Summary: Danny doesn't show up for school. He's not at home. Where is he?
Please note that any writing in bold within the story is Ghostspeak. The translation will be next to it in parentheses.
It was a bright, sunny morning in Amity Park. The birds were singing, children were just starting to open their eyes to get ready for another day of school... one of them being Daniel "Danny" Fenton. The raven haired teen opened his baby blue eyes when a ray of sunshine came in through his window. He sat up in his bed and stretched, feeling the rare effects of a good nights sleep. He smiled as he said, "I can't believe I wasn't woken up at all last night from some ghost attack!" He jumped out of bed to get ready for school, suddenly smacking himself in the face. "Aw man, I probably just jinxed myself."
"That you did, ghost child," said a voice as the teen visibly shivered and a wisp of blue air streamed from his mouth. The teen immediately took up a fighting stance, looking around for the familiar sounding intruder. It could be a friend... but knowing the teens life... well, half-life... it was probably a foe.
Danny jumped, whipped around to face his intruder, and transformed into his ghostly alter-ego within five seconds. "Skulker," he grumbled, annoyed, at his enemy, "What do you want?" Danny inquired.
"Look, as much as I would love to hunt you to get your pelt and put it on the end of my bed," Skulker said as he leaned closer and closer to the halfa's face, while said halfa voiced an 'EWW' and tried, but failed, to suppress a shudder. Skulker backed away before he continued, "I can't today. Today, there is a ghostly truce."
"Then why are you here?" Danny asked, skeptically as he digested what his enemy had said.
"Because I am in charge of getting you, and as much as I would love to do anything but, Dora would have my head if I didn't bring you... yours, too. Little lady gets pretty scary when she gets mad and her, literal, inner dragon comes out."
"Dora?" Danny asked, not following the mechanical ghost's logic. "Why is there a truce? It's the middle of September, not Christmas."
"Yeah, Dora. Christmas isn't the only truce we have. Man, for being a half-ghost, you sure don't know much about us," Skulker joked, causing Danny to stare. "Bet you didn't think I could make a normal, conversational joke, did you?" Skulker asked, receiving a blank-faced head-shake from the boy as he changed back into human form, too stupefied to retain his ghostly image. "Didn't think so. Anyway, you should know what today is. The party is for you - it's your Deathday."
Danny paused and thought to himself, 'Has it already been a year since I've stepped into the portal?' Instead, he said, "...What..."
"Sseleulc...(Clueless...)" Skulker mumbled in Ghostspeak.
"Kcid, (Dick,)" Danny mumbled right back.
Anger briefly flashed across Skulker's face before he smirked, "So you do know Ghostspeak." Danny stuck his tongue out at Skulker. "Look, Whelp, we're burning daylight. We have to be at Dora's in two hours, and we have to stop at my island first," Skulker suddenly said as he grabbed Danny's arm roughly in his and phased into the Fenton family's empty basement lab and flew towards the open ghost portal, all the while Danny tried to protest, struggling to even move his arm in the mechanical man's grasp.
"Why your place?" Danny questioned, occasionally grunting with effort to pull his arm free.
"You'll have to look nice for the party, Clueless1."
"Have you been listening in on my Fenton Phone conversations?" Danny accused.
"Maybe..." Skulker mumbled before the two of them flew into the ghost zone.
"Daniel James Fenton! Open up your door right now!" Madeline "Maddie" Fenton heard her teenage daughter scream as she pounded on her brother's door. "I'm going to be late for school if you don't get your butt out here right now! Unlock your door, or I swear to God... I'll do something!" Maddie watched as her red-headed daughter, Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton, continued to pound on her brother's bedroom door. "...I'll tell Mom and Dad!"
"Tell us what?" Maddie questioned, taking off the hood of her turquoise HAZMAT suit and letting her short, brown hair fall into her face as her purple eyes looked onto her daughter's blue ones.
"...Um... that he stole... Bearbert?" Jazz questioned. Maddie looked at her skeptically, so she continued, "Yup. He went into my room while I was taking a shower and he took my stuffed bear."
"Really?" Maddie asked, questioning her usually truthful daughter. "Then who is that sitting on your bed?" She pointed towards the open door of Jazz's room, pointing towards her Bearbert Einstein that was obviously sitting in the middle of her bed.
"Huh, how did that get there?" Jazz questioned.
"Young lady, what is this really about?" Maddie questioned.
