Welcome back, phans!
Nothing new to say, let's get straight into it.
Ver. 1.0.1 (1/3/20)
Update (1.0.1): Fixed grammatical errors.
Standard Disclaimer, I do not own Danny Phantom (yet), but a man, or more accurately man-child, can dream. Okay, let's begin the episode.
Note: Don't get overhyped with the upcoming cameo; that character won't actually have a role until Season 4.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
It was late into the night in New York City, appropriately nicknamed the "city that never sleeps" with all the traffic and thousands of people walking along the streets. Appearing from a dark alleyway was a short figure carrying a duffle bag and a large black backpack. They were wearing a dark grey hooded jacket, black pants, and a pair of black boots. Walking down the street, they glanced around as though they were looking for something.
"Ugh," he moaned hoarsely.
He continued walking along the block until he came across a store that sold electronics. At the window was a large flat screen TV, channeled to a news network.
"Thanks for the update, Chuck," said a news anchor, "In other news, Amity Park has, yet again, been subjected to another ghost attack. The ghostly entity with powers to possess technology known as Technus attempted to take over the city using stolen technology from Amity Park's local ghost hunters, Jack and Maddie Fenton."
"Hm?"
The individual backed up a couple of steps and listened to the story.
"The ghost combined the weapons from the Fentons with a variety of different electrical devices from the homes of many of the city's citizens to become a hulking robotic menace that brought terror to Amity Park, the news anchor continued, "The Fentons attempted to capture the ghost, but they were unable to do so."
A clip played showing Maddie fighting off possessed drones with a long staff weapon* and Jack using the Fenton Chiller to try and slow Technus down. He was trying, but not really succeeding.
"Luckily, Amity Park's own savior, Danny Phantom, arrived at the scene and battled the ghost."
The clip cut to showing Danny Phantom flying towards Technus, with his fists glowing green. Technus readied a shoulder mounted laser and fired a green energy beam at Danny, who flew out of the laser's path. He then flew up to Technus' TV head and punched it, causing the TV to spin around multiple times. Danny fired a couple of ghost rays at what appeared to be a weak spot on Technus' chest. Technus' head stopped spinning and looked down at his chest.
"Aw, poop," he sighed.
Technus' body exploded and the ghost was blasted into the ground. Danny pulled out his Fenton Thermos and captured the ghost. As people began to cheer, a shot from the Chiller flew passed Danny. Not taking any chances, Danny took off before his parents had the chance to capture him.
"After a brief struggle, Phantom managed to defeat and capture the ghost. Where he went and what he does with all the ghosts he captures remains a mystery to this day," the news anchor concluded.
"Isn't he awesome?"
The stranger looked over and noticed that a girl was standing next to him, watching the news segment as well.
"I wish I was as cool as him," the girl continued, "Being considered a hero and able to save the day."
The stranger only nodded in response. Out of the corner of his eye, the stranger saw something and took off after it. The girl watched in confusion as the stranger sprinted through the crowd.
"Wonder what he's in a hurry for," she wondered out loud.
Suddenly a blue mist escaped the girl's mouth. She looked around and saw a couple of ectopuses fly into a nearby restaurant and begin terrorizing the customers.
"Well," said the girl, "can't let my cousin be the only one to save the day."
The girl ran off into the alleyway. A flash of white shined from within, followed by Dani Phantom flying off to kick ghost butt.
*Cue Intro*
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny Phantom in: Hunting Time (Episode 54)
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny Phantom arrived at the Fenton Labs and pulled out his Thermos. He approached the Fenton Portal, opened the doors, and released Technus and the other ghosts he had captured that evening back into the Ghost Zone.
"And that should be wrap for the ghosts tonight," said Danny as he closed the portal and reverted to human, "*Yawn* I'm exhausted."
Danny left the lab and made his way up to his room.
"Hmm… I can't help but get the feeling that I'm forgetting something."
Halfway up the stairs to the second floor, Jazz appeared from around the corner in her nightgown.
"Danny?" she asked, surprised, "Where were you? It's almost two in the morning! Sam and Tucker called earlier and didn't know where you were."
Danny's eyes widened.
"Oh, shoot!" he hissed, smacking himself on the forehead, "I forgot about that. I was on my way over when Technus showed up. I've been so busy chasing him and a couple of other ghosts all night that I forgot to call them."
"Relax, Danny. I'm sure they'll understand," said Jazz.
"This is the third night in a row this has happened," Danny explained, "I promised them that I would make it tonight. That plan sure went out the window real fast."
"Come on," said Jazz, "it won't be that bad. They're your best friends, Danny. I'm sure everything will be just fine."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"What do you mean you forgot!?" Tucker and Sam shouted into their cellphones, causing Danny to push his cellphone away from his head.
It was now morning and Danny had decided to call his friends and apologize.
"Look, I'm sorry for blowing you guys off these past couple of days," said Danny, "It's just-"
"Just what!?" Tucker interrupted, "How could you have forgotten to at least call us to let us know that you would be running late or not be able to make it!?"
"I've been busy!" Danny exclaimed, "It's not like I wanted to not hang out with you guys."
"Danny, I get that you have to protect everyone," said Sam, "but you could try to consider how we feel when it feels like we're being ignored by you."
"What!?" Danny exclaimed as he laid sat down at kitchen table, "I'm not ignoring you guys!"
"I said it feels like it, Danny," Sam clarified, "We know you really don't."
"Well, since you seem to be free now, what should we do today?" Tucker asked.
"I don't know about you guys, but it's scorching hot today," said Danny, "How does the waterpark sound? I'll even make it up to you guys and pay both of your entry fees."
"Well, when you say that," said Tucker, "I'm down."
"I suppose that's a good apology with this heat," said Sam.
Jazz came into the kitchen in her workout gear and grabbed a water from the fridge.
"Should we go in half an hour?" Danny asked.
Jazz listened in to Danny's phone call, even though she was unable to hear whoever was on the other end.
"Great. See you guys in a few," said Danny before he hung up.
He let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes.
"Everything okay, Danny?" Jazz asked.
"Yeah," Danny yawned, "Everything's fine. Aside from a certain eavesdropping sister listening to my call."
"Sorry, I was curious."
"You are forgiven," Danny joked, "Hey, uh… you wouldn't mind dropping me, Tucker, and Sam at the waterpark in a few minutes."
"Sure, no problem. Let me just get cleaned up first and I'll take you guys," said Jazz, "Are they on their way here or are we picking them up?"
"We're picking them up."
"Alright."
Jazz paused and stared at Danny.
"Are you feeling okay, Danny?" she asked, "You don't look so good."
"I'm just tired. Late nights, you know? I'm fine, don't worry."
