Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Man, time has just been flying by, hasn't it? I can't believe it's almost the end of 2021.
DarkFoxKit: And it's almost the end of WAP's Season 2. Kind of, we still have the whole… movie thing to do.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Which is going to be a whole lot of fun. Hey, Andy, remember to pack your swim shorts and some sunscreen.
DarkFoxKit: Wait, is he going somewhere?
Andy: I don't know, I think Onyx is losing it.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Rolls my eyes* No, I'm not. And it's up to you if you take my advice or not. Anyways, the play was quite interesting. Many people, including Andy over there, want to know what happened. Buuuuuut~
Andy: *Grumbles* Fox and Onyx told me that they had no plans to share what happened with anyone and that people might find out in Season 3.
DarkFoxKit: Hehe~ But until then, how about you guys go on and enjoy the chapter?
Chapter 122: Friends or Deception?
"So… I know your family and my family don't always get along, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner," Anna stated as we were heading out of school at the end of the day. "Father said I could bring friends over and he would stay out of our hair."
I heard some boys in the area groaning a bit. I had the distinct feeling they were feeling quite envious. I sweatdropped, since the feeling was a bit too obvious. Or maybe I could just sense it easier due to my half ghost nature. Either way, I tried to ignore it while I answered Anna.
"Not trying to sound rude or ungrateful, but why invite me to Vlad's place?" I asked.
"Because I was hoping to get to know you better," Anna replied. "While working on the project for your class, I realized that we work well despite not really knowing each other. Outside of that… I just felt that we deserve a makeup celebration as we didn't really get to enjoy that cookie pizza at lunch."
"What about Valerie and Dash?" I asked. "I doubt Vlad would want you to invite too many friends."
"I plan on celebrating with them when their schedule permits, as Valerie has her job and Dash has a lot of extracurricular activities," Anna explained. "The only one who would be free for dinner is you, hence why I'm inviting you over for dinner and maybe a movie in the cinema room."
Well, she's not wrong exactly, but it shows how little I have going on in my social life. I need to do something about that… well, maybe… not entirely sure how good having a social life would be if ghosts started getting more active. I sighed to myself. "I'll have to think about it. It isn't just because my family… or rather, my Mom doesn't get along with Vlad, it's just… I myself am not very comfortable with Vlad either."
"Like I said, father would stay out of our hair," Anna reminded. "He usually has been busy with work during dinner time anyways. He does have plenty of companies he needs to manage."
I wanted to look into the future about what would happen if I chose to accept Anna's invitation to dinner, however, I didn't have as much control over my visions as I would like yet. I could only see the paths I had already chosen, and the paths that were already set to happen.
I was still suspicious of Vlad, and I wasn't sure if Anna was working with him or not. But I would be lying if I said I hadn't bonded with Anna over the past few weeks, and I didn't want to show I didn't trust her just because her adoptive father happened to be my and Danny's archenemy.
"Would it help if I promised to not bring up the last scene?" Anna questioned with a tiny smile.
"You've already brought it up," I grumbled. "And anyways, like I said, I have to think about it. I should at least talk to my family about it first."
"Well the invite is to you," Anna pointed out. "And from what I understand, your parents haven't been as available as usual. Ella told me she went over to see how your mother was doing as she hadn't responded to some of his emails. If you want to talk to them about it, go ahead. But do let me know as soon as you can, that way I can arrange a lift for you to come to my house before dinner."
I nodded. "I'll be sure to call you when I've decided."
"Make sure it's before 5:30 PM," Anna suggested. "I know it's Friday, but Father still wants me and Ella to go to bed early."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said.
Anna smiled at me. "I hope to see you later then, Andy."
Anna began walking away, and I was surprised to see a fancy, black limo pulled up at the parking lot. I watched as the chauffeur came out of the limo, opened the backseat for Anna, and she went inside. I should've expected it, but I was a little surprised since I never really saw Anna going home after school until now.
After the limo drove off, I took out my cellphone from my pocket to look at the time. It was currently 3:30 PM, so I had about 2 hours to decide.
"So, any particular reason why you called us to meet with you here?" Tucker asked me.
I was currently sitting on my office chair in my and Danny's room. Danny was sitting on his bed, Sam was sitting on the big box at the end of Danny's bed, and Tucker was sitting on my bed. Hope was on my pillow, staying absolutely still. Jazz was here too, since I wanted her to be a part of this conversation as well, though I was sure to tell her to leave Bearbert in her own room.
"I mean we were already here to hang out," Sam commented. "But I would like to know why you called us up to your room."
