WoM- 'blinking back at the end of the last chapter.' Erm… That's the last time I update after eating an entire box of Pocky. For you poor, sheltered souls who did not know what pocky was, it's an extremely addictive Japanese candy that comes in a couple different flavors (Chocolate and Strawberry are most common.) and if you eat it enough, the mere mention of the word can have you bouncing off the walls for hours at end. If you've got a Meijers nearby, I know that ours sells it in the foreign food esle. If not, I really dunno what to tell ya…
"The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend."
-Henry David Thoreau
"…So we're all in agreement?" Walker asked as box ghost finished adding his signature to the paper Spectra had drawn up (Having a minor in law and a longer fuse then the Warden of the Ghost Zone,) for all of them to sign.
"Yeah, Yeah…" Ember grumbled. "Man, who died and elected you King?"
"Kings aren't elected, Sweetie," Spectra said absently. "Then again, if you'd attended school past the four grade, you'd know that, wouldn't you?" Ember's eyes narrowed at the jab, and she scowled back at Spectra's smirk.
"Nice one," The rocker said sarcastically. "Did one of those high school girls you baby sat teach you that, or did you actually think of something on your own for once?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Johnny said, stepping between the two girls. "Easy ladies! If you wanna fight, make sure it's something worth fighting over. Like me!" Ember and Spectra gave the biker twin looks of disgust.
"How Kitty puts up with you, I'll never know…" Ember said dryly.
"Speaking of which, where is she?" Poindexter asked, glancing around curiously, "I haven't seen her since she went storming off after you guys told her to can it." Disapproval was heavy in the dead teen's voice. His era had never looked too kindly upon treating girls so disrespectfully…
"Who cares?" Bullet asked.
"Hey!" Johnny said with a glare.
"She's your girlfriend, pal." Technus reminded him, "So it's your problem it she got herself caught by the Haunters." Johnny paled at that.
"Aw, man!" he moaned, "I didn't think of that!" I'd better-!"
"Nighty-Night."
Before any of the ghosts could react to the new voice, a brilliant flood of light flashed. When it faded, all of the ghost floated unconscious where they fell. Kayla giggled loudly as her men flew out to gather the fallen ghost.
"Too easy…" She said with a smirk, glancing over at the picture she had posted to the dashboard of her Specter Plane in an almost affectionate way. Reaching out, she traced the face on the picture with one of her long, blood red nails. "Hope you're a little more fun, Danny Phantom…"
"Aw, come on, 'Lissa!" Tucker laughed. "That's not fair!" Melissa giggled, ducking away from her boyfriend and flashing him a shy smile.
"I promised I wouldn't tell…" She told him.
"And you'd keep a secret from your one true love?" Tucker said, feigning pain.
"You do," Melissa said with a pointed smile. Tucker looked alarmed for a second, and guilt flash across his face before he covered it with a nervous laugh.
"What?" He said shrilly, "Me? A secret? What makes you think that? You know I can't keep a secret, Melissa!"
"True," Melissa admitted, "That's what confused me at first… but it's not your secret, is it? And if it isn't, it has to be Danny's,"
"…Uhh…" Tucker was starting to panic, not wanting to lie to the girl he liked nor to endanger the trust his best friend had in him.
"When you tell me what you two are really off doing when you study, I'll tell you my secret," Melissa promised with a smile. She knew Tucker wouldn't give away Danny's secret, and therefore she didn't have to give away Raven's.
"That's low, 'Lis!" Tucker complained. Melissa smiled back.
"I learned from the best," She reminded him, pecking him on the cheek shyly. Tucker grinned at her, And opened his mouth to say something…
"You two behaving in here?"
Melissa blinked in mild surprise when she suddenly found her boyfriend on the other side of the room, looking like a kid who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Yes sir!" Tucker responded, not tearing his wide eyes away from Lance, Melissa's 22 year old brother and guardian. Melissa bit back a giggle, knowing that Tucker was the only person to ever call Lance 'Sir.' This was mostly due to the fact that her brother, who went to the gym five days a week, could probably find a way to stuff Tucker into a mailbox with ease.
"Good," Lance said with a pointed glare at the younger boy before he left. Tucker gulped as the door shut behind him, and Melissa couldn't help but laugh.
"He's a nice guy, you know," She giggled.
"Maybe to you," Tucker mumbled, making a face, "Every time he looks at me, he's trying to figure out which of my bones to break first. You can tell from his eyes, Mel!"
"He likes you," Melissa said, rolling her eyes and smiling at him, "And he trusts you, too."
"Probably because we all know he can twist me like a pretzel…" Tucker grumbled. Still, he smiled at Melissa and hugged her, grinning as she rested her head on his shoulder.
'Gotta admit though,' He thought to himself, 'This would be worth it.'
