Third Person POV

The train was still only starting up so it wasn't going all that fast. It was slow enough that Sam and Tucker were able to make it to a nearby overpass and climb to the top of it as the train approached them. As the train whistle blew and drove under the overpass both teens gripped the overpass ledge tightly, sending small vibrations up and down their arms. Sam gulped, realizing what they had to do. Looking down at the train she shouted, "We have to jump!"

The train passed noisily below them and Tucker looked down at it in fear. "You crazy?" He questioned, locking eyes with his friend, "I can't jump!" 

"And I can't abandon Danny!" She retorted. They two held hands and slowly stood up, staying in a slight crouch as to not lose their balance. As they both looked nervously down at the fast moving train. They locked eyes once more and narrowed them in determination. Swallowing their fear the two friends leaped down from the overpass and landed hard on their feet, toppling onto their stomachs. Sam sighed as another thought passed through her mind. She glanced over at Tucker and said, "Plus, I'll never hear the end of it if my parents learn they're right about him being evil." 

Tucker raised an eyebrow at this and slowly began to stand up with Sam following after him. They got onto their knees and crouched low on the train, taking notice of how much faster the train was moving and the amount of cars on the train. "Great, how are we supposed to find Danny? Search all these cars one at a time?" Tucker asked, grumbling to himself. 

Sam furrowed her brow and pointed behind her to the cars closer to the front. "If I had to take a guess, Freakshow might be up there somewhere." She informed him, "If we destroy the staff then we free Danny from his control." 

Tucker smiled at the plan, but quickly frowned. "And how do we get it from him? He's probably got himself guarded and we're kinda without any weapons."

Sam frowned, unable to think of an appropriate response. "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." The goth said, "For now, let's just focus on finding Freakshow." The two friends got to their feet without another word and made their way to the front of the train, hopping over the gaps in between the train cars. The unspoken plan was to head to the car at the very front of the train and drop down. Then they would make their way through the rest of the train, hoping to find something of use to them. It wasn't the best plan but it was the best they could come up with at the time. 

Normal Line Break here. Okay, back to reading I guess. Have fun.

Near the middle of the train, Freakshow sat on top of a wooden crate counting a pile of crisp bills. His four minions surrounded him and his trusty staff rested by his side. There would have been all five of his minions with him but he had made Lydia stay behind to entertain his guests at the free show. He had noticed that their newest member hadn't been settling in very well and was prone to fits of 'free will'. As the ringmaster glanced up at the boy he could see him fighting against the call of the staff. He shook his head, resistance against the staff was futile. His parents had used the staff before him and he had seen its powers in action. No ghost could resist its powerful call. Those who tried eventually drove themselves mad. Freakshow frowned, he couldn't risk losing the boy. He was more useful than his other minions would ever be and took orders very well. The only issue would be to crush any remaining bit of free will he had in him. Freakshow grinned at the thought.

Each remaining member of the nightmarish circus heard the loud footsteps approaching them from the roof of the train cars. They all looked up in surprise as the footsteps went right over their heads. The four ghosts narrowed their red eyes as they stared up at the roof in suspicion. Freakshow snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his minions angrily. "What are you waiting for?" The ringmaster questioned, taking his staff in his hand and placing the bills he had been counting beside him. He pointed his staff at the roof, the glowing red orb spiraling with its color and commanded, "GO!" All four ghosts got ready to race through the train to get ahead of the trespassers. The dwarf, strongman and elastic ghost all raced out of the car and Danny began to follow after them, only to be stopped by a quick command from Freakshow. The white haired ghost boy paused immediately and turned to face his Master. Freakshow smiled, "You go that way," the ringmaster commanded, pointing in the opposite direction that his other minions had headed. 

Danny nodded and flew the other way, breezing past Freakshow. The ringmaster smiled and looked to the roof once more. "This will certainly be an interesting show." He mused, heading out of the car.

Well that was a short passage. Why even bother with a Line Break? Waste my time that's probably why. Normal Line Break here again. (I wonder if I get vacation days).

Sam and Tucker were drawing closer to the front of the train, but they were quickly halted in their tracks as three ghosts phased out of the car in front of them. They turned around to make a quick escape and were shocked to see a red eyed Danny standing in their way. As the three ghosts behind them drew near Sam shouted at the ghost boy. "Danny, it's us, Sam and Tucker! You're best friends, remember?!"

