Chapter 10: The other side! (Part 2)
Danny was really relieved that it was not the future, they saw in the wormhole his parents accidentally created in the ghost-zone. But he was still worried about the chaos his parents created. Not only in his 'alternatives' living-room, but also propably in the ghost-zone.
Danny, his friends, his sister and his parents tidied up the mess and put everything that was obviously from the other dimension into seperate boxes. Checking some of the documents not only proved that it was 2004 in the other dimension (the same year they are living in), it also proved that the other Danny had health-issues, financial-issues and some other trouble... There was no trace about his parents, so his statement about them beeing dead since 1982 was true. Nothing about ghost-hunting, Fenton Works or anything simular. Maybe the other one's 'ghost-breath' was just in Danny's imagination. In his panic he saw something that was not actually there.
His parents meanwhile were very sorry. They promised to Danny to not to die when he will be sixteen, which Danny made very awkward. But than his mother found the DVD... it was hidden behind a picture that was hanging on the wall prior before it got thrown into thier lab. On the cover, three dirty teenagers under a burning landscape... she read the description on the backside and than it was clear...
"OH MY GOSH... Hey, that's the movie your other yourself mentioned. The one about the disaster that will destroy Amity Park. Look...!" Maddie said and presented the DVD to her son.
Danny took a closer look on it. It was obviously a movie about the disaster but according to the describtion it was focusing on the events with the trapped people in the Casper High when it was surrounded by fire.
"...AWWW... They made a movie about me?" Danny wailed.
"Oh, that we will watch!" Jack said with a wide smile.
"WHAT... NO... That's... My alternate me had a reason to hide it... we..." Danny tried to interfere. But Sam already grabbled the DVD.
"Actually I wanna see that, too..." Sam said with a demanding voice before she whispered to him: "You are not a ghost there, don't worry..."
Sam was right. They were all curious. They all wanted to see how they look in the 80s. Danny and Jazz couldn't remember that they ever watched a movie with thier parents. A movie night was never ever held in the Fenton's house. And when you get the chance to watch a movie about yourself? So they gathered together on the couch. Danny calmed down. He knew the movie would not be about him beeing Phantom but he was still worried what to see. Maybe some other things he never told his parents?
They put in the DVD into the player, Jack even forgot that they have a DVD-player. It was a movie filmed and published in 1987 but the story was set in 1982, when the fire happened. It start with an flyover over a city (obviously not Amity Park, propably shot in Aurora, Gary or Rockford) the introduction of the characters and thier back-stories. Danny (name changed to Andy in the movie) was shown as he was and what he told to the other couple: A young man, fighting to survive High-School, making plans for the future and having a huge fight with his parents. Latter did not come to school when they where called. Danny had problems with Dash and other A-listeners bullying him, his friends and others. And when Danny actually needed them, they didn't come...
The fire, on the next day, was made with the best special-effects the 80s were able to deliver. Some of the scenes were really shocking. Like the explosion of the city's fuel tanks and the following destruction of the surrounding residental areas. Even authentic footage from the original fire was used in the movie. Explaining how the chain-reaction was able to set the town on fire so quickly. It was actually a well made movie. Danny was actually satisfied with the actor who portrayed 'him'. It was also a sad movie. Especially the scene where Andy (actually Danny) returned to the burning house, only to learn that his family was obviously dead.
A positive aspect of the movie, was that the movie was an criticizing openly the preferential treatment of popular students. And how the help for the people in Amity Park failed completely, due to corruption and greediness. The movie showed how Dash and Paulina (thier names were not changed on purpose) tried to take over the control in the emergency-shelter aka the Casper High. But Danny and some others rebelled against the bullying and thier condescending way of behaviour. The situation escalleted and Danny, his friends and some other 'uncool' or 'unpopular' students were left behind when the A-Listeners told the driver of the 'last bus' that noone else was in school. The moment Danny and the others mentioned that nobody was comming to evacuate them while the fire start to get closer and closer to the school. Surrounding it like a big Moloch.
