Here we are for installment four of "Thesis Statement!" :D So far, so good, I hope? At least, I'm guessing from the great reviews you guys left! =3 Anyways, best not babble too long. Otherwise I'm liable to get wayyyyy off topic. And we all know offtopicism kills creativity. No? Oh. Well maybe that's just me. XD Anyways, moving on.
Legal Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or any of its awesomeness. So no suey for copyrighty stuffy, kay?
Danny awoke to a trio of family members gathered around him, staring.
"Danny?" they all asked in unison.
"Uhm..hi guys," he replied uncomfortably, his personal space being invaded a little too much for comfort.
Sensing how uncomfortable he was, his family backed away a few inches from his face.
"Sorry, we were worried about you sweetie," his mother began, a kind look being hidden by tired, worrisome eyes.
"Yeah. You've been asleep all day. We thought you were going to miss the limbo luau tonight!" his father chimed in to her, dancing around frantically in an attempt to show off the 'skills' he would be presenting.
"Yeah...miss...right," Jazz whispered uncomfortably at Danny, noting their father's horribly embarrassing movements.
Danny laughed in response to his sister's joke, and ruffled his hair into commission.
"No, no!" Danny waved his hands, "I'm fine. I'll be dressed in a few minutes."
"Are you sure, dear? I don't want to push you to do anything if you don't want to..."
"Yeah, I'm fine, mom," he reassured her.
"You're sure that you're not still upset and angry about everything?"
Danny began to laugh inside, every fiber of his being having to stop himself from bursting out laughing. He thought about meeting his brother, and, despite the slight possibility of it all being a dream, he definitely wasn't angry or upset anymore.
"I'm sure," he smiled at her.
She smiled back and then grabbed her husband's ear, dragging him out the door so he couldn't embarrass their children any further.
"You really okay?" Jazz questioned him skeptically, unconvinced that he was so quick to get over it.
"I'm more than okay," Danny smiled at his sister's obliviousness, "I'm great."
Jazz studied her brother for a moment before she headed out the door, making a beeline in the opposite direction their father had gone.
"Dan..." Danny smiled at the thoughts of his brother a moment longer before heading into the room's shower to get ready for later that night.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Grr..." Phantom growled angrily, an annoyed look masking over his already annoyed and hate-ridden face, "You can't make one exception to the precious 'rules'?"
"No can do mi compadre. And if you want to stay out of any more trouble I suggest you get used to it."
Walker, the Ghost-Warden, smiled, a sadistic look across his face showing clear evidence he enjoyed the power he had. Phantom, meanwhile, stared up at the man, his anger growing more and more each minute.
"And if I don't?"
"And if you don't," Walker smiled menacingly, "I'll make sure you learn just why you should this time."
Phantom glared at the man, their eyes met in an unwavering battle of wills.
"Tch. Whatever," Phantom said, turning his back on the man and flying away.
"Consider this your last warning, too," the man called after him.
Phantom floated on for a while and slumped on a nearby rock. He sighed as he thought about his brother and the promise he had made to him.
"Damnit, what happened? That's so unlike me! I never make promises to anyone. Whenever I think about him I feel so...human. Not that it's bad, but...I'm not. I'm a ghost. I can't fool myself..." he sighed, looking off into the vast depths of the Ghost Zone, "Nothing but solitude and desolation in me, or anywhere around here."
He thought about his brother, a slight pink hue barely flaring across his cheeks as the thoughts flowed by.
"Whatever. I made a promise, and now I have to keep it. Besides, why do I even care what Walker says?"
Phantom stood up and dusted off his clothing, setting off to find his way into the human world.
"You ready, everyone!?" the announcer called out.
"Yeah!! Whoo! Go man!!! Awesome!" sporadic cheers called out from all over the crowd of people.
"Then let's limbo!"
Island music began playing as the crowd cheered out, each dressed in a similar island-themed outfit, primarily bathing suits and the like.
"Isn't this fun, honey?" Maddie Fenton smiled at her son, who he himself was wearing a bathing suit with island markings painted on his face.
