DarkFoxKit: *Is staring at the calendar*
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Heh, less than a week, huh?~ *Looks at the camera* She's waiting for this Friday. She has plans to go out early to Target to try and get her hands on one of the in store sets of the journal and calendar for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Andy: Seems like a waste of time to me. You would've been better off if you kept your pre-order.
DarkFoxKit: I want that journal, darn it! I couldn't pre-order it because apparently Target sold out of pre-order, my only hope is that the website that mentioned the in-store promotion wasn't a hoax or something. And that I can get my butt out of bed early enough to get it.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Looks at Andy* Yeah, it was sold out pretty much overnight. *Glances back at the camera* Also, I'm sure you're wondering why we're posting today, everyone. Last chapter wasn't one of the long chapters we were talking about.
Andy: I still say that it would save Fox here a lot of grief and a sleepless night if she just stuck to the pre-order she had from another store instead of going through all this trouble for a journal she may not even use.
DarkFoxKit: I want that journal, even if I don't use it. I still want it! OwO
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Andy, your suggestion is noted. But you probably shouldn't push as Fox is going full fangirl. And you, more than anybody else in the world, should know what it's like to go full fan.
Andy: Nobody here knows about that!
DarkFoxKit: Oh, Andy, I have a very fun idea for you, Onyx can join in as well~ :3
Andy: Uh-huh… well I gotta go spend some time with my family, you two have fun with your Animal Crossing games when they come out. *Quickly runs away*
DarkFoxKit: Onyx, be a dear and go after that precious boy, won't you?~
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Smirks* Andy should know better than to run form an alpha predator~
DarkFoxKit: *Looks at the readers* What are you waiting for, readers? Go on, get to reading, that's why you're here, aren't you?~
Chapter 87: Cross Country Road Trip
"Great, now we're surrounded," Danny whispered to me as we were floating back to back.
We had the helicopters and Guys in White surrounding us. I could see cameras being pointed at us, and Lance Thunder, the weatherman, reporting to the folks back home on what was going on, or what they thought was going on anyways. The Guys in White were in jetpacks, aiming their ecto weapons at us.
"I can see that," I replied back.
"Make this easy on yourself and those around you and surrender!" One of the Guys in White ordered.
"Or don't, and put yourselves and those nearby in danger," Another one of the Guys in White added. "Either way, you're coming with us. We have plenty of experiments lined up for you two."
"What do we do, bro?" Danny asked me, still whispering.
"Our best bet to getting away is going underground, but it would be too risky to just dive right here. The Guys in White are likely to shoot at the people below. We'll have to try to lead them away before we go underground," I whispered back.
"So fly in one direction at high speed, turn intangible and invisible, then dive?" Danny summarized.
"That's the best plan I can come up with on such short notice. We don't want to put the bystanders in danger after all. Once we start moving, we may have to split up. We'll meet back at Fenton Works once we shake these guys, okay?" I instructed, giving us a rendezvous point.
"Yep," Danny responded.
The Guys in White started to close in on us.
"Okay… move now," I hissed.
Danny and I turned intangible before we both scattered, causing the Guys in White to start firing their weapons rapidly, though they ended up hitting each other since they were so close to us. Danny and I were lucky that these ecto weapons couldn't hit us while we were intangible, I knew some of our parents' weapons that could hit intangible ghosts. I better count our lucky stars these guys hadn't yet figured out how to create weapons that could do that yet.
Once we were on the move, however, I could hear the Guys in White giving orders. Some of them were splitting up into groups to go after each of us. I could hear the crowd of teenagers cheering both Danny and I on. While the weapons themselves couldn't hit us while we were intangible, they were likely to have traps that could catch us, like the cube that Vlad and Skulker used on us, or a ghost net, those were the most common.
"You have nowhere to run, ghosts!" One of the Guys in White shouted as they followed in a jet. "On the way here, we set traps up all over Amity Park that'll go off when you get near."
"Don't tell them that!" A second Guys in White agent yelled. "Traps are meant to be kept secretive, rookie."
"Sorry sir!" The first Guys in White agent replied before turning his attention back to me. "Stop immediately or there will be consequences! Oh, and just so you know, we brought more than 2 agents this time!~"
"Seriously, rookie, shut it! You do not need to tell the target more than they need to know!" The second Guys in White agent shouted.
I kind of like this rookie. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
I did have to be careful, however, because when I went past a certain point, glowing nets were being shot at me. Thankfully those were easy to dodge, mostly thanks to the rookie warning me about them. With how some of the athletic kids from my school throw their dodgeballs, these were pretty weak. I kept going after dodging the nets. I heard what sounded like machines powering up from below. Looking down, I could see metallic silver and green turrets pointing up at me. I turned intangible again and started to fly quickly before the turrets started to fire ecto lasers at me.
I remembered those dodge trainings Danny and I had with Scarlet, her arrows and spears having been merciless. I was thankful for that training because I wasn't sure if my intangibility would've protected me from the lasers, it was better to be safe than sorry after all. I vaguely noted that my legs turned into a ghostly tail to help me move faster and easier.
I was almost out of the vicinity, I could start diving towards the ground once I got out of the public area.
I was about to do just that when I got a sudden feeling that made me stop. Not 2 seconds later, a large blue field of energy appeared in a sheet just above the ground.
What the crap is this? I frowned in confusion.
I looked around and noticed pylons quickly shooting out of the ground. There were 5 in all, and all began to hum a little before more fields of energy shot out between them. I watched with confusion as the fields connected to one another. I had realized what was going on and was about to fly up when suddenly a final field of energy appeared above me, trapping me inside the area within the fields.
