Hi! Sorry i'm not updating A.M.B.E.R. I'm on a bit of a writer's block with it.
cakreut12: Okay!
storyoholic: I can't tell you that yet. Sorry!
Purple Ghost Sausage: Yeppers, she is cool!
Velvet Panther: Hmm, favorite episode...Lucky in Love. And Maternal Instincts, but that's just because of the picture of baby Danny in the beginning.
Green Phantom Queen: I know!
fubkis-wraph: I know, random. And it wasn't really medicine. The 'tube' and 'minty freshness' should have tipped you off. Wow, the answer is even randomer.
Disclaimer: No, I like myself! Wait, I do not own DP, FOP, or JN. HEEELLLP!
Chapter 12: Tender Moments
The Lab
6 pm
Danny slowly opened his eyes. He had been asleep for about four hours. He was hungry, confused, and needed to go to the bathroom. But he was a lot more rested, and he could concentrate more.
He was in the main room. He seemed to be alone- the other beds were empty, and Sam and that other lady were gone.
"Hello?" he said. "Anybody here? Sam? Timmy?" When he said this, Cosmo's head poked his head through a doorway.
"Hi Danny!" he said. "You're awake! Come on in. Timmy wants to see you. And more importantly, there's pudding in here!"
Danny staggered to his feet. He didn't have much difficulty walking, but when he walked into the side room, he was stopped by two flashes- one pink, one black.
"DANNY!" Sam and Timmy said at the same time. "You're okay!"
"Yeah, I guess I am," Danny said. He looked around the small room was crammed with everyone involved with the mutation incident - even SR. Of course, Help was still in Mexico, doing who the heck knows what.
"Yeah," SR said. "We found some samples of the Flurp that Danny drank on the floor of the Candy Bar- which I don't think the owner really cleans." She pushed some buttons. "I think we found something."
Something purple came on the screen. Several spots were marked with plus signs, while some were marked with minus ones. "The pluses represent Flurp," SR said. "However, the minuses represent an unidentified substance that is not an ingredient in any variety of Flurp. Since it has had time to mingle with the actual Flurp, I can't tell what is anymore. But whatever it is, I think it caused the mutation. I suggest checking your drink before drinking it, okay?"
Danny looked at the ground. "Yeah, sure." He still felt guilty for what people said he had done.
"Whatever," Cosmo said. "Now, let's eat the pudding!"
"What pudding?" Sheen said. "I don't see any puddi- oh." What Cosmo had regarded as pudding was actually Jimmy's hair. Everyone laughed-especially Cindy, who liked witnessing Jimmy's pain (though deep down, she felt truly sorry for him).
Danny didn't really laugh. "Yeah. If anyone needs me, I'll be on the roof." He walked up a side staircase and disappeared from sight.
"Danny?" Sam said worriedly.
"Sam, let the guy have some space," Tucker said. "He's had a rough day."
Sam obeyed - for about fifteen minutes. Before she could stop herself, her 'make-sure-Danny-is-safe' instincts kicked in, and she raced up the stairs. "I'm coming, Danny!" she shouted. Without knowing it, Help's disk was stuck to her foot (How? I don't know).
The roof
Danny looked up at the sky and sighed. Some of Retroville was still smoldering from the devastation of the morning. The devastation I did, he thought.
He thought about Sam. Her arm…I did that to her? I know I was out of my mind, but…no…I can't have…
Why would anyone want to do that? Maybe somebody's trying to go to drastic measures to stop the trip. But why?
He was still brooding when Sam came up. Help's disk came unstuck by the door to the lab below, and opened. The "Gone 2 Mexico" message was still there.
She sat down by Danny. He didn't even notice that she was there, and even if he did, he didn't acknowledge her existence. He looked away.
"Danny?" Sam said. "Are you okay?"
"What do you think?" he said, still looking away. "I just destroyed half the town, hurt all of our friends, hurt you …I don't think things can get any worse."
"Well, then we should just hope that you're right," Sam said. She hated to see him like this, all torn up.
"You mean…you're not mad?"
"Mad? Of course not! Danny, it wasn't your fault. Actually…I sort of feel like it's my fault. I acted really stupid today. Worry can do things like that to you."
"Stupid? Sam, that word just doesn't fit you."
"You'd be surprised." She put her good arm around him. She wasn't aware of what she was doing. "Anyway…I know it's hard to feel comfortable right now. I mean- we're on this freaky trip for reasons nobody is telling us, and right now might be as crazy as it gets. But all things end, right?"
The two were silent for a minute. Then, Danny finally looked her in the face. "Yeah. Thanks, Sam."
"No problem." They probably would have talked more, but at that moment, a loud ching got their attention. The 'Gone 2 Mexico' sign in Help's hologram disappeared, and was replaced with Help herself. She was wearing a poncho and sombrero, both of which were WAY too big for her.
"Hey guys!" she said loudly. "I'm back!"
Sam stomped over to Help. "Hey-where were you back in Chapter 8 when we needed you?"
"In Mexico!" Help said. "Nothing was happening, so I took the day off! Aren't these cool? Hey, what happened to your arm?"
"What happened? Let me tell you-" Just then, Sam rattled off a string of swear words to show just how angry she was. Danny didn't know what many of them meant, but he wrote them down so he could look them up later.
At least he's got his old spirit back, Sam thought as she yelled.
Baioo! -SP
