Salutations.
Veeeerrrrryyyy sorry that this took so much longer than normal. It's been a bad day…week…month. Let's go with that one. So far I haven't let it faze me, but some stuff came up that distracted me from the story. Even when I had time, I couldn't think about it. Fortunately, I think things might be on the way back up. And since I hate the non-fiction world so much, I'll stop talking about it, and get on with the story. That's why you're here anyway.
Special shouts to everyone who reviewed. It might be the unreasonably long delay, but I've never had so many reviews for an incomplete story's chapter before. Extra special shout to Idiots Unite, who has visited under an alias. So I'm getting two reviewers for the price of one. XD I continue to look forward to hearing from you all.
Here's chapter six, and my sincere hopes that such delays (and what caused them) never EVER happen again.
Later! (But not as much)
HiddenAuthor
Chapter 6 – Revelations
The four friends sat in silence for a long time. Eventually, Danny sat up and decided to start the group working on how to fix things.
"Okay, melting is bad." Dani shot him an incredulous look. Wincing slightly at his gross understatement, Danny hurried to continue. "But, I think I know how to fix it, for now. After school, Dani and I will go grab the Plasmius Maximus and-"
"No way, Danny." Sam interrupted, hand raised in flat denial. "Every time that thing wears off, Dani would give off a surge of energy. And if regular slips could melt her…" She left the rest unsaid. Paling slightly, Danny just gulped and nodded, falling back into silence. Tucker stopped absentmindedly poking at his school-supplied food substitute and raised his head, an idea quickly forming.
"Hey, why not ask your parents for help?" Having caught his friends' undivided attention, he elaborated. "Well, they do have a lab. If Vlad could stabilize that other clone, it has to be possible, so maybe they can stabilize Dani." The ghost girl paused thoughtfully for a moment, and then nodded.
"I guess that could work. But I don't know how Vlad was going to stabilize the clone. Unless we know what he had to do, I don't think that will work." Danny frowned.
"We'll have to get Vlad to tell us how to stabilize you." The ghost boy groaned. "But he's been arrested, or something like that anyway. Clockwork grabbed him after our fight at the docks." Sam smiled.
"So go see Clockwork again. He likes you, Danny." Her boyfriend frowned.
"I guess I have to. But I feel bad about it. I want to be Clockwork's friend, but I only ever visit him when I've got a problem. That has to get on his nerves." Danny gritted his teeth in frustration. "I just wish I could visit him for fun once and awhile." His friends nodded sympathetically, as Tucker spat out a lump of tough, stringy mystery meat.
"You know what I wish, dude? I wish the meat around here was a little fresher. This stuff is gross!" Danny nodded his agreement, but froze as blue mist shot from his mouth. Maniacal laughter filled the cafeteria, as purple smoke spread across the floor.
"So you have wished it. So shall it be!" Danny's eyes narrowed, flashing green.
"Desire'." Without another word, the young ghost flung himself under the table and changed into his ghost form. Up above, the insane genie waved her hands. Throughout the cafeteria, all of the meat suddenly turned into live, panicking animals. Between the terrified students and the stampeding livestock, the cafeteria was in utter chaos before Danny even phased up through the table. With a glare, Dani prepared to copy her older cousin, but he quickly gripped her wrist and firmly placed her back in her seat.
"No way, Dani. You can't risk melting. Don't worry; I can handle her on my own." With that, Danny flew off to face the wishing ghost, leaving a disgruntled clone behind.
"How come he gets to have all the fun?" Sam just shrugged, smiling.
"I don't know. But Tucker sure can wish!" The vegetarian goth looked about with something close to rapture on her face, at all the once-again living animals. Tucker just scowled.
"Yeah, yeah. I wanted to eat them!" Ignoring the now-familiar chaos of the ghost battle, Tucker poked moodily at a side salad he had been required to take, and waited for things to calm down. Sam just sat back and munched contentedly.
Meanwhile, Danny's battle with the wishing ghost was intensifying.
"I don't know if you've heard, Desire', but this town is under my protection now. Get lost!" Danny charged up an ectoblast and fired at the wicked ghost. Chuckling as she dodged, the evil spirit reached out her hand and backhanded the ghost boy, launching him across the room. Knowing she needed cover despite the solid hit, Desire' flew over to his friends and settled behind Tucker, clutching his shoulders with claw-like fingers.
"You really should be careful what you wish for." She whispered into his ear. Tucker shuddered at her clammy touch. Eyes narrow, Dani discretely reached her hand behind her back and blasted Desire' back towards Danny. Smiling, Tucker turned gratefully towards the young ghost girl.
"Thanks for the save!" Dani beamed, but then groaned when she looked down.
"I think that's all I'll be 'saving' today." Tucker followed her gaze, eyes widening when he saw the dripping goo that was once her feet. Noticing his expression, Sam checked under the table and shuddered.
"Danny's right. Melting is bad." Grimacing with effort, Dani watched as her feet slowly reformed.
