Chapter one! So I had several reviews and followers after just the prologue, which I'm very grateful for. X3 If you watch my DeviantART account (PoisonIVy10) Then you probably already know what's gonna happen after this chapter is over. If not, you're gonna be really surprised. ;)
As I've already stated in the previous chapter, this isn't your typical pre-series story...and I failed to mention this was an AU story. If you don't like AU, you may want to stick around for it anyway. XD
Review, please! :D Remember, no "update soon" reviews!
EDIT: I repaired my spelling errors. XD
Frontlines: Chapter 1- The Root
THREE WEEKS LATER
"Wake up, Danny! We've got a big day today!"
Danny cringed at his mother's words. With a single blast of his blowtorch, Jack had completed the "ghost portal" that previous night. It basically looked like a giant, technologically advanced hole in the wall. Danny didn't see what all the excitement was about, and he was honestly getting sick of it. Well, despite his disinterest, he had to get up and go to school, anyway.
The teen dragged himself out of bed and hurried to get himself dressed and ready to leave. He grabbed his stuff and a quick breakfast before nearly sprinting out the door in a desperate attempt to get out of that house without hearing one more word about the ghost portal.
After he had run a good one and a half mile away from FentonWorks, Danny stopped. He inhaled and exhaled, trying to catch his breath. Had he been more athletic, he might have sprinted all the way to his school, Casper High. "I think that's..." He paused to take a breath of air, "...enough distance for now." Danny held his chest and leaned against the building next to him, panting.
After about fifteen seconds, he was greeted by his best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Danny gave them a tired smile and panted out a "hey".
Sam noticed how breathless Danny was. "Whoah, you look exhausted," she remarked.
Tucker backed her up. "Yeah, you look like you've just-"
"Run about one and a half miles at top speed from my house up to a few feet ago?" Danny finished.
Tucker blinked. "Well, I was gonna say you look like you've just run a marathon, but that works, too...if not better."
"Yeah, much better," Sam added. "You two are so out of shape."
"A cylinder is a shape," Tucker stated, smiling jokingly.
"That's not what I mean and you know it, Tucker," Sam retorted, crossing her arms. She then addressed Danny. "So, why were you running that quickly away from your house?"
The teen rolled his sky-blue eyes. "My parents finished their ghost portal last night. I ran so I wouldn't have to hear about it..." His eye twitched; "...For the fifteen. Hundredth. Time."
"Yowch," Tucker interjected. "Is it all they ever talk about?"
"You bet," Danny muttered. "It's like they've lost the ability to focus on anything else but that machine."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Sam asked.
"Yes, it can," Danny retorted.
"Oh, instead of just brushing me off," Sam continued, "take into consideration that I'm the one with the dark outlook on life."
Danny raised his eyebrows. "Yeah? Well in that case, be glad your parents aren't obsessed with ghosts."
"My parents are worse," Sam said. "You don't have to live with parents who are obsessed with changing you into something you're not!"
"Then I guess my situation is better," Danny gave in, still not fully convinced. "I still don't like it."
Tucker placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nobody would like it, man. I mean, you don't like it. Your sister doesn't like it. So why would anyone else?"
"If they were a moron," Danny said, beginning to lighten up.
"Like Dash?" Sam muttered.
Danny smirked. "Yes, like Dash." The three teens laughed. They would often jeer at the school bully when he wasn't around. It really proved to be a great motivator for them throughout the day. Then, Danny looked solemn. "Sometimes...I just wish my parents would disappear for just a day, or a week or something," he said. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets.
"Don't we all," Sam agreed. "And that they would come back changed for the good."
"If only wishes came true," Danny mused.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, mischief lit Sam's amethyst eyes. "Race you two to school," she challenged. The girl darted off ahead of her two male friends.
"Sam, wait up!" Danny cried, hurrying to catch up with her.
Tucker stood there, clueless, for about five seconds before suddenly realizing he had been left behind. "Hey! Guys, wait for me!" he shouted, running after his friends.
,.~*~.,
It was during second period (Danny's English class) that a voice called over the loudspeakers asking all students to leave their classes and report to the auditorium. The students were more than happy to leave, of course, and Mr. Lancer was having a hard time keeping his class quiet and orderly.
