Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Viacom, Nickelodeon, Butch Hartman and all those other wonderful people

Acknowledgements: My sister for helping me tone-down the "sick" scene

My brother for reading this, even after being angry with me.

Debbie for the ideas, comments and overall approval of my newest obsession

The Ecto-Shot

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be deathly afraid of the nurse's office?" Tucker asked.

"Not today," Danny said shakily.

"This sucks. We've tried everything to get them to stop this 'experimental ghost-deflector shot'. There's nothing more we can do now," Sam said as they took another step forward in the long line to get the dreaded shot.

Danny's parents had been working on the experiment for quite some time. Since they believed none of their ghost weapons worked, but they knew the ghost shield was effective (which Danny and his friends knew was inaccurate), they had decided to concentrate their efforts on ghost defense mechanisms. This shot was supposed to be like a bug spray for ghosts. His parents didn't quite know why, but given their ghost experiments, they had found some kind of element combination that would keep all ghosts away.

But Danny was pretty sure he had figured out why ghosts stay away from it. All week when they would get the stuff near him, he got a sick feeling in his stomach from the smell and wanted to hurl. He had asked Jazz about it and she had just said it was odorless to her. She, Sam and Tucker had been trying to get petitions signed, convince his parents it was a bad idea, and provide lists of possible drawbacks to the shot, but none of their attempts worked. In the end, it became a mandatory shot for all students attending Casper High--including Danny.

Danny shivered involuntarily.

"What's wrong, Danny?" Sam asked softly.

"It's just that every time we take another step forward, someone comes out of the nurse's office. When they walk by, I just...igh," he shivered again as Valerie Gray proudly walked past them through the hallways.

"I hate to be the one to suggest this, Danny, but I'm pretty sure I speak for all of us when I say that this may be the time you need to tell your parents the truth," Tucker suggested, seeing his friend grimace in nausea.

"Trust me, Tuck, I've thought about it. But it's too late now anyway. Half of the school's population has been injected. Besides, I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about knowing I've been lying to them all this time about how great I think their project is."

Sam and Tucker frowned at each other.

Danny was next in line.

"Come on in, Sweetie!" Danny's mother said perkily when she saw he was next.

He tried to gulp in fear, but found that his mouth was dry, so he just stepped in shakily, already feeling the effects of the drug from across the room.

'Okay, calm down, Fenton. You've practiced this a million times with Sam and Tuck. Just don't lose it and you'll be fine.'

As he saw the needle in the nurse's hand approach him, he heard Sam and Tucker yell (Yes! Right on cue!), "GHOST!"

And, just as planned, his parents and the nurse all ran out to see what the commotion was.

"A ghost? Where?!?" Jack Fenton asked.

"Just point us in the right direction and we will protect you children," Maddie supported.

"Oh, we're sorry Mr. and Mrs. Fenton," Tucker said. "It must have just been a shadow."

"Well, don't worry, kids. Once you're given this shot, you won't be seeing very many ghosts around here anymore."

When they returned to the office, they saw Danny flushing the toilet with an empty syringe in his hands.

"Uh...sorry. I forgot to go this morning and I figured you wouldn't mind. Thanks for the shot!" he said cheerfully.

"But--but we didn't give you the--" the nurse stared.

"Yes, you did. Don't you remember? Right before Sam and Tucker yelled, 'GHOST!'"

"Yeah, we saw you give it to him," Sam said, according to plan.

"But, how could you have seen us give it to him if you were looking at this 'shadow ghost'?" the nurse asked.

"Uh...peripheral vision?" Tucker thought quickly.

"Well, maybe we should give you another one just in case."

Just when Danny's heart rate was about to begin racing at 100 miles per second, his parents butted in.

"NO! We have no idea what kind of effect it would have on him if we gave him more than the specified amount. Besides, even if we did forget, everyone else has been injected, so one person isn't going to make much of a difference. It's not like the ghosts would gravitate toward him because he has no Fenton Ghost Deflection Fluid."

Danny groaned internally.

"All right, then. Next!" the nurse yelled for Tucker.

Danny looked at him on his way out. It was probably the last time he would see his friend without getting a sick feeling in his gut.

