Yeah, I spent what? Four or five chapters on a Friday. Well, we're skipping Saturday, and quickly going to Sunday morning, October 30th the day of the Halloween festival!

I don't own DP.

Chapter 13: Preparations.

(POV: of Danny Fenton.)

Dani and I, sat on the couch and watched TV. Pele sat on the floor in front of us.

Dani grabbed the remote, "Well, I wonder what's on the news today?" She said with a hint of sarcasm.

I huffed. Sam and Tucker walked through the front door without knocking.

Pele jumped, "Would you two care to knock?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked. "Every time someone knocks, you bark and dart around the house." Pele huffed in discontent.

"I mean it Sam," Tucker said, "it would be perfect for you! Come on, at least give it a chance, please?"

"No, Tucker. I refuse. I decline. I will not. What answer will satisfy you?"

"None of those, so PLEASE just try it out?"

Pele growled from the floor, "There'd better be a good reason for your sleep-betraying bickering."

"It's nothing," Sam said.

Dani waved the remote, "Guys? You might want to watch this."

I turned to face the TV. Dani leaned on my shoulder and sighed.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"This will probably be the first time I'll be on the news…I've heard the things they say about you."

I chuckled a little, "Don't worry about it. They'll say whatever they'll say. Whatever keeps their ratings up."

Dani snuggled into my arm, and smiled up at me.

Sam sat down on the couch, and Tucker sat on the floor by Pele. He moved to pet her, then thought better of it.

"May I?" He asked her.

Pele hummed and nuzzled his hand, "behind the ears."

Dani turned the volume up, "Hello, and welcome to Ghost Watch. I'm Shelly Makamoto, bringing you the latest information on the news on Amity Parks spooks."

Shelly shuffled some papers on her desk, "As we all know, the Guys in White launched a massive capture-attempt towards a ghost, that at first impression, the GiW mistook for Danny Phantom, because of unusual high power levels."

"The Guys in White then found, after a series of unfortunate events, in which: their highly advanced shield was destroyed and another lesser ghost was discovered. They then were confronted by, "The Inferno Banshee," who controlled beams of fire so hot, that they set the dirt on fire and melted weapons."

Pele's head shot up.

"We have exclusive video of The Inferno Banshee, in action. Provided by our channel 4 news copter."

Pele's eye twitched, "What did she just call me?"

"Ignore it, Pele," I said. "They don't know that they're saying."

The screen cut to the helicopter camera. It showed Pele getting shot, and then it showed me, as nothing more then a black blur, as I snatched her out of the air.

They cut back to Shelly, "There appeared to be two entities in the air at that time, but neither has been I.D'd as neither ghost has ever been on record."

"Furthermore, the Guys in White did manage to get a power reading on The Inferno Banshee. She turned out to be about one-half times the power of Danny Phantom. That fact, compared with the recent property damage sustained to Jackson Park, all adds up to that major possibility that The Inferno Banshee is responsible for the destruction of Danny Phantom."

Pele hummed, "Not yet, TV mistress."

I tapped her with my shoe. She turned to me with a clear smirk on her doggie face.

Tucker stood up and headed for the kitchen, "So they really think that Danny Phantom is gone for good?" He asked on his ay out.

"Should I take a spin over the city? Just to let everyone know I'm okay?"

Sam frowned in thought, "Just flying won't cut it. It'll have to be something that no one can deny. A few sightings over the city won't be dramatic enough."

"Well, maybe a ghost will show up soon…"

Pele yawned, "In the meantime, shall we depart?"

Dani shot up, "Yes! Training! Come on, Danny, let's go!"

Dani grabbed me and dragged me down to the basement.

"Bye Sam, bye Tucker, let's go Pele!" She shouted

I heard Pele laughing from behind us. We all transformed, Dani and I into our Phantom forms, and Pele into her human form. Then we dove into the portal.

(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)

"That was wonderful Shell," Mac said.

"I know," I said humorously. We laughed together and walked off the set.

Derik flagged us down, "Hey guys! Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I shrugged, "Sure. What do you need?"

Derik nodded, "I just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work."

