So sorry for the wait; but what can I say, school... yeah... Thanks for waiting and I hope you guys like this next part!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, because if I did, I would not have sold it to Nick.
Chapter 13: Venturing
"Danny, stop playing under the coffee table; you're going to hurt yourself." Maddie scolded.
"But mommy, I'm on a twesur hunt!" the boy exclaimed with a smile as his mom picked him up and took him to the kitchen.
"Really? And what have you found?" the woman asked while she sat Danny down on a chair.
"A blue cawr," he replied, lifting the toy in his hands.
Maddie chuckled. "Sweetie, that's a red car."
"Yeah, wred, that's what I say." Maddie nodded with a smile as she handed her son a peanut butter cookie.
The little boy's bright blue eyes sparkled with glee, a wide grin forming on his lips. "Cookie!" he exclaimed happily. "Tanks, mommy," he stated before crawling off the chair.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," he heard his mother reply.
The boy made his way back to the coffee table while he munched happily on the cookie in his hand.
"Hi Danny, what are you eating?" Jazz asked, approaching her brother.
The little boy looked up "Pevnutbudder cookie!" he replied, waving the treat at his sister.
"No, no, it's peanut butter, Danny" Jazz corrected.
"Danny shrugged his shoulders before crawling under the coffee table. "That's what I say."
"Did not!" she said
"Did too!" he argued back
"Naw-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"I'm not talking to you no more!" Jazz pouted, placing her hands on her hips and then leaving towards the kitchen. "Mommy, Danny's being mean and…"
Danny heard Jazz's voice fade away as he played merrily under the table. "Vom!" he exclaimed, wheeling the car across the table's surface above him.
"Hey, Danny?"
Danny's eyes went to his sister, who had returned with a cookie in her hand and a calmer demeanor. But what ever she wanted to say was interrupted by the opening of the front door.
"Hey kids!"
Danny's eyes widened with excitement. "Daddy!" he shouted as he sat up, only to forget that he was still under the table.
Surprised with a hard bang to his head, the little boy dropped his cookie. He stared at it with large eyes; clearly, it was more important then the large bump on his head.
"Danny, are you okay?" his sister questioned with concern.
He shook his head in response as his eyes filled with tears. "I dwrop my cookie!" the boy said before wailing in sadness.
"Danny!" Maddie exclaimed, quickly picking up her son. "I told you not to play under the table, look at that bump," she reprimanded softly, while inspecting her crying child's head. "Jack, get me some ice for Danny's head. Shush, my baby boy, you're alright," Maddie cooed.
Finally getting him to calm down, she sat her son on the couch where he sniffled sadly.
"Here, Danny, you can have my cookie," Jazz said softly as she climbed up on the couch and sat next to her brother.
Danny's features brightened once again as he gave a big smile to his sister. He gratefully accepted the cookie, but before eating it, he split it in the middle and gave one half back to Jazz. "I wuv you, Jazz," Danny told her and cuddled closer.
His sister giggled as she wrapped her arm around him. "I love you too, little brother," she replied.
"Aw, Jack, aren't they adorable?" Maddie said.
"They sure are, Maddie," Jack answered. Danny looked up at his parents, wondering what 'adowable' meant. He soon dismissed it and went back to munching on his cookie. The little boy never acknowledged his bruise.
He suddenly felt groggy and his bright blue eyes dimmed. They became heavier and heavier, his vision hazing, and finally receding into darkness.
Danny groaned as he stirred from his sleep. With a yawn, he sat up and rubbed his eyes into focus. A soft smile appeared on his expression upon recalling his dream. "I didn't even know I remembered that," he thought with amusement. He looked at the hanging clock on the wall while another yawn escaped him. It read 11 PM. The teenager's happy mood quickly faded as the real world eclipsed his dream. With a frown, Danny gazed around the room. Surprisingly, he found nothing had been damaged or even disheveled from his recent struggle with Skulker. The only sign of his fight- if you could call it that-was the tilted lamp on the wall he had been sent flying into. Danny's right hand wrapped softly around his throat. The room might not have suffered repercussions, but his body was a different story. It ached terribly… and he clearly remembered the feeling of Skulker's blade pressed so painfully close against his neck. His train of thought instantly made him turn his attention towards the door and he dropped his hand back to his side.