"Um..." Jazz said as she tried to think up a lie. She started with the truth. "It's almost time for school and I think Danny is still asleep. If he doesn't wake up soon, I'll have to drive him, causing us to both be late."
"And what were you threatening on telling us?"
"Um..." Jazz paused. She thought of a believable lie, "Danny confessed to me last night that he has a crush on Sam and he didn't want you to find out, knowing you and Dad would freak out about this."
"Well, it's about time he finally admits this to someone. You're father and I have known for years!" Maddie said as she affectionately patted her daughter on the shoulder as she walked past, towards the staircase to the first floor. "I'll whip up a quick breakfast for the two of you to eat on your way there."
Jazz breathed a sigh of relief when her mother vanished from her view. "That was a close one," she tiredly leaned against her brother's bedroom door. She then stood up and faced the door. "Danny, be decent! I'm coming in!" Jazz said as she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened and she was met with...
...an empty room?
"Could he have already left?" Jazz wondered as she started to make her way down stairs, ecstatic at the idea of not being late for school and maintaining her record of perfect attendance. When she reached the bottom, a loud noise shrieked throughout the house.
"GHOST!" Jack Fenton exclaimed and he quickly stood up from the kitchen table, knocking it over in the process. The salt-and-pepper haired man reached for the Fenton Bazooka sitting on the counter.
"That's the ghost alarm we just installed on the Ghost Portal ten minutes ago! A ghost is already trying to get out!" Maddie screamed as she stared into her husband's frantic grey-blue eyes with her own frantic ones.
"G-ghost alarm?" Jazz questioned, alarmed about her brother. "Would it go off when someone enters the portal a-as well?"
"Why, of course Dear," her mother reassured, or so she thought. Jazz looked calm on the outside, but on the inside she was panicking.
"Looks like no more visits to the Ghost Zone for Danny," Jazz mumbled.
"What was that, Jazzerincess?" Jack Fenton questioned.
"Nothing!" Jazz quickly responded, "I have to go now to get to school," she quickly said as she closed the door, leaving two confused parents who then shrugged and went to the lab to check out the portal. Jazz leaned on the other side of the door and breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll have to tell Danny about their new 'upgrade' to the portal. Hopefully he's at school or fighting a ghost and not in the Ghost Zone." Jazz then walked to her car and drove towards the school, hoping to find Danny, Sam, and/or Tucker along the way.
"Sam! Tucker!" Jazz yelled as she ran down the hallways of Casper High, towards her brother's best friends.
"HAVE YOU SEEN DANNY!" Jazz, Tucker, and Sam asked as one. The Gothic female shook her head 'no' as the African-American techno-geek replied, "You haven't seen him?"
"Not since last night," the redhead responded, "He hasn't contacted you two about a ghost fight?"
"Nope," Sam replied, popping the 'p' in 'nope,' "Must be a weak ghost, like the Box Ghost, then."
"Maybe... but he's been gone for an hour already," the redhead replied, growing worried.
"Jazz," Sam said softly as she placed a hand on the older girl's shoulder, "if it was anything bad, he would have called. I made him promise last time that if he didn't, I'd kill him again."
"Ok..." Jazz trailed off as the bell rang for first period, "he just better be back during this class."
"We'll tell you if he does," Tucker replied as the three of them started to walk in the same direction, his face buried in his PDA before he looked at her and said, "Isn't your class on the opposite side of the school?"
"Yes, but I want to ask Mr. Lancer a few questions. He asked me to tutor some kids next week. I kind of need to know exactly what you are learning in English class," the future-psychologist said, "besides, I have a study hall right now."
"I'd rather die in study hall than die in this class," Sam muttered darkly, as to which Tucker, being the only other person to hear her, nodded in agreement as they enter the room and walked towards their seats in the back, ditching the redhead at the front.
Lancer was well into his lecture to his class and a single red haired guest (being the only one actually wide awake at this point) when the door burst open, waking even the heaviest sleeper. A large orange figure and a slim blue one burst through the door, weapons raised. "We have detected ecto-plasmic energy at this precise location," the blue figure said, seriously, before she pulled off her hood and smiled and waved, "Hi, Sam! Hi, Tucker!" She then looked at Jazz, "Hi, Honey! Where's Danny?" she asked, confused.
"Uhm..." the three tried to say before they were interrupted.
"Young Mr. Fenton did not grace us with his appearance today," Mr. Lancer replied.
"Danny-o's not at school?" the large figure asked when he pulled his hood down, scratching his head in confusion.
"Where could he be?" asked Maddie Fenton.
