This one is different from my norm. Humor is almost nonexistant here, but hopefully, still entertaining.

This Week's Apple: # 41 Disappearing Act
Summary: A field trip gone wrong leads to an unplanned journey through the Ghost Zone for Casper High students and teachers.
Pairings: Nope
Genre: Drama
Warnings: Mentions character death

I noticed a large amount of fics in which Lancer and Danny's classmates go into the Ghost Zone, and I sort of challenged myself to come up with an original idea for how they get there. Don't know if I succeeded (I haven't exactly been keeping up with fanfiction lately. Too busy). I really should stop coming up with half-baked story ideas -_- …

I don't own Danny Phantom.

Long nights of ghost hunting had honed Valerie's senses and perfected her instincts, so even when she was panicking, even when her life was flashing before her eyes, she was planning a course of action. Unfortunately, the only course of action one can perform when one's bus hurdles off the side of a cliff is to pray for a miracle.

Valerie didn't believe in fate, or destiny or even luck, but something must have been smiling on them that day, because instead of experiencing a painful collision with the ground, Valerie opened her eyes to a world of green. There was no rushing of wind coming in through the open windows, there was no ground looming closer at alarming speeds. There was just green skies and black, solid, unmoving land.

Valerie exhaled deeply, and wilted against her rough seat as if all her energy had been drained out of her. Previously mentioned honed senses and instincts buzzed against her skull, alerting her that something wasn't right. But they had all just survived a fatal crash, and she needed a moment to wallow in the miracle that was life.

Around her, her fellow students started to come to the same conclusion that they were all miraculously still alive. One by one, terrified screams died in their throats, replaced by relieved sighs and joyful weeping. Many smiles were exchanged, and the bus' occupants all reached out to hug one another. Valerie even allowed Nathan to hug her, she was so happy. At the front of the bus, Mr. Lancer and Ms. Tetslaff put aside their differences for a moment to embrace, the bus driver, Larry Taylor, hugged the steering wheel.

But a moment of peace and relief can only last so long, and as Valerie stared over Nathan's shoulder into the green abyss beyond the bus window, her memory and instincts finally made a connection.

"Oh no," she gasped.

She broke out of Nathan's embrace and raced down the aisle. Her peers shouted protests as she literally had to jump over some of them to make it to the front of the bus. She squeezed past Lancer and Tetslaff—somehow managing to evade the latter's surprised grasp—and rushed out the door. She froze a few feet from the vehicle, staring at the unnatural sky above her in horror.

"The Outsiders, Ms. Gray," Mr. Lancer scolded, having run off the bus after her, "what is the matter—" He broke off with a gasp. Valerie didn't need to turn around to know he wore the same expression as she.

Other gasps and exclamations of fear followed Lancer's intake of breath, and Valerie glanced over her shoulder. Valerie's actions had drawn the Casper High students' attention to the world outside their bus, and there wasn't an excited or grateful gaze left staring from the vehicle. As they realized they had escaped one catastrophe only to find themselves in another, terror and despair took over their expressions.

Valerie felt her eyes harden, and her jaw lift in determination. As the only experienced ghost hunter there, it fell on her to protect the citizens from the evil ghosts inhabiting the Ghost Zone, and she would not fail those under her care.

"What in the world is going on?" Ms. Tetslaff shouted, marching off the bus. She gestured to the green and black landscape before them. "Where are we? How'd we get here? Lancer! Answer me!"

"You know where we are, Tetslaff!" Lancer yelled back. "You were there during the ghost king invasion—when our city was warped to another dimension! Use your head for once! We're in the Ghost Zone! We're stranded—"

Valerie slapped her hand over her teacher's mouth. Lancer glared down at his rude student, but Valerie's gaze wasn't on him. She searched the terrain, trying to spy any ghosts.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer," she said mechanically, releasing her teacher's mouth, "but if you keep shouting, you'll draw ghosts to our location."

Lancer's eyes tripled in size from sudden fear. "I—Yes, that is a very real concern. We should get back on the bus!"

He ushered Valerie toward the bus, and though she knew it was a terrible strategic standpoint, she didn't resist. It would be easier to earn everyone's attention if they were all inside the bus and not outside gawking at the alien surroundings. If Valerie was going to lead them safely home, she needed their full, undivided attention.

Tetslaff followed the pair up the stairs, huffing irritably, and Larry the Bus Driver closed the door firmly behind them. The students copied his example, slamming their windows shut and scrambling away from the outside view.

Valerie sat in the second row, behind the teachers. Her new seatmate, Mikey, pressed nervously against her in his attempt to get away from the window, but she pushed him away. The sight of the Ghost Zone wouldn't attack him, and the sooner he got used to the view, the better. While the two teachers argued in front of her, Valerie tuned an ear on what the students were saying.