"Whew. Well, I guess I won't be much help for now, after all. It's weird though, I can usually do more without melting." The girl pursed her lips, and looked over to where she'd blasted Desire'. The two ghosts were once again locked in intense aerial combat. "That blast was pretty strong. Maybe my powers are getting a little unstable." Frowning, Dani watched helplessly as Desire' and Danny pummeled each other.
"Had enough?" Danny asked smugly as he knocked his foe to the floor yet again. That cheap shot earlier had hurt, but he'd recovered much faster than usual. Power boosts, he reflected, were not always such a bad thing. As Desire' tried desperately to recover, the young ghost pulled out his thermos and-
"Ghost!" Danny's eyes shot across the room, where his father had come charging in, holding a small beeping device. The Fenton Ghost Finder. Seeing who it was ahead of him, Jack pulled to a stop and beamed.
"Danny! Oh! Uhh, Phantom! Is there a ghost around?" Jack quickly whipped out the Ghost Gauntlets, energy coursing through the weaponized gloves as the hunter searched for signs of ghostly doom. Confused, Danny turned to look, and saw that Desire' had flown off. The ghost boy smacked his forehead in frustration.
"Darn it! She got away." Checking for witnesses and finding none, Danny floated down and changed back, scowling. Jack cocked an eyebrow.
"So'd you catch it?" Danny shot his dad a frustrated look, and skulked back to his table.
"No." Jack came over, looking a bit hurt. His son just moodily munched a French fry and shooed off a chicken.
"How come?" Jack asked, though he thought he already knew. Danny looked up, hesitant. He was frustrated, but he didn't want to hurt his dad's feelings. Jack frowned. "It's because of me, isn't it?" Danny's eyes widened, and he quickly waved his hands in denial.
"No! No, no, no. Well, yes." Jack's eyes fell, and Danny thought desperately of how to explain without making him feel worse. "It's not really your fault, I just got distracted when you ran in, that's all. She's not really a tough ghost. I'll get her." Jack just sighed.
"Sorry, Danny. It's just a lot harder to fight ghosts when you don't have cool super powers. I know it's probably hard for you, but I just wish you could understand that." Danny nodded, and then froze, eyes wide.
"Oh no." Cackling, Desire' swooped back in and quickly waved her hand. Eyes filled with anger at missing her earlier, Danny quickly rose up his hands and prepared to fly up to get her. Nothing happened.
"What the heck?" Laughing, Desire' looked down at him condescendingly.
"So he has wished it, so shall it be. You are powerless, fool! You shall never stop me again!" Danny paled, then smirked.
"I wish you hadn't granted any wishes today." Eyes wide, Desire' found herself granting this last fatal wish. Light flared as Danny successfully transformed, his yell of triumph only eclipsed by Sam's miserable cry as all of the animals turned back into meat. After a brief look at his thermos, Danny shrugged and put it away.
"I wish you were kicked out of Amity Park!" With a final defeated shriek, Desire' vanished in a puff of smoke. Danny's grin briefly fell. "I have no idea why I didn't just do that in the first place." With a second shrug, Danny returned to his table. Jack's expression was hard to read, but he looked dejected.
"I almost wrecked it again, didn't I?" Danny just shook his head, looking down.
"It's okay, dad. You didn't know she grants wishes. Heck, if I'd been thinking about it, I'd have wished her away when she first showed up." Nodding, Jack backed up and headed out.
"Sure. I'll just go back to Mr. Lancer's office and send the students back in to finish lunch. See you after school, Danny." The friends shared a second awkward silence. Eventually, Dani groaned. Sam raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Melting again?" Danny seemed startled at this for a second, but calmed down when the girl shook her head.
"No. But couldn't we have just wished me stable a second ago?" Now it was everyone else's turn to groan. Danny smacked his forehead.
"Oh, duh. Well we can't do that now. Besides, Desire' doesn't usually grant wishes the way you want her to." Danny looked up. "Dani, meet me at home when you get off from school. We'll take off for Clockwork's together. Sam, Tuck, we can spend the hour or so before she gets there going over what we'll need to do, and asking mom for help with the whole 'no melting' thing." Everyone nodded, and shuffled out of the lunch room to class.
The rest of the day passed fairly calmly, and before he knew it, Danny was walking home with his two friends. About a block away from his house, Tucker's cell phone rang. Shrugging at the odd ring tone, Tucker flicked his cell open.
"Hello?...Valerie?...Oh, hold on. I'll put you on speaker. Yeah, Danny and Sam are right here." Pushing a few buttons, Tucker held out the phone, and his two friends clustered in.
"Hello?"
"Hey Valerie. You weren't in school today." There was a brief pause on the line.
"I know. Dad let me stay home. I've had a lot to think about. I'm calling cause I said that when I decided about Phantom, you'd be the first to know." Her tone was very serious. Danny, now pale, fought to control his voice.
"And?" The next pause was even longer. Finally, Valerie sighed.