"Yeah!" Danny called out, joining into the cruise-ship's island party; after all, it was the last day before the ship would have to be heading back, and everyone wanted it to be a great finish.
As his family headed to their own devices (agreeing to meet up for the limbo-contest), Danny left for his own. He danced for a little while, then swam in the cruise-ship's party-pool, before heading off to eat dinner at the buffet they had laid out. When all was said and done, it was time for the limbo-contest to begin.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Alright, everyone! It's the time you've all been waiting for. The main event of the evening: the limbo-contest!"
The crowd cheered emphatically and the ship's band played some dramatic music for effect. The announcer waited for them all to calm down before continuing with, "Okay! Anyone participating head over to the limbo-area and wait for the beginning!"
"Are you going to do it, Danny?" Jazz asked, smiling at her brother.
"Well, I dunno..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not too good at Limbo..."
"Oh, sweetie, come on! It'll be fun," their mom smiled at him.
"Well, alright..." he smiled back, heading over to the growing line of people.
One by one each passenger limboed underneath the pole, only an occasional straggler not able to make it. It came to Danny's turn and he haphazardly bent back and limboed underneath the pole. He got out on the other side and looked over to his family, smiles looking back at him to encourage him.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Alright, round 2!" the announcer called out, the audience's cheers growing louder and louder.
Danny made his way back around and continued forth, eventually getting to round 5 with only a few other people remaining. He smiled at the progress he was making, and continued on once more.
"Only two more remaining!" the announcer declared, Danny and a fellow cruise-goer blushing at the attention.
The pole was lower to a ridiculously low height, so much so that Danny almost mistook it as a joke. The other man stood there in disbelief.
"And...begin!"
Danny was the first to go. He bent backwards, waving his hands as he got lower and lower to stop from falling, and went forward, hopping underneath the pole with barely an inch to spare. As he emerged on the other side, the audience gasped as he nearly fell, before regaining his balance and standing up. They began to cheer, and the other remaining contestant lowered himself; of course, he failed to make it even halfway to the other side before he fell down.
"And we have a winner!!"
The cruise-ship announcer made his way over to Danny and help designated him winner.
"What's your name?" he asked in an offhanded comment.
"Uhm...Danny Fenton," Danny blushed.
"And the winner of the limbo contest is Danny Fenton!" the crowd cheered, and Danny's family applauded with tremendous happiness.
Danny gazed over at them and they each gave him a thumbs-up, a simple smile being Danny's response as pink hues dabbed his cheeks.
After the commotion of the evening died down, Danny was presented with his prize: a hundred dollars, movie tickets, and a little certificate that said "Limbo Champion" on it. He thanked the man and headed towards his family's suite. Just as he had walked into the interior of the cruise-ship, a cold chill ran across his spine causing him to shiver. He assumed it had been from being shirtless all night and brushed it off, closing the door and heading down the hallway. Arriving at their room, Danny's parents greeted him with smiles and hugs.
"Good job, honey!" his mother called out, her arms locked in a death grip around her child.
"Yeah, Danny! You did great!" his father agreed.
"I have to say, it was impressive, Danny," Jazz smiled at him.
"Heh...thanks, guys..." Danny smiled as his cheeks burned red, exhausted from the night.
'I wish Da—ergh, Phantom, rather—could have seen me, though...'
After the love-shower had ended, the family settled in for the night (as the party had gone well into 1am), and Danny laid down for a peaceful night of rest.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Hey," Phantom whispered when the coast was clear, appearing from thin air.
"Phantom!?" Danny cried out in surprise before realizing why his brother had been whispering, "Hey!"
"I saw you last night."
"You did?" Danny asked in surprise, "Hey, was that chill from you?"
"Yeah, probably. I was right behind you."
"I thought you said ghosts were good with body temperature or whatever?"
"We are. But when we're invisible like that the body senses it with a chilling effect."
"Oh, okay..." he nodded in understanding, "So...what'd you think of it?"
"Well, to be honest, I thought it was kind of a stupid activity. But I'm glad you won, I guess."
"Oh..." Danny looked down, hurt slightly visible in his features.
Phantom sighed and began once more, "Sorry. I'm glad you won, and it wasn't stupid. I just...I guess I'm jealous."
