DarkFoxKit: Welp, here we are folks, the last chapter of season 2 of Danny Phantom. It took a long time to get here, but we're finally here.
Andy: We've had ups and downs; a departure and an arrival, a couple new characters, and much more creative freedom with the episodes.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': While it's unfortunate that I haven't been here since the start of the series, I'm glad I at least got in during the sequel.
DarkFoxKit: Now don't worry, it's not the end quite yet. Remember how My Brother's a Ghost had a movie after the end of season 1? Season 2 will also have a movie as well that will be the bridge to season 3. *Rubs my hands together* I've been waiting to get into season 3.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Due to the fact it's a movie, chapters will be longer again, like we did for Reality Trip. However, we aren't currently set on an update schedule. Additionally, when the movie is done being posted, do not and I mean DO NOT bug us to start the 3rd season. There are priorities on our list that come before the third season, and we will attend to them in time.
DarkFoxKit: You guys have been far more tame than our Child of Mew fans, who are always hounding us about the sequel, even though we made it clear we wanted to finish We Are Phantoms (AKA Season 2) before working on Child of Mew again. To this day we're still getting fans asking us where the sequel is to Child of Mew. So we just wanted to make it clear we will not tolerate people bugging us about the 3rd season.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': And just so y'all can't scroll past it.
DO
NOT
BUG
US
ABOUT
SEASON 3!
Andy: They will get to it when they get to it. At least I finally get a nice, long break.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Snorts* Yeah… a break…
Andy: *Frowns* What's that supposed to mean?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': All I will say is that I hope you enjoy the movie chapters when they gets released~
DarkFoxKit: Now, let's get into the chapter, and we will see you guys some time when the movie releases.
Andy: Wait but what are you talking about? Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?! WAIT! ANSWER M-
*The camera turned off*
Chapter 127: Setting Up for the Future
It had been a couple of weeks since Andrea and Danielle were, for all intents and purposes, adopted by Juliette. I hadn't seen or heard from Vlad since then, it was likely the man had gone back to Wisconsin after we escaped with his two 'daughters'. We waited a few days before Danny and I decided to use our ghost powers to check Vlad's mansion, and his lab. The place was empty, but it looked like Vlad cleaned up pretty well. We were supposed to salvage whatever was left in the lab to help stabilize Andrea and Daneille, however whatever data Vlad had was gone. Maybe it was deleted since Vlad failed to use those 'perfect' clones of us. Or Vlad took the data he needed and wiped the systems before leaving.
We managed to get what information we could, which was mainly paper stuff and recovered bits of technology like a smashed tablet, and gave it all to Tucker. Ideally, Mom and Dad would be a lot more help with this, since they knew more about ghost technology than any of us did. Unfortunately, we couldn't trust them to make something that would help ghosts, even if Mom had been acting weird about ghosts lately.
Luckily, I still had that ecto sample from that bulky ghost Danny and Danielle had defeated previously. Jazz had told me that it held our DNA in it, which could help us stabilize Andrea and Danielle. Though it had our DNA in it, as did the twin clones, it was lacking our mid-morph DNA. Tucker would be able to make the temporary stabilizers for Danielle and Andrea, and had already produced a few of them for the girls, but we were still lacking a way to truly stabilize them.
But other than that, things had been relatively normal. Mom was starting to get better from her strange and concerning behavior, though she was… being strangely protective and concerned about us lately. Dad was working harder to lose weight, and had restrained himself to only eating 1 or 2 pieces of fudge a day, and only for dessert, and only if he had a salad. It was working too, since Dad had lost a pretty decent amount of weight.
Mom and Dad had been kind of quiet and secretive lately, which made sense as Mom said that she and Dad were working on a surprise. Though it actually seemed that Mom had been doing most of the work as Dad was as curious as we were about what this surprise was going to be. I was just surprised Mom and Dad hadn't started inventing more ghost weapons lately.
Then, on a Friday night, after school had ended for the weekend, and we finished our usual patrol, Mom called everyone for a family meeting in the living room. Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch while Jazz was sitting on one of the armchairs. Meanwhile Danny and I were sitting on the couch opposite of Mom and Dad.
"So what's this family meeting about?" Jazz asked curiously.
"Well you remember how your father and I mentioned we would be working on a surprise, sweetheart?" Mom asked while smiling. "Well I ended up taking over the project and I'm happy to announce that the surprise is ready!"
We all gave a look of intrigue and curiosity. I noticed even Dad looked pretty excited.
"What is it then?" I asked. I really hope it's not a huge invention that converts ghostly energy into fuel like with the ecto-converter, only much, much bigger.
"Well I won't reveal the full surprise just yet, as I want to see your looks when you actually discover what the surprise is," Mom chuckled. "But I will say that on Monday morning, we will be heading to the airport and taking a plane down to Florida for a long-duration vacation."
Now we were all giving looks of confusion, except for Dad this time, though he did look mildly surprised.
"Wait… by 'long-duration', you mean it would take… several days to weeks?" Jazz asked in surprise and worry.
"As in a month to two months," Mom answered.
"But why?" Danny asked. "We just had a cross country vacation during summer vacation, and we have school!"
"Because your father and I have been working hard and things have been quite hectic around Amity Park," Mom explained. "We also didn't get as much time to relax during the summer vacation as I would've liked. I had also been going through that crisis of mine and figured that taking a break from Amity Park would be a good idea."
"Couldn't you and Dad go yourselves? I'm sure we could handle ourselves for a month or two," I suggested. I don't feel comfortable leaving Amity Park for that long again.
Mom shook her head. "It isn't just me who needs this vacation, and I didn't want to leave the family behind. As for school, I've actually already taken care of that."
"What do you mean?" Jazz inquired.
"In regards to the first part, you three have been working hard and haven't had the time off that you needed. During the summer break, we were moving around almost constantly and it didn't give us the time for relaxation that we should've had," Mom explained. "As for the latter, I've arranged it where you will be attending school online, getting your homework online, and doing classwork online during the vacation. Though instead of live classes, you will actually get recordings of each class with notes that you can read."
I blinked. I had heard about some kids doing school online, and doing online classes, but I never thought about it too much since I always figured we would attend school in person.
