was the only relief he got. The boy shook his head sideways trying to calm down, he was used to fighting ghosts, though his main duties rely more on the technical side of matters such as hacking computers but didn't shy away from throwing a punch or a laser blast now and again, his eyes peeled wide open as he saw Sam walking up the stairs leading to the fifth floor, neither wanted to be ambushed in the elevator.

"That skirt leaves nothing to the imagination."- Tucker unconsciously utter as he looked up at the goth's skirt seeing her bare buttock. It wasn't the first time that he saw Sam's panties due to their constant running and ghost fighting but always kept his thoughts to himself.

"Keep looking and I'll zap your perverted ass."- Sam retorted while aiming her energy pistol at Tucker who lifted his hands in playful surrender. She often let her boys have a sneak peek as a bit of a reward but none of the two ever admitted seeing it.

Both teens pressed their backs against the wall once they reached the top floor, gently poking their heads out and looking down the corridor. Strange green flashes could be seen coming from a room further down the hallway, Sam sighed as she dislikes the idea of having to rescue Paulina from whatever abomination was using her to make clones of her. Tucker walked out first from the staircase aiming his gun upfront shortly followed by Sam who cursed the noise her high heels made; it was already hard enough to walk with such tortuous footwear.

Their jaws nearly fell off their faces as they peeked into the room, there was no unspeakable horror tormenting the Latina nor was she bound to the wall as copies were made of her, much to Sam's terror saw Paulina floating over the floor with a book in her hands as strange words were chanted over a glowing pentagram, at the end of each sentence her body glowed and a new lesser version of the cheerleader came out. Surrounding her were nearly a dozen copies.

"Ok, this is the plan, I'm gonna go in and blast those copies meanwhile you rescue Paulina," Tucker explained as he prepared his two pistols.

Normally they would wait for Danny and let him take the frontal assault as both were well aware of how much they depended on him for protection but knew there were moments they had to face hell on their own. At least they only had to deal with rather weak copies made by a malfunctioning magic printer. After puffing his chest, a couple of times was that Tucker rushed in taking the replicas by surprise.

Heads and chests burst like balloons after being hit by energy blasts splattering the walls as the girls fell like ragdolls leaving green slime behind, Tucker felt most proud of his marksmanship that was earned through years of playing video games at his local arcade. The teen aimed his gun behind the door as it slowly creaked open and without looking blew up one of the copy's heads as she was waiting to ambush him.

Sam didn't wait for more than a second or two before running towards the real Paulina, tackling her to the ground, the Latina's body was hot in the literal sense forcing the goth to roll on her side feeling her skin scorched, she could swear to have held a boiling pot for a moment. It was then that the pentagram stopped glowing but Sam wasn't taking any more risk and cleared off the dust wondering why or how Paulina managed to cast a spell that was clearly above her level of intellect.

"We're done on our side, no more copies."- Tucker said through his intercoms.

"Awesome but I still have a problem here."- Danny said looking down at hundreds of copies that filled the lobby.

Phantom looked around taking notice of more large mass monsters and copies filling the room, it would take hours for him to get rid of the copies along with cleaning up the evidence. The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance making things far worst, the girls didn't wait for too long as they once more began attacking Danny while demanding to know why he refused to date them.

Sam quickly scrolled through the magic book looking for a solution as she exits the room heading towards Danny, while Tucker followed close behind making sure to keep all the copies at bay via his energy pistols that were dangerously low on ammo. The goth growled in frustration as she couldn't make out the words written on the pages, unlike previously, strange symbols and letters that she had never seen before filled each page making it impossible to decipher.

"Try this one"- A voice said from behind as a dark blue finger tapped on a particular page.

Soon the gibberish transformed into words that she could understand, even though it was all written in the same strange language Sam felt as if she could pronounce each foreign word as if she were a native speaker. The goth instinctively turned to her side wanting to thank whom she assumed was a library worker yet her blood froze upon looking at a pair of green snake eyes, Tucker quickly stepped up unsure of what to do as he aimed his gun over the ghost.

Both teens stared with the utmost terror at a blue-skinned ghost that was casually floating two meters above the ground, the first thing the duo noticed was that instead of legs he had a long snake-like tail while the humanoid upper half reminded them of a college intellectual with the blue wool jacket, dark green scarf, and round glasses along with having the blackest hair and goatee that they had ever seen.

Even with such formal attires, held quite an intimidating presence typical of his kind. Despite the horrible abominations that often surge from the deeps of the Ghost Zone with their huge gnarly fangs and atrociously deformed bodies, there was something more dreadful in the human ghost who according to Sam were among the most dangerous type of ghosts there could be.

"Who… who are you?"- Sam asked trying not to show any more fear.

