Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, the characters, or the series that solely belong to Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, and Viacom International. I just own my characters that I create unless I say otherwise.
The Ghostly Dance
A month has passed since the ordeal with Freakshow. Not only were Danny, Sam, and Tucker were released from their punishment, but Sam's parents revoked their attempt to put a restraining order on Danny. In addition to that, Danny informed his best friends that Mariko is now aware of his ghost half, but has sworn into secrecy.
It was Thursday. A special event was taking place tomorrow-night at Casper High; the Moonlight Formal dance. Many teens were asking others to be their dates.
In an area of the hall, Danny was grabbing his books from his locker. After he closed it, a shadow looms over him as the ghost boy hears a familiar, obnoxious voice.
"Hey Fen-turd!"
Danny rolled his eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh.
"What do you want, Dash?"
"Oh, the usual."
Dash grabbed Danny by the shirt as he opened one of the bigger lockers, ready to shove the boy into it. However, before the blonde jock could make a move, both he and Danny hear a feminine voice from Dash's backside
"EHEM!"
Dash turns around to see Mariko with her arms crossed and a glare before he tossed aside Danny and tries to woo her again.
"Sup babe?" he asks, trying to be charming. "Looking for a date for the Moonlight Formal, because I'm available."
In response, Mariko sends a roundhouse kick to Dash, knocking him into the locker before the Japanese girl slammed it shut on him.
"Will you take that as a "no"?" Mariko says
"Hey! Let me out of here!" Dash shouts in desperation
Mariko helps up Danny as Dash continues shouting
"Are you okay?" Mariko asked
"Yeah." Danny replies with a smile. "Sorry you had to see that again."
"As I said, don't apologize on his behalf." Mariko says as she sent an icy glare to the locker
"What do you say we get to class?" Danny asks as he points with his thumb
"I'd say, I agree." Mariko replied with a smile.
The two teens leave the hall to get to class.
"HELLO?! ANYONE THERE?!" Dash shouts from the locker. "HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
One of the nerds hears Dash at a distance before he smiled and decides to leave him trapped in the locker
During lunch, in the cafeteria, Tucker was going from table to the next as he tried asking every girl saw to be his date from the Moonlight Formal. When the African boy asked a brunette girl with tan skin, she replied to him
"In your dreams!"
He tried asking another girl, but her response to him was
"As If!"
Tucker was approaching another girl, but before he could say a word, the girl immediately said
"Get lost!"
"I didn't ask you yet!" Tucker complains
The boy gave up as he returns to the table where Danny and Sam were sitting and takes his seat with a pout as the other two noticed.
"No luck, Tuck?" Danny asks with a smirk
"Still dateless!" Tucker replies
"Honestly, I don't know why most of the boys are so desperate to get a date for this stupid formal dance." Sam comments. "I mean, remember what happened at the last dance when..."
Sam paused as she saw Tucker staring at Paulina with lovesick look as the boy said like he was hypnotized
"Paulina..."
However, Sam rose an eyebrow at Danny, seeing that was no longer fawning over Paulina like he would in the past as she watched him eat his lunch.
"Danny? I'm surprised that you're not swooning over her anymore." she says
Danny glanced away as he said
"Well, let's just say that someone else has my attention now."
Sam narrowed her eyes in annoyance. On one hand, the goth girl was happy that her friend has finally outgrown his crush on the popular Latina girl, but on the other hand, Danny, in a way, is now under the spell of another girl; one who is a kunoichi and fully aware of his ghost half. She didn't like Paulina, but she doesn't trust Mariko either. Then, Mariko arrives to the table as Tucker left
"Hello Daniel-san, Sam." Mariko greets as she sat down
"Hi Mariko." Danny greets back
"Hey." Sam said with a subtle annoyed tone.
Then, they hear a slap sound. The teens see Tucker return to the table with a red handprint on his cheek.
"Are you okay?" Mariko asks in concern.
"It's nothing I can't handle." Tucker replied
Suddenly, a slab of a burger patty was thrown at Danny, hitting him in the head. He looks to see Dash laughing and pointing at him
"Nice to "meat" you again, Fen-toid!" Dash laughs as he walked away
As the ghost boy glared, Mariko reached for her inner jacket pocket and pulls out a clear jar with a sort of bright green plants inside it. Tucker noticed as he asked
"What is that?"
