That wasn't too long of a wait :D It's pretty short and Danny isn't in it, but I hope you all like it just the same!
Hey! I think I got all the reviewers this time! Well, I didn't get the anonymous reviewers. I'm not sure how to reply to them...
I don't own Danny Phantom. My beta is dragondancer123-and be thankful because without her, Frostbite would be speaking like Yoda ;D
Chapter 10
The Ghosts
Lance felt cold—no, not just cold. Freezing. So freezing cold, it was like sleeping on ice. But although his back was resting against a hard surface, his left side was pressed against something soft and fluffy. Soft was supposed to mean warm…right? Voices flowed all around him, but a voice inside his head spoke the loudest.
"The camera!" the voice shrieked. "You put that down! Lance! Get your lazy butt up and get the camera away from the ghosts!"
Like magic, that one word brought Lance's mind to focus and snapped his eyes open. "Ghosts?" Memories of the last few minutes before he passed out rushed back to him, and, with great trepidation, Lance glanced at the cold, hard surface supporting his back. Naked bone incased in solid ice and the soft pillow was really snow white fur clothed in strange garments. The cold aura emanating from this body had a sharp, static zap to it. These were the only clues the weatherman of Amity Park needed.
"GHOST!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He sprang away from the hairy, undead being and rushed to his feet.
He didn't run far, though. Two hairy yeti-like ghosts stood between him and the wall he had walked through moments before. He stopped his headlong rush two inches from these ghosts, close enough to smell their rancid breath. Lance stared wide-eyed at their fangs—bared in annoyance—for five seconds before screaming and running in a different direction. But there were ghosts that way too. He spun around. More ghosts. All around him—ghosts. Yeti ghosts, a ghost without a face, a ghost woman with red horned hair and hungry eyes, dinosaur ghosts, ghosts in masks. Ghosts of every shape and size. All of them surrounding him—trapping him.
Numerous pairs of glowing eyes were focused on him, Lance Thunder, and none of them were friendly.
"No!" Lance cried. He fell to his knees and began sobbing pathetically. "I'm too handsome to be eaten!"
"The camera, Lance! Get the camera!"
The ghost with the frozen arm stepped toward Lance, looking down at him with a hard gaze. "What are you doing here, human?" it asked gruffly. "The Ghost Zone is no place for the living."
"I-I-I—" Lance stuttered.
"Oh, lighten up, Frosty!" the hungry-eyed woman said with a too-cheerful voice. Her movements were too fast, Lance wasn't prepared for her to suddenly appear at his back. Her cold hands gripped his shoulders like force grips. "Can't you see this poor, insignificant reporter doesn't want to be here?"
Lance's eyes lowered and his shoulders sagged beneath the ghosts hands. No, he didn't want to be there, and he was unimportant. His boss didn't even care her weather reporter was in mortal danger—she just cared about the stupid camera. The ghost woman made a noise like she had just tasted something delicious.
A ghost without a face cocked its head. "He looks familiar." Its voice was nasal and easy to ignore, easy to forget. How did it talk if it didn't have a mouth?
"Yes, but everybody with a face looks familiar to you, sweetie," the ghost woman said sweetly.
The ghost pulled its hat down over its face. "She is feeding off you, human," it said casually. Lance gasped and quickly scrambled away from her.
She growled in outrage. "Why you little—"
"No fighting allowed!" one of the ghosts in masks shouted, brandishing its glowing green baton.
The she-ghost hurriedly held up her hands in a placating motion. "Okay, okay, easy there. We're just exchanging friendly banter." She flashed the faceless ghost a smile. "Right, Amorpho?"
"If you say so, Spectra," Amorpho said without emotion.
"Why don't we give the human to the couple as a wedding present?" a green blob suggested, smiling toothily.
"Why would they want a human?" a yeti ghost asked, genuinely sounding confused.
A mummified ghost answered, "Humans make great slaves."
"Yes," a specter in royal attire added thoughtfully. He fingered a dragon's eye necklace as he considered Lance, a mocking smirk on his blue face. "The Box Ghost can practice on it, and the Lunch Lady can use it as a sampler for all her new recipes. I'm sure her family would appreciate a different victim for her cooking!"
Many of the ghosts began laughing—eerie, evil, echoing laughter. Lance's responding scream caught in his throat. What came out sounded more like a chocked whimper than an actual scream. The ghosts laughed harder.
