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zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation (could be a past event of some kind)

Mental thoughts, past speech, or distant speaking unless indicated otherwise

"Share your smile with the world. It's a symbol of friendship and peace." ~ Christie Brinkley.

zzz

Unknown Location. Unknown Time.

It was an unnatural sensation. The closest thing he could compare it to was being swept up and down by waves, everything you were being made to bob up and down. The difference was that it wasn't just up and down but back and forth and left and right and for whatever reason he wasn't getting sick. The movement wasn't violent, just not normal. He felt weightless.

"Ita, hoc faciam. Non possum non sentire. Magna misericordia. Dux. Et tamen multas electiones. Quod sic." (Yes, he will do. I can feel it. Great compassion. Leader. He still has many choices. Yes.)

Danny felt himself blink in response to the words he was hearing. He didn't get what they meant, compassion, leader, choices? Then it was that unfamiliar language again.

Sv dsl droo yv gsv mvcg ztv. Wl dszg dv xlfow mlg, svil. Svil…

Great, now he didn't know what they were saying at all. The voices grew quiet and it was suddenly silent and still. Then a voice he definitely knew and could understand suddenly muttered a simple phrase that made his being ache with fear and guilt.

"Having that much power… it's a burden, isn't it, child?"

Unknown Location. 4:35 AM.

"Danny, you need to wake up. We're parking the car." Danny woke with a shiver of discomfort and dread, though he was already starting to forget details about his unpleasant dream. He glanced over to the see the face of his older sister, giving him a soft look.

"Bad dream?" She was really good at that, or he was just easy to read.

"Something like that," Danny replied and rubbed his eyes. "We at the airport?"

"Yeah, wake Danielle."

"Why me?"

"Because, every time I try, she goes instinctually intangible on me."

"Classic…"

"Very funny." Danny chuckled a bit before reaching over and starting to nudge Dani. The younger girl once again tried to turn intangible only for Danny to do the same and touch her still.

"Wake up, we're at the airport." Dani murmured in annoyance before mostly waking up. She grumbled as the family started to get out their bags and belongings.

Walking through the airport after they'd checked their bags was pretty awkward. People kept noticing the family and then whispering to their companions. While it was a bit too faint to hear what they were saying, it wasn't hard to make guesses.

When they got to the security screening area, Danny became concerned that the ectoplasm in his body and Dani's would mess with the screening. His parents had already had to begrudgingly take the weapons from their jumpsuits and store them in their checked baggage, so what would happen seeing as he and Dani were weapons themselves?

Before he could wonder anymore, the TSA agent looked at their tickets and information before motioning someone over. "The Fentons, right? Come this way. We will do the screening for you, privately."

Danny felt both a bit concerned and relieved as they were led to a separate room and searched. Nobody talked and everyone focused on just going through the motions. Danny and Dani were both checked by an ectoplasm detection device the TSA agents had to make certain they were who they said they were and weren't people posing as the youngest Fentons. Eventually they were cleared and sent on their way.

As they waited in the gate, Danny noticed some people looking at them still, though a vast majority of people were too busy getting where they needed to go. The one that caught his eye however, was a mother with her little girl. The girl was looking at him as her mother spoke in her ear. Danny glanced away and tried to focus on hearing what she was saying, without being obvious about it.

"We're lucky. Danny Phantom's going to be on the plane with us, so you don't need to be afraid of being in the sky. He'll catch us."

Danny felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment and his core hummed. He supposed the plane crash he and Dani had stopped had been on the News by now. He was glad he could give the little girl comfort, even if it also stressed him out to have such a weight of responsibility fall on him. The thing that bothered him the most about it though was whether or not people in general as well as some certain ghosts he knew were forgetting that he was just eighteen.

He perked up when he heard his family's boarding group get called. If it wouldn't cause such a stink he would honestly just prefer to fly alongside the plane. His nerves were starting to make him feel trapped and confined.

White House. 12:30 PM.

"That's fairly clever if a big underhanded," Jazz murmured. Danny blinked and looked over at his older sister, Dani mirrored him.

"What do you mean?" Dani asked.

"They're having you talk with the press first so that the press doesn't bug them as much after your talk with the President. That way the White House can shift through what they learn," Jazz explained. Before either Phantom could respond, their guide came back and started to instruct them on what to do.

