AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Vlad is a friend of Jack in this fanfic in case you get confused in this chapter.

It was the year 1856 and it was a stormy night. Two boys drove their wagon to the middle of the deepest part of the woods. They stopped the carriage and pulled the cloth off the medium sized trunk with a lock keeping it shut.

"Let's get this over with as quickly as we can" The eldest boy said.

The youngest nodded and the two grabbed the trunk and headed towards a large hole that was dug in the ground and dropped the chest inside. The two grabbed the shovels and began to bury it but the youngest suddenly fell into the hole and a strange eerie sound could be heard coming from the trunk.

"HELP! IT'S AFTER ME!" The youngest shouted in fear.

"Grab my hand!" The eldest yelled as he held his hand out.

The youngest grabbed his hand and allowed his older brother to help him up. The two then continued to fill the hole with dirt until finally it was completely covered and the chest could no longer be seen.

"Okay let's go home" The eldest said as he grabbed the lantern.

"What if someone picks it up?" The youngest asked.

The eldest stopped and looked down with complete fear and simply said, "May God have mercy on his soul"

Lightning struck as the boys then rode off into the distance as far away as they could go past a sign which said it was one mile to a place called Amity Park.

137 YEARS LATER

It was now summer in the year 1996 and Amity Park has grown into a larger town. A fourteen year old teenager with black spikey hair, blue eyes and wearing blue jeans and a red and white t-shirt was riding down the street on his bike.

His name was Danny Fenton and his father Jack Fenton along with Vlad Masters were Amity Park's leading scientific experts in paranormal and inventions of their own company called Fenton / DALV Labs. The two friends had combined their companies after Danny's mother Maddie died when he was three years old. Vlad was like an uncle to him.

Danny was peacefully continuing his way down the street when he suddenly heard a shout behind him, "HEY FENTINA! PREPARE FOR YOUR ANNUAL BEATING!"

Danny gasped as he saw Dash and his other friends chasing after him on their own bikes and started peddling harder heading for the one place that was close which was the labs. He kept going faster and faster until finally he made it to the labs. Out the front of the building was a statue of his mother standing alongside Vlad and Jack showing they were the founders of the company and it was dedicated to Maddie.

Danny quickly got off his bike and ran inside the door just as Dash and the other boys stop. Dash sneered and said, "Yeah Fenton! Run but you can't stay in there forever! We'll be waiting!"

Danny shut the door and panted in relief. He then walked upstairs to where the main labs were and started looking around, he smiled as he saw his friend Tucker Foley at one of the lab desks and said, "Hey man. How's the internship going?"

"Great and hey I want to show you something that I'm showing to your dad soon" Tucker said as he opened the desk. He pulled out what looked like a very high tech hand held computer and asked, "What do you think?"

Danny held the device in his hand and asked, "What is it?"

"What is it? Man this is the future! This is gonna be the latest in handheld computer technology. I bet there's gonna be tons of these in all the shops of America" Tucker said in excitement.

"Danny-boy!" They both suddenly heard a call. Danny turned to see his father Jack walking through the labs. Danny walked up to him unaware he placed the PDA onto a conveyer belt which led to a processing machine.

"Danny what are you doing here? Everything okay?" Jack asked his son.

"Uh dad is there any chance you or Vlad could give me a ride home?" Danny asked.

Tucker looked out the window to see Dash and his buddies outside. Jack said, "Son is Dash Baxter going at you again? Looks like getting suspended from school wasn't enough. Listen son you can't keep running from him. You have to stand up to him. There are times when you should face what you're afraid of. Now head on home and I'll see you soon"

Danny nodded and started exiting the labs. Jack then faced Tucker and asked, "Oh what was it you wanted to show me Tucker?"

Tucker smiled but then it dropped when he couldn't find the PDA, everyone jumped at the sound of a machine crackling and turned to see the processing machine was smoking. Jack turned it off and opened the hatch to find a now completely crushed up PDA.

"Whose fault was this?" Jack asked everyone. Danny looked to see what happened as he was heading down the stairs and was about to come up and admit his mistake when Tucker signalled him to leave and stood forward and said, "It was mine Mr Fenton and I'm sorry. It was an accident"

Danny continued his way and exited the building only to be stopped by Dash and his buddies who were standing waiting for him.