"On top of that, I talked with your teachers and I can guarantee that if you need any one-on-one time with them, you can video chat with them or send them emails with your questions," Mom added.
"Wow… you really thought of everything," Danny noted, impressed.
"Of course she did, your mother is the smartest member of this family." Dad grinned.
The rest of us looked at Dad, who sheepishly grinned. "N-not that any of you aren't smart."
"But still, a month or two vacation is pretty long. We didn't really plan to go on a long vacation, especially before October," Jazz pointed out.
"I understand that, Jazzykins, but I've got everything handled," Mom assured. "The only thing I need from the three of you is for you to pack your bags before Monday morning."
"This coming Monday?" I asked.
"Yup," Mom answered. "You can tell your friends about this during the weekend, that should give you plenty of time. We'd let you invite them to come with us, but I doubt their parents would want them to miss school."
"We'll talk to them about it," I said. We're gonna need to set up something for Amity Park's defenses against ghost attacks while we're gone. We got lucky during summer break that no major ghost threats attacked Amity Park, at least nothing Scarlet couldn't handle. But this is pushing our luck.
"Could we potentially invite someone who doesn't go to school?" Jazz inquired. "Someone who actually graduated early due to her test scores."
"Oh? Is this someone we know?" Mom asked.
Danny and I looked at Jazz, wondering if she was going to invite a friend her's or something.
"Yes, it is someone we already know," Jazz answered. "She actually joined us on our summer vacation. The reason I was thinking of inviting her was because she has unfortunately not seen much of the world. And I figured that if we're going on vacation, we could possibly take her with us and help her out. Besides, she can help make the vacation interesting for us by letting us see the world through the eyes of an inexperienced person."
Mom gave it some thought. I was surprised Jazz mentioned inviting Juliette again, not that I minded it, especially since it was Juliette who helped me get through Freakshow's Reality Challenge. I didn't know what I would've done if she and Hope hadn't been with me.
"If she's okay with it, then she can come," Mom decided.
"This is going to be an even better vacation than the cross country one!" Dad promised.
Considering what happened in the vacation that never was, I certainly hope it will be. I inwardly sighed, hoping for a 'normal' family vacation this time since we were doing this whether I liked it or not.
"Now, are there any questions?" Mom asked as she looked around at us.
"What kind of clothes should we pack?" Danny asked.
"We're heading down to Florida, so I'd recommend lighter clothes, swimsuits, things you'd want to wear in hot weather. Though it would be a good idea to bring at least some medium clothes in case it gets chilly at night," Mom answered. "And if the three of you need anything new before then, like swimsuits or sandals or extra beach clothes, then we can purchase them tomorrow or Sunday. I'd rather not do the shopping down in Florida as we'll be going to a touristy area where all the prices are inflated."
I still wondered why our parents, or at least mostly Mom, wanted to go on this vacation in the first place. I felt like it had more to do than just because of working too much. I knew Mom may have needed a pick-me-up after recovering from her midlife crisis, or whatever it was, but I didn't think it was necessary to go on a 2 month vacation. No… It has to be more than just that… Other than that cross road family trip, Mom and Dad never like going far away from home for long periods of time. The last summer break was just a special occasion. That was only a couple months ago.
The next day, Danny and I called Tucker and Sam to meet at the opera house. We needed to have a group discussion. Jazz and Hope were coming with us as well, since this involved all of us. At around noon, Danny, Jazz, and I, I was holding onto Hope, met up with Tucker and Sam. Now together, we headed to the opera house. Juliette, Scarlet, Andrea, and Danielle had been waiting for us. Juliette had chairs on the stage for us to sit on. We sat in a circle around each other, so we could all be facing each other. I almost laughed at how it looked like we were doing a round table conference kind of thing, we were just missing a table.
I had Hope on my lap. While she couldn't really speak up due to keeping her identity a secret from those who didn't know she was alive, she was here to listen.
"So, you three had something to talk about with us?" Juliette inquired.
"Must be serious if you called all of us together," Scarlet noted.
"Did your parents break something?" Danielle questioned. "Or create a new invention that's going to destroy all ghostkind?"
"No, nothing like that," Danny replied sheepishly.
Well… not yet anyways. I grimly added to myself. "We needed to tell you all that, starting on Monday morning… Jazz, Danny, and I will be gone from Amity Park for a 1 to 2 month long vacation with our parents."
Andrea furrowed her brow at that. "Did your parents win the lottery?"
"What do you mean?" Danny asked. "They didn't tell us they won any lottery, just that we're going on a long vacation."
"I just figured that would be one of the few reasons that your parents would suddenly decide to go on a long vacation, during the school year, without much advance notice," Andrea explained. "It's surprisingly sudden and slightly concerning. Is your mom still acting funky?"
"Yeah, your mom has been acting weird for the past… several weeks." Tucker frowned.
"She seems to be doing better," Jazz answered. "But that's kind of why she suggested this vacation in the first place. Because she needs it, and she wants to take the whole family with her."
"It's only been a couple of months since that crosscountry family road trip," Sam reminded. "To go on another 1 to 2 month vacation so soon like that is pretty expensive. I'm surprised they're willing to go that far just for a vacation."
"We're also concerned about leaving Amity Park for that long again," I added. "Last time, we got lucky that the ghosts weren't very high levelled, and Scarlet could deal with them. But with Halloween closing in, it's more likely a lot more ghosts would try to invade Amity Park, especially the stronger ones."
"Well we can always seal off the Ghost Portal before we leave," Danny pointed out.
"And I've been researching ghostly wards," Sam informed. "So I can put some of those wards all over the place to keep ghosts from passing that area. There's actually a large variety of plants that have different effects on paranormal beings. I think I remember seeing one called… something blossom that acted as a natural ghost shield in a way."
"Likely Blood Blossom," Andrea noted. "They worked as barriers and primitive ghost traps as ghosts were unable to pass an area where a Blood Blossom was."
"You mean to tell me there are actual plants that ward off ghosts?" Tucker asked in shock.
"Yes, there are," Andrea confirmed. "Though they're pretty rare."
"Thankfully I have an idea on where we might be able to get some," Sam noted. "So we could cultivate some of them and perhaps place them outside the Ghost Portal and around the typical places that ghosts attack."
