Next chapter! Figured I'd upload the second part just to help get an idea on interest. Hope you enjoy, cuz this is when things take a turn for the worst. Oh, and for the record, they are 17.

For the most part, at least here, they're their stereotypical selves from the show, but then mature. It's pretty cheesy for the first part, not gonna lie.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

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Prologue Part Two: Taken

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Danny and Sam had finished at his house and were now heading towards hers. It wouldn't be long before Tucker joined them. Danny held a bag in one hand filled with his clothes; the other was preoccupied with trying to tickle Sam. She pushed him away with harsh words, but her laughter said otherwise.

And yet, the two were still completely clueless to their flirting.

"Stop!" Sam giggled.

"I'm not doing it! My fingers have a mind of their own!" Danny chuckled lamely and dove again for her side. Sam took the chance to go around the other side of a streetlamp to avoid his seeking fingers. While maneuvering around the metal pole, her boot caught on an uneven rise in the sidewalk and she tipped forward. She put her arms in front of her to brace herself for the impact that was inevitable but it never came.

Strong arms enveloped her and kept her from hitting the pavement. She looked up into sapphire blue eyes and was almost hypnotized as the light danced across them, amusement shown in them. He lifted her up and raised a brow. "Been walking long?" he asked, trying to hide the humor in his voice but failing miserably.

Sam glared half-heartedly and punched him in the arm. Danny grabbed his arm, feigning shock. "You hit me!"

"Oh shut it, it wasn't that hard, ghost boy." She placed her hands on her hips defiantly. Danny simply smiled and stooped to pick up his discarded bag on the cement.

"Stop for a picnic?" Tucker asked as he walked up to them.

"Nah," Danny answered. "Sam just has two left feet." He yelped when Sam hit him again, hard.

Rubbing his arm, he mumbled underneath his breath while Tucker shook his head. "Clueless," Tucker stated and turned. "Come on, these movies won't watch themselves."

Sam simply blushed and thought back to what had happened at Danny's house…

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"Do you have the notes for science?" Danny was rummaging through his dresser for clothes to take to Sam's.

Sam nodded. "They're at my house. Do you need to copy them again?"

Danny smiled meekly and turned to face her. "Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't get much time to study, you know. Or eat…or sleep…" he sighed and dropped his hand.

The goth pitied her best friend. "It's ok, Danny. I don't mind. You can copy whatever notes you need."

The hybrid smiled gratefully. "Thanks." He returned to looking through his drawers when a thought hit him. Now was a good time!

He grinned and turned to stare at the goth sitting on his bed. She raised a brow at his goofy smirk. "Are you ok?" she asked a bit nervously.

He chuckled. "Yeah, but I know of a way to repay you for helping me with school work. You know, even if I barely pass as it is."

Sam waved it off. "It's ok Danny. You save the town on a daily basis; I think that's payment enough."

But her friend shook his head. He suddenly looked very nervous.

"I-I've been practicing, but I'm not sure if I'll get it right. I found this new power and I think you'll like it." He managed a sheepish smile before walking a bit closer to Sam.

She cocked her head in curiosity but said nothing.

The half-ghost held out his hands and summoned green energy. It was different than his ecto-blasts, however, as this was a darker green and a more stable form of energy. Sweat beaded on his brow as he worked the blob of ecto-energy into a form. Sam watched, her attention focused solely on what Danny was creating in his hands.

Slowly, but surely, the blob took shape and after a few minutes the form of a rose rested in the boy's palms. It had taken quite a bit out of Danny, but he smiled at his success. It wasn't perfect, as the stem was crooked and a few petals were oddly shaped, but it was the most perfect one yet.

He held it out to Sam. The girl glanced at him before gingerly taking the flower from him. The green rose's petals were feathery soft like a real rose and the entire flower glowed intensely, lighting the room in a brilliant light show.

The stem and innermost part of the rose where the petals stemmed out from were a deep green like the color of pine needles. The outer edges of the petals and the thorns were a dazzling harlequin green—the same color as his eyes in ghost form. It was possibly the most stunning thing she had ever seen.

She gazed at the now red-faced ghost boy and smiled. "Thank you, Danny. It's beautiful."

