Recap:

"I'll, er, l-leave you to it then," she stammered out. Sam all but ran for the door, almost slamming it shut behind her in haste. It took some willpower, but she forced herself to walk back to her room. Once there her blush faded as she thought of something.

'He didn't even hesitate to undress! Do they beat modesty out of them or is it just him? I don't want him whipping off his shirt like that again, even though the view was great-'

Sam groaned and threw herself face down on her bed. This slave thing was bad enough; she didn't need his good looks thrown into the mix.

"What am I gonna do at school?" came a muffled moan from the sheets.

Disclaimer: Oh, if I was as talented as Butch Hartman… I'm still waiting for Danny Phantom to hit Australia on DVD, but considering it took them 10 years to get Invader Zim here…

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter Four: When Slaves Get Schooled

The building was quiet, apart from the clocks, and dark. It was lit only by the tiny amount of moonlight the waning moon provided and the silvery-white glow of Danny's ghostly aura. The light from his floating form was a dead giveaway for any would-be thieves to pinpoint his position. This thought caused the slave to frown.

The half-ghost faded from the visible plane, his aura turning invisible as well. The light level in the hallway instantly dimmed, prompting Danny to use his ghostly power to boost his night vision. The boost was not very big, but it helped; making the outlines of furniture and doorways clear.

Danny checked every room and hallway thoroughly, sticking his head and shoulders through walls and doors. He was careful not to let the temperature drop noticeably in each room, especially when he found the room belonging to Mr and Mrs Mason. It was quiet work, though not dull as his senses were on full alert the entire time so as not to miss anything.

He found Sam's room and looked in, electric green eyes scanning the room's interior. They inevitably fell on the sleeping form under the plush covers.

His mind flashed to the Nasty Burger. His charge had been attacked on his first day of duty…

It was part of his duty to report such things to Sam's parents. He would never disregard his duty, but he felt a certain…hesitance regarding this report. Danny was no stranger to returning to the slave pens, but he didn't enjoy it there. Not that slaves were supposed to enjoy anything anyway. He was sure they would not look upon his first day favourably.

With a wince he couldn't quite hide, despite being invisible, he withdrew from Sam's room.

The night passed uneventfully and he patiently waited for the occupants to awaken as the sun crested the horizon. The dawn heralded Danny's return to the visible plane and he let his invisibility fall with a small sigh of relief. It didn't take much power to turn invisible, but holding the power caused more drain the longer it was held.

"I can see your feet, you pathetic excuse for ectoplasmic garbage!" roared the top ghost slave trainer of Amity Park. He sneered. "What, did you think that just because you bleed red sometimes that I'd go easier on you than the other ecto-slaves? Put some effort into it you snivelling little freak!"

The Ecto-Electro Whip flashed out with a sizzling hiss, leaving a thin line of green liquid on the young slave's cheek that began to ooze down. The slave's whole body flickered into visibility, shocked at how the slave master had struck him so accurately despite not being able to see his target.

"I said your feet!" the slave master bellowed. "Instead I can see all of you! What, are you deaf now? It wouldn't surprise me, a defective worm like you… Well clean your ears out and listen real good, wretch. I want you invisible…ALL OF YOU…until I say so. GOT IT?!"

The small half-ghost slave, barely older than four years, nodded fearfully and gave a small sniffle, trying with all his might not to cry. The mean man did not like crying… Ignoring the green blood trickling down his neck, he scrunched his eyes shut in concentration and poured almost all of his remaining spectral power into fading out of sight.

"Guess you're not deaf after all. Lucky for you, filthy little brat. It would have greatly decreased your market value. And don't flinch!" he suddenly yelled, cracking the whip around his ears several times.

Danny shook his head sharply to one side in an effort to fling the memory back into the deep recesses of his mind where it couldn't disturb him bar in his dreams. 'The training may have been tough, but it was necessary,' he reminded himself, not for the first time.