"There are actually ways to counteract the effects of Blood Blossoms," Andrea noted. "Which the four of us staying here at the opera house should probably take. You mix some of the Blood Blossom petals with Golden Aura Lily stems and some of the roots of a Dragonmint shrub. If you can get the Blood Blossoms, Sam, Danielle and I could go to the Ghost Zone and get the other two."
"My sister is a bit of a ghost nerd," Danielle chuckled.
"I know the feeling," Danny laughed.
"Says the one who has been studying a whole different side of ghosts, their histories, and secret techniques that could be recovered," Andrea retorted to Danielle, who just childishly stuck out her tongue in retaliation. "Anyways, with the three ingredients you can brew a tea that makes the ghost consume it immune to Blood Blossoms for 72 hours."
"I might try grabbing some bulbs of Blood Blossoms to see if I can plant them," Sam stated with a grin. "It'll be the perfect botany challenge for me, as they only grow in unique conditions these days."
"Meanwhile, if you can actually get some whole Golden Aura Lilies and Dragonmint shrubs for me, I could cultivate them here as I actually have a small planter pot designed to grow Ghost Zone plants," Juliette offered. "I was considering turning the basement into a Ghost Zone greenhouse."
"You'll have to let me know when you're planning on doing that so I can help, since I have a greenhouse of my own." Sam smiled. "I'd love for the opportunity to learn how to cultivate ghost plants."
"As would I," Andrea agreed.
"Actually," Jazz chimed in. "Juliette, we were actually wondering if you wanted to come on the vacation with us."
Juliette turned to Jazz with a look of surprise and confusion. "You are? I thought it was going to be a family-only vacation."
"We are free to invite friends," Jazz explained.
"Then why aren't we getting invited?" Tucker pouted.
"Because your and Sam's parents likely wouldn't agree to let you go on a 1 to 2 month vacation during school," Jazz explained. "I recommended Juliette since she doesn't have school to worry about. On top of that, Mom and Dad already know her fairly well, and I figured she would like to see more of the world. And I also wanted to get to know her better myself, as I've spent the least time with her out of anyone."
"But just in case, we do actually extend the invitation to you and Sam, Tucker," I spoke up. "But you're gonna have to talk to your parents about it first."
"Yeah, that's not a battle I'm gonna take head on," Sam outright admitted. "I'd rather go up against Pariah Dark on my own than try to convince my parents to let me go on a long vacation during the school year. Not even my Granny would be able to help me out in that situation."
"That… honestly sucks, Sam." Danny frowned. "Would telling them that you could possibly take the classes online help?"
"Probably not," Sam replied. "It was already a huge challenge to get them to agree with me going on the summer break with you guys."
"You'll have to count me out too," Tucker sighed. "While my parents are more laid back, and they know I could take the classes online easily enough, I have my responsibilities as student council president. It would look bad if I just gave all my responsibilities to Valerie while I went off on another long vacation not that long after summer break."
"Besides that, we kinda need you to help us with the stabilizers," Danielle added.
"That too," Tucker agreed. "With the Fentons gone, I'd be the only one able to make those temporary genetic stabilizers."
"What do you think, Scarlet?" Juliette inquired. "Do you think I should-"
"Yes, Princess Juliette, I do think you should go on the vacation," Scarlet answered, not even letting Juliette finish. "You have been working incredibly hard lately and I think some time off would be good for you. You also said you wanted to see more of the world when you could, and right now you have that option to do so."
"You make a fair enough point, but that would mean you wouldn't be able to come with me," Juliette responded.
"I'm perfectly fine with that, Princess Juliette." Scarlet smiled. "I've been enjoying protecting Amity Park on my lonesome when you guys are out of town. Though I guess I'll have the two girls to help me out if I need some backup. Though I do have a request for you, Princess."
"What is it?" Juliette asked with a small tilt of her head.
"I'd like you to take Lydia with you while you're on vacation," Scarlet answered. "Since I can't be there, I want someone trustworthy to be there to keep an eye on you and take care of any of your needs. Additionally, she can easily hide in your shadows and go undiscovered by the patriarch and matriarch of the Fenton family."
"We'll also be here to help keep the town and city safe," Sam spoke up, mostly to reassure me and Danny. "We've had a lot of training on how to deal with hostile ghosts, and we've been stockpiling a number of the Fenton weapons in case we would need them."
"Let's not forget the Red Huntress," Tucker reminded.
"Yeah but she's more of a neutral party at best," Sam pointed out.
"She still does defend Amity Park from ghosts anyways. Just don't let her find Scarlet, or Andrea and Danielle in their ghost forms," I informed. "Although, she might be okay with Danielle… might."
"Are you sure that the five of you would be able to care for Amity Park with us gone?" Juliette asked.
"Yeah, I'm confident that we can handle it," Tucker responded. "If we need anything, we can call, text, or grab it from Fenton Works as we know where the hidden key is and what the alarm code is."
"Be sure to update us on what's going on whenever you get the chance to," Danny requested.
"And don't get too proud. If something really bad is going on, don't try to hide it. Let us know immediately, we'll see if we can get back here to help as quickly as possible," I warned.
"No worries," Tucker nonchalantly replied.
"I give you my word that I will keep you guys up to date," Sam promised, rolling her eyes at Tucker's response.
"And on my honor, I will keep everyone in Amity Park safe," Scarlet swore to us.
"Good." Danny smiled. "Before we leave, we'll tell you guys the code to the Ghost Portal so you can go and grab what you need from the Ghost Zone. Just make sure to close it up and lock it again before you leave."
"We'll be sure to do that," Andrea assured.
"Fa- Vlad would sometimes have Andrea and I run some errands for him in the Ghost Zone, so we know better than to leave a Ghost Portal open." Danielle nodded.
"So it's a plan then?" Jazz asked.
"Seems like it," I replied before chuckling. "Look at how many of us there are. We're starting to seem like some kind of team or small guild for defending Amity Park or something. At this rate, we might need to appoint an official leader."
"If we do, I nominate Juliette," Tucker chuckled.