"I've decided that he's not evil." Danny visibly sank with relief, very grateful his former huntress was on the phone. "I'm not sure I can face him yet, or even trust him completely. There's a lot of stuff between us." Tucker snorted quietly. "But it's not fair that the city still thinks he's some horrible…villain, I guess." Sam cocked an eyebrow.
"No, it isn't. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"My suit has a lot of recording equipment. I sent a copy of what that Vlad ghost said at the fight to all of the local news stations, complete with video. I don't know if it'll change anything, but it's the least I can do…I mean, after all the stuff I've done to him." Sam gaped openly at the phone.
"You…you're trying to prove he's good." Tucker and Danny grinned.
"I'm trying to tell the truth. The first airing is in about five minutes. So you're still the first to know. I'm not saying it'll change anything, but people should be able to make up their own minds, after hearing all of the facts. Oh, and I think the Fentons run into Phantom a lot. Could you ask them to tell him what I did? And to tell him…I'm sorry. I still don't really understand him or trust him, or even like him much. But after everything I heard, I can't hate him, and it wouldn't be right for me to hunt him. I want to be one of the good guys. I've always wanted that. But now, I understand that we're on the same side." There was a soft click, and the line went dead. The three friends stayed outside for a few minutes. Then, Danny jumped and let out a loud whoop.
"She doesn't want to kill me! Yes!" Grinning, Danny quickly regained control and forced himself to stop floating. Tucker looked at the phone with a mixture of joy and pride. Sam's smile though seemed a bit strained. Danny cocked an eyebrow.
"Sam? You okay?" The girl just shrugged. A few seconds later, Danny's expression changed from confusion to understanding. He hurried over and draped an arm around her shoulder.
"I didn't just pick you because Valerie wanted to kill me. I like you Sam. Really. Valerie is a good person and a friend, but I want to be with you." Sam smiled in relief, then smirked.
"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be clueless." Danny grinned back.
"Just because I miss some things doesn't mean I'm blind, Sam. Besides, I've known you forever. That may have made me miss how much you…" Danny blushed. "Made me miss how much you liked me, but I understand you better than I understand myself sometimes. It's one of the reasons I like you so much." The two stood there blushing for a moment, then Tucker coughed loudly.
"Sorry to ruin a moment like this, but if you two don't stop with the goo-goo eye routine, we're going to miss the news." Once again back on earth, Sam and Danny led Tucker into the house, and the three jumped onto the couch and turned on the news. A very excited-looking anchorwoman sat at her desk, a DVD in her hand and a small television set up by her side.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Amity Park, today our station received video footage from the Red Huntress. It shows the battle at the docks between Phantom and the mysterious Blue Ghost, now revealed as Vlad Plasmius, aka Wisconsin Ghost." Danny smirked at the second name. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make sure that Vlad was the one with the stupid name from now on. "The fascinating thing about the footage, however, is that it seems to show that this 'Wisconsin Ghost' was in fact behind all of the ghostly damage to Amity Park over the last week. And, it seems to show that Phantom was in fact only trying to protect us." With a professional flourish, the anchorwoman quickly slid the DVD into a small slot. A moment later, all of the footage from Danny and Vlad's fight, except for the parts where Valerie was revealed, played across the screen. Sam and Tucker watched, looks of horror changing to awe as Danny's last major power surge blasted out, and he proceeded to eject Plasmius from the area. The footage cut off, and returned to the smiling anchorwoman.
"According to amateur interpretations of these two ghosts' dialogue, it appears that Phantom's presence somehow keeps rogue ghosts away from our city. It also appears that he has been working tirelessly to eject any invading spirits that manage to sneak in. The mayor has scheduled a press conference for six tomorrow, to speak on whether or not he shall be dropping the bounty. In the meantime, experts shall be testing the footage for validity and consulting with local ghost experts, Jack and Maddie Fenton. This has been a special announcement. Thank you." A moment later, the screen returned to some show about flower arrangement. Looking vaguely dazed, Danny leaned back.
"Thank you Valerie." He whispered. After a brief moment, he sat back up, all business. "Okay, back to our other problems. We need to find mom and ask her for help with Dani. I just hope she'll have time to do this on top of talking with the press." Nodding, Sam and Tucker looked around.
"So where is she? The lab maybe?" Tucker got up and went over to check. Danny just shrugged for a moment, then froze. An odd expression crossed his face.
"No." He said quietly. "She's upstairs, in my room." Sam quirked an eyebrow.
"Why would she be in your bedroom?" Danny shook his head.
"No, my other room." Eyes widening, Sam went over and brought Tucker back.
"Why would she be in there?" Danny just frowned.
"I don't know. But she's been a bit…off, lately. Like dad." The ghost boy looked up. "You guys wait here for Dad, Dani and Jazz. I'll be back soon." Without waiting for an answer, Danny flew up through the ceiling and walked into his lair. Sam shot Tucker a look.
"I guess we wait." Tucker nodded, and then smirked.
"So what was it that Jazz said about you, Danny, and uniforms?"
