Ah.... so I see that you have all made it to the second chapter of Danny in Star City. Well, good for you! I worked very hard on this chapter, dontcha know. This chapter is, according to Microsoft Word, roughly 2,300 words minus the author's notes. The other chapter was what, 1,300? 1,400?
Since you all are here, I will proceed to explain some things to you for no apparent reason other than boosting my word count. I'm trying to work on a "schedule" because I've never written a planned-out fic like this before. I write the chapter during the week in my notebook, then type it up- depending on how much I've written or how much I feel like procrastinating, I may not get a copy of the next chapter up on the computer until Friday. I try to aim for Wednesday, but you know how it is. Anywho, I send it off to my various betas (who rock, by the way) and make some revision. On Saturday, I post it up at the forums I like to haunt and see the reaction of the people there. Then I edit and do some other top-secret stuff and get it uploaded to FFnet on Monday.
The bad thing is, right when I thought I got a nice routine worked out, it seems as though I will have to abandon it. This Wednesday, I will be going over to my friend's house to go on vacation with her to visit her grandparents in Tennessee. We're going to Dollywood- save me?
There's a point, I swear. I will either be A) late in getting the third chapter up, or B) not getting it up next Monday at all. I will attempt to make up for this by either (Lord forbid) writing an über-long chapter or by posting two chapters at once.
Anyway, to wrap up this almost-page-long author's note.... I'm gonna respond to reviews at the end of this chapter. Look for the George Lopez and the Barry Manilow references. This chapter's OFtR is When All Other Lights Go Out by the talented Rem-Chan. It falls under the Kingdom Hearts fandom and poses the question: what if Sora didn't regain his heart that time in Hollow Bastion? Anywho, I'm sure that most people won't have a clue what I'm talking about, so I'll just give you the fic now, shall I? Enjoy.
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Danny in Star City
Chapter Two: Road Rage and Pizza
Jazz stared out of the window dejectedly. All she could see were dairy farms, grain silos, and the backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains; there hadn't been a change in scenery for who knows how long. She had never been more bored in her entire life, not even when she had to sit through her dad's lectures on the newest Fenton invention. Speaking of which....
"I'm so excited about showing off all the newest Fenton inventions!" Jack said. "We've got the Fenton Boomerang, the Fenton Ghost Laser, and the Fenton Garbage Disposal!"
"Don't you mean Ghost Disposal?" Danny asked.
"No, you put the Fenton Garbage Disposal in the grease trap under your sink," Maddie explained.
"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why do you put it under your sink?" Jazz asked.
"I made it to catch the ectoplasmic material that Jack throws down there," Maddie said.
"Hey, I'm a lot better with that now!" Jack protested. "Nowadays, I store that stuff away where no one can mess with it."
"Jack, you put what doesn't fit down the sink in the shed in the back. Anyone could mess with it."
"....so?"
Maddie sighed and kept driving. Earlier there had been some debate over who was going to man the Ghost Assault Vehicle, but Maddie had won out after Jack almost ran into the mailbox on their way out of the driveway.
"Anyway, that's not all I'm bringing!" Jack announced.
"Somehow, I didn't think so," Jazz groaned.
"I brought the Fenton Thermos and the Ghost Weasel and the Ghost Gabber...."
"Wasn't the Weasel in an explosion?" Jazz whispered to Danny.
Danny didn't respond; instead, he swallowed nervously. "Um.... the Ghost Gabber's in the car?" he asked, keeping his voice down.
"Yes, but the batteries are old. First thing we need to do when we get to Star City is recharge them," Jack said.
Even though he looked slightly less anxious, Danny wasn't too happy with his dad's response. Jazz decided to intervene by saying, "Can we stop somewhere? I'm hungry."
Maddie glanced at the clock, which read 5:00- they had been driving since noon. "We're almost there, Jasmine. They'll have food at the hotel."
"They'd better," Jazz grumbled.
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Years ago, explorers had come to what would be later known as southwestern Virginia via the Star River. They decided that this was as good a place as anywhere else in the Colonies and plopped themselves down. The name of the original city was Salt Lick- don't ask about this one, you don't want to know- but was quickly changed to Star City by popular demand. Actually, the townspeople threatened to form a mob, but that's delving too deep into history. Anywho, Star City prospered and was known as a nice city to live in- it wasn't too big like Washington and Richmond, or too small like Catawba and Buena Vista.
Of course, neither Danny nor Jazz particularly cared about any of this information. Signs of civilization increased during the next twenty minutes, farms and tractors giving way to suburbs and automobiles. They passed by a Target, Best Buy, and a sprawling complex that Danny assumed was the mall. These were just the outskirts of the town, however; the hotel that the Fentons were staying at was nearer the downtown district of Star City.
Maddie exited off the highway and drove on a small road to the downtown sector. Built slowly over the years, this part of the town blended old brownstone buildings with those made of metal and glass. Though the skyline of Star City wasn't world-famous, it did sport a few skyscrapers belonging to various banks and businesses.
