Danny was very displeased when one minute he was falling to sleep in his bed and the next he was being dropped onto his butt. On a concrete floor. It was like one of those jerks people get when falling asleep but worse because Danny actually fell. Into a summoning circle, it seemed. There was a lopsided ring drawn in white chalk around Danny, seemingly random symbols encircling it on the outer rim. There were also candles, because what summoning wouldn't be complete without candles? The smell of cookies wafted through the air and Danny was glad his summoners at least sprang for candles of the scented variety.

Speaking of summoners, ten people were spread out in a circle around Danny, hands interlocked and each wearing shocked expressions, as though they were surprised they actually managed to summon something. They were decked out in clothes that looked straight out of a Harry Potter movie, long, black cloaks draped over their shoulders. Though, underneath they appeared to be wearing mostly t-shirts and jeans, with some flannels mixed in here and there. And speaking of clothes, as per the usual of summonings Danny was in ghost form. Which he was very glad for, because it meant he didn't get summoned to some creepy unfinished basement in a tank-top and his ghostbuster pajama pants. They were a gift, okay?

"What the hell!" One of the summoners exclaimed. They ripped their hands out of their partners' grasps and pulled down their hood. With their exclamation whispers started to break out and everyone let go of each other's hands. But their eyes all remained locked on Danny as he stood.

"As welcoming as this all has been," Danny started, making some of them step back in fright.

"I should probably go back home sooner rather than later. Though, you've all really piqued my curiosity as to why you pulled me out of my bed right as I was falling asleep." Danny let his gaze roam over the people, finally landing on one who was holding a book, and seemed to be a head shorter than everyone else.

"Hey you, tell me what you guys want." He singled out the book-holder. The scrawny red-head jolted back, slamming the book closed. He stumbled over his words when he finally managed to get a sentence out.

"Um, we- we were- we just wanted to join this college fraternity-" That was enough info, right there.

"So to join you were tasked with carrying out a summoning ritual?" Danny interrupted. The red-head nodded vigorously and murmurs of confirmation spread throughout the group. It was then that Danny noticed half of them were shaking in fear. No, that wouldn't do. They might've woken him up but it wasn't their fault.

"Well then," Danny dropped to the ground, sitting criss-cross facing the red-head and resting his cheek on his right hand.

"You guys are lucky you accidentally summoned me, even if you did teleport me straight out of bed like a bad sci-fi movie." Danny mock-sighed.

"If you got somebody like Skulker or Technus, you wouldn't have been so lucky. Or even Klemper, that guy is the worst." Danny rattled off a few more names, as though he was complaining about coworkers instead of his enemies.

"But as it is, I'm here now so you guys owe me at least a little entertainment before I have to leave. Why don't you all sit down and we can go around and you can ask me some questions? I am a ghost after all." Danny offered, speaking to the group as a whole. They all stood still for a moment before one of them sat and the rest followed. They all exchanged looks and finally, a taller guy with brown hair spoke up.

"Are you really a ghost?" He asked, voice shaky.

"Well of course I am!" Danny put a hand to his chest as though he was appalled by the very question.

"Can a human do this?" Danny blinked out of visibility, staying that was just long enough for the college students to start exchanging glances, asking each other if he'd left. He blinked back into the visual spectrum and a solid half of them flinched, unprepared. It made Danny laugh and he gestured for the next person to ask a question. There were about 15 students in all, it seemed, so it shouldn't take that long.

"Where do you live?" The boy asked.

"I live in Amity Park, but I'm technically from the Ghost Zone." Danny answered. The last part was only really a half-truth. His ghost form existed as a result of the GZ so it wasn't a complete lie. And it would likely be true for any normal ghost. The next person didn't wait to be called on and simply spoke aloud.

"What's the Ghost Zone?" He questioned. Danny thought on it for a moment, wondering how he could explain it to people who had quite obviously never seen a real ghost before. And technically they still hadn't seen a full ghost, but Danny wasn't going to spill that tidbit of information.

