Ah, I apologize that this chapter is a bit short. I had wanted to end it off with a bit of a cliffhanger and mystery there. Anyways, I'll answer the reviews now.
PsychicEevee0103: I'm glad you're understanding of this. Though I'd rather not keep you waiting for a year or longer, most likely by then I'd have given up on the story. ^^'
ZAFT Prime: Well it's mostly due to lack of motivation than writer's block, I mean I could come up with something if I really needed to, but because of the lack of motivation I haven't been able to really write anything. The last chapter felt rushed because it was originally going in a completely different direction. I was gonna have another arc filling in the month Tucker was still in the hospital, but it became too complicated and tedious so I had to delete everything and re-write the entire three chapters I had to delete, hence why it felt rushed.
Blue: It's only been a month. And I guess the lack of motivation comes from being in another fandom right now. Well it's not really just because Andy's not used to being a ghost that he's having trouble flying, there is another reason that will be apparent later on. I wanted to show that even though Paulina's shallow, she's still a human being. I like making characters that were pretty much one-dimensional in shows to have more depth and reasoning to them. And like I said, it's not really because of writer's block, if I really needed to I could think of something, but it's more of lack of motivation right now.
Elizabeth0058: I don't like having to take a break though, especially a long one until I'm finished, because breaks often lead to procrastination and eventually when you do go back it's even harder to get back into the swing of things, most of the time people would just give up on it. And as for will Andy tell Vlad about the alternate future, that I don't know yet, I'm still debating on whether he should or shouldn't. The 'good' future was something Danny showed Andy to help get him to fight, it doesn't mean it's going to happen. And as for the month backwards thing, did you know that logically speaking it should be almost Christmas in that timeline by now? But the Christmas episode is still quite a ways away, and it's pretty much stated Tucker had to stay in the hospital for two months. So the only way for this to make sense and still have the Christmas episode without retconning it was to have the months go back. It was really the only fix I could think of for that.
CalmTheHydreigon: I'd rather not keep you guys waiting, because if I do take too long it'll be harder to get back into it.
Dracoya: Nobody noticed because they have no memory of it, so to them it's normal. And I had to do that due to episodes being what they are, the Christmas one was still far away so I had to do something to keep it from being retconned.
I don't know anything about that. And thanks.
muney73: No, Andy doesn't mess with time when he has those future visions, that only happened because of what took place at the end of My Brother's a Ghost. Andy had to rewind time to get his brother out of that corrupted state, and that messed with the timeline. And yeah, thank you for seeing why it was necessary for me to do that.
Reign Storm is a great episode, the only problem is I don't exactly have a plan for it. I have plans for The Ultimate Enemy, but not Reign Storm and it's what's slowing me down. But Pirate Radio's already done and written. And thanks for trying to encourage me. :)
OMNISENSE95: It's really more the lack of motivation rather than a lack of inspiration, though inspiration would help. Thanks for the suggestion though, Andy having healing powers may be interesting if I should incorporate it.
L'ceil: You should see Blue's deviantart then, she drew a toddler Andy because something went wrong with his 'time-related' powers.
Captivity: I've already been doing that. Really it's mostly because I've moved on to another fandom at the moment that my lack of motivation to write this one is an issue.
You haven't changed your name, it's still CapTIViTY.
Wow, you really like Andy being with Paulina even though those two haven't shown any such interest in each other? And yeah, Paulina was kinda one-dimensional in the show, so I wanted to show she's just as human as everyone else even if she is spoiled. Andy is trying to be more understanding with people, though his own troubles often cloud his judgement.
Well thing is... if I don't write for a long time, chances are I may not come back, so I try to go back every once in a while to prevent that.
Thanks for supporting this story, it's good to hear you love it so much. :)
Guest: Thank you for your words of encouragement.
Nine-Tailed Kitten: Thanks, I'll try.
Guest #2: Yeah, well I don't know, breaks sometimes make it harder for me to come back to it. Pirate Radio's already been written, but that would've been a good idea for Paulina.
PrincessDragon96: I hate having a lack of motivation. I don't like how I need to take a break because it makes it harder to get back into it.
Reign Storm... oh boy, that one's a doozy to get by.
I don't have much plans for Paulina really, I did that to show she's just as human as everyone else. And I had to make it go back four months due to the Christmas episode being far away and I didn't want to retcon the series because of that.
And I hope you enjoy what I did with Pirate Radio. :)
Chapter 16: Pirates…?