"Oh. A little gift for Dash." she replies. "I found a patch of these in the school field and used great care to harvest them."
Danny took notice of the plants as well before he asked
"How are those supposed to be a gift?"
Mariko had a mischievous smile as she said
"I believe someone is due for some payback."
She hands the jar to Danny
"Handle these with caution." Mariko warns. "If you let them touch your skin, you'll regret it."
It took a second for the boys to realize what sort of plants were inside the jar
"Wait!" Tucker says
"Are these what I think they are?!" Danny asks in shock.
"Mmhmm." Mariko says with a nod. "Poison ivy."
Danny and Tucker get a mischievous grin
"Maybe Dash will like them in his shirt." Tucker said
"Or better yet in his pants." Danny suggests.
Sam snatched the jar away with a glare
"Oh no you don't!"
"Sam!" Danny exclaims
"Come on!" Tucker moans
Sam maintains her glare as she held the jar away, like she was protecting it from harm
"You're not going to exploit these innocent, yet poisonous plants for some juvenile revenge scheme, like what you did with the frogs!"
Danny was more focused on the jar before he adopted a certain look as his eyes glowed.
It was the end of fifth period. Sam was at her locker. She was about to pick up the jar that she placed on the floor next to her.
Only to find it missing. The goth girl sighed in annoyance while narrowing her eyes
"Typical."
In another area of the hall, Danny locked on to the very target of his ire as he turned invisible and opened the jar
Dash opened his locker as he was about to grab something. Suddenly, an invisible Danny grabbed Dash's pants, pulled his underwear, giving him a wedgie
"HEY!"
After pulling the underwear over the jock's head, Danny pulls open Dash's pants again and dumps the poison ivy into the clothing. A chain reaction immediately commenced as Dash starts feeling his butt and legs getting extremely irritated by the second while he shouts in agony
"OW! WHA! OOWW! OOH! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!"
The blonde jock runs blindly down the hall as he starts scratching his butt and legs non-stop. When Dash was out of earshot, Danny turned visible as he started laughing at the jock's humiliating misfortune.
"Oh man! He won't be able to sit for weeks!"
Dash runs past Paulina while continuing to scratch his butt and shouting "ow" repeatedly as the Latina girl lowered her eyes in annoyance before she lets out a sigh
"Looks I won't have a date to the dance after all." she says in annoyance
Paulina opens her locker which has a shrine of Danny Phantom inside as she touched the picture of him
"Too bad my ghost boy can't be my date." Paulina says like she was longing for him.
However, Dale approaches Paulina as she noticed.
"Hey Paulina." Dale greets
"Yes?" she says
"Listen, since Dash has suddenly bailed on you, how about I take you to the dance?" Dale offers
Paulina pondered on it for a single minute. She wanted to go to the formal dance, but didn't want to go alone. Also, Dale wasn't the ghost boy, yet he was part of their A-Listers group. Eventually, she decided to go along with it and said
"Sure. I guess I'll go with you."
Pretty soon, it was the end of the school day as the students were leaving the school. There was talk going around that Dash had to go to the doctor's office due to poison ivy mysteriously getting into his pants. No one knows who did it or how it happened, but a certain culprit knew and he was proud to do it. As Mariko was closing her locker, she hears footsteps approaching. Turning around, the Japanese girl sees the very individual whom she was always happy to see.
"Hello Daniel-san." she greets
"Hi Mariko." Danny says with a wave.
As the girl closed her locker, Danny had a nervous feeling before he forcefully swallowed it down.
"Say...um, Mariko?" Danny said nervously
"Yes?"
"Listen...um, about the dance that's coming up tomorrow. I was wondering, well..."
Mariko smiled before she said to him
"I would love to go with you to the dance."
Danny was surprised and hopeful at Mariko's automatic acceptance as he asked in a hopeful tone
"You mean it?"
"Of course." Mariko replied. "I honestly thought you'd never ask."
As Danny and Mariko share a hug with one another, a pair of lavender eyes saw them before they narrowed with envy.
Sam slammed her locker door in anger after she retrieved the necessary textbooks for sixth period. The goth girl walks towards her final class. Not before she gets out of hearing range of Danny and then growled with jealousy. One of the students nearby hears her as he immediately bolts, wanting to avoid being in the line of an angry goth girl's sight.
The next day, Mr. Lancer was in homeroom as he made an announcement.