"Especially Jazz," Danny pointed at our sister. "No offense to Jazz, but we don't usually have her come into our room unless she's trying to patch us up."
"Hey, I'm as much a part of your group as anyone else," Jazz said. "And I've been getting better at not getting in the way and actually being helpful."
"The reason I called all of you here is because I needed all of your opinions as my friends, and as members of Team Phantom," I explained.
"What do you need our opinions on?" Sam asked curiously.
Jazz looked a little too excited about this. "How can I help, little brother?~ Is it a girl?"
A part of me wondered if bringing Jazz was a mistake after all, but I knew I would need her advice as well, especially since she knew more psychology than I did.
"No, it's…" I groaned, because for once, that assumption was right. "Okay, it kinda is, but it isn't for a date or anything like that!" But she invited me to dinner, doesn't that count as a da- SHUT UP!
"Are you sure it isn't? Because you seem pretty flustered about it~" Tucker grinned.
"Just let me talk before you guys start making assumptions," I grumbled. "You all know about Anna Masters, right? Well, she invited me for dinner at her place."
"Sounds like a date," Sam commented with a sly grin.
"Oh, bro, I didn't know you had it going on with the ladies. First Valerie, and now Anna? You've gotta tell me your secret," Danny snickered.
"It's not like that!" I groaned. "She invited me as a friend, okay? And that isn't the issue here!"
"So what is the issue?" Jazz asked. "Because you asked us to let you talk and then you didn't explain the entire situation of why you called us in here."
"Think about the implication. She invited me for dinner at her place, her home, the area she's living in," I explained.
"Meaning?" Tucker prompted.
I facepalmed myself. "Meaning I'm going into Vlad's territory!"
"If that's your only worry, you would've just turned her down," Jazz pointed out. "So what exactly do you need our opinion on?"
"Do you think it would be unfair to turn her down just because I don't trust her dad?" I asked. "She seemed really excited at the idea of me coming to her house, or I guess mansion, for dinner. I just… didn't have the heart to turn her down right then and there. I also didn't want her to think I turned her down because I didn't trust her."
"Well think of it this way, if you go with her, you can gain her trust more and potentially get her to open up about any plans her father might have," Sam remarked.
"That or you'd be able to see if she actually has anything to do with Vlad's plans or if she really is just his adopted child," Tucker added.
"That did cross my mind a few times, but… alone? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" I asked in concern. "If it's a trap, I wouldn't be able to get out of it easily."
"Since you'd be going over for dinner, we can be ready to rescue you if you don't return home at like… midnight," Danny offered. "None of us can go with you since you were the only one invited. You could also occasionally send us a text to let us know if you're alright. Maybe… every 30 minutes?"
"Couldn't Tucker put a bug on me like he did when I went on that fake date with Valerie?" I pointed out, making sure to emphasize the word 'fake'.
"I mean… I could," Tucker replied before frowning a bit. "But I don't know if I'd be able to keep connection with the bug over that long of a distance. If you are going to that mansion, then yeah… the connection wouldn't be good enough."
"This really isn't encouraging me to take her up on her dinner offer," I grumbled. "Maybe I'll just tell her we can go somewhere else for the celebration on the school project…"
"Andy, this is a good opportunity for you," Jazz spoke up. "If it's a trap, you'll at least know what Vlad's up to, and we'll know to come rescue you before long. If it's not a trap, and it's genuine, you'll be close to someone who has connections without having to be adopted by Vlad himself. Seeing how smart Anna is, she would be a great ally for you in the future even without Vlad's connections. So if you want my opinion, I'd say you should take it, and not let fear decide for you."
Jazz had a good point, fear almost had me hurt my brother in more ways than one. Fear had also made me push away my friends when Danny first became a halfa. Fear also led me to hurt others more than I intended to, like with Hope. I also remembered what Vesper said about me being a coward. If I wanted to see what Vlad was up to, or have a potentially good ally for life, it would be wise to accept Anna's invitation rather than deny because I might be walking into a trap.
"Alright then," I finally decided. "I'll accept Anna's invitation. But you guys better rescue me if I don't come back at the allotted time… which will be midnight."
"Try to text us every half hour or hour," Danny said while looking at me. "That way we can rescue you beforehand if you suddenly stop responding. And if you're going to miss a check-in or two, tell us when you're gonna check-in next, even if it's a guess."
"Yeah, I'll do that," I replied, before giving a small smile. "Thanks guys."
"We're always here for you, man." Tucker smiled.