"I am this library's curator and for you to pronounce my name I would have to rip your tongue out, so for now, just call me Ghost Writer."- the entity said sending shivers up the duo's spines as he recites a short poem about drinking tea, a fine table and tea set manifested out of thin air. "Normally, I would tear you apart and trap your souls in one of my books but seeing that seeing that you didn't start this mess and are trying to fix speaks highly of you."- The Ghost Writer said with a sinister smile.

The goth had no true reason to believe or trust in his words but was left with no more option therefore the girl followed his instructions to the tee by drawing a circle on the nearest wall and recited the incantation that the entity pointed out, though the words were sounded gibberish was sure that her pronunciation was perfect making her believe to have some degree of magic within her. Sam's words were strong and mighty making the painted circle glow in a strange black creating a portal leading to the Ghost Zone.

"How do we get them in there?!"- Sam asked looking over at the ghost.

"And so, the copies looked within the portal and saw what their hearts long for"- The Ghost Writer spoke.

It was then that the eerie portal transformed into a door, within was a shopping mall that went as far as the eyes could see, with all manner of shops with huge discount signs overhead, cafes offering the latest drinks, but best of all, each store was attended by none other than Danny Phantom himself. Even Sam had to admit to being tempted to go inside yet knew it was a trap for the Paulina replicas.

Unfortunately, two problems surge, the first was that in her haste made the portal on the third floor leading to their second problem which consisted of attracting the clone's attention who was too busy trying to "convince" Danny to date them by clawing his eyes out. It was then that Sam and Tucker noticed a microphone and a pair of loudspeakers that the curator had called upon through his ghostly incantations.

"Attention to all Paulina. We are currently having a limited-time 90% sale on all brand-name clothing and JLO articles on the library's third floor."- Sam said through the microphone, her voice resounding throughout the building. Silence overtook the library.

A sudden wave of cheering and joyful yelling filled the entire library making the Ghost Writer rub his temples in frustration as such a place was meant for silence, the girls abandoned their current goal and rushed up the stairs stepping over any unfortunate Paulina that slip down making them into nothing more than a gooey puddle on the ground, it was nothing short of a miracle that the floor could withstand the human stamped, a strange roar escaped from the leading Paulina as she pointed over the portal and its promise goods.

Their eyes open in utter wonder as they lay over the infinite number of shops, and without any sort of hesitation rushed inside the portal falling to the depths of hell. Sam gulped down as she watch the girls come out from every possible door and into the portal. Within less than ten minutes, the entire library was in complete and absolute silence, Danny flew over to his friends covered in both scratches and kisses making Tucker giggle though his heroic peer didn't enjoy the kind of attention the copies gave him.

"I'll be taking that if you please." The Ghost Writer said as took the book off Sam's hands.

Danny looked in awe as the strange ghost simply floated away before shifting his attention to Sam who was dressed in a very unusual manner compared to her customary attires, he wanted to ask questions about her clothes and the stranger but the girl dismissed his inquiries claiming to be too tired, Tucker would later fill in the gaps though, for now, wanted to go home.

Not a minute after escaping from the library was that the authorities accompanied by the GIW broke into the library, and many gagged in disgust at the scene displayed before them. It would later be revealed as a prank gone wrong, the official version said pranksters broke into the building wanting to fill it with a strange goo yet were confronted by the nightguard who they eventually murdered, the nature of the slaying prompted an investigation that required federal investigation but led to no results.

(XXXX)

Not all was lost for Sam, her night had much profit as the police summoned her once her backpack and student Id were found inside one of the rooms like many other students, she had been called in case they had seen any suspicious activity, but nothing of interest had been found within her backpack which the goth claimed to have forgotten, much to her glee, the librarians assured the books found inside didn't belong to their collection hence giving them to Sam.

This sudden turn of events made the girl unusually cheerful as she marched into the locker room ready to change into her gym clothes, her eyes instantly fell upon Paulina Sanchez who walked out of the cheerleader's private shower room, the Latina paraded like a peacock as she dried her long black hair but gave Sam an unusual smile rather than her customary glare which took the goth by surprise.

"I guess you weren't making the whole lingerie stuff up," Paulina said as she looked over at Sam who was already in her underwear.

"Told ya that thongs are my…. Wait a minute! How did you…" the goth lowered her eyes to Paulina's belly. Terror filled her heart as she saw there was no belly button. "Where's the…" Paulina put a finger over Sam's purple-colored lips.

"She was the first to go inside the portal. Let's keep that to ourselves, shall we?"- Paulina uttered as she leans in closer allowing Sam to look into her red maniacal eyes. The goth watched in stun silence as the cheerleader swayed her bubble butt from side to side heading to the cheerleader-only sauna that the school spent an absurd amount of money that could have been better used.

"Oh, well." -Sam added.

The end