BLACKBIRD
Chapter 12; Ghost Central
"…Uuh…"
Danny honestly didn't know what else to say, gaping at the girl in front of him in a mixture of shock and bewilderment. After all, he'd never gotten that reaction from a ghost before…
"Hey, what are you doing way out here, anyways?" Gem asked, "I mean, you're territory's in Amity, right?"
"Huh?" Danny shook off his shock the best he could, "Wait, you know me?"
"EVERYBODY knows you," Gem said dryly, rolling her eyes. "You're the guy who puts the rouges in their place. You ended Walker's reign of terror AND you defeated Pariah Dark."
"Rouges?" Danny repeated.
"Yeah, the dangerous power hungry ghosts, like Ember and Skulker and such." Gem said, circling Danny so he had to twist and turn to keep her in his sight. "Most of 'em are banned from Ghost Central, so they started to wreak as much havoc in the human world as they could. At least until you came along,"
"Ghost Central?" Danny asked, his eyebrow kicking up questioningly "And I don't get it, all the other ghosts hate me. So why wouldn't you guys?"
"It's basically our Utopia," Gem shrugged, "A place for peaceful ghosts to live (For lack of a better word) and work without worrying about humans or rouges like we have to outside of the city limits. You've never been?"
"The Fenton Portal's in the Fourth Quadrant on the Third Level," Danny explained, using Clockwork's tutorials of how the Ghost Zone mapped out.
"Really?" Gem cocked her head. "Well, we're at the Joining point of all the Quadrants. In all honesty, if you go through your Portal and head to Quadrant Two in a straight line, you can't miss it. Just follow the bright flashing lights and the sounds of the party,"
"Party?" Danny cringed, "Man, I'm starting to feel like a parrot…"
"A lot of the ghosts in Ghost in the Ghost Zone are still pretty young," Gem explained. "I guess because the more life you had when you died, the more you feel like you've been cheated outta something, you know? Anyways, since we've got nothing else to do, we just party it up in the Level Three level of Ghost Central, Elysium."
"If this place is so great," Danny started with a frown, "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to check out all the ghost hunters," Gem explained, "I've never seen a real live ghost hunter before, and since this Forest is part of our human territory…"
"You wanted to see a ghost hunter." The half ghost repeated incredulously before he sighed in exasperation. "Did it ever occur to you that ghost hunters… oh, I dunno… hunt ghosts?"
"Well when you put it that way, of course it sounds like a stupid thing to do," Gem said, making a face. "But hey, what's death if you don't live a little?"
"… You know, the scary thing is, that actually makes sense to me…" Danny shook his head. "Anyways, I'd better get back to my tent…"
"What?" Gem asked, flying to block the boy's way, "Aw, come on! I've never met a celebrity before!"
"…Celebrity?" Danny repeated before he shook his head, "Look, it's really, really great that you think I'm cool, but I'm nobody special, okay?"
"Oh please!" Gem said with a dry look. "You're a teenaged half-ghost superhero who managed to single-handedly defeat some of the most powerful ghosts known to man, If that's not cool, I don't know what is!"
'Wow,' Danny thought in dry amusement. 'I've come a long way from being 'some creepy little boy with creepy little powers…''
"Hey, I know!" Gem said brightly, "Why don't you come with me to Ghost Central right now? I can introduce you to everyone!" Danny was startled by the excited remark from the ghost in front of him, mostly because he barely knew her.
"I dunno…" The half ghost said doubtfully, backing away slightly. Before he could make a break for it, Gem grabbed his wrist and yanked him deeper into the forest.
"Come on!" She said cheerfully, "It'll be fun! Besides, there are some ghosts there who say they know you!"
"There are?" Danny asked, a little wary now. After all, he hadn't met too many ghosts he claimed to be friends with…
'But maybe this could be useful,' Danny mused, playing with the Demon's Eye again, 'Maybe someone there can tell me what's going on. And what the heck this thing is…'
"Where's Danny?"
Raven glanced up at her tentmate's question, having just settled into the bed. Valerie responded with a cool, wary look of her own.
The Fentons had brought three FentonWorks-shaped tents along for the trip. One was for Maddie and Jack (Married couple), one was for Danny and Jazz (Siblings), and the last was for Valerie and Raven (Leftovers.)
"How did you know he left?" Raven asked.
"I heard him trip over some log when he was heading out to the woods," Valerie answered, rolling her eyes and smiling softly, "That's Danny for you, though…"
"I thought he had a little more grace then that," Raven said, remembering the incident when she first met Danny. The way he caught himself before they both ended up on the floor suggested he had some kind of dexterity, no matter how raw and untrained it was.