Since it was a city like any other, Star City was experiencing it's daily let's-get-the-heck-out-of-work automobile exodus. Since the drivers were.... well.... drivers like any others, they had crowded the streets to form a massive traffic jam. Since Maddie Fenton was a human like any other, she had vices that did not usually pop up under normal circumstances.
A loud, annoyingly-long beep filled the air. "Get off the road, if you can't drive! I've got the right of way, you jerk! Where'd you get your license, the Goodwill?"
They included being highly susceptible to frequent bouts of road rage.
"Mom! Calm down, the hotel's just a few blocks away!" Jazz said.
"We're gonna die..... we're gonna die....." Danny repeated to himself as Maddie made a possibly-illegal U-turn into coming traffic.
"Hm.... I just now remembered why we don't let your mother drive," Jack said.
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Several minutes and a few rude hand gestures from her fellow drivers later, Maddie Fenton pulled the GAV up to the Hotel Star City. Everyone piled out of the car, glad to be on solid ground and away from Maddie's driving for the time being.
"Wow. It's really...." Danny tried to come up with an appropriate adjective to describe the hotel. "....big." He failed miserably.
"Since its opening in 1882, Hotel Star City has become famed throughout the country," Jazz said. "Its rich heritage has given it a place on the National Register of Historic Places."
Danny blinked. "How'd you know that?" he asked.
"It's right over there," Jazz said, pointing to a bronze plaque with The History of Hotel Star City engraved at the top.
"Come on, you two," Maddie said, walking ahead. "We've got to check in before we get to the room. And then we can eat," she added to hurry Jazz along.
The entrance hall to Hotel Star City was very fancy. The domed glass ceiling soared above their heads and two twin staircases wrapped their way to the second floor. Danny could see his reflection in the polished black- and-white marble of the floor. He had to pull Jazz away from the entrance to the Ascendancy Room, which featured an all-night buffet with short-order cooks waiting to fill a guest's order.
They went up the double staircase into the reception area. Attendants were standing behind desks, fiddling with pens and their computers as they waited for something to happen. Jack tried to get the attention of one particularly bored clerk who looked like only his large paycheck was keeping him from doing something else.
The man looked at Jack's jumpsuit and, almost scornfully, said, "Can I help you?" in a nasally voice.
"Yes, I reserved a room under Fenton," Jack said.
"Fenton, Fenton," the man repeated as he typed something into the computer. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "Your name doesn't appear to be in our database."
"What? That's impossible," Maddie said. "Jack made the reservations weeks ago, didn't you, Jack?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, the reservations. That I was supposed to make...." he trailed off and hit his head. "Darn. I knew there was something I forgot."
Maddie sighed and turned towards the attendant. "Is there any chance we could get a spare room now?"
The attendant gave a short laugh that sounded like the dying breath of an obese capybara. "Hotel Star City has five stars for a reason, ma'am, that reason being that it is ridiculously hard to get in to. There isn't an open room for the next...." He checked the computer. "Three weeks."
Jack got a sly look on his face and wrote something on a piece of paper. "Maybe this could help free up a room," he said, sliding it towards the clerk.
"Dad! Don't bribe him!" Jazz said.
The clerk peered at the paper curiously and asked, "Is that number a four or a seven?"
Jack grinned. "That is a one, my man."
"Ah. Well, in that case...." The clerk crumpled up the paper and snapped his fingers. A large, burly, five-star-hotel version of a bouncer appeared at his side. "Security, please escort these people to the door."
"Don't bother- we can find it ourselves," Maddie snapped and stomped off. Inwardly groaning, Danny followed his mother down the stairs and out of the hotel, where it had begun to rain. "Can you believe the nerve of that man? I mean, can you believe it? Oooh, people like him make me so mad! If I hadn't left when I had-"
"Uh, Mom?" Danny said, interrupting Maddie's rant. "Maybe it's not such a good idea for you to drive right now."
Jack perked up. "If Maddie's not going to drive, I could always-"
"No!"
"Well, it was just an idea," Jack muttered, shuffling his feet.
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"So now what do we do?" Danny asked.
Jazz shrugged. She had decided to put her driver's license to good use and had gotten the GAV out of downtown Star City.
"Well, we need to find someplace to stay for the next few days," Maddie said.
A loud growl came from the front passenger seat. "But first, we need to eat!" Jack said. "I haven't been this hungry since our honeymoon."
"What happened on your honeymoon?" Jazz asked, interested in spite of herself.
"Your father thought it would be, uh.... romantic to take a trip to Romania and rent a haunted castle," Maddie replied.
"Cool! Did you see any ghosts?" Danny asked.
"No, but we did get stranded in the woods for three days," said Jack.
At this point, Jazz was only paying half-attention to the conversation going on around her. The rain had started to pick up and the sky had gotten dark when she discovered that the headlights on the van didn't work. Sighing, she flipped on the windshield wipers and concentrated on the road ahead.