It was only a few days that Tucker was admitted out of the hospital. His broken foot mended pretty easily because it was a minor injury and he was young, so the bones mended pretty quick. So now Tucker's readjusting back in school, Sam is dealing with her parents again, and Danny and I were at home finishing up our homework on another typical day.
"Hey bro… tonight's a new moon." Danny said to me as I just finished up the last question on my literature homework.
I looked up at him. "Ah, you want to go stargazing tonight, is that it?"
"You know me all too well, bro." My brother chuckled at me. "Tonight is the perfect night to stargaze. We can invite Tucker and Sam and try out that new telescope."
Ever since Mom and Dad got a new telescope for the OPs Center- something about using it to find more ghosts- Danny's been really excited to use it for stargazing. He's always had big dreams about becoming an astronaut, though I can't say I share that enthusiasm I wouldn't mind stargazing for a bit. I can't fly very high yet so seeing the sky closer without worrying I'll fall 50 feet in the air because I lost control is a nice idea.
"Sounds nice. But maybe we should bring a radio to listen to some music too. Music can help set the mood." I suggested with a smile. Sometimes I like to listen to music while I'm doing homework, it definitely helped made it more bearable.
"We'll also need some snacks. Tucker wouldn't stay for a minute if we don't have snacks available for him." Danny chuckled.
With that said Danny went downstairs to call Tucker and Sam. I looked out the window, it was already evening so it'll be night soon. I head downstairs to get the snacks ready for Tucker when I noticed Jazz was listening to a radio I was planning to take up too. The music she was listening to sounded kinda soft yet familiar.
"What is that? I've never heard that music before." I said as I lifted my eyebrow.
"It's a new song. I've never heard of it before either, but I kinda like it. It's so soothing." Jazz said with a sigh and smile.
"When were you into relaxing music?" I asked.
"Since I heard this wonderful masterpiece." Jazz said with an all too happy smile.
"Right… um Jazz I'm gonna need that radio." I said. "Our friends are coming over and I already told Danny we can listen to some music while we stargaze tonight."
Jazz blinked and frowned a bit, seeming conflicted. "... But this music…"
"I think you can survive one night without hearing it." I said to her.
"...Fine, but that song better still be playing by the time you're done with it." My sister huffed as I took the radio.
"Thanks Jazz!" I smiled at her before heading towards the OPs Center.
As usual it didn't take long for Tucker and Sam to get here. Danny and Sam set up the chairs as the sun had already set and the stars began coming out. I picked up a bag of cheetos from our snack collection.
"Ooh, cheetos!" Tucker smiled as he grabbed the bag and opened it. "Ah, nothing like a fresh bag of cheetos on a nice night like this."
"Ha, good old Tucker, always here for the snacks." I chuckled.
"Hey, I need these snacks. Do you know what I've been eating for the past two months in the hospital? I thought I was going to die in there!" Tucker whined dramatically.
"You will if you stuff yourself with nothing but junk food for the next decade." Sam smirked as Tucker ignored her and began scarfing down on the cheetos.
I sat down and looked up at the night sky as Danny began using the telescope. Sam brought her own telescope over to get a good look at the starry sky herself. I turned on the radio and let it play as I laid back and just watched the sky at my own leisure. It was relaxing; not have to worry about ghost powers, about ghosts attacking the city- because I'm sure that's going to happen at some point-, about school or any responsibilities. I can see why Danny enjoys watching the stars. I saw a shooting one pass by.
"Ah, now this is more like. Clear skies and no moon, a perfect night for stargazing." My brother said happily, not taking his eye off the telescope.
"More like starsnoozing." Sam grumbled as she looked back at me and the radio. "Andy why do you have that radio playing that song? It's boring and too soft for my taste."
"Yeah man, isn't there anything else to listen to?" Tucker asked me as he was scarfing down on a bag of Doritos now.
"Oh sorry about that. I just thought the song was good to set the mood for stargazing." I said with a bit of a frown. I mean it was supposed to be relaxing, but I guess I can see their point, besides they were looking at me annoyed. "Okay, I'll change the station." I turned the dial on the radio to try and get another station, but all I got was some weird static that almost sounded like… a voice…? But otherwise it's the same old song still playing. "Huh… that's weird…"
"What is?" Sam asked me.
"I think this song is playing on every station." I said to her as I tried changing the dial once more, nothing was different.
"Then turn it off." The goth girl rolled her eyes.
