Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or A Series of Unfortunate Events. All Characters belong to Butch Hartman and Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler).
If you enjoy the occasional ghost story brimming with fun-filled fear that keeps you up past your bedtime, I suggest that you look elsewhere.
While this story before you is indeed filled with ghosts, fear, and the ability to keep you up late into the night, I'm afraid that those things are not quite what they seem. The ghosts pale in comparison to the evil of a certain count, and unfortunately the fear is void of all fun. In fact, you will likely find yourself gazing up at your bedroom ceiling late into the night asking yourself over and over again why you chose to read such a dreadful tale in the first place. So it is with all sincerity that I plead with you to look away.
...
The three Baudelaire children couldn't help but stare up at their new home in trepidation. It was large compared to Aunt Josephine's but smaller than their own mansion had been. The daffodils and bright red tulips lining up the walkway up to the large white doors made the house appear more than welcoming. Even the polished brass handles upon the doors glistened invitingly in the morning sun, yet these features only put the Baudelaires further on edge.
Violet tightened her hold on Sunny who was cradled in her right arm and with her left, she reached for Klaus' hand. She didn't want her brother to ring the doorbell. Not yet, at least. As long as she and her siblings remained outside of the house, they didn't have to meet their new guardians, and as long as they didn't have to meet their new guardians, they didn't have to find out if their situation would be as terrible as their previous ones had been.
"We could run," Klaus said suddenly, as though hearing Violet's thoughts.
"Gabda," Sunny said softly, which meant something along the lines of "But we may run into Olaf or something worse.
Violet shook her head. "I don't think anything could be worse than Olaf." She eyed the doorbell wearily before flashing her siblings a tight smile. "I suppose it's silly for us to just stand out here," she finally said. "We may just be worrying for nothing. The Mansons are likely wonderful people and we have no reason to believe otherwise."
Her voice sounded hollow even to her. Nevertheless, Klaus returned his sister's smile and, with a slight nod, pressed the doorbell. A series of high-pitched chimes echoed from inside the house followed by a rush of footsteps and hushed frantic voices. The doors opened before the Baudelaires could even reconsider their short-lived plan of running away.
Two pairs of feet stepped out onto the porch and the children blinked in surprise. The two adults in the doorway looked as if they had stepped right out of a magazine. From their blindingly white smiles to their polished shoes, everything appeared to be picture-perfect, so much so that they looked almost unnerving.
The woman wore a slimming pink dress with a white collar and gloves to match. Her red hair was styled into an impressive bob curled high enough for her diamond earring sto glitter in the light. Beside her was a tall man adorned in a blue and yellow sweater vest. His blond hair was slicked back with enough gel for the sun to reflect off of it. Compared to other adults the Baudelaires had been surrounded by at the lumber mill, these two were just so bright.
"You must be the Baudelaires: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny!" the woman exclaimed happily, nodding at each child in turn. "Please, do come in," she added, guiding the children into the foyer before they could even respond. "Leave you shores at the door please, if you don't mind. I'd rather not have dirt inside the house—we've just had the floors polished."
"Of course," Violet said with a polite nod before stepping out of her own shoes and helping Sunny with her's.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you children," the man remarked. "I imagine you three must be hungry after such a long ride. If you follow us to the dining room, we can get started on brunch. He looked behind the children at the doorway. "I thought someone was supposed to escort you three here. A Mr. Poe, wasn't it?"
"He had to take care of some banking affairs," Klaus said, a touch of annoyance seeping into his tone. "His promotion to vice president of orphan affairs apparently keeps him very busy."
"Ah, I see," the man said. "Such a shame, we had even prepared a plate for him as well; nevertheless, come with us, and we'll get you something to eat.
"Here, Violet," the woman said. "Why don't you let me take Sunny for a few minutes. I'm sure your arms must be getting tired by now." She reached out and took the young girl and began to bounce her lightly in her arms.
"Thanks, Mrs. Manson—."
"Oh, please none of this mister or missus business!" Pamela interrupted. "Goodness knows I can't be that old yet. Just call us Aunt Pamela and Uncle Jeremy, alright?"
"Alright," Violet said with a smile. "Thank you then, Aunt Pamela."
"You're very welcome, my dear," Pamela said with a nod. "Now, why don't you lead the way to the dining room, Jeremy," she said addressing her husband.
As the Baudelaires followed the Mansons through the house, they realized that, like their appearance, the house itself was uncomfortably perfect as well. It was lavishly decorated and impeccably clean, much like those in the home magazines Klaus had seen his mother skim through from time to time.
Seeing their own reflections in the tiles beneath them, the Baudelaires couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious in their plain clothes. The transition from Lucky Smells to Amity Park had been quicker than anyone had expected and, as a result, the children had not had time to properly wash their clothes free of all the dirt and sawdust from their work.
Jeremy, however, did not notice the children's discomfort and continued to lead them down the hall and into a large dining room. Laid out on the table before them was a large assortment of breakfast foods. Stacks of pancakes, fruit, and various quiches were spread out on platters amongst other foods and the Baudelaires realized just how hungry they were.