"Of course you would." Sam rolled her eyes. "Though I can see why you'd choose her outside of your crush for her. She's the oldest of all of us and has quite a few unique skill sets."
"She's also strategic, she knows how most ghosts work, and she's the one who took in most of who we have here right now," I listed off.
"The only big area she's lacking is her technological skills, though I'm sure I will be able to teach her more over time," Tucker pointed out.
"Hey, let's try not to vote me into a theoretical position right now," Juliette chuckled before looking at myself, Danny, and Jazz. "I guess if these 5 can handle Amity Park, I would be happy to accompany you. I'll just have to give Andrea my guide on Ghost Zone agriculture and gardening before I leave."
"Thank you, I will do my best to learn quickly yet effectively," Andrea replied politely yet excitedly.
Ghost plant agriculture, huh? I might have to look into that myself one day… I mused.
"Great! I'm sure you guys will have everything handled here." Danny smiled. "Hopefully we'll be back before too long, preferably before Halloween. At least this year I won't have to put together a haunted house."
"Where is the vacation going to be?" Juliette asked.
"We're going to Florida at the start, but from there we're not quite sure," Danny answered.
"I see," Juliette acknowledged before the air around her shimmered and she was suddenly in her human disguise. "Then I'm going to need to go do some shopping as I do not have many clothes for a tropical climate."
"If you'd like, I can go shopping with you," Jazz volunteered. "It'll be a good start to some bonding."
"That would actually be much appreciated, as I'm not exactly sure what would be good choices for that climate," Juliette gratefully responded. "Having a guide would be invaluable."
"We wish you guys the best of luck on your vacation, and hopefully nothing goes wrong," Andrea said to me, Danny, and Jazz.
"If something does go wrong, which is pretty likely as you guys are magnets for trouble, I hope that you guys have fun." Danielle grinned. "And bring me some pictures!"
"Before we go shopping, I'll get that book for Andrea," Juliette said as she stood up and started to head to her room above the stage.
"She's quite excited," Scarlet noted.
"How can you tell?" Jazz asked.
"There's a slight bounce in Princess Juliette's step," Scarlet explained. "And she's very softly humming to herself, something she hasn't done in a long time."
"Aww, that sounds cute." Tucker grinned.
Sam rolled her eyes at Tucker before she looked at Danny. "If you can, maybe you can get us some souvenirs too. And… be careful. I… couldn't live with myself if something happened to you… a-and to Andy and Jazz of course."
Danielle rolled her eyes while Andrea softly giggled to herself.
"I-I'll do my best…" Danny sheepishly replied, his cheeks and ears turning a slight shade of red.
"Do we need to leave the two of you alone or…?" I teased.
"H-hush, bro!" Danny groaned.
I only laughed at the reaction.
It had been a long weekend of preparing to go on this sudden vacation. Juliette and Jazz had gone shopping on Saturday, while myself, Danny, and Dad actually went shopping with Mom on Sunday. As Dad had been working on his health, his old outfits no longer fit him as he had lost some weight.
Danny and I got a couple new swimsuits each, a few sets of beach clothes, towels, sunglasses, and more. At first we only picked out a couple items, but Mom said that we should get what we need and not worry about how much we're grabbing.
We were now in the living room of Fenton Works, having locked up the Ghost Portal and done everything else we needed to do, and we were just waiting on the cab to the airport to arrive. I looked around and noticed that we had a lot more suitcases than we normally did, which made sense, but it was also strange to see us with all this luggage. I began wondering just how long we would be gone and when we'd be back.
Thankfully I was brought out of my thoughts when the doorbell rang.
Since I was closest to the door, I went to answer it. When I opened the door, I saw Juliette, using her human disguise. Behind Juliette were Tucker and Sam, they were carrying some suitcases, likely for Juliette.
"You guys didn't need to carry my suitcases for me," Juliette softly chuckled. "I have been working to be a bit stronger."
"It's no problem, Juliette," Sam assured. "Tucker could use the exercise and I don't want my athletic skills going rusty."
"Besides… we figured this would give us a good excuse for coming here," Tucker sheepishly answered.
"Well, good excuse for my parents anyways," Sam grumbled.
"Hey guys, glad you could make it." I smiled. "We were just waiting for Juliette and the cab to arrive. Glad Juliette was the one who got here first."
"I can help you pack your things away when the cab arrives," Dad offered.
"I'd appreciate that," Juliette responded with a soft chuckle.
"So… are you guys ready for your vacation?" Tucker asked.
"As ready as we can be," Danny yawned, as he wasn't much of a morning person these days. "I've packed everything I need and more… I even have a backpack with all my electronics and chargers and games."
"Though hopefully you won't need them too often as there will be plenty to keep you busy on our vacation." Mom smiled.
I still didn't know what Mom was planning to do. But it looked like we were going to be flying to Florida since we were taking a cab to the airport. Although, I wondered if Danny was going to sleep on the plane with how tired he looked.
"I just hope the vacation is a good one," Jazz answered. "I brought a lot of books, just in case. I also want to keep up with my studies."
"I promise you that it'll be a good one, sweetheart," Mom assured.
"I'm kind of jealous that you guys get another vacation." Sam smiled. "Maybe you'll get to see something exotic while you're in Florida."
"Or perhaps you'll be able to go scuba diving or deep sea fishing or swimming with the dolphins," Tucker added.
"Hopefully not the middle option, as there are some species of sea life that have been overfished to the point where they're on the verge of being labelled endangered," Sam responded.
"Stop being such a killjoy, Sam." Tucker rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure you guys will have everything handled here?" I asked them.
"Yeah, dude, don't worry," Tucker assured. "I'll keep you up to date on any school gossip and let you know if anything happens in Amity Park."
I figured that the first part of what Tucker was saying was because my parents were around, so I just went with it. "Heh, alright, do let me know if anything happens between Dash and Katrina. I've heard the rumors that Dash has been trying to hook up with her."
"If anything happens between them, you'll likely be one of the first to know," Sam chuckled.
"Speaking of school, the two of you should probably leave soon so you aren't late to school," Mom noted. "The cab should be here at any moment and we'll be heading out as soon as it arrives."
As if on cue, we heard a honk outside.
"That must be our ride." Dad smiled. "Come on, kids, let's get our stuff into the cab."
