I am reserving all comments until the end of the chapter, just because I don't feel like adding it up here. ^.^ So, no need to read this. Though, if you're reading this I suppose it's pointless to say so.
Anyways, I don't own Danny Phantom!
Phantom scurried behind Alaqua and pointed over to the direction he came. Out from the brushes, leaped out the same coyote-wolf-hybrid that had originally attacked...or rather frightened Maddie into an animal trap.
"You," Phantom stepped back a bit, "He likes you, right? Tell him to stop chasing me!"
Alaqua peered back at Phantom with an amused smile, she glanced at Maddie and her smile wavered ever so slightly as the older woman blinked curiously. But, she didn't bother getting her weapons, there was no need. The animal didn't seem to be a danger and, instead, was wagging it's tail, the upper half of his body crouched down towards the ground in a position that belonged to a playful pup. Alaqua's smiled brightened at the sight of it.
She muttered something in her native tongue and moved over to stand beside the animal. She bent down and pet its massive head, laughing as the animal's tail thumped faster.
She rose to her feet and gestured towards the animal. "Danny, Moser of Danny," her heavy accent was thick but she turned to look at the beast crouched beside her and pat it's head twice, "Name, Spirito."
"Spirito?" Danny echoed with an English accent, unable to roll his r's too well, "Well, that's not very original."
"Oh, and I suppose the name Phantom is?" Maddie scoffed, "Are all of you ghosts really unimaginative?"
Phantom winced and the mother felt a stab of guilt as he explained himself. "Actually, no. They don't get the luxury of being as creative as they were when they were alive. Unless, of course, it involves their obssession." They? Their? Phantom was talking like he wasn't one of them, Maddie realized. He then proceeded to confirm her thoughts. "I'm different...but I was never really that creative anyways." He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, a habit that she'd frequently seen Danny do. The shock of his actions caused her to freeze up for a few moments.
Danny laughed joyfully. "Don't worry about it, Mrs. Fenton. Neither my current job nor my dream job involve being creative."
His job. He had plans for the future. His laugh...everyone had a unique laughter. But, not Phantom. He had someone else's laugh. He had Danny's laugh.
Alaqua stepped between them. "Spiritu good. He tame. Spiritu sorry for 'tacking."
"It's okay," Danny replied with no hesitation to forgiveness. "I guess I have a knack for attracting weird animal ghosts." He hesitantly bent down to pet his former foe. "Apparently, my..." His voice trailed off and he glanced up at Maddie as he corrected himself. "Apparently, Maddie does, too."
The redhead kept her eyes focused on Phantom when, suddenly, a familiar wisp escaped his lips. Maddie supressed a gasp as sudden realizatio overwhelmed her.
He frowned and glanced up into the direction they came from. The animal instantly spun it's head around and turned to stare into the same general are Phantom was also observing.
Alaqua froze and her hand slid of the animal's neck. She shouted a flurry of native words and Phantom and the animal instantly took off, Maddie ran after them but stopped to aid the fatigued woman. They both hurried through the forest the best they could, following the ghost boy and the spectral animal.
As they arrived on the campsite, they caught sight of Phantom blasting a powerful ray. A few ghostly animals were crouched on the ground, nipping at Skulker's hovering feet whenever possible. Maddie instantly pulled out her portable guns and began blasting at the ghost who continually and ruthlessly launched at Amity Park's hero. "Get away from Phantom, you ectoplasmic creep!" She shouted. She paused and glanced back at the Indians, all of which were stunned but very much active and moving.
"You three," she turned to Helako and Enquero who had both rushed to help a panting Alaqua. "You guys go take her back to your homes."
Alaqua waved her hand in annoyance, the two men still fretting over her and speaking in Native tongues. "Me help. I control Spiritus."
"What?" Madeleine was so dumbfounded by the woman's words that she nearly dropped her gun. "You what?"
"She can control ghosts!" Enequero shouted in translation. "But, it takes a lot out of her, makes her weak."
"And, we're not risking it when she's expecting a child soon. Have him carry her home," Maddie spoke to the boys when she said this but immediately turned her focus back on Alaqua. "Trust me, we can handle it. We've fought worst ghosts than these, we'll be fine. Trust me. Just take your animal spirits and go!"
"I send protecter to...wash you." Alaqua responded with a worried gaze. She then pulled her arm away from Helako's grip and quickly hurried over to where Maddie stood. She spoke with terrifying certainty. "You see, too now. I know. Black and white, green and blue. Boths worlds," her eyes clouded over with fear and she released a startled yelp as her husband swooped her up in his arms before running off into the forest, giving Maddie a brief but aprreciative nod. A few undead animals running after them.
