Chapter 7: Brief Intermission

Star, Sam, Tucker and Jazz had to figure out ways to distract Danny's parents and sneak inside. Thankfully, Star managed to think one up and only one person complained.

"This is never gonna work..." Sam complained.

"It so will. Now quit complaining and push..." Star said as she pushed an unattended hot dog cart.

"Well, couldn't we use a more organic, vegetarian kind of distraction?" Sam asked, only to get looks from the others.

"Are you serious? My little brother, and your best friend, is trapped in there in a ghostly boxing match, probably about to be killed and you're more upset about using hotdogs to distract my dad?" Jazz asked incredulously.

"Sam, I know you have a right to your opinions...but right now, nobody cares what they are." Star said.

"Plus, I know my dad. If he had to choose between hot dogs and whatever vegan crud you could come up with, he'll pick the hot dogs..." Jazz said flatly.

Sam frowned and grumbled something under her breath, clearly hating this but she shut up.

"Let's hustle. Danny needs us..." Star reminded as they readied their distraction.

After about a minute, they set up the distraction and Mr. Fenton saw it and took the bait.

"Free hot dogs?!" Jack asked happily.

He ran over there as his wife followed.

"Jack…" Maddie grumbled.

Her husband went to the cart, but was surprised to see that no one was there to tend to it.

"Where's the franks?!" Jack shouted angrily.

Maddie joined him, watching as he searched for something to eat.

Star and the others saw Mr. and Mrs. Fenton take the bait, leaving the hole unattended.

"Wow, it worked..." Star said, happy.

"Let's hurry. Before Danny gets into another fight..." Tucker said.

They all went to the hole that the Fentons made but found it was very small.

"Wow… how was your dad supposed to go through this?" Star asks.

"I don't think he thought this through. He usually never does…" Jazz said in displeasure.

"Aw man, how are we supposed to go through this thing?" Tucker said, since it's really small and narrow.

"Like this, now suck it in!" Star ordered as she pushed him inside and forced Tucker to enter head first.

"Ow...careful...my stomach doesn't enjoy getting hit by a forcefield that way..." He complained as this was really uncomfortable.

"Stop whining and move!" Star said.

Once Tucker made it to the other side, Star took a deep breath, tried to slip inside and made her way, despite how uncomfortable it was.

Sam and Jazz both did the same thing, managing to avoid being caught by one second as the Fenton and police still hadn't noticed.

"I think my internal organs are crushed..." Sam muttered, feeling discomfort as this place was too narrow for people.

"I haven't felt that cramped since Dad made us those snow jackets..." Jazz said, hating that memory.

"We're coming, Danny..."Star thought, worried for her love.

Meanwhile

Danny, who had been taking a break, was taking a sip of water, which was kinda hard due to his boxing gloves.

"How do they expect us to eat or do anything with these stupid things?" He asked, wondering how this could get any worse.

"Ghost boy?! Did I hear your voice?" Paulina's annoying voice echoed.

Danny flinched and cursed under his breath.

"Seriously? She's still looking for me?! Why can't she get a life or a hobby...one that doesn't revolve around ME?!" Danny complained as he tried to get out of here.

Thankfully, he managed to hide in the bathroom, just as his most annoying fan girl passed by, desperately looking for him.

"Ghost boy, Please! Come back! You can't run away from destiny! Why won't you give my love a chance?!" Paulina shouted as she began to get more desperate before running to look for him again.

Because I have a girlfriend, and you're both shallow and crazy… Danny thought as he waited until he was sure that she was gone.

"It's time for our next match up." Goatstley called.

"Let's see who the last match of the semi-final round is!" Antello went with more excitement.

"Might as well watch " Danny said, hoping that he'll get that belt and this will be over soon.

Meanwhile, at the Strong Residence

Everyone at Johnathan's party was glued to the television screen, watching what was arguably called the most bizarre boxing match in history.

However, the birthday boy's mind wasn't on it right now. Rather on his daughter and how he hasn't heard from her for while.

I sure hope that Star is safe. At least she's not stuck at the stadium where this crazy match is… He thought, worried about his only child.

His friends and guests, however, were more interested in the fight that just occurred between the resident hero and a giant gorilla.

"My money is on the croc..." William said, not even realizing that he spilled some chips on the carpet.

Georgia saw this and frowned.

"I can't believe this. I don't even watch regular boxing. I don't want to know how invested they'd be in that..." She muttered, barely resisting the urge to tidy up the area and scold them for making a mess.