I was heading into the demon's lair. I didn't know why my vision kept showing myself putting this under Jazz's desk, but I felt it was important. I didn't want to go into the demon's lair alone, so I had Hope clinging to my back, to keep an eye on the devil himself. I hated having to go into Jazz's room, especially when Jazz wasn't there to keep the devil back.
I slowly opened the door, and looked inside. There he was, Bearbert, sitting oh so innocently on Jazz's bed. I moved in quickly, trying not to look directly at the bear's beady eyes. I was holding the container that held that muscular ghost's sample. I was heading to Jazz's desk.
"Why are we doing this again?" Hope asked.
"My visions kept showing me this," I replied.
"So?" Hope questioned.
"So it's likely important," I answered back.
"Important for what?" Hope asked. "Also, did you really need to have me keep an eye on an inanimate teddy bear?"
"Yes," I replied. "And I don't know what it's important for, but if my visions are showing it to me, then I think it's going to be important later on. You don't always get the context until the future actually happens."
I was glad to finally reach Jazz's desk, and set the container under it.
"You know, if you want, I can take care of that 'demon' for you," Hope offered. "That wig looks poorly sewed on."
"No, Jazz still loves him," I replied as I stood up and started to walk back to the door. "It'd be like if someone tried to 'take care of' you. I wouldn't do that, even if I don't like Bearbert."
"I suppose…" Hope remarked. "But couldn't you have just flown in here, placed the container, then flew out? You didn't have to walk in here or anything."
"I respect my sister's privacy…" I huffed. Besides, you never know what Bearbert would do if I just flew in here...
"You know you could conquer your fear by flying up to it and picking it up," Hope pointed out.
"I picked it up before when Youngblood and Ember were hypnotizing people," I replied before opening the door, glad to be out of the room.
"Well, let's change the subject then," Hope said with a bit of a grumble. "You already gave the call to Anna, right? When did she say she'll be here?"
"In about 20 minutes," I answered. "Though she said my lift would be here, not that she would be here."
"Oh? I wonder if she sent a limo to pick you up…" Hope mumbled to herself.
I hesitated for a bit. Considering that Anna's dad is Vlad Masters, it wouldn't surprise me if she had sent a limo to pick me up. The more I thought about it, the less confident I was about going to Vlad's mansion alone. I was also worried about being all awkward around Anna, and that might cause me to lose some control of my powers. I remembered seeing Danny's pants falling down due to his ghost powers acting up when he tried to talk to Paulina. That would be traumatizing if that happened to me while I was having dinner with Anna.
"You're tensing up," Hope observed.
"I'm just worried about how this will all turn out," I sighed. "I would rather not go alone. It's still very possible it could be a trap. Maybe Anna isn't even aware of it, Vlad could be using her for all I know."
"Didn't you guys make plans around that? If you didn't come back by midnight, then they would go rescue you?" Hope asked.
"Yeah, but there's a lot of variables to take into account. What if I can't wait until midnight? Or what if them coming to rescue me is exactly what Vlad is hoping for?" I frowned. "I think it would be best if I had a camera or someone able to come with me…"
Then I looked back at Hope, who was still clinging onto my shoulders. "Hmm… Hey, Hope, how would you like to come with me?"
"Wouldn't it be a bit weird to bring along a teddy bear?" Hope pointedly asked.
"Well, I could keep you hidden," I replied back.
"How?" Hope asked. "I'm half white and half pink and don't exactly blend in with anything except maybe a forest of cherry blossoms."
"I could just put you into my backpack," I pointed out.
"But what excuse would you have for bringing a backpack to dinner?" Hope questioned.
"Well, since Anna is serious about school, I could just tell her I brought homework I wanted her to check," I replied. "I can put in my actual homework too, to make it authentic."
Hope sighed. "You're serious about this?"
"It's just to make sure nothing goes wrong," I said. "But I won't make you go if you don't want to. I guess I am being a bit paranoid and selfish asking you to come with me just in case it might be a trap."
"Fine… fine. It's not like I have anything else better to do," Hope replied. "But… I want a new outfit after this."
"You… don't wear anything," I pointed out.
"I can," Hope answered. "I just didn't want to wear that froufrou princess junk that I came with."
"What outfits do you like to wear then?" I asked.
"I'm not exactly sure," Hope replied. "We'll have to go to a toy store and see what works for me. And that's what you'll need to do to make it up for me."
"Alright, alright, we'll go to the toy store if nothing bad happens tomorrow at noon. Does that sound fair?" I asked. Better not tell the others about this, that would be embarrassing...