Danny, Jazz, Mom, Dad, and I began picking up our suitcases to take it out to the cab, which was right outside on our street. Juliette, Tucker, and Sam were helping Juliette with her suitcases. I had Hope in the backpack I was wearing, as I figured I could have her with my carry-ons. That way I could take her out if I needed to or wanted to.
Once we were done packing everything into the cab, which was actually somewhat like a small bus as it needed to fit the 6 of us and all our suitcases, we began filing in.
We rolled down our windows to wave to Tucker and Sam, who were the only ones who stayed outside.
"See you guys! I texted everything you should need!" I shouted out the window.
"Thanks!" Tucker loudly replied.
"Have fun on your vacation! And keep Danny out of trouble!" Sam yelled while waving.
"Hey! I'm not always in trouble!" Danny loudly replied back, leaning over me to respond to the two, before sitting back down and giving a pout to me as I rolled up the window. "I guess this is the start of our mystery vacation… honestly if I wasn't so tired, I'd probably feel a bit giddy right now."
"Why are you so tired today? You used to be a morning person," Jazz asked, who was sitting on the seats across the aisle from us before she leaned in over to us to speak softer. "Is it because you're half ghost? Or have you been staying up later than usual to patrol or something?"
"Dunno," Danny responded as he looked across the aisle to Jazz. "I don't think it's any of those issues, Jazz. I didn't have any lumpy pillows or awkward sleep. My dream was pretty nice, I was laying on the hill in Center Park under a star filled sky with a giant full moon. I ate and slept well. Maybe it was just because I was a bit anxious for this surprise vacation we're going on? Or maybe-" Danny shrugged. "Could be something to do with puberty."
Jazz gave a thoughtful look before nodding. "I guess that would make sense, as I had a bit of trouble sleeping back when I was going through puberty. All the strange interactions going on in the body to help age you up can definitely mess with one's sleep cycle."
I wasn't sure if that was the case. I was the same age as Danny was, but I didn't have trouble sleeping. I wasn't a morning person, but I didn't feel all that groggy like Danny was. Although, if Danny was talking about being a halfa… that might be different. I wondered if I should study Danny, to see if that was the case, and to prepare for if that started to happen to me.
"Do you feel funny or different at all, bro?" I asked. "Any noticeable changes to your…" I leaned in and whispered. "Ghost half?"
"Nope." Danny shook his head. "Nothing's really feeling strange or wrong. I'm just feeling tired. Now how about you two mother hens just relax and let me rest? I'm definitely gonna take a nap at the airport and on the plane… still can't believe we need to be there two hours before our flight…"
"It's a good idea to be there before the flight in case there are any changes in the schedule," Jazz chuckled. "Besides, we're only arriving at the airport 2 hours early. By the time we get through checking and security, it might only be an hour till the flight. And during that hour, the plane could potentially arrive and leave early."
We arrived at the airport, and went through checking and security as Mom, Dad, and Jazz instructed us to. After all that, we actually went to a quieter, more upscale part of the airport and waited around for a while. While we were just waiting, Danny fulfilled his promise and laid down on the comfortable couches and went to sleep. After an hour, a lady walked over to us and told us that our flight was ready and we'd need to take the airport shuttle to get to it.
I was a bit surprised by all this as we weren't sitting in the regular parts of the airport, and normally with the larger airplanes you'd use those tunnels to get right into the airplane.
Though I decided not to question it and grabbed my backpack while Jazz woke Danny up. Once everyone was ready, we went outside onto the actual airport concrete and got on another small bus. This bus drove us around for a little bit, stopping to let large planes move by on the taxiways.
When the bus finally stopped, I found that we were just outside of a relatively small airplane, one that actually reminded me of the private jets that many millionaires owned.
"Maddie? Is this actually our flight?" Dad asked.
"Yep." Mom smiled as we walked towards the private jet, where there was a stewardess standing outside the small stairs that went into the plane. "I chartered a private jet for us so we wouldn't have to deal with those uncomfortable small seats of a regular airliner. I also felt like splurging a tiny bit so we could travel in some comfort on the way to Florida."
I was staring when we got to the inside of the plane. I wasn't sure if I heard Mom right, because it honestly felt like she was talking nonsense. This would be something I expected from Vlad, not Mom. As far as I was concerned, we were middle class when it came to money. We couldn't just casually rent a private jet, this vacation itself was likely already expensive enough as it was. I wasn't the only one who was staring, likely thinking the same thing. I noticed Jazz and Danny were staring right beside me.
"Did we win the lottery…?" Danny asked.
"No, nothing of that sort," Mom chuckled. "I just did some work and saw we had enough money to afford chartering a private jet for the trip there and the trip back. This actually didn't cost too much as I got a good deal."
As Mom and Dad walked further into the private jet, I looked at Jazz and Danny.
"Maybe she's been replaced by a Maddie clone?" Danny whispered.
"I don't think so? I'm pretty sure we would've noticed," Jazz replied. "Although she has been acting weird in the past several days…"
"Is it possible Vlad gave her a lot of money while she was like that to try to cheer her up?" I guessed.
"I'd never accept a dime of that man's money," Mom said as she walked over, making us jump. "Now come on and take your seats. The sooner we're all seated, the sooner we can take off."
We were still a bit hesitant, but we decided to go along with it. Mom didn't seem like she got replaced, even if she hadn't been quite herself for a while. But she didn't explain how she had enough money to afford a private jet.
I had to admit that having a private jet was nice. We could sit anywhere we wanted, and not have to worry about other people. Especially people who liked to be annoying just for the sake of it, or had a very loud child that wouldn't stop crying. And within not too long, we took off into the air.
I sat near the front of the plane, next to a window seat. Danny sat down on a seat in front of me, so he could also look out the window as well. Jazz sat not too far away, sitting on a seat on the other side of the aisle from Danny for her own window seat. And Juliette was sitting behind her and across the aisle from me. Mom and Dad were sitting in the middle of the plane together. I wondered if they were giving us space or something, since I expected them to sit closer to us.
"So…" Danny said as he looked back at me. "What do you think this vacation is going to be? And do you think we'll actually get time to relax instead of being almost constantly on the move?"