I floated up to one of the walls of energy, noticing that it was different from a Ghost Shield, at least the ones I was used to seeing. I turned my hand intangible to see what would happen if I touched it. When I did, I received a jolt from the energy and hissed as I jerked my hand back, seeing it was solid again after receiving that shock.
"Looks like we can tell the boys back at RnD that the hardlight trap pylons are working well," The second, more experienced Guys in White agent noted as they hovered the jet over the trap.
"Look at him, he's like a rat caught in a trap," The rookie Guys in White agent remarked.
"That's something I'll agree with you on," The experienced Guys in White agent replied.
It's almost like they're using a Ghost Shield with electricity or something. I can't get out of this… I frowned before looking at the pylons around me. That's odd, why didn't they cover the pylons with the energy too? Wouldn't they be worried I could break those or something?
"Let's see… which of these buttons was it to make the trap smaller to better contain the ghost for transport…?" The experienced Guys in White agent mumbled loud enough for me to hear.
I quickly floated over to one of the pylons, deciding to test something while they were distracted or think I couldn't escape. I carefully touched the pylon, noticing there was no electric shock or any kind of energy protecting it. I turned around to face the Guys in White while keeping my hands on the pylon. I started to see if I could break it with my ghost ray. I made my ghost ray small, precise, and sharp, making it act like a scalpel. I felt it cutting through the pylon. I knew I wasn't going to have much time, so I started to expand my ghost ray, causing it to crack the pylon and start breaking it from the inside. Once the pylon started to break down, I flew away from it and hurried to the next one.
"Uh… is the ghost boy supposed to be able to do that?" The rookie agent asked in an unsure tone.
"Not now, rookie! I'm looking at this manual that appears to be written in some sort of alien language!" The experienced agent responded.
I made a crack on the other pylon with my scalpel-like ghost ray before firing a more powerful ghost ray to make it break down from the inside. I flew to the next pylon and did the same thing, causing the shield of energy around me to start disappearing.
Heh, at least I don't need the Ghostly Wail to bust myself out of this one. I smiled to myself. I can't believe they made such an oversight to this trap. I suppose I should be thankful they did though.
"Seriously! I think you should look!" The rookie shouted urgently.
"What?!" The experienced agent snapped before he looked down out of the jet at me. "Son of a- Get the weapons systems ready!"
I quickly flew out once one of the walls were down. The Guys in White were frantically trying to catch up to me. I could hear them firing their ecto weapons at me. I flew down lower to the ground, careful to keep moving around so I wouldn't be such an easy target. Thankfully though, Scarlet's arrows were far more accurate than these agents' aim. I just hope they don't make homing weapons any time soon, those were going to be a pain to deal with.
"Come on! FIRE!" I heard one of the agents shouting.
I turned intangible before phasing into the ground. Despite being underground, I could almost make out some of the incoherent yelling from the experienced agent. I went further underground before I picked a direction and began to fly in it. Due to being underground, I couldn't really see where I was going, so I had simply planned to fly in one direction until I was far enough away, return to the surface, turn tangible, and then return to my human form.
I didn't like having to fly underground, it was hard to tell where in the city I was, unless I was willing to memorize every sewer point or internet connection wires, which I really wasn't. I just had to wait until the noise died down. When I flew for what felt like for a while, I stopped for a moment to listen. I didn't hear any shoutings, or the engine of a jetpack, or the blades of a helicopter, or the blasts of ecto weapons being fired. I decided to peek up on the surface to see if it was safe to come out.
I poked my head up to the surface and looked around. I noticed a lot of warehouses and buildings with tall smokestacks in the area.
Huh… I must be in the industrial area of Amity Park. I haven't been here much… which is a bit strange as you would think this would be a hotspot for ghosts. Actually, considering there's usually a lot of horrific deaths in factories, I'm surprised that Danny and I aren't here more often. I shook my head of such a dark thought. Well, it looks like the Guys in White didn't follow me here. I guess the factories scared them off since these would easily stain their white coats. That or they didn't even see which way I went.
Deciding it was safe to come out, I floated up to the surface of the ground before I looked around. There didn't appear to be anyone nearby, so I transformed back to my human form. Now I just gotta get back home. I hope Danny managed to get away safely.
I began to walk through the industrial area, looking for a main road.
"Hey, kid, the heck you doing here?!" A rough voice suddenly called out.
I almost jumped at that, but I looked around before seeing a big man wearing a white hardhat and a reflective orange safety vest looking at me.
"I… uh… got kind of lost," I answered a little awkwardly.
"How the heck do you get lost so badly that you end up in the industrial area?!" The man questioned, rubbing his face a little, leaving a little black smudge behind on his cheek. "Come on, kid, let's get you out of this area before you get yourself hurt. If I find you back here again, I'll have to call the police and they'll take you home and have a serious conversation with you and your parents."
"Uh… y-yes sir, it won't happen again sir," I quickly said.
"Let's go," The man instructed in a 'I just want to be home' tone.
To make a long story short, the worker man walked me all the way home to make sure I wouldn't head back to the industrial area. After I told him where I lived, I asked him why he was taking me back. The worker explained the whole 'didn't want me to go back', but he also added that it was the end of the shift anyways and he lived somewhat nearby. When we got to Fenton Works, he took off his helmet and walked over to the door, which he promptly knocked on. A very surprised Mom answered the door.
Mom looked at me and at the worker. "Uh… did my son do something, sir?"
"Not completely, no. Your son here told me that he had gotten lost and had somehow found his way to the industrial area of Amity Park, which is off limits to civilians after 5PM," The worker explained. "I had just ended my shift when I found him, so I decided to bring him home, Mrs. Fenton."
