Author's Notes:
Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys! I had no clue that there would be this many!
Anyway, Chapter Three! I know you're all excited, so I hope you like it!
Chapter 3: Smiling Nervously
As the two pedaled the tandem bike, Timmy's tracker beeped like crazy.
"Hey, what's that?" Danny asked.
"Oh, it's just a ghost tracker. I don't know why it's going so crazy. For some reason it keeps pointing at you," Timmy explained.
"Hehe," Danny gulped, "Do you hunt ghosts?"
"No, I was just curious and wanted to see if ghosts really existed."
They pedaled on, the two balloons, pink and green, waved around in the wind.
"We're almost here," Timmy informed.
They pulled up into a driveway and got off the bike. They hung their helmets up on a hook. Timmy led Danny into a kitchen where a phone jack hung on the wall.
Danny reached out for it and started dialing a number. It ringed, and a voice answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, uh, Mom," Danny said, worried that she'd be angry.
"Danny! Where've you been?" she shouted.
"Well, I'm actually in California," Danny face was red and he was sweating.
"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA IN A DAY?" Maddie screamed.
"MOM, calm down! If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, no I was not kidnapped, and I didn't run away. I...can't actually explain how I got here. I'm perfectly safe and I will come home," Danny soothed. He could hear his mom hyperventilating on the other line. Timmy listened to the conversation with great interest.
"But how did you get there?" his mom asked worriedly.
"I flew."
"How did you get the money to fly in a plane? And WHY would you want to go to California?" she speculated.
"Like I said, I can't explain. I'm going to come home soon," he said.
"Oh, no you're not. I'm coming to get you. Where are you in California exactly?" she asked.
"Uh, Mom, you don't need to pick me up. I'll be fine," Danny said. "I'm in a town called Dummsdale, I think." He looked at Timmy.
"Dimmsdale," he corrected.
"Oh, Dimmsdale, actually," Danny told his mom.
"You are really worrying me, son. You just can't do this to a mother," she said. "I'm coming for you weather you like it or not. I'll call you at this number when I get there so I can find you. Is that okay if I call at this number?" Danny looked back at Timmy. Timmy nodded his head indicating that Danny could stay with him for a while.
"Fine," Danny said back to his mother.
"Good. I'll be there in a couple days. I'll be driving, since you know we can't afford to purchase flight tickets," she tipped.
"Great. Just great, Mom. I guess I'll be waiting here," Danny said.
"Bye, Sweetie," she hung up the phone.
Timmy looked at Danny. "I thought you said your parents were here with you."
"I did?" Danny's eyes looked nervous and shifty. "You must have...uh...heard me wrong, I guess."
"Hmm..." Timmy wasn't sure just yet what to think of this boy. He sure seemed jumpy.
Danny's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, darn it!"
"What?" Timmy asked.
"I forgot my thermos! I had a gho – I mean, uh...gourd soup in there! Hehe," Danny said quickly.
Timmy eyed him suspiciously. "What's so important about gourd soup?"
"It's my...uh...mom's secret recipe, you know. My favorite. Yum!" In truth, Danny actually had no idea what gourd soup was. He rubbed his stomach for emphasis to show how delicious it was.
Timmy was so confused. He knew the boy had something to hide. Well, he can't say anything. He also had a secret, but if he told Danny that would mean he'd lose his fairies forever!
Danny wasn't as suspicious of Timmy as Timmy was of Danny. Danny didn't want to tell Timmy his secret in fear of it coming out that Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom. What he didn't know was that nobody in California had even heard of Danny Phantom. Well, at least Timmy hadn't. But Danny was still scared of it letting out somehow.
LINE BREAK! :D
While the boys observed each other, back at the alley, Skulker was wondering why the Ghost Boy hadn't put him back in the Ghost Zone yet.
What he didn't know was that Phantom didn't have the strength to return home, and that he was still in California.
In boredom, Skulker waited in the empty grey space that was the thermos. He checked the time on his suit. It was 9:28.
He paced, or...floated. After a long time, Skulker wondered if there was any way possible he could break out of this thing. He flew over to the part where the lid was screwed on.
What nobody cared to say in the shows was how the ghosts actually felt or looked like in the thermos. In truth, they shrunk so they could fit, and to them, the thermos was slightly spacious, but only if there was one ghost in it. If there were several, it could get quite cramped. When they were let out, they grew again.
Skulker used some spiked grappling hooks to see if they could poke through the thick metal. They were the ones that went through a wall or something and when they were pulled tight, they opened up so they couldn't go back through the wall.
They didn't work.
Next, he tried to cut out a hole with his blades. They made plenty of scratches, sure, but none went through.
Finally, he tried using suction cups to stick on to the lid and try to twist it open from the inside. He used his suit's strength to move the lid, and centimeter-by-centimeter, the lid unscrewed.
When it was open all the way, Skulker celebrated his victory by zapping the thermos to ashes with his own ghost ray.
He had found a way to escape the thermos.
I know it says that it was cramped in the thermos, so I said it was only cramped if there were a lot of ghosts in there. But there was only one ghost in the thermos in this story, so that's why I said it was spacious. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding! Keep R&Ring and I'll write chapter 4 really soon!