"Now class" the teacher began, "as you all know, the Moonlight Formal dance is tonight. However, our football game will be postponed due to Mr. Baxter mysteriously getting poison ivy in his pants and is forced to stay home for two to three weeks."
Nobody noticed Danny stiffling a laugh as Mr. Lancer began teaching.
The ghost boy did not regret getting his revenge on the blonde jock for one moment. He was thankful for Mariko giving him the poison ivy. Not once did Danny think that the Japanese girl has a mischievous side. In truth, he was starting to like her even more.
Hours have passed as school ended. There was no homework assigned to any of the students, much to their joy as many teens were at a variety of places to either pick up their formal attire or shopping for one at the last minute. In the food court, Danny, Sam and Tucker were enjoying their meal as they talked amongst one another.
"Dude, I still can't believe you pulled it off." Tucker says unbelievably
"Hey, he had it coming." Danny says with a chuckle.
"As much as I hate to admit it, but i honestly agree on that." Sam comments
Danny decides to change the subject as he asked Tucker
"So Tucker, any luck on finding a date?"
Tucker sighed in disappointment as he pulled out his PDA and tapped with a stylus as he deleted names off his list while saying
"Denice? no. Tanya? said "you wish". And Heather? told me to "jump off a cliff"." he throws his arms up. "What does a guy have to do to get hooked up for the dance?!"
As the African boy pouts and crossed his arms, Sam rolled her eyes and asks
"Tucker, remember what happened last time when a dance took place?"
"I know, but this time it's different." Tucker says while still pouting
Danny couldn't help but shake his head at the African boy with a smile. Then, he asks Sam
"How about you Sam?"
The goth girl was surprised at first, but remembered Danny asking Mariko to the dance as she said
"Honestly Danny, I don't need anyone asking me out to the dance! Not after the fiasco of the last one."
Tucker noticed the tone in her voice as he asked with a smug smirk
"Dateless too, huh?"
Sam replies to him by kicking him in the shin
"Ow!" Tucker yelps
"Sam." Danny began, getting her attention. "I sort of understand about what happened last time, but I'm pretty sure that things will be different."
"You can't be too sure." Sam comments
Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off. Then, several boxes behind the counters of the food court booths started to glow, followed by an all-too-familiar laugh and bellowing
"I AM THE BOX GHOST! AND I'VE COME TO COLLECT ALL OF THESE CORRUGATED CONTAINERS AS MY OWN!"
Danny groaned as he facepalmed while saying
"I so don't have time for this!"
As several people ran for their lives, Danny took cover to morph and confront the ghostly nuisance.
"Hey moron! Don't you have something better to do, other than being annoying?!"
The Box Ghost focused on Danny as several sealed boxes were floating next to him
"FEAR ME! FOR I WILL DESTROY WITH THE BOX OF...!" the Box Ghost pauses to look at one of the boxes and reads the label, "OH YEAH! CANISTERS OF DELICIOUS ITALIAN CHEESE!"
The ghost activates his power as the box shook violently before launching several canisters of parmesan cheese at Danny Phantom. The ghost boy turned intangible in response as the items simply pass through him harmlessly. He let's out an exasperated sigh with an eyeroll.
"I got a date tonight so I'm going to end this quickly."
Danny blasts the boxes before firing a shot at the Box Ghost. The impact sends him flying before the ghost boy pulls out the Fenton Thermos and sucks in the ghost.
"YOU CANNOT CONTAIN ME IN THE CONFINES OF A CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER! THE BOX GHOST WILL HAVE REVENGE YEEEEEEET!"
Danny sealed the cap before flying to a hiding spot and transformed back. The boy emerges from his spot as he walked to Sam and Tucker.
"I hope that things go well tonight." Danny said with a heavily annoyed tone.
Tucker looks at his PDA to check the time.
"Speaking of which, there's still about four hours left before the dance begins." he says
Danny suddenly widened upon hearing that.
"Oh crud! I'm supposed to pick up Mariko since she gave me her address!" he starts running, "Got to go, guys!"
Sam sees her best friend run off which caused her to narrow her eyes. As she watched Tucker get rejected by another girl yet again, the goth had a determined look to go, just so she can keep an eye on the Japanese girl as she remembered when Paulina went with Danny and had the Amulet of Aragon which, in a way, revealed the Latina girl's true nature as she remembered
Flashback:
Sam enters the girls' bathroom to see Paulina looking into a mirror to fix her hair.
