Author's Note: Hello again! So sorry for the delayed update. I've been extremely busy at work and my mother-in-law was recently put on hospice, so we've been trying to visit her as much as possible.

I appreciate everyone who's favorited, followed, and reviewed so far! It really helps motivate me to keep writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

Danny's POV - Two Years Ago

How I survived sophomore year I'll never know, but I'm certainly not complaining. The last day of school was just over a week ago and June is upon us, which means everyone's preparing for yet another camping trip.

...

...

'Yayyyy...'

Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about this excursion. Last year's camping trip wasn't exactly ideal, considering how nearly the entirety of my class was kidnapped and held for ransom by Walker.

Luckily, we're gonna have a significantly smaller group this time around. The students with the more... intellectual parents never had their permission waivers signed. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those lucky students. My mom said something about "improving your relationship with your peers" and my dad blathered on about how exciting it would be if I brought home a "GHOST" for them to dissect.

My skin crawled at the memory.

At least Sam and Tucker will be there. I'm not sure Tucker's parents ever got the full story of what happened last summer. Tucker never would have told them, and they rarely pay attention to the local news. They likely signed the waiver none the wiser. And Sam... well, I'm 99% certain she just forged her parent's signatures. She mentioned telling them she'd be at some etiquette camp, or something equally girly.

We're leaving tomorrow morning. So, like your average teenaged boy, I'm packing at the very last second. I think I have about everything I'll need. I've packed plenty of shirts, shorts, and socks, the Fenton thermos, and as many wrist rays and lipstick blasters as I can discreetly carry. I'll be wearing my shoes, of course. There's just one more thing...

'How many pairs of underwear should I bring?'

The next morning we were off, and nobody was happy about the early start - except for maybe Star. 'Where does she get all her energy?'

We all piled into Lancer's personal cargo van (which seriously had me questioning his weekend activities) and headed on our way.

Once settled in, I took a minute to examine my surroundings. Our group consists of nine students. Sam and Tucker were at the back of the van with me. Dash and Kwan sat at the front, animatedly discussing football strategies. Star, Ashley, and Mia, who occupied the middle of the van, were gossiping about who knows what. And poor Nathan sat by himself, but his alien comic seemed to keep him occupied well enough.

It's a manageable group, if things go south, but I hope it doesn't come to that. It's already hard enough keeping my double life a secret withou-

"Danny, are you ok? You're tense as a bowstring!" Sam whispered, shaking me by the shoulder.

After taking a deep breath, I nervously rubbed the back of my neck and replied, "Ye-yeah, I'm good! I was just trying to determine how screwed we are if a ghost decides to cause trouble again."

"Nahhhh dude, it'll all be fine! Nothing is going to happen. I'm sure of it!" Tucker chimed in from my other side.

Twin glares swiveled in his direction as Sam hissed, "Well that's just great. You've jinxed us all, bad luck Tuck!"

"Hey! I'm not-"

A grin slowly spread across my face as I listened to my two best friends' squabbling. It comforted me to know that no matter how our circumstances changed, their bizarre relationship would remain the same.

'Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all.'

3rd Person POV - One Week Later

The first week at camp had actually been rather uneventful, but fun! Danny's class had several group activities, like hiking, canoeing, and survival skill-building exercises meant to promote teamwork, but everyone had a fair bit of free time as well.

Danny found that he spent the majority of this free time exploring the campground and the surrounding woods with Sam and Tucker. They eventually found a hilltop which miraculously had cell service, automatically making it Tucker's favorite hang out spot.

Sam liked spending time up there too, but not because of the cell service. The view was incredible! You could see the surrounding hills, plains, woods, and lakes stretching for miles in every direction, only marred by the occasional campground.

Evening found the trio hanging out on the same hilltop. Seeing how Danny was well rested for the first time in almost two years, they figured now was the perfect time to test how far his ghost powers had progressed.

Tucker sat cross-legged on the grassy soil, recording stats in the ghost files on his PDA, while Sam stood with one hand on her hip, calling out Danny's abilities one by one.

"Wow... four duplicates!? Who knew a good night's rest could make such a big difference!" Sam praised.

Danny snorted before a chorus of voices replied "Well, I think the calm setting helps a lot too. This power takes a lot of focus, which is kind of hard to do while simultaneously trying not to have my head blown off."

"Well, regardless, it's pretty impressive," Sam retorted while rolling her eyes.

Tucker, having finally finished with his notes, added, "Yeah Danny, four is a huge step. I don't think I've ever seen you do more than two duplicates before! But, getting back on track. We've almost finished testing all of your powers. I'm assuming you don't want to test your wail, so that just leaves your newest power: the ghost stinger."

A soft 'pop' reverberated through the air as five Dannys converged into one. He floated a few feet above the ground with his head bowed, and his hands fisted in front of him. With a quick nod, he closed his eyes in concentration.

A few tense seconds passed before green sparks started dancing around his hands. Then, suddenly, a violent quake rocked the earth. With his concentration broken, Danny lost control of his stinger and white hot lighting wildly arced through the air, standing the trio's hair on end.

But an apology quickly died on Danny's lips when he whirled around.

That's a wrap! Well... not really. But for this chapter it is.

I'm sorry if this seems like a bit of a filler chapter. I'm trying to provide some context for future chapters and also throw in some fun moments. While angst is kind of my thing, only writing sad stuff would make this story too one-dimensional.

I'm already working on chapter 3, so please make sure to favorite, follow, and leave a review!