"Oh?" Mom raised a brow before she squinted a little at the worker. "Say… haven't I seen you before?"
"I would hope so," The worker chuckled. "I live a couple blocks down and have been here a few times to oversee the delivery of some of the larger shipments you and your husband have ordered, Mrs. Fenton. Now, I won't ask you to scold your son or anything like that as he genuinely seemed to be lost when I found him. However, if he returns there without parental supervision outside the appropriate hours for regular civilians to be there, the police will be involved."
"Thank you for bringing my son home then, I apologize if he caused you any inconvenience, and I'll make sure he won't end up there again," Mom promised.
The worker gave a nod. "Have a great evening, Mrs. Fenton."
"You too," Mom said before she looked at me. "Come on, Andy."
I nodded before looking at the worker. "Thanks again for bringing me home, sir."
I walked over to Mom before the worker started to walk away. Mom closed the door.
"Andy, how did you get lost?" Mom asked me.
"I'm sure you and Dad saw the news earlier, but there was a ghost attack during the Dumpty Humpty concert, everyone kinda got a little scattered, I ended up running without seeing where I was going, and the next thing I knew, I was at that factory filled place," I answered, which wasn't a lie technically.
"You should be more careful in the future," Mom stated caringly. "I'm surprised you got that scared though. You normally react to ghosts attacks with a calm, logical mind. It would've taken a lot to scare you so much that you ran away and didn't pay attention to where you were going…"
"Well, it wasn't just the ghost attack. There were the Guys in White too, and you know how careless they are with where they shoot their weapons," I explained. "Something about having humans fire weapons at you is more unsettling than the ghost attacks."
Mom frowned at that. "I see… that's the same thing Danny told me. I'm glad you are both okay."
Okay, good, sounds like Danny already made it home. I thought to myself in relief. "I'm glad Danny's alright too. I think after all of that we could really use that summer vacation."
"Well it's a good thing we'll be leaving early tomorrow." Mom smiled. "The RV is packed and your father even had time to upgrade a few of the systems on it. However, I think he wants to completely rebuild it from the ground up and make it better than it currently is to use it for next year's summer vacation."
"I'm a little afraid to know what Dad has in mind," I chuckled sheepishly.
"Knowing him, he probably wants to make it bigger, more comfy, and have a fudge maker installed into it," Mom chuckled.
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "That sounds like Dad. It definitely would make the cross country trip more comfortable if the RV was bigger."
"Andy?" I heard Danny's voice ask.
I looked up the stairs to see Danny coming down it. He gave me a look of relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay. I was getting worried when you didn't come back for a while."
"Sorry about that, bro, I ended up getting a little… side track," I replied sheepishly.
"You can tell me about it later." Danny smiled. "For now, let's triple check that we have everything we need for the vacation."
"Okay, but…" I walked up the stairs with Danny, wanting to get out of earshot from Mom. I still lowered my voice to a whisper. "What about Freakshow and his ghost partner? Would it be okay to let them roam free like this before we leave on our month-long trip?"
"I'm sure Scarlet and Juliette can handle it," Danny responded. "Knowing Scarlet, she can easily handle Freakshow and his ghost partner on her own. You know… I just thought… I could see Scarlet resisting that orb that Freakshow had and used to control me."
"Maybe she might've been able to, but since the crystal orb is gone, it's not an issue anyways," I shrugged.
"Just something fun to think about," Danny explained.
"Oh, I definitely could've used her help back then, that would've made stopping Freakshow ten times easier… assuming she wouldn't completely wreck his circus though," I chuckled. "We should probably tell Scarlet and Juliette to be on the lookout for Freakshow and his ghost companion before we leave though, just to be safe. But I do have to wonder… what was that strange glove he was wearing? And why did he want Sam's book? I'm pretty sure it's not just for sentimental reasons."
"Well… it was passed down in his family for a while," Danny remarked. "And Sam said there was a lot of research on different artifacts that could affect both man and ghost. So perhaps Freakshow wanted it back so he could get his hands on a new artifact he could use to control ghosts?"
"Oh heck no, I refuse to go through that drama again!" I grumbled.
"You'd… probably be on the other side of that drama this time," Danny pointed out.
"That's not helping," I groaned.
"Hopefully those pages he got from the book were useless bits of info that won't lead him anywhere," Danny replied.
"Right… well, I'll let you know if I get any future apocalypse visions again," I remarked sarcastically. Though I hope that sarcasm doesn't become true, I've had enough of having to stop the apocalypse for a lifetime.
It felt like a long evening. Danny called Tucker and Sam to let them know we were alright, and to come to Fenton Works by 7 o'clock in the morning sharp. I triple checked the stuff we packed, making sure we had everything we needed for this cross country road trip. After that, Danny and I walked to the opera house, we decided it would be safer not to fly around in our ghost forms with the Guys in White being active at the moment. We let Scarlet and Juliette know about Freakshow and his ghost partner, Lydia I believed he called her, and to keep watch over Amity Park while we were gone for this vacation.
"Wait… really?" Danny asked after Juliette said something to us which we honestly weren't expecting. "Could you repeat that? I just want to make sure I heard you right."
"I talked it over with Scarlet and I reached a decision that I would love to join you," Juliette repeated before frowning a little. "That is… if the offer is still on the plate for me to join you all."
"We'll have to ask our parents first, and you'll need to put on your human disguise for a while," I explained.
"I can maintain my human disguise for quite some time and should be able to hide my energy from whatever scanning devices your parents may have," Juliette assured. "However, if it is too last minute or your parents decline, then I understand."