"Please, feel free to help yourself to whatever you'd like," Jeremy encouraged. "We weren't sure what sort of foods you three preferred, so we had the chef make a variety."
The Baudelaires needed no further promoting and it didn't take long for everyone to fill their plates and settle around the table. While the first few minutes were spent in a comfortable silence as they all enjoyed their food, the Mansons soon began to resume conversation once more.
"Now, I understand that it can be a bit of a bother to start of with rules, but we want to think of your safety."
"Safety always comes first!" Pamela chimed in happily beside her husband.
"To do this, we'd like you to keep a curfew," Jeremy explained. "Nine-thirty on school nights and ten o'clock on the weekends."
"That's perfectly reasonable," Klaus said. Internally, he felt relieved that the first rule was actually logical and nothing like AUnt Josephine's had been. He doubted that he and his sisters would ever have a reason to stay out so late, but it was nice to know that they had some freedoms.
"We also ask that if you see anything ghostly, please run in the opposite direction and safely make your way home."
The table was silent until Sunny shrieked, "Parnoma?"
"What do you mean by 'ghostly,'" Violet asked, repeating her sister's question.
"Surely you've heard that Amity Park ahs been called America's most haunted town?" Jeremy asked, pausing to look at the children's confused faces. "No? Well, our small town is known for its famous—or rather, infamous—ghost attacks."
Violet glanced at Klaus, knowing that out of the three of them, he would probably have the best knowledge of this. Neither of them had ever taken up much interest in the paranormal, but it was more than likely that he had read about famously haunted locations.
"Actually, I think I have heard of that before," Klaus said. 'But I thought that they were all hoaxes simply to encourage tourism."
Light laughter escaped Pamela at the boys' remark. "Yes, that's what the rest of the coutnry things, but I guarantee you that the ghosts attacks are very real. I'm sure that I can promise that you'll see a ghost by the end of the week, although I hope that you won't." Seeing the skeptical looks on teh Baudelaires' faces, the woman's smile suddenly dropped.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, and I had similar thoughts when we first moved to Amity Park," she said seriously, "But this is the one rule that we ask you children to take most seriously. Please stay away from anything ghostly."
Still unsure about how to take in this new information, the Baudelaires simply nodded in acceptance.
"Wonderful," Pamela said in relief. She took a sip of her orange juice before perking up once more. "Oh, I almost forgot! We'll have to introduce you to our daughter when she returns home from school. We would have preferred her to stay home today, but unfortunately she had a literature test this morning."
"Mr. Poe didn't tell us that you had a daughter," Klaus said, putting his fork down. He felt strangely excited with the news. None of their previous guardians had had children and it would be nice to interact with someone their own age. It also meant that these people had experience being parents unlike their other guardians. "How old is she?"
"Samantha's fourteen," Pamela said proudly, sharing a smile with her husband. "Same as you, I believe, Violet. In fact, you'll be in the same classes."
"Classes?" the girl asked, surprised.
"Of course," Jeremy cut in. "We've planned on having you attend Casper High and, Klaus, you'll be attending Marley Middle School. As for Sunny, she'll be staying at home with Pamela. We'd like to get you children started as soon as possible so that you don't fall too far behind. I imagine it was hard to switch between schools so many times with each of your guardians."
"Futa," Sunny said, which meant "We've barely been able to have a good night's sleep much less go to classes."
Violet felt a light blush come to her cheeks, though she knew that she had no reason to feel embarrassed. "I'm afraid that we're more behind than you think, Mr.—I mean Uncle Jeremy," she corrected. "My brother and I haven't attended school since before the fire."
"I understand that you worked in a lumber mill for a short period of time, but surely your other guardians enrolled you?" Pamela said, bewildered.
"We weren't with Aunt Josephine long enough and when we were with Uncle Monty, we spent our time helping him prepare for a trip to Peru," Klaus explained. "As for Count Olaf," his eyes drifted downwards, 'he only had us clean his house and take care of other chores throughout the day.
Pamela's grip tightened around her silverware as she glanced at her husband. "That's despicable. Chores shouldn't take priority over education."
"He was a very despicable man," Violet said evenly. She didn't bother to point out that the chores had been the least of their worries during their brief stay at Olaf's and instead focused on finishing the remainder of her pancakes.
"Well, you won't have to worry about him anymore," Jeremy said confidently. "Mr. Poe had informed us about his previous attempts to obtain your fortune and we have taken precautions to make sure that he never comes near you three again."
The Baudelaires shared a doubtful look at the repetition of words each of their previous guardians had uttered—the majority of whom were now deceased due to said villain.
"That's very kind of you," Violet said, forcing a smile. "We really do appreciate it."
Pamela smiled warmly in return. "I do hope you children will come to like it here," she said, gently reaching across the table to take Violet's and Klaus' hands in her own. She looked at the three children kindly, although there was a sadness in her eyes. "You've lost more than in these last few weeks than many lose in a decade. We know that we can never replace your parents, but perhaps you can find happiness in this small town and in our home."
Although taken off guard with the sudden change in conversational tone, the Baudelaires could feel the genuine kindness in the woman's words.
"I'm sure that we will, Aunt Pamela," Violet said with a small smile.