"Okay, if you say so," said Jazz, not really convinced, as she walked out of the kitchen.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A short time later, Jazz pulled up to the Floody Waters waterpark. Many other people were there to beat the heat as well. Danny, Tucker, and Sam got out of Jazz's car, all in their swimming attire**.
"You sure you have enough money, Danny?" Jazz asked, "I don't mind paying if-"
"Jazz, for the millionth time," Danny laughed, "I've got this."
"Alright. Have fun guys."
Jazz drove off and the gang turned towards the entrance.
"Well, we are not gonna cool off just standing around here," said Tucker, "Let's go."
They walk over to the entrance
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A couple miles out, a ghost rocketed over Amity Park. He had dull-blue skin, dark green irises, messy black fringe hair, and was wearing a dark grey hooded cloak and black leather gloves. He phased into a nearby apartment. He turned invisible and waited. A couple of moments later, loud crashing noises from within the apartment complex.
"When will he give up!?" the ghost exclaimed as he turned intangible and rushed out of the apartment just as the door crashed open.
The ghost flew through the buildings, running from whatever was after him. He looked over his shoulder to see if he was still being chased. When he looked forward again, he noticed that he was approaching the waterpark.
"Maybe I can hide amongst the crowd," he said to himself.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny and Sam were peacefully sitting on the pool step, which ran around the entire pool, enjoying the water cooling their bodies, eyes closed.
"This sure beats the heat, huh?" Danny asked.
"Yup," Sam replied, "It's nice to actually relax for once and not worry about anything."
Danny's eyes peaked open and he glanced over at Sam. He could help but admire her.
"Danny? Are you okay?" she asked him, sliding her sunglasses down a little to show Danny that her eyes were open.
"Uh, nothing!" he cried out of embarrassment, causing Sam to blink in confusion a couple of times, "I mean, uh… I'm fine, Sam. Why do you ask?"
"Your face is turning red," she said, pointing to his face, "Did you put sunblock on? You know how easily you get sunburned."
Before Danny could answer, Tucker shouted from high above.
"Hey, guys!"
Danny and Sam looked up and saw Tucker standing at the end of a diving board. He jumped off and balled up.
"CANNON BAAALLLL!"
*SPLASH*
Tucker swam up to the surface and sighed in relaxation. He looked over at Danny and Sam.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing, Tucker," said Danny, relieved that Sam didn't notice he was blushing before.
"If you call getting my sunglasses wet as 'nothing'," Sam said as she got out of the pool to grab a towel.
Tucker swam over and sat next to Danny.
"This was a great idea, Danny," he said, "Not even my air conditioning unit was able to handle this heat."
"Like I said, consider this as my apology," Danny replied.
Sam came back in the pool, her sunglasses now dried off, and sat down beside Danny.
"Hey, I'm gonna grab some ice cream," Danny said, "You guys want any?"
"I'll have vanilla," Sam replied.
"Get me some frozen lemonade," Tucker answered.****
"Alright," Danny said as he hopped out of the pool, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."
As Danny walked away to grab their snacks, Tucker and Sam leaned back and relaxed against the pool. A few moments later, Danny gasped, and a blue mist escaped from his mouth, making stop in his tracks.
"Come on," he groaned, "Is it too much to ask for one day off?"
Danny looked up and saw a cloaked ghost fly above the waterpark. He watched as it flew into a nearby building and followed after it. He arrived at the building and noticed that the only way in was an employee-only door. Danny looked around to make sure no one was around before turning intangible and phase through the door. Once inside, he became tangible again and began looking for the ghost. It was just bright enough inside for him to see in the dark. The room was just a generic storage room. Danny his eyes glanced around and locked onto the ghost, who also just noticed him.
"No!" the ghost exclaimed, cowering behind his arms, "Don't hurt me! Stay away!"
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Um… hi?" he said, "Are you okay?"
The ghost opened his eyes and recognized who it was.
"Oh, it's you!" the ghost sighed in relief, "You… you've got to help me!"
"Whoa-whoa-whoa, slow down there, pal," Danny said, holding his hands up, "Calm down and tell me what your problem is."
"No… no, you… you don't understand!" the ghost exclaimed, "You've got to protect me."
"Protect you?" Danny asked, "From who?"
*Bam* *Bam* *Bam*
Danny and the ghost looked back at the door as something banged against it.
"Oh, no…" the ghost moaned, "He found me!"
"Who!?"
*BAM*
The door was bashed open and the hooded tracker stepped inside. The light glistened across the red lenses of his balaclava^ as he stood before the occupants. Danny blinked in confusion for a moment.
"HIM!" the ghost cried out in fear.
"Him?" Danny asked, "What's so bad about him?"
The newcomer pulled out a rifle and aimed it at them.
"Oh no," Danny groaned.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Sam was sitting in one of the chairs beside the pool, relaxing under the shade of an umbrella. She pulled out her phone to check the time.
"Danny's been gone for a while now," she said, "I wonder what's taking him so long."
Tucker floated by on his back.
"The line is probably long, Sam," she said, "It is a hot day, you know."
Sam tapped her chin.
"I suppose you're right."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny was paralyzed in place. The stranger glared at Danny for a moment before shifting his aim towards the ghost and fired a couple of shots at him.
"EEP!"
The ghost flew around the bullets and attempted to phase through the walls, but the shooter tossed a grenade at the wall. It exploded and covered the wall with a strange green goo that sparked with electricity. The ghost slammed into it and got electrocuted. Danny watched in shock as the ghost slumped to the ground and the shooter slowly approached the ghost. Danny frowned and his eyes began to glow green. A white ring appeared around his waist, but before he could react, the shooter shoved him aside, sending Danny into a pile of boxes. The shooter reached into his backpack to grab something. The ghost suddenly shot up and phased through the shooter and flew out of the building. The shooter ran after the ghost.
"Uughh…" Danny moaned as he got back up, "What the heck is going on!?"
He looked around and realized he was all alone.
"Not good."
Danny rushed to the door and saw the two running off.
"I'm going ghost!"
Danny transformed in Danny Phantom and took off after the ghost and his pursuer.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Sam was sitting at the pool's edge, lazily kicking the water while Tucker was sitting in a chair, checking his PDA.
"Alright, now I'm getting annoyed," said Tucker, "Where's Danny?"
Sam sighed and looked up into the sky. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him flying off into the city.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" she shouted.
Tucker looked over at Sam and followed her gaze.
"I vote we head home and meet up at the Nasty Burger tomorrow," Tucker said, deadpanned.
"Agreed," said Sam.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The ghost flew above the streets as his follower was closing in on him. The shooter pulled out a scope and attacked it to the rifle, which extended into a sniper rifle. He was changing the magazine when he noticed Danny flying after them.
"Uurrrrgh…" he moaned and pulled out a different magazine instead and loaded into the gun.