Once every shot had been distributed, Danny reported to his English class as the first bell rang. When he took his seat, his stomach lurched violently and he knew it was going to be a bad day.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Mr. Fenton, I know you don't enjoy English class, but I would appreciate it if you held your revulsion for it on the inside, not all over my desk," Mr. Lancer said tersely.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer," Danny replied weakly, still trying to swallow the vomit which had risen to the back of his throat. He would never hold out all day long like this.

"Dude, maybe you should go home," Tucker leaned over and suggested as Mr. Lancer wrote the day's assignments on the board.

Tucker's close proximity nearly made Danny expel the contents of his stomach onto his desk again.

"Sorry," Tucker said backing away.

"It's okay," Danny said. "I'm just going to have to get used to this. I can't go home today. It'll be no different tomorrow. It'll be like...like you know when you go to the hospital and it smells really bad at first? Then you get used to it. I'll just get used to the smell of the stuff."

"Daniel, is there something you'd like to share with the class...other than whatever you ate for breakfast this morning?" Mr. Lancer said, noting Danny's still-sickly appearance.

"No, Mr. Lancer, I was just checking the assignment with Tucker. It's kind of hard to see it from back here," he lied.

"Then perhaps you should consider glasses, Mr. Fenton. Get to work, class. This assignment is due tomorrow."

A collective groan emitted from the class, but Danny's was most audible of all.

At dinner that night, Danny sat as far away as possible from his parents and sister without being too conspicuous.

"Honey, what's wrong? You've hardly touched your spaghetti," Maddie said worriedly.

"I don't really feel too well," Danny said. I don't even have to lie to them this time.

"Oh, sweetie. Maybe you should go upstairs and rest. I'll check on you in a little while."

"NO!" he said too hurriedly. "I mean, it's okay. I'll just go upstairs and go to sleep. You don't have to check on me."

She gave him an exasperated look, but eventually nodded her consent and they all watched in concern as he stumbled shakily up the steps to his bedroom.

Peace at last! he thought. He was finally alone with no "infected" people around him anymore. Today had been awful. He actually threw up on Dash when he punched him in the stomach during lunch. Actually, that hadn't been so awful. Payback felt good. But the whole day he had to fight the powerful urge to vomit. It inhibited his ability to concentrate and resulted in a lot of patronizing on the part of his teachers. Sam and Tucker had tried to help him, but the closer they got, the worse he felt. He was feeling pretty hopeless right about now.

Still shaking, he slipped into his pajamas and fell fast asleep, hoping his stomach would settle before morning.

It didn't.

In fact, it seemed to be even worse in English class.

"M--Mr. Lance--cer?" Danny asked as he walked up to the teacher's desk. He was so sick, his teeth had started chattering.

"Yes, Daniel?" he asked without looking up.

"M--may I use the--the bathroom? I have a hallp--pass." he showed him the paper he had just scribbled unsteadily to excuse him from class.

Mr. Lancer scribbled his own name on the pass without looking away from his laptop, therefore excusing Danny from class.

When he got to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror. Gosh, he looked pale. Pale as a ghost, he thought ironically.

He rushed into one of the stalls as he felt stinging in his eyes and saliva build up in his mouth. He fell to his knees and expelled the contents of his stomach into the toilet, shaking violently as he did so. Once he had emptied himself of all fluids, he continued to heave, but nothing erupted. His eyes filled with tears, partially from throwing up and partially from knowing the helplessness of his situation. It wasn't going to get better...it was getting worse.

Without getting permission from Mr. Lancer, Danny reported immediately to the nurse's office to ask to go home. He was about to walk in when another wave of nausea washed over him. Then he noticed another vial of the Fenton Ghost Deflection Fluid on her desk. He held his breath and entered the office.

"M--may I please use the phone to call my folks to come get me?" Danny asked.

"Why, Mr. Fenton, you look terrible! Here you go. I'll inform Mr. Lancer that you're being excused for the day," she said as she left the room.

"Th--thanks," he said, putting his hand over his nose to block the essence from the vial from his nose.

He dialed 555-1221.

"Hello?" his mom answered.

"Mom? It's D--Danny. I--I need you to come pick me up from school. I--I don't f--feel so good," he said.

"Oh, honey. I knew you shouldn't have gone to school today after last night. I'll be right over. Just sit tight in the nurse's office, okay? I love you."

"L--love you, too. B--bye."

"Bye, sweetie," she said quietly and nervously.