"Daniel and Danielle will be at the podium, the rest of the Fentons can be behind the press room so they can listen in if they like. There are some make-up artists that will help you both get ready. As for your belongings, they've been dropped off at your chosen hotel."

Before long, Danny found himself in one of his suits, being pampered and prodded. He could practically hear Dani's discomfort from within the silence. Danny glanced at himself in the mirror and felt like they'd done of good job on him, not that he'd had much expectation either way. His hair was slicked down better though not to the point of abandoning his general look and his face was free of any blemishes or light scars he had. When they allowed him up, he glanced over to see Danielle getting her hair curled. Soon after she was allowed up as well. He'd heard her telling them not to overdo her makeup and as far as Danny could tell, they'd down a good job. Dani's hair was only curled slightly but still in a ponytail.

"Right this way, Mr. and Ms. Fenton." Danny and Dani glanced up to see another one of the staff they'd seen ushering people around and followed him. They found themselves with their family again behind the press room. The sounds of cameras flashing could be heard as the press secretary talked. "She's going to introduce you very soon, when she does, I'll lead you to the door and then you'll both walk to the podium, okay?" The guide walked towards the door before they could actually respond.

"You both look so nice." Danny smiled and glanced at his mother, who'd been the one to speak.

"It's dumb," Dani muttered in slight frustration. She was wearing a blouse and skirt and had been grumbling about it.

"When you get older, I have one for you, pantsuits." Jazz expressed and then gestured to her own outfit, which was a pantsuit. Dani looked wistfully at her outfit.

"I wish-" Dani felt Danny slap a hand over her mouth.

"That is literally the last thing we need right now," Danny explained before removing his hand. While Axion had been commissioned to make a ghost detection and shield producing system for the White House and other important government locations, they hadn't been quite able to fill the order yet. They didn't need Desiree popping up and causing a national security issue.

"Oops, uh, right."

"Come, come!" The guide suddenly instructed and Danny and Dani were hurried towards the door.

"You both do the Fenton name, proud, kids!" Jack shouted as they left. Earlier in Danny's adolescence, he would've been mortified by his dad's embarrassing declaration, but now, it just filled him with contentment. Then, as he heard his name and Dani's announced, the weight of what he was about to do started to crush him. They were both about to answer questions on national television.

They were there, the lights from the cameras were flashing, and Danny had to close his mouth consciously to make sure he didn't gap like a fish. He swallowed.

"Um, hello. I'm Danny Fenton and this is my sister, Danielle Fenton. We're, half-ghosts." Before he could start pulling more to say from his head, the questions came like a tsunami.

"Are you dead?"

"Did you see the Hereafter?"

"How did you die?"

"Danielle, as a clone, do you have Daniel's memories?"

"Do you believe cloning should be legal?"

Danny huffed slightly before he narrowed his eyes and let a bit of his ghostly wail alter his voice. "HEY! QUIET!" The room grew silent and Danny blushed slightly. "Um, can we try to be more organized with this? I know everyone's really curious and worried… how about you raise your hands-" Lots of hands popped up before Danny could finish his sentence. Dani peeked out from behind the podium, where she'd been hiding somewhat. Danny sighed and pointed at a random person.

"Jessica Smith with Spotlight EP NEWS. This is directed at your sister. Danielle, seeing as cloning humans is considered immoral at this point, what is your view on it as a clone yourself?" Dani blinked and wrung her hands nervously once Danny had let her get closer to the mic.

"I don't really know. I mean, I'm glad I'm here, but…" Dani glanced at her brother in concern. "Then again, we were made to replace someone. Even if I and some of the other failed clones were told to be like Danny, we were all conscious of the fact that we, weren't. Ya know?"

"There were others?" Dani swallowed nervously and glanced at Danny. He merely nodded slowly.

"Yeah, they all melted into goop though. I…" Dani blinked as she started to think about her other brothers that didn't make it. "I don't want to talk about that." She backed up as Danny retook the podium to give her a minute to compose herself. He'd have to talk with her later about whatever guilt she was harboring about the other clones. The reporters started clamoring again for a continuation of the topic but Danny shook his head and pointed to someone else that was actually being quiet and respectful while holding his hand up.