"I KNOW," screamed a voice as the room got colder. A ghost appeared in the center of the room, causing the two parents/ghost hunters to pull their hoods back up, and quickly fix their goggles into place.
"Do I really have to wear this?" Danny complained to Skulker as he tugged at the collar of the tux that he had been forced to wear. Skulker carried the boy, who was currently in his human form, through the Ghost Zone, towards a looming castle in the distance.
"Yes," Skulker simply replied as they drifted closer, "Dora has a sort of... thing... when it comes to these... things..." he trailed off.
"What? Parties?"
"Yes. All the men have to wear tuxes and all of the woman have to wear dresses," Skulker replied.
"So... why aren't you dressed up?" the teen asked, hotly.
"Ffffine," the robot hunter huffed before a button was pressed on his arm, making a long, fuchsia dress appear on him. Skulker scowled at a bewildered Danny who could not stop staring.
"Wha?" Danny asked, confused, "you're a girl? But you were Ember's boyfriend?"
"I am..." Skulker growled, "I lost a bet with her and have to wear this tihs (shit)."
"That sucks, bro," Danny said as he placed a comforting hand of the mechanical man's shoulder, a smile on his face.
"Tell any of your human friends and your head will be mounted on my wall the next time we meet."
"You say that every time, Skulker," Danny replied, but remained silent until they reached the castle. When they entered the castle, Danny looked around and saw hundreds of ghosts - allies, enemies, and ones he had never seen before. They all turned to look at the two newcomers, pointing and laughing at Skulker's appearance. Princess Dorothea, blonde hair in their usual braid, and blue dress contrasting nicely with her green skin. In her hands she had two wine glasses which she handed to Skulker and Danny. "What is this?" Danny asked, questionably.
"Why, it's wine, of course," Dora responded with a smile.
Danny frowned, "I can't drink this! I'm fifteen! The drinking age is twenty one."
"Sir Phantom, in my time, it was much younger. Besides, this is a special Ghost Wine. All ghosts have to drink it whenever they attend a ghostly party, no matter their age."
"B-but I'm only half ghost!" Danny whined.
"That doesn't matter, Sir Phantom! Look," Dora said as she pointed to a passed out Vlad in a chair, hidden away in the shadows of the room. "You are the guest of honor. If anyone drinks, it should be you."
"H-how much did he drink?" Danny asked, attention on Vlad.
"'Twas not much. 'Tis a very strong wine... especially to you halfas, as it seems..." Dora trailed off as she looked at Danny expectantly. When Danny hesitated while holding the glass, Dora started to look saddened.
'Guess she had a little too much already, but I don't want her to cry!' Danny thought as he shrugged and took a sip from the glass.
"Dost thou like it?" Dora asked.
"It's pretty good. Fruity," Danny replied with a chuckle as he thought, 'Dora, the princess that is trying to become more modern. If it can resort her English to Old English-ish, then it must be potent... This will be fun.' Danny quickly finished his drink and went to grab another.
The Fenten parents were ready to attack. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz were trying not to laugh. All of the other people in the room were backing up into the walls, away from the stout figure in the center. The three could not control their giggles as they heard Dash whisper that he peed his pants in fear over the short, chunky, blue ghost in overalls. "IT IS I, THE BOX GHOST!"
"We know who you are, ghost!" Maddie shouted, "And we aren't afraid of you! We know all of your tricks!"
"Yeah, and you are even more annoying than I am!" Jack Fenton smiled as he pointed towards himself with his thumb.
"YEAH, WELL, TASTE THE FURRY OF MY BOXES!" This time, a small chuckle escaped out of Sam's lips. "YOU THINK THE BOX GHOST IS JOKING? THE BOX GHOST LEARNED A NEW TRICK! EXPERIENCE MY CORRUGATED RECTANGULAR FURY!" the Box Ghost yelled as he summoned a box to himself, "BEWARE!" he shouted as a tear seemed to form from within the box, and he vanished. The three members of Team Phantom stopped laughing to stare at the box in wonder, watching in slight horror as the tear kept growing, and becoming more green, until it completely surrounded the room, transporting all of its occupants into the Ghost Zone.
"Where are we?" asked a Hispanic girl as she looked around at the green sky and floating purple doors around them.
"Jack, how did we get to the Ghost Zone?" Maddie Fenton asked her husband.
"THE GHOST ZONE," was chorused throughout the group.