He had trouble replacing the phone onto the receiver, but eventually got it in the right place. Feeling drained, he plopped onto the cot in the nurse's office. He was surprised at how tired he felt and fell asleep there.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in his living room. As his father entered the room, his stomach began to ache again.

"Danny? Are you okay yet?" Jack asked.

"Um...I'm a little better I think," he lied.

"Good. I was hoping you would come downstairs and help me with some of the chores in the lab?" he pleaded.

"JACK! You leave Danny alone! He's not feeling well. You do the chores for him," Maddie yelled.

Danny smiled internally. Thanks, Mom. He got up slowly and walked up the stairs to his room. To his surprise, he still felt ill, yet no one was around. Wonderful.

After slipping into his pajamas, he heard a knock at his door.

"Danny?" his sister whispered through the door.

"Yeah, I'm here" he answered, going to unlock his door.

As it opened, he noticed the aches in his body becoming more prominent. He winced as she walked in.

"Sorry," she said.

"S'okay. It's not--not your fault."

"So, what's going on exactly?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"I mean, what exactly do you feel like when people get near you now?"

"Well, yesterday, it was like I was sniffing the gook right out of the bottle. I felt really, really sick all day long. But today, it's like someone stuffed the fluid up my nose. It's like it's permanently stuck in my nose and there's nowhere I can go to escape it."

"What do you feel like now?"

"Like I'm gonna die."

"Really?"

"Really. My whole body aches. I want to puke, but there's nothing left in me. There's no use."

"Well, then, much as I hate to say it, my theory was correct," she said quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I figured that when everyone got shot, it started emulating from them. Kind of like a smell or sound spreads out in waves, only we can't tell. So, it's getting stronger and harder to avoid for you. By now, there's probably very little area left unaffected. There's probably nowhere on Earth you can go without feeling awful."

"What? It's spread that quickly?"

"Possibly."

Right as she said that, as if on cue, Danielle flew into his room, seemingly exhausted, and collapsed, turning human as she collided with his floor, unconscious.

"Dani?" Danny said in confusion.

"Who?" Jazz asked.

"This is Dani. Vlad made her on accident when he was trying to make a clone of me to be his ghost son. She's on our side, now."

"Actually, if we don't get her feeling better, you could both end up on NEITHER side," she clarified worriedly.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"As much as I hate to suggest it, I think you guys should go into the ghost zone."

"The ghost zone?"

"Yes. Remember, I said no place on EARTH was safe, but the ghost zone should be unaffected, since it's pretty much another dimension full of ghosts. Nothing from our dimension really affects it."

"Hopefully."

"Yes, hopefully."

Danny looked from his sister to his "cousin". Entering the ghost zone would mean leaving and not coming back for as long as there was no remedy for the "anti-drug" to wear off. Someone would have to explain why he was gone to both his parents and his teacher. Of course he could trust Jazz, Sam and Tucker with that task, but could he really leave Amity Park with no idea whether or not he would be able to return?

"...Okay." he said.

He unsteadily rose to his feet, feeling a sense of dizziness as he did so, and Jazz picked up Dani and took her to the basement as Danny led the way down to the lab.

"Shoot!"

"What?" Jazz asked.

"Dad's still in there cleaning. What do we do?"

"I'll handle this. Take her and go as soon as I give you this signal," she flashed a thumbs-up.

"Got it," Danny said.

"Oh, and Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

He smiled, "Thanks."

She went to Jack and tapped his shoulder.

"Dad?"

"Jazzy-pants! What are you doing down here?"

"I was just wondering, what does, um, this do?" she said, randomly picking up a weapon from the lab.

"Why, Jazz, you're actually interested?" he asked hopefully, his eyes welling with proud tears.

"I just want to do my old man proud," she said falsely.

"Well, let me show you. You see, first you..." before he could trail off any longer, Jazz put a thumbs-up behind her back.

"G--goin' ghost," Danny said weakly as he transformed.

He turned both himself and Dani invisible as the flew into the Fenton Portal. Before entering the horizon, Danny gave one last look back, hoping it wouldn't be the last time he saw the lab. He looked at Jazz who was trying to look intently at her father as he rambled on and on.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Finally, he entered the ghost zone. But something was different this time...

"Well...I don't usually get a welcoming committee when I come here..." Danny said helplessly.