Sam's favourite scene was when the bus, the A-listeners used to flee covardly, crashed after one of Dash's arrogance outbursts into a garden and catched fire when it end in the burning bushes. The only surviving A-listener was Kwan (or at least the character who was suppossed to portray Kwan), but only because he had real guilty feeling and was therefore thrown out of the bus before it explode... Afterwards Sam mentioned that that scene was a bit too cruel to call it her favourite scene.
They saw how the authorities gave up to evacuate them, as the only passable road to Casper High was blocked with debris and the fire around the school was already too dangerous. The scene with the helicopter crashing into the grandstand of the school's football-stadium was very impressive made... but obviously it just happened on the script. But the star of the movie was definetely Danny (Andy). How he fought on the phone to force the fire-brigade to send help, his speech that they are as worth to live as the A-Listeners, no matter how 'unpopular' they were...
Finally came the scene where the fire-brigade managed to create a water-tunnel for the trapped people to evacuate them out of the school. But there were some horrible scenes, like the one where the girl (Danny suggested Valerie) runs out of the school and catches fire before she reaches the helpers. Than was the scene where Tucker (Taylor in the movie) and some others, including an arrogant worker from the exploded plant, got killed when an explosion let an scaffolding collapse on the street. Than there were Danny, Sam and some others left in the school. Danny sprayed everyone with a water hose. Sam watched closely when 'she' and an injured girl she couldn't identify, wrapped in wet towels ran threw the fiery hell. Just watching this let Sam feel the heat and she did not want to imagine how the people there felt back then.
Danny's character was the last one to leave... And everyone could imagine that the following scene was staged to increase the tension: The water hose caught fire, 'Danny' had no water anymore to wet himself. So he had to toss himself on the ground to wet his clouthes. And when 'Danny' ran out of the already burning school, of course a building had to explode to cut off his way and 'Danny' was forced to jump threw a big flame to reach Sam and the other girl who had to extinguish his burning clouthes... (which was actually a logical-mistake in the movie: How wet clouthes can catch fire?). And than the final scene where the school explodes... Obviously a miniature model filmed in front of a blue-screen, they guessed...
The movie ended with a comment from 'Danny' out of the off while the chaotic and completely failed disaster relief was shown. A dedication for the more than one thousand fatalities was shown before the credits run...
"Oh, Danny... We are so sorry!" his father wailed, squeazing him in a tight hug. "Sorry, if we gave you the feeling that our work is more important than you. Of course you and Jazz are more important..."
"If you have any trouble in school, just talk to us! We will help you..."
Danny was positively surprised. And he thanked his parents.
"I have to say, seeing 'myself' dying in a catastrophic fire, makes me pensive!" Tucker said, getting the attention of everyone. "In the movie they say that this town was a 'ticking-time-bomb'. So... you think we are sitting on a ticking-time-bomb, too?"
That was actually a very interresting thought! Just out of curiosity they took a new street-map of Amity Park and the oldest one they found in the house. In 1985, when Jack and Maddie moved to Amity Park, the bought a map and they still had it in thier closet. Thier Amity Park grew pretty fast, too in the past two decades... With residental areas growing pretty close to industrial plants.
"According to the movie... the accident with the two trucks was somewhere in this area... Considering that the sewers run all unter the streets and that... hmm..." Maddie murmured. "How... no..."
"What?" Jazz asked.
"I'm just wondering... suppossed our town and the other Amity Park are, or were there respectively, the same: How the fire in the city-center, was able to reach our neighbourhood, that fast? I mean... Look outside, we are surrounded by residental-areas. There are no industrial facilities for miles around. How the fire could reach our neigbourhood...?"
Danny suddenly remembered that thier situation was very very weird: They just saw a '17-years-old' movie, about the destruction of thier hometown. They saw people they know, dying a fiery death and that thier town was propably build so fast that the people's safety was not ensured anymore. And they couldn't show this movie to anyone because they couldn't explain where they got it from without catching too much attention, especially Danny doesn't need, now. He could only hope that none of his enemies ever figures out about his doppelganger. The Guys in White would storm the lab immediately. And he didn't want to imagine what Vlad would do...