"What do you want, and how soon do we have to get it done?" Mac said with a smile.

Derik glared a Mac, "All right. I just wanted to make sure that you guys remembered to get some kind of big story out of the festival. Even if it's some drunk guy who shouts too loud, I want some kind of big moment."

Mac laughed, "Sure thing, buddy. We'll get that "big moment" of yours, and we'll get it on film too!"

Derik shook his head, and managed a chuckled, "Whatever. See you guys on the air." That being said, Derik walked away.

I snapped, "Mac!" I hit him over his head. "That would've been rude to anyone! Where do you get off being cheeky with the boss?"

Mac sighed, "Brotherly love. I tease him, and there's not a thing he can do about it."

I sighed, but couldn't help but smile, "You're something else, Mac."

(POV: of Danny Phantom.)

I stumbled out of the portal and tossed my medallion across the room, back to Clockwork.

"And how was training?" He said in a semi sarcastic tone.

I gave him a sharp look. Pele and Dani popped out of the portal, all in giggles and smiles.

"Hi Danny," Danielle said knowingly.

"Nugh!" I said.

Dani stuck her tongue out at me, "I swear, sometimes you're such a child."

"Nugh!" I repeated.

Pele strutted past the three of us.

"And how are my charges behaving under your watch?"

Pele clenched her fists and turned around to face Clockwork, "Nugh!" she said.

My jaw dropped, "What is it with women?"

…

Dani and Pele flew ahead of me on our fly home.

I heard quips of, "oh, did you see the look on his face?" And, "I know, I know!" Was the phrase of the day.

Yeah, I wanted to forget about training…never have I been such a klutz. Wait…yeah; I've never been such a klutz…

I caught myself on fire, okay? Multiple times…

Anyway, we kept flying for a while. Pele and Dani were talking, so we went quite a bit slower then we usually did

…

After a painful hour of the girls non-stop talking, we finally came to the Fenton-portal, only to find that it was sealed from the basement side.

Dani turned to me, "Danny, why's the portal locked?"

I flew up to the portal and tried to open it myself.

"Oh crud. Mom and Dad are working on the portal's frame. They told me about it at breakfast, I forgot when then went to pick up parts!"

Dani frowned, "We're a three hour flight from anyone we know. Should we just wait it out? Or find another portal?"

Pele tapped me on my shoulder; "I can create a portal to Amity Park if it helps."

I paused, "You can do that?"

"Of course I can. With the Fenton portal's existence, I never thought to mention it. Besides, creating a portal in very tiring, but still very simply accomplished."

"Alright then, lets do this."

Pele started to form energy at the palm of her hands. "I can get us all to Amity Park, but I can't control exactly where the portal will open up. Amity Park's airspace is riddled with weak spots."

Dani and I nodded, "We're ready."

Pele nodded and separated her hands. A green portal expanded to about the size of a truck tire.

"One at a time, I'll go last," Pele, said. Her voice was a little strained.

Dani went through and Pele groaned. I paused.

"This is NOT easy Danny, but the faster you go, the less I'll hurt myself!"

I dove through the portal, but I stumbled, so Dani had to catch me. Pele jumped through a second later, and fell to the ground. I started to feel tired…really tired.

She gasped, "I forgot how hard it was to hold a portal for someone else."

Dani picked her up to support her, "How do you create a portal?"

Pele settled down a little, "My fire-core allows me to connect with this world," Pele relaxed and stood up straight, "Using that connection, I can create a tear in the atmosphere, thus I can get from to earth from the ghost realm, and I can get back to the ghost realm, through the same prospect."

Pele paused, as if she hadn't meant to go teacher-mode on us.

"Does that mean I could pull it off?" I asked.

"With time and a mature core," she said, "when you can actually feel the earth tied to your form, you'll be able to do it. Otherwise, trying might kill you. Now where are we?"

We all looked around, "Some alley." I looked up at the sky, "We're in Amity Park alright. Not too far from home, I think."

Something at the alley exit caught Dani's eye, "What's with all that get-up?"

I looked down the alleyway, "Oh my gosh, we're at the festival."