I shook my head. "Well, whenever I try to look ahead to see, not that I'm great at doing that yet, I just see the ocean. I'm not really sure what that means, as it could mean a lot of things. But I kinda thought you'd be a little more excited about this, since we're going to Florida, wasn't that where that astronaut space camp thing was being held?"
"Yeah, it is," Danny confirmed. "But only during the summer. On the bright side, if you're seeing the ocean then maybe we get to spend some quality time at the beach. Just remind me to bring sunscreen as I don't want to get another summer-sickness sunburn."
"Would you be alright? You seem to… not have a very high tolerance to heat lately, especially when we're in places where the sun is… hotter," I hesitantly asked in concern.
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Danny chuckled. "If I need to, I can just lay under a beach umbrella."
"Heh, do you plan to continue your nap?" I asked.
"Yep." Danny yawned as he reached over and pulled down the shade that looked outside. He then pulled out a sleeping mask and a pair of noise cancelling headphones.
I chuckled a little as Danny pushed his seat back, allowing him to lay down. I looked out the window and closed my eyes. I allowed my mind to wander for a bit, trying to see what I could find in our upcoming future.
I began to see images in my head. I saw a 'Vote for Vlad' poster plastered on the front of the Nasty Burger. A picture of Vlad Masters was on it as well, grinning that fake friendly grin. Then the image changed to what appeared to be some kind of jungle or rainforest, with thorny plant vines growing from the ground at an alarming rapid pace. Another image showed me a black crown that was burning with green fire, which I thought might be the Crown of Fire. Then the image changed again, showing Amity Park being torn apart by a severe storm that was causing hail, twisters, lightning that was hitting buildings, and the like.
I shook my head a bit as the images changed again. This time I saw some agents from the Guys in White invading the lab in our home, but they actually gave a sheepish look before they pulled out a huge piece of paper. The paper was bigger than both of their bodies. I couldn't see what was on the paper. Then the images shifted again, showing me a strange, black box with intricate carvings on it. Someone with gloved hands was holding onto the black box, but I couldn't see that person. Then the images shifted to Valerie wearing the Red Huntress suit, but I was looking at her helmet specifically. Valerie's face looked to be in shock about something, and on the glass of her helmet, I could see a reflection of what appeared to be a familiar ring of light. I couldn't see who was at the center of the ring of light, nor could I tell if they were going ghost or unghosting, but I knew it had to be one of the four halfas.
I opened my eyes, wanting to pull out of the visions I was seeing. I frowned as I rubbed my forehead.
"Is everything alright?" Juliette asked as she stood up and walked over to me. "Are you feeling sick?"
"No, I'm fine," I assured, shaking my head a bit. "I just got bombarded by a lot of visions all of a sudden. I don't think I remember some of them."
"Well… I'm sure you'll remember what is most important," Juliette assured with a smile. "By the way… I didn't tell you, did I?~"
I blinked. "Tell me what?"
"Poke me," Juliette instructed.
"Uh… why?" I raised an eyebrow at the strange request.
"Because I need you to poke me for my explanation to make sense," Juliette informed.
I shrugged before I poked her arm. I felt skin. For a moment, I didn't think anything was weird, until my brain caught up to me and remembered how I usually still felt fur under her skin illusion.
"Wait… you have actual skin now?" I asked in surprise.
Juliette smiled and nodded. "While you and Danny have been training hard, I've been training hard as well. I learned how to combine my magic and ghost powers to fully transform myself and give off the needed sensations of a living being. I have skin, a pulse, body heat, and more. Though this does come with a bit of a downside."
"Wait, you learned proper transformation? That's so cool! I didn't know a ghost could emulate a living being so perfectly." I quietly smiled in awe, before hearing the last part of what she said. "What's the downside?"
"Since it's a full transformation, I don't have to expend any energy in order to keep up the appearance," Juliette explained. "However, it takes me about 10 minutes to transform from this form to my ghost form and the same time to go the other way."
"Oh…" I frowned, remembering how it used to take me about 5 to 10 seconds to transform from ghost to human and vice versa when I was still learning how to use my powers, and that already took too long in the heat of battle.
"Since I'm not a halfa like you and Danny, I actually need to do a ritual in order to transform," Juliette softly added. "Hence why it takes so long. On top of that, I can't use my ghost powers while I'm transformed as a human. Though thankfully I can still use my fire magic."
"Well…" I began. "Here's hoping it won't be necessary for you to have to revert. Although, considering our track record, that's a flimsy hope."
Juliette was the only other person, besides Lydia and Hope, who remembered the Freakshow and Guys in White incident. She knew just as well as I did that anything could happen, even… or especially on vacation.
"I can still call upon Lydia if I need to though," Juliette chuckled.
"Yeah, that's true. How's Lydia been?" I asked as I took Hope out of my backpack and held onto her in my arms.
"She's been good." Juliette smiled. "She's been working hard in the Ghost Zone as part of her rehabilitation and her appearance has been improving quite a bit. She no longer has dark green skin but has changed more to a bluer-green tint. She also has decided to have short hair instead of the spikes or long hair. And she's been working to better master her summoning skills. She can now summon more of each creature with her tattoos instead of one creature per tattoo and no longer needs to rely on her tattoos to summon creatures. Her tattoos also seemed to have… in a way, evolved."
"Huh… maybe working with you is helping her get stronger," I commented. "I remember reading ghosts can evolve under certain circumstances related to the individual. I guess staying with Freakshow may have stunted her a bit."
"I believe she is getting stronger," Juliette agreed. "Though I believe it's mainly due to her own hard work that she's evolving and growing stronger. I may be giving a guiding hand to her, but she's the one coming up with ideas and putting in the work. When she was working for Freakshow, her growth was stagnant as Freakshow didn't want any of his 'puppets' getting stronger than he could manage."
I nodded. "Well, at least she's able to grow now."
I looked down at Hope. While she was corporeal in this teddy bear, she was still technically a ghost, just a ghost that was inhabiting a 'body'. I wondered if Hope could evolve and get stronger. It was probably unlikely. I looked at my brother, who was already in dreamland from the way he was softly snoring.