"John Schwartz with Channel 4 News by the Quarter. To be honest, I don't mean any disrespect, but what is your position on your potential to be a danger to others? While the recent trial made it clear you weren't at fault for the theft and kidnapping or assault charges, that doesn't erase the fact that you could do any of those things and it would be hard to stop either of you." Danny's face dropped a bit, he was at least grateful for the reporter's attempt to ask his question respectfully, even if it still hurt Danny.

"I suppose the truth is, you're right. I very well could, then again anyone can decide to do horrible things. I understand the scale is somewhat different between someone like myself and Danielle and an average citizen, but I do want to help people." Danny paused for a moment. "I won't say much about it, because it's very personal, but being close to death…" Danny glanced up and gestured with a hand. "Full humans can attest to this as well. Being close to death makes you… reevaluate things." The cameras started up again and more hands rose into the air.

Danny felt like simply disappearing. He was certainly tempted to.

Casper High. 12:00 PM.

Sam was seriously wanting to punch everyone in the face. She knew Tucker's PDA had a small screen, but did everyone think that this massive amount of people could squeeze together to watch Danny and Dani's press conference?

"What motivated you to save that crashing passenger plane?"

"Well, who wouldn't want to try a save people in danger if they could fly?"

"That was a stupid question to ask." Tucker muttered. Valerie elbowed him.

"Shush."

It wasn't much longer, before the conference ended and people started to go back to their seats in the lunchroom. Star's group and Brandon's group, as well as some of the Neutrals like T.J. and Brad, relaxed again in their spots at Sam, Tucker, and Valerie's table. Paulina, Dinah, and Megan had been sitting quietly at one of the ends of the table.

"Vultures." Sam muttered and ate a forkful of salad.

"It is a difficult situation," Brandon expressed.

"So, Danny's going to talk with the President next?" Dash asked.

"That was the plan. I doubt this will be the last time though," Tucker replied and clicked off his PDA to continue eating.

"If everything goes well I wonder what the government will do with the Guys in White?" Valerie suddenly asked. Everyone glanced at her as a myriad of confused, scared, or pensive looks cropped up amongst the teens.

"I suppose they would logically be shut down and their resources reallocated elsewhere," Mikey expressed.

"Was that English?" Alroy questioned. Mikey coughed slightly.

"I mean they'll be shut down and anything that can be used elsewhere will be reused."

"Oh."

"So, no problem, right?" Kwan asked, giving everyone a positive smile. Now that the boundaries between cliques in school had mostly fallen and everyone was trying to start over, it was somewhat nice to start noticing things about these people that Sam had never bothered to notice before. Kwan's smiles seemed to always cheer people up, not that it included her, but still. It had been annoying before when he'd spouted happy poetry at her poetry slam, but in this situation, it was a bit more welcome.

"I guess," Tucker replied, though there was a hint of worry there. Sam noticed him glance at her to see if he could see the same thing in her. He probably could because they were most likely thinking the same thing. The Guys in White were idiots, had fairly bad aim, but they worried her. They were a group blinded by their mantras and codes, single-minded in their pursuit of their goals, not too concerned with life, hunted them across country in another reality, and had split Danny into his two selves at the end of the trial. She wouldn't let them slip her mind yet, not until she was positive about them being done and gone. It was amazing what people would do in the sake of revenge or retribution.

"You don't seem very certain," Valerie responded and looked at Tucker. The young man shrugged.

"I hope they're done for, but you've seen how they can be. They don't care about who they hurt. When they hear ectoplasm, they go full throttle."

"That was just that one agent at the trial though. You heard them raving like a lunatic," Star pushed. Tucker again sought her eyes before Sam sighed.

"The Guys in White are all pretty bigoted. Some of them are just smarter than others-"

"Are you saying that you think the agent was just a puppet? That they took the fall for what their leader wanted?" Norman questioned. Sam shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not, but let's just say…" Sam paused before she furrowed her brows. "Me and Tucker have seen other agents show signs of not caring whether Danny was still human or not. For all we know, they're all willing to do something drastic. Hopefully not, but I'd rather be suspicious than blindsided."

"This sounds like a story," Valerie muttered aloud and rose a brow. Sam waved her off and told everyone she and Tucker would have to explain some other time.

"It's so crazy. He's human, he just has different abilities," T.J. groused.

"You mean Freaky Fenton?" Everyone glanced up sharply to see a few football and basketball players standing near the table. Dash narrowed his eyes at the black-haired, brown-eyed player. He was the ringleader of the group that had attacked Danny in the boy's locker-room. Cliff still had bandages on his knuckles where he'd punched the wall trying to hit Fenton.