She heard panicked questions about where they were and how did they got there, but mostly she heard panicked exclamations about not wanting to die. Valerie bit her lip. How was she going to get them all out of this mess?

Lancer stood up, and raised his hands in attempt to draw his students' attention. "Excuse me, I—I said excuse me!" The students continued to talk to each other, their volume escalating as fear made them panic. "Settle down, people!"

"QUIET!" Tetslaff boomed. Her voice overpowered the teenagers' panicked exclamations, and their fear-clouded eyes focused on their teachers.

Lancer cleared his throat. "Thank you, Ms. Tetslaff." She grunted in acknowledgement. "I realize you are all scared, children, but panicking will get us nowhere. We must decide on a suitable course of action to get us out of here. Now I propose—"

Dash stood up. "How did we get here, Mr. Lancer?" he questioned, a quiver in his voice. "We're not…d-dead…are we?" He gripped his red and white jacket letterman jacket, breathing heavily. "I'm too young to die! The best years of my life aren't over yet!"

That started the others off again. The bus filled with panicked exclamations and firm-sounding denials.

"People!" Lancer shouted. "People! Please, settle down!"

"If we are all dead," Tetslaff yelled, "then how are we all still BREATHING?"

A sharp intake of breath followed her exclamation, as if they all needed the confirmation for themselves. Valerie placed a hand over her heart, and was relieved to feel it still beating against her chest. She had been caught up in the fear as well, but that was ridiculous. The Red Huntress would never become a ghost, her natural enemy. No, there was only one explanation for their location.

Valerie took a deep breath, stood up. "Mr. Lancer, I know how we got here." More than a dozen eyes instantly focused on her, and for a second, Valerie felt like backing down. But then she reminded herself what and who she was—a ghost hunter; the Red Huntress—and she squared her shoulders.

"Oh?" Lancer questioned, sounding doubtful. "Please enlighten us then, Ms. Gray."

"I know how we got here," she repeated. "Or at least, I think I do. I learned a lot about the Ghost Zone when my dad helped the Fentons during the Ghost King Invasion—" As well as some other occasions, "—and one of the things I learned about were portals. Natural portals that open randomly in our world. It's a stretch, I'll admit, but it's possible a large enough portal opened when our bus was falling, and we fell right through it. Since gravity is almost nonexistent here, we would have landed in one piece."

"As reasonable as that sounds, Ms. Gray," Lancer said, "what are the chances of that actually happening?"

"About one in a million," Valerie said. "Like I said, it's a stretch, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. How else could we have arrived here, alive and well?"

"For the time being, anyway," Tetslaff pointed out. Her meaty hands gripped the back of her seat, and she leaned forward for emphasis. "It doesn't matter how we got here—what matters is how we'll get out."

The teenagers muttered fearfully again.

"The Fentons have a ghost portal," Valerie said over the noise, gaining instant silence. Good. They were already listening for her voice. "It connects our world with the ghost world, and it is always in the same location. All we have to do is find it."

"E-easier said than done," Lester piped up. "This place is called the ghost world for a reason. Who knows how large it is? We could search for days—years—without finding the portal!"

"Zone," Valerie corrected. "It's more of a Zone. And I have been here before—aside from the Invasion."

"When was this?" Lancer demanded.

"During the flour assignment in—it doesn't matter! The point is, I was taken to a ghost's lair and I—"

"Lair?" one of the students asked.

"Every ghost has a lair, which is basically their home or haunting place. As I was saying—"

Paulina gasped, like she just had a brilliant idea. "We should find Danny Phantom's lair!"

Similar gasps of excitement sounded around the bus.

"He can guide us home!"

"Oh, I want to see where he sleeps!"

"I don't think ghosts sleep, Starr."

"You know what I meant, Ashley!"

"This is awesome!" Dash exclaimed. "I'll get to see my hero without fearing for my life!"

"Yeah," Mikey whispered, "because the Ghost Zone isn't dangerous at all…"

"Phantom doesn't have a lair!" Valerie shouted above the other teenagers.

"But you just said every ghost has a lair," Paulina pointed out.

Valerie hit her forehead. "I mean, Phantom doesn't have a lair in the Ghost Zone. He haunts Amity Park, so therefore his lair is Amity Park."

The air of excitement vanished from the bus, replaced once again by fear and desperation.

"But," Paulina persisted, "he could still find us…right? I mean, surely he'll notice I—we are missing?"

"…Maybe," Valerie said reluctantly, "but we don't know for sure, or how long it would take for him to find us. We can't put our faith in such a huge risk. We should try to find the Fentons' portal by ourselves."

"But how will we find it?" Lancer asked.