"Why didn't you join in?" Danny suddenly asked.
"Well..." Phantom began, trying to explain it, "It's a long story."
"I thought you said ghosts could be solid in the real world, though?"
"We can be. It's just..." he attempted to explain once more, before sighing, "I can't explain it right now. Anyways, I have to get back to the Ghost Zone before the portal closes. I was only able to come back because the ship passed back through the Bermuda Triangle."
"Wait, so is this the last time I'll see you?"
"No...there are other ways, but..." Phantom began, before suddenly stopping, "I'll explain it later. I'll try and see you when you get home, Danny. I've got to go." Phantom suddenly rose up from the floor, vanished from thin sight, and was gone.
"Uhm...okay...bye?" Danny sighed, dumbfounded by the strange behavior.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"What was that, you moron?" Phantom kicked himself on entry back into the Ghost Zone, the portal that had been recently made closing right behind him.
He looked at the bleak surroundings all around him and sighed. He had to admit, he liked it in the human world much, much better. But he couldn't stay there. Otherwise, Walker...No, he didn't even want to think about Walker. What did he care what a self-proclaimed Warden thought? But still. A ghost in a human world? Nobody would want him there, especially not his family, parring his semi-brother Danny, of course.
"Ugh...how am I going to tell him I can't stay there?" Phantom looked around to make sure none of the other ghosts had seen him arrive, "They wouldn't let me. Not just Walker, anyone."
He began to fly around in circles, trying to think of something to do to get them off his trail.
"Maybe if..." Phantom suddenly had a thought, and he went flying off.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Aah.." Danny took in the aroma of his home, "It's so nice to be home."
"Speak for yourself, Danny," Jazz sighed, "I could use another few days on that cruise."
They all carried in their suitcases and brought them up to their respective rooms. Danny lugged the suitcase up the stairs and into his room before settling onto his bed with a sigh.
"My bed," he said softly, nuzzling the sheets and blankets close to him.
He laid still for a few moments before springing up to the computer to see if his friends were online.
"Hey, Danny" Sam sent to him.
"Sam!!" Danny emphatically sent back to her.
"Yo danny" Tucker's greeting IM arrived.
"Tuck!"
"let me make a chat room" he sent the identical IM's to his friends, clicking on the chat button and typing in their screennames.
"So how was the cruise?"
"yeah, it had 2 be awesome!"
"it was, guys! And you'll never believe me, but.." Danny stopped typing in the message box. Could he tell his friends about Phantom? What would they think? Should he tell them? After all, he hardly believed it himself the more he thought about it, but Phantom's own visit to him a few days ago confirmed it for him. He erased the message in the text box and replaced it with, "it was, guys! I won this limbo-contest they were holding, it was great"
"Awesome, Danny. :]" Sam sent a little smiley to him.
"yeah, dude. 8D" Tucker sent a smiley of his own.
"Hey, listen guys," Danny sent the IM and then continued, "I've gotta unpack and stuff, but I wanted to tell you I'm back. I can't believe I missed a week of school."
"yeah. lancer was going crazy with this project"
"Ouch. I hope he'll go easy on me." Danny gulped, afraid for school the next day.
"Alright, well, I'll cyas later" he sent before logging off and laying down in his bed.
"Yo," Phantom greeted him, suddenly appearing in the doorway and closing the door.
"Phantom?" Danny looked up from his bed, "When did you..." he stopped, remembering Phantom was a ghost, "What's up?" he sat up from bed.
"Not much..." Phantom crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, "I've been waiting forever for you to get home."
"Oh, sorry," Danny apologized.
"Anyways, though, I figured instead of you unpacking we could spend some time together or something."
Danny looked at Phantom's face, which he was now attempting to hide, and swore he saw a bright pink color burning against the pale skin of his brother's face.
"Sure," Danny agreed, "Want some clothes?"
"Clothes?" Phantom asked, looking at his own, "What's wrong with these?"
"Well I dunno," Danny shrugged, "I thought it'd help you fit in or something maybe."
"Oh..." Phantom nodded, "Sure."