"You're a dead man for getting me suspended freak" Dash sneered.

"It's not my fault you're nothing but a bully" Danny snapped.

That tipped Dash over the edge and before Danny knew it, all the boys started punching and kicking him and then ran off before they could get in trouble. Danny stood up with now a cut lip and a black eye and shouted, "JERKS!"

Danny wiped the blood off his lip and was about to pick up his bike and head for home when he suddenly heard a faint eerie sound. He turned and looked towards the construction site where a new building was being built and as he walked closer the sound became louder. The builders broke off for lunch as Danny walked down into the whole and towards the dirt wall. He leaned in and heard the noise a little louder but then it stopped. Danny looked around and pulled some of the dirt off to reveal the edge of an old chest.

He tried to pull it out but found he couldn't and began to remove to some more dirt and tried again only this time he was successful and completely pulled the chest right out. He grabbed a shovel that was near him and completely broke the lock off. He removed the now broken lock and opened the chest to reveal it was completely filled with sand.

He saw something rectangular underneath the sand and started wiping it away to reveal an old looking wooden board game with the words Ghost Zone on the front of it.

"Wow!" Danny whispered in awe.

He picked up the board game and walked out of the construction site. He got on his bike and headed for home. Danny arrived at his three story home and sat down in the living room. He placed the game on the table and opened the two sides to reveal a board with four game paths that led to a red circular gem in the middle of it. He opened one of the compartments inside to reveal four game pieces each of them looking like a different weird looking person. He picked up the one that looked like a warehouse man and the other what looked like a lunch lady and held them in his hand.

"Danny! Are you here?" His Uncle Vlad's voice called out as the door opened causing him to gasp and accidently drop the two game pieces unaware they automatically took place on two of the corners.

Danny quickly closed the game and hid it under the couch and called as he walked out of the living room, "Yeah I'm here Uncle Vlad"

Vlad immediately became shocked at the look of Danny's black eye and busted lip and asked, "Let me guess. Dash Baxter?"

"Yeah and his buddies as well" Danny answered.

"Come on. I'll get the first aid kit and we'll clean you up and you can tell me everything" Vlad said and the two headed for the kitchen.

Later that evening Danny was eating dinner at the table alone as Jack and Vlad were getting ready for a benefit that evening to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the company and Jack was practising his speech.

"I knew the whole speech this morning Vladdie" Jack sighed.

"Hey you're gonna do fine old chum" Vlad said as he fixed his tie. He then turned to Jack and asked, "Have you told him yet?"

"I was about to" Jack answered.

"Are you sure about this Jack? What if he takes it the wrong way?" Vlad asked.

Jack said nothing and the two entered the dining hall and Jack said, "Well we're about to head off Danny-boy"

"Okay dad" Danny said. Vlad then said, "I told Jack everything what happened"

"Danny if I had known it wasn't just Dash I never would have sent you out alone and for that I am sorry" Jack said. Danny smiled and said, "It's okay dad. I should have told you"

"But I am very proud of you Danny" Jack said with a smile. "You faced them even though you were outnumbered and I have a surprise for you"

He pulled out a brochure and handed it to Danny as he said, "So I have decided that I think that you're ready to go to the Elmerton Boarding School"

"Congratulations Little Badger" Vlad said as Danny looked at the brochure.

"So wait you don't want me living here anymore?" Danny asked not liking the sound of going to a boarding school.

"It's always been a plan to go to Elmerton when you were ready" Jack said knowing this question would come up. "Your great grandfather went there, your grandfather went there and I even went there. It's a really good school and it was where I met both Vlad and your mother. Heck they even named the boy's main dormitory Fenton Hall"

Danny put down the brochure and said with slight sarcasm, "This is great. A lot of kids are already on my case here because I'm a Fenton and now soon I'll be living in a building named after me"

"Which was named after my father" Jack said.

"Then why don't you live in it?" Danny asked slightly annoyed. Vlad cringed for he did not like where this conversation was going as Jack said with slight anger, "I did and I wouldn't be who I am if it weren't for my years there"

"Maybe I don't want to be who you are! Maybe I don't even want to be a Fenton" Danny snapped.