Standing up, Danny slowly made his way to the entrance door. Halting in front of the door, he stared at it warily for a moment before a loud grumble made him jump. He soon realized that it had just been his stomach.
The teenager let out an irritated sigh and slid his hand down his face. "This is ridiculous," he said angrily. "I'm not letting that bitter, old jerk who needs a cat, get to me." Taking a sharp breath, he quickly regained his self-confidence.
Danny opened the door just a crease and peaked his head out to see if anyone was around. It was pretty late, so Vlad was most likely asleep by now... or he hoped. In actuality, the older hlaf-ghost had turned in after finishing his work in the lab with Skulker. Confirming that the candle lit hallway was empty, Danny stepped out and headed down the long corridor.
The eerie silence around him, only served to bring back his apprehension. The half-ghost looked around as if expecting something to jump out at him from the shadows; in his case, however, it was a very likely scenario. Danny halted his movements upon realizing he had no idea where he was going. He growled softly with frustration as he glanced at the multiple hallways he could take. "Darn it! This is going to take forever without using my ghost powers, but I can't use them for this. I need to keep whatever energy I have just in case I run into those two maniacs."
Danny randomly picked a route, and walked towards it. The vast hallway was adorned with various priceless artifacts and paintings. The teenager, however, had no interest in observing his enemy's decorative or artistic taste. What he did hold an interest to were the many rooms he was passing by. Danny couldn't help but wonder what lay behind all those doors; still, he didn't allow his curiosity to get the better of him.
Danny stopped once more. His choice of direction had led him to a dead end. The young hybrid thoughtfully studied his surroundings. He had been to Vlad's castle before, so he just needed to find something he was familiar with. "Okay, I know that the dining room is downstairs and so is the ballroom and theatre. That means, the kitchen is most likely downstairs too, since the only things I have ever seen up here are bedrooms… but… where are the stairs?"
Danny backtracked to his room and picked another hallway. The night he came here, he was so focused on the older hybrid, expecting the man to pull something on him at any second, that he didn't pay attention to where he was going. "I think I remember seeing some gold statues…"
He gazed his surroundings and discovered that the corridor on the opposite side of the one he had first taken, contained gold statues of knights, lining both walls. The seven feet tall statues had a sword in their right hands and held it elevated at a 45 degree angle. The teen found it rather creepy because it appeared as if the knights were about to strike him down.
Danny quickly passed them and continued down the hall, then suddenly, his ghost sense went off, making him gasp. He froze as his eyes locked on a familiar duo of ectopusses that had phased into the hallway from the wall on his right, a few feet in front of him. But then just as quickly as they had appeared they disappeared through the left wall.
Danny let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He was fortunate, considering the state he was in, that those two ghosts hadn't noticed him.
The young half-ghost continued walking and a moment later he found himself at a division. The teenager looked both ways before picking the one he thought looked most familiar.
"Finally!" he whispered as he looked towards his right and saw the two-part stairs. The boy walked down the flight of steps and paused at the bottom. He studied the area, attempting to find anything that might hint at the kitchen's location.
Suddenly, his ghost sense triggered again, interrupting the young half-ghost's detective work. In an instant, Danny became invisible and hid behind a glass case that held a Packers shrine.
With fearful curiosity, the boy observed three petite ghosts float by, talking to one another. By what he could see, the three spirits had a few things in common; they all possessed a slim body structure and their skin was the same bluish color as many of the ghosts he had met in the past. "They kinda remind me of Dora," he thought. Their typical maid's attire, however, clearly showed they held a different rank then the dragon princess.
Danny's focus went to the one in the middle; she looked different from the other two. For one, her eyes were red, not blue like the other spirits'. She also seemed younger, around his age in fact. Her very curly, brown hair was down, ending right on her shoulders, while the other maids had a different style and hair color. The older two looked like middle aged women; one had black hair and the other red; both wore it up in a bun. The three ghosts phased into a wall leaving the teenager alone once more.