"Leave, Cliff." Tyson grumbled. Cliff looked at the jock and snorted.

"What if I don't want to?" Cliff replied.

"Did you hear something?" Sam asked rhetorically, looking at Tucker who answered shortly after.

"Nope." Dash almost chuckled. The geek squad…er trio, was pretty funny.

"I know I can't phase you Manson, but I have to ask, Fenton or Phantom? I mean, why else would anyone even notice him?" Cliff questioned, causing some of his pals to laugh. Sam felt anger fester in her chest. Did this idiot not even know how long she'd known Danny and Tucker? Probably not.

"Buzz off. There is no Phantom, Cliff. It was always Danny." There was a beat of silence as that statement seemed to settle on everyone there in different ways. Cliff finally grumbled.

"Whatever. Fenton's dangerous. Not everyone will fall for this baloney."

"What do you mean?" Brandon asked. Cliff scoffed.

"My dad's already organizing a group of protesters. Some of us are tired of living with ghosts. One way or another, Phantom's not going to be welcome here. He should go where he belongs, the stupid portal he died in or whatever." The callousness of the statement shocked most of the people there, Dash was the first to snap out of it and surged to his feet.

"SAY THAT AGAIN!" Cliff sneered.

"How the mighty have fallen." Alroy and Tyson stood up as well, while Kwan was looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Leave, Cliff." Everyone glanced over to see Paulina staring at him. Cliff looked right at her.

"You too? You still pinning after a dead guy?"

"My Papa made your Dad who he is. Without him, your dad wouldn't be as successful as he is now."

"Is that a threat? We have a right to protest this." Paulina swallowed and lifted her nose a bit.

"I know that. I just meant you could say you owe me a favor. So, leave us alone." Cliff rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

"Whatever. I have better things to do than mess with you weirdos. Say goodbye to your ghost kid while you can, because if we have anything to say about it, he'll be out of here." After the other jocks had walked off, Valerie growled audibly.

"The nerve of that guy!" Dash still had an angry look on his face as he sat to return to his meal but was otherwise silent.

"Thanks, Paulina," Star expressed and squeezed her friend's arm. Paulina only smiled half-heartedly before continuing to eat herself. Sam watched the other girl for a long moment. She was interrupted from her thoughts when Brandon spoke up.

"What did Danny ever do to him?"

"You'd be surprised what fearful people will do, little man," Brad answered. Sam could help but mentally agree with that statement. People were afraid; she understood and it was expected, but that didn't mean she'd let scared people hurt Danny.

Oval Office. 2:00 PM.

Though Danny would debate that facing the President was the most stressful thing he'd done today, he felt a sense of peace ever him when he could no longer hear so many voices talking at once. Dani had been returned to the rest of the family, while Danny went on his own to face the leader of his country.

The Secret Service stopped once they'd walked him into the Oval Office and positioned themselves near the doors. Danny had noticed that they hadn't directly touched him and something told the halfa that they were wearing specter deflector belts and packing ecto-weapons, not that he blamed them. He glanced up to see President Hartman staring at him in a calm and calculated way.

"Mr. Fenton, please, take a seat." Danny nodded somewhat dumbly before he sat on one of the available couches. Once he'd done that, it was silent for a few more minutes before Hartman spoke again. "You've had an enormous amount of power at your finger-tips, power that could easily make our country a better place, and you've been keeping it a secret."

Danny felt sweat start to form on the back of his neck.

"There have been a few natural disasters you could've helped with…" Danny felt guilt claw at his stomach and try to eat at his heart. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz had told him before that he couldn't be everywhere at once, that he was still just human. It didn't make the President's words hurt any less though. The man sighed and laced his fingers together in thought. "On the other hand, you can hardly be expected to do everything and be everywhere. Not only that but talking about what ifs and living through them are two very different things." The man glanced up into Danny's eyes. "Considering everything, I think you've done well or as well as one could do in such a situation."

Danny blinked in surprise. "Uh, thanks Mr. President."

Hartman smiled slightly before he straightened up again. "So, let's get to business. We need to talk about ghosts, the Ghost Zone, our nation, and the world at large. Are your ghostly friends coming soon?"

Danny nodded. "They can appear in this room whenever your ready. I know it'll be different after you get a shield and system for the White House."