Danny glared at them, pure evil in his glowing red eyes. Sam and Tucker watched their friend nervously, taking care to also keep an ear out for the three ghosts behind them. The seconds ticking by felt like years as the wind whipped through their hair and clothes.

The ghost teen's thoughts were clouded. The names Sam and Tucker sounded familiar to him, but he didn't know why. 

"Sam and Tucker... Sam and Tucker... Best friends... Remember them." A gruff voice struggled to whisper in his mind, though its tone was gentle. "Your will is stronger than you think Danny. Fight him. And win." Stars flashed through Danny's vision and he rapidly blinked away the fog in his mind.

When his eyes fully opened, they shone a toxic green. "Tucker? Sam? I.. I.." Danny began as his own thoughts returned to him. 

Sam and Tucker's eyes lit up with  joy and hopeful smiles pulled at their lips. Danny was fighting Freakshow's control over him! And he was winning!

"I..." Danny continued as his body began to shake as if he was under great strain. He needed to resist its call. But the beautiful glow wormed its way back into his thoughts and smothered the screams of the gruff voice in the teen's mind. His eyes widened and glowed a deep red. Danny closed his eyes and once he opened them they were back to their former red color. "..am a.. ghost." Danny said, his voice echoing, "I have no friends."

Sam and Tucker felt their hearts sink with dread as they saw their friend return to being under the twisted ringmaster's control. A voice from behind them caused a chill to run up their spine. "Don't waste your breath children." It crooned. Sam and Tucker whipped around to see Freakshow climbing onto the roof of the car, his staff held high. The ringmaster sent them a creepy smile, "He's under my control now." Clambering onto the roof of the car, Freakshow whistled at Danny and the ghost boy flew over to his Master's side.

Sam and Tucker fought to keep their balance on the speeding train as the wind pushed against them. They stared at their friend, then the ringmaster, doing their best to come up with a last second plan. So far, they weren't having the best of luck. It's surprisingly harder to think of a plan to rescue your friend from the control of an insane circus master, while also taking care not to fall off a speeding train to your death, than you might think!

Freakshow looked over to Danny. "Don't just stand there, finish them!" He commanded, raising his staff. Danny's eyes flashed entirely red. Being so close to the staff and its powers made him that much more obedient, yet for some reason Danny didn't act immediately.

Tucker glanced up and saw the train quickly approaching some low hanging scaffolding. A plan formed itself in his mind. He turned his gaze to Freakshow and pointing at the staff he suggested, "Maybe you should try holding that thing up a little higher." Sam looked over at her geeky friend in shock but as she watched Freakshow raise the staff high above his head she noticed the scaffolding. 

Mere moments after Freakshow had raised the staff above his head the train passed under the scaffolding and knocked the staff out of Freakshow's hands! The staff twirled through the air and Tucker made a powerful jump towards it, stretching out his hands. The staff brushed against his fingertips and he almost grabbed it, but in the end he missed and it flew past him. Tucker landed back on the roof of the train car and he and Sam watched the staff land in a white gloved hand. Danny's hand.

The ghost teen smiled as he gripped the staff tightly, hovering above the roof. Sam and Tucker smiled and walked over to him. "Way to go man!" Tucker congratulated as he came closer to Danny and raised his hand, "Now gimme five!" 

Danny smirked and raised his hand, letting it glow with green energy. He placed it against Tucker's and fired a short blast, effectively knocking Tucker right into the muscular ghost. Said ghost quickly wrapped and arm around the nerdy teen, pinning him to the ghost's chest.

Freakshow smiled as he saw that one of the teen's were out of his way. He turned back to Danny and extended a hand to the teen, "Very good, drone." He congratulated, "Now, bring me my staff. Come on, bring it." Freakshow beckoned the teen towards him with his hand and made kissing noises with his lips, as if he was calling to a pet.

Danny's evil look disappeared and he landed on the roof. He hunched over and looked uncertainly from his Master to the staff. 

Sam noticed this and took the opportunity. She ran in front of Freakshow and held out her hands to show that she was unarmed and meant to harm. "Fight it Danny! He's not holding the crystal ball anymore, you are!" She called to him. The goth soon felt gloved hands land on her shoulders and shove her to the side of the train. Sam scrambled to recover her footing and found herself mere inches from falling off the edge of the train.