"They shouldn't have too much of a problem with it," Danny said. "But are you sure it's okay for you to leave Scarlet? I mean, she is kind of… protective of you, no offense."
"Scarlet and I talked it over and she agreed to take care of Amity Park in your steads if you took care of me and watched out for me in her stead," Juliette explained.
"I trust that the two of you will be able to keep Juliette safe," Scarlet added. "You've both been doing well with your training."
I gave a smile. "It'll be great to have you along, Juliette. It'll be a good experience for you to see more of the continent since I'm assuming you never came here when you were still alive 1400 or so years." I wonder if this would be a good time for her and Tucker to finally reconcile after that pharaoh incident? I mean it's already been a while.
Juliette shook her head. "North America was still unexplored in my time. Well… according to most it was unexplored, but from some claims, some vikings actually found North America long before Christopher Columbus or any of those explorers set foot there."
"We're really not that good with history," Danny sighed.
"Well, if you're coming, then we should go tell our parents," I chuckled. "You should probably think about what you want to bring besides clothes."
"I already packed a small suitcase of necessities," Juliette informed.
"I see you're already prepared," I noted. "Something Danny and I should learn."
"Hey, just because we packed at the last minute doesn't mean we're usually underprepared," Danny pouted.
"Did you remember to pack all necessary weapons in case you need to fight as a human?" Scarlet inquired.
"We did pack a few weapons we could use should it ever come down to that," I answered. "Though our parents packed a lot of weapons, so hopefully we won't have to use them."
"Did you pack some Fenton Thermoses?" Juliette questioned.
"That's like the first thing we packed," Danny answered.
"Did you remember to pack toothpaste?" Scarlet asked. "I was reading a small magazine that had information about weapons and there was a small article on what things people forget to pack when they pack last minute as well as what they accidentally pack even though they shouldn't. Toothpaste was one of the highest ranked things people forget to pack. Followed closely by personal hair care products like shampoo, conditioner, and hair gel."
"Uh… we got our toothpaste and toothbrushes, but…" Danny looked at me. "Did you pack any shampoo and conditioner?"
I frowned. "I… don't think I did…"
"Well… when we get back we should check because I'd rather not use Jazz's shampoo and conditioner again," Danny suggested.
"Though your hair was really smooth after that." I chuckled.
"It smelled like strawberries…" Danny frowned.
"Come on, strawberries are nice," I replied.
"How about you smell like strawberries for a few days and say that again?" Danny grumbled. "Especially if you're planning to go anywhere manly…"
"Uhh… sorry to interrupt, but should I be there at any time? Should I come over now? Or will you be picking me up in the morning?" Juliette inquired, getting us back on track.
"You should probably come over now so we can ask Mom and Dad about taking you since they've never met you before," I answered.
Juliette gave a nod to that. "Should I bring my suitcase with me?"
"Are you planning to stay the night?" Danny asked.
"It might be good to bring it anyways if there isn't anything inside that you need to use tonight," I stated.
"Well, it would probably make sense for me to stay the night if I bring it, however I don't want to be a burden on your parents," Juliette responded. "Though there isn't anything in the suitcase I will be using tonight, so perhaps I should bring it so it can be prepacked into the vehicle?"
"Yeah, that might be the best thing to do. You'll have time to warm up to our parents," I remarked.
"Good luck, my Princess, just be careful not to set off their alarms of you, I don't want them to hurt you," Scarlet said to Juliette.
"If I set off any alarms, I will leave immediately," Juliette assured. "Now, please give me a moment while I fetch my bag and don my human disguise."
Mom and Dad were looking at us.
"So… yeah, Juliette is a friend we've made outside of our school, and she'd like to be able to see more of the country. We just figured since we're going on this cross country trip, this would be the perfect opportunity for her," I finished explaining.
Danny and I had a human looking Juliette standing between both of us, her hair was long, slightly wavy, and dirty blonde in color. She had light colored skin and her eyes were an unnatural vivid pink. She wasn't wearing her old fashioned pink and white princess style dress, but instead some more modern, yet still quite elegant and pretty clothes.
"I'm surprised you've made friends someone outside of your school," Mom noted as she looked at Juliette.
"Yeah, how come we've never heard of her until now?" Dad asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sadly I live in an area nearly on the other side of the city, so I rarely get a chance to see them," Juliette explained before smiling. "Hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, my name is Juliette Quartz."
"Hello, Juliette Quartz, how old are you?" Mom asked.
"I'm between 16, nearly 17 years old," Juliette answered.
"So you're about Jazz's age right now," Dad noted.
"What made you decide to come with us? Are your parents okay with this?" Mom questioned.
"I actually live on my own," Juliette informed. "My parents live in Europe and I'm here via an exchange program. As for what made me decide to come, well, your sons were so very kind in offering me a chance to see more of the country. You see, the only place outside Amity Park that I've seen was the airport up in Chicago which is where I landed and was brought here from."
"Hmm… what do you think, Jack? Do you have room for one more?" Mom asked Dad after giving it some thought.
"It's perfectly understandable if you aren't able to take me with you," Juliette stated. "I'd be fine staying in Amity Park if it came down to it."
Dad shrugged. "I guess one more couldn't hurt. It'll be awesome to be able to show off our newest inventions to someone new after all."
"Just don't scare her, honey," Mom whispered to Dad, though Danny, Juliette, and I were able to hear her.
Juliette gave a smile at that. "I promise I won't be too much of a burden."
"Will you be spending the night here then? It might take too long for you to have to make the trip from the other side of the city to get here the next morning," Mom inquired.