"Man, this guy is really fast," Danny said, "Especially for a guy who is shorter than me."
The shooter continued to give chase as he aimed his sniper at the ghost and prepared to fire. Danny glared at him and flew down at the shooter. He leaned his shoulder into the shooter and sent him flying into a building wall.
"Hey, just so you know, if you want to use that thing, you'll need a license and it can only be used at a shooting range," Danny quipped.
The sniper shook his head and glared at Danny. He then jerked his thumb back to the waterpark and waved Danny off before running after the ghost again.
"Wait… did he just… wave me off!?"
Danny chased after him again. The shooter took aim at the ghost again and fired. The bullet exploded and a net went flying towards the ghost. A green ghost ray came from above and destroyed the net before it entangled the intended target. The ghost flew around the corner of a building as Danny landed before the shooter, blocking his path.
"Look, pal, I'm in no mood to deal with amateur ghost hunters today," said Danny, "So why don't you go back home and leave this ghost to me?"
The shooter rolled his eyes and began to move around Danny, but Phantom refused to let him by.
"Trust me, pal," said Danny, "You don't want to do this."
The shooter attempted to move around Danny again, but got the same result.
"Last chance," Danny warned.
Before Danny could react, the shooter grabbed him by the arm and shoved him towards the building. The force of the shove was so strong that it knocked the wind out of Danny.
"Ugghh… that hurt," Danny muttered as he got back up to his feet.
He looked up and saw that the shooter was once again leaving him in the dust. Danny glared at him as his eyes began to glow in frustration.
"Alright, time to do things the old fashion way."
Danny went intangible and flew into the ground. The ghost continued flying his way through buildings and alleyways in hopes to escape the shooter. He looked behind him and sighed.
"*Phew* I finally lost him."
The moment he looked forward, he shrieked; the shooter was just down the road, aiming his rifle right at him. His trigger finger began to squeeze down on the trigger just as Danny appeared from the ground beneath him and land a perfect blow in his stomach.
*BAM*
The shooter went straight up into the air and landed inside a dump truck loaded with manure.
"Uuuuhhh…" the shooter moaned before losing consciousness.
Danny watched as the truck and its new passenger drove off into the distance.
"You…"
Danny turned around and saw the ghost approach him.
"You saved me," the ghost said in disbelief, "I can't believe it! I actually lost the Hunter! Woohoo!"
"Uh… yeah, sure, no problem," said Danny, "…Well I suppose he won't be bothering you for a while now. Later!"
Danny was about to fly off, but a sudden grip on his arm from the ghost prevented him from doing so.
"No, wait! Please! TAKE ME WITH YOU!" the ghost begged.
"Take you with me? Why?" Danny asked.
The ghost released Danny and began to shake nervously.
"You don't understand, Phantom. The Hunter, he's… he's no ordinary ghost hunter! He's a ghost killer!"
Danny deadpanned.
"That's basically what every ghost hunter is," Danny remarked, "Well, usually. I'm only capture ghosts and return them to the Ghost Zone. Can't say for anyone else, in all honesty."
"No, you don't get it," the ghost continued, "The Hunter isn't a simple ghost hunter. He kills any and all ghosts that he can find!"
"Well, then, what do you need me to do?" Danny asked with uncertainty, "You're a ghost, you can literally hide anywhere."
"Please…" the ghost begged, "Just let me stay close for a couple of days. The Hunter may be gone for now, but he'll be back on my trail within the hour. I know it!"
"Ughh… oh, alright," Danny sighed, "But just until we are certain you can hide from this ghost hunter."
"Oh, thank you, Phantom! If you help me, I will be in your debt forever!"
"Uh, no, no, that's fine," Danny insisted.
The ghost looked around cautiously.
"So, uh… do you know a place I could hide."
"I think I do," said Danny, "Come on follow me."
Danny took off into the air and the ghost followed close by. Danny's legs had turned into a ghostly tail.
"By the way, what's your name?" Danny asked.
"It's Vin," the ghost replied.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Not far from Danny and Vin, Sam was on her way home, talking to Tucker on her phone.
"I'm serious, Tucker," she said, "Maybe Danny just doesn't want us to help him anymore."
"Pfft. Yeah right, Sam," Tucker replied, "Look, we'll meet up at the Nasty Burger and talk to him. Maybe there's something going on that we don't know about and he just doesn't want us to worry."
Sam arrived in front of the Manson residence and stopped at the steps.
"Well," she sighed, "knowing Danny, he'll probably just deny something's bothering him. But at least we'll know."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something in the sky. She looked up and saw the it was Danny and some random ghost flying next to him.
"Tucker…"
"The ghost flying next to Danny? Yeah, I saw."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"So, why do you call him 'the Hunter'?" Danny asked, "That sounds pretty generic for a guy dress like that."
"I didn't come up with it," Vin explained, "It was just a label given to him by a bunch of ghosts I knew down in Florida."
"Florida?"
"Yeah, that's where we roamed. That is… it was, until he showed up."
"You can't tell me that one guy has been chasing you all the way from Florida," said Danny.
"Yup," Vin replied, "And let me tell you something, Phantom; this guy makes the Guys in White look like a bunch of babies."
"Why is he hunting ghosts?"
Vin sighed.
"About a year ago, some new guy showed up in Miami, where me and my fellow ghost pals hung around. At first, we thought this amateur ghost hunter would give up after a couple of weeks. Turned out, he wasn't just any ghost hunter. He was a lot like you."
"Me?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, he would go around and capture ghosts that were doing harm to humans or intended to do evil. Always there to help the innocent. And for ghosts like me, who didn't cause any trouble, we were all left alone to do what we wanted."
"What changed?"
Vin sighed.
"A month ago, some hotshot troublemaker took things… too far."
"Too far?"
"We don't know who exactly, but a couple of people close to the Hunter were… taken from him."
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"As in they are no longer with us," Vin clarified.
"Oh."
"After the accident, the Hunter went berserk. He hunted down the ghost responsible and took him out for good. But it didn't stop there. He went after every and any ghost he could find and has destroyed them all! He's made it his mission to rid the world of all ghosts!"
"Is that why he's after you?" Danny asked.
"Well… yes and no. You see, I'm actually know as Vindicator, as I have made it my sole duty to help innocent ghosts escape the Hunter's wrath. I help hide ghosts and lead them to any Ghost Portal I can, while keeping the Hunter away from them. He's after me so he can extract information from me about where I'm hiding the ghosts."
"Wait," Danny said, stopping midair, "Are there ghosts in hiding right now!?"
Vin's face fell.
"Not anymore…"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Vin replied, "It was my fault. I made the mistake to not triple check my surroundings and I will not say that the guilt does not fall onto me."