"Hey Paulina." Sam greets. "Nice dress."
Paulina turns around to face Sam as the Latina girl said
"Yes. And it goes so nicely with your amulet, don't you think?"
"My amulet? That's not my..." Sam pauses as she realized that Danny had a plan and played along, "Right. Listen..."
Sam walks up to Paulina as she said
"My grandma gave me that amulet and..."
"Forget it, sweetie." Paulina interrupts with an unamused look. "I'm not giving up this trinket, or your little boyfriend, Danny."
"My boyfriend?! Ha ha!" Sam faux laughed. "And they say pretty girls can't be funny! Danny is not my boyfriend."
Paulina rose an eyebrow
"He's not?"
"He's my best friend. Maybe that's why I've been hard on you." Sam says wholeheartedly. "I didn't mean to call you "shallow"."
Sam thought she reached out to Paulina, but she thought wrong as the Latina girl said
"What a bummer! I only agreed to go out with him because I was stealing him from you!"
Her words shocked Sam as the goth girl watched Paulina remove the amulet from her neck.
"Here! Take your crummy amulet!" Paulina says as she placed it on Sam's neck
Then, the Latina girl walks away with a smug look as Sam glared at her while hearing her say
"I'm going back inside to dump your dorky friend!"
Paulina's words triggered Sam's anger. Her fists shook with rage as the goth girl's anger triggered the amulet's power.
Flashback Ends:
Sam hasn't forgotten about that night when she saw Paulina's true colors. She was certain that Mariko was biding her time until the window of opportunity to strike opens. As far as she was concerned, all those who are wealthy were nothing but shallow backstabbers; and Sam was sure that Mariko was no exception.
As Tucker returned to the table after being rejected once again, Sam thought of an idea before she faced the African boy
"Say Tucker..."
"Yeah?" Tucker asked, looking up from his device
"Listen, about that dance, perhaps we should go with Danny, just in case a ghost shows up and we're not there to help him." Sam suggests.
The goth girl hoped Tucker took the bait so she wouldn't literally have to drag him. She wanted to be able to keep an eye on Mariko as well as making sure that Danny doesn't suffer from a heartache like what Paulina was going to give him at the last one. She wanted to make certain of that.
Surprisingly, it worked as Tucker shrugged his shoulders and said
"All right. I guess we can go as friends and give Danny back-up, in case he needs it."
Sam smiled as she said
"Cool! I'll meet you at your house on the way."
Sam and Tucker went their separate to return to their respective homes for preparations. One was going to the dance to assist a friend in case of danger, the other was going with a mission to carry out.
It was two hours before the dance. Above the streets, Danny was in his ghost form as he looked at a map in his hands. Apparently, Mariko gave him her address which was 1500 Rhodium Street. Before getting ready, he printed out a map with a highlight, marking which direction to take in order for the destination to be reached.
"Let's see." he comments to himself as he looked at the map. "Rhodium Street is approximately two blocks away from Golden Valley Avenue and one block away from Platinum Lane."
The ghost boy flies past the two streets as he approached the one street name he was looking for, before turning right and flew straight down while looking around. Danny saw that each house on Rhodium Street was larger than the next. He stops to view the map again
"Okay." Danny comments while looking at the map carefully. "Her house should be right..." he looks up before his eyes widen "here?!"
Danny looked at the sheer size of Mariko's house on a little hill. It was like a Japanese palace in the fifteenth century. There was a large grass field and a long driveway that leads to the building. To say the least, Danny felt like he traveled back in time to Feudal Japan.
"Wow! Talk about a time warp."
Putting away the map, Danny lands to another area and transforms. Now clad in a formal suit that was slate in color, Danny took a deep breath before he walked up the driveway as he approached the house. The ghost boy reaches the door and knocks. It was only ten seconds later that the door was answered. Danny gasped as he saw a man who had hair in a top knot, a full beard that was trimmed well, brown eyes, wearing a corporate casual attire. Yet, he had a gentle expression on his face. The boy realized that he was face to face with Kenji Watanabe.
"Ah. You must be Danny Fenton." Kenji said.
"Yes. Nice to meet you Mr. Watanabe." Danny nervously said as he held out his hand
Kenji chuckled before he shook hands with the boy and said
"Please, you can call me Kenji." Kenji replied. "My daughter speaks highly of you."
Danny rose an eyebrow as he asked
"Really?"