–

Sam shook herself from her thoughts as she realized they were falling behind Tucker.

As Danny and Sam caught up, Tucker pulled out his PDA. "So when's the wedding ceremony?" Sam asked.

Tucker sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to them," he said to his PDA in baby talk. "You just don't appreciate technology." He stuck his tongue out at the goth.

"Sure, whatever, Tuck." She shook her head.

As they walked along, they talked, laughed, joked and poked fun at each other light-heartedly. A few blocks from Sam's, Danny felt a chill. It wasn't a ghostly kind of chill; it was different, as if they were being watched. He stopped and turned around.

His friends stopped. After a few years of Danny being half ghost they were attentive to their ghostly friend's sudden alarm. He searched the darkness behind them for a few tense moments before calming. He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and shook his head.

"What's wrong? Is there a ghost?" Tucker asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I think I'm just hallucinating."

He turned back around and smiled at them, dissipating their apprehension.

The block ahead had a streetlamp that was burned out. It had been that way for a few weeks now. Sam scoffed. "When are they going to fix that? It's so dark it gives me the chills."

Tucker raised a brow. "Wow, never thought I'd hear that from the Queen of Darkness."

A yelp echoed off the buildings and a certain dark-skinned teen held his arm with a pout.

Danny chuckled but stopped again when he felt that chilling, unnerving feeling and looked around. It was very dark now that they were in the area where the lamp was burned out. Tucker and Sam were currently arguing and while they too, stopped, they weren't paying attention to Danny.

"Guys, I think we should keep moving," he urged and pushed forward. The two exchanged confused looks.

"You ok, Dude?" Tucker had a hard time matching Danny's pace.

But Danny didn't slow down. Something was telling him to keep going, to get out of the area. They needed to reach Sam's, that's all he knew.

Sam and Tucker finally matched his pace and decided to hold questions until they reached her house.

That opportunity never came.

The panic that Danny was suppressing rose suddenly. Three men, all dressed in black hoodies, were walking towards them. Danny stopped, prompting the other two to do so as well. Logic told him he was wrong, that he needed to just keep walking and pretend he wasn't afraid. Logic told him if he kept walking, the men would simply walk on by and leave them be.

"Danny?" Sam questioned, but the halfa never answered. He concentrated on the men, hoping they would just keep going.

But his fears were soon realized. The three men stopped, the one in the middle slightly forward. Danny noted he was taller and of a more slender build than the other two. In his head, he nicknamed him Slender Man. The man to the back left had a scar over his right eye, Scar Face, and the man to the back right had a crooked and hooked nose, Hook.

Sam put on her usual defiant attitude and glared. Tucker wasn't sure what to do, but he could feel the fear, alarm and tenseness rolling off Danny in heavy waves. The fear gripped him as well and he gulped. If Danny, a powerful half-ghost, was scared…something was very wrong.

"What do you want?" Sam deadpanned.

Danny held his arm out in front of her, stopping her from saying anything more. Sam raised a brow at him but returned her icy glare at the men. While she was studying their faces, Danny was concentrating on where their hands were.

Scar Face had both hands at his sides; Hook had both folded in front of him. But the one in front, Slender Man, had one in a pocket and Danny was getting bad vibes from him.

The men ignored Sam's question and the one in front grinned wickedly. Sam's glare grew fiercer in response. But only Danny noticed what Slender Man pulled from his pocket. The blade caught a stray ray of light from the half moon and the halfa reacted faster than Sam.

Danny shoved her to the ground and threw his bag at Slender Man before he could throw the knife. He dodged and it hit Scar Face. Tucker, unsure of what to do, stooped to help Sam up. "Run!" Danny shouted and his two friends quickly complied. Danny pounded the pavement after them but didn't get far.

A hard blow to the head sent him reeling. The world spun as he hit the ground. He heard his friend's shouts but it was muffled. The pain in his head was throbbing.

Tucker turned back to grab Danny and help him up, but the smallest of the men, Hook, shoved him off and slammed his head into the brick of a building behind him. Lights exploded in his vision and he sank to the ground with a grunt.

Sam screamed; it ripped through Danny and gave him renewed strength. He pushed himself to his feet and dove onto Scar Face as he held Sam captive. Scar Face shoved an elbow into Danny's side and he stumbled backwards, gasping for breath. Before he could recover, Slender Man tackled him.