According to guard duty protocol, the slave, when his duty shift was over, was to move in front of the main door to the house or the foyer if there was one. Without any indication of what was on his mind Danny floated to the lavishly decorated foyer on the Manson dwelling and landed lightly on his feet.

Ghost Slave Rule Number 5: Unless you are physically unable to manifest feet, you must stay on the ground. Floating and hovering tends to unnerve people, so only do so when ordered or performing a basic slave task that requires the ability.

While waiting for the denizens to rouse themselves and greet the new day, Danny found his thoughts wandering to Sam and the strange way she viewed the world. 'She rebels not only against her parents, but against the very way the world works. Society runs on masters and slaves, how can she not see and accept that? Her distorted view affects her relationship with her parents. There is nothing to be gained from it, so why does she persist? Is that an ulterior reason her parents assigned her a slave guard? To get her to accept the ways things are?'

Danny took a deep breath, ignoring the fact that his ghost half did not require oxygen. His mind raced through everything he had learned of the Manson family so far. Contrary to what most people would think Danny was not an unintelligent individual. The only education he had received was slave training, but his mind was fast and agile. He didn't know much more than basic math and English, enough to get by in most situations, but he could put things together and act on them in the blink of an eye. He was a good study of people, which greatly helped.

It was still definitely early days with this family, but he guessed that Pamela Manson would be the first down, shortly followed by her husband Jeremy as they both seemed like cheery morning people. Considering the lengths Sam went to avoid being like her parents she would most likely stay in bed, or at least her room, for a while after her parents.

The half-ghost wondered if they had a scheduled breakfast time and when, or if, he would be fed. He was glad he was in ghost mode as his stomach couldn't rumble and the feeling of hunger was easier to ignore until the lack of energy drained him of too much power and he reverted to human.

Danny's musings were interrupted by footsteps echoing on the floor above. They were headed for the stairs and it didn't take long until Mrs Manson walked into view. She spotted him almost instantly and descended the stairs towards him somewhat stiffly.

"Anything to report?" she asked brusquely as she stopped directly in front of him, looming over the slave with a look of distaste wrinkling her nose slightly.

"Yes ma'am," Danny replied, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of her feet. "The guard duties performed last night revealed nothing suspicious and proceeded quietly and smoothly. Yesterday afternoon, a small errant ghost, which had attacked several people, went after your daughter."

The woman gasped, one hand flying to her mouth, the other to hover over her heart.

"The ghost did not touch her, nor did it hurt her in any way. As soon as it flew a safe distance from your daughter, I fired at it and it disappeared into wisps. I apologise for the slowness of my actions."

Pamela moved like a striking cobra – the hand at her mouth suddenly impacted with the side of Danny's face in a stinging slap. "How dare you let her be in any danger at all! You incompetent fool! I'll decide whether or not she was hurt when I see her. Watch yourself, slave. And change back to human, your hair offends me with its outrageous colour!" she snapped. With a deft twist on her heels, the woman stalked off to the kitchen without waiting to see her orders carried out.

The slave straightened up and reached deep within himself for the feeling of warmth that brought forth his human side. He clutched the blue sphere tightly with his ecto-energy and delved into it, letting the warm blue energy race through the cold green and wash it away, forcing it into the same small sphere, now a vivid green.

The exterior effect of this was a bright ring that circled Danny's waist and split apart vertically as though magnetic forces, once holding them together, now repelled them. His ethereal glow faded and his skin became a normal tone, albeit somewhat paler than most. His clothes changed and his hair, an untouched white, became darkest ebony. His eyes changed from ecto green to pale sky blue.

He shivered for a second before forcing his body under control. He didn't notice the cold as a ghost, but now it was apparent along with his growing hunger.

The sounds of breakfast being prepared drifted to Danny and he wondered if the formidable Mrs Manson had a human slave to clean the house and cook the meals. It seemed unlikely after taking Sam's initial reaction to his presence into account, but he wished to confirm it on his own. He didn't ponder on it long as Mr Manson sauntered down the second story hallway with a cheerful grin plastered on his face. The grin slipped a bit as he came near Danny.