I looked over at Jazz, who was deep into her own book. My parents appeared to be talking to each other. This was the best time to talk to Hope.
"Want me to go grab a drink or some food?" Juliette offered, seeing that I wanted to talk to Hope.
"You don't have to," I chuckled. "I was just making sure nobody who doesn't know about Hope was watching us. Although I wouldn't mind a snack and a soda."
"I'll get that for you," The stewardess chuckled as she walked by. "Would you like just a snack or a full meal?"
"Just a snack is fine, I want to save a full meal for lunch," I answered back.
The stewardess nodded and walked away.
"You wanted to talk?" Hope softly spoke up.
"Yeah. I was wondering, do you know if you still count as a ghost while inhabiting this teddy bear?" I asked. "Could you evolve or get stronger at all?"
"I… don't know," Hope answered. "As I've said time and again, the relationship between me and this teddy bear isn't a simple overshadowing or inhabiting situation. I've been, in an almost physical sense, sewed into the teddy bear body. I don't know where I end and the teddy bear body begins. And I don't think a teddy bear can evolve or get stronger."
"It's possible that in order to get stronger you might need to see the ghost who essentially fused you to that teddy bear body," Juliette offered. "After all, getting that body was meant to simply be a way for you to gain a new life and a new home. It likely is limited in what it can do. But if you saw that ghost, perhaps they can help remove that limitation or give you the ability to grow."
"Or maybe they can outright release me from being fused to the teddy bear but let me keep it so I can overshadow it," Hope added. "The only issue is… I'm not sure how easy it would be to find that ghost, as she's incredibly elusive and only appears to ghosts that need her help. And her domain is constantly on the move."
"Well, considering we're also looking for Juliette's parents, we'll have to add that elusive ghost to the list of beings to find," I remarked.
"Heh, sounds good," Hope chuckled. "Man, I can't wait to go to the beach or ocean with you. Just keep me away from the water and keep me off of the sand. I'm definitely not waterproof and I'd rather not get sand all over me."
I couldn't help but smile. It was only recently that Hope confessed that she revealed herself to Andrea just for a chance to rescue me and Danny. It was then I knew that Hope really did like me now, because if she still felt like she had when we first met, she would've just left, stayed hidden, or let Andrea adopt her instead. I definitely owed Hope a lot for that.
"Well don't worry, when we get to the beach, I'll set up something for you to sit on comfortably without getting wet or sandy," I promised. "I also better make sure some kid doesn't try to steal you away from me either."
"Thanks." Hope chuckled before she went still.
"Here's your drink." The stewardess smiled as she pressed a button on my armrest and a tray came out from the wall. She put a can of soda and a glass cup with ice on the tray table. "And here are your snacks."
The stewardess placed down a tray that had a variety of snacks including a fresh hot pretzel.
"Thanks." I smiled politely.
"Let me know if you need anything else, sir," The stewardess replied, giving a smile of her own before walking away.
I looked at Hope for a moment. "Would you mind if I let Danny hold you while he sleeps? I don't want to get you dirty while I eat."
"Nah, go ahead," Hope softly chuckled. "Maybe I can help him rest better."
I chuckled before I stood up and walked around to Danny's chair before placing Hope into Danny's arms. Danny subconsciously wrapped his arms around the soft plush, and cuddled with her in his sleep.
When I turned back around, I saw Juliette had stolen half of my hot pretzel and had a small grin on her face.
"Thanks for this snack~" Juliette giggled before she went back over to her seat.
"Hey! Julieeeeette," I whined. "You could've just asked."
Juliette chuckled. "I could have, but I figured you'd say 'yes' anyway."
Well, she wasn't wrong there. I sat down on my seat, and enjoyed a nice chat with Juliette while we were eating at the same time.
After about 4, maybe 5, hours, the plane finally landed at what I was told was Miami International Airport. Though I was slightly confused by how long it took, since I could've sworn that I had learned in school it would take half the time to fly to Florida from Amity Park. I ended up shrugging it off and went with my family as we got out of the plane, grabbed our bags, went through the airport, got on another bus-taxi and left for this mysterious destination.
We had been on the road for some time before Mom got up and looked at us while the small bus was still moving. I glanced out the window and saw the ocean, boats, large luxurious houses, resorts, and more.
"Okay, everyone. We're almost at our destination," Mom informed us. "When we get there, I will need to do just a little bit of paperwork in an office and then I will show you all where we're gonna be staying for the duration of our vacation. While it might be a bit of a bore, I'm gonna ask you guys to wait near where we're dropped off until I'm done. That way we can all head over to the place together."
"Oh I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us, Mads!" Dad excitedly exclaimed, looking like a kid at a candy store.
The rest of us were just wondering what Mom had planned. I was just hoping it wasn't anything crazy, or it was some kind of trap that was being set up by someone who wasn't actually our Mom.
The bus finally stopped in front of a large wooden building with a large boat shaped sign on the front. We all got off of the bus and unloaded the luggage as Mom headed into the building. I noticed that the smell of sea air was incredibly strong and there were seagulls flying and crying overhead.
After about 15 minutes of standing outside, which felt more like an hour, Mom finally came back out of the building holding a stack of papers.
"Alright!" Mom smiled as she walked back over to us. "Everyone grab your bags and follow me!"
I was starting to become more and more thankful for the ghostly strength that Danny and I had. It made grabbing multiple pieces of luggage so much easier. Danny and I also helped Juliette take some of her luggage, though thankfully almost all the suitcases had wheels on them that allowed them to roll. My only concern was if our parents would notice our strange lack of struggle of carrying all these luggages, but they didn't seem too concerned about it. Although, I think I saw Mom looking in our direction a few times.
We made our way out onto a large dock that had many different docks jutting off of it. It seemed that there were boats moored at each of the docks. As we kept walking, I couldn't help but notice that the boats seemed to be more varied in design, from being large fishing vessels with giant cranes on them to being houseboats that seemed permanently tied up to the dock.
Finally, Mom began to slow down as we reached the end of the dock.
"Here we are!" Mom beamed as she stopped and turned around to look at us.
We all looked at what Mom wanted us to see, and… I dropped the handles of all the luggage I had been bringing in shock. I could hear Danny doing the same. I heard Jazz gasping in shock. Even Dad was staring with unblinking eyes.