"If you don't mind me sleeping on the couch, I'd be grateful." Juliette warmly and gratefully smiled.
"You don't need to sleep on the couch," Dad chuckled. "We have a seldom used guest bedroom upstairs that you can sleep in."
"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Fenton," Juliette replied gratefully.
"I'll take you upstairs and show you the room," Mom offered.
Danny and I smiled, glad to see that Juliette would be able to come with us on this trip.
I laid down in my bed after changing into my blue pajamas. I held onto Hope since I had gotten used to sleeping with her in my arms now.
"So, you two ready for the trip?" Hope asked.
"Yeah, I remembered to pack some shampoo and conditioner before I packed my toothbrush back up," Danny replied.
"I really hope we're not forgetting anything else that we'll come to regret later," I grumbled. "Otherwise we might as well pack everything in the house that isn't glued down."
"Too bad that we don't have those capsules where we could just store a whole house and vehicles inside like in that anime show," Danny chuckled. "That would've made this a lot more convenient."
"That sounds a little too convenient though," Hope pointed out. "I assume in the anime, if they needed something, they could just zap it into existence with a convenient capsule and solve all their worries."
"Somewhat, though the anime show just turned into a bunch of glorified fights, so there hasn't been much use for those capsules anymore," I sighed. "I swear, so many overpowered overlords just want to take over worlds to make their own kingdom or utopia or something, it's gotten old at this point."
"Sometimes it isn't the overpowered overlords trying to make the utopia though," Danny commented. "Sometimes it's the quiet, intelligent character who is pulling all the strings."
"That's kind of scary," Hope replied.
"It does raise an interesting question though," I stated thoughtfully. "If you could make a kingdom or a utopia, what would it be like?"
"You first," Danny chuckled.
"I'm not sure, I haven't thought about it too much," I admitted. "I mean 'world peace' is the obvious yet cliche thing to do. I suppose my 'ideal world' would be something like that though, no wars, no fights, just people living together in harmony with each other, the wildlife, and even the ghosts. It's pretty unrealistic though. I also have no idea how to run a kingdom anyways, but I know it would be a lot of work."
"Hmmm… well I would want a world without sickness, without conflict, and without famine," Danny said after a few moments. "I'd want a world where everyone got along and nobody was judged for their appearances or personal quirks. I'd want a world where everything about a person is accepted. However… despite all those changes, I'd want the world to be more than just peaceful and calm. I'd love it if the world was filled with magic and there were grand adventures to go on. Perhaps there could be activities similar to fighting or hunting or all that, but without coming at the cost of actually hurting others."
Hope and I looked at Danny.
"What?" Danny asked.
"Sounds like you've already thought about this a lot," Hope remarked.
Oh crab apples, how did I forget that he actually did… I mean we had a conversation similar to this just before… fudge it. I inwardly groaned. "Well, I guess there's no use dwelling on something like that. But it's fun to speculate I suppose, it's not like we have much interest in running an actual kingdom or utopia ourselves, right Danny?"
"While I have thought about a utopian world, I would never want to be in charge of it," Danny admitted. "That's way too much work for me. I'd rather just be able to continue my life normally, go to school, hang out with friends, watch movies, play games, all of that."
"Sounds like a good life," I chuckled.
"As you should anyways, since you are only, what, 14, 15 years old?" Hope pointed out.
Though I didn't show it, I was relieved to hear Danny wasn't planning on trying to create a 'utopian world' again. I didn't need a repeat of what happened when he tried that before.
Danny frowned a tiny bit as he gave it thought. "I… think we're 15… though for some reason I almost said 16."
"Really? Why? I mean if you turned 15 recently, I would've thought you'd almost say you were 14," Hope questioned curiously.
I frowned a little myself. I sat up and put Hope down before I checked my journal a few times, but I realized I never wrote out what happened on our birthday, the first birthday we've had since we became half ghost. That's odd, you'd think I would've had something to write about on our 15th birthday...
"I'm not sure," Danny replied with a shrug. "Maybe it's a mix of me being tired and it feels like it's been two years in the past year alone…"
"Not to mention how weird the time stream was after… erm, a certain event," I hesitantly added. I swear, Danny better not become 'evil' again after Freakshow appeared again. I think I'd be ready to jump off a cliff without going intangible by that point.
"Well, perhaps we should sleep now. You both have to get up early tomorrow," Hope pointed out.
"Yeah," I agreed as I put down my journal and wrapped my arms around Hope again.
"Don't forget to pack your journal in the morning," Danny reminded.
"Of course, I won't leave it behind. It's kind of become a record on what we've been doing since you became Danny Phantom," I chuckled.
I got myself comfortable under my blanket and cuddled with Hope. "Goodnight, Danny. Goodnight, Hope."
"Night, Andy. Night, Hope," Danny yawned.
"Goodnight, you two," Hope replied.
"That was a wonderful breakfast, Mrs. Fenton," Juliette gratefully stated. "The flavors were exquisite."
"You're welcome dear, I'm so glad to have someone who actually enjoys the taste of my food and doesn't vacuum it down," Mom replied with a smile.
"Who vacuums down food?" Dad obliviously inquired.
Mom gave Dad a look, but she didn't say anything to his comment.
"We're all loaded up into the RV from what I could tell," Jazz informed as she came inside with clipboard. "All that's left is whatever Tucker and Sam are bringing with them. I triple checked we had everything we would need."
The doorbell suddenly rang.
"That's probably them now!" Danny said excitedly.
I couldn't help but chuckle a bit to myself when Danny got up from the table and hurried into the living room to answer the front door.
"I guess Tucker and Sam will be in for a surprise when they see we'll be taking Juliette with us as well," I remarked.