"Oh, now it's upside down! Lance, please! Get. The. Camera!"
Lance couldn't care less about the camera at the moment, but it was nice to hear his boss begging him for once. He gathered his courage and began searching for his camera amongst the multitude of evil-looking ghosts. He spotted it in the hands of a ghost he remembered. The ghost was the one that almost shocked Danny Phantom, a little before Lance had been dragged into the Ghost Zone. And at the moment, he was holding the camera upside down and inspecting it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
No way, Lance thought to himself. I am not going to antagonize any more ghosts. He can do whatever he wants to the da—
The ghost began pulling off the built-in fuzz mike.
"Hey!" Lance shouted. He jumped to his feet. "Stop that! You'll break it!"
The ghost started in surprise. He stared at Lance as if the reporter had lost his mind. "I am Technus 2.0! I am the Master of all Technology! I do not 'break'—" The mike popped off the camera with a resounding pop and a spark of electricity. The ghost lifted the mike up to his face. "Gee, I hope that wasn't important…"
"You broke it!" Lance pulled on his gelled hair in horror. "You idiot! I can't believe you—" Technus's eyes glowed red behind his sunglasses. "—you, uh, that is to say, I-I-I refuse to believe you can't fix it! I mean you're the-the, um, the, um…M-Master of Technology! Yeah…"
Technus's eyes stopped glowing and he beamed at Lance's praise. Lance sagged in relief. "You are correct! I can fix it and I can make it ten times better, because I, Technus, am the Master of all Electronic Beeping Devices!" Technus added in a whisper, "Cameras are just a little more complicated…"
"Uh, that's okay," Lance assured hurriedly. "You don't have to upgrade it. Just—"
"Nonsense!" Technus's hands and the camera started glowing green. The wires inside the camera began moving and rearranging. They reached for the dislocated mike and pulled it towards the transforming camera. There was a bright flash of light that had Lance and the other ghosts covering their eyes.
"Ha!" Technus shouted triumphantly. "It is now the bomb diggidy!"
"Oh wow!" Lance's boss cried. "The picture is amazing! And we can hear you again! We should hire him."
Lance peaked through his fingers. The camera appeared to be far more advanced than before; at least, it was more compact and fancy. But it was also creepier looking, with see-through malevolent red and black covering.
Lance shivered and lowered his hands. "That's gr-great, Technus. Can I have it back now?"
"Have it back?" Technus frowned. "What are you blathering on about? This is mine!"
"Yours?"
"Yes! Mine! I fixed it!"
"You're the one who broke it!"
"I did not break it! It temporarily malfunctioned…"
Lance groaned. "Just give it back!"
Technus hugged the camera to his chest. "Make me!"
Lance's eyes narrowed. "I—"
The royally dressed ghost laughed. "Yes, make Technus give you back your camera."
"Oh, I can't wait to see this!" Spectra said. "A human with absolutely no experience in fighting ghosts, forcing a moderately powerful ghost to give up his possession. This should be entertaining, if rather short."
"Poor human," the green blob said. "It's going to get creamed."
The undead began cackling again.
Lance cringed and took a step back. "I, uh…"
"Lance! Don't back out now! You were doing so well before!"
Lance licked his lips nervously. "Uh, i-if you don't give it b-back right now, Te-Technus, D-Danny Phantom will be r-really upset…"
Lance blinked and looked around him. All the ghosts had gone silent at the mention of Danny Phantom's name, and were now staring at Lance with new eyes.
"You are one of Phantom's humans?" the mummified ghost asked. "A human from Amity Park?"
Lance drew himself up. "Yes I am. And if you hurt me, he will…do something you won't like!"
It was quiet for a few, long seconds.
The royally dressed ghost suddenly smiled, displaying his sharpened canines. "But Phantom isn't here right now."
"Oooh!" Spectra chimed in. "That is true! And just imagine how miserable he will be when he arrives and finds one of his precious humans…gone." She rubbed her hands together. "I can already taste his misery! He's a wellspring of it you know. It wouldn't be hard."
"You make a valid point, Spectra," the royal ghost said. "The boy stole my crown from me—he deserves to lose his subjects." His pupils became slits and his eyes zeroed in on Lance, his already sharp teeth becoming sharper. "This one's mine."