"Have you seen my wife?" he asked.

"Yes sir. I gave her my report and she left through the second doorway on the left," he answered, examining the man's fuzzy slippers. They were a pastel blue with an indiscernible embroidered pattern in silver thread.

"Good, good. Stay here boy, we'll call for you after we've finished our breakfast and you can have something to eat. Can't have our guard performing at anywhere below one hundred per cent!" he said with a grin that was a partial grimace. He departed through the indicated door, leaving the slave with his thoughts once more.

Danny felt better after having delivered his report and being assured a meal. He stayed where he was for approximately twenty minutes before Sam Manson appeared at the head of the stairs. He could not identify the expression on her face and wondered about it, just as he wondered about the odd tone of voice she had used at Nasty Burger. She was hard for him to figure out that was for sure.

"Oh, Danny…uh, good morning. What are you doing standing there?" Sam asked when she reached him.

He opened his mouth to answer when she waved a hand and said, "On second thought, I don't wanna know… It's some stupid slave regulation, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

Her light amethyst eyes scanned him from head to foot while he was looking at the floor. "Did you get some sleep? Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yes ma'am, I got my allotted amount of sleep and Mr Manson has told me that I may have breakfast when he is finished," was the monotone answer.

Sam took a deep breath and paused, as if to say something, but let it out in a sigh. "I think I'll go talk to him," she muttered and strode off to the kitchen. She opened the kitchen door to find both of her parents sitting at a nicely carved wooden table, the last remnants of breakfast on their plates.

"There you are Sammy-kins!" chirped Pamela. The blond woman set a plate of food in front of her daughter and Sam reluctantly wandered to the table and sat down. She picked up a piece of buttered French toast and took a bite, her eyes falling on her father.

"So, Dad, you plan on feeding your precious slave?" she asked with only a tiny hint of anger and sarcasm leaking into her voice.

Her father regarded her with surprise. "But of course, my sweetest! How can he do his job if he's even scrawnier than he already is? I'll give him something after we're done and he can eat it while you both walk to school. Although you know how I feel about you walking… Why don't you let us take you in the car?"

"Because I don't call a limousine a car," she sniped under her breath. Then her father's words hit her. "Wait - school? You're sending him to school with me?" she asked incredulously.

"Why wouldn't we, Sammy?" her mother replied. "He can't guard you from here, can he? He is rather scrawny though…maybe we should order him to follow you invisibly so his appearance doesn't embarrass you. Yes, that sounds good." She nodded to herself.

Before Sam knew it she was marching out the front door with a cute teenage male slave shadowing her every footstep while briskly devouring the apple he held in one hand, a banana clutched in the other. Unlike her he had no backpack and the way he carried himself and kept his eyes lowered, not to mention those strange blue and green metallic bracelets, clearly marked his status. Everyone at school would instantly know that Sam Manson had a slave the second she stepped foot inside the school grounds.

'Today is going to be one of those days only ten times worse…' she thought morosely. Her feet started to drag in a futile attempt to postpone the inevitable. Not even when she was met and joined by Tucker did she smile.

Tucker noticed this straight away, although it was not an uncommon occurrence. What was uncommon was the addition of Danny. Obviously Sam's parents had ordered him to stick by her and she wasn't handling it well. Danny, being a slave, seemed to have no problem, though that was a given.

"Good morning to you too, Sam," he said with a wry grin, expecting and subsequently ignoring the glare she aimed his way. "So, Danny, coming to Casper High, huh?"

The half-ghost observed Tucker's legs through his long black bangs. "Yes sir. I have been ordered to guard Miss Manson and this duty extends to wherever she goes," he replied blandly. His thoughts were nowhere near as bland – he was thinking ahead to what the school would be like.

It would undoubtedly be a large, multi-story building filled with approximately three hundred people or more. There would be multiple doorways on each floor and constant close proximity to at least thirty people at all times. It was a nightmare from a security perspective and Danny's mind immediately began applying itself to find workable solutions to any situation that may arise throughout the day.