Danny fought hard, knowing his friends needed him. He kicked out, hitting Slender Man in the knee. He went down and growled furiously. Danny took his chance to hop up, but before he could, a sharp pain stabbed at his thigh. He screamed and fell back to the pavement, grabbing his leg.

Looking down, he gritted his teeth at the knife in the muscle of his thigh. Blood trickled down and stained the cement. But his pain was pushed to the back of his mind when Sam screamed again. He craned his neck to see her, and saw Scar Face straddling her, his hands around her neck. Panic hit him again.

His only choice now was to reveal his secret, and he would gladly do it if it would save his friends. He closed his eyes through the pain and felt around for the cold spot in his core. He found it quickly and welcomed the two white rings that formed around his middle.

"No you don't," Slender Man said and before the rings could complete their progression, Danny felt another stabbing pain, this time in his neck. He screamed as a burning, stinging pain filled his neck and spread. The white rings shorted out and faded and the cold feeling was lost. Slender Man retracted the needle and grinned at the writhing boy.

At this point, Tucker was finally conscious again and felt a wave of courage surge through him. He stood and roared a battle cry and charged the man strangling Sam. He hit Scar Face full force and knocked him into the street, both tumbling over each other. Sam gasped and coughed, trying to catch her breath.

Hook went after Tucker as Scar Face held a broken arm he suffered while tumbling end on end.

Danny wiggled but could not get out of Slender Man's grasp. "Get off me!" he yelled, now feeling completely helpless without his ghost powers.

"You're coming with us, kid." The man smiled smugly.

Sam was up, finally able to breathe and came running towards Danny. She was poised for a kick when Slender Man pulled the knife from Danny's leg, earning a scream, and took aim.

Danny never gave him the chance.

When Slender Man moved, he gave Danny more room to maneuver. The halfa rolled over and grabbed onto Sam's leg, throwing her off balance and making her fall backwards. In doing this, the man completely missed her, but instead planted the knife deep into Danny's upper shoulder. He screamed again and clamped his jaw shut. Blood poured over the shoulder and onto the pavement. "Stupid kid," Slender Man commented and yanked the knife back out. Danny, with his jaw clamped, grunted in pain.

The ghost boy looked up, his blue eyes pleading. He and Sam made eye contact. 'Run' his eyes said. He shook with the effort to get the word out. She shook her head, not wanting to leave him. He narrowed his eyes, his message more urgent. He needed her to run. He had surmised by now that they wanted him, not them.

Tucker managed to slip by Hook and was now at Sam's side. This time, Danny managed to yell it. "RUN!"

"Why, you!" Slender Man shouted and slammed Danny's head into the cement, making him see stars. "Get them!" he ordered the other two.

Tucker and Sam locked eyes and nodded. He helped her up and they ran. Hook caught up with Sam, but she jumped over a fire hydrant and grabbed onto a lamp post, spinning herself around and landing a kick hard below the belt. He fell and didn't get up. Scar Face was in too much pain from his broken arm to keep up and he fell back to help his comrade.

Meanwhile, Slender Man yanked Danny's arm behind him and he hissed in pain as his injured shoulder was wrenched painfully. Rope was tied around his wrists tightly and his head was once again roughly shoved into the cement. He growled.

Then the man got up and grabbed Danny by the rope around his wrists and pulled him to his feet. Danny yelped when more pressure was applied to his shoulder. He stood, most of his weight on his right leg, his left too painful to really stand on. He looked up through his bangs and saw Sam and Tucker down the street. They had stopped, no longer being pursued and stared on in worry. He saw Sam start to come back towards him but he shook his head, stopping her. If she was killed…he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Tucker got the message and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can't find him if they kill us," he explained. Sam looked at Tucker, pain in her eyes, but she nodded her understanding.

"You two are completely incompetent!" Slender Man berated his comrades. He cursed under his breath and grabbed the two-way at his side. "We've got the boy," he said into the static.

Danny glared at Scar Face. He was angry, hurt and confused and the only way he could find to deal with it was to glare at the man who hurt Sam. Scar Face shifted slightly, somewhat unnerved by the intensity of Danny's gaze.