"Ghost maids, somehow I'm not really surprised." Danny turned visible and moved out of his hiding spot. He intended to walk the opposite way direction the housekeepers went, but two steps later he halted yet again. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at the wall he had seen the ghosts float through. "Maybe I should ask them where the kitchen is… but what if they attack me?"
The teenager bit his bottom lip. He felt wary from all the walking he just did even though he shouldn't. "I didn't think skipping a few meals would affect me like this," Danny reflected with worry. He didn't feel like he was malnourished and oppose to what he told Vlad, he wasn't trying to starve himself. He just didn't want to eat here… that wasn't the same thing, right?
The teen couldn't lie to himself; he did feel hungry, but he had simply ignored his body's unease since he was eating cookies and candy. "…Although, I remember Jazz saying something about sugar not being able to substitute proteins or something." Danny shrugged it off. It didn't matter; he just needed a bit of food and he would feel better again.
The half-ghost closed his eyes in concentration. What especially bothered the young teenager was that Vlad had been right about what he said earlier. His refusal to eat any kind of real food had truly not been a wise move. The man's successful attempt to prove this to him left no room for any doubt. He needed to eat in order to replenish his strength or he would remain powerless, in other words, defenseless, and that would be bad.
Slowly, he felt energy accumulate within him and form two white rings. Danny didn't notice their dulled appearance and he probably wouldn't have cared since they served their purpose.
He held his spinning head with a white gloved hand, his green eyes hazed. He quickly pushed aside his weakened feeling and straightened his posture. If he had to confront any ghosts he had to make sure he was ready for it. "Or as ready as I can be," he mumbled.
Danny floated towards the wall that the ghost maids had gone through and went through it himself. He looked at the room he was now in and discerned it was a lounge by the big, comfortable sofas and the squared coffee table it contained. He turned his attention to the three ghost maids, sitting on a couch, apparently talking about some type of detergent.
"I'm telling you, Martha, it is the best thing to get rid of dirt stains," the black haired spirit said.
"But isn't that bad for your skin?" Martha replied.
"Um, excuse me?" Danny said meekly.
All three spirits looked towards the white haired ghost and immediately froze in place.
Danny became very nervous at witnessing their pupils dilate and their mouths open from what appeared to be shock. "Heh-heh, uh… sorry to interrupt you guys, but could you tell me where the kitchen is?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand)
The ghosts just stared, their jaws still hanging.
Danny's eyebrows furrowed and he gave his surroundings a quick glance. Did Clockwork just freeze time or something?
"O-kay" he mumbled, perplexed. The teen let out a sigh and then floated a bit closer "Look I-"
The half-ghost halted as the maids finally reacted, but not in a way he had expected. The three ghosts scattered to their feet and fearfully backed away him.
"What's wrong? I just want you to answer my question," Danny quickly said, landing on his feet and walking forward. The teen gasped when he heard the red haired women shriek loudly. The last thing he needed was Vlad to find him here. "Stop!" he pleaded, before he was hit by a dizzy spell. Danny took a deep breath as his vision darkened for a moment.
The younger maid raised an eyebrow as she noticed the ghost boy pale abnormally. "I don't think he is going to attack us," she told the other spirits, who still held a frightened expression.
"Are you mad?! He's the other halfa! The one that hunts ghosts!"
"That's because they attack my town!" Danny yelled defensively.
The half-ghost flinched at realizing he had just made the housekeepers even more wary of him; even the girl backed away a few feet.
Before Danny could think of anything to say, he felt another wave of dizziness hit him, only this one was a lot stronger. The teen groaned as he braced himself against a nearby wall. "I shouldn't be using my ghost powers" he thought before his body turned him human against his will. At witnessing the boy change before their eyes, all three maids gasped loudly)
"Oh, this is just great!" Danny murmured angrily. Remembering what he was doing, he let out a frustrated sigh and addressed the ghosts once more. "Look, just tell me where the kitchen is and I'll leave, ok?"
