Chapter 5

Danny leaned against a raised cement flower planter that sat decorating the parking lot entrance to Floody Waters. He shoved his hands into his trunk's pockets as he kept an eye out on the parking lot. Jazz had dropped him off at the entrance so he could be seen for when everyone else got there and he could just see her walking back now. She had kidnapped Maddie's sun hat and had a wrap tied around her waist, exposing a leg as she walked.

Once she got close enough to hear him, he said, "How do you expect to ride anything with Mom's big hat?"

Jazz stopped beside him and retorted, "Let me enjoy things in my own way."

Danny held up his hands, hoping to stop anything between them. "Sorry."

Jazz gave him a smile, their sibling 'alright' letting him drop his hands and smile back.

"So how early are we?" Jazz asked, turning so that she could see the parking lot as well.

Danny watched some other early birds walking up to the ticket line and said, "Sam said at opening and she's the one buying everyone's tickets." A car pulling up to the drop off area caught his attention, recognizing the green hatch back. "There's Mrs. Foley's car," Danny pointed out as it pulled over.

Both of the back doors opened, Tucker the first to poke his head out. "There they are!" he said, pointing towards the siblings as he looked back at his mother in the driver seat.

Danny noticed Angela Foley turn her attention back through the windshield, getting Danny to wave.

She waved back as Sam stepped out of the other side of the car. The goth in her vail and cape leaned back in to say something, turning Angela's attention back around. Angela gave Sam a nod and wave before Sam closed the door and walked around the car to Tucker's side.

Angela said something to Tucker, getting him to retort, "Mom! I don't need them!"

"Who do you think that back talk is going to?" Angela retorted back. "Certainty not your mother."

Tucker reached back into the car and pulled out deflated yellow plastic, shutting the door after himself.

"I don't see no blowing!" Angela called out, rolling down the passenger window.

Tucker tucked one of the plastics under his arm and put the other to his lips to start blowing up a floaty, refusing to look at the car or its driver.

Angela said something to Sam, getting the girl to smile and wave, before pulling the car forwards. She slowed down in front of Danny and Jazz and called out, "You all have fun. Jazz, did you drive?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I need the car this afternoon so if you could drive everyone back home?"

"Will do," Jazz said, nodding her head.

"Danny, make sure Tucker wears his floaties," Angela added.

"Of course, Mrs. Foley," Danny said with a large smile as he threw a look at Tucker who had stopped just behind the back bumper of his mother's car.

Angela gave one last wave before driving off, rolling up the window as she turned into the parking lot to leave.

"I'm sixteen," Tucker grumbled, keeping the floaty to his lips as he watched the green car drive off. "I don't need these stupid things."

"Keep blowing," Sam ordered. She looked at Danny and said, "We were gonna pick you up too, but your phones went to voicemail."

"Which one?" Danny asked.

"We tried both of you," Tucker said in between blows.

"Mines at home," Danny said.

"I forgot to charge mine last night," Jazz admitted. "It works out anyway, since I still have a car."

"Why couldn't you drive?" Danny asked, looking at Sam.

"Need a licensed driver," Sam pointed out. "Also I don't want my car smelling of chlorine."

"Any word from Valerie?" Jazz asked.

"She said she was on her way," Sam said with a shrug. She looked behind herself at the ticket line before adding, "I'll go ahead and get our tickets."

"Thanks, Sam," Danny offered as Jazz and Tucker said something similar.

"Hey, hold this, will ya?" Tucker asked, holding out the just inflated water wing.

Danny took it in both hands and watched with amusement as he started blowing up the second one.

"Sorry I'm late," Valerie's voice said, getting Danny to turn around and see the girl running from the far end of the parking lot. She stopped beside Tucker and gave him a look.

"Don't," Tucker simply said in between blows.

"Is that your swimsuit?" Jazz asked.

Danny took in what the girl was wearing, honestly thinking she had her bathing suit on underneath the spaghetti strap shirt and green shorts.

"Yeah, I love I can finally get something more normal," Valerie said with a smile. She put her hands into the short's pockets as she added, "and bonus; they have pockets!"

"Nice," Jazz said with a smile.