Then, he was punched and knocked out.

Danny groaned as he woke up. Something was wrong. He couldn't move his arms or legs. Looking down, he let out an exasperated sigh. Of course someone had tied him up. It was only natural.

"Ghost boy, what is going on?" a booming voice asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing, Skulker," Danny said, irritated and addressing his bonds.

"We want to know what's going on with the human world and why we can't leave the ghost zone."

"And...you had to tie me up to ask me that?"

"No. I just like tying you up. It makes me feel good on the inside."

"Of course," Danny said.

"We also want to know who the girl is that you brought with you."

Oh! Dani! I forgot! "She's a--a friend," he answered.

"Why did you bring her here?"

"She's half ghost and half human like me."

"No, I mean, and you'd better answer me this time, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE HUMAN WORLD?"

Danny took a big breath. It seemed he could avoid the question no longer. "All right, all right. My parents developed some kind of anti-ghost drug and gave a shot to everyone. I managed to avoid getting the shot because who-knows-what would have happened. But the longer people have it in their systems, the more the smell of it gets spread out around the world. So, basically, the whole world smells bad to ghosts right now. I'm not even sure if it's just the smell. I tried to plug my nose a few times but felt just as badly as before. My sister and friends are trying to convince my parents to create an anti-anti-drug. We needed to come here because we were getting really sick. I mean REALLY sick. I was hoping we could all just live with each other through this...which would include you guys not tying me up!" he shouted.

"So...this is all your fault!" Skulker summarized incorrectly and held his blaster-gun to Danny.

"NO! NO! NO! When did I say that?!? It's my PARENTS' fault...inadvertently, of course. I didn't do anything! Why would I make something that would force me to stay in the ghost zone for the rest of my life?"

"To keep your little town from being overrun by ghosts," Skulker said, still not backing down.

"No, Skulker, I believe he is telling the truth," a calm voice added. "He may be of some use to us anyway."

Danny recognized the voice immediately and would have hit himself in the head for being so stupid as to forget who else this would have affected had he not been tied up.

"Vlad Plasmius," Danny said.

"Of course, Daniel. Who else would want to talk and not destroy you in the ghost zone?"

"What exactly do you want, Plasmius, and where's Danielle?"

"The little girl is fine, much to my dismay. She's with Ember. And don't worry, she'll be taken care of very well."

Danny glared. "You'd better not hurt her or I'll--"

"Oh, temper, temper, Daniel. You are getting more like me everyday. It makes me wonder why you want to live with that idiot father of yours. Especially now when his stupid little experiment has caused you to need to escape your own home and seek refuge with all of your greatest enemies."

"Will you stop trying to get me to renounce my dad? I mean, even you should have gotten the hint after the twelfth time!"

"Watch it, Daniel. Keep in mind that I'm the one hovering over you whilst you're strapped to a table."

Danny mumbled nonsense.

"That's better. Now, bring her in," Vlad said to Skulker who immediately left and returned with Ember and Dani in tow.

"Plasmius, you'd better let us go or I'll..."

"Yes, yes, I know, Daniel, we've already been through this. I don't want to harm either of you. I just want to figure out a way out of this ghost zone. And, much as I hate to admit this, I'm afraid it may mean us working together...again."

"Danny, don't trust him! He's Vlad!" Dani said.

"Quiet, girl. He knows I wouldn't be funny-joke-around Vlad about something like this. I have a mansion and a football team to get back to. I don't plan on staying in this dump."

"Hey!" Skulker defended, as it appeared to be his place of dwelling in the ghost zone.

"All--all right. I'll work with you on this. Just don't hurt her and GET ME OUT OF THESE!!" he said, pulling on his restraints.

Vlad nodded to Ember who played a power chord which made his bonds disappear while simultaneously blowing him across the room, causing him to hit his head on the wall.

"Gee, thanks," Danny said, rubbing the back of his head.

"My pleasure, dipstick," Ember said with a smirk.

"Okay, Daniel. I know where to get chemicals in the ghost zone, but you need to help me with which ones to use to make an 'anti-anti-ghost-drug'."

"Danny, are you sure about this?" Dani asked, helping him up off the floor from his connection with the wall.

"No. I'm never sure about anything when it comes to Vlad. But, it's a start. We can't stay in here forever. My parents are probably already wondering where I am."

