Chapter 1: The Friendly Ghosts

BlueTiger321: Hi, everyone! It's me again, back with another cartoon crossover story. For those of you who don't know, this is going to be a sequel to one of my previous stories, A Night in Black Manor. I know that it's a little early for Halloween but I've decided to start writing it now just so I can get it out of the way. And I advise those of you who haven't read my earlier story to please do so before reading this one just so that it will make more sense to you. Now, for the legal stuff: the story is of my own creation but the lovable cast of characters used in it are property of their respectful owners. And I must warn you that this story is T-rated for frightening sequences, bad language, crude humour and violence. So sit back and enjoy!

It was currently high noon in the fabled Toon City and Halloween had once again returned for another year. All across the city, the residents—who were characters from cartoon shows, anime or video games—were all getting ready to celebrate the glorious holiday in their own fashion. Much like in the human world, the toons liked Halloween for its antics and for getting the opportunity to dress up however they want. To the toons, Halloween was more important than life itself.

Walking through the forests on the outskirts of the city was a group of friends. Even though they came from different backgrounds, it did not stop them from forming a bond as solid as a rock. The group was comprised of the famous Sky Knight squadron known as the Storm Hawks, the Avatar and his companions, the halfa ghost boy, Danny Fenton, and the Te Xuan Ze, Juniper Lee.

Last year they had gone into one of Toon City's most infamous places, Black Manor, as part of a dare set up by a gang led by Dash Baxter. Many superstitions had led the mansion to be haunted by malicious spirits, and Aerrow was going to take the dare to prove that all the tales were false. As it turned out, Black Manor was indeed haunted and the group had to endure a horrifying quest to break the curse over the mansion. When they did, they found out that the ghosts who had been living there were forced against their will by the evil sorceress, Maleficent, who intended to do away with their master, the almighty wizard, Yen Sid.

Upon breaking the curse and setting the ghosts free, the group instantly became friends with them and showed their appreciation by forcing Dash and his crew into Black Manor and showing them exactly what kind of horrors they would face.

Everyone in the group was now going back to Black Manor to celebrate the anniversary with their ghostly friends. Even though it was by accident that their paths had crossed, the group considered themselves lucky for having met the ghosts and setting them free. It was then during that time that they would get the chance to reminisce about everything that took place on that fateful night.

Aerrow breathed in through his nostrils while he took in the fresh air of the forest, not minding the cawing of crows, the chirping of crickets or even Radarr jumping onto his back. "Won't it be nice when we see our friends again?"

"It sure would," said Piper. "I can't believe it's actually been a year since we've been inside Black Manor."

"I know," said Aang. "Do you think the ghosts have changed the house at all while we were gone?"

"Who knows?" said Danny. "After all, Yen Sid did give it to them for all their hard work, so it wouldn't be surprising if they changed it the way they want it to."

Finn suddenly had something on his mind as he walked with his friends. "You know something?" he said. "I wonder if we could convince the ghosts to make the house all scary again like when we were trapped inside? 'Cause, I gotta admit, it was kinda fun."

"Oh really?" said Katara in a sardonic tone. "Do you really want to face off against the dragon made out of fire again?"

"Or that giant face in the wall that almost made us its dinner?" added Zuko.

"Hey, I'm just sayin'," said the blonde sharpshooter. "It is Halloween, so why not enjoy it the way it's supposed to be spent?"

The Storm Hawks' carrier pilot, Stork, walked along with the others but did not share their enthusiasm. His paranoia had always made him wary of what was around every corner and it kept him in a constant state of panic. All the memories of going into Black Manor soon flooded his mind. Although he did get to make new friends out of it, he still couldn't get the frightening images of what he had to go through out of his head and it was driving him crazy.

"I don't know why you're all so excited," said Stork. "I sure as hell am not happy of having to come back here."

"Then why did you come, you big chicken?" asked Toph.

"Well, someone has got to be the voice of reason in this group. And if not for me, you'd all be off gallivanting to God knows where and get yourselves into a load of trouble. One case in point: Aerrow making us all go into Black Manor."

June suddenly shook her head in annoyance over the Merb's ranting. "You know, Stork," she said, "sometimes I really don't get you. Mostly you act all scared of everything, and then you suddenly grow a backbone just when things seem to get worse. Frankly I'm surprised that you worked up the courage to get your ear pierced."

"Yeah," said Junko. "Besides, Aerrow making us go turned out to be a good thing: we freed the ghosts, we got back at Dash, and we ending up having a cool party."

Stork scoffed the comment. "That was just dumb luck."