The rest of the brunch passed uneventfully and ended with the Baudelaires being shown to each of their rooms in the large house.
"I was thinking," Pamela babbled on as she lead the children up the stairs, "That when Samantha gets home, we can take you all out shopping before dinner." She snuck a glance at the children's attire as she continued, "You'll be needing some new clothes, and I've been meaning to buy her some new dresses as well…" The woman's steps paused and her eyes drifted over to the children again, this time landing on the eldest Baudelaire. They shined in a way that rivaled Count Olaf's.
"Violet, what size dress do you wear?" she asked suddenly.
The question took Violet by surprise. "I don't know," she admitted honestly. She had never paid much attention to the styles and sizes of her clothing. Often, she would just wear the clothes her mother had picked out and bought for her, and on the occasions that she did go to the store, she just estimated sizes and chose outfits she thought looked nice.
"I think that you're about the same size as my daughter," Pamela said, her voice rising in excitement. She reached for Violet's hand, all but pulling her up the rest of the stairs. Klaus, holding Sunny, followed quickly behind them, nearly tripping on the last step.
Unsurprisingly, the upstairs of the mansion was just as expensive decorated as the downstairs and it appeared to have just as many rooms. What was surprising though was the darkness that seemed to ooze out of the room Pamela had just pulled Violet into. Almost instantly, the children realized that the room must belong to the Manson's daughter, Samantha.
"Excuse the mess," Pamela muttered, moving aside several articles of black clothing from the bed. "I told her to clean this up last night." Straightening the bed's red comforter, she motioned for Violet to take a seat before she began to rummage through the closet.
Violet ran her hands over the soft bedding as she examined the room. The dark purple walls were covered for bands she didn't recognize. Beside the bed sat a record player and a pile of records that looked ready to fall over. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered her father's own fondness for records and the impressive collection he had once owned.
The bed creaked as Klaus took a seat beside his sister, pulling Violet out of her thoughts.
"Samantha's choice of interior design is quite peculiar," Klaus whispered to his sisters. "Her interests seem to differ greatly from her parents."
"Thorlo," Sunny said, which the Baudelaires understood as "Maybe she's adopted."
I found one! Pamela suddenly cried out triumphantly. She emerged from the closet with a ghastly pink dress dotted with daisies in hand. "Isn't it just lovely?" She turned it around revealing a lace ribbon tied in the back.
"I've bought so many dresses for my little Sammy-kins, but she just hides them away." She pouted, looking at the closet before turning back to Violet with a wide smile. "But now that you're here, they can get some well-deserved use!"
Excitedly, the woman thrust the dress into Violet's hands. "Here, this dress will look darling on you—I just know it! Now stay right there, I'm sure I can find the others she's hidden around here." Before Violet could get another word in—whether to thank Pamela or to object (Klaus and Sunny didn't know)—the woman had returned once more into the closet.
"At least it's better than the clothes Mrs. Poe bought for us," Klaus offered helpful, thought a bit of amusement leaked into his voice.
"I'm not sure that's true," Violet said, looking at the dress distastefully. She hated its pink color. "At least those clothes were simple and easy on the eyes."
"Shno!" Sunny said, meaning "It's no wonder that her daughter hid them away!"
The elder Baudelaires giggled softly at their sister's remark only to be interrupted by a loud boom that resonated through the entire house, shaking everything and everyone in the room. Two of the candles that had been resting on the dresser toppled over as the Baudelaires tried to steady themselves. As they got their footing, a second boom sounded and judging from the intensity of the vibrations, ti was obviously much closer.
Pamela stumbled out of the closet, somehow still looking proper while doing so. "Are you children alright?"
Before the Baudelaires could respond, Jeremy entered into his daughter's room, keeping a hand on the doorframe for support as another bang shook the house.
"Is everyone okay," he asked. Taking in the uneasy and curious eyes of the Baudelaires as they nodded, he explained, "It's a ghost attack. The ghost boy, Danny Phantom, is fighting with another ghost again." He looked at his wife. "They're getting closer to our street, we should probably move to the basement.
Pamela cast the closet a wistful glance before finally nodding in agreement.
"Does this happen often?" Violet asked, picking up Sunny. She glanced nervously at the window, almost expecting to see a monstrous ghost to suddenly appear.
"Yes," Pamela admitted. She motioned for the children to follow her husband out of the room. "But usually not so close to us. This part of town tends to be quieter."
The statement did little to reassure the orphans as the house continued to shake and the sound of screams came through the walls.
"Don't worry, Baudelaires," Jeremy said kindly, turing to give the children a reassuring smile. He opened up the door into the furnished basement of the house and allowed them to step inside. "Despite all of the ghost attacks we get in Amity Park, I'm sure that you'll find the world is quiet here."
...
I know this is probably one of the most unlikely crossovers to happen, but this idea has been in the back of my mind for a while so I thought I'd type it out. I also know it's probably a bit unusual to have the Baudelaires move in with the Mansons rather than the Fentons, but the reason for this will come in later chapters. Danny, Sam, and Tucker will make their appearance in chapter two. I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! I can't promise a regular updating schedule as I'm busy with school, but I'll try my best. Reviews are very much appreciated!