"Silence!" Freakshow shouted at her harshly before turning back to Danny and adopting a much sweeter tone, "Obey me, ghost! Give me my staff. Come on." Once more Freakshow made a kissing noise as he beckoned Danny to bring him his staff.

The teen was now sweating as he continued to look from the staff to the ringmaster. Voices were shouting in his mind back and forth and back and forth. One urged him to keep fighting the call of the staff, its gruff tone scolding him, while the other was soft and sweet like honey. It whispered to him to obey his master. He found himself swinging from the trapeze again. Back and forth, back and forth. A simple rhythm, the only intruding sound was the creaking of the wires. He heard the cheers of a large crowd below him.

Back on the edge of the train Sam called out to her friend, "I saw you up on that high wire, you were fighting him the whole time! Fight him now, Danny! You're not just a ghost! Fight him!" 

Danny groaned as one of the voices in the crowd spoke louder than the rest. It told him to fight, to keep fighting. But why would he have to fight? When he was up there, flying through the air between the bars on the trapeze nothing could touch him. Nothing could hurt him. Nothing could- 

CRACK!

Danny froze on the trapeze the moment he heard the all too familiar sound. It was the same sound that haunted so many of his nightmares. Screams pounded through his brain, sending waves of pain through it. It drowned out the two rivaling voices in his head, but at the moment he had completely forgotten about them. "Quiet!" He shouted, gripping his head and pulling at his hair with one hand and tightening his hold on the staff with the other, "I need to think!"

Freakshow was growing impatient and lost his sweet tone, resorting to his normal commanding one. "Stop her! Now!" He shouted, pointing at Sam and advancing on the boy. The train whistle blew as it crossed onto a bridge, high above a large gorge.

"Well, it's the crystal ball or your friend, Danny, your choice!" Sam shouted at the teen. The two remaining ghosts, the dwarf and the one that could stretch herself to impossible lengths, began to approach the goth. Sam backed away from them and lost her footing as her right foot slipped off the edge of the car's roof. "I didn't mean that to be so literal!!" She shouted as she fell backwards off the train and began to plummet down towards the water below.

"Sam! No!" Tucker cried, struggling to free himself from the muscular ghost's hold on him.

The trapeze swung back and forth without Danny even moving his body. A creaking noise came from above him and he watched as the hooks attaching the wires to the tall posts detached themselves from the screws holding them in place. Danny felt himself begin to fall but at the last second, he was thrown at the platform. The teen landed hard on the large platform and quickly moved onto his knees, looking down to see what had saved him. A woman with kind, sad eyes looked up at him as she and a man holding her legs fell to the ground. They landed with a sickening crack and a pool of red began to form around their tangled and broken bodies. Danny choked back bile rising in his throat as he heard the screams in his ears again. A voice broke out over them shouting a name.

"Sam! No!"

"Sam?" Danny repeated aloud and the screams of thousands became the sole scream of a familiar goth. "Sam!" Danny shouted, his eyes widening. He dove off the side of the train, staff still in hand. He caught sight of the falling girl and saw the woman's face and figure replace her for a moment. The setting became a circus tent instead of a vast mountain range. Danny dropped the staff and extended his arms out to the girl. He managed to catch up to her and fly directly under her, grabbing her mid-air and carrying her through the sky back up to the train car.

The staff Danny had dropped fell the ground far below and its powerful orb shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. The dark magic contained within was finally freed and disappeared without another trace.

The ghost teen's eyes briefly flashed red once more before returning to their normal toxic green. He looked down and saw Sam in his arms, with her arms wrapped around his neck. Her eyes were tightly shut but they slowly opened when she realized she was no longer falling. She looked into her friend's eyes and asked, "Danny.. are you okay?"

Danny frowned, "I think so. It's all a blur." Odd memories flashed through his mind. "I did some bad stuff, didn't I?" He asked the goth.

She smiled, "Nothing you can't fix." The two teens landed back onto the roof of the train car where all the others were waiting.

Tucker smiled as he saw they were both safe. "Good. Now maybe you can convince Tiny here to let go of me?" He said, looking up at the large ghost still holding him.