The boy Sky Knight halted in his tracks and turned to face his friends just as they all stopped as well. "Stork," he said, "I'll admit that taking that dare was a stupid thing to do. But I think it was all for the better. If not for us, those ghosts would've spent all of eternity haunting Black Manor like mindless drones."

"So will you at least show some interest into going back?" said Piper.

Stork hunched his shoulders and breathed a heavy sigh. He knew that everything Aerrow said was true, so there was no point in arguing because everyone else would make a counterpoint. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "So, how should I express my interest?"

"Well," said Danny, "the least you could do is smile."

A nod came from the Merb and then he got ready to show what he was asked to do. Stork looked everybody straight in the eye and smiled as wide as he could to show that he was serious. His lips stretched across his face and showed his teeth while his pupils remained still.

Everyone else was taken aback by the smile of their friend. The way that he did it was like someone had just stretched his face from end to end and they were now starting to feel uneasy just from looking at it.

"Oh crap, that's scary!" said Sokka.

Aerrow walked up to Stork while Radarr started chirping with disapproval. "We're going to go see our friends, not kill Batman!" said the Sky Knight.

Stork could see that his smile was making the others uncomfortable, so he dropped his face and resumed his usual composure. Smiling for so long had given him a slight pain so he rubbed his jaw while he continued walking with the others.

"I don't think we should ever force Stork to smile again," said Katara.

"Agreed," said Aang.

"That was actually scarier than everything we faced in Black Manor put together," June said jokingly.

The Merb let out a huff of annoyance, thinking that his friends didn't know what they wanted from him.

Everyone kept silent until they finally got to a clearing. They could all see in the distance the familiar stone wall with the wrought-iron gate in the centre. It was then they realized that they were now standing before the entrance into Black Manor.

"Finally, we're here," said Finn.

"I say we don't waste any more time," said Aerrow. "Let's go see our friends and have a great Halloween."

The others all nodded in agreement and quickly made their way up to the entrance. In each of their minds they told themselves that it was going to be a glorious time with the ghosts as they would get to spend the grand holiday in their own style—and no one was going to ruin it for them.

Suddenly, everyone slowed to a halt when they could see a lone figure standing before the gate. Curiosity took hold of them as they all wondered who would come out to the forest to be at Black Manor.

"Hey, who is that?" asked Junko.

Walking closer to the gates, everyone saw who was standing there. It was a middle-aged, yellow-skinned man who was dressed in a navy blue business suit with a white shirt and a purple tie. His hair was cut low and stood on its end at the top while the edges were gray all the way around his head. The man was too busy staring at the gates while it looked like he was adjusting something over it.

The group of friends had finally stopped when they got close to the man, and Aerrow got up front to ask why he was near the mansion. "Uh, excuse me?" said the Sky Knight.

Hearing the call, the man turned around and stared at the group while keeping his back placed over the gate from where he stood. He looked out at the people staring at him and he met them with a pleasant smile. "Oh, hello there," he said. "I didn't think there would be people all the way out here."

"That's odd," said Danny. "We were just thinking the same thing."

"Who are you?" asked Aang.

The man placed a hand over his chest and took in a deep breath. "I am Russ Cargill, head of the Toon City Zoning Department. And I am here personally to deliver what we plan to do to Black Manor." Cargill moved out of the way and revealed a wooden sign over the gates.

Aerrow and his friends got closer to inspect what it said, and the ones who could see all let out surprised gasps. On the sign written in black letters was the word Condemned. They were truly shocked to see the house each of them had come to love was now scheduled to be demolished.

"What's going on?" asked Toph, not being able to see the sign due to her blindness.

"Condemned?" said Piper in disbelief. "Can this be for real?"

"Oh, it's for real, all right," replied Cargill. "We've checked over the blueprints for Black Manor and it's in direct violation with all the building codes and standards, so we'll have no choice but to tear it down."

Aerrow would not accept this, especially since his friends would be involved. He had to make sure that Black Manor would stay up, so he walked over to Russ Cargill with his eyes narrowed. "You can't do this!" he said.

Cargill merely chuckled to himself at the response of the red-haired teen. "And why not?"

"Because Black Manor is a part of Toon City's history. It's something that everyone has loved ever since it came to be. It's one of the very reasons why we celebrate Halloween in the first place."

The man rolled his eyes exasperatedly while he heard the foolish ramblings of a teenager. For a man of his age and designation, he felt that he should not have to put up with it—and he knew that it would all be worth it for the goal he had set in mind about what to do with the mansion.

"Oh, please," said Cargill. "Don't tell me you kids actually believe in that garbage about this place being haunted. Well I've got news for you: it's all make-believe! So why don't you all just mosey on home and—" The man then paused as he suddenly had an idea about who these group of children were and why they came to this spot. "Oh, I get it."