Once more, Danny got no response, instead, Vlad's servants whispered among themselves while shooting untrusting glances in his direction.
"I don't think he's trying to trick us," the youngest one said.
"I think he is," Martha responded.
"I think so too, but he doesn't look evil," the last maid put in.
Danny sighed with exasperation. "I am not evil! And I am not trying to trick you! I just want to know where the kitchen is!" he exclaimed, angrily walking towards them.
The two adult maids cringed causing Danny to stop. "Ugh! Forget it! I'll find it myself!" he snapped, momentarily lifting his arms in the air, before turning towards the lounge's exit.
"Wait," he suddenly heard the girl ghost whisper, causing him to turn back around.
"What are you doing?!" the other two protested, but their young companion ignored them.
"I'll show you where it is just as long as you don't hurt me, okay?"
Danny simply nodded preferring not to argue that he was never going to hurt her.
The ghost floated over to him. "I'm Niane," she said with a curtsy and a bright smile.
Danny looked at the girl's actions strangely. "I'm-"
"Danny Phantom" the girl spirit finished. "But I'll call you Master Phantom," she informed him, her smile still present, as if she knew something he didn't.
"Uh... I rather you didn't," he responded, revulsion clearly visible on his face. "Call me Danny."
"Very well, Master Danny."
"No, its-" He sighed. "Never mind."
Seeing that the "evil ghost hunter" hadn't attacked their companion, the two older ghosts approached him as well. They studied him with curiosity and fear, their hands occasionally probing his upper body like he was the strangest thing they had ever seen.
Before Danny could protest at the invasion of his personal space, the red haired ghost named Martha grabbed his chin and pinched one his cheeks, causing the teen to blush. "He's so cute," she stated, a contemplative frown on her expression, before letting go of the boy's face.
Yes, but it's always the cute ones that are the most dangerous," replied the other older ghost.
"No, Patricia; it's the quiet ones. The quiet ones are always the most dangerous," Martha corrected.
"What? No it's not. I'm certain it's the cute ones!" Patricia argued back.
Danny stared at the two ghost women with a befuddled expression. First of all, he wasn't dangerous, and secondly… what the heck were they arguing about?
The half-ghost dismissed the spirits' bizarre behavior with a shake of his head, and turned his attention to Niane. "Are you going to show me where the kitchen is or do I need to find it myself?" he asked tiredly
"Oh, I'm sorry," Niane replied, taking her red eyes off the two bickering maids and turning them to the boy. "Martha and Patricia like to get into debates about all kinds of things and once they start one it takes them weeks to finish or until they find a new topic to switch to, like now for example," she explained as she motioned him to follow, leaving the two other ghosts squabbling.
"It's this way," she said, phasing through a wall. Danny followed except when he tried to turn intangible his powers did not respond, so he ended up colliding with the solid wall, making him yelp in surprise.
"Darn it!" he exclaimed, rubbing his sore nose and forehead. Niane stuck her head back through the wall and eyed him with perplexity. "Can we use the door instead?" Danny asked
The girl gave him a strange look before nodding and phasing the rest of her body back into the lounge. The teenage boy quietly followed the ghost out of the lounge and down a hallway. At the end of it they made a turn to the right, and soon came upon a pair of double doors that read 'kitchen'.
Danny exhaled in relief as he walked in after the maid. "George, you in here?" she called loudly, floating pass a breakfast table and heading towards the actual kitchen.
"Niane? What can I-"
The spirit named 'George' fell silent at the sight of the black haired boy, standing a few feet behind the girl ghost. For a moment, he simply blinked at Danny, but slowly a smirk appeared on his features.
"Well, well….Danny Phantom. I was wondering when I would finally get to meet the number one enemy of the Ghost Zone."
Danny just raised his hand and rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. Was it a good or a bad thing that the ghost knew who he was? Now that he thought about it, how did any of these ghosts, he had never met, know he was the ghost boy? Did Vlad tell them he was coming? It was the only explanation, and he didn't like it.