"Danny? Sweetie? How long is it going to take you to get dressed this morning? Do you feel any better than yesterday?" Maddie asked, tapping on Danny's door.

Jazz yawned as she left her room. When she saw her mom begin to open Danny's door, she rushed in front of it and closed his door.

"Mom! I can't believe you! Danny is a tortured adolescent and he's not feeling well. You can't inhibit his privacy privileges like that!"

"I can when my baby is not feeling well and not answering me, Jazz. I need to check on him."

"No you don't. I--I already checked on him this morning. He said he still wasn't feeling well and wanted to be left alone to sleep. If you go in there, he will know you didn't listen to what I told you and he will never fully trust you again." Good thing I do all my research on psychology, Jazz thought.

Maddie eyed her daughter a slight bit suspiciously, but eventually caved and said, "Okay, Jazz. But let him know before you leave that if he needs anything, he can call me on my cell phone. I need to go out today."

"Okay, Mom. I will." Jazz said.

This is going to be harder than I anticipated, Jazz thought, I'm going to need to brush up on expert psychology in school today. It may help.

"Vlad, are you sure you know where we're going?" Danny asked, panting. They'd been flying through an uncharted part of the ghost zone for hours.

"Oh, patience, Daniel. Of course I know where I'm going. I've been through the ghost zone about five hundred times more than you, so if I were you, I would just fly along like a good little ghost boy and keep my mouth SHUT!"

"Geez, okay! No need to lose your temper!"

"Daniel, I swear, if you utter one more word before we get there, I'll--"

"How about you both shut up? Sounds like a novel idea to me," Dani said.

The other two glared at each other once more before continuing on.

"Ah, here it is," Vlad said a few minutes later when he spotted a skull-shaped house floating in the middle of nowhere.

"Uh...that's the place we've been looking for?" Danny asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Daniel. Now, before we go any further, I need you to tell me exactly what was in the concoction your parents came up with."

"Um, right. There was, uh...goo from the ecto-blaster they have (I sure hope you know what that stuff really is), antiperspirant that Tucker made, and distilled bug spray or something of the sort."

"Well, aren't you a wealth of information," Vlad said dryly.

"Well, excuse me for trying to avoid the medicine that gives me stomachaches and nausea!"

"I guess we'll just have to do with the information we have. The Chemist should know what we need, but it will be at a price."

"Price? How are we going to pay him anything? We don't have any money!" Dani asked.

"Silly girl. Ghosts don't pay with money...they trade."

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me rephrase that; how are we going to pay him? We don't have ANYTHING!"

"Calm down. We'll figure out something," Vlad said calmly.

They flew up and Vlad knocked on the door three times.

It was awhile before the door slowly creaked open, revealing darkness inside.

"What issssss it you want?" a raspy, high-pitched voice whispered.

"We need an antidote..."

"For the human world injection? Yesssss, that I know of. I have heard of thissssss. Many complaintsssss, none able to ssssssuply me with what I needssssss," the voice said greedily.

"I believe I may have what you want. I have the ingredients straight from the horse's mouth...Danny Phantom."

The voice remained silent for a long while. "Issssss that ssssso? Let me ssssee him."

"Huh?" Danny asked, but before he could get a valid answer, Vlad was pushing him inside the creepy residence.

It was too dark at first to make out anything, but once his eyes adjusted to the light, Danny saw an odd-looking ghost. He was green, but had sprinkles of white hair plastered onto his head. He was bent over and his hands were too small for his body. But the weirdest thing Danny noticed was that one of his eyes was slightly larger than the other.

The Chemist seemed to be scanning Danny, as if to be sure he was the real one. At last, he said, "So, what are thessssse ingredientssss, hmmm?"

"Uh, the ones that make up the Deflection Fluid? Sure. Um, there was stuff from my parents' ecto-blaster..." Vlad leaned in and whispered in The Chemist's ear as he scribble notes. "...antiperspirant called Foley..." Again, Vlad gave the necessary information. "...and distilled bug spray."

The silence that followed as The Chemist continued making notes caused Danny to feel a sense of unease. What was going on?

"Yessss, yesss, yessss. I knowsssss what you need. And you knowsssss what I need," he said, pointing to Vlad.

"Quite right," Vlad said, as he slowly approached Danny.