"Sounds good." Hope smiled.
"Alright, then I better get changed for my… hang out," I sighed. "Do I… need to wear anything formal? This isn't actually a date, but… I'd feel weird going to a fancy place like a mansion for dinner in my casual clothes, even if it is Vlad's mansion."
"You could probably dress up a tiny bit," Hope replied. "Though you don't need to wear a full suit. Maybe a button up shirt and some nicer pants."
"I'll see what I have in the clothes closet then," I remarked before heading into my room.
"Are you sure you'll be fine going on patrol now?" I asked Danny as we stood just outside of Fenton Works, not really paying attention to him until I noticed a glow in the corner of my eye. "Hey! Don't be in that form while we're this close to our house!"
Danny rolled his eyes. "The short distance scanners won't pick me up, bro, relax. Yes, I'll be fine. Also, you look pretty nice in that get-up."
I was currently wearing a white button up shirt, with royal purple jeans. They weren't too formal, nor were they too casual. I had forgotten we had these kinds of clothes in our closet since we usually preferred wearing the same thing. "Thanks. I figured I should at least look nice in a fancy establishment."
"That makes sense, but why do you have your backpack?" Danny asked.
"It's just some homework for Anna to look over," I quickly said, feeling embarrassed to tell Danny I had Hope in there.
"Uh huh. And why do I sense a faint ghostly energy inside the backpack?" Danny raised a brow while crossing his arms.
I grumbled. "So maybe I'm bringing along a companion for this hang out."
Hope popped out of my bag. "I'm just going to keep an eye on things. But Andy will owe me for this."
Danny shook his head and chuckled softly. "You would, bro… you would."
"Hey! It's better to be safe than sorry, alright?" I huffed. "Remember who's mansion I'm going to."
"Just relax, bro," Danny assured. "Though maybe Anna would like the fact you brought such a unique teddy bear on your dinner date~"
"It's not a date, Danny!" I snapped, flustered.
"Right, you'd rather go on a date with Juliette~" Danny responded with a grin. "Or maybe it's Valerie you want to go on a date with?"
"You know what? Just keep your nose out of my love life," I grumbled. "My ride's going to be here soon, and I rather you don't scare them off, so how about you make like an annoying mosquito and buzz off."
Danny chuckled. "See you later then, bro. Good luck on your date~"
Before I could respond, Danny took off into the air. Though instead of taking off normally, he purposefully made a buzzing noise with his mouth as he took off.
"You two truly are brothers~" Hope giggled before she sank back down into the backpack.
I rolled my eyes, though I did have to hold back a chuckle when Danny actually made those buzzing noises. He was really lucky nobody else was nearby to record that. It would've been hilarious if the newspapers had the headlines of 'ghost boy making buzzing noises as he flies away, is he a ghost or bug?'.
I didn't have a lot of time to daydream, however, because a fancy looking car pulled up in front of the driveway. I blinked, seeing how the car had really dark windows, I couldn't see inside it. The driver's door opened, and a tall man in uniform came out. The man looked at me.
"Mr. Andy Fenton?" The man questioned as he stepped out, closing his door.
"That would be me," I confirmed, trying not to sound too nervous or out of place.
The man nodded and walked around the car before opening the back door. "Ms. Masters sent me to bring you to dinner."
"Then… I'll get in," I said, feeling awkward. Am I even supposed to say anything to that? Crap, I really am out of place with this.
I tried not to get too tense about it as I walked to the back door, and sat down into the back seat. The man closed the door once I was inside, and I saw him walking around the car again before he opened his driver's door before getting in himself. I buckled my seatbelt and waited. I saw there was a clear separator between me and the driver, and there were a few limo-like features in this card. I saw a small fridge, some snacks, candies, a TV, and a remote.
As I was looking at everything, I didn't even notice that the car had begun to move. I was used to the jerky motions of the family vehicles, and definitely wasn't used to a vehicle with an incredibly smooth ride and quiet engine. Glancing out the windows, I saw the buildings passing by quite quickly, and a part of me then only realized that I was now heading for a different demon's lair.
I'm starting to question if I'm out of my mind that I'm willingly walking into these demon lairs… I sighed to myself. I also really hope the driver isn't some evil ghost in disguise who will try to screw me over like that pilot did when he took us to the rockies…
I tried to focus on my future visions to see if anything bad was going to happen, but I wasn't able to see anything. I then thought to use my ghost sense and didn't feel anything coming from the driver. Well I felt a very very tiny bit of ghostly energy, but that came with the territory of living in Amity Park. Most people in Amity Park had a trace amount of ghostly energy or ectoplasm in them, similar to how most people had some level of radiation in their bodies constantly. I decided to try not to worry about it, because I didn't want to seem so tense when I got there. Besides, I was 99% sure Vlad could sense fear.