Danny shared a nervous glance with his friend Sam. He was desperately hoping his parents hadn't decided to announce the creation of their ghost portal to the entire school. But poor Danny had better luck not hoping for anything, for the first two people he saw were his very own insane parents.
"Oh, crud," the teen muttered under his breath. He sat down in a chair located somewhere in the back. He facepalmed, blushing with embarrassment. "Why, why, why?" he continued, shaking his head. His friends sat down next to him; Tucker sat to his left, and Sam to his right.
Tucker patted Danny on the back with a half-joking smile on his face. "That's it, man. Sink so low that they don't notice you." But Danny didn't hear his friend's remark. All he heard were the nasty comments aimed at his parents.
"Who are these two people?"
"I dunno, but the fat guy looks like a moron."
"Shh! They're about to speak!"
Aw, man, Danny thought. He sank down even lower in his seat (if that was at all possible).
"Hello, kids of Amity Park!" Jack's voice boomed through the auditorium. "Have we got news for you!"
Danny's face turned even redder. Sweat poured down his face. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and feel it thumping in his chest.
Maddie took the microphone from her husband. "For those of you who don't know, we're Danny Fenton's parents! I'm Maddie and this is Jack." The woman suddenly (and impossibly) caught sight of her son. "Hi, sweetie!" she called. Danny could've died. Every eye in the auditorium turned to him.
"Hide me," he whispered hoarsely to Sam. Sam shoved her spider-shaped backpack in his lap, which Danny gratefully took and buried his face in. He heard cackles of laughter (obviously aimed at him) scattered around the room.
Jack took the microphone back. "Now, what we've really come to talk about is our latest invention! It's a ghost portal! You know, a portal...for ghosts."
Groans echoed throughout the room. "I got out of class to listen to some fat guy talk about ghosts?" one tall, lanky kid muttered, playing with his ginger hair.
"It's Fenton's dad," Dash Baxter remarked. "Did you expect him to be uber cool, Carrots?"
Danny sighed and sank down onto his back, ignoring his parents' entire explanation of the ghost portal. For once, he longed to sit through a lecture in English class. He felt that terrible.
A new voice cut into Jack's talking, which Danny recognized to be Principal Ishiyama's. "Yes, that's very nice, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton," The woman said, directing the two offstage. Danny breathed a sigh of relief.
Before getting shoved backstage, Jack turned around and spoke to his nonchalant teenaged audience once more. "Remember: Giant neon sign!" The large man disappeared backstage. Danny sat up and handed Sam her backpack back with a relieved sigh.
"Very nice indeed," an adult male voice declared from the front row. It was a semi-deep voice with a slight accent of some sort to it. A tall, middle-aged man rose from his seat, clapping his hands in a half-sarcastic manner. The man didn't have the most attractive physical appearance, though his sharp black suit and red tie told Danny that this man meant business. He stepped up onto the stage, a half-pleasant smile on his face. Danny wasn't sure what the other half was, but it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was only the man's occupation as a politician.
"Good morning, Casper High students," the man greeted. "As you know, I've been recently appointed to serve as your new mayor. You are aware of the new laws, are you not?" The students were somehow mesmerized by this man, their new mayor. They all shook their heads, as did Danny. "Well, all I ask of you is that you cooperate with me, don't commit anything against me or my governing strategies, and that you all stay in school. Simple, correct?"
"Seems easy enough," Danny said, turning to look at his friends and clapping.
"I guess so," Sam agreed, also clapping.
"Thank you so much for your cooperation," the mayor said, giving a little bow to his audience. He then stepped down from the stage and returned to his seat.
Principal Ishiyama stepped back onstage with a legitimate smile on her face. "Thank you, Mr, Mayor," she said, halting the applause. "Before you all go back to your classes, there are a few things I'd like to announce..." The teens all groaned and waited for their director to tell them they could go back to class.
,.~*~.,
Danny arrived home from a seemingly extra long day at school. He was about to open the door, but paused as soon as his hand was a half-inch away from the doorknob. He let his hand fall to his side, wondering if he should hang out with his friends a little longer or stay home. Of course, he could always avoid his parents' activation of the ghost portal by claiming he had a ton of homework. Well...actually, he did have a lot of homework, just not as much as his parents would think. Therefore, it was not a lie, but a valid excuse.