"Ah, no. You don't need anything from me!" Danny said in panic.

"Don't even come near him," Dani said, standing in between Danny and Vlad.

Vlad shot a ghost ray at Danielle, which she blocked, but was then too distracted to notice the one coming from The Chemist's direction. She was thrown against the wall.

"Dani!" Danny cried out for his friend, but was then grabbed by the throat as Vlad came within reach.

"Ahhh!" Danny screamed. "Put me down, Plasmius! What do you want from me?"

"One little thing, Daniel," Plasmius said as he reached for the top and Danny's head and plucked out...a hair. He then threw Danny onto the floor, leaving him to rub his neck in confusion.

"A HAIR?!? That's what you 'needed?' A hair? Why didn't you just ask for one? Geez, I would've given it to you."

"Because, Daniel, what would be the fun in that?" Vlad asked with a smirk.

"Wait, what does he need the hair for?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about..." Plasmius answered vaguely.

"Danny! You're not hurt, are you?" Dani said, flying over. She had been temporarily knocked out after being thrown against the wall.

"Other than a little headache, yeah, I'm fine." Danny said, wondering if he'd been so wimpy as to get a headache from pulling out a piece of hair.

"Thissss is whatssss you need," The Chemist said, holding a purple vial up to Danny and Vlad.

"Uh, are you sure that stuff is sanitary?" Danny asked as he and Vlad eyed the purple liquid apprehensively.

"Danny, Jazz? Come here for a minute. We need to have a talk with you," Maddie yelled up the stairs to her children, both of whom, she assumed, were in their respective rooms.

Jazz took a deep breath and refreshed her memory on the story she was about to tell. She had been working on it all day and didn't want to mess up any of her plans.

"Coming!"

When she reached the living room, she spotted both of her parents sitting on the couch. This must be pretty serious. Dad's here to back Mom up, she thought, knowing her father wouldn't have any real thoughts to add for himself.

"Honey, we just wanted to talk to you guys about your sudden seclusion from us lately. I mean, I know Danny's sick and everything but even before that, you guys always seemed...distant. We just want you to know that we're always here to talk to if you need us," Maddie said reassuringly to her daughter as she walked into the room.

"Uh, yeah sure. Thanks, Mom," Jazz said and, as she planned, began walking back upstairs.

"Now wait just a minute, young lady, we're not through! Where's your brother?" Maddie asked sternly.

"You mean Danny? What are you talking about? Don't you remember?"

"Remember? Remember what?"

"Oh, dear. So it's not just me..."

"What? Jasmine, you tell us what you're talking about this instant!"

"Well...it's just that...I've been getting B's on papers in school lately..."

Jack and Maddie let out a collective gasp.

"I don't seem to be able to remember things quite so clearly lately. I think it might have something to do with the ghost repellent stuff."

"What makes you think that? And what does this have to do with Danny?"

"I think the chemicals in the substance are affecting our memories. You signed Danny up for the foreign exchange program at our school. You thought it would be good for him to get away for awhile and to spread the word of ghost caution to the world," she lied carefully.

"We--we did?"

"Yes. I think it is imperative that we act immediately on finding some way to contrast this repellent. Our lives could soon end up in shambles of discontinued memories."

"I don't quite know what you just said, Jazzy-pants, but I think we need to find an anti-anti drug!" Jack said, rising from the couch and heading downstairs to the lab.

"I--I don't even remember sending my baby to another country. Oh, Jazz, what have we done? Don't worry; your straight-A average won't be given up so easily! We'll fix this, Sweetie," Maddie said, following her husband.

Jazz smiled proudly and continued on up to her room.

Danny, Vlad and Dani hovered in front of the entrance to the Fenton Ghost Portal in the ghost zone.

"Well, Daniel," Vlad began, "good luck!"

"Huh?"

"Well, you're the one who belongs in that town. It would make the most sense if they saw you with the anti-anti drug."

"Yeah, right. And what am I supposed to do? Fly up to my parents and go, 'Hey! Remember me? Public ghost enemy number one? Here's a vial of some liquid that is going to make ghosts want to come back and terrorize your town again.'?"

"Funny, Daniel. You're clever. You'll think of something. Now, go!"

"Danny, wait!" Dani cautioned.

"What?"