Hartman was quiet for a moment before he rubbed his chin. "So, they have the power to appear almost wherever they want on Earth, right?"

Danny scratched the back of his neck. "It depends sir. They had arrangements for this meeting and um…" Hartman rose a hand.

"It's alright, just making notes. They can come when they're ready."

A few minutes later saw Frostbite, Pandora, Dora, Tykr'aal, Loki, and Amatheia enter the large room. After they settled in, they started to talk. The ghostly leaders gave a brief explanation of who they were and what they did and left out what they weren't comfortable with. Frostbite then was able to explain why Danny Phantom was important to each of them and respected by many groups in the Zone, minus their recent askance of him to be King. Tykr'aal was the one to explain how the Zone and Human Plane were connected and needed each other.

Danny nervously gave a bare-bones description of his accident, while his ghost friends watched him with sympathy. After these things were explained, Hartman leaned back in his presidential chair and glanced at the ceiling for a long moment.

"From both the evidence during the trial and from what you've all told me it seems fairly obvious that a treaty of sorts will need to be written. It seems as though the Ghost Zone needs to be considered sovereign at least and protected for both our sakes…" Hartman hummed slightly before nodding. He looked at the ghosts there. "Thank you all for your show of cooperation. I would like to consider planning talks that could occur later. The Senate and House of Representatives will want and need to hear some of these things, not to mention the international community. The man shook his head of his thoughts. "But for now, thank you for this first step and show of trust. I deeply apologize on the behalf of all Americans for our past ignorance. I hope we can continue working together for the betterment of all of us."

"I'm guessing you'll be giving a recording of this conversation to the House and Senate soon?" Loki asked smiling a little as he felt Hartman's nerves bubble inside.

"Loki!" Amatheia hissed in frustration.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm a terrible prankster. There are those in the Zone that would try to trick me for bragging rights. I tend to be fairly observant of my surroundings," Loki gave a benevolent smile that was also cheeky.

Hartman only nodded, trying to not to give anything away. "Most likely. Because of the situation, we're having to expedite the process a bit. We can't have such a legal gray area open without resolution for long."

"An understandable approach," Frostbite returned.

Danny tried to act as attentive as before, but these people around him were so resolute and poised. They carried confidence and had experience at leading people. How could he ever be a king? He was glad that they were going home tomorrow. Everything had just gotten too big. To be honest, he just wanted to go to school or the arcade, something more like the norm.

Unknown Location. 1:38 PM.

"You've had your chance, let us try our way," Agent Alpha stated briskly. He stood near one of the head scientists and guards tasked to watch over Masters. They all three watched as the eldest halfa simply stared at the detective that was questioning him. The ex-billionaire wasn't making a peep.

"I still think trying to form a rapport will generate better results-"

"Rapport? Are you serious?" Alpha chuckled slightly. The scientist huffed.

"He is not much different from a normal human according to our findings with Daniel Fenton and his sister. Until the legislature catches up with all these new findings, we aren't to make any brash decisions!" Alpha only frowned. Agent M, L, K, and O stood near him. Agent M had his arms crossed while the other three stood with their arms at their sides as they watched the detective try to pry anything out of Vlad. The detective eventually left the questioning room for a break and the scientist and guard walked away to talk with him.

"They've both made fools of us. They were both hiding the fact they were ghosts and they had the gall to use us in a demented game of pranking each other," Agent M snarled angrily.

"I would think these scientists would realize the potential knowledge they're throwing away by not being able to fully study these… half-ghosts," Agent L added.

"That's the funny thing about bureaucracy boys, it's a fickle thing." Agent Alpha folded his own arms as he stared at Vlad, hard.

"They're going to shut us down, aren't they, sir?" Agent O asked. Alpha didn't answer. He gritted his teeth slightly as the detective returned and brought a glass of water for the monster in man's skin.

Casper High. English Class. A couple days later. 11:50 AM.

"I understand that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. all the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly - as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back." Lancer glanced up from his copy of the book to look at his students who were staring at him somewhat attentively. It was odd when he thought about it. With most everything out in the open, they could bother to actually pay attention in class more. It also didn't feel as though they were all just playing the parts of teacher and students and getting through the day. No, they all valued this normalcy more than before. How could something be so comforting and sad at the same time?