"Indeed." Kenji replied. "Mariko informed me of you and that you're the first boy she's met who never tried sucking up to her."
Danny felt his nervousness leaving him as he saw Kenji step aside and said.
"Please. Come in and have a seat. Mariko will be ready in a moment. I'll inform her that you have arrived."
"Thank you, Kenji." Danny replied with a smile
The boy enters the house. The living room was enormous, full of regular furniture, various items that were Japanese in origin neatly placed in the house. He takes a seat on the couch as Kenji went upstairs to inform his daughter that Danny is here. The ghost boy didn't anticipate that Kenji would be a kind man, despite being wealthy, but then remembered Mariko's family history when she told his parents during her visit at Fenton Works.
Danny had another thought. He remembered when he met Paulina's father the first time, he wasn't as kind as Kenji is, not to mention, quite intimidating as he recalled when the Latina girl had the Amulet of Aragon and he tried to think of a way to get it back
Flashback:
Danny phased up from the sidewalk to see that he made it to Paulina's house before he lands on the doorstep and turns back to normal while practicing a way to the amulet back
"Paulina? About the amulet? It's an ancient family heirloom and I need to get it back."
At first, Danny thought he got it right, but then he slapped himself.
"No, that stinks." he said with a sigh
Then, the door opens to reveal a middle-aged man who was very muscular, glaring at the boy. Danny's eyes widen as he felt nervous and intimidated
"Uh...hi." Danny greets nervously. "You must be Paulina's dad."
The man wiggled the fingers of his clenched fists, causing his knuckles to crack. Then, Mr. Sanchez hardened his glare as he said in a threatening tone
"If you upset her, we're going to have a violent talk."
Then, to Danny's salvation, Paulina spoke up, calming down Mr. Sanchez
"Papa! You're scaring him."
The Latina girl, wearing a pink dress with matching gloves and wearing the amulet, walks up to Danny.
"Come on, Danny! We're going to be late."
Danny noticed the Amulet of Aragon as Mr. Sanchez said to Paulina
"Have a wonderful evening, baby!" he shifts his focus to Danny and glares at him while pointing his finger at him in a threatening manner "I know where you live."
"And I'm glad we had a chance to chat!" Danny said as he turned around to walk away.
Flashback Ends:
Danny remembered Mr. Sanchez being hostile with him upon sight. However, with Kenji, the boy had nothing to fear; especially since the man allowed him to enter the house.
Soon, a feminine voice snaps him out of his thoughts
"Daniel-san?"
Danny looks to see Mariko standing before him. The Japanese girl wore a flowing, midnight blue dress that exposed her shoulders, had long sleeves, and stopped an inch above her ankles. She also wore black heels, a black belt around her waist, and around her neck was a silver chain with a pendant of a crescent moon made of blue sapphire.
For a moment, Danny thought he was looking at an angel as he felt his mind go blank for a second before regaining awareness
"Wow, Mariko..." Danny said with a blush "You look amazing."
His words caused the Japanese girl to blush shyly. Then, Harumi came into the living room with a Polaroid camera as Mariko noticed
"Mother..." the girl gently scolds with embarrassment
"Please Mariko. Don't deny your mother some pleasantries." Harumi said.
Mariko smiled and shrugged before she and Danny got into position for her mother to take the picture. After it was done, Mariko turns to face Danny
"Ready to go?"
"Absolutely." Danny replies
Before the teens could leave the house, Kenji stepped in as he asked
"How about I give you two a ride?"
Mariko knew what her father meant by that as she said
"Father. You don't need to to do so. Besides, Casper High is only a short walk away."
"Please. I insist." Kenji says in response
Mariko thought of it before she glanced at Danny and asked him
"You don't mind if we get a ride, do you Daniel-san?"
Danny, thinking that her father was going to drive them to Casper High, just shrugs and says
"Sure. I don't mind if your dad wants to drop us off."
Mariko chuckled before she said
"It's not my father who's dropping us off."
This confused Danny before Mariko whispered something into his ear. Suddenly, Danny lost balance as the boy looked like he was going to faint. However, Mariko caught him and helped him regain balance. As Danny stood up straight, he asked Kenji
"If you don't mind me asking, can we make a pit stop at two of my best friend's homes before heading to the dance?"
Kenji nods and replies
"As you wish."