Before long, we had arrived in an area of Amity Park I didn't think I'd find myself back in. An area for the rich, upper class people. The only time I had been here was when we came to the party that Vlad hosted. The car parked in front of one of the biggest mansions in the area. I managed to relax my muscles when the chauffeur opened the back door.
"We have arrived," The man informed as he stepped out of the way, still holding the door. "Ms. Anna will be waiting in the foyer for you. Please try to be on your best behavior."
"I will try," I replied, still awkwardly. I need to stop talking.
I walked up the steps to the large front door, which opened for me as I approached. I hesitated for a moment before I stepped through the doorway and into the foyer. It didn't take long for me to see the person who invited me here.
"Glad you could join me." Anna smiled as I entered, making me feel a little less on edge.
"Well, I thought it would be a good opportunity to hang out with you at your own home," I chuckled. "So, uh… should we head straight into the dining room?"
"Are you hungry?" Anna asked. "Or would you like me to look over that homework first?"
I sweatdropped. "Let's not think about homework right away. I'm pretty hungry right now."
"Then please, follow me." Anna smiled.
I followed Anna, which was good because I felt like I could easily get lost in this mansion. While I had come here for the party before, I still wasn't as familiar with it as I was with Vlad's castle in Wisconsin. Speaking of Vlad…
"So is your dad here tonight? Or is he off on a business trip or something?" I asked.
"Father's here, yeah," Anna answered. "Though he's in his office and likely will be in there all night."
"Well, that's probably for the best. Not sure if I would've been ready to meet with Vlad myself," I chuckled sheepishly.
I was glad that Anna was being casual with me, that made it easier for me to relax in this otherwise unwelcoming, high society mansion.
"How are you enjoying the meal so far?" Anna asked as we sat across from one another.
"It's quite delicious," I answered.
It was rare I got to eat such ritzy and fancy food like this, though it wasn't my first time, so I found myself enjoying most of it. There was a distinct lack of anything fatty or greasy though.
"If we ever tell Dash and Valerie about this, they'll be quite jealous," I said jokingly.
"Like I said, I plan on celebrating with them when their schedules permit," Anna reminded. "So… I know this topic change is gonna give you some whiplash, but would you mind if I asked about your opinions on Danny Phantom?"
I nearly choked on the juice I was drinking as I hadn't been expecting the topic to change towards Danny Phantom. "Um… go ahead and ask."
"He was right near school earlier at lunchtime and that made me realize I haven't really gotten much information about him," Anna explained. "What's your take on Danny Phantom? What's your opinion?"
"Well…" I hesitated for a moment, figuring I could be honest with her about my opinion on Danny Phantom, as long as I didn't give out too many hints that he was my brother. "I think Danny Phantom is a real hero. I don't mean in the stereotypical sense like the public sees him. But I mean he actually goes through a lot just to keep the people safe on a daily basis, and in return, he gets hunted, insulted, doubted, and rejected by a lot of people. I see him get hurt a lot in his ghost fights too, most of the ghosts hit him pretty hard, and people sometimes blame some of the collateral damages on him. I may not know Danny Phantom's true age, but he looks like a teenager, and I don't like how so many people are hurting him, both physically and mentally. But despite that, he still tries to protect everyone as much as he can."
"Has he ever used his power irresponsibly?" Anna asked. "I figured that with your family being ghost hunters and all, there may be a record of all his activities."
I paused as I thought about how Danny would sometimes use his powers to do something stupid, goofy, or look in the girl's locker room.
"Uh… well, he might've used it for silly, little things that can be considered irresponsible. But he's a teeanger, right? What teeanger isn't going to use something irresponsibly?" I pointed out. "Besides, he hasn't used his powers to truly harm anyone, so I'd say that's a win in my book."
"Has he accidentally harmed anyone? Even if by mistake?" Anna inquired.
"Not that I know of," I answered. I guess there was that one time he kinda had to beat me up when Tucker took over my body when he was going all evil, mutated ghost on us. And then that other time Danny shot his ghost rays at us, and tried to kill me when Freakshow was mind controlling him. But those were special circumstances, I'm pretty sure they don't count.
Anna frowned a bit. "Has any of his enemies ever easily gotten the better of him?"