"What…? How…? Why…?" Dad mumbled as he looked between Mom and what was behind her. He then made a small high pitched noise from his throat before he fell face first onto the dock, having lost consciousness.
ZAFT Convoy: DarkFoxKit: Thanks, you're one of the few who ever mentions anything about our ANs.
Andy: Well, I for one can most definitely wait until you get to torment me again.
mysteryfan4ever: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Fox, with the help of her cowriters, has grown Andy into being a great person with more sides than a rubik's cube. From my talks with Fox, she explained to me how she didn't want to create a clone or a duplicate of Danny, like so many other fanfics did with a twin. She executed it spectacularly well with Andy, who offers a unique perspective and has a different mindset to handling challenges than his brother.
Andy is the type who instead of defeating an enemy in the short term, he would rather conquer the enemy in the long term. The way he wants to do this is by turning that enemy into a friend or ally, or a neutral party at the very least. Vlad would have to do a lot to stop Andy from trying to give the fruitloop a second chance.
DarkFoxKit: Awww, you flatter me, Onyx. Though Andy has become a favorite character of mine to use in other situations, and it makes it more fun to use him where he originated from as I start to figure out more about his character myself.
sskgmrbooks: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': They are actually different heights. I said as much to you in a PM, but I'll say it here as well. Andrea and Danielle are different heights, with Danielle actually being shorter than Andrea. This is for quite a simple reason, the age of the DNA samples that Vlad used in the clones. For Danielle, Vlad had to rely on an older sample from not too long after Danny became a half ghost. Meanwhile Andy's DNA sample was more recently collected, allowing Vlad to create a clone closer to the actual age of the boys.
naminexrikus2468: DarkFoxKit: There are other ways to get a ghost high, we just haven't been able to introduce such ways yet. Because season 2 doesn't focus a lot on the Ghost Zone and its lore, at least not yet. Season 3 is where most of the Ghost Zone lore will start coming up, at least it will for us. As for if they're immune to earth drugs and how it would work on half ghosts, we haven't discussed that yet, but I believe half ghosts might have a higher resistance to it. I can't say about ghosts themselves though. There were jokes about ghosts not being able to get drunk due to the alcohol going through them, literally.
layla666: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Not sure what this has to do with the story, layla. If you have a question about the story itself, feel free to ask. But random questions that have nothing to do with the active chapters often will go unanswered, like this one.
kairixsora13579: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Well… Andy, like a certain silent character who falls down into a monster world, is filled with a driving force that won't make him give up on Vlad. Andy truly believes there is some good in Vlad and he's going to try and bring out that good no matter how long it takes.
Mana16: DarkFoxKit: Maddie's hiding something alright. XP The idea of Vlad being more ghost than human makes sense, he's been a halfa for a lot longer than either of the boys had, he likely had been using his ghost half a lot to gain whatever advantages he could get. Vlad's ghost half was created by a disease called ecto acne, so his ghost half is very different from his human half. It's possible his ghost half could've changed over time since we never really saw a younger Vlad Plasmius. Although it's a good idea to have Danny and Andy wanting to retain their humanity. Heh, that may or may not come into play later, who knows?
Yeah, we thought it would make more sense if Danny lost his voice for a few days after using his Ghostly Wail. This time he channeled pretty much all of his ghost power into it. That couldn't be good for his poor throat.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': In regards to the whole 'Danielle going to the Ghost Zone and being less likely to melt' part. There actually would be dangers from her going there. For one, she's a clone, an artificial being. Ghosts could have a stigma against clones and try to destroy her. For another, there are all kinds of ectoplasm in the Ghost Zone, not just the type that runs inside the twins and the clones. Being subjected to those other types of ectoplasm while being unstable could actually cause Danielle, or the clones, to more rapidly deteriorate. There's a few more points to make, like them being look-alikes of Danny and Andy, but the point is that it would likely be more dangerous in the Ghost Zone.
Andy: Let's not forget that Skulker exists. He'd probably hunt Danielle and Andrea down the moment he set his eyes on them. What's rarer than halfas? Clones of halfas. Vlad could also pay Skulker to hunt her, or them, down and bring her, or them, back.
DP-Marvel94: DarkFoxKit: Yup. Unlike Danny, Andy has a reason to like Vlad, and wants Vlad to be the good man that he was when Andy needed him most. It is too bad that things didn't work out in the end, but maybe it might not all have been in vain.
The alarm did help the boys escape and fight back, though even if they didn't, Juliette, Tucker, Sam, Andrea, and Danielle would've come to their rescue. We did consider going that route at first, but we wanted to show how far the boys had come since they got their ghost powers, Andy most of all considering how he felt when he first got his powers. And in the canon episode, Tucker and Sam only stopped Vlad by showing up, so it makes sense this episode would end in a similar way. It shows the friends care enough to try to come and save them, and it shows the strength of the twins. Vlad being durable makes sense, he didn't stay down for long even in the canon episode after Danny used his Ghostly Wail in Vlad's face, and it shows just how much stronger he is compared to the boys. That's why Andy has to get as crafty as Vlad, and trust in his brother to back him up.
Heh, Andy using telekinesis and ectoswords was indeed cool. Not only has Scarlet been teaching Andy how to utilize his ecto weapons more, but if you recall how future Andy fought, you can see how our Andy is starting to fight more similarly to his future self. Danny sneaking up on Vlad was a great way to bring the man down, he was already weakened by Danny's Ghostly Wail, and Andy kept Vlad busy long enough for Danny to finish the job.
We wanted to use Hope more, especially since she became an actual character in our series. Having her talk to Andrea was a good way to get Andrea to switch sides, and Andrea was able to talk Danielle into listening to her as well. Danielle, of course, wanted to believe in Vlad, so she needed solid proof that he wasn't as benevolent as he said he was. Yeah, Andrea and Danielle are still unstable, but at least they'll be staying in Amity Park instead of going off on their own somewhere where they would eventually melt. Danny, Andy, and their friends are going to work for a way to truly stabilize the two clones.
Thank you for reading and commenting, I hope you will enjoy this last chapter before the movie of We Are Phantoms.