"Well, as I was saying, I was taken to a ghost's lair with Phantom—" Valerie knew the moment the name passed her lips that she shouldn't have mentioned the troublesome ghost at all. Already she could see everyone's eyes widening; some with curiosity, jealousy or awe. Wielding Phantom's name would clearly gain her instant attention, but it could also cause problems, particularly with the A-list crowd.

"Yeah," she said before her peers could say anything, "I was kidnapped with Phantom, but that's irrelevant at the moment. The point I'm trying to make is that I have been here before…and I found my way back. If we can find this ghost's lair, I can guide us to the Fentons' portal."

Lancer stared at her with an intense gaze. "Are you sure, Ms. Gray?"

Technically, Phantom had overshadowed her and then brought her back home. Until she saw the destroyed flour sack, she had even thought it was all a dream. However, she had been half aware the whole time Phantom had flown her body through the Zone, and she was positive she could lead them through the same route as soon as she recognized the scenery.

Valerie nodded. "Yes."

Lancer nodded as well. "All right, then. We'll follow Ms. Gray to the Fentons' ghost portal. Any objections?"

The occupants of the bus exchanged glances, looking for a black sheep who would speak up. Paulina made a noise like she wanted to say something, but as soon as all eyes focused on her, she quieted. However, she held her head high, defiant. Valerie made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

"It's decided then." Lancer turned around and placed a hand on the driver's seat. "Mr. Taylor, can you—"

Larry turned the key in the ignition, and the bus's engine rumbled…briefly. Larry's eyes narrowed. He tried again, but received the same result. He tried two more times, but the bus remained inactive.

"Looks like we're walkin'," Tetslaff said, smirking at Lancer's panicked expression.

"Bu-but—" he protested.

"No buts, Lancer. The bus won't start, and that means we're hikin'."

Lancer shuddered. "Fine. We'll…walk. But we're following safety precautions, meaning a strict buddy system that I will assign."

The bus full of students groaned unhappily.

"Like I haven't heard that before," Lancer said, rolling his eyes. "Please leave the bus as soon as you are assigned a buddy. Tetslaff and Mr. Taylor, you two—"

"I'm not goin' anywhere, Mr. Lancer," Larry said. He rubbed the bus's steering wheel. "My gal needs me."

Lancer frowned. "Mr. Taylor, your…dedication is admirable, but I must insist we all stay together."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'll wait here while you all find help."

"Mr. Taylor, you do realize how dangerous this is?"

"I'm not leavin' my bus," Larry said, more forcefully. "If I manage to fix her before help arrives, I'll come looking for you, but I'm not leavin' her."

Lancer pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't force you…Fine. You can stay. Tetslaff can buddy with…" He grimaced. "I was planning to pair myself with Ms. Gray…"

"I'll buddy with Valerie," Paulina said loudly. She smiled sweetly at Valerie, but the expression made the alarm bells in the Huntress's head ring. "We have a lot to discuss, I'm sure."

"Fine, fine," Lancer said, determined to get it over with. "Valerie with Paulina, Tetslaff with myself. Dash, you buddy with Kwan."

The two football players high-fived. They and Paulina walked to the front of the bus, and Valerie, sighing, followed them out the bus door. Once outside, the popular kids gawked at the green world around them. Valerie scanned the horizon, but as far as she could tell, they were all alone. The bus had landed on a large slab of rock that was surrounded by other floating rocks. To escape their hell hole, Valerie figured they would have to leap across those rocks until they found more solid land or a more effective way to travel.

Paulina spun on Valerie, "Tell me everything you know about Phantom."

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You said you were kidnapped with Phantom. Tell me about it, and don't leave anything out."

Valerie crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin defiantly. "Why should I? It's none of your business."

"Phantom is my business," Paulina said, her pretty eyes glaring at Valerie. "As his future girlfriend, I have the right to know about his past."

"Oh, please…"

"Don't act as if it's impossible!" Paulina shouted. "You've seen the way he looks at me. He obviously has a thing for me!"

"He's a ghost, Paulina!"

"So?"

"So? So?" Valerie restrained the impulse to try to reboot Paulina's brain by hitting her skull. "He's dead. Dead beings can't feel, can't love. Whatever delusional fantasy you have going, I suggest you give it up, because it is never going to happen."

Paulina scowled, offended. "Like, what is wrong with you? Ghost or not, Danny Phantom is a hero! He probably even saved you that time you two were kidnapped."

A corner of Valerie's lips turned down. "No, that was—"

Lancer stepped off the bus. "Has anyone seen Peter?" he asked.

Valerie blinked and looked around her. While she and Paulina had been talking, the other students had left the bus and gathered around them. None of them, however, was Peter.

"Isn't he still on the bus?" someone asked.

Lancer shook his head. "This is everybody…"

If Peter wasn't on the bus or with them now…

Valerie swallowed. Around her, her peers gasped as they came to the same conclusion.