Enequero stayed behind and handed her a slip of paper, his eyes wild with fear. "If you ever need us," he muttered. "We will meet again." He turned and dashed into the opposite direction, leaving Maddie to fend for herself. She tucked the note away into her pocket and ran off, headed into the direction Skulker and Phantom were fighting.
They had dipped lower to the ground and the large metal ghost had Danny pinned to a tree, his fist curled around Phantom's neck, squeezing the life out of him. Phantom's oxygen was being cut off and it was obvious he was struggling to keep conscious. A wound on his side bled glowing green liquid that was smudged with dots of red blood cells. Maddie instinctively raised her gun. She eyed the two of them through one open eye and caught sight of a few knobs around the lining of the ghost's neck. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as the metal ghost's words reacher her ears.
"Sorry it had to end this way," he rumbled in a frighteningly deep voice, "I guess I really will have your pelt on my wall."
Madeleine fired two shots, each of them bringing a powerful kick. Skulker was blasted away and Phantom crumpled down to the ground, swallowing loud gulps of air.
She loomed over the metal ghost whose robotic eyes had suddenly widened with trepidation. There was a small whirring sound as the ghost's suit immediately died down. "No one lays a hand on my son." She reached over and tugged on the head, pulling of it's suit.
Beneath it revealed a tiny ghost that she picked up with her finger and forefinger. She carefully lifted the tiny entity, swung, and sent it flying away, laughing as it's high pitched voice wailed out numerous yet fleeting words.
She turned her head and noticed Phantom lying on the floor, his wound bleeding profusely. His eyes were wide as he looked up at her in a combination of befuddlement, horror, and fear.
"You know? How long have you known?"
Maddie scowled. "Really honey? You're asking me about that when you're bleeding all over the floor?" She bent down and laid a hand on his shoulder. He winced but blinked in amazement when their was no electrocution. He opened his eyes to voice his thoughts but Maddie didn't let him.
"I turned it off after I figured out it kept hurting you. I kept hurting you. Now let me see." She moved her son's hand away from the wound and her mouth instantly fell open. The deep gash had diminished to a small cut that was already closing up, the hole in his suit instantly stitching itself up. Danny stood up and brushed his hazmat suit. "Convenient power, huh?" He smiled slightly.
The mother beamed and enveloped him in a warm hug. His surprisingly strong and lean arms wrapped around her for a few moments before he pulled back. "Don't you have any questions? Things you want me to answer?"
She pulled away and shook her head. "That can wait. First things first, we need to know who sent us here and why."
"Oh," Danny -still in Phantom form- shrugged. "That's easy. He wanted to get rid of me. He probably knows I would survive this trip but doesn't want me hanging around Amity. He's probably planning something. Something big. I'm not sure what it is though and we have no way to contact Sam or Tucker."
"They know? Well, of course they know. That would the reason they're always covering for you." She shook her head. "But, why would Vlad want to hurt you. I know he's a creep and all but...still."
"Mom," Danny hesitated and he rubbed his arm nervously, "Vlad's...like me. Not like me, like me 'cause he's a frootloop, but...what I mean is-"
"He was blasted by the portal and it shot him with unstable ectoplasm and that was probably the reason he resulted with ecto acne," Maddie's eyes widened at her sudden epiphany.
"He's Vlad Plasmius, the Wisconsin Ghost." Danny frowned, his eyes lighting up in sympathy as the information sunk into his mother.
"Vlad-he's evil. And...and you got blasted by the portal..." tears filled her eyes, "and you got electrocuted-"
"Mom," Danny placed a hand on her shoulders, his radioactive green eyes boring into her own indigo ones. "It's okay. I'm fine. Heck, I'm better than I've ever been!" He gestured towards himself, his spiritual aura glowing even brighter than before for emphasis.
Maddie laughed and wiped away at her emotional tears. "Well," she sniffled, "you're right about that. My baby's a hero." She smiled and they waited a few moments as she regained her composure. "Well, now we need to get out of here and stop Vlad. With whatever he's doing."
"I think I know a way," he extended his hand, "ready to go back to town? We can pick up some gas and bring it to the car, then we can go home."
"Honey, I'm bigger and heavier than you-"
He shook his head. "Come on."
She paused and accepted his hand, fingers intertwining. She climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hang on tight!" He shouted as they swiftly ascended to the sky. She watched as they approached the treetops.
"Danny? Do you know how fast you can fly?"
"Yeah," he laughed and Maddie tensed up, "160 miles per hour."