Danny looked in his drawers and grabbed some clothes, handing them to Phantom.
"Here you go," he smiled.
"Thanks," Phantom smiled back, and began taking off his shirt.
Danny had turned his back to make his way over to his chair, and hadn't realized Phantom was stripping down until he was in only his boxers.
"Uhm, Phantom..?" Danny began shakily, embarrassed.
"Yeah?" Phantom stopped undressing for a moment.
"Uhm...you can use the bathroom, you know."
"Does it matter? We're brothers, technically, aren't we?"
"Well, yeah," Danny looked away for a moment, "But it's still kind of...I don't know."
"Okay," Phantom said shrugging, and turned to head into Danny's bathroom just as Danny turned his head again.
"Hey, wait," Danny stopped him, "Are those scars?"
Phantom looked at the various marks and bruises scattering his body, "Some of them."
"What...are they from?"
"Eh..." Phantom shrugged, "Various things. Some are from fights, some are my own fault, some are just there. Why?"
Danny got up and made his way over to where his brother was standing, holding his hand out shakily. He carefully slid his fingers across a few of the bruises and scars, before taking the boy in a gentle hug.
"I'm sorry..." he began, "You must've had a really tough li---ergh...after...life so far."
Phantom blushed, unused to anyone asking him about his well-being, "Uhm...it's...okay?"
Danny pulled away blushing as well, the faintest hint of tears in his eyes, "Uhm, sorry. You were getting dressed."
Phantom headed into the bathroom and washed off his face in the sink.
"Good thing I didn't tell him most of them were from other times I left the Ghost Zone..." he shuddered and hurriedly put on the clothes his brother
had given him.
"Okay," he emerged from the bathroom.
"Wow...we really do look exactly alike."
"I guess."
"Right," Danny said, looking down, "Uhm...so, what do you want to do?"
"I just want some fresh air. Ten years in the Ghost Zone really makes you long for as much fresh air as you can get."
"Okay," Danny hurried down the stairs and called out, "I'll be back later, I'm going to the park!" before heading out the door. He turned around expecting Phantom to be behind him, but instead he found no one.
"Phantom?" he looked around.
"Boo," he appeared behind the boy.
"Augh!" Danny backed away and fell down, "Phantom!!"
Phantom laughed and extended his arm, "I had to. You haven't been scared of me yet."
"Yeah, well...still," Danny brushed his clothes off and began walking towards the park, "You coming?"
"Yeah," Phantom replied walking behind him.
~~~~~~~~~DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD DxP PxD~~~~~~~~~
"Warden," the ghost-officer began, "the ghost-boy, Phantom, seems to be missing."
"Missing?" he replied.
"Yes, sir. He seems to have first left yesterday, and hasn't been back since."
"Thank you," Walker replied, and dismissed the ghost, "So, Phantom, you left the Ghost Zone after all...I wonder what, or rather, who, helped you get out beneath my watch."
Walker got up from his seat and walked around a little bit.
"You," he pointed to one of his ghost-officers, "I want you to find out where he left to. And you," he motioned at another, "find out how he did it."
"Yes sir," the ghosts replied, before heading off.
"If it's a game of chase you want, Phantom, it's a game of chase you'll get."
Okay, so! END CHAPTER 4! XD -crazy- Anybobblewobble, tell me what you thought of it. Something about this chapter is odd to me, but...we'll see what you guys think. I hope it's up to par! So...Yeah. Please review and tell me what you think about everything! Thank you so much!
Also! I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! X.X I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter! I was busy the original week I was supposed to put this up, and I've been sick since Thanksgiving. It's really irritating me. But I'm trying to get better so I can give you guys some more chapters 3 Sorry again, I really feel bad. Please rate and review, and again! Sorry! D: (Also, thanks again for all the great reviews you guys! It really does mean a lot to me.)
Oh! Also, really quick! If you guys want to give me ideas for story breaks, I'd REALLY appreciate it! I'm just using DxP PxD (Danny x Phantom, Phantom x Danny) for now cuz I can't think of anything else. Apparently my other ones (Atildas or however you spell it, the squiggle basically) don't show up D:
~Shin-Shui~