Pele swayed and nearly fainted, "I can't fly…I need rest…"

"You know what? So do I," I said.

Pele gave me a look, "Sorry. It's been too long since I last created a portal. I forgot how much energy it takes…and that it takes energy from other fire-cores when it can."

I understood my exhaustion then, "Ah," I said.

"Hey! What are you kids doing down there?"

The three of us started, "Oh, hello! Just…um, taking a break! My friends needed a rest."

I stared at the oddly dressed security guard. He wore a typical security outfit, but all in white.

"Well, you'd better get out here. We don't want anyone lurking in the shadows."

"Yes sir," Dani said politely.

With that, Dani grabbed our hands and practically pulled us out of the alley.

"Bye the way," the guard said with a cheery tone, "nice costumes."

I turned around, "Huh?" The security guard had already walked away.

Pele glanced around and smiled weakly, "This reminds me a little of the festivals of Hawaii…"

Dani patted her on her back, "You miss your home, don't you?"

Pele hesitated, "I miss my volcano. I can't fly, can we maybe walk through the festival for a while?"

Her voice sounded slightly pleading, "Why not?" I said.

"Nice costumes," Someone said.

I turned around, "Tucker?"

Tucker stood in his suit made out in the color patterns of Iron Man.

"Dude! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You mean, what are WE doing here?" He said and moved aside, to reveal Sam in her costume.

"Don't ask. It was the only way to get him to stop begging."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tucker said in a mock-tone, "Marvel proudly presents, Iron Man and The Black Widow!"

Dani laughed, "It could've been worse, Sam."

Sam spared a smile, "Can't argue with that."

"Anyway," Tucker said. "Really, what are you guys doing out here?"

I gave a brief explanation of how we got back home.

"Man, Pele, you okay after that?" Tucker asked.

Pele seemed slightly irritated, "Yes. I only need some rest. After I walk around for a while, I'll be alright."

Sam shrugged, "Well, in this sea of costumes, you can all pass for humans. Granted, humans with incredibly accurate costumes."

I looked at Sam's costume more closely, "You know something, Sam? You might not be into dressing up for Halloween, but you really do pull off the theme of that costume really well."

Sam blushed, "You pull of the theme of your costume off pretty well, yourself."

Dani, Tucker, and Pele gave me looks, I shifted a little, "Thanks…"

Tucker scanned the vendors, "Ohhh, look Sam! Let's go check out that vendor!"

Sam tried to protest, but Tucker grabbed her with his robotic suit's hand, and pulled her away.

"Be careful!" She managed to shout back at us.

Dani and I waved, while Pele's attention was elsewhere. She looked around with renowned excitement, "Just like home, you celebrate your festivals by dressing so to please your gods."

Dani laughed, "Those are just costumes, Pele. Those are cartoon characters and ghosts they're dressing up as, not gods."

Pele's brow furrowed, "I don't understand. If they are not dressed as their idols, then why are they strolling around in your likeness?"

I paused, "What?" Pele gestured around, and I finally noticed that the vast majority of the costumes were in fact, Danny Phantom costumes. "Wow," I said. "They may be dressing like me, Pele, but that doesn't make me their god."

Dani made a noise in her throat. "That's just wrong," she said, "although, it might just make you their hero."

I smiled fondly at her considerate comment.

Pele considered the information, "So you are not their god, and they do not worship you?"

I laughed, "No, well, some might sort of."

Dani made the same noise in her throat again.

Pele nodded, "I'm relieved and thankful that the humans' standard for gods hasn't sunk so low."

I stuttered, "You just HAD to find a way to insult me, didn't you?"

Pele smiled. The green festival lights glistened in her eyes and made her look even snippier.

Dani laughed, "All right you two, stop your bickering and lets enjoy the festival."

Pele looked at Dani and smiled, "Yes Mother," she said mockingly.

Then, we broke conversation, and enjoyed the festival as a group…

That's where I'll have to leave you for now. Next week, more Mac and Shelly!

Until then, thanks for waiting another week, I hope you liked the chapter! See you Sunday!