And the plot thickens…

CHAPTER 4

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The next day, Danny, Tucker, and Sam were in the food court at the mall. Tucker was eating some fries again; Danny and Sam weren't eating anything. The youngest Fenton spoke, "I'm tellin' you guys, that dream was not normal. It was so…real. That…that Clockwork…it was so weird…it was like he was…a ghost or something!"

Tucker rolled his eyes, "You're starting to sound like your parents, dude."

Sam added, "Besides, ghosts don't exist, right? Though, it would be pretty cool…"

Danny blinked. Sam saying that reminded him of the dream from the day before the day before's night—shaking his head to clear that memory away, Danny sighed and admitted, "I guess you guys are right…I mean, ghosts don't exist. I'm just being paranoid, or…or something." He smiled.

"Great, so now that, that's out of the way…" Tucker stood up—he was done his fries—"let us go to the movies!"

"Yeah, that'll get Danny's mind off ectoplasm." Joked Sam.

"Hardy, har, har." Danny rolled his eyes. His friends were right: there was no such thing as ghosts, nor was there such a thing as 'Clockwork' or anything of the sort. None of his parents inventions worked, which should be proof enough…

Right?

LINE BREAK

As Jack and Maddie Fenton worked out the calculations the day after the portal failed in working, the portal had been left plugged in, but not working.

It simply sat their, powerless. Little did the parental Fentons know, but it would have worked if the 'on' button had been pressed. The portal was so close to tearing into another dimension that the air around it, if somebody were standing there, would have felt like pure energy was radiating off of it.

LINE BREAK

"Mom? Dad? What're you guys workin' on?" Danny asked. He and his friends entered the Fenton household, just arriving after watching Dead Teacher. Sam had loved it, Tucker had hated it, and Danny was in-between. Actually, that pretty much described the relations between the trio. Sam was a vegetarian, Tucker was a carnivore, and Danny was just an omnivore, not really caring (though he did prefer meat a little). Still, the two got along most of the time, if only just because of Danny.

Danny's parents looked up from their work and smiled. Jack spoke, "Hey, son! How was your day?"

His son shrugged, "Ok, I guess. Why?"

Jack sighed and looked down at the papers on the table sadly. Maddie explained, "We had a problem with our latest invention. If it weren't a combination of our life's work, it wouldn't be much of a big deal, but…" She sighed sadly.

"Well, uh…" Danny began.

"Can we see it?" Sam asked, genuinely interested; she was always interested in ghosts…or, the idea of them, anyway. Tucker glared at her. "…What?"

"Well, if you really want to. Come on, kids." Maddie stood up. "Stay here and work more on the calculations, Jack."

"Will do, Mads!" Jack grinned.

Maddie smiled back before leading the three teenagers into the kitchen and then down the stairs into the Fenton Laboratory. The three teens were in awe of it. Tucker especially, being a techno-geek. Danny was just as in awe as his friends, since his parents never let him down in the lab before. Well, for long, anyway. He asked, "So, um…where is it?"

Maddie pointed.

The three teens gapped at the Fenton Portal. It was a large, hexagonal tunnel that would be capable of holding a few people easily and not seem crowded. It was dark in the portal, however, not much light from the lab getting into it.

Tucker asked, "What the heck is it?"

"A Ghost Portal." Maddie sighed, "It's supposed to be a gateway to the Ghost Zone, where ghost's after-live, but…it only sparked a little when we plugged it in."

Suddenly, a shout was heard from upstairs. "Maddie-cakes, I need help with this equation! It's way too hard!"

Maddie sighed and rolled her eyes. She smiled, "You kids can stay down here, but don't touch anything!" She then ran upstairs.

"Cool…" Sam said, walking a bit closer to the portal; she shuddered a bit, and added, "but weird. It feels…strange when you're this close to it." Danny and Tucker stepped forward as well, shuddering like Sam had.

"It feels like…power." Danny admitted, staring into the portal a bit fearfully. He stepped forward a bit more, reaching out his right hand. The raven-haired teen touched the side of the portal and closed his eyes. Opening them again, he removed his hand and said, "Creepy."

Tucker agreed, "Yeah, I say we get out of here."