"Only when he wants to," Valerie said with a chuckled. "Then again, Danny can usually do pretty much anything he puts his heart into. The problem is getting him enthused about it. It's not that he's lazy or anything, just…"
"Distracted?" Raven supplied. She'd noticed it, too. Danny always seemed to be somewhere else, and he seemed to be really tired a lot…
"Exactly." Valerie shook her head. "Sometimes I get the feeling he's hiding something from me, but I can't tell what,"
"It's probably nothing big," Raven said absently, "Danny's too normal to be keeping any extreme secrets,"
"Good point," Valerie chuckled. "I mean, between ghost hunting parents and a basket case for a sister, Danny's the most normal Fenton there is,"
"Basket case?" Raven laughed. "Jazz?"
"She gets really obsessive over everything." Valerie explained, "Homework, her GPA, her parents job… she worse about Danny though. I think Sam and Tucker got to her, too. For about the first month after Danny and I really started hanging out, she'd get really weird every time I was around. After that, though, she warmed up."
"Who's Sam?" Raven asked, knowing she'd heard the name before.
"One of Danny's friends," Valerie said in an even voice, telling the Titan this wasn't a subject the Ghost hunter wished to discuss.
'I'm willing to bet that either this Sam person doesn't have completely platonic feelings towards Danny or vice versa…' Raven thought dryly. Just then, Valerie stood up, heading for the flap of the tent.
"I'm gonna see if I can find Danny," She announced. "These woods have a weird vibe to them and He's been gone way too long for my tastes,"
'So she can feel it, too,' Raven mused, 'These forests are a link into a portion of the Spirit World, and a powerful link at that.' It was possible there was ghost activity there, which was probably the reason the ghost hunters selected it for their camp out. Suddenly Raven wondered if leaving Danny behind had been the best idea…
"Want me to come with you?" She asked, guilt gnawing through her at the simple mistake.
"Nah," Valerie responded instantly, not wanting the girl around if there was a ghost attack, "I'll be fine on my own."
"You just said these forests are dangerous," Raven reminded her pointedly. "It's not smart to go out alone when you know there's danger."
"What horror movie do you think we're in?" Valerie snapped, "I can take care of myself, okay?"
"What are you two yelling about?" Raven and Valerie both turned to find a groggy Jazz at the flap of their tent, giving them a half-coherent stern glare, "Do you guys have any idea what time it is?"
"We're just talking," Raven said, "Sorry to wake you up." Valerie, on the other hand, cut straight to the point.
"Danny's been gone for almost half an hour," Jazz frowned, all signs of exhaustion gone from her face.
"He what?" She asked.
"I wanted to go out and look for him." Valerie explained, "One of the ghost hunters said earlier that these woods are haunted, I wanted to make sure he was okay," Jazz flinched slightly.
"Ah, I'm sure he's fine," She said, "Those ghost hunters here will claim a toilet's haunted. They really don't know what they're talking about half the time. Just go to sleep, I'm sure Danny will be back soon,"
"But-!" Valerie started to protest.
"Tell you what, Valerie, if he's not back in another half hour, then we'll go looking for him," Jazz said diplomatically.
"But it might be too late by then!" Valerie snapped, glaring. Jazz didn't know ghosts like she did, even if her parents were hunters.
'I scanned myself beforehand,' She thought, 'These woods ARE haunted, it's just that we can't pinpoint the ghost.'
"I'm sure he's fine, Val," Jazz said, wiggling back out of the tent, "Danny can take care of himself, you know. Now please go to sleep." Valerie glared at the flap after it's fallen in Jazz's retreat.
"Oh, like she's one to talk," Valerie snorted dryly. That statement gave her pause to think though.
'Why isn't Jazz more worried about Danny…?'
"Welcome to Ghost Central, a spirit haven if there ever was one!" Gem announced with a flourish, sweeping her arms out so that Danny had to duck to avoid getting whapped across the face.
"Cool…" He said, looking around him.
Ghost Central Level One was pretty much a giant grassy hill where one could sit and look to the sky, which was actually different points in the human realm that played out like movies. A few ghosts were doing just that. Some in large groups of friends, some as coupled cuddling close and some on their solitary.
"This is just the in between spot from the Mortal World to the Ghost Zone," Gem explained, dragging Danny away. "Over here is the portal to Level Two, where we do all our shopping. The food joints and a bunch of other stuff is there, too. That's where Flair and Jonathan are. Flair runs The Ghost Animal Shelter and Jonathan is an old blacksmith who used to make a killing making swords and stuff back in the 1800s… Ah, metaphorically speaking, of course."
"Okay…" Danny said, blinking. He frowned when he noticed some people were staring at him and whispering to the ghosts nearest to them. Some were even following him… "Uh, Gem, are you sure it's okay for me to be here?"
"Sure, Danny!" Gem said cheerfully, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just…" Danny flinched slightly. "I think some people are staring." Frowning, Gem turned until she saw what he was talking about.