"I was pretty surprised about that myself," Jazz admitted, looking at Juliette.
"Oh…" Juliette blushed. "Where are my manners? I'm Juliette, Juliette Quartz. It's a pleasure and honor to meet the older sister of Danny and Andy."
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Jasmine Fenton, but call me Jazz, please. My brothers did tell me about you," Jazz replied.
"Did they?" Juliette raised a brow as she looked at me, probably curious about what we had told Jazz.
"Well, I mean, why not, right? We don't keep a lot of secrets from our big sister, she kind of has a tendency of finding stuff out anyways," I chuckled sheepishly.
"What did you tell her though?" Juliette questioned. "I'm curious."
"Just that you're a non-school friend of our's whom we've helped out with from time to time, and that you have a protective guardian watching you," I answered, looking at Mom and Dad for a moment. I can't go into full details though, not with our parents here. I hope Juliette realizes that.
"They also told me that you wanted to travel, so that's the main reason why you're coming with us," Jazz added.
Juliette nodded. "All of that is true."
"Well, we're more than happy to show you more of the states." Mom grinned.
Everyone was outside now. Mom and Dad were loading Tucker and Sam's things into the RV while the rest of us were talking.
"Wow, I still can't believe you're actually coming with us, and that Scarlet's letting you go without her," Sam stated in surprise.
"I have been wanting to explore more of this world," Juliette informed. "And Scarlet is fine with me going as I will have Danny and Andy to protect me."
I noticed that Tucker was looking rather awkward, he wouldn't make any eye contact with Juliette, nor would he say anything directed to her. I frowned a little at this, though I expected this would be the case considering what happened between them.
"Sam, I've been meaning to ask this since the Freakshow incident yesterday, why was he so interested in that book you had?" I asked when I turned my attention to Sam.
"Oh, yeah, Freakshow did seem pretty interested in that book. Where did you even get it, Sam?" Danny curiously questioned.
"I stole it," Sam blatantly admitted.
"WHAT!?" Jazz shouted, which caused our parents to look at us.
Jazz gave a sheepish grin. "What a story, that was really shocking."
Mom and Dad looked at each other before shrugging and turning their attention back to the RV.
"What do you mean you stole it?" Danny frowned, looking at Sam.
"I know you've got the whole rebellious thing going on for your parents, Sam, but don't you think thievery is crossing the line a little bit?" I added in concern.
"Relax, I stole it from Freakshow," Sam assured. "Considering half his things were most likely stolen anyways, I felt it was only right that someone stole from him."
"Where, when, why, and how did you steal it?" I asked. "Freakshow was in jail for months after the Circus Gothica incident."
"His train is still in the railyard," Sam explained. "Saw it one day when I was doing some urban exploration. Decided to check out the train as I recognized it and I saw a bunch of broken trinkets and baubles and a bookshelf with only one book, this one. The reason why I took it because it was interesting and had a whole bunch of different guides on where to find powerful artifacts and how one would access the full powers of those certain artifacts. That's probably why Freakshow wanted it back."
"He wanted those powerful artifacts?" Tucker asked.
I frowned as I remembered the crystal ball he had that controlled ghosts. I know, from his journal, that the crystal ball was something that had been passed down in his family from generations, but how did it fall into his family's hands in the first place? And more importantly, are there more like it somewhere in the world? Is Freakshow hoping to find more powerful artifacts to try to rule the world or something? I really don't want another Corrupted Danny incident.
"It's possible," Danny spoke up. "Freakshow seemed like a power hungry enough guy to want more powerful artifacts."
"Then maybe it's a good thing that Freakshow didn't take the book back," Jazz added before frowning. "But I don't know much about Freakshow, he's not someone you guys told me much about, just that he's human, ran a circus for goths, and was arrested."
"It's probably best you didn't know too much about him…" I said softly. I'd rather not worry you about that time he controlled Danny and almost took him away.
"He's also big about ghosts," Sam said softly to make sure Mom and Dad wouldn't hear her say 'ghosts'. "He has a ghostly companion with tattoos that can come to life. He had a few other ghosts before as well, but I'm not sure what happened to them."
"Likely somewhere in the Ghost Zone since Freakshow can't control them anymore. I don't know why… I think Freakshow called her 'Lydia'... is still following his orders." Danny frowned.
"Isn't it obvious? Lydia must have some kind of relationship with Freakshow, so she's likely loyal to him even without the… artifact…" I hesitated to talk about that cursed crystal ball since it had caused me so much trouble.
Juliette raised a brow. "This human… Freakshow, was able to control ghosts? What kind of artifact would allow for the control of one's mind so absolutely? Even the Scarab Scepter seemed to be unable to affect the mind as nobody, besides Tucker, had been affected mentally."
Tucker cringed a little when Juliette mentioned that it had affected him, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Tucker.
"We don't know if there's a name for the artifact Freakshow used," Sam spoke up, before she frowned deeply. "We've just been referring it as a crystal ball."
Juliette frowned. "Did you bring that book with you? Perhaps it has more information on that crystal ball inside."
"Yeah, but it's in one of my suitcases, so we'll have to dig it out on the road trip, it'd be a pain to get it out now," Sam answered. "Besides, knowing that Freakshow wants it, I decided to keep it close to me for the time being."
"That's a good idea," Danny agreed. "We really don't need Freakshow getting his grubby hands on another powerful artifact."
"Wait…" Jazz spoke up, seeming to be worried. "Freakshow was able to use a… crystal ball to control ghosts? Did… did that include… halfas too?"
Jazz gave Danny and me a worried expression.