Sam spoke her opinion, "Actually, I think it's kind-of cool…"

Danny shook his head and turned to a closet nearby. His friends exchanged glances and followed him. Danny suddenly walked out of the closet, wearing a white jumpsuit that fit him perfectly. Danny's eyes were narrowed slightly in determination, his fists clenched at his side dramatically. The jumpsuit had a black collar, black gloves, a black belt, and black boots. On his chest was a sticker of his dad's grinning face on it, making a mockery of his attempted dramatic attitude.

"Dude," Tucker snickered, "that suit is horrible. What is this, the 80s?"

"Well, I think he makes it work." Sam smirked a little. 'He actually looks kinda' cute in that suit.' She blushed a little.

Danny sighed, "Yeah, well…" He zipped up the front of the suit. "I have to wear something when I go in that portal."

Sam's eyes widened, "You're doing what?"

Tucker frowned, "I don't know, dude. I wouldn't go in there, and I'm a technological genius."

"Oh, come on, guys. I go in, look around, and come out again." Danny said, off-handily.

"If you're going to do that…" Sam sighed and reached over, ripping off the sticker of Jack's face. "There."

"Thanks." Danny said, smiled. The goth just smiled—a real, genuine one—back.

"Lovebirds." Tucker scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Danny and Sam asked, angrily; they blushed equally.

Tucker rolled his eyes, "Never mind."

Danny, shooting Tucker a quick glare, turned to the portal and smiled. He admitted, "I've always wanted to have a closer look at my parents' inventions. Any of them." He grabbed the side of the portal and stepped in cautiously. Sam and Tucker stepped back from the portal a bit nervously. The teenager inside the Fenton Ghost Dimensional Portal smiled over his shoulder and said, "Well, this isn't so bad." He looked into the portal again and stepped deeper inside, shivering a little. The strange feeling the large tunnel gave off was even stronger.

"Be careful." Sam murmured.

Danny heard her, but didn't reply. He hesitated a bit, but shook his head and told himself, 'Ok, Fenton, you can do this.'

LINE BREAK

Vlad was playing Doomed (he was PackersFanatic), when he froze, a strange feeling hitting him. Waves of invisible energy were hitting him, causing him to shiver. Standing up, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

This could not be good…

LINE BREAK

Taking a deep breath…Danny went deeper inside the Fenton Portal. He reached out his arm and gently pressed against the wall, as to help keep balance in case he tripped. Frowning a bit, he gulped and continued his trek deeper into the Ghost Portal. His hands brushed against something on the wall and he accidently pressed against it. Danny squinted his eyes, trying to see what he had pressed.

A green button. Labeled ON.

'Oh, snap.' That was Dannys last, fully-human thought.

LINE BREAK

Vlad was about to leave the room when the invisible waves of pure energy increased with a sudden explosion. The middle-aged man grunted, "What in the…?" He groaned in realization. "Oh, no…no, no, no! This cant be happening…with another portal activating, more ghosts will find there way into this world! Then he will find me, and Ill be toast! And I hate toast!" Vlad frowned. "Not to mention the reaction of my other self…"

He would have to check out the new portal…he just would not remember it clearly.

LINE BREAK

The ectoplasmic energy of the Fenton Ghost Dimensional Portal, if it had been a person or living entity, would have been ecstatic to finally be free as the portal lit up. The portals horizontal doors slammed shut and locked itself, making it almost pitch black within the portal, had it not been for the fact the inside was lighting up a little. Danny spun around, looking around in shock as the portals light increased dramatically. There were a few clangs and grunts of its machinery working.

"Wha-whats goin on!?"

Danny ran to the doors of the portal, but even if he had tried to open them he would have failed, because at that moment, the back of the portal shot a huge beam of green energy that surged around inside of the portal like a tornado. Danny screamed in pain as the ectoplasm tore through him! He screamed,"G-GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…!" No, he wasnt laughing evilly, his scream simply restarted at the 'A' every once in a while.

The portal doors opened, but it was too late…Danny Fenton's life had been changed permanently—whether he liked it, or not.

END CHAPTER

DUN, DUN, DUUUNNNNN!

…Yesh.

Oh, and Danny won't have the DP emblem in this continuity. At all. Ever. Well, ok, he might much later on, but for now, the chest of his jumpsuit is blank.

Review, readers, for I could use them to…um…I dunno'…get inspiration from, I guess.