"You know I brought this up here to listen to some music. Besides, this isn't so bad." I said with a frown.
"It's boring me to sleep." Sam grumbled.
"You know you could at least try to give other music a chance before you go saying how much you hate them." I grumbled back.
Sam was about to retort to that when there was a sudden earthquake that caught all of us off guard! I yelped and fell on my butt as my throat grew hot and my dark blue ghost sense came out of my mouth at the same time Danny's lighter blue ghost sense came out of his. I felt my eyes go wide when I saw a huge pirate-looking ship coming out of the ground and floating above us. It was floating, glowing with that ghostly aura, it was mostly green and black, though the entire haul was gray-ish. Yup, it's a ghost pirate ship, as if dealing with ghost pirates wasn't bad enough in that stupid tournament… and one look at my brother and I knew this meant the peace was over.
Suddenly grappling hooks were shot at the OPs center and the pirate ghosts came swinging down from them in front of us. Show offs, they could've just flown or jumped down.
"Going ghost!" Danny shouted as he transformed into his ghost form.
I hesitated… when was the last time I even fought as Andy Phantom? Two months ago. I've only been practicing flight since then and I still suck at it! But Danny didn't seem too bothered by this as he was getting ready to fight the pirate army, he just smirked that cocky smile as the pirates raised their swords and hooks.
Before it registered in my mind to go ghost myself and help him another pirate on the ship got everyone's attention by slamming his hooked hand onto the ship. Danny looked surprised and even the ghost pirates gasped as they turned back, probably looking at their leader. I was shocked too, but for a different reason… their leader was a kid… a ghost kid who looked no older than 10 years old!
The kid wore a gray coat, has green hair and eyes, freckles and a buck tooth. He wore a big black pirate hat and one of his hand is a hook and one of his feet is a peg. There was also a skeleton parrot beside him. The ghost kid looked a bit too jolly. "Avastges! … Aw man… what's the word?" he asked the skeleton parrot.
"It's 'scurvy dogs', WAK!" The parrot said to him.
When I looked at the skeleton parrot it reminded me of the parrot from the tournament, granted this one was much smaller and doesn't seem to be able to fight, but it still aggravated me.
"Right! Avastges scurvy dogs! Prepare to fight against Captain Youngblood and his skeleton crew! We are the Pirates and we have succeeded where they fail!" The kid announced proudly as his said skeleton crew suddenly looked all goofy… and gross. Talk about unimpressive for an introduction.
"Hey, isn't it past your bedtime kid?" Danny frowned at him as he flew up to Youngblood's face.
My eyes widen when I saw the kid's hook suddenly changed into… a fork…? It suddenly turned into a slingshot as red ghost energy appeared on it like a string and he shot a ghost ball at my brother. Danny didn't have time to react before he was struck on the chest.
"Don't call me kid! I've been matured beyond many years!" Youngblood snapped before he spat his tongue out at him childishly. Okay kid, here's a tip; when trying to prove you're mature don't act childish right after you say that. "Grab the stuff and let's go!"
I frowned as I saw the other pirate ghosts flying above us, one of them used their sword to slash something off of the OPs center. Danny, being the one in the air and closer to them saw what it was they're stealing. "Hey! They're stealing my Dad's ghost shield generator!"
"We got the… go the… what's the word?" I heard Youngblood ask the Parrot again.
"Wak! Booty."
"Hehe, you said 'booty'." Youngblood laughed.
What would a bunch of pirate ghosts want with a ghost shield? Sam and Tucker looked at me expectantly and I sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll help him."
I ran towards the ship about to go ghost when Danny was suddenly struck down by Youngblood's cannonball that came out of his… peg leg, wow this kid is copying those Pirates perfectly. I yelped when Danny fell right ON me and both of us flipped back a bit. "Ow!"
When I managed to get my brother off of me I saw the ghost ship already disappeared into the night sky… wow, they're fast, wish I could fly that fast.
"Nice going matey, you just got your butt handed to you by Short John Silver." Sam teased before looking at me. "And you know you could've helped him."
"Excuse me for not being used to fighting ghosts as a ghost myself." I grumbled.
"And since they just stole our Dad's ghost shield you think you could be a little more sympathetic like Tucker?" Danny grumbled to her too.
"Uh Danny…" I looked over at Tucker who was laughing. "Tucker what's so dang funny?"
"He said 'booty'!" Tucker laughed as he pointed at the sky.
"... Oh grow up." I growled in irritation.