"I think we better keep this for us!" Danny suggested.
"Why? What if it could happen here, too?" his mother asked shocked.
"You wanna go to the city hall and show the mayor a movie from another dimension? Even if you tell them the truth, they wouldn't believe you and send you away..." now Jazz interfered. Danny was glad that Jazz was there, too. She was way better in handling thier parents, than him.
"But... We have to do something! I mean, what if our Amity Park was built, as bad as thiers?" Jack wailed.
"I know..." Danny murmured. He understood, that his parents were worried. Of course he was worried, too. What if the house really suddenly explodes. "The only thing we can do is ask in the city hall... and... we should send my doppelganger's stuff back... I think I... I mean he... propably already called the police. And I don't want to get me... I mean him... you know!"
"You're right, Danny!" his mother said, while she put the DVD out of the player and back into it's box. She read the details on the box. The movie actually won two Oscars in 1988. In the categories Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing. But that was now irrelevant...
When they went back downstairs, they realized that thier portal to the other dimension did not follow the 'alternative Danny' anymore. It was struck in his living-room. Right over the TV actually...
"It's not following him anymore!" Maddie said. "Look at this..."
In the open ghost-portal, they could see the mess, thier last auctions left in adult-Danny's living-room. The other Danny, his wife and thier friends left and were nowhere to be seen.
"Great... You evicted me out of my own house!" Danny told his parents reproachful.
It was already evening! Too late to do something. Sam's and Tucker's parents already called to order them back home. They decided to close the ghost-portal and wait until tomorrow...
After a very restless night (Danny checked regulary that the portal was really closed), Danny and his parents opened the ghost-portal, again. It was still struck in his doppelganger's living-room. On the one side, it was good because it meant that no ghost from the ghost-zone can come threw now, but it also meant that Danny was not able to enter the ghost-zone, if necessary. They had to close this wormhole. If it grows bigger it could cause severe damage. Danny allready had a plan: He would use Vlad's portal secretly, find the drone, switch it off, close the 'door' or whatever and hope that he get's out without his parents realizing that he is gone...
All the stuff from the other world (some books, documents, toys and decoration) was all prepared on the table in two laundry baskets...
"Okay, and now?" Danny asked. First he wanted to know what his parents think about this.
"Well, first we should... AGHHHH..."
Jack was clumsy, again. Don't looking where he is walking and stumbling over the cable on the ground. Jack lost his balance, while he tried to find something to hold on. Maddie tried to grab his hand, but she only got one of his gloves to grip... And so Jack fell directly into the portal. Everyone screamed: Danny, his mother, his father... Jack disappeared in the vortex and suddenly appeared on the other side in the living-room...
Jack could feel that he land on something soft. He still could hear his wife and his son scream. But when he mentioned, that he land on an armchair he calmed down immediately. He stand up, looked around and was astonished... He was in the other dimension...
"LOOK AT THIS... DAN'O I AM IN YOUR FUTURE LIVING ROOM!" Jack yelled excited.
"JACK, ARE YOU OKAY?" Maddie screamed shocked but also relieved.
"Yes, I am! Can you still see and hear me?" Jack asked. "I can't see you..."
"Dad, we are right in front of you!" Danny yelled. The situation became much more difficult. He was over there, too. But he thought that he was able to pass over there because he was in his ghost-form. But his father had no ghost-powers and was able to pass over, too! So the wormhole was also accessible for humans.
"No! I only see the wall!" Jack respond and touched the wall. Only to see his hand going right threw the wall... "WHAT OH..."
Before he could say more, he could feel his wife grabbling his arm and pull him back. Danny helped his mom to get his father back to thier dimension. Danny was relieved because it ment they could come back without harm. But they still had this wormhole in the other dimension.
"Woah... that was... weird..." Jack murmured. "But... now we can easily get your doppelganger's stuff back..."
Danny only allowed it, to get the stuff back. After that he would fly to Vlad's portal to retrieve the drone... It was weird to see his parents walking threw the former ghost-portal, now wormhole to another dimension to get the stuff back. When the doorbell rang, Danny walked upstairs to let his friends in, while Jack and Maddie looked around in the other Danny's living-room...