"I'm not looking for trouble," the ghost boy said apprehensively. There was no doubt in Danny's mind that if this ghost attacked him in his current weakened state he would be down in less then a minute.
The teen noticed that George roughly had the same body structure as his father only that he was about a foot taller. His eyes were a dull blue, his hair a dark grey, which was very short and ended at the base of his neck, and his skin was a pale yellowish color. The latter the teen found quite odd since he had never seen such a skin tone before. Lastly, the ghost wore a chief's outfit, complete with the traditional white hat. "Likewise," the cook responded, his smirk still present, "but I just have to ask, why?"
"Why what?" Danny asked confused.
"Why do you hate your own kind?" the ghost expanded, his expression now completely serious.
"What are you talking about?" Danny asked annoyed. Why was everyone making him out to be the bad guy?
"You are always fighting your fellow ghosts when all they want is to have a little fun in their afterlife."
"Maybe because their fun is kinda mean. And I don't hate ghosts and I don't consider myself your kind. I'm human too."
"That doesn't make you any less ghost; young halfa," the cook countered, raising an eyebrow.
Danny sighed angrily. He really wasn't in the mood for this. "Listen, I didn't come here to explain myself to anyone, in fact I don't want to be here, but since I don't have a choice at the moment, I'm going to get something to eat so if you'll excuse me." Danny walked around the ghost and headed further in, all the while attempting to suppress his annoyance with Vlad's servants.
Before Danny could pass in between two semicircular bar tables, which separated the actual kitchen from the small eating area, the cook materialized in front of him. "Hold on there, young halfa," he quickly said, "I might not like you, but I respect a powerful ghost when I see one, so tell me, what would you like to eat? I'll gladly make it for you."
"N-No, thanks; I can make my own food," Danny replied, feeling uncomfortable with the ghost's offer.
"Don't be silly, it's what I do." George placed one of his hands lightly on the teen's shoulder and guided him over to the closest bar stool. Danny sighed once more and sat down. The teen couldn't believe that he was actually going to let a ghost make a meal for him, a ghost who didn't like him no less.
The spirit phased straight through the tall table before turning and facing the teen, assuming a position resembling a bar tender. "Now, what would you like?"
Danny shrugged. He really didn't think about what he wanted. He didn't even think about it when he was home. The teen would just go to the fridge and hunt around for something that he found appetizing or wait for his mom to just make him whatever she wanted. "I guess a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is fine," he answered uncaringly.
The ghost blinked a couple of times before bursting into a fit of laughter; it actually sounded surprisingly creepy due to his deep and echoic voice.
Danny looked at the amused cook like he had just turned human, but then his expression turned into a scowl. "What's so funny?" the hybrid asked hotly, not realizing his eyes had flashed a bright green… but the young maid did.
"I'm sorry, young halfa, but this is the first time in my afterlife that someone has asked me to make them something as insignificant as that," he explained with amusement. "You want a sandwich? Then let me, at least, make you a real one."
"Gee, I didn't know there were fake ones. Are turkey sandwiches also fake?" the teen growled.
"I can work with that. What would you like on it?" the cook asked.
Danny shrugged. "Just don't add tomatoes," he said tiredly. The ghost nodded before walking away towards the fridge.
The half-ghost banged his head on the table and left it there for a moment while he exhaled softly. Before he could close his eyes, he felt a shiver run down his spine, and he immediately looked up.
"I-I'm sorry to disturb you, Master Danny, but if you don't need anything else, I'll be getting back to my sisters," the ghost maid said shyly.
Danny nodded his head before resting it on the table once more.
Despite the boy's approval, Niane remained where she was and calmly studied him. A few seconds later she turned and floated towards a nearby wall. Danny didn't see the mysterious smile that momentarily appeared on her face as she phased out of the kitchen.
"What have I done to deserve this?" Danny whispered into the table. If it wasn't bad enough to be living with his archenemy, now, he was permanently surrounded by ghosts who were either afraid of him or hated him, and so far, all were missing at least one screw.