"What? It's a funny word!" Tucker continued to laugh.
"Come on Andy, you've gotta learn to act faster! Danny could use your help." Sam said to me and I rolled my eyes.
"He can take care of himself and I would've backed him up when he needed it. Don't keep telling me what to do like I'm some kind of puppet." I said to her annoyed. I can respect Sam and all but I'm getting sick of her 'do as I say because I'm always right' attitude.
Sam frowned at this and I looked away… what's with my attitude lately? Sam was only trying to help and push me to help my brother. Why have I been snapping at her? "Sorry… I guess I've just been on the edge after that sudden attack."
"You've been on edge since you got ghost powers." Danny said to me as he turned back to human. "Maybe you should try to relax a bit."
"Yeah maybe…" I frowned. "But shouldn't we chase after them? They did just steal Dad's ghost shield and now we're kinda vulnerable to ghosts without it."
"I'd love to, bro, but I have no idea where they went and it'll take all night just to track them down." Danny said with a frown. "I'm sure we'll be fine, let's just get some rest and see if we can track them down tomorrow."
I think the last two months of having no real ghost threat made Danny too lax, he hasn't gone on night patrol in a while. While it's good he finally gets the necessary sleep since then it also means he doesn't want to go looking for ghosts again. I don't blame him… I've gotten pretty lax too. I need to learn to make better use of these ghost powers soon.
Because it was late, Tucker and Sam had to go back home. Both me and Danny turned in for the night. I put away our homework and books into our backpacks respectively before heading to my bed.
"Andy…" Danny suddenly said.
"Hmm? What is it?" I asked, looking over to him.
"I was just thinking… We haven't really fought any real battles since that tournament Walker held two months ago. I've been busy trying to teach you how to control your powers better, and you've gotten better since then." Danny said quietly.
"Yeah… maybe… but I still can't fly very well and I don't know why." I said with a frown. "I don't think it took you this long to be able to fly faster than a car."
"Flying was hard at first but it became easy after a while. It might be because of my love for the sky. I've always wanted to fly high, especially into outer space." Danny said with a small smile. "I just have to think about that and my body naturally just fly how I want it to. Maybe yours is different since you don't have as much interest in space like I do."
"... Maybe. But while it's true I don't have as much interest in space like you, Danny, I still do like the idea of flying." I said quietly. "Maybe I'm just scared… I've always been the ordinary human between the two of us since the first accident, maybe I just haven't come to terms that I'm like you now…"
"That might be it. I also think your emotional distress is making it hard too. Flying is usually something uplifting. Mom and Dad was wrong, ghosts do feel thing. After all feeling cheerful and joyful makes flying a lot easier." Danny said as he gave a small sigh. "I guess we'll figure it out eventually bro. But until then… we better get some sleep."
I stayed quiet as I heard my brother's soft breathing as he fell asleep. Feelings of happiness and joy? I remember being able to fly when I was laughing before… could that be it? Thinking happy thoughts might help me fly. I'll never be able to keep up with Danny if I don't learn to fly properly, but I'll do my best to fight alongside him. I felt myself drifting...
What's going on…? Why do I hear so many people screaming…? What's happening to Amity Park? I couldn't move, but something bad was happening.
Danny…? Why's Danny on the ground…? He looks injured… why isn't he moving? … Danny…! He's unconscious! Ugh… but I can't move… what's wrong with my body?
I then saw Vlad, he too was on the ground, unmoving. He was unconscious, just like Danny is. I could only move my head and I tried to find out what's going on. Looking down at myself I could see I too was injured… it seems all three of us were fighting something, and yet I'm the only one conscious somehow, I just can't move.
Then I saw a huge shadow with green fire looking over us. I could only see its silhouette, the green flames around its- what I assumed to be- head and long horns.
The big shadow reached down and grabbed all three of us. I was terrified. I could not move or even make a sound, it was almost like I was unconscious myself but aware of what's going on.
"They're ghosts AND humans! Will this day's surprise ever end?" The tall shadow said in a deep and rough voice.
Then I heard a small voice, a crying and weak voice, begging me. "Please… stop the rise… of Pariah Dark… please… before it's… too late…"
Suddenly everything around me faded away and I found myself standing face-to-face with Dustin. He smirked at me… a cruel kind of smirk. I still couldn't move, but he leaned over to my face and said only two words that haunted me. "You can't."
I don't understand, I thought Dustin was our friend or at least an ally, why is he smirking like that? What did he mean I can't?