At the Bevier Residence

Unlike Johnathan, Jean-Luc seemed to be captivated by the ghostly boxing match and enjoyed it a little too much.

"Zat beast was pure slugger style while the man dressed like the men who moved our things chose an outboxer style, naturally he had more of an advantage. It must have eaten something before ze match, which is a sure sign of losing if one were to step in ze ring." He said, cheering as he waited for the next battle as if he was a fan at a real boxing match.

His wife and daughter didn't share his enthusiasm as they were neither interested in the sport or who was winning right now.

We have been married for almost 4 years and this is the first time I learned he liked this sport. How is this even possible? Stella thought, more concerned about the people trapped at the match than who'd win, as her baby son was sleeping in her arms.

Colette cared for neither the match, nor the people trapped there. She was just bored and her mind was elsewhere.

Zis is so boring. I would rather be looking for Mon Amore or come up with new ideas for my new shrine to replace the one I am still sure that Estelle destroyed last Valentine's day... She thought, bored out of her mind and fantasizing about stealing her crush from her enemy.

"The Box Ghost… vs… Crocodile Rick!" The unseen referee called out.

Four people did not notice or care that much, they were more interested in looking for Danny.

"Split up. He's gotta be here somewhere." Star said.

''Okay, let's take different floors. I'll take one of the lower floors. As soon as one of us finds him, call the others..." Sam said.

Tucker headed to the west side of the arena while the girls searched in different directions, trying to look for Danny.

''Where is he?" Tucker asked, looking for his friend before he noticed a concession stand and smiled. "Maybe he's coming to get popcorn, who knows?" He said before walking there.

Unfortunately, bad luck seemed to be following as he walked into an unwanted face.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here? A nerd to wail on?" Dash was heard.

"No..." Tucker groaned as he saw that it was Dash and Kwan.

"Hey Tuck, I see that you made it. Don't think that this changes our bet just because the game's been hijacked by boxing ghosts..." Kwan said.

"Uh...hi, you guys. I was...uh...looking for the bathroom..." He said as he tried to leave.

Dash, however, refused to let him leave by blocking him.

"Not so fast, loser. Lancer and the teachers aren't here and I've been itching to wail on a nerd for a while..." Dash said, wanting to use this opportunity to bully and get away with it again.

Tucker gulped, knowing that this is bad.

"Uh... shouldn't you guys go back to your seats to watch the boxing match instead of wailing on me?" Tucker asked, trying to find an escape.

"It's with that guy dressed like an old fashioned longshoreman, so we got time..." Dash said, cracking his knuckles and looking ready to give him a wedgie.

"Yeah, plus I wanted to get a hot dog..." Kwan said, though he didn't seem as enthusiastic to bully people lately, not since last Valentine's day anyway.

"I told you, you shouldn't have bought that bunch of ice cream sandwiches." Dash chided him.

"But they were so good." Kwan went.

"Whatever… we'll just swipe this dork's money." Dash stated.

"But I'm broke..." Tucker said as he even showed his empty pockets.

"Then we'll take whatever geek junk you have we can sell..." Dash said, pounding his fist in his hand.

Tucker tried to think fast and tried to save himself.

"Or… we could make a new bet?" He went.

That caught the bullying jocks attention.

"A bet?" Both asked.

"How about this idea? The loser not only has to pay up $50...but...uh... has to dress up as a cheerleader for Halloween?" Tucker asked, so desperate that he said the first thing to pop in his mind.

He instantly regretted it.

What am I saying?! He thought in horror but the damage was done.

Dash paused, thought about it and began laughing loudly and grinned evilly.

"Alright, Foley. You got it. But let's make it more interesting. If Kwan wins, both you and Fenton have to dress up as cheerleaders for Halloween and pay up $50 each..." Dash said.

"And if I win?" Tucker asked, looking nervous.

"Not that it's likely, but if you somehow win...me and Kwan will pay you guys and I'll make the entire team, me included, dress up as cheerleaders for Halloween and do a cheer routine. Plus, I'll even get everyone to wear lipstick, make-up and the works..." Dash said.

"What?!" Kwan exclaimed, looking horrified and surprised as his so-called best friend made this terms with the tech geek.

"Deal..." Tucker said, seeing no other way out of this.

"Fine. If Danny Phantom manages to beat the champ of this ghost tournament, I win. If not, then you win." Dash stated, overconfident at his victory.

"Fine...bye..." Tucker said, running away and instantly regretting all of this.

