Quick announcements: I did have recent surgery which pushed back the chapter. I'm all healed up now and feeling a lot better. Also, I will be starting a new job in September and am uncertain how that will effect updates.

Chapter 21

By the time November hit, there seemed to be a lull in activity. No new murders were reported, and the sightings of strange creatures dwindled. However, it did little to help the unease throughout the town.

Danny's family had returned to their home, and his parents were back at work with their project for the police. Last time he heard anything, they were about seventy percent finished. They no longer had the Box Ghost trapped. Although they found the ghost annoying, his parents verified he could barely be considered a threat so they returned him to the world beyond the veil with a promise they'd tear him apart 'molecule by molecule' if he caused any more mischief in the human world.

While his parents were focusing a great deal of their energy on their projects, it was clear they wanted to talk to him about something. Most likely, that something was his test results, and Danny did not want to have that conversation. So, he did what any normal teenager did, avoid his parents like the plague. However, he wouldn't be able to continue doing that for much longer. Judging by some of the texts he recently got from his sister, his parents were about to ask her to intervene, and he really didn't want that to happen.

With the exception of school and school work, most of his free time became consumed by training. Sam, true to her words, created training regimens for both him and Tucker. The early part of the training focused on increasing their stamina, but more recently, strength and reflex training had been added. Danny could already see some results in the form of new muscles, but it was more apparent in his ghost form. He wasn't tiring as easily when he attempted to train his still largely unknown abilities.

However, he now had some hints on what he could do on a basic level. During one of his training sessions with his friends in a secluded area of the local park (found by Sam), Ember paid him a surprise visit. After introducing her to his friends, she revealed she had brought her boyfriend, a hulking metal ghost thing that went by Skulker. While she gave him some pointers on the basic ghostly abilities and how to access them, Skulker just stared at him.

Eventually, he couldn't take it. "Look, I know I'm strange, but could you not stare? I'm really getting creeped out."

The thing grinned at him. "Halfas like you are rare, and I enjoy hunting the rare and exotic." When Ember shot him a dirty glare, he somewhat backtracked. After a slight cough, he added, "However, as you are right now, you're barely a challenge. As much as it annoys me, I'll wait until you're better trained. Besides, I have other targets more pressing at the moment."

"Get those thoughts out of your head," Ember scolded. "Clockwork and Frostbite of the Far Frozen both have their eyes on him. I've been hearing rumors Pandora wants to meet him."

"Pandora? You're kidding!" Skulker menacingly grinned again. "You must have some potential, whelp. It's rare to hear of any of the elder ghosts taking interest in such a young ghost, let alone one that's still somewhat alive."

As Danny grimaced again, he heard Tucker whisper to Sam, "Are we really sure this guy won't gut us?"

Sam rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "Sorry to interrupt. Who's Pandora? Does she have something to do with the old Greek legend?"

Ember hummed thoughtfully as she floated in a sitting position. "I guess it can't hurt to take a quick break. No, dipstick, a break didn't mean you could stop floating."

Danny just sighed as he picked his feet back off the ground and tried to find a comfortable position, eventually settling for resting as if he was reading something on a bed, only three feet off the ground. While floating and flying was slowly becoming more comfortable, it still drained him after a while. Ember promised it should become more natural as he became stronger.

"So, Pandora. She's one of the most powerful ghosts still in existence in the Zone. Never met her personally, but I've been past her domain. It looks like it's straight out of a history book about Rome or Greece," Ember explained.

Skulker nodded. "No one in their right mind messes with her. Rumor says she has a box containing either power or something dangerous. No one is really sure."

"Didn't you once try to investigate on account of that mysterious employer of yours?"

"Well… that's…" The metallic ghost somehow managed to blush before coughing to try to cover it up. "Pandora personally chased me off."

After a moment, Sam sighed which caught everyone's attention. "So I guess you guys don't have enough information to know either way. I guess I just wanted to know if it was possible some of the old legends might have some truth, you know? I think I remember seeing her when we were rescued from… what did you say he's called Danny? The Fright Knight or something?"

He nodded as he shifted in the air to a more normal sitting position. "Yeah, that's what Clockwork called him, and I remember Frostbite saying Pandora helped rescue you guys."

"The situation really must be serious if some of our strongest are protecting humans," Skulker huffed.