Suddenly, right before my eyes, Dustin's body shifted and changed. I gasped when I saw he suddenly transformed into Corrupted Danny. No, I thought I was over this nightmare! Corrupted Danny just laughed in my face before he suddenly grew big and I was thrown into his mouth. I yelped as he swallowed me, but everything around me changed again.
Now I was sitting in a dark room. This time I could actually move around but I still couldn't speak for some reason. I walked and tried to find my way out of here. The place was endless, I just kept walking… until I saw treadmills. At first there was only a few, but they began to multiply. I backed away as there was more of them. They seemed hooked to a big fiery furnace. When I looked at the treadmills again, this time half of them changed into bike-like exercise equipments. Then people appeared on them and began working out. I was bewildered, it's like everything was 'evolving' around me and all I could do was watch. These people all looked like adults from Amity Park, I saw Tucker's parents, Sam's parents, Valerie's Dad, Dash's parents… even Mom and Dad are here. Jazz was also here, but she's the only teenager here.
I didn't understand what was happening… is this a dream or another vision of the future? But I thought I could only see the immediate future by looking at certain things while in distress, why am I seeing all this now? I looked up when I heard what sounded like an electric guitar being played. I made a silent gasp when I saw it was Ember, she was laughing as she played her guitar. What's she doing here? I haven't seen her since the whole concert blow out thing.
I looked at the adults and Jazz that were working out, their stares were blank, indicating mind control. My only conclusion is that Ember is controlling them for some reason. The furnace got bigger as more and more exercise equipment and people were added, yet strangely enough there were mostly only adults or old people here. Jazz is an exception, probably because she thinks she's an adult… wow, psychology can really do wonders for you, or in this case, hurt you.
I still couldn't figure out what Ember was trying to do here, it didn't make any sense really, what would an adult hating ghost teen want with all these people? I tried to touch them, I put a hand over Jazz's shoulder… only to phase through her like a ghost. It's like I wasn't even here or my entire body was intangible. That couldn't be, because I wouldn't be standing on solid ground, so most likely I'm not really here, just seeing a vision or a dream.
There are stairs, I quickly ran up them to see where it takes me. When I got to the top I suddenly found myself in Amity Park once again, and it was in ruins. But there was something different about this Amity Park… Then someone came in front of me. I yelped and staggered back when I saw it was Corrupted Danny again, but he suddenly morphed and changed into… me…?
This 'me' was taller, more mature looking. He didn't look at that different from me otherwise, but it's almost like an adult version of me. He glanced down at me… could he see me? I didn't know if he could see me or if he was just looking my way by coincidence. There was something… off about him… The adult me looked so… sad… so regretful… so defeated… It scared me just to look at him. Then he looked up before he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Danny… don't you get it…? You're loved so much more than you know. Our family and friends wouldn't want this…" The adult me said softly and filled with regret and sadness, it almost made me want to hug and comfort him, but I couldn't move again. "I'm sorry that all of this happened… May your guilt and grief be far from your mind and forgive me for being so blind. If only I had realized sooner this was destroying you… but it's too late now… You're gone… and now… so is everyone else."
I wanted to know what was going on, what's he talking about… what happened to Danny? I saw something in his hand… and now I could see he was injured, his body was filled with wounds. I'm surprised he's still conscious, I've only seen people with this many wounds in a coma in the hospital… But that thing in his hand… it looks like… a Time Medallion?
Suddenly something white and black was charging at him from the sky and the adult me suddenly lifted the Time Medallion. Everything happened so fast, the Time Medallion suddenly exploded and there was a bright golden glow that blinded me.
Now I was in darkness… I could only float there… What's going to happen to me now? Was that a dream or a vision too? My adult self suddenly appeared in front of me and he looked directly at me. I frowned as I reached out to him and he did the same to me. As soon as our hands came in contact, he suddenly shrunk and came down to my size. Now he was like my own reflection, the only difference was he still held the sadness and regret in his emerald green eyes.
My reflection then floated closer to my face and whispered in my ear. "Please save him." Then he disappeared and I was left alone in the darkness.
Well that was a strange way to end it, am I right? :) Those dreams are Andy's future vision mixing in with his dream, it's vague but it's foreshadowing to something in the Ultimate Enemy. I just have to get through the other episodes first before I can really do much with it sadly. Anyways, I hope you guys are still enjoying the story. I am DarkFoxKit and I look forward to hearing from you.