Days Come, Days Past

Prologue

There is a cranking, clanking, creaking, metallic sound in the basement. Three purple eyes turn towards the sound. "What do you suppose your father's doing, Dawn?" The woman asks her teenaged son. The black-haired teen shrugs, and simply takes another bite of his toast. "I don't doubt he's his father's son, and might do some very odd things for no particular reason at all, but…sometimes I wish I knew what he was doing."

Dawn says nothing, his mismatched eyes staring at the newspaper in front of him. Something in the basement explodes. Profanity ensues. Dawn doesn't even look up; his mother glares at him. "Dawn, go check on your father." He knows he can't argue with her…never could. When she really wants something done…it's done. Dawn closes the paper, takes a swig of his orange juice, and after folding the paper under his arm is trotting down to the basement.

"Almost had it…" grumbles the black-haired man on the floor. Dawn arches a brow.

"Observe the resident celebrity Daniel Fenton in his…creative slump," he says in a voice akin to a narrator on the Animal Planet channel.

"Quiet, Dawn, I'm working." Danny glares at his son, who smirks and shrugs, mismatched purple and blue eyes locked on his father.

"You're also missing breakfast."

"Breakfast..?" A blank look crosses Danny's face as he looks at his watch. "Already?"

"Don't tell me you were at this all night…" Dawn says, almost dreading the response, staring cautiously at his father. Danny laughs, and blushes nervously. "Sleep tonight, Dad, or Mom might not let you sleep in the bed at all."

"You're right, Dawn…" Danny yawns.

"So…what're you makin' anyways?"

"A ghost portal. I was thinking of visiting some old friends. Clockwork, maybe." Dawns listens intently. As a child, he'd heard the tale of Clockwork and how his father had to literally fight himself to save the future…and had loved it so dearly…but is Clockwork as powerful as his father makes him out to be?

"Clockwork, you say?" Dawn arches a brow, curious. Danny catches his son's expression, the expression that usually precedes something stupid. Heaven knows he'd had that too many times when he was a teenager.

"Don't, Dawn. He's got a sense of humor, sure, but if you tick him off…he won't care if you're the son of the 'famous Danny Phantom' got it?"

"Yeah, sure…here's the paper, 'famous Danny Phantom'. I have to get to school, anyways." Dawn tosses the newspaper at his father, and aims a wistful look at the incomplete ghost portal before running up the basement steps, grabbing his backpack and running out the door.

"What's going on with that boy?" His mother wonders faintly.

On the street……

'Stupid Dad…just cause he doesn't want me to meet one of the coolest ghosts in all the ghost zone…' He shakes his head, frowning.

"Something wrong, Dawn?" calls his friend. Blue-green eyes lock on the Fenton's form, as mismatched eyes land on his…his…surprisingly feminine form.

"Oh, hey, Mayu." His real name's Michael, Dawn inwardly adds, Michael Foley…wonder why his dad has no problem with the fact that his son's a total drag queen? "Nothing's wrong, it's just…"

"Just what?" Mayu asks, blinking, a hand reaching down to Dawn's.

"My dad's being a jerk," Dawn replies, pulling his hand away from Mayu's. "He's building a ghost portal, but won't let me use it. He just doesn't trust me!"

"If I were anyone other than me, I wouldn't either," Mayu shrugs as they start walking down the street to their school. "Your dad has experience in this stuff. You really should trust him." Dawn sighs.

"If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that, I'd be rich by now."

"Dawn, you are rich. Your mom's from a super-rich family, and your grandma's a famous scientist." Mayu laughs. "But I get your drift."

"Yeah, I know, Mayu…Mom and Dad, your dad, too-they've all had experience. But…I don't. I'm related to 'the famous Danny Phantom' so I might have some weird ghost powers I inherited or something, but if Dad never gives me a chance to meet some ghosts, I'll never know!" Dawn growls.

"You know, Dawn…" Mayu says in a sort of dreamy voice, like a girl imagining her dream date or seeing a really cute guy she likes…the latter fit better. "…You're really hot when you're yelling all dramatically."

"……Just shut up, Mayu." Dawn says as the school comes into view. Same ol' Casper High, Dawn muses to himself, bet it's hardly changed since Dad went here, even. They enter the building. "Alright, I've got P.E. first period, so I'll be heading off to the field now. You've got health, right?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah, health class…wouldn't wanna miss that," Mayu says blankly, as though suddenly snapped out of a wonderful fantasy. Dawn starts off in one direction, Mayu still following him.

"Um…earth to Mayu, your class is that way." Dawn points down another hallway. "Or did you casually forget?" He stares at Mayu a moment before adding, " …again."

"Oh, uh…well, y'see, it's like this…" Dawn claps a hand over his friend's mouth, cutting off any excuse Mayu might make. The other boy makes a point to lick the hand over his mouth. Dawn pulls back his hand quickly, rubbing it off on his pants and glaring at Mayu. "Have I ever told you how incredibly sexy your eyes are, Dawn?"

"Yeah, 'bout a hundred times this week. I'm headin' off to P.E. now." Dawn steps away, starting to walk down a hallway before calling back, "And don't follow me this time!"

"Like I would really do that…and I've only told you seventeen times this week!" Mayu calls back. "Really…that boy may be cute, but he just can't count…"

A/N: BWAHAHA! I suppose Tucker has no problem with Mayu-er…Michael being all…gay and stuff cause he's, y'know…Tucker. As for Dawn…well, Dawn's personality is kinda sarcastic like Sam but with a bit more friendliness like Danny. So…there.