"Get what?" Sokka asked confusedly.

"You kids are nothing but a bunch of protestors trying to stop me from tearing this house down. Well, you can stand out here and shout out your rants about this house being historical all you want; it won't change my mind!"

Stork cleared his throat to get the man's attention. "Okay," he said, "first off, we're not protestors. Second, you've gotta be crazy not to think that this house isn't haunted. I mean, just the name 'Black Manor' should give you some kind of indication."

"Stork's right," said Katara. "You are crazy. What gives you the right to tear down this house?"

Cargill smiled and reached behind his back. When he was done he pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper and said, "This does." Unrolling the paper revealed it to be a legal document with a seal on the lower left corner and a signature at the bottom. "I have official written authorization from Mayor Quimby himself to go ahead with my request to demolish this house. And there's nothing a bunch of snot-nosed kids can do to stop me."

June shook her head and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing the right thing. She then confirmed the seal to be the official symbol of Toon City. "No way," she said. "This can't be real."

"Yup," said Finn. "There's definitely no denying that."

When he could see that the group was awestruck, Cargill rolled up the paper and put it back in his suit. "Now do you understand? I have full authority to do whatever I want to this house, and I say that it comes down."

"But what would you have to gain from doing this?" said Piper.

The man quickly shifted his eyes to the left and right, feeling afraid that his plans had actually been revealed. He then decided to feign his true objective by saying, "That's none of your business, little lady. All you need to know is that I plan on reducing this place to rubble for the good of the people."

Radarr leapt from Aerrow's shoulders and growled at the man, bearing his teeth and angrily stretching his fingers like they had extended claws. The way that this man was talking about his friends' home did not sit well with him. It had certainly worked as Cargill nervously moved away from the furry co-pilot.

"You better keep that thing on a leash," the man said offensively.

"Don't talk to my friend that way, you pompous ass!" Aerrow said angrily. "And if you really wanted to do something for the good of the people, you would leave Black Manor alone! It's a part of our culture and it deserves to stay!" All his friends walked behind him while sharing in his anger, and they all nodded their heads to support his remark.

Cargill was getting fed up with having to explain his actions. Twitching his right eye and balling his hands into fists he shouted, "I don't care if this is Stephen King's summerhouse! I'm just doing my job and I will make sure that it gets done!"

At that moment, three figures had shifted through the stone wall lining the courtyard of Black Manor. While Russ Cargill was still staring at the group, everyone could see that it was their ghostly friends: Amber Pegasus, JusSonic and BlueTiger321.

The ghosts all waved to their friends to say hello, and Aerrow and the others all knew to keep quiet while their friends would get to do something to the man unexpectedly.

Cargill continued speaking to the group. "Now look, kids," he said, "you may think that this is a bad thing, but when you all get older you'll begin to realize that it was for the best."

JusSonic floated behind Cargill and raised his hand over the man's head. The result was Cargill opening his eyes wide while he stood up straight as if he were in a trance. The ghost then put his free hand to the side of his own head and telepathically commanded the man what to say.

The man was now a mindless puppet who was following orders from the ghost controlling him. "Hello," he said. "I'm Russ Cargill, and I'm the head of the Toon City Moron Department. The only reason I'm such a big shot is because I've spent my whole career kissing ass like a pathetic loser. So please feel free to give me a wedgie."

Everything that JusSonic made the man say was making the group laugh out loud. They knew that their friends were definitely not going to put up with Cargill or his plans for their home.

The ghost released his control over the man and vanished from sight. When Cargill suddenly felt like something was behind him, he turned around to see what it was but nothing was there. The laughter from the group made him turn back around while fuming with anger, and they all stopped laughing when the man's eyes were on them.

"As I was saying," Cargill resumed, "this is something that will change the lives of the people of Toon City." It was now Amber Pegasus's turn. Hovering above the man, she stretched out her arms horizontally while he continued to talk and made his face stretch out as far as the length of her hands. "You'll come to see that as well."

The group then laughed again as they saw Russ Cargill's face being contorted the way the ghost made it like she was stretching a piece of clay. First it was far to the sides, then squished into a large ball, then stretched up to make his head look much bigger, and then all around in different directions. Eventually, Cargill narrowed his eyes at the group's laughter and turned around again when his face returned to normal. Amber Pegasus had just vanished so the man saw nothing. But now he felt something suspicious was happening.