"Come on, let's go join Sam," Danny said, turning around to find the goth still waiting.

-.-.-.-

"They're coming around the bend now!" Valerie's voice called out.

Danny looked up, holding tight to the harness that secured him into the four person watercraft, and saw Jazz and Valerie up on the cliff face above him, Sam, and Tucker.

"They've got water cannons!" Sam reminded with a laugh.

"No, no, no, no! Why are you aiming that thing at me?!" Tucker cried out a moment before a water fall covered him from the opposite side of the ravine.

Danny let out a laugh only to quickly close his mouth as water shot him in the side of the head. He closed his eyes, enjoying the new ride as Sam let out an excited scream.

The ship dropped down a short waterfall, ending the spray directed at Danny's face so he could open his eyes only for the craft to turn him so that he looked behind them. Looking up he noticed Valerie and Jazz hurrying along the fenced ridge to follow them.

"Oh no," Tucker said.

Danny looked at his friend, it weird to see him without his glasses, only to realize the two looked passed him; Tucker in horror and Sam with delightful anticipation. "What do you mean, oh no?" Danny asked, trying to look over his shoulder but unable to for the harness. He froze as a larger waterfall made itself known above the other rushing water sounds.

"Waterfall!" Sam exclaimed as they started to fall.

Danny closed his eyes, holding on tightly as a part of his mind tried to remember they were on a ride with no real danger. He let out an exhilarated cry just before they landed in the water below. They bumped along the sides of the water ride as the man-made rapids narrowed before a mechanical clamp caught the underside of the ship with a lurch.

"Aw, I wanna do it again," Sam called out.

The watercraft turned as it was pulled through the water, revealing to Danny the rotating start/finish platform. Their ship was pulled a few feet behind another one as the ride handlers helped them out and onto the platform that moved at the same speed. He turned back to his friends and let out a laugh at the dichotomy between the two's response. "Maybe we'll hit it again before we leave," Danny tried, hoping the time in between might give Tucker enough of a reason to ride it again.

The harnesses unlatched as a crew member held onto the pole behind the empty seat to stop it from rotating as he said, "Hope you enjoyed the ride. Be careful when stepping off."

Danny unbuckled himself and followed his friends off of the watercraft. They made their way off the spinning platform and up the steps, Danny keeping an eye out for Jazz and Valerie.

"If I ride that thing again, it better be in a seat not going under every waterfall," Tucker said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think you just had bad luck," Sam said with a laugh. She rang out her cape, leaving a trail behind her on the hot cement.

"So when you gonna ride that one again?" Valerie asked with a laugh as the two broke through the crowd.

Jazz handed Tucker his glasses back as she laughed, "When I heard that onlookers could interact with the ride, I never thought they'd give us so much control."

"Did you control the waterfalls?" Tucker asked, dropping his hands to take back his glasses.

"Some of it," Valerie said, smiling. "A little kid helped too."

Danny felt the cold of his core force its way up, dropping his mood as his breath left him, visible. Instantly the four around him noticed, dropping all humor as Valerie's suit gave her a similar warning beep.

Danny turned towards where he felt his cold pulling him, confused. "No one's panicking," he said, looking through the crowd of waterpark goers around them.

Valerie stepped over to stand beside Danny, giving him a view of a dimmed out version of her wrist panel. "It's right there," she said as the coldest dot made its way closer to them.

A flash of green hair warned Danny of who it might be before Kale Canoe stopped and looked at the group with surprise on his face and his hands in his pockets. He had pulled off his button up, revealing a pale chest, and walked with his suspenders hanging from his hips.

"You!" Danny exclaimed.

"Oh great, it's the whole lot of you," Kale said, turning to step over to them. He stopped in front of them and said, "I really went back in time. You're all young."

"Danny, who's this?" Valerie asked, her hands in fists at the ready.

"Kale Canoe, hunter of artifacts, stealer of Clockwork's watch," Danny offered. He crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "So what are you looking for here?"

"A lance was supposed to be in a pocket dimension under Typhoon Bay," Kale admitted, giving them a shrug. "Wasn't there." In a flash of movement, he burst forward and pulled Sam's cloak off of her, stopping beside her to look at her neck closely. Hope changed to disappointment as he said, "You really don't have it."