"But it doesn't!" Danny exclaimed, "The Hunter is the one to blame for all of this!"
"Maybe," Vin replied, "But it doesn't change the fact that my mistake cost those ghosts their existence."
Vin looked around nervously again.
"We should keep moving," he said urgently, "The Hunter is a notorious tracker. He can follow a ghost's trail even from intangibility and invisibility."
"Well, don't you worry," said Danny as they continued flying to their destination, "I know one place that not even other ghost hunters would ever even think about looking for ghosts."
"If you're thinking the Ghost Zone, that's probably not the best place."
"Why not?"
"I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that the Hunter has even been able to enter the Ghost Zone on his own. No one knows how he does it."
"That's… not good," Danny said nervously, "But that's not what I was referring to."
"Where then?"
Danny pointed ahead toward the Fenton Works.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Jazz was in the kitchen, grabbing some water out of the fridge after her daily workout session. Danny's voice could be heard faintly, along with one unknown to her.
"Danny?" she asked.
Jazz poked her head around the corner and watched as Danny, now in human form, led a ghost she had never seen before down to the Fenton Labs. Jazz raised an eyebrow and followed them.
"And this is the Fenton Works Labs," Danny said to Vin.
"Wow…" Vin said in amazement, "Look at all this stuff!"
"Coming from ghost, I'm not sure to how react to that," Danny quipped.
Vin floated around in looked at the weapons and devices around the lab.
"Is that…" Vin said, pointing at a large device.
"Yup," said Danny, "That is the Fenton Ghost Portal."
"Incredible," said Vin, "I've heard of this portal, but I always believed it to be a rumor. I never knew humans could actually build a ghost portal!"
"Danny?"
Danny and Vin whipped their heads around and saw Jazz approaching them.
"What's going on here?" she asked, "And who's this?"
"It's kind of a long story, Jazz," Danny yawned.
"Then give me the short version."
"This is Vin, he's being hunted by some wacko ghost hunter who kills ghosts, and he wants me to protect him until the Hunter is no longer after him."
"Oh, cool!" Vin exclaimed.
Danny and Jazz turned to him and saw him staring at the Fenton Ghost Chiller.
"Isn't this the amazing Ghost Chiller that I've heard about?" Vin asked.
"Yes, it is," Danny said, yawning again.
"Danny, are you sure you're okay?" Jazz asked, "You look like you could use a nap."
"That's what I plan to do," Danny said, "But first, I need to call Tucker and Sam."
"Did you ditch them again?" she asked, sympathetically.
"Yeah…" Danny admitted as he called Sam, "They are going to be so mad at me."
The phone kept ringing.
"Well, Sam's definitely mad," said Danny, "She's not answering. Maybe Tucker will talk to me."
Same thing happened when Danny called Tucker.
"They're both mad."
"Danny! Jazz!" Jack shouted from upstairs, "You kids down here!?"
"My parents!" Danny exclaimed, "Vin, quick! Turn invisible and don't made a sound!"
Vin nodded and vanished from sight just as Jack and Maddie appeared form the stairs.
"Ah, there you two are," said Jack. "We have big news to tell you!"
"Dad, please don't tell me it's another fudge eating contest," Jazz said, slightly disgusted.
"What's wrong with fudge?" Jack asked, "Never mind. Kids! Your mother and I managed to snag that last two tickets to the Ghost Hunting Couples Convention!"
"Your father and I will be gone for the next couple of days, so Jazz, please watch your younger brother while we're gone, would you?"
"Mom! Dad!" Danny exclaimed, "I'm not a kid anymore! I can look after myself!"
"Oh, relax, Danny," said Jazz, "It's not like I'm going to baby you or anything."
"Wonderful!" said Maddie, "I'll finish packing right now, Jack. I'll meet you by the cab in just a moment!"
Maddie left the lab and Jack began to follow.
"Oh, and Danny," he said, looking over his shoulder, "Remember to-"
"Change the Ecto-Filtrator," Danny finished, yawning again, "Yeah, I did that this morning."
"That's my boy!" Jack exclaimed as he went back upstairs.
As soon as he was out of sight, Vin reappeared beside Danny and Jazz.
"Well, I'm going to leave you two alone," said Jazz, "Don't get into trouble."
"Who were those people you were talking about before?" Vin asked Danny.
"Tucker and Sam? They're my best friends."
"Sounds like you did something to make them upset."
Danny frowned and slumped.
"Hey, cheer up!" said Vin, "Friends are always there for each other. And they always help one another."
"I hope you're right," said Danny.
His phone chimed and Danny checked the text he just got.
"Nasty Burger. Meet me and Sam there. Tomorrow at noon."
"Well," said Danny, "it could have been worse."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Late that night, Danny Phantom was out on patrol, alone. He hovered above the buildings and looked around.
"Danny, are you sure you don't need me to stay out with you longer?" Jazz asked on the Fenton Phone, "I don't mind stay up a little longer and helping out."
"I'm sure, Jazz," Danny replied, "I'll be back home soon. Just one more quick look around and then I'm done."
"Okay," said Jazz, "Stay safe, little brother."
Danny hung up and put the Fenton Phone away.
"Any sign of him?" Vin asked, even though he was nowhere in sight.
"Nope," Danny replied, "Just stay invisible and stay close to me."
"Okay."
Danny looked around before flying off towards another part of town. As he was flying his ghost sense kept going off.
"Sorry if I'm the one making your ghost sense go off, Phantom," Vin apologized.
"It's fine," said Danny, "Besides, it won't do me any good, since the Hunter isn't a ghost."
"Good point."
Danny yawned.
"Tired?" Vin asked, "Maybe we should head back."
"Yeah, I guess now would be a good time to call it a night."
Suddenly, out of the corner of Danny's eye, he spotted someone running along the rooftops.
"Oh, boy," Danny moaned, "Looks like we've got trouble."
"What!? Is it him!?" Vin exclaimed.
"Ssshh!" Danny hushed him as he turned invisible, "Over there, next to the water tower."
Vin looked over at the water tower and saw the Hunter prowling around with his back turned to them. He looked around the area, gripping his rifle tightly.
"Come on," said Danny, "Let's get back to the Fenton Works before he figures out that we're here."
"Yeah," Vin said, nervously, "Good plan."
As the two flew off back to the Fenton Works, the Hunter turned around and glared in the direction they went
"Hmm…" he hummed.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The next day, the gang were sitting at a table at the Nasty Burger. Tucker and Sam were glaring at Danny.
"And that's what happened yesterday," Danny said, finishing his explanation, "Again, I'm sorry!"
Tucker and Sam glanced at each other before having a private conversation.
"Alright, Danny," said Sam, "We just need to know one thing."
"What's going on?" Tucker asked, bluntly, "You been acting like this for a few days now."