I paused at that. There had been a few times some of our ghostly enemies had gotten the better of Danny, but the one that stuck out the most to me was when many of them teamed up together to capture me, used me as bait, and then beat Danny up. If it weren't for Tucker and Sam coming to the rescue, I could've lost Danny for good that day. But that incident was what caused a new darkness to exist, a darkness that, unfortunately, still stubbornly existed inside of Danny right now. A darkness I hoped I would never have to face again.
But you're just kidding yourself. The fact it still exists means it will happen again. The question isn't 'if', but 'when'.
Anna gave me a concerned look when I hadn't answered in a while.
"Did I say something wrong?" Anna asked with a worried look.
Danny has gotten a lot stronger too. I'm still quite behind him despite all of my training. If Corrupted Danny ever comes back… he'll wipe the floor with me this time. Maybe I should tell Danny to stop training for a bit? Or tell Scarlet to let up on his training for a while until I can catch up? Would that even do me any good considering how much power Corrupted Danny had before Danny even had all that training!? Oh gosh, it's the end of the world, isn't it!?
"Andy?!" Anna raised her tone, her expression one of serious concern at this point. "Do I need to call an ambulance?"
I felt something hitting me from behind. That was likely Hope, trying to punch me from in the backpack to snap me out of the rabbit hole I was falling into.
"Huh? O-oh, sorry. I'm fine, really. I just… got really lost in my thoughts," I quickly reassured when I noticed Anna looking worried.
"Jeez… don't scare me like that…" Anna frowned. "I thought you were having a stroke…"
I really should do something about the Corrupted Danny apocalypse soon… but now's not the time to focus on that. I sighed to myself. "I guess you can say I'm really… passionate when it comes to Danny Phantom. If I could, I would try to help him fight off the ghosts, and maybe try to get my parents to stop hunting him."
"I do have one more question for you before we get to dessert," Anna informed. "If you were Danny Phantom, had his power and all that… what would your ultimate ideal be for Amity Park?"
I raised an eyebrow. "My ultimate ideal for Amity Park? What do you mean? Like how to best protect it from invading ghosts?"
"Well not necessarily," Anna answered. "What would your ultimate dream for Amity Park be. If you could make anything a reality."
I shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it."
"Well… would you think about it?" Anna requested.
I frowned before I looked down at my food, going deep into thought. I didn't actually care about changing Amity Park into something else, which was why I never thought about it. Though I knew Corrupted Danny had his own ideals, which hadn't turned out so well. I guess if I had to answer…
"Well, I suppose my ultimate dream for Amity Park would be that I'd want it to be a safe haven for humans and ghosts to coexist with each other, rather than being hunted by one or the other. If humans and ghosts can coexist in one city, maybe that could one day help the world accept ghosts as another race of beings that can walk, or I guess, float among the Earth. Maybe people can even be reunited with their lost loved ones if they were lucky enough to be reborn as ghosts themselves," I stated after some thought. "I'm not sure if such a thing is even possible, but I suppose that would be my ideal Amity Park. Does that answer your question?"
"In that world, would it be just a safe haven?" Anna questioned in response. "Or would it be more of a proper utopia where everyone is thriving and happy?"
"Well, of course I would like for it to be a proper utopia where everyone is thriving and happy, but…" I frowned as I remembered that dystopian world I saw where everyone was turning into halfas, and being brainwashed to be happy about it. "That has to be something everyone would need to work for, not just one person. If it's just one person, they could easily end up becoming a tyrant kind of ruler, and forcing people to be happy. I wouldn't want to do that to anyone."
Anna nodded. "That's quite the ambitious but extremely admirable goal, Andy. And who knows, perhaps it will become a reality some day."
I doubted that, but I wanted to ask Anna a question of my own. "So why all these questions anyways? Did you really care that much about what I would do if I had such powers to change Amity Park?"
Anna nodded. "As part of the Fenton family, you could help shape the future of Amity Park. Additionally, I wanted to see how you would answer, even if you may have missed the original point of the question. Unless, of course, that's what you think Danny Phantom would want as well."
I frowned as I thought about Danny and Corrupted Danny. They both felt like completely different people, yet they weren't. They both wanted the same thing, but that desire became twisted, distorted, and it ended up going poorly.
"I know Danny Phantom wants peace, and everyone to get along," I admitted. "But sometimes… I worry what would happen if those pure hearted desires become twisted and distorted, and what lengths he would go through in order to make them come true."
"Has…" Anna frowned. "I know I said only one more question before dessert, but I have to ask. Has Danny Phantom ever become twisted or distorted…? Has he ever lost sight of his goals?"