"Remember when we left? It was getting worse..."

"...so now, it will be about 100 times worse..." Danny said, finishing her sentence.

"There's got to be another way,"

"Maybe, but we don't have time, and I personally can't think of any, can you, Vlad?"

"Nope!" he replied irritatingly quickly, not even giving it a second thought.

"Not to mention it can't be much worse than spending more time with Plasmius in the ghost zone."

"Well, then...good luck, Danny," Dani said, with slightly more emotion than Vlad had.

"Thanks," Danny said again.

He took a deep breath and slowly floated into the event horizon, bracing himself for what lie on the other side.

"Oh, Honey, what are we going to do? It took us weeks to make this anti-ghost drug! How are we going to make a counter-drug in time to stop losing all our memory?" Maddie said panicked.

"I--I don't know," Jack said, staring at the hundreds of chemical mixtures in their lab. "Hey! Wait a minute! I can't remember our anniversary!"

"Honey, you never remember our anniversary."

"Oh...you're right! What a relief," he said.

A grunt suddenly came from the direction of the ghost portal. Maddie and Jack turned in time to see...

"Ghost kid!" Jack yelled, grabbing the Fenton Bazooka.

"What are you doing here? There aren't supposed to be any ghosts around here!" Maddie shouted.

"I--I can tell," Danny said. He was on his hands and knees on the ground, one hand clenched on his now-roiling stomach. It really WAS 100 times worse.

"I c-came to g-give you th-this," he said, rolling the bottle of anti-anti ghost drug toward his parents.

"What is this? Some kind of ghost poison?"

A wave of panic suddenly rushed over Danny when he began to feel lightheaded. That usually came right before passing out, which usually meant he would revert back to human form...in front of his parents.

He fought the urge and tried to explain, "W-we ghosts m-made it. I-in case you p-people realize what a b-bad decision it was to m-make the anti-ghost-drug. W-we just want t-to help. Not all of us a-are bad."

He couldn't stick around for any more questions, he had to get out of here. He could feel the rings of white emerge around his waist. They began to travel along his body, but he used every conscious effort of his body to stop them.

"Well...thank you," Maddie said, eyeing the solution.

"I have to g-go," Danny said, grunting. He turned invisible and scooted back through the ghost portal.

Maddie and Jack watched in silent confusion.

"Let's test it, Jack," Maddie said.

"Well, all right. But test it on what?"

"The same thing we tested our anti-drug on...Danny's mechanical pet gerbil!"

"Hooray!"

One day later

"How will we know if they use it?" Dani asked.

"Daniel could always go back out and test it," Vlad said.

"No way! I am NOT going back out there. I almost changed back in front of my parents. Next time I won't last so long."

"Then, how are we gonna know?"

As if to answer her question, Danny was hit in the back of the head with something hard.

"Ow! What the--?"

He picked up the Fenton Booooomerang. Attached was one of Jazz's headbands and a note:

Danny:

Psychology works every time. It's safe!

Love,

Jazz

"I guess this is how we know," Danny said, showing the letter to Vlad and Dani.

"Yes! I can escape the two biggest brats in the world!"

"Yes! No more Vlad!" Danny and Dani said together.

They each flew off as quickly as possible to their respective ghost portals, Dani heading off somewhere else in the ghost zone so it didn't look as suspicious as if she and Danny both came out at the same time.

Danny flew through the portal and saw Jazz standing in the lab waiting for him. She smiled and walked up to hug him.

"Wait!" Danny said. He changed back to human. "I've been waiting to do that for a few days."

"Welcome back, Danny!" Jazz said as she squeezed him.

"Ah! Watch out Jazz. I'm still a little on the queasy side."

"Right. So, yeah, my amnesia explanation went over pretty well."

"Amnesia, huh? How's that figure?"

"It was an extremely well-thought out plan, really. It was...actually, I was so concerned about making sure Mom and Dad remedied the shot, I can't quite remember."

They looked at each other for two seconds, realizing the irony, before cracking up. Laughing too hard. Now THIS is the good kind of stomachache, Danny thought.

"You've got the chemicals, right, Chemist? And...the hair?" Plasmius asked through the giant speaker in his laboratory.

"Yesssssss, sssssir. I gotsssss it. What now?" his servant asked.

Vlad smiled with an evil glint in his eye.

The End?