"How about we analysis this passage?" Lancer questioned, getting his mind back on topic. He saw Valerie raise her hand. "Yes, Ms. Gray?"

"I think it's where Grendel starts to question his existence and what it means to be alive."

"Yes, true." Lancer nodded to Lester when he rose his hand.

"He also starts his journey into philosophy."

"Good, yes Ms. Manson?"

"There are some hints of nihilism here. Grendel's inner voice is cynical." Lancer nodded.

"Indeed, as we read further we will start discussing the topic of nihilism in more detail-" He nodded at Danny when the young man rose his hand.

"What's nihilism?" Lancer smiled a bit and turned to start writing the definition on the board.

"It's a bit more complicated than this but in essence, nihilism is the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless." Lancer turned after putting his chalk down. He saw Danny was frowning slightly.

"Huh." Danny muttered. Lancer was about to comment further when the bell rang.

"Alright class, remember to read the next chapter before class next time." He watched as his students grabbed their belongings and walked towards the door. He was somewhat surprised when Danny walked up to him.

"I just wanted to say that I'm still a little confused about nihilism." Lancer nodded.

"We will be covering it in more detail as we continue through the book."

"Yeah, I just can't really imagine believing that life has no meaning," Danny replied, looking puzzled. Sam walked up behind him.

"You're too positive for nihilism, Danny. It doesn't suit you," Sam joked. Danny merely laughed sarcastically.

"Very funny."

"It's certainly an interesting topic for philosophical discussions, but I digress. I finished grading your essay, Daniel. I was pleased with what I read." Lancer expressed as he finished grabbing his lunch and thermos of coffee.

"Oh, thanks Mr. Lancer." Danny replied, a smile coming to his face. "Have a good lunch." Lancer chuckled to himself was the two walked out of his room, talking. He was glad that Daniel was doing better. Even though he had other worries now, it was nice to see the weight of his secret-life not weigh on him in the same way it once did.

"HEY!" Lancer yelped and turned to see Tetslaff standing at the door. She placed a hand near he mouth as though trying and failing to whisper. "I put hot-sauce in Marlowe's sandwich. Want to watch?"

Lancer babbled uncomprehendingly before gaining mastery of his voice again. "Mrs. Tetslaff, honestly! We aren't children and you could get in trouble for that!"

Tetslaff merely rose her brow. "ARE YOU COMING OR NOT!?" Lancer face deadpanned.

"Oh fine."

"That's what I thought!"

Outdoor Benches. Lunch. 12:15 PM.

"So I heard from a certain someone that you bowl," Star mentioned as the new typical group of teens headed outside to eat their lunch. Danny smiled while Valerie chuckled a bit.

"Yeah. I'm decent," Danny replied.

"We should all go sometime!" Dash perked up, excited to find something that interested him and included some of the other teens he was getting to know.

"Where did you typically bowl, the lanes at the mall?" Brad asked.

"Uh," Danny stuttered and glanced at Sam. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Danny practiced at my house."

"What?" Dinah suddenly questioned in surprise, thinking she misheard.

"I have a bowling alley in my house," Sam explained. "I'm an heiress." Many people there, other than Danny and Tucker, looked dumbfounded by this information.

"But then why-" Brandon responded.

"I wanted real friends." Sam replied curtly.

"Yeah me and Danny didn't find out until freshman year. Then again the Mansons didn't exactly like Sam hanging out with us." Tucker grimaced.

"That's an understatement. I'm just glad they're trusting my decisions more," Sam replied.

"Now so long as my parents or I don't do anything to convince them to file another restraining order against me," Danny chuckled, though there was an underlining current of worry.

"I would seriously doubt that you would be at fault for it," Sam replied and grasped Danny's hand. Danny smiled back. "Don't make me eat my words, ghost boy."

"Aye captain."

Before long, everyone was seated at the outdoor tables chatting and eating their lunches. Every student that was eating outside, flinched when a trashcan lid slammed into the chain-link fence. A man scooped the trashcan lid back up as everyone noticed the group behind him, numbering near fifty. He had another trashcan lid and started slamming the two together to make noise.

"Ghosts and ghouls don't belong in schools! Ghosts and ghouls don't belong in schools!"

"Out of our home and into the Zone! Out of our home and into the Zone!"