"So,... this is our son's house?" Maddie said while she looked around. "Oh... look at this..."
"Oh, look... more photo's of our grandchildren..." Jack said. Together they explored the house... "...and here... I knew he and Sam will get together..."
Danny was not happy to see his parents exploring his doppelganger's house. He jumped threw the wortex and looked for his parents.
"MOM, DAD! Get out of here... what if my doppelganger returns?" Danny wailed.
"Look Danny... That's your and Sam's wedding!" Jack said with a bright smile, while he presented him a photo on the wall.
"Please, what?" Sam yelled shocked from the other side.
"Mom, Dad, please... we..." Danny said before he could hear that someone was unlocking the door. Immediately he and his parents hid behind the couch.
"...I'll get the keys." adult Danny yelled when he entered the house. Danny, his parents and the others became silent immediately. Danny thought about turning himself and his parents invisible. But they would have mentioned it, so he didn't.
"...hurry up, Danny. I don't stay in this house any, longer..." Sam ranted when she came in, too to search her purse. The younger Sam, tried to avoid a scream. She did not like what she saw! "...call me crazy, but I still feel like something is in here... and watching us. And you know I can feel when someone is watching me!"
The younger Sam agreed to that. Danny and his parents did not leave thier hideout, while Danny took the keys and Sam found a purse and got a bottle of water from the kitchen.
"I'll drive!" Sam said and the older Danny gave her the keys for the car. "Come on, it's a two hour's ride..."
The older Danny and Sam left the house and the younger Danny came out of his hideout to look threw the window outside to see them leaving the driveway in an old Toyota Minivan and drive away.
"Aww... that was close!" Danny said. When he turned around he saw his parents start to tidy up. "What are you doing now?"
"We are apologizing!" his mother said while she picked up the stuff from the ground.
Danny wanted to go back ASAP. But now he had to help his parents to tidy up the mess in the living-room. After some time Sam, Tucker and Jazz came threw the wormhole, too. They were of course curious, too. And so they spend hours and hours to repair the damages and to tidy up...
Six hours! They spend more than six hours in this other dimension to clean his doppelganger's house. Sam and Danny were pretty 'embarrassed' that they are married... but this is another dimension, so it was not that bad. Danny never saw his parents cleaning something outside the lab. He and Jazz always wondered who cleans the house. But they were actually pretty fast and they even fixed some damages in the house that were not caused by them... like the broken dishwasher. Maddie did the laundry... and fixed the washing-mashine in that progress, too.
Sam looked outside, to see the garden! She was not sure why her 'future-self' grew vegetables in the garden. Maybe because they are poor? Maybe because all stuff they sell in the supermarkets has been produced with pesticides and artifical fertilizers? But she was happy to know that she remains a vegetarian as an adult...
After the mess was fixed, Danny was finally able to convince his parents to leave. Not knowing that his father used his doppelganger's computer to visit Wikipedia, and secretly printed some articles about Amity Park, the fire, Vlad and some other stuff. After everone was back, his parents finally closed the portal and they all 'agreed' to never ever play with alternate dimension's feelings or bother them in any way...
Danny decided to take a break for a while. His parents told they would retrieve the drone and close the wormhole again. They were not happy about the blocked way to the ghost-zone and wanted it to be free again, too.
Danny, his friends and Jazz left to take a break and to discuss thier plans. Danny knew that he would propably have to find the drone by himself.
They had no clue that a neigbour, mentioned thier presence in the house. So he looked threw the kitchen-window, to see Jack and Maddie in thier jumpsuits fixing the electronic-devices. He thought that they were handymen or exterminators. He couldn't reach Danny and Sam by thier phones. But actually Sam's parents gave him thier number in California some time ago. Just if something weird happens...
Jack and Maddie tried to retrieve the drone. But something was not working properly. Maybe the drone was damaged. Anyway they couldn't retrieve it. But they avoid to tell Danny until the next morning...