The dance was barely beginning as the gymnasium started filling up with students. However, they see a black limousine approaching the school. At first, the students thought that it was one of the A-Listers flaunting their wealth. However, they were proven wrong when the driver stopped the vehicle, got out and opened the rear door. Then, much to their shock, Danny stepped out before he held out his hand and helped Mariko step out of the back of the limousine. Shortly after, Tucker emerged, so did Sam, who was reluctant in accepting the ride when she found out that it was Kenji who lent the limousine to them.
"Thanks for the lift." Tucker says to Mariko who was with Danny
The students were stunned as they gasped in shock, thinking that Danny was the one who rented the vehicle.
"No way! How can Fenton afford that?!" Kwan asks in shock while looking at Star
"You're asking me?!" Star asks equally shocked. "Why couldn't you do something like that?!"
The teen quartet enter the gymnasium as the DJ played hip-hop music. Some of the students were dancing while others were socializing. Mr. Lancer was there as well, making sure that everything was in order...and reading a book on how to talk cool, like he did the last time. In addition to that, there was a table with a box for ballets to vote for the Moonlight Formal king and queen, which already began as Principal Ishiyama kept watch on the voting.
With Danny and Mariko, Danny served Mariko her punch first before he served himself. As they were enjoying their beverage, Paulina approached them as she had a mocking smile towards the boy
"So Danny, how much did Mariko pay you to be her date?" she asked mockingly
"Actually, I was the one who asked her to the dance." Danny says with a serious face
The Latina girl laughed
"You're joking."
"He speaks the truth." Mariko said before she had a smug smile of her own, "At least Daniel-san was a gentleman when he asked me out. Also, from what I've heard, your date bailed out on you at the last minute and you got a substitute."
Paulina was fuming before she stormed off to Dale.
All the while, Sam observed what recently transpired as she watched how Mariko not only defended Danny, but gave another insult to Paulina, much to the goth girl's delight.
"Okay. So far, so good." Sam thought.
What the ghost boy didn't realize was that a multitude of students were at the ballet box, voting for him and his date to be the Moonlight Formal king and queen. After the two finished their punch, Danny and Mariko disposed their plastic cups.
"So Mariko, want to dance?" he asks
"I'd love to." she replies.
Danny takes Mariko's hand as they head to the dance floor. The DJ started to play another hip-hop song which the students started dancing to the rhythm of the beat. Eventually, Danny and Mariko got into it as well as they started dancing. Tucker walked up to a girl who wasn't with anyone as he began to ask
"Excuse me. May I...?"
"No way, loser!" the girl said while holding her hand up.
"Oh, darn it!" Tucker said with a pout.
On the dance floor, Paulina was...somewhat dancing with Dale, but her mind was elsewhere as she thought
"Why can't my ghost boy be here with me?"
Also, the Latina girl glanced at a certain Japanese girl, who was dancing with a boy whom she considered beneath her, and glared.
As Danny and Mariko continued dancing with one another, several students stared at them with envy.
"Are they a couple?" a random student asks
Then, the DJ starts playing a slow song, causing many couples to get together. Even Danny and Mariko got into the music as the Japanese girl draped her arms on the ghost boy's shoulders while his hands were on her waist.
As the song continued playing, the votes were coming to a close as the last student placed his vote in the ballot box. While Principal Ishiyama started counting the ballots, the students continued dancing. Danny was truly enjoying his time with Mariko. He was happy that she genuinely wanted to go with him to this formal dance. In Danny's point of view, Mariko was a genuinely kind girl. Despite being rich, she never looked down on him as if he was nothing but dirt. Instead, she genuinely likes him for him.
Also, she rescued him and protected his friends from Freakshow, despite that Mariko witnessed Danny transform. However, she gave him her vow of silence, much to his absolutely genuine relief.
For Mariko, when she first met Danny, he genuinely befriended her, despite not knowing her relation to her father, Kenji. When she revealed her family, not once did Danny try sucking up to her. Despite nearly making an accidental mistake, she saw that Danny has a pure heart and a good soul. The Japanese girl felt that Danny genuinely likes her for her, not for her wealth.
As the music was nearing the end, Danny and Mariko paused for a moment as her brown eyes locked on to his blue eyes.
"Mariko..." Danny whispered in a trance-like state
"Daniel-san..." Mariko whispered in the same way.
The two looked like they were lost in their own thoughts as their bodies went on autopilot. Soon, their faced slowly inched towards one another as they slowly closed their eyes.