Jack's face hardened and he said before walking off, "You won't be. Not until you start acting like on. I'll be in the car"

"Sorry Daniel. I'll see you later" Vlad said before following suit.

"I guess I'm not ready for Elmerton then!" Danny shouted.

"I'm taking you there next Sunday and I don't want to hear another word about it!" Jack shouted as he opened the door and allowed Vlad to walk through.

"You won't! I'm never talking to again! I hate you!" Danny shouted back and Jack walked out the door and slammed it in anger.

Danny ripped up the brochure and slammed his fist on the table. Jack and Vlad hopped inside the limo.

"Jack maybe you were a bit harsh on Danny. He's not you Jack" Vlad said.

Jack sighed and asked, "What am I supposed to do Vlad? Jazz wanted to go to Elmerton and she's happy. I just….I don't know what to do V-man"

"Let's just get the evening over with, give Danny and yourself a chance to calm down and we'll talk to him about it later" Vlad suggested.

The two were unaware that as the limo took off Danny was packing a suitcase full of clothes, money he had saved up and some food. He was about to head out the door and run away when he went into the living room and pulled out the board game and placed it in his suit case. He opened the door only to stop to hear someone knocking on the front door.

He opened it to reveal his other friend Sam Manson standing at the door. Sam was a girl who didn't care what other people thought about her or that she was a Goth which is what Danny liked about her.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Danny asked.

"I heard about what happened today with Dash and if it helps I punched him in the face" Sam said.

"You didn't have to do that Sam" Danny said as he started heading out the door. "But thanks anyway"

The eerie noise started coming again and Sam asked, "What was that?"

"You heard it too?" Danny asked. Sam answered, "Of course I heard it"

"Come on inside" Danny said as he went back in. "I found this really weird game at the labs today"

"A game?" Sam asked as she walked in and shut the door.

They both went into the living room and Danny pulled out the board game and placed it on the coffee table. He opened it as Sam sat down looking at the strange game. Danny saw the pieces he was holding earlier and tried to pick them up again but found he couldn't.

"What is this game?" Sam asked. Danny shrugged and looked at the writing on one of the compartments and read aloud, "Ghost Zone. A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind"

Sam picked up the dice as he continued reading, "You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn and the first player to reach the end wins. Do you wanna play it Sam?"

"I quit playing board games five years ago" Sam said and threw the dice on the board which landed in total of six.

They both suddenly jumped at the sight of the Lunch Lady move on the board six spaces. Sam gasped, "What the heck?!"

"It has to be microchips or magnetised or something" Danny said.

Sam then saw the gem glowing and said, "Danny look"

They both looked and saw writing appear in the middle of it which Sam read aloud, "At night they fly, you better run, these winged things are not much fun"

They both looked up in confusion when suddenly they heard some kind of noise coming from the chimney. Sam asked with slight fear, "What was that?"

"I-I don't know" Danny asked now getting scared as well.

"Put the game away Danny. I have a bad feeling about it" Sam said.

"Me too" Danny said as he picked up the dice but suddenly jumped in fright when the clock went off and accidently dropped the dice onto the board and they watched as the other piece moved. "Oh no. The game thinks I rolled the dice"

"What do you mean the game thinks? Like it's alive?" Sam asked getting really spooked.

Danny looked down at the gem and read the writing, "In the Ghost Zone you must wait, until the dice read five or eight. What does that mean?"

Sam suddenly screamed at the sight of Danny's hands disappearing, Danny looked and started screaming and suddenly before he knew it he was being sucked inside the game. Sam and Danny continued to scream.

"SAM! ROLL THE DICE! ROLL THE DICE! SAM HELP!" Danny screamed and before he knew it, he was gone.

Sam was about to pick up the dice but was suddenly attacked by dozens of what looked like glowing green bats that came out of the chimney. Sam screamed as they swarmed around her and ran out of the front door, the bats chased after her and the door slammed shut. What she didn't know that it was only just the beginning of things to come.

TO BE CONTINUED…