Several minutes later Danny's ghost sense emerged. He looked up and found that the cook had returned. "Here you go, young halfa. I brought you a fruit drink as well since you look a little pale," he informed.
"Thanks," Danny mumbled, turning his gaze to the two turkey sandwiches with everything on them. The teen picked up the first sandwich and took a bite. It was at that moment he realized how hungry he really was. To his stomach's delight, he quickly chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth, and took another bite, then another, and another. Unknowingly, he finished the sandwich in less then a minute. Danny eagerly picked up the second sandwich and was about to make it disappear but halted as he finally noticed the cook was still standing in front of him, staring.
Danny slowly lowered the sandwich back on his plate and eyed the ghost nervously. George smiled calmly in response, and the teen immediately felt sick. "D-Did you-" the teen swallowed roughly, "Oh man, you poisoned it, didn't you?" he said, feeling dizzy from fear, or was it from the poison already starting to work?
The ghost's smile fell, a bemused expression replacing it, but that soon disappeared when the cook fell into another fit of laughter. "You… You…" The ghost continued to laugh, unable to state what he wanted. "You think I poisoned it?!"
"What do you expect me to think when you are just standing there smiling weirdly at me?!" Danny replied heatedly from being laughed at again. He was not going to let anyone else humiliate him today.
"I was waiting for you to tell me if the food was to your liking," George explained, still looking amused.
"Oh," the teen said, dropping his aggressive attitude, his eyes moving back to his meal. "Its fine, thanks," he answered quickly as he picked up his sandwich and bit into it.
"Glad to hear it," the cook said before moving away but not as far as Danny would have liked him to go. The ghost whistled to himself while cleaning the other bar table "So tell me, young halfa, how do you like it here so far?" he suddenly asked with a casual tone.
Danny bit angrily into his sandwich as his eyes flashed green at the question. "I don't," he replied, giving his meal a dark look before continuing with it.
"It can't be that bad. Mr. Mast-"
"Look, if you want to talk to me I suggest you find another topic, fast," the teen growled. Although he didn't mean for it to sound that way, his statement was delivered in a menacing tone.
"Easy there, my young sir, I did not mean to upset you," the chef quickly stated, nervousness audible in his voice.
Danny sighed as he picked up his glass of juice. "Sorry," he said tiredly before gulping down the drink. The spirit nodded, although the teen didn't notice it.
The half-ghost suddenly let out a gasp as his entire body began to tingle, but not in a way he felt before. The odd sensation quickly faded, leaving him oddly refreshed. Danny looked up at the cook. "What was in that juice?" he asked tensely.
"Vitamins," the ghost replied with a small smile.
"Uh, I never had vitamins do that before."
George shrugged. "Does it matter? You feel better, right?"
He had to agree, he did feel a lot better. It was as if he had just drank 20 cups of coffee, not that he knew what that would be like since he didn't drink that stuff, but whatever was in that juice had recharged his energy considerably.
Danny stood up to leave. "How about a little dessert?" the cook asked kindly with a smile.
"No thanks."
The ghost nodded. "Wait," he quickly said, stopping the teen from leaving. Danny's eyebrows creased at seeing George float out of sight. He promptly returned with another glass of the same juice he had given him earlier. "Here, take this with you," he told him, extending the glass to the boy.
"I'm fine," Danny replied, holding up his hand, refusing the drink.
"It's good for you," the ghost insisted. Danny sighed reluctantly, but took the drink from the chef.
"Thanks," the teen said, before heading towards the kitchen's exit.
"Anytime," George called out, "just give me something more challenging next time, okay?"
Danny nodded without looking back, and then walked out. Retracing his steps he made it to his room without trouble. Leaving the lights off, he sat down on the bed and studied the drink in his hand, quickly noticing that in the darkness of his room the juice glowed with a barely visible, green tinge.