At a distance, Sam gasped as she saw what was about to happen.
Right when Danny and Mariko were about to kiss, his ghosts sense went off.
The Japanese girl felt the cold air on her lips and Danny tense up. She opened her eyes to see him looking around in worry
"What is it?" she asks with worry.
Suddenly, an obnoxious maniacal laughter sounded as the speakers and all other electronical equipment began glowing.
"That!"
Then, Nicolai Technus emerged from one of the speakers, causing everyone to gasp at the sight of the ghost levitating before them
"SINCE NO ONE INVITED ME TO THIS FAR-OUT PARTY, I! TECHNUS! MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY, HAVE DECIDED TO CRASH!"
Every teen screamed, except Sam, Tucker, Danny, and Mariko, before they ran out of the gym. In the chaos, Danny dove under the refreshments table and transformed while Technus replicated the electronic equipment before merging it to form a robotic armor.
With Sam and Tucker, they tried getting Mariko out of the chaos
"Come on! We got to get you out of here!" Sam said
"I'm not going anywhere!" Mariko declared as she got on one knee.
"But Mariko..!" Tucker goes
The Japanese girl glanced at the African boy with a determined look as she said while reaching for something holstered to her calves
"There's no way I'm leaving Daniel-san behind! Besides, this is my date night too, you know!"
Back at the fight, Danny was dealing with an armored Technus as he kept dodging and counterattacking. However, the scientist-like ghost saw an opening before he got a lucky shot on the ghost boy knocking him down. As Technus landed, his opponent got up with his fists clenched.
"What are you doing here, Technus?!" Danny Phantom demanded
"SIMPLE PHANTOM! WITH THIS TOTALLY HIP MUSIC EQUIPMENT TO CONTROL, I, TECHNUS, WILL CONQUER THIS CITY AND HAVE EVERYONE DANCE TO MY FUNKY MUSIC!" Technus widens his in an "oops" manner before he asked in a lower voice, "I just shouted out my plans, didn't I?"
"Obviously!" Danny stated.
Right when Technus activated shoulder cannons that were shaped like high-tech speakers, a spinning steel fan cleaved them both in two in a boomerang-like fashion before returning to the thrower. Danny looks back to see an angry Mariko close the fan before she runs up to Technus while throwing both of her closed weapons as the razor sharp steel weapons pierced the armored chest, causing sparks to fly. Then, the girl drop kicks the fans deeper, causing Technus to grunt in pain.
When Technus was bounced into the air as the fans popped out, Mariko jumps to her feet and then leaps into the air to catch her weapons and impale them into the ghost's neck, damaging the armor as more sparks flew.
While that was happening, Sam and Tucker watched with their jaws dropped, completely amazed of how fierce the Japanese girl can be,
"They make a good couple." Tucker comments
Sam heard that and elbows him in the ribs with a glare, causing Tucker to quickly say
"I meant team. I meant team!"
Mariko finished off Technus as she threw him to the ground, making the ghost bellyflop. Then, seeing a red circle on the back, the Japanese girl falls as she impaled her fans into it to inflict serious damage before she cartwheels backwards, despite wearing her dress which thankfully gives her enough leg room to move freely.
Technus slowly got up as his armor fell apart before disappearing. All Danny could do was watch as he fondly thought
"I'm so going to marry her! Wait! Did I think that just now?"
Without hesitation, Danny pulls out the Fenton Thermos and aims it at Technus.
Mariko opens one of her steel fans and flaps it at a safe distance away from her face, ensuring not to cut herself, to fan herself as she said in a taunting manner
"It is not your day."
Technus looks back at the sound of a device powering up
"Game over Technus!" Danny shouts
He activates the thermos as a beam catches Technus and sucks him in while the evil ghost shouts in defiance
"NO! NOOOOOOOO!"
Once inside, Danny sealed the cap as Mariko got on one knee to holster her weapons. As she stood up, Danny transformed back before he and Mariko hugged one another.
"Looks like Danny didn't need us after all." Tucker comments while looking at Sam with a raised eyebrow and a smug smirk
Sam rose up her fist in response, making Tucker drop his smug look and take a step back
Minutes later, the students saw it was safe to continue the dance as the DJ finished playing a song
Then, Mr. Lancer goes on stage and approaches the microphone
"Okay everyone! It's time to announce the Moonlight Formal king and queen of this year!" he announces
Paulina scoffed, thinking that she already won. Then, Mr. Lancer looks at the paper
"This year's king and queen are...!" Mr. Lancer pauses as his eyes widened in shock when he saw the names before looking at the crowd. "Excuse me for a minute."