The group started chanting and lifting signs over their heads, while the man up front banged his trashcan lids together. Teens started to nervously leave the outdoor area for the safety and quiet of the lunchroom, while Danny and his group stared at the ensuing chaos.

"Let's go inside Danny," Sam muttered and grasped his shoulder. Danny released a breath before their group got up and started walking towards the doors of the school. The protesters booed them as they fled.

"I'm just glad Dani stayed inside with Ash and Jace," Valerie grumbled. Lancer and Ishiyama intercepted them as they entered the lunchroom.

"Good, we were about to come and retrieve the students that were outside," Ishiyama expressed. She marched past them and through the doors to the outside, while Lancer sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"The police will be here soon. We can't stop them from protesting, but they shouldn't be making threatening gestures or damaging property," Lancer explained with an apologetic tone.

Danny shrugged. "It's fine. Thanks for worrying."

The group continued on and found another table to sit at. Conversation eventually picked up again, but no one could really make Danny talk much other than obligatory responses. He ate quietly.

Casper High Hallway. 3:05 PM.

"Yeah, I can go bowling Saturday," Tyson nodded as everyone finished getting their things from their lockers and started grouping together to talk about weekend plans. Not everyone could make it to the Amity Lanes to bowl, but Dash, Tyson, Brad, Brandon, Mikey, Paulina, and Star were going. Valerie had to help her dad with fitting her ghost hunting armor and Tucker had offered to come with her, seeing as it had partially been his idea to make her new armor.

Danny wanted to go, but wanted Sam to come too. Sam was torn. She wanted Danny to have fun, but she was feeling a little suffocated by their new and larger social circle. He'd given her an excited look though and she couldn't help but agree to go. If she had either Tucker, Valerie, or Danny with her, she could bare it.

"Oh you're on, Fenton!" She snapped from her thoughts when she saw Danny shake hands with Dash as though sealing some sort of bet. Some type of competition sounded fun. She froze though along with everyone else, when a blue wisp of cold breathe burst from Danny's mouth.

"Of course," Danny muttered. He turned slightly and transformed before looking down the hall. Everyone was silent while Danny stared. "That's weird, there should be something there."

"Really? Maybe it's invisible." Lester suggested. Danny huffed.

"I guess." He walked forward some more before stopping again. "Hey, show yourself! I know you're there." Nothing. Then without warning, Skulker shot through the right side of the hall and barreled into Danny, snatching him up and phasing them both through the left side of the wall. Danny let out a grunt of surprise before he vanished with the hunter. Some other students behind them had shouted in surprise or fear at Danny vanishing with the other ghost.

"Uh," Kwan mumbled, still a bit stunned. Sam sighed.

"Will Skulker just make up his mind already?"

"Come on, let's go. Danny doesn't have a thermos," Tucker expressed as he slipped one from his bag.

"If you would stay here, that would be appreciated. Mr. Foley, Ms. Gray, and Ms. Manson may go, but the rest of you hardly have any experience ghost hunting." Lancer spoke as he walked up the to group.

"Mr. Lancer!" Dash exclaimed in disappointment.

"Technically, he's right," Valerie inserted, getting a frown from the jock.

"We usually just help Danny with keeping track of a thermos. We tend to only use weapons when we have to, minus Val," Tucker explained. "The Fentons have been tutoring us though."

They paused from their conversation when Dani rushed past them. "Hi guys! Bye guys!" Jace and Ash ran up too only to be grabbed by the shirt collars by Mr. Lancer.

"Hold on you two. I would prefer a very small group go out to deal with the problem, less chance of injury. I can almost guarantee that the school codes for ghost protocol will be updated to include having teachers attempt to stop students from ghost hunting."

"But-" Ash started only for Jace to interrupt as he straightened his collar.

"He's right. You don't see minors as police officers or firemen. Ghost hunting is dangerous." Jace frowned as he spoke though, showing that he wasn't exactly happy about it.

"We'll just have to wait and see I guess," Brandon expressed and Lancer nodded. He glanced up to watch Sam, Tucker, and Valerie run through the front doors.

Outside Casper High. 3:20 PM.

"Skulker! What the heck are you doing!?" Danny shouted before he flew to his left to dodge another massive blast from Skulker's new cannon attachment. The blast exploded a part of the parking lot, sending asphalt flying like shrapnel. The protesters were fortunately not there, but at this rate, Skulker would destroy the school.