Before the incredulous woman had a chance to reply, the boy instantly took off. Though she didn't know it, he simply maintained his speed at a safe 90 mph and slowly worked his way up to 120 mph in an effort as to not frighten her too much. At first, she released a terrified yelp but it quickly diminished as she gazed out at the world from the sky. Danny dipped low and occasionally reached up to let her touch the sky as she laughed in ecstacy, her fingers brushing against the misty-like cotton balls of the sky.
He flew around the forest and even passed through the small reservation, catching sight of Alaqua and the two men as they escorted her back home. They both managed a quick wave and instantly took off into the direction of the aforementioned town.
It was relatively small, allowing Danny to find a gasoline station. Though, how he saw it from that high up made Maddie question his vision skills. He instantly plummeted to the ground, flew behind the building and gently landed on the floor. His mother climbed off his back and took a step back. He hesitantly glanced at her as two rings appeared at his middle and seperated, one travelling upwards and the other downards as they transformed him completely. The familiar baggy yet now-dirty clothes replaced his suit and his snowy white hair turned into its original raven color. The green orbs that were his eyes ceased to glow and became an icy blue color, completing the transformation.
Maddie thrust her arms around the boy in a brief but warm hug before pulling back. "Come on, let's go inside, buy some food, some gasoline, if they have any."
Danny nodded and complied. They walked out from behind the building, walked across the nearly deserted parking lot, and entered the gasoline shop. An average-looking woman with light brown hair and gum sat on the front desk behind the cash register. She smiled to them as they walked in and gave them a brief welcome before going back to her reading.
Maddie bid her a small smile before the two of them rushed to the back, Danny picking up two small caskets. He handed her one and each of them immediately scoured for food and met back on the center aisle. Maddie frowned and eyed the amount of food that was stacked in her son's baskets. From what she could see, he had gathered chips, mini hotdogs and corndogs that were encased in containers, and he held a small amount of nachos in one hand. He chewed some bit of food that was in his mouth and swallowed. Maddie raised her brows. "You're not gonna eat all that."
"Actually, yeah. I am. Flying burns a lot of calories, so does my strength and speed, apparently. And, I have not gotten enough food these past few days. I mean, it's enough to survive but not to satisfy." He smiled as he popped another chip into his mouth. "Tucker and Sam are usually there to feed me."
"Well," she sighed, "I guess that explains the small increase in our food bills."
Danny smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that."
"It's fine. Did you find any gasoline?" Maddie glanced around the store.
"Yeah, it's right back there, but my hands were a little full." He gestured towards the amount of items in his hands. Maddie rolled her eyes but followed him as he led her back towards the last aisles. There, sitting on the shelf, was a red bottle. "Gas!" Maddie smiled. "Now, I'm sure we can get the, ah, R.V. back up and running." Maddie picked up the container and studied it carefully. She smiled and instantly spun on her heel, making her way over to the cash register.
They paid and took off to the sky, heading back towards the direction of the car. Maddie was simply enjoying herself to say the least, despite that she was the one holding the multitude of bags in her arms and it was mostly due to the fact that she was getting just a tad bit used to the wild fear that accompanied her while flying with her son. She could hardly believe it. Never, not in a milliion years, had she ever imagined flying with her son. Never even imagined her son would be the one doing the flying.
Suddenly, though, he leaned to the left and swooped around so that they were headed in the opposite direction of their intended stop.
"Where are we going?" She shouted over the roaring wind.
Danny slowed to a quick stop and hovered in the air. "Do you see that?" Danny stared down at the ground. Maddie hesitated before leaning to her left ever so slightly, getting a good view of the ground. She saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Danny's eyes widened. From her current angled position, Maddie couldn't tell whether her son's eyes widened with fear or excitement or even surprise for that matter. She never had the chance to read his expression either because, in that instant, Danny rapidly began to descend, causing her stomach to lurch and her heart to race as they flew closer to the ground, face first.
A/N: I'm sure that by the time I post this, it'll waaay past due, but Happy Fourth of July people!
I'm glad we got to celebrate the day of this wonderful country's independance. It's truly something marvelous.
Anyways, during Independence Day, I had no work but we did have to go out to look for some shoes and designs for my sister's Quince's dress, and that was so stressful. We all came home all mad and stuff.
But, then we went out to see the fireworks with part of our family and a few strangers. It was really nice.
So, this story isn't done yet, obviously. They still have to get out of the forest and there's still the matter of why Vlad wanted them out of Amity Park. Plus, Maddie and Danny need to have 'the talk.' The one about his powers and his adventures and stuff.
Review, please?