Danny and I looked awkwardly at each other, scratching the back of our heads hesitantly.
Jazz put her hands on her hips. "Danny, Andy, we're not leaving this driveway until you tell me!"
There was a mental war between Danny and me, both of us were mentally arguing with each other to be the one to tell Jazz, even though we couldn't actually hear each other's thoughts. Vaguely I noticed Tucker and Sam were also hesitant to say anything about the crystal ball and the Circus Gothica incident.
Finally, after what felt like a while, I decided to give Danny this one since he was the one who was being controlled during that time. "Yes, Jazz, it could control halfas too."
Jazz started to pale.
"B-but! Before you freak out, the crystal ball is likely either lost forever, or shattered, so it can't be used anymore," I quickly added.
"That doesn't make me feel better!" Jazz sternly replied. "If it's lost, that means someone else could find it and use it! And did either… what am I saying? Of course one or both of you got affected! After all, you wouldn't know that it affects halfas unless one, or both, of you ended up under the control of the crystal ball! Tell me what happened!"
"Jazz, relax, we're fine, and it's not going to happen again," Danny reassured, hoping to calm Jazz down.
"If it helps narrow it down, though, this happened before Andy became a halfa himself," Tucker spoke up, which earned him a glare from both me and Danny, making him shrink back a little. "J-just trying to answer her question…"
"Danny, what happened to you?" Jazz questioned as she turned all her attention onto Danny. "I know you say you're fine, but there could be all sorts of residual effects that we may not be aware of that are just waiting to occur. Not to mention the psychological torture you must've gone through from being under that ringmaster's control."
"Jazz, please, this was months ago, if there were any residual effects, don't you think we would've noticed by now?" Danny groaned.
As long as that mist that was inside the crystal ball isn't inside him, he should be fine. I hoped to myself.
"Unless those residual effects are dormant and waiting for the right trigger," Jazz countered. "Perhaps a simple code phrase is all it would take to make you subservient again. Perhaps that's the deal with that Lydia ghost that follows Freakshow."
"Okay, Jazz, cool it with the theories before you give yourself, and Danny, a heart attack," I quickly spoke up, for my own sake as well. "If Freakshow could've gotten Danny to be his… minion again, don't you think he would've done it when we were fighting Lydia back at the Dumpty Humpty Concert?"
"It's possible, yes," Jazz replied. "However, there are plenty of possible reasons why he might not have. He may have simply not wanted to take Danny at that moment. He may have been focused on other things, like getting back the book as you said. He also might have realized that he was going to be chased by the Guys in White and that he didn't have much time to get Danny to follow him. There's also the possibility that he would prefer to take Danny when we're split up or alone. And there's also-"
"Okay, Jazz, that's enough!" I interrupted her. "Look, there's a lot of things that could be true, but that doesn't mean they are. Calm down, and take a deep breath. You're supposed to be our big sister and calm us down, not the other way around. Do you think what you're telling Danny is going to help him at all? You're just giving him unnecessary stress."
Jazz frowned before she looked at Danny. I noticed that Danny had been paling the more Jazz went on with her theories, which was why I decided to put a stop to it before it got out of hand.
"Maybe… maybe we should get into the vehicle now?" Juliette spoke up softly.
"Yeah… that's probably a good idea. Your parents were done a little while ago," Tucker pointed out to Jazz, Danny, and myself. "They're just waiting in the RV for us to finish up."
"Then let's go," Sam urged. "You all remembered to lock the front door, right? Because it would be a very Fenton move to arm the security and all that but end up leaving the front door unlocked."
"I already checked, twice, it's locked," I said.
"I'll go check again quickly…" Jazz volunteered as she began to walk to the front door.
"Are you going to be okay, Danny?" Tucker asked in concern. "You're looking a little… pale."
"I-I'm fine… I think…" Danny answered with a bit of unease in his tone.
"You're fine, bro, Jazz was just being a worried sister," I said softly, hoping to reassure him.
"If there are residual effects of the crystal ball, wouldn't they be noted down in the book?" Juliette pointed out. "Perhaps if we read it during the drive, we will find the answers that will help calm Jasmine down."
"That's a good idea." Sam smiled.
"Yeah… but what if the effects are different for ha- MMPH!" Tucker started to say before I quickly shut his mouth with my hand.
"Danny is fine, okay?" I hissed.
Tucker gave me a nod before I let go of his mouth.
"Kids! Are you ready to start this road trip?" I heard Mom calling from her passenger seat, rolling down the window to call us.
"Yeah, just made sure the front door was locked!" Jazz called back. "I don't know why, but it was unlocked despite Andy checking it twice."
"Jack, I told you to lock the door on the way out!" Mom scolded.
"Sorry, sweetie, I just needed to grab my box of chocolate that I was keeping cool in the freezer," Dad replied. "Though… I'm like…. 50% sure that I locked the door behind me."
"You didn't!" Jazz informed before she walked over and got into the RV.
"Come on, maybe this road trip will help take your and Jazz's mind off of Freakshow for a bit," Sam said to Danny.
"Yeah, I hope so," Danny agreed as the rest of us walked over to the RV.
I was glad that the RV was big enough to comfortably fit all of us inside. I think Dad and Mom did some renovations with it, because I knew it wasn't this big before on the inside.
"Should I sit anywhere in particular?" Juliette inquired politely as she looked around.
"Nah, just sit wherever you like. All ghost weapons are offline for this trip unless for emergencies," Dad answered brightly as we began walking into the RV.
"Understood." Juliette smiled before she walked over to one of the comfier looking seats and sat down regally, almost making the chair look like a throne.