"Can you get us home, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. You are the professional ghost hunters and you do have a portal. Surely you two must have been here numerous times and know the way back to Amity Park," Mr. Lancer asked the two adult Fentons, hopefully. All of the kids looked on, hope sprawled all over their faces.
"Nope. Never been in here before," replied Jack as his wife stared to do some calculations.
"We're doomed!" Dash exclaimed as he began to runaround in circles. Other students began to panic as well.
"Shut up! All of you!" Sam shouted, "We know the way home," she said as she pointed to herself, Tucker, and Jazz.
"Yeah, right, losers. You just want attention, Goth," joked Dash as he and the other A-lister's began to laugh.
"Witch," laughed Paulina.
"Samantha, what do you mean you have been here before?" Maddie asked, her mothering side coming out.
"It's too dangerous!" Jack said.
"Look," Sam exclaimed pointedly as she pulled a map of the Ghost Zone out of her backpack, "Does it matter right now? Would you rather talk about how 'irresponsible' it was to go here, or would you rather leave?" she asked.
"Fine, lead the way, but we are talking about this when we get home," Maddie huffed.
"Sure thing, Mrs. F," Tucker replied as the three members of Team Phantom looked at the map.
"We seem to be close to Aragon. Dora could help us!" Jazz exclaimed.
"Great idea, Jazz! She probably can take us home, or at least help us get to the Far Frozen for more advanced technology, depending on what era they are in now," Sam replied as Tucker sighed over the beloved word: technology. One that thought, the three led the way through the Ghost Zone, not knowing what they were getting themselves into.
Within Dora's castle, the party was in full swing. Ember was on stage preforming with her band, and a mosh pit was forming. Ghosts were dancing, drinking, making out, drinking, eating, drinking... and did I say drinking? All around, you could see lust in many of the ghost's drunken face, most practically having sex right in the middle of the dance floor with their grinding and kissing. Many articles of clothing had been shed. It was basically a normal high school dance, plus the alcohol.
Some, however, were just sitting on the sidelines, watching the dancing while nursing a glass of wine - one of which was Danny. Danny sat in a white undershirt, having removed the suit long already, and watched Ember perform. He watched the enticing way other were dancing while he chugged drink after drink, each getting refilled when empty by a passing servant. Suddenly, he looked up when he heard a slight noise.
"Hey, Danny," Dora said seductively, loosing the Old English. She had taken her hair out of her braid, as dancing had messed it up beyond repair anyway. She had slipped her shoes off, as well, when she wanted to go onto the dance floor.
"'ay, Dora," Danny said as she sat next to him. The two then began talking, all the while Danny's smile grew, until Dora led him out of the room, his drink still in hand.
"Aragon, straight ahead!" Sam said a little too cheerfully. Who would blame her, having heard Paulina talk for the past hour about how her hero, Danny Phantom, would save her from all the geeks and losers. Shallow much?
"I wonder where all the ghosts are," muttered Tucker. Sam and Jazz, as well as the others, wondered that as well, since neither of them had heard or seen one since the Box Ghost had disappeared, but no one wanted to say anything about it, lest their luck be ruined... apparently Tucker was the one to test it, as per usual.
"Tucker!" Sam and Jazz yelled as they hit him, being even more wary. Bad things happen when Tucker, or anyone from Amity Park, says that - there's no saying what, or how bad, it will be... this time.
"Hey," he hollered back, holding his arms in front of his face as a shield.
"Are you three sure we can trust this ghost?" Maddie questioned.
"Yeah, all ghosts are just manifestations of post-human consciousness. THEY ARE EVIL!" Jack yelled back.
"Not all ghosts are evil. Dora is an ally," Sam said as she slightly smiled. They reached the front door of the castle, able to hear loud music and screaming, and see party lights flashing through the windows.
"Moby Dick! What is going on in there? It's a mid-evil castle!" exclaimed a surprised Lancer.
"Is that Ember singing?" someone questioned as many others chuckled over what Lancer had said.
"Well, only one way to find out," said Sam as she walked through the door. The others stared, shocked, until Tucker replied, "In the Ghost Zone, we are the ghosts." They nodded and followed Sam into the castle, through the door. They paused when they looked around and saw all of the partying ghosts.
"So, that's where they went," Sam mumbled as she quietly told the rest of the occupants of the room to keep quiet. Everyone stared about at the black and white decorations, and at that banner hanging, that said, "HAPPY DEATHDAY!"