"Look over there," Maddie said, tapping her daughter's shoulders. She pointed to a small strip mall with a sign declaring it Turrets Shopping Center. "There's got to be something to eat over there."
"Or at least a place for us to get out of the storm," Jazz said, pulling into the parking lot.
"Hey, it's a pizza place!" Danny said. As soon as Jazz parked the GAV, he jumped out and headed towards the restaurant.
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Eliza Channings sat at a booth, idly sipping at her Diet Coke. Her brother sat in the opposite seat, staring intently at the episode of Maho Mushi that was being broadcast on the big-screen TV. How her parents had saved up enough money to get the TV for the restaurant was beyond her; all Eliza knew was that since it had been installed, KiKi's Pizza was a popular hangout. It was especially true that night, when it seemed as though every family in Star City had come to eat pizza on Thanksgivings Eve.
"Todd, when's this gonna be over?" Eliza asked.
"Why?" came her nine-year-old brother's reply.
"Because, I want to see the Chip Skylark special at six thirty," Eliza said.
Todd made a face. "Why do you like him? He's not that good a singer."
"Don't ever say that!" Eliza said, kicking Todd's shin. What resulted was a mini-kicking war that lasted all of fifteen seconds.
Besides getting all the pizza she could want and then some, Eliza thought that the best thing about spending time in her parents' restaurant was that she could watch people as she pleased. Star City was a cultural crossroads; she never knew who the next one would be to walk through their door.
At that moment, a black-haired boy came bursting through the door followed by people that Eliza presumed to be his family. There was a red- haired girl wearing a black shirt, light blue pants, and a hair band of the same color; she looked to be about two years older than the boy. The two adults with them were dressed in jumpsuits, the man's orange and the woman's black and dark teal.
Todd nudged his sister. "Check it out. Why're they dressed like that?"
"Maybe they're here for that convention thing," Eliza suggested. Todd shrugged and returned to the TV.
"Welcome to KiKi's Pizza!" an overly-enthusiastic waitress said. "Would you like a booth or a table?" Peering about, she added, "Actually, you don't have that much of a choice, so how close do you want to be to the buffet?"
Jack blinked. "There's a buffet?"
"Yes sir. All-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, salad, and desert buffet for just three ninety-nine."
"Sweet heaven, I'm in love again!" Jack cried as he bounded over to the buffet tables.
"Don't worry," the waitress said as Jazz hid her face in her hands. "We get that all the time." She ushered the remaining Fentons to one of the few empty booths in the restaurant. After hastily explaining that they were only offering the buffet that night because they were short-staffed, she took their drink orders and was off.
"All right, since we're here, we might as well eat and enjoy ourselves for the time being," Maddie said. "Then we can worry about accommodations."
"Hey, we could always camp out in the GAV again," Danny suggested.
"Do not ever joke about that," Jazz said as they got up to get in line for the buffet.
While waiting, Danny felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. A shock of red hair greeted him, belonging to a girl a tad shorter than himself. She stood looking almost eye-level with Danny, a sparkle in her gray eyes.
"Hey, I'm Eliza Channings," the girl said, holding out her hand.
"Danny Fenton," Danny said, shaking it. "Do you live around here?"
"Yeah, my parents own the restaurant. Is that your dad?" Eliza asked.
Danny, almost afraid to look, saw his father piling more pizza on his plate than was probably legal. "Uh-huh. That's Dad. I don't know where Mom is, though."
There was a sudden crash of dishes and, almost in unison, everyone in the restaurant swiveled their heads to look. The waitress who had dropped the plates was staring at Danny's mother, disbelief written all over her face.
"M-maddie?" she asked incredulously.
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Mwahaha. Betcha don't know what's gonna happen, eh? Well, some people will, namely my betas. Yay betas! Oh, and I know that I said I was gonna get the reviewers taken care of- and I am- but I'm going to dedicate each chapter to someone. Chapter One is dedicated to my good friend Lunabird, who sadly is not on FFnet unless she has done so without me knowing. Why does Luna get the dedication? Because without her, the entire Star City idea wouldn't have happened. Chapter Two is dedicated to my real life friend Vicky, who listened to me rant about DSC while at the ice skating rink.
Okay, here's something for ya'll to know: Star City is based on my old hometown that I inhabited until the middle of June. I'm leaving little clues as to what city it really is, which I will address in the next chapter. Now, the reviewers!
Shadowesque13: Came a bit late with the chapter title, O Shadowed One. And I'm sorry for blowing up at you about Keeper Revisited.
lightning streak: Thankee kindly, marm.
Wind Cat: You know, it's people like you that keep people like me writing like an insane fool. As soon as I get around to it, I'll read one of your fics and write insanely nice things about it.
Snow Owl Queen: Well, Snowy, I, too, know what it's like to function late at night. Did you know, my favorite punctuation mark is a comma?
KimuraSato: BUDDEH!!!!!!! tacklehugs
Goodnight, everybody!