Oh… heck yeah… I paled as images of Corrupted Danny flashed through my eyes.
I could hear him laughing, telling me to join him. I could see him reaching out to me with his red gloved hand with sharp looking claw-like nails. I could see his pointy fangs gleaming at me, his mischievous and sinister smile, and red glowing eyes all looking at me. I remembered that tail, how sharp and solid it was. I didn't want to go back to that time, I couldn't go back. I can't go back. I can't face it again! But it'll happen again! AGAIN! I can't stop him!
"Andy? Andy!" A voice said as I felt a grip on my shoulder before I was pulled up, turned around, and felt something wrap around me.
The laughing, hellish image of Corrupted Danny faded away as I was returned to reality. I felt like I had been in a daze for a moment. It had been a long time since my fear of Corrupted Danny had been dug up, but I didn't realize it was still affecting me this badly. I had faced Corrupted Danny in another world before, yet just talking about him was bringing back all this fear and pain…
I slowly began to realize that I wasn't in the chair anymore, and appeared to be leaning against something warm.
"I am so sorry," Anna apologized. "I am so so sorry. I didn't think that a question like that would have such a horrible effect on you."
I finally realized that I was being hugged by Anna. Oh gosh, what did I do? I must've really freaked out if she's hugging me.
"Ah… I'm also sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out like that," I sighed. "I… well… I guess I can tell you that I have some really bad memories involving Danny Phantom…"
"Are you at least okay now?" Anna asked as she broke off the hug.
"Yeah… yeah, I am," I answered, feeling embarrassed and ashamed for letting a few questions cause me to freak out so much. "Um… thanks."
"You're very welcome." Anna smiled. "If you're still hungry, I'll have dessert brought in."
"Yeah, dessert sounds nice," I agreed. "And… uh… maybe hold off on the questions for now."
Anna nodded. "I'm done asking anything for the time being. Though after dessert, we'll be getting into your homework."
"Right, homework. Sure, that'll be no problem at all," I said, mostly for Hope to get the homework ready for me so I could just hand Anna the homework without accidentally digging Hope out as well.
KaseyKay17: DarkFoxKit: Hmm? What are you talking about? *Innocently whistles* If you want the answer to your questions, you'll have to wait until we get to a certain part in the story. I'm not going to confirm or deny anything you figured out until we reach that point.
Dp-Marvel94: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Oh no, Muscles got absolutely obliterated there. Andy got covered in Muscles residue. Andy is the smart type of teen who takes advantage of any opportunity, including getting samples of other ghosts. He likely won't be able to take a look at the sample anytime soon, what with Maddie practically living out of the lab right now.
Andy being concerned about the ghost melting on him is to be expected because there haven't really been any studies on what happens when ghostly goop gets on someone. The last time it happened well… Ecto Acne and Vlad Plasmius became a thing.
The play definitely went well, and Andy is DEFINITELY getting an A+ on it with some extra credit points thrown in. What happened with Andy blacking out is a mystery.
Andy: Especially to me!
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Oh hush. Anyways, it's going to be some time before Andy gets to know about what happened. As for the celebration? Of course they're going to celebrate a job well done. They put in a lot of hard work and have earned a celebration.
The detail about Andy knowing that Valerie is the Red Huntress isn't often brought up at this point, because we're getting close to wrapping up the season. We also don't try to unnecessarily drag characters in unless we need them, as it can get hard balancing a bunch of characters at one time. I will say, Andy having the knowledge about Valerie does have its perks as he can act as a confidant for her, someone she can trust and someone who can give her an outside perspective to what's going on in Amity Park, and maybe even reveal something that he didn't know.
Oh and writing Andy getting kicked out of the janitor's closet was fun for us as well, as no janitor is just going to let students hide in a closet with cleaning chemicals and potentially dangerous objects.
Yeah, Andy got to have a proper conversation with Danielle, which is something to be noted as she's been pretty elusive like you saw with Danny before. And even with Andy doing good, he isn't properly making much of a name for himself, so Occam's Razor kicks in for people and they go with the easiest assumption that he's just a duplicate.
DarkFoxKit: We actually originally were going to have Valerie interact with Danielle in D-Stabilized like in canon, however, we saw this as a good opportunity to have Valerie meet with her earlier. This will definitely spice things up when we actually get to that episode.