"Plasmius," the teen growled. The teen turned on one of the reading lamps next to the bed before standing up and making his way to the bathroom. Danny then poured the beverage in the sink and left the empty glass on the counter. He didn't care how good it made him feel, he wasn't willingly drinking anything that glowed, especially when it was probably something invented by that fruitloop.
Danny went back to his bed and sat down once more. He looked at the clock and realized it was almost midnight, but he wasn't remotely tired. His thoughts went to his family and friends, wondering what they were doing right now. "Sleeping, of course." he answered himself.
Deciding to change into his sleepwear, Danny walked over to the closet to grab his duffel bag, but upon entering, he noticed there was a rope hanging from the ceiling. "Huh? Where did this come from?" he mumbled curiously, grabbing the rope. The teen gave it a strong yank and an opening appeared, revealing pull down stairs.
"Man, how many rooms does this… room have?" he wondered, gazing up the ascending flight of steps, but his eyes only met darkness. He scoffed dryly. "Next thing I'm going to find is a door under the bed…. I'm gonna check for that, but first, I'm gonna find out where this leads to," he decided, and headed up the stairs.
Danny's left hand ignited with ghost energy while he searched for a light switch. Upon finding it beside the entrance, he flipped it on, allowing him to finally see what the darkened area contained. His eyes widened as he realized the room was a big, comfy, private lounge, complete with a fireplace, but what amazed Danny the most were the huge, crystal clear, glass double doors that led to an outside balcony. The teen quickly walked over to them, opened one, and stepped outside.
Danny was so awed by the sight that the cold night wind went unfelt by him. The mansion appeared to be a lot bigger then he could have ever imagined. From what he could see, Vlad had a very big backyard. The teen frowned as his eyes caught sight of the all too familiar football field, but since his room faced the back of the house, and the arena was on the side of the mansion, he could only see the tall, stadium lights and one of the touchdown goals. He turned his attention to the other things he hadn't seen. The bilionaire actually had what appeared to be stables further out; He could see a closed in, glass made veranda and a large pool almost directly below him, illuminated by several white lights on the ground.
There were other things, including a big, dome shaped structure, but because of the darkness, he couldn't make out what they were exactly. Behind all this stretched out an endless forest. A smile grew on Danny's expression as the tall trees lifted his gaze towards the clear, moonless, night sky, overwhelmed by thousands of brightly shining stars. He hated to admit it but the view of the stars was so much clearer here then in the city of Amity Park.
Danny bit his bottom lip as he looked back into the lounge. If he was going to remain confined in this place he needed to do something to keep his sanity, and just like at home, he found that the best way to clear his mind and to relax, was to go flying at night. The half-ghost turned his attention towards the sky once more, a thoughtful frown forming on his expression. "What if my powers mess up while I'm flying? Then again, I do feel fine, but what if I'm not?"
Danny sighed, "Well, only one way to find out; I'm going ghost!" Raising his arms into the air, two spectral rings formed around his waistline and speedily traveled away from each other.
Danny looked upwards and launched himself off the balcony. He rapidly increased his altitude, getting closer and closer to the stars above him. The half-ghost smiled brightly as he realized how great he felt at the moment. He spread out his arms and made several circles and loops with his body through the air. The boy then increased his speed, and raced towards the forest. Upon reaching it, he flew inches above the tree tops and continued to fly further and further away from the castle, fully enjoying the freedom he felt around him.
After several minutes of passing nothing but trees, his mind slowly began to fill with dread. There were no other houses out here…Vlad really lived in an isolated place. A moment later the half-ghost noticed a large river below him; he headed down to it. He flew for a bit with his body only centimeters from the waterline, but then he decreased his speed and hovered above the calm river. With a gloved hand, the teen bended forward and lazily touched the water's surface, observing how the bright glow of the stars made the water droplets glisten on his fingertips. Danny stopped his actions and allowed his reflection to form on the mirror like stream. The hybrid really hadn't looked at his ghost form so intently since he found out the accident gave him these ghost powers. It had become second nature to him, but now, as he stared at himself, he questioned how he was possible… What had he actually become?