Lance gasped and scrambled backwards until his back collided with a furry front. Two hands grabbed his shoulders, one furry and the other covered in ice. Lance craned his head back and was surprised when 'Frosty' looked down at him with kinder eyes than before. They reminded him of Phantom, despite the difference in color and intensity. It was for this reason Lance's breath hitched, but he didn't scream or run around in circles.
He smiled at him—or seemed to—before glaring harshly at the other ghosts. "The human is under Danny Phantom's protection, and therefore, he is under the Far Frozen's," he stated in a firm voice.
Two more yeti ghosts stepped forward, between Lance and the ghosts who had threatened him. They crossed their burly arms and released low, vibrating growls. Lance heard similar growls behind him, and knew there were more Far Frozen ghosts backing them.
The royal ghost's eyes widened and he took a few steps back. "I meant no disrespect to you, Frostbite."
Frostbite grunted. "You disrespect us when you disrespect the Great One, Aragon. Leave."
Aragon nodded hurriedly before he fled into the crowd of ghosts.
Spectra rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "You're such a party-pooper, Frosty. A little despair is healthy for a teenager."
The growls increased in volume.
She sighed. "Alright, fine. Have it your way. But this isn't over." She spun around. "Come on, Bertrand. Let's find something more exciting." She walked off with the green blob hurrying after her.
"The camera, Technus," one of the Far Frozen said.
Technus scowled. "Fine. I didn't like it that much anyway." He tossed it to the Far Frozen ghost and flew away. Most of the other ghosts followed his example, leaving Lance and the Far Frozen ghosts alone.
Lance was handed his camera back and he quickly studied it—grimacing at the new design—to make sure it was unharmed. Frostbite released Lance's shoulders and took a few steps back, giving him some much needed space.
The human smiled a little shakily at him. "Uh, thank you for, uh, saving me."
Frostbite waved his iced hand dismissively. "It was my duty as the Great One's humble servant." Lance frowned. Frostbite grunted to himself. "But perhaps it is time you told me why you are in the evil Ghost King's throne room, little human."
Lance gulped. "Th-the throne room?" Waking up to find himself surrounded by hostile ghosts hadn't encouraged Lance to survey his surroundings. He took the chance now to sweep the camera around the large room.
Decorations littered the throne room, but the ghosts didn't use the normal colorful balloons and streamers to decorate a wedding. For the most part, boxes were the prevalent decoration, but there were others.
Instead of torches, the room was lit by floating, eerie orbs of light. Creepy as the different colored orbs were, they gave the room a festive atmosphere. Red, green, pink, yellow, blue, white, all the colors you could imagine. These orbs dipped and twirled in the air as if they had a mind of their own.
The ghosts lurked in groups around food laden tables, randomly placed around the room. Lance wasn't sure if the food was edible for him, but it looked delicious. On each table an ice sculpture was placed. The ice sculptures would either be of a ghost, a large fruit, or (oddly enough) a box.
But a large sarcophagus commanded the most attention. It was placed upon a dais at the far end of the room and had a bright red orb floating steadily above it. Four masked guards stood around the dais, brandishing their weapons when a ghost wondered too close.
"The wedding of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady will commence here, yes." Frostbite eyed the reporter. "It is no place for humans, as you can see. Especially today. No portals were due to open, so how is it you are so far inside the Ghost Zone?"
"Well, actually, I came here with Danny Phantom." Lance looked over his shoulder at the wall the behind him. "We got separated when I accidentally fell through that wall…"
Frostbite hummed thoughtfully. "If that is the case, Danny Phantom has already begun searching for you and is likely no longer where you had last seen him. I will send someone to retrieve him. In the meantime, please tell me why the Great One has brought a human to the Ghost Zone at such a dangerous time."
Lance took a deep breath to calm himself and then explained his nightmare.
Mathew Lancer had always kept his opinion of Danny Phantom strictly neutral.
Whenever he started to admire the Ghost Boy for being brave and heroic, he would remind himself of the early years, when Danny Phantom was known as Inviso-Bill, Public Enemy Number One. Whenever the ghost caused property damage to the school and smiled about it, he would remember the boy who protected his charges from malevolent ghosts. And so on and so forth.
As the vice principal of Casper High, he didn't have time to wonder about a dead teenager's morality—he had enough teens to ponder over, thank you.
But this live news broadcast was seriously starting to put a strain on his neutral stance about the matter. To sort out his thoughts, he had begun making a morality checklist. One side of the paper was labeled 'Hero' and the other: 'Blameworthy'. He had considered adding an 'Innocent' column, believing he should give the boy a chance to explain away his poorer decisions. After a few seconds of thought, however, he decided against it.