Cargill was about to say something else to the group when BlueTiger321 had appeared behind the man. Sticking his hand into Cargill's back, the ghost made the man paralyzed as he dug deep through his skin and then quickly pulled it out while grabbing onto Russ Cargill's skeleton. The skeleton stood before the group and made them all laugh while Cargill still stood upright even though he had nothing to support his body.

Then out of sheer hilarity, BlueTiger321 commanded the skeleton to dance. Little clicks could be heard as the bones grinded against one another when the skeleton was tap dancing along to music made by the ghost. Aerrow and his friends continued to laugh at the man's misery while he was unknowingly being made a fool of by the ghosts.

After one twirl in the air, the skeleton finished its dance by spreading out jazz hands and then being sent back into Russ Cargill's body. The man had fallen out of his trance and looked around to see what was so funny, but the ghost had vanished along with his comrades.

Cargill was now furious when he thought the group was laughing for no reason. "That's it!" he said. "You kids won't think it's so funny when I come back here with a demolition crew! So you better take one last, long look at Black Manor, 'cause it'll be nothing but ruins!" The man then walked away from the group and headed out of the forest with his plan set in mind and he muttered under his breath about how he was being seen as a joke to the group he had just met.

Aerrow and the others all stayed behind while looking at the man, knowing that the ghosts' attempts to make light of the situation had worked. "Okay, he's gone," said Aerrow.

All at once, the ghosts revealed themselves to their friends and stood before them, their translucent bodies seeming like wisps of fog coming into view.

"Man," said BlueTiger321. "That guy really knows how to get on your bad side."

"No kidding," said Amber Pegasus. "I can't stand people who think they can do whatever they want; they just make me want to explode."

"Well, you really can't blame him," said Aang. "Russ Cargill may be a gigantic poophead, but he was just doing his job. I mean, he did have the mayor's consent."

JusSonic looked around and saw the wooden sign placed over the gates. "Condemned?" he said disbelievingly. "That jerk wouldn't know a good house if it came up to him and kicked him in the yahoos!" To show his disapproval, the ghost then picked up the sign and crumpled it up like it was paper and then threw it away nonchalantly behind his back where it burned up in a green flame.

With the horrible business out of the way, the group smiled at the ghosts for having come to greet them. A feeling of excitement filled up inside them all as they would now get the chance to spend time together and enjoy the holiday like they had done so the previous year.

"It's good to see you guys, again," said June.

"Likewise," said BlueTiger321. "We could see you from the mansion so we decided to come down here and surprise you when that psycho showed up. So we thought that we should give him a taste of Black Manor."

"Well, it worked," said Sokka. "I'm really hoping that he doesn't come back."

"Of course he will," said JusSonic, "and he'll be in for the shock of his life when he tries to mess with our home!"

Aerrow came up to the ghosts to ask them a question to which he had to know the answer. Looking each of them straight in the eye he said, "So, how have you guys been holding up ever since Yen Sid left?"

"We've been doing fine," said Amber Pegasus. "It's been a little rough at first but we manage. But for some reason, today he's returned."

The group was taken aback by the statement. For all they knew, Yen Sid had vanished and left Black Manor into the care of the ghosts after they were set free. But now they were all left wondering why the wizard had returned.

"He's back?" said Piper.

"Yes," replied BlueTiger321. "And he also told us to come get you because he wanted to discuss something."

Now everyone was truly perplexed: Yen Sid wanting to talk to them specifically was something that none of them ever expected.

"What does he want?" asked Zuko.

"We don't know," said JusSonic. "The only thing he said to us was to come get you because what he wants to talk about is urgent."

Aerrow knew that if he was given a request, then it was his duty as a Sky Knight to answer it. "Well, let's go see what he wants," he said. "Who knows? It might actually be something that works in our favour."

The ghosts all nodded with approval. The males both opened the gates telepathically while Amber Pegasus turned to the group.

"We'll go to Master Yen Sid and wait for you in the foyer," she said. "Please, be attentive to what he has to say, for I fear it could be something dangerous."

The ghosts then vanished from sight and left the group standing outside before the open gate. Not wanting to waste any more time, they all hastily ran through the opening and approached Black Manor. They could see that the exterior had not changed since the last time they had come, and they hoped it would remain that way.

BlueTiger321: Well, how was that for the first chapter?

Aerrow: Not bad, though I'm hoping for some more scary bits in later chapters.

Stork: Oh, you mean like this? *shows his creepy smile*

June: -_-U Don't ever do that again!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned when the group hears what Yen Sid has to say. Also, Russ Cargill is the antagonist from The Simpsons Movie and the part where Stork has the creepy smile is a reference to one of my favourite scenes from The Big Bang Theory. So, until next time…

Danny: Read and review!