Danny furrowed his eyebrows with uncertainty as he began to wonder… Was he a ghost with human emotions or a human with ghost powers? Even when human, he could feel his ghostly side just lingering below the surface, and yet when he turned ghost he couldn't feel any physical connection to his human half; in that form he felt completely ghost…. So did that mean his ghost side dominated in his self?
"That doesn't make you any less ghost, young halfa."
It was disconcerting to discover that here, he was viewed in another light, and what bothered him more was that he realized this was probably how most ghosts saw him. To many he was the hero of Amity Park, a good ghost that helped humans, but here and in the Ghost Zone, he was the "villain"; he was a traitor to his own kind… but he didn't belong to their kind, did he?
Danny considered himself human, therefore he protected them, especially since most ghosts were evil… but they called him evil…
The teen glared. "Why the heck am I even thinking about this stuff?" He shook his head and dismissed his confusing thoughts. He came out here to clear his mind, and even if it was only for a few minutes, he was going to do so.
Danny gave himself a daring grin before diving into the cool water and quickly reemerging back up in flight, heading once more above the trees. Going intangible the ghost boy felt the extra weight of the water leaving him. He drifted lazily on his back, his eyes admiring the sparkling atmosphere. The darkness around him made him feel so tiny, and yet it filled him with enchantment. The sky was so vast and mysterious it never stopped captivating him.
Eventually, his thoughts returned back to earth. He righted himself, and looked towards the dark castle, now barely visible in the distance. The teen would give almost anything to continue flying away from it, from the place that was bringing him so much torment.
Danny sighed dejectedly and slowly flew back towards Vlad's mansion, or to him, his prison.
The boy's gleaming eyes dulled once more as he landed on the balcony and transformed back. He gave the sky one more longing look, before heading inside.
After changing his clothes, Danny got into bed. He still wasn't tired, but what else was there to do? He immediately sat up upon remembering there was something he was meaning to do. Taking out his laptop from inside one of the drawers, he turned it on with the purpose of searching the internet for any news about his home state.
Danny didn't have to worry about Sam and Tucker knowing he was online; when he decided to leave, he made sure to change his screen name since one of his enemy's strict orders was to cover his tracks and he wasn't about to defy any of those orders… he already knew the consequences of doing so.
Pulling up the Amity Park Times, he gazed through different articles. "Well, there haven't been any major ghost attacks; I guess that's one thing less to worry about." He continued to skim, but immediately stopped as he locked gaze with a picture of himself.
Above it, there was a headline that read 'Resident Ghost hunters' only son, missing'
Danny read through it with sad eyes. They didn't have any idea where he could be.
"Of course, like my parents would ever suspect their college friend of anything," he stated bitterly, before giving the bracelet on his wrist a hateful look. "And with this thing, Sam and Tucker have as much luck of finding me as I do at surviving the rest of the week in this place." The teen sighed. "Not that I want them to find me; it would only complicate things, and I couldn't go home anyways."
Danny turned off his computer, and placed it back into the drawer. He then turned off his reading lamp, allowing the darkness to entirely consume the room, which was truly for the best since he really didn't want to see anything around him. Everything in this place only served to remind him of the predicament he was in.
The half-ghost stared toward the ceiling, which was completely obscured from view. At this, Danny's expression turned into anger. "Ok, even in the dark, I'm reminded of where I'm at," he said bitterly, recalling that in his own room he would always see the many fluorescent stars on the ceiling.
Danny turned to his side and closed his eyes, all the while wishing that somehow, he could escape from this seemingly never-ending nightmare.
Yes, another slow chapter, but believe me you want them, because when we reach chapter 15 (which is very soon), things are going to get... heavy... Still, I hope you guys liked this one; yup all Danny, and these new ghosts will be playing a few parts throughout the story, some of them more then others... heh-heh. Well, I have MLB all done too! I will update that a little later since I need to go to church, I will try to update before going, but I need to read over it once more before posting, so it will most likely be until tonight. Thank you all for your support and for reading! As always, I look forward to hearing from all of you! Many thanks, and see ya over at MLB later! Ta!