A/N: So...so...SO SORRY for not updating sooner. First of all, our connection's been disconnected for two weeks now and the lack of wi-fi is killing me.
The only bits of internet I snagged were used for homework.
Hence, my inability to update. Life's getting more hectic. I will soon be enrolling into Work Study (working on-campus) and volunteer services which is required by one of my classes (much to my excitement).
So, here's the next chapter!
Maddie arrived at their location not moments after Danny had called for her.
Maddie gasped and placed a hand over her racing heart as she glanced at her boy as he lay face down on the dirt. "Danny, you scared me!" She hissed in annoyance.
"Mom, it was important. Do you think you can you get the Thermos and get that Havoc guy? He's over there." Danny pointed over to the ghost who was frozen against a tall tree, feebly and uselessly struggling to break free of his icy bonds. Maddie nodded and glanced at the entity that had her son pinned to the floor but walked around him and did as she was told.
Danny, on the other hand, managed to turn around so he was facing the animal's face. "Geez, you've got horrible dog breath." Danny wrinkled his nose and winced as the large coyote-wolf hybrid happily licked the halfa's cheek.
Danny laughed and quickly squirmed his way out from beneath the animal's death grip. He bent down and pet his head, simultaneously wiping at the drool left on his face. "You know, you remind me of another little...big? dog I met once. His name was Cujo." The canine's toungue lolled out of his muzzle and what seemed like a smile stretched out across it's face.
"Well, he's gone for now." Maddie shook the green and silver container for emphasis before tossing it to her son. "He also has a massive bump on his forehead. What in the heck happened here?"
"Actually, I'm not too sure myself." Danny replied, pulling his hand away from the spectral animal. "I was gonna hit him with a ghost ray when I guess this guy here somehow managed to throw rocks at Havoc. With his mind, I guess." Danny shrugged. Spirito instantly snapped his jaws shut and quizzically tilted his head to the side as he peered up at the hybrid with a questioning look.
"That's impossible, though. Animal spirits can't have that kind of power, can they?" Maddie bent down to meet the entities gaze at eye level as she studied the animal's glowing-red orbs. "Well, thank you for saving my son." She smiled and the animal thumped his tail against the ground with supernatural speed.
"Yeah, you should've seen him. He was, like, superfast. Faster than anything I've ever seen." Danny smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "I can't believe he followed us all the way out here."
"Maybe not." Maddie noted. "If he sensed our being in trouble, he could've easily gotten from the Reservation to here in a matter of minutes. Seconds, even. I guess we also have to thank Alaqua for sending him to help." Maddie turned and stroked the animal's fur. "You know, I think he understands us." Maddie glanced up at her son, grinning softly. "In any case, we have to be headed back home. Spirit, are you gonna be coming with us or back to Alaqua?"
The animal turned its head and nodded off into the opposite direction, pointing towards the general direction the mother and son were returning from. After a bit more petting, the animal zoomed off, sprinting towards his home and leaving behind the pair.
"Alright, how about we go check to see if those people are okay." Danny spoke up as they began headed back towards their odd vehicle.
"And, get you bandaged up while getting our stories straight for the cops." Maddie shook her head, once again finding herself utterly dumbfounded by the massive compassion and sympathy her son had as his hero complex insisted on putting the safety of other people before all else.
:~:~:~:~:~:~:
On their way back, Danny phoned his friends, reviewing everything that had happened during the trip (Jazz hadn't answered her phone and instead sent him a brief message saying that they'd talk later because their father was in the room). They revised over all the abnormalities (on their terms) that they may have considered ectopic, but nothing truly unusual stood out. They all agreed to reunite later and continue their much needed discussion later.
Upon their arrival, Jack enveloped them in a massive hug that left them breathless. Jazz then promptly tackled Maddie and Danny into a pretty strong embrace as her eyes twinkled with pride at her relatives.
"So!" Jack boomed with enthusiasm, "how was the trip? Tell me all about it!"
Danny's eyes widened as it had completely slipped his mind what they would tell his dad.
Maddie spoke first without acknowledging the horrified expression etched on her son's face. "Oh! We didn't go to the campsite! We took a wrong turn and ended up at a Forest Reservation, and you'll never guess what we found out!"
The older Fenton man bounced up and down in his chair, practically bursting with eagerness of having the opportunity to finally hear the revelations of their short journey. Danny visibly paled and his eyes widened as he glanced back at his mother. "What is it?" The large, bright man practically squealed.
"There was an Indian Tribe there!" Maddie gushed as she took a seat beside her husband. "We were attacked by some kind of metal ghost and chased by an animal! They helped us, though, and they'll be keeping in contact with us."
The two of them eagerly bustled over the details, Maddie excluding the information about her son before she shifted the subject back to Jack. "So, what did you to do while we were gone?" The mother prodded, briefly meeting her son's icy blue eyes.
"Oh! Nothing much. Jazzerincess and I wrestled a few ghosts, Vlad, stopped by, we exploded the oven-"
"What did you say?" Danny cut in, eyes widening at what he hoped would have been a combination of misunderstanding and miscommunication.
"We exploded the oven?" Jack backtracked, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.
"No, no, before that." Maddie furrowed her brows, a feeling of dread creeping through her heart.
"Jazz and I wrestled ghosts?" Jack questioned, completely oblivious to his relatives' rising anticipation.