Danny sighed as his ghost sense went off.
"It's nothing, guys," he said, "Just a couple of long nights, nothing I haven't handled before."
"Danny, if you need us to help you later at night, we can help," said Sam.
"No, no, it's fine, really," Danny insisted as his ghost sense went off again.
"Dude, you do realize your ghost sense is going off like crazy, right?" Tucker asked, pointing to the blue mist.
"Yeah, that's me," said a voice above them, "Sorry."
They looked up and saw Vin briefly reveal himself before turning invisible again.
"How long has he been floating there?" Tucker asked.
"The whole time," said Danny, "I'm hoping to keep him out of sight for his own safety will do the trick."
"Alright, so, what's the plan?" Sam asked.
"Keep Vin safe and out of sight from the Hunter," Danny yawned, stretching his arms out, "As for the Hunter directly, I think I have an idea of what to do."
"Well, staying at the Fenton Works and near you has worked so far," said Vin, "I don't see him… yet."
Danny finished sipping his drink, shaking the cup to see if there was any soda left.
"What can we do to help?" Sam asked.
"Actually, I think it would be best if you guys left this one up to me," Danny said nervously, "It's not that I don't think you guys can't help, but I don't know what this guy is capable of and I'd rather not put your lives at risk."
"How is this any different than the times we fought Freakshow?" Sam asked.
"Well…" Danny said.
"Or the time we first fought Youngblood?" Tucker interrupted.
"But-"
"How about Magnus, who's still out there?" Vin added.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Danny shouted before giving a sigh, "Look, once we know more about this guy, then we can decide if you can help or not. But for now, please, just leave it to me."
"Come on, dude," said Tucker, "We haven't come across anything that we haven't been able to fight together."
"I can think of one," Danny muttered.
"Danny, maybe they can help," said Vin, "The more help the better."
The gang got up and headed for the exit.
"So, since every ghost is accounted for in the Ghost Zone, except for Magnus," said Danny, "what should we do today?"
"All day movie marathon?" Sam asked, "I was thinking foreign horror this time."
"Sure," Danny said as he pushed the doors open, "let's get going."
*WUMP*
Suddenly, the Hunter landed beside them.
"You again!?" Danny exclaimed.
Vin reappeared, now held under the Hunter's foot. Danny quickly pulled Tucker and Sam in front of him. A flash of white light appeared behind them before Danny Phantom floated into the air.
"I may have gone easy on you yesterday," said Danny, "but today? I'm not playing games. Now let the ghost go and maybe I won't throw you into Walker's prison."
The Hunter waved Danny off and pulled out a cylindrical device.
"A Fenton Thermos!?" Tucker and Sam exclaimed.
As the Hunter aimed the Thermos at Vin, Danny dashed forward and overshadowed the Hunter.
"Uhhh… urrgghh…" the Hunter moaned as he stumbled back.
After a brief struggle, his arms went limp.
"Ha!" Tucker exclaimed, "Not so scary when you controlled by a ghost now aren't you?"
The Hunter's head looked up at the group for a moment. Suddenly, he bashed his head against the wall, forcing Danny out of his body. Danny slumped to the ground, feeling very dazed. The Hunter shook his head and glared at the group.
"Okay, then," said Tucker, "Maybe Danny was right about us staying out of this."
Vin got back up and took off into the air. The Hunter gave chase while Tucker and Sam helped Danny up to his feet.
"You alright, Danny?" Sam asked, "I've never seen something like that before."
"I'm fine," said Danny, "Where did they go?"
"That way," Tucker pointed.
"Okay, you guys want to help?" Danny asked.
"Just tell us what to do," said Tucker.
Vin raced around the corner of a building as the Hunter closed in on him. He took out his sniper rifle and loaded a clip inside. The two continued the chase around another block. As the Hunter turned around another corner, he was introduced to Danny's fly-kick to the chest.
*WHAM*
The Hunter flew a couple feet back and landed on his back. He looked up and saw Danny coming at him with a readied fist. As Danny's fist flew towards the Hunter's head, the Hunter rolled out of the way and got back up to his feet.
"Vin!" Danny shouted, "Get someplace safe. I'll take care of this guy."
Vin nodded and turned around to find someplace to hide until it was safe. The Hunter spun around and aimed at the ghost.
"VIN, LOOK OUT!" Danny shouted as he pounced at the Hunter.
Just as Vin turned himself intangible, the Hunter fired a green glowing bullet at him. Danny managed to slightly redirect where the sniper was aimed and the bullet grazed Vin's shoulder. Although he was intangible, the strange bullet managed to cut his arm and bleed some ectoplasm. As Vin vanished into a nearby apartment, the Hunter grunted in frustration and threw Danny aside. Danny stopped midair and flew at the Hunter. He took a swing at the sniper, but he brought up his arms and blocked the attack. Danny took another swing, but the hunter countered and shoved Danny away. The two glared at each other as Tucker and Sam made their way over to a couple of mailboxes and hid behind them.
"You think Danny's got this?" Sam quietly asked Tucker.
"Of course he does!" he quietly exclaimed, "As long as we all work together, nothing can bring this dream team down."
Danny rushed the Hunter again and sent a barrage of punches and kicks at him. But no matter what Danny did, the Hunter either blocked, ducked, or cartwheeled out of the way. Even with his enhanced agility, Danny couldn't land a hit. Tucker gave Sam a nudge with his elbow and they both nodded. Danny was starting to get tired as the Hunter did nothing to attack. The sniper released the used shell casing from his rifle and turned to chase after Vin again. He didn't even get the chance to turn all the way around before a green ghost ray hit him in the left shoulder. Danny looked over and saw the Sam had her Wrist Ray on. He smiled at her and slammed his shoulder into the Hunter's back. The Hunter, now on one knee, was about to counter, but Danny grabbed his left arm and threw him over his shoulder. The Hunter landed near the mailboxes and screamed hoarsely as he grabbed his left shoulder in pain. Danny floated over and felt a bit guilty.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
*BAM*
In a blink of an eye, the Hunter grabbed the mailboxes that Tucker and Sam hid behind, ripped them from the bolts that held them to the ground, and batted Danny with them in one swing. As Danny through the wall of a nearby mattress store that was conveniently located, the Hunter tossed aside the metal containers he had in each hand. Grabbing his left shoulder, the Hunter began his search for Vin as Tucker and Sam nervously backed away from him.
"There's no way that this guy is kid," Tucker said, "I told you it had to be a very short adult!"
"Not now, Tucker," said Sam.