"Okay, before we end this shin-dig," Ember yelled into her microphone on the stage, "I say we call up the guest of honor. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can get him to sing us a song!" The audience erupted into an applause, some commenting on how good the 'guest of honor' was rumored to sing, although it was only a rumor since he was too shy to actually sing to anyone - a well-known fact in the Ghost Zone. "Where is he?" Ember asked after a few minutes. When no one knew the answer, Ember told one of Dora's servants to find him. She left and returned five minutes later, red-faced. "What's the matter, Melissa?" Ember asked the girl.
"He's going to kill me," she squeaked as she hid behind Ember. The blue haired rocker began to tell the girl that he had no reason to, before she was interrupted.
"AssiL, daed os era uoy! (You are so dead, Lissa!)" a slurred shout came from behind the door that Melissa had just ran through. Danny burst through those doors, black hair even messier than usual, eyes blazing green - the "angry eyes" as they were dubbed. The humans gasped, none of them, eyes but Team Phantom, able to see his eyes. However, all of the ghosts gasped as well. Danny chased Melissa around in his boxers - only his boxers - while Princess Dora meekly stood in the doorway, blonde hair even messier and wearing a silk nightgown. Girls, human and ghost alike, swooned at the sight of his muscles. "Because of you," he said with venom, "I got freakin' cock-blocked!" he seethed.
The humans were frozen. Thoughts began swirling, 'so that's where he's been today,' 'why is he here?', 'why was he with that ghost?', 'way to go,' 'was he doing the do?' 'that filthy ghost almost, or did, take my baby's virginity,' 'why Dora and not me?', and many more. The human's had varying expressions - anger, sadness, pride, murder, fear... jealousy...
"Actually that was me," admitted Ember, "now go get descent and come on stage. Sorry, I didn't know that you are Dora were-"
"Okay, be right back," Danny interrupted as he left and then returned not even a minute later with a shirt, pants, and shoes on. He waltzed on stage and was handed a glass of wine, from Melissa, and stole the microphone from Ember. "How the fuck is everyone doing?" he asked, shocking the humans with his language, leaving Sam to question what is wrong with him, and everyone to question what is in the glass, the adults hoping it wasn't what they thought it was. "Thanks for coming to my Deathday party! It was the best one I ever had!"
"It's the only one you ever had, Dipshit!" Ember replied, to drunk to censor herself, like usual.
"Whatever," Danny scoffed, then turned to Melissa, "Thanks, Lissa, I think I was starting to get sober," he slightly slurred as he then chugged his drink, to the encouragement of the crowd. Sam thought to herself, 'No wonder he isn't acting like himself!' as all of the humans quietly quested each other, 'Deathday?' and 'Fenton's/Fenturd's drunk?'
"Now fer some singinginginging!" he slurringly exclaimed, causing the audience to laugh, both humans and ghosts alike, as he talked to Ember's band about what song he wanted to sing. He then turned around and the opening cords could be heard from 'Never Too Late' by Three Days Grace. Surprisingly, his speech did not slur while he sang, which everyone had to admit that his voice sounded amazing.
After a spectacular performance, Danny bowed. "Elbaromem Yadhtaed tsrif ym edam evah lla uoy. Syug, ytrap eht rof sknaht, (Thanks for the party, guys. You all have made my first Deathday memorable,)" Danny stated as he and the other ghosts shed a tear at his gesture.
"Change! Change! Egnahc! Change!" The ghosts chanted.
"What?" Maddie asked as the rest of the humans shared a look of confusion.
"Sure. Why the kcuf (fuck) not," Danny stated as to the glee of the ghosts in the audience, Danny preformed an encore. Not another song, but a soft of magic act. Danny Fenton did a flip in the air and changed into Danny Phantom, whom had never landed.
Every human's eyes bulged out of the sockets. "Ghost boy?" Paulina called, gathering the attention of the other occupants of the room, having just discovered humans within their midst.
"Someone's secret is out," mocked a drunken Vlad.
"Kcuf."
A/N: Sorry, I know I haven't updated this in like a year. Being an adult sucks. Work, college, personal life, family, sleep. I originally intended for this to be a multi chapter story and its been sitting on my computer for probably a year now, unfinished. Today I decided that enough was enough and that I should go over it and finish it. Hope it wasn't too bad, I've been awake since 5am and it is 10:30 pm now. College -_-
Ghostspeak. Can you figure out how it's done? Maybe I'll put a chapter on how Danny learned it.
And damn, this was over 4,000 words of pure story related text. Do I get a cookie? No? Ok.
Thanks for reading.