Happy with his decision, Danny confidently opened the front door. Upon taking a step inside, the teenager slammed into something tall, thick, and...orange? A dazed Danny looked up from the ground to see his father looking down on him with his usual exaggerated grin.
"Danny! You're just in time!" Jack exclaimed, helping his son up with a jerk. It wasn't a rough pull, but it wasn't all that gentle, either.
Danny stumbled about before regaining his footing. "I...ah, actually, Dad, I have this huge load of homework to do, so I'm not gonna be able to see you activate the ghost whatsit. Bye!" Without another bit of hesitation, Danny shot past his dad and ran up the stairs.
Jack was crestfallen. "We've been working on this for weeks," he said to himself. "Why doesn't Danny want to see what our efforts have created? Well, maybe Jazz will join us."
As if on cue, Jazz called down from her room. "Dad, I've got a lot of studying to do. I can't watch you guys turn on that ghost portal. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I can't."
Jack stood for a second, astonished. "Well, it looks like Maddie and I have the privilege of witnessing history all to ourselves," he said aloud.
"Not if I can help it," Maddie announced, storming into the den area.
Meanwhile, Danny flopped down onto his bed, sighing with relief. He had managed to avoid the ghost portal for once in that entire three weeks. He smiled with this realization. For once in his life, he had easily avoided his parents' ghostly fantasies. The teen shut his eyes and rested for a few seconds, then sat up. He took a look at his clock, which read 5:26 PM. It was almost evening.
Danny stood up and walked over to his window. The sky seemed darker than what it had been just a few minutes ago. Other than that, everything looked normal...that is, until a strange truck caught his eye. He watched it begin to slow down as it drew closer, and it eventually stopped-right next to FentonWorks! A bit freaked out, Danny wondered if he should tell his parents. He never finished the thought.
"Daniel and Jasmine Fenton! Get down here right now!" Maddie shouted from downstairs.
Danny pulled away from the window and hurried to the bedroom door. "Mom, I can't!" he called. "I have homework!" In a similar fashion, Jazz announced that she had to study.
"You can't possibly have so much work to do that you can't watch us turn on the ghost portal. You have all day for that, while this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!"
Danny sighed for the loss of his sweet escape before throwing the door open and storming down the stairs. Jazz, not to seem immature, calmly exited her bedroom and started downstairs. The siblings both met their mother's masked glare.
"You're both going to watch us activate the ghost portal."
"It's the Fenton portal!" Jack corrected.
"Yes, the Fenton ghost portal," Maddie repeated. "It won't take more than five minutes of your time, kids. I promise."
"Down to the lab we go!" Jack exclaimed.
The Fentons moved on to the downstairs laboratory. Jack and Maddie were bubbling over with excitement, while Jazz and Danny simply followed behind, disappointed that they were stuck watching this anyway. Jazz muttered complaints to herself, whereas Danny began to grow curious. What would the portal look like if it worked? Now that he thought about it, a portal to another dimension did sound rather cool...although it sounded absurd at the same time.
Suddenly, a feeling of impending doom struck Danny. He peeked over his shoulder. There was nothing there except the lab walls and the stairway back up to ground level. Danny couldn't identify it, but something was giving him the creeps. I'm just paranoid, he thought to himself.
"Get ready, kids! We're about to make history!" Jack declared. He got ready to plug in and activate the portal. That very moment, the feeling of woe spiked in Danny.
"Not today, Jack Fenton!" cried a male voice from the stairway. Danny's breath caught in his throat. He knew that voice...he knew that accent... "Drop the cords!"
Jack stared, dumbfounded, but obediently dropped the cords. Danny turned around to see none other than Amity Park's new mayor. Not only him, but some fierce-looking, armed backup.
Danny gulped. What had his family done wrong?
,.~*~.,
EDITED: 8/3/13
Chapter 1 is OVER! And because I'm a cruel (loljk) person, I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger... w hanging on the beginning of a plot twist that will set the stage for the whole trilogy. Yay! We're actually getting somewhere! :D
The next chapter WILL change the entire mood of everything so far. I tried to start off with a little fun before we got into the serious stuff, while incorporating (Did I spell that right?) many of the mainstays of this story.
Did I mention I like reviews? :D They will PROBABLY get you a faster update. Reviews = happy Panhead = faster update = sooner cliffhanger relief. I think... Well, reviews DO equal a happy Panhead. :3