I heard Tucker gave a small sigh as he watched Juliette sit down. I had to pat his back to get him to snap out of it. The rest of us sat down in the empty seats. There was plenty of room to move around if we wanted to, and thankfully, there was also a bathroom if we needed it. There was only one bathroom, however, but at least I could rest easy knowing Mom made quite a powerful toilet, so we didn't need to worry about it being clogged, not even by Dad.
There were also bunks near the back, before a single bedroom with a queen sized bed for Mom and Dad. There was also a small kitchenette, a decent sized table, a couch, and even a TV that had different game systems hooked up to it, as well as TV that we could get anywhere, even while moving. Mom and Dad definitely renovated the heck out of the RV, at least for more convenience sake rather than for ghost hunting sake.
Dad started up the engine, all of us buckled up since we know Dad can sometimes drive like a maniac, especially when he starts up the vehicle. Just as I predicted, Dad floored it once we were out of the driveway.
haloguardian452: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': It's definitely gonna be a wild ride. There's a lot to this 'episode'.
DarkFoxKit: Ooooh yeah, it's a doozy of an episode, both in canon, and here.
KaseKay17: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': It wasn't meant to be a challenge. In all honesty, I'm not even sure of all the references we made. And it isn't just movies, we did also reference TV shows, animes, etc. Feel free to make a list of what you spot though, it would be interesting to see what we may have added even without it being intentional.
Anime lover 3593: DarkFoxKit: Ah… wait, what? The meeting with Dani is on schedule, we never said we're moving it. But we are planning to change episode chronicles heavily in season 3. Some things I have in mind for happens far too late in season 3, and we have to move certain episodes closer, and others farther, or change them completely because we feel the episode itself either doesn't fit or doesn't make much sense.
Returning to every other week after Reality Trip is likely, yeah. We also need a bit of a break as well. Hopefully by the time Reality Trip is over (and as a warning, it's pretty long), we'll be able to get back to our regular update schedule.
Yeah, it's going to start out nice, looking like an ordinary family vacation, with a few family dramas here and there, until crap hits the fan later. We'll let you see how it turns out.
mysteryfan4ever: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': There's any number of ways he could respond to that little tidbit of knowledge. I guess you'll have to wait and see though~
DarkFoxKit: A snippet of what Freakshow did think, however, was when he found out was his reaction when he said 'there's two of you now!?' and when he thought Sam used ghost powers when Andy stealthily phased her and Tucker away from him, 'is that all the rage these days?' Since Freakshow has ghost envy, he's obviously envious about it.
Shine375: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Heh, took you long enough, Shine.
DarkFoxKit: Heh, there are a few Danny Phantom fanfiction that reignites my love for Danny Phantom as well, and an ongoing one that keeps that love burning brightly.
Jack Cross: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Hope the chapters exceed your expectations. :-)
DarkFoxKit: No kidding. I remember seeing some reviewers way back in My Brother's a Ghost asking about how Reality Trip would go. That was literally years ago. Wow, can't believe this story is that old now.
Raidentensho: DarkFoxKit: It's probably best if we answer those questions by showing you what we did to the story. Just because we're using the episode as the base doesn't necessarily mean it will happen the same way. As for Sam possibly having her own plant powers after Undergrowth… that's something Onyx and I have to talk about when we get there.
Mana: DarkFoxKit: We did think about having Danny somehow convincing Andy to overshadow Pamela and Jeremy, but overshadowing doesn't necessarily mean they'll keep up with the 'decision' they didn't make. Unless overshadowing also works the same way as brainwashing, in which case, Andy would've made a double- no, a triple no to Danny's suggestion. So it felt more realistic that Sam would have convinced her parents by dangling what they wanted; get Sam out of her got phase. Yes, Grandma Ida is cool, I have a feeling she's what kept Sam sane from her parents' overbearingness.
I always thought it was odd for Danny, someone who chose to be a hero to keep people safe, to just be so dismissive about the danger. He acted like being a superhero was a job someone made him do rather than something he himself chose to do. I mean I get that he's a teenager, and he had grown tired of having to keep everyone safe while balancing his schoolwork, but I would've thought Danny had grown enough at this point to know being dismissive has serious consequences, especially after what happened in The Ultimate Enemy. So we changed it here, where Danny never actually knew about what Freakshow was doing until Freakshow got on stage. And we also wanted to give them some time to enjoy the concert before Freakshow decided to attack.
I think Danny Phantom was more about science than mystical, but it would've been cool to see more magic and mystic, season 3 did add in more of that, what with the Greek mythology people we saw in Boxed Up Fury. Like I said, season 3 did have the most interesting concepts, but sadly, they were treating it more as comedy than as slices of life with bits of heroic action sprinkled in like the show used to be. I have a feeling if Butch hadn't tried to make it more about comedy, season 3 could've been just as good as the past 2 seasons.
I don't know if we'll five Sam any unusual abilities in the story. We never planned on giving Tucker and Sam these special abilities, especially since the story is more about Andy and Danny, but if we're interested enough, we'll see what we can do for Sam and Tucker.
Uh… you know my feelings on Phantom Planet aren't great, right? There's a strong possibility we may not even write it. Or if we do, it's very likely it's not going to end with Danny and Andy exposing themselves to the world. I still feel like that was a very cheap and rushed ending. So while your idea is interesting, that's something you'll have to pitch to Nickelodeon rather than to us. ^^'
Jewel moonstone: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Well we're definitely trying to deliver the best quality that we can.
Luna Lillyth: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': We made quite a bit of changes to the episode. Hopefully all of them are enjoyed and maybe a few of them will subvert your expectations.