"Um, I don't have much experience with the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter," Dani started, speaking the hunter's title with a bit of sarcasm. "But is he normally this bonkers?"

"He's acting off. He's been that way for a while…" Though Skulker's new weapon was powerful, his aim seemed to have gotten worse. Danny had looked over what information Jazz has uncovered about Skulker, but he hadn't been someone of notoriety like Technus had, limiting what Jazz had found out about the ghost. "Hey! Are you listening, tin can!?" Danny shouted, trying to get Skulker to speak. The ghost froze for a moment before scowling and aiming another blast that missed the Phantoms but took off the top half of a tree. Now it almost seemed like Skulker was hardly trying to hit them.

"Okay, what did that tree ever do to you?" Dani asked. Right after her comment, she saw her brother zoom forward and blast the cannon attachment off with a blast of ghost fire. Now the ghost wasn't even trying to dodge much. Skulker seemed to stop and not defend himself. Danny merely pulled his fake head off and pulled out the real form of Skulker to talk to him as his suit crashed to the earth.

"Okay, Skulker, what is up with you?" Danny asked, he didn't even hold Skulker tight but let him sit on his hand. The tiny hunter was quiet for a moment before he sighed.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Danny rose a brow but felt some pity enter his heart at the look on Skulker's face.

"Uh, wanna talk about it?"

"No! I do not want to talk to anyone about it, especially you!" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Real mature."

"Wait, Skulker is a tiny bug?" Dani asked.

"I am not a bug, girl!"

"Anything that can be squished under my boot is bug-like," Dani replied cheekily.

"She has a point," Danny added with a smirk. Skulker pouted.

"And ghost call me a savage." Skulker muttered.

"Look, Skulker. You're a pain, but something's wrong. I'd like to help if I can," Danny explained. Skulker huffed.

"Of course you would." The ghost let out a sigh. "Alright, fine. I'll explain. A few human months ago, I started to feel antsy, as though I needed to go on a good hunt. So I went out and caught another creature for my menagerie. Afterwards though, I felt empty. I went to my trophy room and felt empty. No matter what I did, I didn't find joy in my accomplishments. I set out to try and finally hunt you successfully, but found myself…"

"Found yourself, what?" Danny asked. Skulker screwed up his mouth and muttered something under his breath. "What was that?" Skulker grunted.

"I said, I found myself not wanting the hunt to end. I didn't find my trophies as fascinating as before when they were still and lifeless on the wall and my confined creatures I've kept alive, did not show the same majesty in my eyes when they couldn't properly display the traits that made them a challenging or unique prize in the first place. I didn't like this feeling so I continued to try and ignore it and do what I was used to, but I just… couldn't."

Danny blinked as Skulker finished and looked back at Phantom. "Well that's interesting. It is a bit odd." Danny floated for a moment before he huffed. "How about we go back to my place and see if mom and dad can help us figure this out. I might call Jazz too and see what psycho babble she has to offer." Before Skulker could answer, Danny heard Tucker shout at him and Dani.

"Everything okay- WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE PARKING LOT!?" Tucker yelled in surprise before his question was completed. Danny smiled a bit and floated down. He placed Skulker on his shoulder as he had seen Ember do before and came towards Tucker, Sam, and Valerie with Dani trailing behind him.

"I'll explain on the way home, okay? We can tell everyone the fight's over."

"What's Skulker doing on your shoulder?" Sam questioned with a raised brow.

"Skulker is here and can answer for himself you know," the ghost grumbled.

"Later," Danny expressed before using the thermos Tucker handed his to suck up Skulker's armor for easier transport. Both he and his sister transformed into their human forms as Valerie went to tell the teachers and students that they could leave school. As the five starting walking towards FentonWorks after Dani had said goodbye to Ash and Jace, Danny considered Skulker's plight. Surely his parents or Jazz would have an answer or helpful info of some sort. He hoped so.

Casper High Hallway. 6:57 PM.

In the hallway where Danny and his friends had stood, in the very place in the hallway where Danny had stared without seeing his opponent, a glowing figure floated a bit above the ground humming. He was wearing a suit with dual coat-tails and his face was covered by a mask that had small pointed triangle-shaped ears and a large curling smile. The figure laughed.

"How fun! This will be exciting, how I truly love a challenging game!" It turned, showing that it had blond hair. It then shimmered out of view and a light in the hall flickered.