The three ghosts that had been Freakshow's longest servants all had their eyes flash red. Once the light dimmed, their eyes had returned to a normal color. "H-huh? Where are we?" Asked the female ghost, looking at her hands.

The dwarf ghost smiled, "Are we free? Finally free?" He asked, a glimmer of hope and excitement in his voice and eyes.

Danny grinned, raising a fist, "Only one way to find out." All eyes immediately went to the nervous Freakshow, who glanced at each of the four ghosts with fear on his pale features. Each ghost rushed towards him, grabbing whatever they could of the ringmaster and turning him intangible. They forced him through the roof of the train car while Sam and Tucker looked on, not sure whether to be happy that the ghosts were finally going to get their revenge or be concerned about the ringmaster.

Freakshow fell to the ground and shook with fear, looking up at the four angry spirits. A worried smile appeared in his face as he fought down his terror, "Okay, uh, when I called you, er, "minions," it was really a-a term of endearment like-like "I love my minions!"." He tried to excuse.

Danny smiled at the pale man, charging his right hand with energy, "You wanted a big haul? Try this on for size!" Danny fired an ectoblast at the pile of loot teetering above Freakshow, causing them to topple onto him, trapping the ringmaster underneath.

"Gah! Oh! That.. quite.. smarted.." Freakshow moaned from beneath the pile of gold, jewels and other assorted treasures. The train came to an abrupt halt in front of a police blockade and 

Danny peered out the window to see all of the police officers surrounding the train. He turned to the three ghosts in the car with him and smiled, "So, what d'ya say we stick around and explain to the cops we were being controlled by an evil ringmaster?" He asked. Without even saying a word, the three ghosts turned themselves intangible and flew up through the roof of the car, never to be seen again. "Ya know, I had a feeling that would be their answer." He thought aloud as he too turned intangible and phased out of the train. He made his way onto the roof of the train where his friends were still waiting and helped them to the ground. Danny transformed back into his human form, stretching out his limbs and getting used to the feeling of being human after staying in ghost form for so long.

"You okay man?" Tucker asked, cautiously reaching out to his friend. 

Danny smiled and took his best friend's hand, pumping it once. Tucker smiled and wrapped his arms around the half ghost teen in a tight hug. After a moment of hesitation, Sam joined in the hug. The three friends were happy to be reunited and Danny whispered many thanks to them for saving him from Freakshow's control. When the hug broke apart Danny stared at Sam's face. The woman's features flashed across the goth girl's own once more. The ghost teen turned away from her quickly, fighting off a sudden headache.

"You're strong Danny. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Keep getting back up. Promise me that you and your brother will stay together no matter what." A voice whispered in his head, but it wasn't the gruff voice that he had gotten used to. This voice sounded like it belonged to a gentle woman. Danny felt a something tight in his chest and tears fell from his eyes, though he didn't know why.

Tucker and Sam noticed this and immediately rushed to his aid. "Danny! What's wrong?" Sam asked, concern in her voice.

The half ghost teen turned to the goth and mouthed something to her.

"What?" She asked, "Danny, are you okay? What's wrong!?" Her voice was growing more and more urgent sounding. Tucker had placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and gently shook it, trying to snap his friend out of whatever daze he had managed to get himself into.

"I remember..." Danny whispered. He received  looks of confusion from his friends so he did his best to continue as he saw their parents quickly approaching. For some reason, he didn't want to speak about this in front of them. Swallowing hard Danny whispered to them, "I think I'm starting to get my memories back."

A/N: Thank you all for tuning in to the latest update of 'The Ghost Brother'. We do hope that you enjoyed today's show. Now, because the writer is in a surprisingly good mood for once, we have decided to give you faithful viewers a few sneak peeks at the next chapter, 'Puzzle Pieces'! Enjoy!

They sat on the floor, sifting through notes upon notes of clues. Anything Danny thought relevant to his past he had written down. One note in particular had been pinned to the wall so that it stood out above the other notes. It was a detailed note describing the nightmare he had had almost every other night after the accident with the Fenton Portal. 

"The Man with the face of a Bat."

"Come now Little Badger, you can trust me."

"I have a brother!"

"He's been missing for a year and one month as of today."

"It's all one big puzzle."

Tune in next update. Same random time, same random writer. See you all in the next one!