"Dad! They mean about the part where Vlad stopped by," Jazz hissed in annoyance, finally revealing what had been weighing everyone's minds.
"What!?" Maddie shrieked and Danny felt his heart stop, an uncomfortable icy sensation building up at the pit of his core.
"Yup! Good ol' Vladdie just stopped by for a few, nothing big. He talked to me for a bit and wondered where you were."
Danny felt anger swell up inside him. "What?"
"Honey," Maddie reached across and placed a hand on his knee, attempting to warn him about calming down. He didn't. "Did he seem a little...odd? Was there anything...unusual about him?"
Jack laughed. "No, no! Vladdie was just his usual self, joking around about things that he would never do. Like kill me and some other planned out nonsense." The bulky, bright man wiped an escaped tear from his face as he jovially smiled. "Vlad is one funny guy."
Maddie sucked in a breath and the trio's eyes darted towards one another in silent communication, ignoring Jack when he announced he would be in the kitchen, eating fudge.
"Mom, Vlad kept trying to sneak up into Danny's room a whole bunch of times," Jazz responded, worry clouding her eyes. She glanced back at Danny and smiled faintly, "You better watch out, too. I boobytrapped your room for safety. Anyways," she shook her head returning to the topic of their oh-so-beloved mayor, "he definitely stiffened up when dad told him you guys were together. Guys, if he sarcastically blabbed out his plans to dad...he's wants him dead." Her expression suddenly fell into fear. "I don't know. I overheard him talking to someone over the phone. All I got is that not everything is," she paused and raised her fingers, creating air quotes in the appropriate places, 'in place yet' and it 'will take time since the little badger didn't walk right into his trap.' That's it." Jazz bit her lip anxiously as she watched her mother and baby brother process the new information.
"So, the portal thing was a trap." Maddie murmured with realization. "And, Vlad must've sent that metal ghost-"
"Skulker." Danny interjected.
"-Skulker to check and see if you'd made it in the trap. Or worse!" Maddie's face scrunched up in horror at the thought of what Vlad may have in store for her son. After hearing about all the things her former college friend had done to her son...
Her expression suddenly twisted into anger and protectiveness. "No one is laying a hand on my babies!"
She grasped their hands, squeezing her children's fingers with motherly concern. "I'll kill him myself if he lays another finger on either of you two."
Jazz placed a reassuring hand on her mother's shoulders. "Mom, don't worry. Vlad isn't getting to either of us."
"Besides," Danny included, "both of us are more than capable of defending ourselves. I mean, look at Jazz. She's almost as skilled as you are with the Jack-O-Nine Tails."
"And Danny's a superhero for crying out loud!" Jazz dropped her voice to a whisper as a smile lit up her face.
"We'll figure out whatever that's fruitloop's planning." Danny stated. Maddie blinked and glanced between her two kids' faces. They seemed so certain...so positive everything would work out. And, they were being this optimistic to reassure not just themselves but their mother as well. She beamed, eyes watering as she yanked them into a sudden hug. "I love you guys."
"We love you too, mom." Jazz replied.
"With all our hearts," Danny finished.
Jazz laughed and pulled back first. "Wow, Danny. That was the corniest thing I've ever heard you say."
"Yeah? And if you ever mention it again, I'll grab that stupid bear of yours and rip out it's stuffing!" Danny erupted into sudden laughter, a smirk twinling in his eyes as he hopped off the couch.
Jazz grit her teeth in anger and grabbed the nearest pillow, throwing it towards her brother. Danny spun around and caught the pillowed mid air before lightly chucking it back, hitting his sister dead in the face. The red-headed girl, in turn, pulled out a Thermos and wickedly grinned at her brother. "Oh, it's on."
The boy paled suddenly and instantly fled up the stairs, his older sibling hot on his trail.
Maddie rose from the couch and held a fist up in the air, shaking it as she spoke in loud, threatening turns. "If you kids break my special vase you're both grounded!" She sighed with a half smile planted on her face. Her moment of bliss was suddenly interrupted as she jumped at the sound of knocking and instantly moved to open the door.
Right there, standing at the front steps of her house, was her son's friend and his secret crush, both smiling politely. "Hi, Mrs. F!" Tucker chirped. "Is Danny home? We've got some news about the Lunch Lady and Box Ghost."
"Oh!" Maddie blinked, having recalled the story of the alternate future. She wrinkled her nose but smiled and stepped aside. "Sure, come on in. Danny and Jazz are running around somewhere upstairs."
"Thanks, Mrs. Fenton!" Sam smiled as she followed Tucker up the stairs.
Madeleine shook her head and beamed, glancing up at the teenage goth who had stopped halfway up the stairs to beam down at the older woman. "By the way, Mrs. Fenton..." Sam paused and her eyes flickered to the top of the stairs before meeting the mother's indigo ones. "Welcome to Team Phantom."
A/N: Sorry! I had to wrap this up! College is fun...but hectic.
Hopefully, internet will be up and running on Monday. Maybe...hopefully...
The economy hasn't been too friendly with us. In any case, the sequel will be posted up soon and I'm really trying to include lots more action. And...maybe some SamXDanny fluff, if possible. Maybe.
I don't know yet, it's still a work in progress.
I will be alerting you about when it's up but, in the meantime, maybe I'll be organizing my thoughts.
Please review! It's the last chapter and I'm really eager to read your feedback. XD