What constituted an action on his part? Someone brushing against or bumping into Sam? A derogatory remark? He wished his orders were a bit more specific. He wondered if asking Sam to define such parameters would be a good idea considering her hatred of slave practices. After several seconds Danny decided it was his only option if he didn't want to flounder in the dark.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I wish to know if there is anything specific you want me to guard you from and which interactions with others are acceptable," he said quietly, mentally kicking himself for interrupting her conversation.

Sam stopped short and both her and Tucker looked back at Danny. "Anything specific? It's not like I'm gonna get attacked at school," she answered with a frown.

"Hey, he can turn us invisible if Dash comes close!" Tucker said enthusiastically.

"Tucker…" Sam said warningly, glaring at him. "I really don't want to order Danny to do anything. You know what I think of the slave system!" She turned to the half-ghost. "Danny, listen…I'm not exactly Little Miss Popular at school and people are always saying stuff to put me down, but ignore it because it doesn't bother me. They just say mean stuff to others to make themselves feel better, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered honestly.

The school was indeed crowded and noisy when they reached the front lawn. Sam went in to avoid the rush when the bell rang and to minimise the risk of anyone seeing Danny yet. What was he going to do while she was in class? Stay by her side or stand at the back of the classroom like a guard dog? 'This is going to be all kinds of awkward,' she thought sourly. Anyone else in her shoes would just order the slave to be invisible during class, but she could never do that.

"I see the janitor hasn't cleaned the hallway of trash yet," said an accented female voice from behind. Nasty laughter followed the sentence.

The three turned around to see the most popular girl of Casper High, Paulina Sanchez, and her little entourage of A-List girls.

Sam just smirked. "You're right, it's such a shame he missed you and your stuck-up friends. I'll be sure to let him know you're here so he can sweep up properly."

Paulina scowled and clenched her hands into fists for a moment before she remembered her brand new nail polish and put a hand on her hips instead. "Oh, think you're brave because you've recruited another loser?" she sneered, looking Danny up and down and giving him a dismissive wave. "Hey Dash, there's a loser here who's never seen the inside of a Casper High locker!" she called out.

A blond boy with large shoulders and a sports jacket lumbered up the hallway opposite Paulina and stopped near the three. "Every loser must know the inside of a locker. We can't let you miss out! Consider this your welcome gift!" he said loudly with a smirk before swiftly grabbing Danny by the front of his shirt and stuffing him into an empty open locker.

"Enjoy your present, dweeb!" Dash laughed, slamming the locker shut. He moved off with Paulina and the other girls, their grating laughter echoing down the hall.

"Oh my gosh, Danny, are you okay?" Sam asked, tugging futilely on the locker door.

"I am uninjured," came Danny's muffled voice. "Please stand back, ma'am." He heard footsteps recede and phased through the door. He patted a bit of dust off his shirt and straightened it after becoming tangible once more. The half-ghost could feel their curious eyes on him but he did not look up, his gaze fixed on Sam's combat boots.

"That…was so cool!" Tucker almost squealed. He clapped a hand on the startled slave's shoulder and walked off to his first class.

Sam followed much more quietly. The day had not started out well and she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

A/N: I have no excuse. This is the first chapter of ANY of my stories that I've updated since FEBRUARY. I did have a job January to September though, which was cool even if it seriously cut into my writing time. There's also that online game I mentioned ages back last chapter. I've been doing a lot of work on it. There's a link to the game's site, where you can download the game, on my profile. It's all free, so no worries there. I even wrote backstories!

Still pacing the story. I really don't want to rush but I'm scared of it dragging. Let me know if I'm going too slow, okay? Still, next chapter should be fun. First day of school for Danny! I had planned to have half of this chapter at the school but it…got away from me. Oops?

You'll get glimpses of Danny's past here and there as the story goes on. It'll be tricky though as I don't want those snippets interrupting the story's flow. As always constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

~FantomoDrako