His alternate himself, hadn't shown up at his own house since the last time. The propably spend some time in another friend's house. And Danny knew that he had to solve this problem by his own. After telling his friends and Jazz, Danny trasformed into Phantom and flew all the way to Vlad's house in Wisconsin. He flew as fast as possible and turned invisible and intaingible long before he was even close to Vlad's boastful castle. Hoping that he does not catch Vlad's attention or anything similar. And luckily he was able to get threw Vlad's portal, and into the ghost-zone... (thier ghost-zone actually).
After a while and with help of a tracker he secretly stole from his parents lab, he was able to localize the drone... and he was shocked...
His parents were right: The drone must somehow hit one of the doors and created a wormhole. But this wormhole was unstable... growing, vibrating... Danny felt something... Something... small but powerful... It was in his doppelganger's living-room... it was... comming from the TV...
Danny watched the wormhole. They had to close it, before one of his enemys sees it, or his other himself. He could see his older self again... talking with Sam's parents who looked for dust, while he and Sam try to figure out why someone tidied up. And he saw the flowers his parents left there... gosh they lied to him again and went there again, one more time while he was on the way to Wisconsin. Danny had to hurry... he felt sorry for scaring his doppelganger that terribly but he had to close this to prevent that something serious will happen...
While he examined the damaged drone... he could hear his doppelganger again... Talking on the phone...
"Sorry, Vlad... may I call you back..."
"NOOO!" Danny screamed loudly and flew threw the wormhole to stop his doppelganger. He was still invisible. And wanted to fly out again. This was a mistake, he shouldn't be here... his adult-self was pretty scared again...
"Danny? Are you allright?" Sam asked. "Why you screamed?"
"Yes, Sam I am fine! And I did not scream! AGHH..."
"Don't trust him..." Danny yelled while he tried to tear the phone out of his adult-self's hand and turned visible again. The adult one only saw that suddenly 'it' appeared again and start to scream again.
Hearing her husband's scream, Sam lift up to look after him. Only to see a floating something right next to her husband that tried to rip the phone out of his hand...
"Danny, what... AAAGGHHHH..." Sam screamed when she saw the white-haired boy, without legs floating right next to her husband. "WHAT IS THAT?"
"Oh, SSHHH... Don't scream... I can explain..." Danny said, to avoid any chaos again. He only hoped that his parents were not in the lab right now. And luckily they were really not in the lab right now. But one of Danny's old foes was near the wormhole...
"Daniel? What's going on?" Vlad asked over the phone. But the younger Danny was finally able to switch of the phone by pushing the button on the reciever...
"AAGHHHH... WHAT IS THAT FOR A THING!" Pam screamed, seeing the floating ghost.
"A GHOST!" Jeremy screamed too and together with his wife, he ran out of the house.
"Please, stop screaming...!" Danny screamed again. "I'll explain everything... I am you!"
Danny was terrified. It was talking to him. Demanding to be him! Him? He was never ever this floating something! So why it claimed to be him...
"NO! HELP! HELP! POLICE!" Danny screamed so loud that even the neighbours could hear him...
Young Danny meanwhile used his hand to hold adult Danny's mouth while Sam tried to beat him with a book to safe her husband from him...
"OWCH... PLEASE... I... OWCH..." Danny wailed when Sam hit him with the book. "LET ME EXPLAIN..."
Adult Danny tried to beat him, too. Danny could feel his older self becomming heavier. Propably he has an blackout, again. Sam meanwhile tried to scare away younger Danny, but he turned intaingible and so he hit her husband with the book instead of it's attacker...
"Get away from my husband!" Sam screamed.
Adult Danny meanwhile became unconscious again...
"OH NO! Not again... what is the problem with him?" young Danny asked just a second before a loud roar let the house shake again...
Sam turned around just to see another big 'monster' to break threw the wall and grabbing her husband and the other ghost... Danny turned around and realized that he came too late...
Please Review and keep well.
The actual winners of the 1988 Oscars: Best Visual Effects: Innerspace/ Best Film Editing: The Last Emperor.