Suddenly, a huge green ghost ray shot from the mattress store and hit the Hunter directly in the back, sending him into the side of a trailer of a truck. As the Hunter tried to pry himself out of the dented metal, another large ghost ray hit him in the chest. This time is was a blue one. Tucker and Sam turned and saw that it was Danny. The rays iced the Hunter's body over, leaving him stuck to the truck and only his head freed. The Hunter struggled to free himself. As he did, the truck began to drive away. The Hunter glared at Vin as he appeared nearby, sticking his tongue out at the Hunter. The four regrouped.
"You guys okay?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," said Vin, "Just a cut on my arm. I'm fine now."
"We're also fine," said Tucker.
"How did that bullet even hurt you?" Danny asked, "I saw you go intangible."
"Uh, I was a bit slow becoming completely intangible," Vin admitted nervously.
"How did he know where to find us?" Sam asked, "Was he really waiting at the Nasty Burger the entire time!?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," said Vin, "I've seen and heard about what many ghost hunters can do. This guy is a whole new story."
"And how did he get his hands on a Fenton Thermos?" Tucker asked.
"He must have followed us back to the Fenton Works!" Danny exclaimed.
"So, what now?" Tucker asked.
"There's only one place that I could possibly hide for the time being," said Vin, "The Ghost Zone."
"Yeah, but where in the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked, "You told me that this guy has allegedly been able to enter and leave that place. And as long as we keep the Ghost Portal locked up"
"I know, but I don't think it would be wise for me to stay here and possibly cause harm to innocent people," the ghost explained, "The Hunter hasn't hurt anyone before, but it could happen."
"He does have a point," said Sam.
"Alright," said Danny, "Anyplace in particular?"
"Well… no, not really," said Vin, "I was hoping you could accompany me for a little while and help me find a place to stay low for a while."
Tucker and Sam groaned in dismay. Danny sighed.
"Look, I promised to help him," he said, "This will only take an hour at the most. Really! If we don't find a good place for Vin to hide, then he'll just tag along with me for a while and we'll continue looking tomorrow. Okay?"
"Well… if you say so," said Tucker.
He glanced over at Sam who shook her head no.
"Um, not to inconvenience you two, why don't you two go into the Ghost Zone and we stay here," Tucker suggested.
Danny raised his eyebrow.
"You guys don't want to help?" he asked.
"Well, like Vin said, the Hunter only goes after ghosts, right? So, we should be safe," Tucker explained, "Right, Sam?"
"Yeah, I'm with Tucker on this one."
"Okay," Danny yawned, "Whatever."
"What's that suppose to mean!?" Sam snapped.
"Sorry, that came out wrong," said Danny, realizing his error, "I meant to say, 'that's fine'."
"Oh, no, you don't!" Sam exclaimed, "What did you mean when you said that!?"
"Sam, I didn't mean-"
"What!? Is hanging out with us getting in the way of your ghost catching time!?" Sam shouted.
"What!?" Danny exclaimed, "That's not even close to being true!"
"Uh, guys?" Tucker asked, "Maybe we shouldn't argue about this right now?"
"Stay out of this, Foley!" Sam shouted.
"Okay," Tucker said, backing away nervously as Sam turned back to Danny.
"All you've been doing lately is going off and fighting ghosts instead of spending time with us!" Sam continued, "Clearly there's something you're not telling us, and I want to know what it is!"
"There's nothing to tell, Sam!" said Danny, "Look, it's not my fault that there's never enough time for me to hang out with you guys."
"So you choose ghost fighting over spending time with us!?" Sam asked.
"No! Of course not!"
Danny sighed.
"Look, just give me an hour," he said, "We'll hang out, watch a movie or two, and then talk. But the longer we stall, the greater the risk that the Hunter will return."
"Alright," Sam sighed, "Just call us if something comes up, will ya?"
"I will," Danny replied as he turned to Vin, "Come on, let's get to the Fenton Works."
As the two flew off back to Danny's house, Tucker and Sam gave each other a look of uncertainty.
"Do you think he'll make it this time?" Sam asked.
"I highly doubt it," Tucker replied, "But it's possible."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
In the Ghost Zone, Danny and Vin floated around in the vast ghostly world, wondering where the best place to hide would be.
"Ugh," Vin moaned, "We've been at this for almost hour now. Maybe we should call it."
"Not yet," said Danny, "We still have another 10 minutes left."
As they continued flying, Danny noticed a familiar location.
"Why not there?" he asked with a smirk.
"Skulker's Island? Seriously!?" Vin asked, not amused.
"Oh, come on, how hard can it be for you to hide from an actual ghost hunter?" Danny laughed.
Vin sighed in response and kept floating on.
"Oh, come on!" Danny exclaimed, "I'm just trying to lighten' the mood."
He looked down and noticed the one of many graveyards scattered throughout the Ghost Zone.
"Why not at this graveyard?" he asked.
Vin looked down and saw all the green skeletons roaming around.
"I'd prefer someplace less… ironic?" he replied.
"You can't be picky, Vin," said Danny, "Besides this will only be temporary. OOF!"
Danny accidently bumped into Vin, who stopped flying when he noticed something. Danny followed the ghost's awed eyes and began to feel uncomfortable.
"Uh… not this place," Danny said nervously.
"Why not?" Vin asked, "This is the best place!"
Vin flew over to the entrance. Danny followed nervously.
"Vin, do you even know who resides here?"
"Yeah, Pariah Dark," he answered, "The evil ghost king that you defeated."
"I did do that," said Danny, "Look, you were right, I'm pushing my luck in terms of how much time I have left."
"Come on, just a quick peak," Vin insisted, "If it's too dangerous, then we'll call it. Deal?"
"Fine," Danny sighed and followed Vin inside.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back at Sam's house, Tucker and Sam were getting ready for the movie marathon. Sam was waiting on Tucker, who grabbed himself a large tub of popcorn and hopped into his seat.
"Tucker, what do think is up with Danny?"
"Eh," he shrugged, "Who knows? But I did see the bags under his eyes."
"So did I," said Sam, "I wonder what he's been doing."
Sam's Fenton Phone began ringing. She put it on and answered.
"Danny?"
"Yeah, it's me," he replied, "We're just about done here. We think we found a good place for Vin to hide. I should be there in about 15 minutes."
"Really!?" Sam asked, pleasantly surprised, "Great! See you in a few minutes then!"
Sam hung up and looked over at Tucker, noticing that he was smirking at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothin'."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny put his Fenton Phone away and rejoined Vin at the entrance hall of Pariah's Keep. Danny looked around with unease.
"You alright, Phantom?" Vin asked, "You seem worried."
"I'm fine," he replied, "It's just that I haven't been here since I defeated Pariah Dark."
Vin floated around for a moment, taking in the scene.
"What do you think?" Danny asked.
"I think this will work," Vin replied, "As long as I stay here in the hall, I should have nothing to worry about. Besides, who'd want to come here?"