"Speaking of which," Ember glanced at him, "did you happen to do any research on those Wraith things like I asked?"

The robot somehow made a sour expression. "I did. My contacts on the black market…"

"Wait, ghosts have a black market?" When everyone stared at him, Tucker immediately raised his hands defensively. "Sorry! It's not like us humans know anything about it."

"Yes, and it's much like yours, only more exotic." The grin which crossed Skulker's face sent chills down Danny's spine. "Not only is it great for finding rare supplies, but it has an extensive information network. I'm what you would consider a regular." He paused for a moment, possibly for effect. "About a month ago, reports of Wraiths near some of the areas where natural portals tend to form more frequently were all over the place. Myself and some likeminded individuals went hunting, and thinned their numbers. However, there were always more to take their place."

Trying to ignore the implications of what Skulker mentioned about the ghostly black market, he instead focused on a different aspect of what the hunter mentioned. "You said that was about a month ago? What about now? And how do you stop those things?"

"That's the weird thing. Now we can't find evidence of the damn things." He almost sounded bitter about it. "I'm a hunter! It's my job, my passion, to hunt and track my targets. There shouldn't be anything I can't find."

Ember patted his shoulder, and he just huffed. "You know how the Zone is. It's possible they're just hiding in a remote place for now, and as far as I care, they can just stay there."

"I should still be able to find evidence of them if that's the case."

"Well, Clockwork said someone was able to hide the recruiters from his powers, so maybe this same person can hide those things to. Oh… oh shit!" When Danny tried shifting positions again, he reverted back to his human form and face planted. "I thought I was finally done doing that!" When Tucker laughed, he childishly threw a clod of dirt at him.

Ember openly laughed until he pouted at her. "I guess that means we're done for the day. I don't know too much about how your body works, but I'd bet you're running low on energy."

"Good, I'd like to get back to hunting those abominations down."

"Err… you never said how to get rid of those things," Tucker mentioned before Danny had a chance.

"Unless you blast through the head or center of the chest, you can't."

After moments of stunned silence, Sam jumped to her feet and shouted, "But… but that's murder!"

Skulker sneered at her. "You can't murder a ghost. You end them, but you should save your pity. Wraiths are abominations – spirits warped into that shape with dark magic. Most of us consider it a form of mercy to end one."

Sam clearly wanted to argue more as her inner activist started to activate. Not wanting her to get into it with a potentially dangerous ghost, Danny quickly stepped between them.

Ember seemed to have a similar line of thought and grabbed her boyfriend. After some berating him for stooping low enough to want to argue with humans, she said her goodbyes with a promise to try to visit again soon and flew off with Skulker, who just grumbled.

"Why did you stop me?" Sam demanded once she was sure Ember and Skulker were out of earshot.

"Firstly, do you really want to pick a fight with a ghost that you have no hope of winning against if he decided he suddenly wanted to attack you?" he snapped at her as he brushed dirt off his shirt. "Secondly, as much as I hate to admit it, but he's right. Those things are unnatural, and that's saying something coming from me."

"So you think they should just be destroyed?"

"Sam, Clockwork told me how they are made." When she stilled, he knew he had her attention. "Yeah, they're made… by killing people and warping… I think their souls into that form. Can you really say it's better to let them remain like that?"

"Isn't there a way to fix that? To save them?" Her voice cracked as she lowered her gaze.

"I don't know," he admitted as he let some of his irritation fade. "That's why I asked Skulker. I don't know. Ghosts are like… a manifestation of a soul, or something like that. I'm not sure if I completely understood Clockwork when he explained it to me. Recruiters, Collectors, and the skeleton things you said were with the Fright Knight were all made using that method. I could trap them in a Fenton Thermos, but I don't know if that'll actually hold them…"

"I think I agree with Skulker on this one then," Tucker mentioned as he tapped away on his PDA.

"Tucker!"

"Sam!" he teased before his expression settled into a more serious one. "I'm being serious. If we can find a way to save them, that's great and all, but think about it, these Wraith/Collector things kill people. And, Danny said they're doing that in order to strengthen other dangerous ghosts. They need stopped, and if we don't have any other way to do it, well…"

"Look, I'm not too keen on this either, but if I get attacked by one again, I need to know I have some way of stopping them. I don't even know if the Fenton Thermos works on those things, or keep them trapped, if it does."