Sam took a second to recover before grabbing back her cape. She wrapped it around herself and asked, "Don't have what?"

"The Eye of Osten."

"But you said my wife…" Danny dropped his voice as his mind connected the dots. A mix of emotions bubbled through him as he stared at Sam, registering she was to be his wife.

Sam looked back at him, confusion on her face.

"Yeah," Kale said, nodding at the girl. He looked around and asked, "Hey, where's the brats?"

"What brats?" Jazz asked.

"Dude, how old do you think we are?" Tucker asked.

Danny stepped back as memories flooded into his mind. Two versions of the same memory, unlocked to him after years. "Misty and Jackson," he gasped out, remembering the two being there before the portal accident but also not.

"Yeah, where are they?" Kale asked.

"Danny, are you alright?" Sam asked, taking a step closer to him.

Danny looked up at Kale and said, "They don't exist yet."

"I'm getting sick of that," Kale admitted. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your fun. Still got things on my list to find."

Danny watched the green haired teen turn back and blend into the park goers. He swallowed the solid realization that had formed in his throat as the memories fought in his mind.

"Danny?" Jazz asked.

Danny found himself unable to answer. Unable to respond as his limbs froze on him.

"Let's get him to a chair," Valerie said, grabbing hold of his right shoulder.

Sam grabbed his other arm and pointed towards a bench under a tree. "Over there."

The two helped Danny over as his eyes registered none of it. He sat down, knowing his friends were around him, but trying to recall if he had met the mysterious twins or if aliens had really been involved.

"Is he alright?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Danny looked at the ground in front of his knees, unable to look up as he struggled out of the mix of memories.

"Just got a little too much sun," Jazz was saying. "Do you have a water bottle?"

"Here," the unfamiliar voice offered. "Let any of us know if he needs to get inside."

"Thank you," Jazz said. She leaned down and forced the now opened water bottle into his hands, holding hers around his as she called out his name.

"You remember when Dad sent the house into a parallel dimension?" Danny asked, forcing his hands to tighten around the cool water bottle. Anything to help him hold onto the present as memories fought.

"Yeah, Mom won't let him forget," Jazz said, slowly removing her hands.

Danny forced himself to look up, looking for Sam and Tucker. "Do you remember me telling you about it?"

"Barely," Sam admitted.

"Dude, that was at the end of eight grade," Tucker pointed out.

"I hadn't thought about it since then," Danny admitted. "I mean, weirder things have happened since. I think the version I told you, and you might remember, is where Dad left Fenton Works to try and find out where we were and Jackson risked his life to get us all back home."

"And Jackson's?" Valerie asked.

"At the time, I only knew that he and Misty were either mine or Jazz's kids," Danny admitted, looking up at Valerie. He held his head, closing his eyes, as the memories continued to fight. The headache lessened, getting him to look back at the water bottle in his hand. "They had ghost powers."

"So they're your kids," Jazz put together.

"The dimension was without ecto-science," Danny tried to explain. "The twins were running out of time and the device their time's group helped us make to bring Dad back to Fenton Works was ecto-powered. The ectoplasm powering the device dried up and Jackson used what was in his blood to help."

"But everything's fine in the end," Tucker tried. "You and your dad got back and if Kale remembers your kids, then they're back too, right?"

"I don't remember when they said they were from," Danny admitted. He gently shook his head and gave a look at the four around him. "But I also remember a version of that without them. One where I followed Dad and aliens captured us. He still ended up with the same head injury but it took a lot longer for us to get home." He looked at Sam and Tucker as he added, "I think that's how it was supposed to go, before…" Danny couldn't finish, trying desperately to block out any image of him.

"Danny," Jazz said as she knelt down at his knees so he couldn't easily look away. "I think it might be time for you to tell us what exactly happened to that alternate future."

"Alternate future?" Valerie echoed, her voice only just loud enough Danny picked it up.

AN: If you're curious to read the parallel dimension, it's So What Really Happened that got posted already. I tried to make it so that you really didn't need to read it but, it's there.