"Good point," said Danny, "Not even the Fright Knight comes here."
Danny floated over to the stairs that led further into the keep. Everything was the same as it was about a year ago, but he couldn't help but feel like something was off. As he turned around, his eyes noticed a lone green bone on the steps.
"That's strange," he said, picking it up, "No one's been here, but this bone looks like it was recently left here. All the other ones are covered in dust, why isn't this one?"
"DANNY! BEHIND Y-"
*WUMP*
"VIN!?" Danny shouted as he looked over his shoulder.
*WUMP*
Danny lost consciousness and tumbled down the steps. A dark figure stood before him.
"Hmm…" the figure hummed, "And he didn't revert back to human.^*"
The figure glanced at the floor and stepped on a pressure plate, activating the ceiling trap. The ceiling slowly crept down towards the ground and spikes appeared from within.
"Shame that the ceiling is coming down. If he were in human form, he'd have nothing to lose."
The figure left the Keep, leaving Danny defenseless to do anything as the ceiling continued toward him.
"How Magnus was unable to defeat this child will be a mystery to me," he muttered darkly.
On a bare tree, just outside the entrance to the keep, a raven watched the figure leave. It cawed a couple of times before taking flight.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back at Sam's place, she was starting to get very impatient. She had her head resting in one hand while the other drummed the armrest.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, "I'm going to call him and give him a piece of my mind!"
"Whoa, calm down, Sam!" said Tucker, "He said he'd be here in about 15 minutes."
"Yeah, and it's been over 20 now, Tucker," she remarked as she pulled out her Fenton Phone, "We used to always go and help him on patrol. Until a couple of weeks ago, we we're doing just fine alternating between us and Jazz. Now I'm getting really annoyed."
Just as she was about to call Danny, her cellphone rang.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Sam? Is that you?"
"Jazz?" Sam asked, "Yeah, it's me. What's up?"
"Have you heard from Danny? I don't know where he is."
Sam pondered for a moment about what to say.
"Mmm… nope," she answered, "Haven't seen or heard from him since over an hour ago."
"You sure?" Jazz asked, "Alright. Hey, listen, I shouldn't be getting involved, but I thought I should let you guys know that you mean a lot to Danny. You know that, right?"
"Of course we do, Jazz," Sam replied.
"I saying this because… look, I hope you guys aren't too mad at Danny for blowing you off so much lately. He's just been so busy lately catching ghosts that I don't think he's taking go care of himself."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, as Tucker leaned in to hear the conversation.
"I haven't told Danny that I know, but he's been pulling all-nighters almost every night these past couple of weeks. I'm almost certain that he's been getting only three hours of sleep at most each night."
Sam and Tucker began to feel guilty.
"I know he says he can handle staying out later than you guys can, and I know what's been happening to you guys isn't fair, but I don't want you guys to take it out on him too hard. He puts too much time and effort into keeping everyone safe. It's not fair for him as well."
"Uh, yeah," said Sam, "Thanks, Jazz. We'll keep that in mind the next time we see him."
"Thanks," Jazz replied, "And don't tell Danny I said this to you."
"No worries," said Sam, "Later."
Sam hung up and sighed.
"You know," said Tucker, "it's not even his fault that all these ghost occurrences happen so inconveniently."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, "and it's so easy for us to forget that Danny's the one doing all the hard work. Ugh, we should have gone with him and Vin."
"Well, we'll just have to apologize when we see him," said Tucker.
Tucker's PDA beeped, indicating a new text message.
"That might be Danny," he said as he pulled his PDA out.
His face became perplexed when he read the message.
"Is it from Danny?" Sam asked.
"No," Tucker replied, "It's from an unknown number."
"Ignore it, then."
"No, wait, read this!"
Tucker handed Sam his PDA.
"Phantom. Pariah's Keep. Now."
Sam was now confused.
"Pariah's Keep? Why would he be there?" she asked.
"I don't know, but if Danny's there, he could be in trouble," said Tucker.
"We better hurry," said Sam, "Let's get to the Fenton Works!"
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back in Pariah's Keep, Danny hadn't even moved an inch. The ceiling was now only a dozen feet or so from him. Time was running out.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Tucker and Sam ran down the sidewalk leading to the Fenton Works. At a stop sign, they run in front of a moving car, which stopped in time.
"Hey, you kids! Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry!" they shouted over their shoulders, not slowing down.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The ceiling was now only 8 feet above Danny, and he still hadn't shown any signs of waking up.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Jazz was in the living room, reading one of her psychology books when Tucker and Sam rushed through the front door. They took a moment to catch their breath.
"Tucker? Sam?" Jazz asked, "What's going on?"
"Danny… Pariah's Keep… trouble," Sam said in between pants.
"Say no more!" Jazz exclaimed as she grabbed the two by their wrists and pulled them to the lab.
She practically threw Tucker and Sam into the Specter Speeder as she strapped herself in the pilot's seat.
"Lead the way," she told them as she shot them into the Ghost Zone.
A moment later, thanks to Tucker and Sam's navigation, they arrived at Pariah's Keep. Tucker and Sam didn't even wait for Jazz to land before hopping out and rushing into Pariah's Keep.
"Danny!?" Sam called out, "Are you here!?"
"Danny!?" Tucker shouted.
He looked up when he felt a pebble hit him on the shoulder.
"Sam, the ceiling's coming down!"
"Doesn't matter, it won't hurt us, remember?"
"Oh, right," Tucker smirked, "Humans are the ghosts in the Ghost Zone."
The looked around and saw Phantom lying on the ground.
"DANNY!" they exclaimed as they rushed over to his side.
The ceiling was now 6 feet above their heads.
"We need to get him out of here!" Sam exclaimed, "He's still in his ghost form! The ceiling will crush him!"
They carried Danny with each arm around their shoulders and hurried to the exit. The ceiling was getting too low for them to stand up without Danny touching the spikes.
"Ughh…" Danny moaned.
He shook his head and looked at his friends.
"Tucker? Sam? What's going on?"
"Danny! Turn back into your human form!" Sam shouted as they slowly approached the exit.
"What? Why?"
"THE CEILING!" Tucker and Sam shouted.
Danny looked up and his eyes widened.
"AAHH!" he yelped as he tripped and fell to the ground.
Tucker and Sam, who fell through the exit, turned back to try and help Danny, but the ceiling was now too low for them to see.
"DANNY!" Sam cried out.
*BOOM*
The ceiling met the floor with a loud boom, which echoed throughout the keep. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz were mortified. Suddenly, Danny Fenton appeared from the entrance and leaned against his knees, panting as he tried to calm himself down.
"Danny!" the others exclaimed, and they rushed over to him.
"Uh, guys?" Danny said, raising a finger to stop them.