"Dash, why did you do that? Are you crazy?! I don't wanna dress up as a cheerleader and wear make-up..."Kwan asked, looking at him like he's lost his mind.

"Oh please, there is no way a loser like Foley is gonna win. He's a loser that doesn't know the first thing about sports. This bet is in the bag..." Dash said, being cocky.

"But...what if he gets lucky and wins? I don't wanna dress up as a cheerleader for Halloween! It would be so embarrassing!" Kwan said, knowing how humiliating that would be.

"Will you quit whining? We're not gonna lose and I'm looking forward to seeing both Fenton and Foley look like even bigger losers than usual. Speaking of which, I better let my friends at the yearbook committee know about this and that they'll have their camera's ready...no way I'm gonna let them miss this." Dash snickered, looking forward to this. "Maybe then, Colette will finally see what a loser Fenton is and see that she's better off with me." He said as he went back to his seat, looking confident.

His friend, however, just had a look of dread on his face.

Why do I get the feeling that we both made a big mistake? Kwan thought, hoping that he'll win the bet.

Meanwhile

Crocodile Rick, much like Rocky before him, was punched in the stomach, sending him falling back and knocking him out.

The Box Ghost pounded both fists together and grinned.

"The Box Ghost takes another victory!" He declared happily.

"The winner is… The Box Ghost!" The unseen referee went.

From the section that had the ghosts, only the Lunch Lady truly cheered for him. She sighed happily.

"What a stud…" She said wistfully.

The other ghosts looked ready to throw up in response.

"I'm going to the bathroom and flush myself down the drain in hopes I'll forget hearing that…" Bertrand went, walking away.

As Ember looked away, she saw Danny in human form leaning on a pillar and decided to surprise him. Also to get away from the Lunch Lady gushing over the Box Ghost of all people.

She made her way, getting his attention fast with a wave of her hand.

"Dipstick, I see you couldn't stay away. I'd kiss ya but… I'm currently resisting the urge to blow chunks after hearing the Lunch Lady call Boxy out there a stud." Ember stated, her smile leaving her upon admitting why she's not doing that.

"Thanks for the restraint, I guess…" Danny responded.

''Danny!" Star's voice was heard.

Danny smiled as his Rockstar admirer frowned.

"Huh… your lady friend is here." Ember said before making her leave. "Darn Lunch Lady…"

Danny ignored her and turned around to see his girlfriend rushing to him.

"Danny Boo!" Star went.

"Star!" Danny said, hugging her but it was difficult due to his gloves. "How did you get in here?" He asked.

"Never mind that, I gotta let the rest know... " She said as she texted the others to inform them that she found him.

"They're here too?" Danny asked as Star looked up.

Once she did, she looked around and noticed something missing.

"Where's my dad's present?" Star asks.

"I've been so busy with this, I don't know. Somewhere where they had me when I disappeared? All I know is I can't get it back until I take these off." Danny said, gesturing to his gloves.

"Then let's take them off." Star said, reaching for them.

However, Danny pulled back.

"No!" He went, much to her surprise. "If I do that before I win, I'm disqualified and Box Ghost gets that belt." Danny said.

"What's so special about it?" Star asks.

"It looks like whoever wears it gets a power boost." Danny answered.

"Uh… boost by how much?" Star asks.

"I'd rather not find out. That's why I have to win it, so I can put it somewhere no one can find." Danny explained.

His girlfriend realized this was a serious manner and before she could say anything, the ghostly anthropomorphs made another announcement.

"The final round will begin in roughly 5 minutes! Be ready, fighters!" Antello called out.

Danny groaned.

"Come on, I gotta find a place to go ghost…" He said.

Seeing no other option but to continue, both of them left, wanting to make sure Danny is ready for the next match, which might be his toughest one yet.

New chapter with thanks to Flower Princess11.

For those wondering, Danny tells Star about Ember off scene.

Ronaldm40196867: They didn't pick any. I'm stumped, possibly bad writing. I would say he was faking it just to get a girlfriend.

Invader Johnny: Ironic indeed.

Kane barton: True but I guess attractive and legal for him.

Jebest4781: Thanks.

saberwolf335: Someday we'll have a Phantom Rocker story here. Also, I might update when I can for that story, please keep comments on this story.

TheWhiteTitan: Yup.

Luiz4200: He knows his stuff.

hmilles02: 1. FP11 came up with an original character for this. 2. Donkey Kong. 3. No one in particular.

CZS4: He is.