He goes to Principal Ishiyama and says beggingly
"This has to be some mistake...!"
"No mistake." Principal Ishiyama replies. "I've double-checked, triple-checked. Can't deny the results."
"Fine."
Mr. Lancer walks back to the microphone
"This year's Moonlight Formal king and queen, who won by a landslide for being voted "the cutest couple" are Mr. Danny Fenton and Ms. Mariko Watanabe!" he announces in shock
"WHAT...?!" Paulina screeched
"Huh?" Danny went, not realizing that he won
Mariko blinked in surprise, hearing that she won.
"All right, Danny!" Tucker cheered
Sam couldn't but smile for her best friend as she clapped with the other students who gave the winners thunderous applause. As Danny and Mariko went on stage to receive their crowns, there was one student who didn't like the result.
In the back of the stage, Paulina was carrying a bowl that was half full with punch. She inched closer with the beverage as the Latina girl got into position. Paulina locks onto her target; the very girl who stole the crown that belonged to the Latina girl. When she sees Mariko stand next to Danny after Mr. Lancer placed the crown on the Japanese girl's head, Paulina pulled back her arms, ready to throw the punch at the girl
The Latina girl proceeds her sneak attack. However, she didn't realize the because Mariko was a kunoichi, trained in ninjutsu, she has sharp senses. The Japanese girl quickly placed her hand on the back of Danny's neck and forced him down as she ducked as well. The liquid sails above them before it hits the new target with a splash. The target happens to be none other than Mr. Lancer.
"MOBY DICK!" he shouts as the punch splashed on him
The students laugh and point at Mr. Lancer while Paulina was horror-stricken over the fact that she missed her target. Danny and Mariko look in the direction where the attack originated from to see Paulina trying to back away. However, before she could make a break for it, Principal Ishiyama approached her with a disappointed look
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
Paulina could only smile sheepishly for getting caught.
Soon after, the dance proceeded to the very end. While the students who were able to attend the festivities and have a great time, there was one student who missed out on the fun.
In his room, Dash was lying on the bed while wearing and adult diaper and bandages on his legs as prescribed by the doctor to heal from the poison ivy rash. To say the least, he was moping as he
stared at the ceiling with disappointment and grief
"Man, this stinks!" the jock complains. "First, I miss the Moonlight Formal, I miss the football game, and I'm forced to miss school for three weeks!"
Dash sits up on his bed and asks while looking up
"Why me?!"
"That's because you're a bully." came a voice
Dash looked around to find the source with a glare as he looked ready to pound the individual. Then, he sees a nerd who was grayscale in color phase up from the ground before he said
"If you didn't bully other people so much, you wouldn't be in this mess."
"G-G-G-G-GHOOOOOOST!"
Dash rushed out of his room in terror as Sidney Poindexter just stared blankly before he asks himself
"Was it something I said?"
Intermission chapter completed. Blending in elements of two episodes is tough, but doable. Stay tuned for the next chapter where two girls have a birthday on the same, but one of them gets canceled and the reign of the A-Listers s brought to an end.
A/N: I want to personally thank Flower Princess11 for granting my request to borrow "Platinum Lane" and "Golden Valley Avenue" since they solely belong to her.
A/N #2: Think of Mariko using Kitana's fatal blow from Mortal Kombat 11 when she attacked Technus.
A/N #3: The second hip-hop song the DJ plays is "Same Song (Edit Version)" by Digital Underground and the slow song is "Remember Me This Way" by Jordan Hill
A/N #4: Normally, the poison ivy rash happens within 12 to 48 hours upon skin contact, but I decided to make the reaction instantaneous for humor since I don't like Dash anymore than the next person.
Dreams Come True 996: One will be surprised of the consequences that idiocy can bring. Also, I consider Sam's parents extremely annoying.
ghust95: I play the game Destiny 2 and played the first game of Destiny, all the way up to Rise of Iron. That's how I picked the Chaperone exotic shotgun for Mariko's blaster
Batrenz: Hope you will like this chapter. Patience my friend
NiteOwl18: Yeah. I looked at outside sources and the games I play to figure out the weapons to choose.
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