"Oh," She said flatly, "Them. Hang on…" The ghost girl took a deep breath, "BACK OFF! He's with me right now, and he doesn't want you guys bugging him, alright?" There were loud groans and glares from some of the ghosts who'd been following them, which was all a confused Danny caught before Gem more or less shoved him into a portal.
"What was that about…?" Danny asked as soon as they reach the ground of the Second Level of Ghost Central.
"I told you before you're a celebrity around here," Gem reminded him, "Stick close. A lot of these chumps are scared of me but if they catch you alone there'll be a fan mob before you can say Sexual Harassment,"
"Wait, what?" Danny asked, starting to get wary, "Maybe this s a bad idea…"
"Nonsense!" Gem grinned, "just stick close and there won't be any problems!"
'Easy for you to say…' Danny thought dryly as Gem led him into 'Puppy Plus; Ghost Pets Who Need New Homes!'
"Flair?" Gem called out, "Flair! I've gotta someone here for you to meet!"
"It's not another loser you're trying to hook me up with, is it?" A female voice called out suspiciously, "Because if it is, I swear I'll take this pooper scooper and shove it up your-!"
"No!" Gem said with a hasty glance at Danny, "Besides, I think this one's a little out of your league, sweetie,"
'Since when am I out of ANYONE'S league?' Danny thought, bewildered.
"'Out of my league?'" Flair repeated, sounding insulted. Danny could tell she was coming closer from the volume of her voice. "Since when is any guy out of my- Oh, crap…" This last part was added when the girl stopped dead upon seeing Danny, color rising to her face before she turned to force a smile at Gem. "Gem… Sweetie… Can I see you in private for a second?"
"Depends," Gem said, "Am I coming out of his conversation with my afterlife still intact?" Flair's smile became more forced.
"Excuse us," She said to Danny before hauling Gem away by a wrist. Danny blinked when he watched them go, a door closing behind them. Second later loud, indistinguishable yelling was heard from behind the door, making the half ghost laugh to himself.
'This place just gets weirder and weirder…' He thought dryly, leaning against a wall.
That's when he was tackled to the ground.
Alarmed and under the impression that he'd been deceived, Danny twisted around to face his attacker only to stop with his jaw gaping.
"CUJO?" He shouted incredulously. On his chest, the small dog barked happily, wagging his tail and licking Danny's face vigorously. "ACK! Down boy! Down! No, bad dog! BAD!"
"You know him?"
Turning, Danny saw that Flair and Gem had returned from their conversation (Gem nursing a large bump on her head and pouting slightly.)
"Yeah," Danny sighed, "Thanks to this guy, I've got a ghost hunter on my butt who actually knows what she's doing." Danny glared at the dog, but it lacked any conviction, and Cujo licked his face again loudly, making the half ghost yelp. Flair laughed.
"Interesting," She said, "For the most part, this one's been pretty incompliant to me and most of our staff, he must really like you… you called him Cujo, right?"
"I've got a friend who sucked me into Steven King," Danny admitted, grinning as he thought of Sam before adding, "Anyways, he seemed to fit the name,"
"True enough," Gem said dryly. "That thing's EVIL! I dunno why Flair hasn't gotten rid of him yet…" Flair rolled her eyes.
"Does he seem evil NOW, Gem?" The blue haired ghost asked pointedly.
"Ever hear the saying 'Looks are Deceiving?'" Gem countered, "Especially here in the Ghost Zone!"
"I don't think Cujo's evil," Danny sighed, "He's just a dog. A ghost dog, but still a dog…"
"Thank you," Flair said with a large smile, "YOU just became my hero for a whole new reason, Danny Phantom," Danny laughed sheepishly.
"You guys are giving me way too much credit for this hero thing," He said with an embarrassed grin, "I'm just doing what any decent person would do with my powers,"
"Aww, look!" Gem squealed, "He's modest, too, Flair!" Flair sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You two should probably get going to see Jonathan now," She said, stepping forward, "Come on, Cujo, you need to get back to your pen…" Cujo immediately switched to his large form, growling threateningly at Flair. "…Or, you can stay with Phantom. It's really up to him," Danny sighed.
"I'll take him," He said, too chivalrous to deny the girl her desire. Gem made a face and groaned and Cujo switched back to a puppy and ran around in an excited circle.
"Fine, fine!" Gem moaned dramatically, "The mutt comes. Now let's go!" And with that, Gem hauled Danny out the door, the ghost dog at his heels.
'This place might be weird,' Danny thought as they dived through the crowd, 'But at least they can keep things interesting…'
WoM- Sorry I didn't make the update! Family obligations, you see. Anywho, this chapter's longer then normal, which is an accomplishment if you take into mind I just spent all of yesterday with a three year old latched to my leg. (Cousin who basically hero-worships me.) So now I've gotta run to try and make up time for all my other updates. See ya'll!
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Next update; February 18th
See you then!