"It's like a different dimension where most ghosts form. Some ghosts are tied to real-world places, but they're usually really weak. Those are the ones that like close doors and make floors creak but can't be seen. That's because they can only get energy from people and animals, and not from the GZ. It's all made of ectoplasm, the same things ghosts are made of. There are a lot of names for it: Ghost Zone, Infinite Realms, and sometimes people just flat-out call it hell. It may be pretty desolate but I can assure you it's actually kinda cold there." Danny offered in reply. That was kinda the gist of it, at least. Enough for a bunch of human college students.

"So are those Ghost shows on tv real? Like, Ghost Adventures?" The trend of asking right after each other seemed to continue.

"I don't know for certain, but I bet at least half of the stuff in those shows are fake. They're some of my favorites when I need something to laugh at. They might sometimes catch something real but most of the time it's just so over-the-top it can't be real, know what I mean?" Danny replied. The boy nodded.

"Ghosts watch tv?" Danny was asked next. This time by a dark-skinned guy whose black hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

"For your information, yes, I do. I also play video games. Specifically Doomed, but I haven't picked it up in a while. Animal Crossing has kinda been my latest obsession."

"Oh cool! Could I visit your town?" He asked again. Seeing as Danny had set his character's name to Fenton that probably wasn't a very good idea.

"No, sorry. It's still a work-in-progress. Next?" Round and round it went for another half-hour, probably. Even in ghost form Danny was starting to get tired, and he was relieved when eventually he circled back around to the last person.

"How did you die?" The blonde guy questioned in a soft tone. Electricity flashed before Danny's eyes and his throat closed up. His left hand, the one that had pressed the button, tinged with pain from an injury that had healed long ago.

"First rule of ghosts, never ask how somebody died. It's rude and really inconsiderate. You didn't know so we're still cool but that is a definite go-to if you want to get attacked." Danny said in lieu of an answer. The candles' cookie smell was starting to make his head hurt.

"Now," Danny stood, brushing off imaginary dust from his legs.

"I should probably be getting home. Does your book say anything about sending me there or am I gonna have to get there myself?" Danny turned to question the red-head who still had the book in his lap. He flipped through it rapidly, presumably looking for the page from which they had found ritual.

"It looks like... we can send you back!" He replied with a smile, standing. Everyone else stood as well, joining hands as they had before. The two next to the red-head put their hands on his shoulders. He took a breath, prepared to start speaking, but was cut off before he could do so.

"Hey before you go, we're having a movie night next Saturday with popcorn. Wanna join in? We're starting at like 8." Asked the first brown-haired guy. He was given a few strange looks but no one attempted to take back the invitation. Danny mulled it over for a moment. His parents were going with Jazz to take a look at some out-of-state colleges she was interested in. So they would be gone all weekend. He didn't have any plans with Sam and Tucker, and Vlad didn't seem to be plotting much at the moment, so things would probably be fine if Valerie took over for a few hours…

"Sure," Danny shrugged. He was given a thank-you and told a few details were cleared up -mostly Danny clarifying that no, they didn't have to summon him again, he could just use google maps- before finally the closing half of the ritual began.

"Rex manes. Vacat vobis, liberum." As the words were spoken, a chill ran down Danny's spine he almost shivered, which wasn't right because ever since he got his ice powers he never shivered. Stupid summoning.

"Redi domum tuam. Completum est. Omnia fiant. Vale, rex manes." As the final word was uttered something tugged at his core and in a flash Danny was back in his bed. The only indication that he had ever left being the covers underneath instead of over him. Danny tried to blink away the gritty feeling in his eyes and reached for a glass of water on his nightstand. The headache was still raging on in his head, but he really didn't want to get up and get medicine from the bathroom. Besides, he would be asleep soon. Hopefully.

The drink did very little to help his headache, but it made Danny feel marginally better. He shimmied under his quilts and relished in the warmth. The cold feeling he had felt back in that basement seemed to linger with him. Danny curled up, blankets pulled up to his chin. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Hey, at least he got some friends out of the whole ordeal.


AN:

Rough translation (what I put into google translate): Ghost King. You are free. Return to your home. It is complete. All is done. Goodbye, King of the dead.

I might eventually make another chapter about the movie night, but who knows. I'm leaving it here for now.