A hero's actions should speak louder than his words.
"I see," Frostbite the ghost said on the TV screen. "The Great One is facing the consequences of resisting tradition."
Lancer hadn't considered it from that angle. With a sigh, he wrote beneath the Blameworthy side: Endangers the people he is around.
"Oh, uh," Thunder's voice stuttered, sounding conflicted. "I probably shouldn't have been so close…"
Frostbite shook his furry head. "Not even the Great One is without faults, Lance Thunder of Amity Park News. Had he obeyed the rules, you would not be here now." The yeti suddenly traded his serious expression for one less severe. "But by swearing to protect you, Danny Phantom has taken responsibility for his actions. It is for this reason that we of the Far Frozen consider Danny Phantom to be a true hero."
"Because he protects people?"
"He is a hero because the people he unintentionally puts in danger he does not abandon. He is responsible and brave, a rare trait in both ghosts and humans."
Lancer arched an eyebrow. He hummed as he added under Hero: Protects those he endangers.
"There are some humans who would disagree with you, Frostbite," Thunder said. "They believe Mr. Phantom is evil and is only pretending to be a hero. That he will soon lead an invasion. What would you say to them?"
Frostbite frowned, and even Lancer scooted back from such a frightening face. "I would say…Danny Phantom is a very powerful and charismatic individual. He united the Ghost Zone once when the Evil King arose, and I have no doubt of his abilities to unite us again, if the situation were dire enough. But the Great One has proven himself a protector of the human world. He is loyal to humans, and this sense of loyalty and honor is what draws us ghosts to him.
"Besides." Frostbite rumbled a chuckle. "A terrible actor, he is. You would know him for a liar long before two years had passed."
Lance tapped his pen against his cheek, considering the ghost's words. Under Hero he wrote: Loyal to humans. Of course, he's basing it on Frostbite's word, but he could always erase it later if the ghost proved to be a liar.
"Why is the abominable snowman calling Danny Phantom 'Great One'?"
"Lord of the Flies!" Lancer jumped like a startled cat. He heard his back crack and was quickly overcome by lumbago—lower back pain. But he at least managed to hold onto his notebook and pen. He bent forward and rubbed his aching back, groaning and moaning in pain.
"Are you alright, Lancer?"
Lancer glared at the little six year old boy sitting beside him on the couch. "What are you doing in my house, Timmy?"
Timmy pouted. "You promised Mom you would watch me today, Lancer, don't you remember?"
Lancer grimaced. He did remember promising to watch his neighbor's son, but that was before the fascinating broadcast came on… "My name is Mr. Lancer, Timmy." He very slowly and carefully leaned into the couch. The soft cushions were a blessing on his back. "You can stay, Timmy, but for the love of literature, be quiet. I'm watching a very important show."
Timmy looked like he was seconds away from jumping on the couch. "Yeah! Yeah! The show about the Ghost Boy! Me and Mom were watching it before she had to leave for work!"
"Mom and I."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I believe Mr. Thunder just asked about Frostbite's relation to Danny Phantom, so if you would please..."
"But you haven't answered my question yet!"
"Because I don't know the answer myself!"
"But you know everything, Lancer!"
"It's Mr. Lancer, Timmy!"
"…am the Great One's mentor," Frostbite said on screen.
"See?" Timmy pointed his finger at the TV and bounced on his cushion. "There he goes again!"
"Timmy, shh!"
"His mentor?" Thunder questioned
"Yes. Like the Far Frozen, Danny Phantom has a cold core. He sought—"
"A cold core?"
Frostbite placed his unfrozen hand on his furry chest. "A ghost's core is comparable to a human's heart, for it is where our essence is located. The type of core varies from ghosts to ghost. Danny Phantom has a frozen core, one that allows him to produce ice attacks and ice structures such as this…" Frostbite cupped his hands together in front of him. Lancer expected to see a blinding light similar to the one that had happened after the sound was temporarily lost. But the only light was a brief glow above Frostbite's hands that soon became a beautiful ice diamond.
"Whoa!" Timmy exclaimed. He laughed and clapped his hands together. "That's way better than the coin trick that fat clown did at my birthday party!"
I'm not fat… Lancer thought indignantly, rubbing his large belly. It's bloated muscle.