Guest: DarkFoxKit: Thank you, it's always nice to hear from a fan enjoying this story. I liked the idea of being in Danny Phantom's world, and writing it through the eyes of a twin brother made it more fun. The fact that people forget Andy isn't a canon character in Danny Phantom always makes me feel giddy, because it showed I did a great job with him as an OC. As for the crossover idea, I actually threw it out. There's a lot of potential for the idea, but I was working on it with an ex co-writer who disappeared on me, and the crossover project was cancelled. But who knows, maybe one day I might pick it up again if Onyx is interested in doing it with me.
As for Nicktoons Unite… I will admit, that sounds interesting, however I've only played the first game, and it's been years since I've played it. Maybe I might have Andy interact with Timmy Turner, since Fairly Odd Parents kinda feels like it's almost in the same world as Danny Phantom, but I'm not sure on that one yet. And while I had started this story on my own, I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without my co-writers, especially Onyx. Onyx is the reason I'm even at this point with this story right now, so be sure to thank her too.
naminexriku2468: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't? And I guess you'll find out as you keep reading. You have a pretty interesting theory about the names, but as always I can't give any spoilers.
kairixsora13579: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Okay, I won't tell you. XP
Mana16: DarkFoxKit: Heh, yeah, Andy's in the dark about what happened in the play. The fact we kept it a secret allowed the readers' imagination to go wild on what happened. XD We actually originally didn't plan on Valerie meeting with Danielle this early, but we saw an opportunity and went with it. It would also spice things up with D-Stabilized.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Oh boy… there is… a lot of nope with this. Respect to Butch for making Danny Phantom in the first place, but… honestly after the show ended most of his ideas were… fairly trashy and non-canon in my eyes. To be completely honest, Fox and I rarely pay attention to the 'Season 4' or 'Reboot' or 'Next Generation' clickbait that Butch puts out on his youtube. I'll say it right now, we currently have NO plans to think about halfa children or the next generation or any of that.
DarkFoxKit: I did see that video regarding Jackson and Misty, and while it has some interesting ideas, like the whole twins having different ghost powers, I'm not a fan of 'new generation' kind of shows. I fell in love with the original characters, and I want to see what those characters are doing in a new episode, not their children. More often than not, the children steal all of the limelight, while leaving the previous characters I actually care about on the sideline, or they just take them out of the show permanently. It might as well just be a new show entirely. But that's my own opinion on the new generation thing in general rather than Danny Phantom. So, yeah, don't expect the twins having children any time soon in this story. ^^'
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': As for the Disasteroid, it didn't pass through Earth before. What we're going with here is that the Disasteroid has passed by Earth a number of times and each time it created an event that slightly altered the ecosystem of the world, like creating Blood Blossoms. As for Phantom Planet and the 'college years' that's uh… way ahead and we aren't really going to be weighing in on that right now. To be blunt, while I would love for it to go on that long, I don't know if we would be writing this series into their college years.
DarkFoxKit: We do have some separate, very long ongoing DP story projects in the background. As for this story, it's up in the air for how long we'll go. We do plan to go to Season 4, so beyond canon at least, and maybe Season 5, but their 'college years' is unknown at the moment. It might be interesting, but we're likely to keep them roughly the same age for a long time.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Additionally, we don't have much experience with college, and we often use our own experiences for inspiration in stories. So writing the college years would be a challenge for us in that regard.
DarkFoxKit: Andy has a tendency to overthink, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. He likes to analyze something, and think about different possibilities of what could be true or what would just be theory. It's also a good way for us to tell the readers what is possible in this world, and a way to explain certain lore.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Honestly I'm a lot like Andy in that regard, which is why I'm so often able to come up with ideas for lore. He and I both have analytical minds that can see things in a different way or make connections that nobody else has. He also has the ability to process a lot more information than most in his friend group. I think Andy having an analytical mind definitely helps to balance out with Danny who is more of a spontaneous person who tries to figure things out as he goes.
DarkFoxKit: Which does also lead into the twins bickering at some points.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Chuckles* But what siblings don't bicker?
DarkFoxKit: That's beside the point. The fact Danny and Andy see the ghost world differently causes them to be unable to learn how to truly use their powers together as twin ghosts. But that may change in the future, who knows?~
GhostHex: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Oh very much so. Blood Blossoms are quite the interesting specimen. And something that I honestly hope Kit and I will delve into more later on. The things that can be done with Blood Blossoms and other ghostly botany is something that excites me.
Yeah… Muscles be ded. Or… re-dead considering they were a ghost.
DarkFoxKit: Although in Danny's defense, he didn't realize the big, muscular, seemingly powerful ghost would just melt so easily. He's also a lot more conscious about killing ghosts, whereas in the canon episode, he just seemed to handwave it.