Danny felt Slender Man holding him shift. He pulled hard on the ropes around the hybrid's wrists and dropped the boy to his knees. Danny grimaced from the sudden jolt of pain in his leg and shoulder.

A burlap sack was tossed from Slender Man to Hook and he came at Danny with a grin. He was going to tie it around his neck.

Danny took another look at his friends through his pained eyes and something within him snapped. He roared and forced his legs to move. He would not submit to anyone!

Ignoring the searing pain in his leg, he pushed forward and the unexpected movement jolted his wrists from Slender Man's grasp. He limped forward but didn't get far before he was hit again in the head, falling to the sidewalk. His head was pounding from all the abuse it had taken, but it was nothing compared to what the man was doing now. Slender Man pounded his foot hard into Danny's injured shoulder and the boy bit his lip to keep from crying out. Through the agony he glared up at the men defiantly. "You really are stupid." His captor laughed.

Meanwhile Sam and Tucker stood there helplessly; neither moved. They couldn't help their friend, so they chose to stay and maybe get a lead on where he was being taken. When he cried out in pain Sam flinched and grabbed onto Tucker's arm. He gazed down at her and could tell she was close to tears. Placing a comforting arm around her shoulders, he looked back at the thugs who had Danny.

The young half ghost struggled underneath the foot of the large man. "Let me go!" He screamed in vain. Once again, the burlap sack was mere inches from him and this time there wasn't much he could do to avoid it. He panicked and tried to wiggle backwards but to no avail.

He twisted and contorted his hurting body to be released from Slender Man's hold but nothing worked. The ropes were too tightly bound to his wrists to escape and without his ghost powers he couldn't go intangible and slip them off.

As the burlap sack was shoved over his head he used a last ditch effort and bit the hand of Hook. The man roared in pain and Danny's shoulder was crushed again in response to his rebellious act.

"You're wearing on my nerves, kid!" Slender Man snorted.

Danny heard the sound of wheels rushing across asphalt and one of the men shouted, "Van's here!"

The halfa was hoisted harshly in the air once again and this time had no chance to retaliate as the burlap was thrown over his head. He shook his head back and forth and thrashed trying to get it off, but Hook was able to tie it tight and securely.

He was picked up gruffly and he kicked wildly and blindly, his world now mostly dark under the heavy and nearly suffocating burlap. Doors creaked open and Danny was tossed unceremoniously into the back, landing hard on the metal on his battered shoulder. He winced again as the doors slammed shut.

The van shifted as the men piled in and shut the doors. Danny slid a few inches as the vehicle was jammed into first and took off.

Sam tore down the sidewalk trying to get a view of the van. It got further and further away, but even at such a distance, it was clear. The van was unmarked and it had no license plate, no tell-tale damage, nothing to track it by. She stopped as Tucker caught up.

Breathing hard she fell to her knees, completely devastated. Their glorious movie night was torn into shreds in a matter of minutes. The whole thing was a blur in her head, really; it all happened so fast.

Tucker kneeled beside her and wrapped her in a hug. "We shouldn't have run," she whimpered.

"We had no choice," Tucker murmured. "We didn't have a chance. They would have killed us if we stayed. At least now we have a chance of finding him."

Sam pulled away and glared fiercely, making Tucker scoot back a little. "Finding him? Tucker, it was an unmarked van with no license plate! How do we track a white working van with no registration?! Do you know just how many white working vans there are in this country?!" she shouted.

Tucker drooped and closed his eyes solemnly. He didn't say a word. She was right; most companies used that kind of van. There had to be thousands of them, if not more.

He stood suddenly, his head lowered. With a sad glance at Sam, he offered her his hand. "Come on, someone has to tell his parents."

–

A sad end to this chapter. Honestly, I'm not sure I like the way this chapter came out. It just didn't seem to do what I wanted. *shrug* I hope you liked it anyway.

6/26/2024: And if you're wondering why they didn't pull out a cell phone and call 911, I don't remember them ever having one on the show. Also, smartphones didn't come out until 2007, and not a lot of kids I knew in high school had phones just yet, even the flip ones (which is when this was written).

What will happen to Danny now? Who wants him? What about his family?

Please review!