Frostbite held the diamond up to the camera. "Without proper guidance, a fully mature core is difficult to control and extremely dangerous. Danny Phantom's core would have consumed him had he not found his way back to the Far Frozen."
"The Ghost Boy almost…" Timmy gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth, "…died?"
Lancer frowned at the boy. "He's a ghost, Timmy. He's already dead."
Timmy's eyes widened. He twisted around and stared at the teacher in horror. "He's dead?"
Lancer felt compelled to do what the kids would call a 'palm-face'. There's something wrong with this town…
"But Mr. Phantom's core is stable now?" Thunder asked.
Frostbite nodded. "When he puts his mind to it, Danny Phantom is a fast learner. He attained control in under three days." The ghost hummed thoughtfully. "His haste likely had more to do with Undergrowth's domination of the human world than my teachings. He was very anxious throughout his training."
Lancer smiled and wrote beneath Hero: He is a fast learner.
"What's that?" Timmy asked, pointing to the notebook.
"I'm making a morality checklist on Danny Phantom."
"…A what?"
Lancer sighed. "I'm trying to decide if Phantom is a hero or a bad guy."
Timmy tilted his head to the side. "But I thought everyone thought he was a hero."
Lancer shook his head. "Not everyone. For instance, the Fentons think he can't be trusted."
"But Danny is good!" Timmy cried. He stood on the couch, throwing his arms around for balance and emphasis. "He fights bad ghosts all the time and he saved all those kids from a fire and stopped the bus accident and he even helped me place the star on my Christmas tree!"
"Timmy! Get your feet off the couch! Your shoes are still on!"
Timmy stuck his tongue out at Lancer. The teacher's eyes narrowed dangerously and the kid quickly plopped back down on the cushions. He pouted and crossed his arms unhappily. "He is a hero, Lancer."
"Mr. Lancer, Timmy." Lancer paused. He added thoughtfully, almost absently, "You know, Danny Phantom always refers to Lance Thunder as Mr. Thunder…"
Timmy blinked and his mouth formed a silent 'O'.
Lancer gave himself a mental pat on the back. Hero: He is a good role model.
"Why do you call Danny Phantom Great One?" Thunder questioned next.
"Finally!" Timmy cried.
Frostbite scratched at the base of his ice horns. "Because he defeated the evil Ghost King, Pariah Dark. Do humans not honor him with such a title?"
"…Well, we stopped calling him Inviso-Bill and started calling him Danny Phantom…"
"Inviso-Bill?" said the gruff voice of another Far Frozen ghost. "Why call him that in the first place?"
Another ghost added, "It sounds ridiculous."
"W-well, we didn't know much about him," Thunder explained quickly. "Ba-back then, we thought he was an evil ghost. I mean, he kidnapped the mayor and stole from the jewelry stores…"
"I can understand why humans would be angry with him," Frostbite began slowly. "But I believe there has been a misunderstanding."
"We have physical evidence placing Mr. Phantom at each crime. I doubt there is—"
"Hey! Mr. Thunder!"
Timmy screamed in delight and began jumping on the couch again. "The Ghost Boy's back! The Ghost Boy's back! The Ghost Boys—"
Lancer ran a hand down his face, breathing in slow, steady breaths. This is why I'm a high school teacher…
…Not that they're much better…
It's not that short.
For the record, this Timmy isn't Timmy from the Fairly Odd Parents show. I just liked the childish feel of the name :) The kid is from the Christmas special. Saisailove actually gave me the idea to use him, so yup.
I did fanart! I, who drew weird looking cats and called it art, have drawn a messy Danny! I was doodling and it came out better than I thought it would XD Since I'm the one who owns this plot, would I call it fanart or art? ...Safer to say fanart, I guess, since it's in the DP fandom. The link can be found in my profile if you want to check it out.
Thanks for reading!
Edit: Oh, I forgot! "Whoa!" Timmy exclaimed. He laughed and clapped his hands together. "That's way better than the coin trick that fat clown did at my birthday party!" That gave me an idea, but I don't want to do it myself, so I'm making a challenge! *Clears throat* "Danny Phantom accidentally crashes a kids birthday party, knocking out the clown or whatever was entertaining the kids. Now he has to entertain the brats himself or risk spoiling a kid's very special birthday party. Before PP and the children can't be related to any of the characters...well, maybe related to Valerie if you want to make it more interesting, but that's it!" Eh, any questions, just PM me or leave it in a review.