"M-maybe he took a bathroom break?" Nathan suggested.

The students latched onto this idea. Yeah, Peter always had a tiny bladder. He must have wondered off and used the restroom. He hadn't fallen out of the bus during the fall. No way. It was impossible for one of their own to die.

Lancer cleared his throat, and by the expression on his face, Valerie knew he believed the worst had happened to Peter. "If that is the case, then he'll just have to wait with Mr. Taylor. We must get a move on. Ms. Gray, if you please…"

Valerie nodded, grim. She began to walk toward the rock field, the group following close behind her. She couldn't think about the boy who didn't make it.

She just had to protect the civilians that were still alive.

"I'm really sorry, guys…"

"You've said that a million times now, Danny," Tucker said. "We get the idea."

"It was our own choice to hunt ghosts with you," Sam said.

Tucker nodded, sighing. "Yeah, but if I had known it would keep me from going on the field trip, I –" Tucker snapped his mouth shut. When Sam glared like that, she meant business.

Danny sighed, hanging his head. He had known as soon as Lancer announced the trip that he wouldn't be allowed to go. He had missed too much school, received too many detentions. But when Sam and Tucker had been denied the same thing because of all the burdens they had shouldered for him, he felt like the worst friend ever. It was his fault they cut school, his fault for leaving them to face the penalties for his mistakes, his fault they weren't on their way to Florida this very minute.

Sam rubbed his shoulder. "It's all right, Danny. Really. So we missed one field trip. Big deal! I wouldn't trade our experiences fighting ghosts with you for some lame trip to the beach."

"That's because you're a billionaire, Sam," Tucker said. "Any time you want to go to a beach you can just hop on a jet." Sam reached behind Danny and bopped Tucker on the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," Danny said, "but I'm the one who should be helping you. How am I ever going to make this up to you guys?"

"Well, now that you mention it—ow!" Tucker rubbed his head, glaring at Sam.

"You don't have to make up anything to us, Danny," Sam said, giving Tucker a pointed look. "We make our own decisions."

Danny dropped his head into his hands. His friends exchanged helpless glances behind his back. Tucker shook his head and leaned back against the couch. He pulled out his PDA and began searching for something interesting. Sam glared at him, but what could he do? If Danny was determined to be all depressed, there was nothing Tucker could do to cheer him up.

Sam rolled her eyes, although she was tempted to give up herself. She wasn't exactly the most cheerful person. Danny should be cheered up by his best friend, not his Goth friend.

"Danny…" she said slowly, "…you can't—"

"Whoa!" Tucker yelled. He shoved the PDA under Danny's nose. "Check this out!"

Danny took the PDA as he sat up straight. His friends leaned against both his shoulders, also watching the small screen. On it a blonde news reporter Danny didn't recognize stood on a cliff road. The railing separating the road from the cliff was broken, as if something large had smashed right through it.

"…vacation turned to nightmare for visiting Casper High students and faculty members last night when a freak thunderstorm careened their bus off Charlie's Ridge—"

Danny jumped off the couch, clutching the PDA hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "What?"

"How did you find that, Tucker?" Sam demanded.

"I thought Dash or even Mikey might have posted something about the field trip by now," Tucker said, his dark face an odd green-ish color. "That was the first video I got when I searched…"

Danny gestured for his friends to stop talking. Tucker and Sam instantly quieted.

"…the bus exploded upon impact. Rescuers are still searching the wreckage, but they regrettably report that at this time…" The reporter held a hand over her hair, trying to keep the wind from blowing it into her face. She stared into the camera with a somber expression as she said softly, "…there have been no survivors."

All the energy in Danny's body vanished. He collapsed onto the couch, staring blankly into space. His friends wore similar expressions of shock on their faces.

After a few seconds of silence, Tucker cleared his throat. "This may not be the best time to say it, but…" He threw his arms around Danny's neck. "Thank you so much for getting me into trouble!"

Well, I can't do humor all the time :P It gets tedious. My writing has gotten really rusty, though... *Groans* It's terrible! *runs and hides*

My beta wants me to write a sequal, and I probably could with the 'Death' prompt...More angst and drama...joy...XD NaNoWriMo starts pretty soon, and I'm hoping to post one more chapter before then - either for this collection or one of my other stories. If I fail the challenge of writing a book in a month, you'll see me before December. If I succeed, however, I'll probably be in the habit of writing 1,500+ words a day - meaning faster updates. That's what I'm hoping, at least ;)

Just ask if you want me to clarify what happened Valerie and company. No laughs for this Apple, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless ;) Okay, then. Thanks for reading!

Also: GAAAAhh! Major English assignment due tomorrow and I haven't even started yet! %*&#^#$(!