Within seconds, Ash and Danny lost sight of each other but they remained in contact and they eventually found the portal again. They stepped out and breathed in the night air in a sigh of relief.
"Ash! Danny!" Serena exclaimed happily and ran over to join them.
"How long does that portal stay open?!" Danny shouted. The halfa glanced at the ghost pokémon, all of whom seemed shocked to see him.
"It won't be much longer," a Duskulll answered. Danny stood in a ready stance with his hands ignited and waved Ash and the others away.
As they watched three spirits emerged from the portal and hissed angrily at Danny. Danny didn't even flinch and blasted the spirits with his ghost ray. Ghost pokémon behind him joined him in the attack and fired shadow balls and other such long range attacks at the spirits. Gradually they beat the spirits back and as the portal began to fade, they reluctantly returned. Danny waited until the portal faded from the cave entrance before slouching forward in exhaustion and reverting to his human form.
"Danny?!" Ash shouted and the four children ran to him.
"Danny, are you alright?" Serena exclaimed worriedly. The halfa tiredly looked up and nodded.
"Yeah. Just worn out. Breaking out of those shadows took a lot of energy," Danny admitted. Ash blinked, the only one understanding what the halfa meant.
"But you seemed fine then," Ash remarked. Danny nodded.
"I hid my exhaustion. If those spirits knew I was as tired as I was, they would have attacked. I was relying on my reputation to get us out of there Ash," Danny replied. After a moment of silence, Bonnie turned to the cave.
"So, if that wasn't a ghost portal… how are you getting home?" she wondered. The four children turned to the worn out halfa as he sadly shook his head.
"I'm not," he mumbled disappointedly.
The night was completely silent again as this realisation sank in. The ghost pokémon slowly thinned as they left to either return to their homes, the forest or to visit Pine Town for the festival which was well under way by now. Danny straightened up once he had recovered slightly from the ordeal and looked up to the sky. He sighed and turned to the children, all of whom looked miserable for him. He shrugged.
"You guys wanted to go to that festival right? Serena, you have the map," Danny attempted to change the subject and despondent atmosphere. Serena blinked but understanding Danny's motive, complied with his suggestion and they walked back to Pine Town in silence.
An hour later, the group were at the festival, eating food from stalls, playing games and watching attractions. Ghost pokémon appeared randomly throughout the town and played their pranks. Soon, everyone's moods were lifted, well almost everyone's. Danny was still concerned. He had no way home. His town, Amity Park, was in danger without him around to protect it. His parents would be back tomorrow, assuming time ran the same in this world as his. Jazz, Sam and Tucker wouldn't be able to find him. They'd fear the worst. Vlad was planning something big. He just knew it. But this time Danny Phantom wouldn't be there to stop the fruit loop and protect his father.
Danny watched Ash fool around with Pikachu and Bonnie giggle at his antics. Clemont was examining a game mechanism he was particularly impressed with. The halfa sighed sadly and slipped his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushed against a Fenton Phone Jazz had shoved into his hand before he left. He brought it out and smiled at it.
"Danny? Are you okay?" Serena asked softly. Danny turned to her.
"Oh, hey Serena. I'm fine. Enjoying the festival?" he replied in a light voice. Serena smiled sadly.
"I'd have more fun knowing you weren't trapped here worrying about your home," Serena answered. She nodded to the Fenton Phone in his hand.
"What is that?" she inquired.
"Fenton Phone. Filters out spectral background noise. But I usually use them to keep in touch with my friends and Jazz. But I doubt it would work here. Jazz gave it to me before I left for Frostbite's," Danny explained.
Serena held out her hand, asking if she could see it herself. Danny handed it to her. She looked at it and handed it back to the halfa.
"Has Clemont seen it yet?" she asked curiously. Danny shook his head.
"Forgot I had it. I don't usually bother bringing one when I go to Frostbite's. I know my way around the Ghost Zone pretty well. I can find my way easily enough. Except… well this isn't in the Ghost Zone," Danny replied with a helpless shrug. Serena frowned sadly, sympathetically. Danny glanced at the device and was about to pop it back into his pocket before he heard the impossible.
"Danny?! Danny? Clueless one! Answer me!" Sam's voice shouted. Danny blinked in shock and popped the device in his ear.
"Sam?" he inquired, hardly daring to believe he could hear her.
"Danny! Finally! Where are you?" Sam answered. Danny smiled and laughed.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear your voice Sam. I went through a portal by accident and got stuck," Danny replied.
"We know. We've been looking everywhere for you. We finally went to Clockwork to find out what happened to you," Sam retorted. Danny frowned.
"Clockwork helped you?" he remarked incredulously.
"Yeah. So where are you? Wulf opened a portal to this world but we would rather cut down the searching," Sam confirmed.
Danny glanced at Serena who was watching him curiously.
"I'm in Pine Town. But it's probably easier for you to tell me where you are. Or actually… did my parents finish those flares they designed to explore the Ghost Zone?" Danny answered with a smile.
"Tucker, do see any flares?" Sam asked, leaving the microphone on.
"Tuck's with you?" Danny realised, his grin widening.
"Of course he is. Jazz would have come as well but we decided someone should stay at Fenton Works in case you made it back somehow. Yeah, we have those flares. Why do you want them?" Sam replied.
"Fire one above you. I'm coming to you," Danny ordered. The Fenton Phone went silent and Danny turned to the sky.
"What's going on?" Serena asked.
"Turns out I might have a way home after all. My friends are here to collect me," Danny answered with a broad grin as a bright flash of green lit up the night sky.
"There!" Danny exclaimed as he spotted the light.
"Oooh. Fireworks!" Bonnie cheered.
"Nope. Flare courtesy of Sam and Tucker," Danny corrected happily and ran off towards it. Ash and Clemont looked up and glanced at Serena who smiled and chased after the excited halfa. The boys and Bonnie shared confused glances and followed.
Problem finally resolved. One more chapter left to clear things up. Let me know what you think of the story.
Until the next chapter.