"Fine. Just don't come crying to me if you do something you regret." She stomped off, taking her bag with her.

"Just give her a few days. You know how she gets when she's faced with something that's completely opposite of her views." Tucker gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Wait, did she take the snack bag with her? SAM! Get back here! You have my 5:15 feeding in there!"

…..

"Hey, Danny?" His mother called from what sounded like the kitchen a couple hours after dinner.

"Yeah?" he answered as he paused his game. It has been about a week since he talked to Skulker and Ember, and one of the few nights he actually had some free time.

"Can you come here a moment?"

"I guess." Sighing, he saved and headed down to the kitchen. As he passed through the living room, he noticed his father working on what appeared to be an ecto-gun in the living room. The news was on, and his usual grin was replaced with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.

When he entered the kitchen, he found his mother pacing by the phone. While the sight wasn't too unusual as she had a tendency to pace when a project decided to be finicky, her steps were faster than normal, and her shoulders were stiff.

"Is there something wrong? Both you and Dad seem upset," he stated as a way of announcing his presence. "Did I do something?" He didn't see anything that looked like lab results, but he could never be sure with them. There were papers on the kitchen table that looked like his mother's handwritten notes. "I know I've been really busy recently…"

She glanced at him and bit her lip. "You're not in trouble. Honey, we were just notified that a couple of your classmates went missing."

It took him a moment to register what she said. "Wait, missing? Like they were out doing something and lost track of time missing or like… like what happened earlier in the year missing?" When his mother wouldn't meet his eyes, and icy chill settled in the pit of his stomach. "Wait, they seriously think they were abducted?"

"The police and parents have mostly been reaching out to their immediate friend groups, but we were contacted due to the concern it might be related to the same thing that attacked us. The police said the missing were girls named Paulina, Maura, Valerie, and… I think Star? I wrote their full names down. Off chance, did you happen to hear anything?"

Surprised at the last one named, he read over his mother's notes. Sure enough, the name written was 'Star Desdemona.' "I thought that Star was in the process of moving away from here…" he muttered as he tried to remember what Tucker and Sam told him. "I know she was transferring schools, but I think that someone said her family was moving far away from here while she heals."

"What do you mean?"

"Huh? I thought you knew?" He glanced over at his mother. "Paulina and Star both disappeared during the same time I did. Star was pretty badly injured. I was told she's now missing part of her arm. I don't know if anything happened to Valerie, but I know that Maura also went missing for a short amount of time shortly before I returned to school. Paulina and Star both seemed as okay as you can be for someone who's been taken and hurt, but we keep getting reports that Maura seems different after her disappearance… Hey!"

His mother bolted downstairs as he finished. He called out to her in confusion, but there was no immediate answer. Seconds later, she was back in the kitchen holding a wide variety of items. "Jack! Get in the Ghost Assault Vehicle! I'll explain on the way!"

As his dad excitedly jumped to action, Danny tried to get his mother's attention. "What's going on? Where are you going?"

"Sweetie, I know it's late, but I want you to call Vlad and have him pick you up," she explained. "Just like you, those girls are now potentially targets for the paranormal. We need to help find them before something else does." With that, she ran out the door, almost forgetting to close it.

Dumbfounded, he stared at the door for a few moments before realizing what was happening. Springing to action, he ran to get his cell phone and set up a group call with his friends as he tried to think if he needed to take anything. When his friends finally picked up, he stated, "Tucker, is that research you were doing on Maura done? If so, we really need it right now. We have a massive problem."

So, since I don't think I mentioned it, I envisioned the camping/abduction chapters to be in early September since weather tends to remain summery in that region until mid to late September when the temperature usually starts to drop. Danny goes back to school in the second half of September, the Monday after the 20th. I hope that helps a bit with time frame.

Also, an unusual paranormal tidbit. Many people, at least in the US, report a decrease in activity once Halloween passes, and it starts picking back up in the spring, often around the equinox.

For readers far more familiar with the metric system, three feet imperial is 91.44 cm.

For Star's last name, I chose 'Desdemona' which is derived from a Greek word meaning 'ill-fated.' It's most famously used in Shakespeare's Othello. It is also the name of an asteroid in the asteroid belt (666 Desdemona) and one of Uranus' moons – there's a bunch of them named after Shakespeare characters.