But it was too late, they all squeezed him into a group hug.
"Guys?" Danny said, strained, "Can't… breathe."
They released Danny and allowed him to catch his breath.
"Danny, are you alright?" Sam asked, "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," he replied, "Vin and I were checking out Pariah's Keep, figuring it would be a decent place for him to hide. I noticed that someone had been there recently and then someone knocked me out."
Danny looked around.
"Oh, no," he said, "Where's Vin!?"
The gang looked around but didn't see him.
"Ugghh…" someone moaned.
They looked over and saw Vin floating towards them, rubbing his head.
"Vin!" Danny exclaimed.
Vin got up and shook his head.
"You okay?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, just a headache," Vin replied, "I'm glad you're okay, Phantom."
"Vin, did you see who knocked Danny out?" Tucker asked.
"I'm… not sure…" Vin said, trying his best to remember, "But… I think it was the Hunter!"
"What!?" Tucker exclaimed, "You mean he can come into the Ghost Zone!?"
"I don't really remember," said Vin, "I remember seeing someone sneaking up behind Danny, warning him, getting grabbed and then everything turning black. Next thing I know, I'm waking up over there."
"Maybe... he's a ghost?" Sam suggested.
"Then why would he need to run on foot?" Tucker asked, "Or use a rifle?"
"Maybe he's overshadowing someone?" Sam suggested.
"Guys!" Jazz shouted, getting their attention, "Danny almost got himself killed. Wouldn't it be best if we head home and let him rest?"
"But what if the Hunter is there?" Sam asked.
"Leave him to me," said Vin.
Everyone turned to Vin.
"The Hunter isn't your problem, he's mine," he explained, "I'll leave Amity Park and he'll follow. It's not the best of plans, but it's the best one I can come up with."
"But what if he catches you?" Danny asked.
Vin shrugged.
"Hey, I've managed to stay away this long," he chuckled, "I know things haven't exactly gone as planned, Phantom, but… thank you."
Vin held out his hand and Danny shook it.
"Yeah, sorry for not doing a better job," said Dann, "You sure about this?"
Vin nodded.
"Don't worry, Phantom. I'm sure we'll meet again in the future. Hopefully under different circumstances."
"That would be nice," said Danny, "Good luck helping other ghosts."
Vin waved farewell to everyone and flew off towards the Ghost Portal. Danny sighed and made his way onto the Speeder. The others followed. A moment later, Jazz flew them towards the Portal. Danny sat between Tucker and Sam, with Tucker sitting next to Jazz.
"Sorry for ruining another movie marathon," Danny apologized.
"Hey, it's not your fault, Danny," said Sam, "And you shouldn't be apologizing."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, we should be the ones apologizing to you," said Tucker.
"Why?" Danny asked.
"Because we know that you've been staying up late while patrolling," said Sam.
"What? Who told you…?"
Danny glanced over at Jazz, who just smirked without looking at him.
"Of course," he sighed.
"We didn't know you were pushing yourself so much lately," Sam continued, "Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped."
"Because… *sigh* Because I didn't want you guys to miss out on enjoying your summer vacation just over a few hours of extra patrol. I thought it wouldn't be fair for you guys to not have time to relax more often like normal people our age."
"Dude, we're your best friends," said Tucker, "We can handle anything if we work together. You don't have to do it alone."
"Plus," Sam added, "we're anything but normal."
Danny smiled.
"You guys are the best, you know that?" he said, "And I'll stop blowing you guys off without telling you what's going on."
"As long as you don't stay out late without us, then you've got a deal," said Sam, "And, um, sorry for yelling at you earlier."
"Same," said Danny before he yawned, "Thanks, guys."
"Still tired?" Tucker joked, "We just saved your ghost butt just for you sleeping on the job."
"Mm-hm," Danny moaned as his eyelids began to droop.
"Well, we're almost at your place," said Sam, "You can sleep as long as you want once we get-"
She stopped when she heard Danny snoring and felt his head on her shoulder. She blinked in surprise a couple of times. Tucker and Jazz smirked at the scene. Sam noticed and glared at them.
"If you say one word, I'll-"
"Lovebirds," Tucker and Jazz said simultaneously.
"WE'RE NOT-" Sam began to shout, but stopped and sighed when she remembered Danny was sleeping, "What's the point?"
Sam smiled and leaned her head back, looking away from the others to hide her blush.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Outside of Amity Park, Vin flew as fast as he could into the distance as the sun began to set.
"Not exactly what I wanted," he said to himself, "But for now, I can keep the Hunter away from Phantom."
Nearby, along a cliffside, the Hunter scanned the area below.
"Hmph," he moaned.
The Hunter rubbed his left shoulder and looked back over to Amity Park. He kneeled to one knee and groaned. The sound of a raven's cawing caught his attention. He looked up and saw the approaching ghost raven. It landed on his right shoulder. The raven cawed a couple of times.
"So… he's still alive. Oh, they will pay dearly for that," the Hunter said hoarsely, as he rubbed his neck.
The raven cawed again.
"Soon," the Hunter replied as he stood up.
The sun disappeared in the distance and darkness began to blanket the sky. The Hunter pulled back his hood and removed his balaclava. His eyes glanced over and saw Vin flying away.
"Just not soon enough," he growled as he put his balaclava back on and followed the ghost.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
{Notes}
* This is the same weapon used in the episode "Maternal Instincts". I have no clue what the correct name of the staff is. If anyone has any idea, let me know.
** The gang is wearing the exact swim gear as seen in "Lucky in Love". What? You want Sam in a two piece? Isn't that what Google Images is for? Perverts.
*** Danny wears a shirt because he easily gets sunburned. This is confirmed by Butch Hartman in the YouTube video "107 Danny Phantom Facts YOU Should Know! Feat. Butch Hartman (Tooned Up #241)".
**** Tucker is lactose intolerant as of "Memory Blank". I point this out for future reference, so keep this in mind.
^ I distinguish between a ski mask and a balaclava. A ski mask is used by skiers, snowboards, and robbers. A balaclava is more for military and law enforcement officers. Have you ever played F.E.A.R.? Never mind, just look up FEAR Point Man and that's the balaclava I refer to. (F.E.A.R. belongs to Monolith Productions and WB Games) .
^* I can't find ANY reason anywhere as to why this happened in "D-Stabilized". For the sake of reason, assume that when Phantom loses consciousness, it's random whether or not he (and Danielle) will revert back to human form. If anyone can find a reason why this happened, please enlighten me. I'll think of some bull in future episodes if need be.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
There might be a short break until the next episode is released. I need to focus on my other story before this one takes over my time… forever~. Anyone who can guess that reference… uh, well, I'll think of a reward eventually. Maybe a cookie?
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!
~ThePhantomHedgehog