I own nothing! How do you like my story? This chapter is longer to make up for the short chapter last time, and the slightly slow update. 929 words! Suggest events for the next month in his life, and I will reward you with gratitude! Sorry, no tangible gifts!

-Miaulin

Chapter 5: The Awakening

Blurry noise reached my ears, but I was incapable of deciphering it. It was so loud...Did anyone know what quietness meant? Worry pounded me on all sides, and I knew, somehow, that the worry seemed wrong, almost not my own. I wasn't worried. Pins and needles prickled my legs, arms, and the rest of my body. They sharpened, for an instant, feeling like being stabbed. I moaned. The blurry noises were clearing.

"Alright?...worried...feel now...Move, damnit!" That was a girl's voice...

"Sam? Tucker?" It was supposed to sound better, my voice, that is. Instead, it sounded like a frog, oddly croak-ish.

"How are you?"

"Wha' happen'd?"

Faces were visible now, and I was able to discern Tucker and Sam, even if I was unable to see very well. "Turn th' ligh' off, too bright." I complained.

"It isn't on." Whispers I was able to hear, but they still sounded too loud.

"Can you get up? How much do you remember? Should we call your parents? Tucker has a phone, and he can call the hospital. What about your sister?" A flood of questions flowed out of their mouths the way a river has so much water pour out of it if it was blocked previously.

"Please don't call mom or dad. Jazz'll kill me for going inside the portal...No. Don't call the hospital. Give me a minute, and I'll see if I can get up." My voice was stronger now.

I waited a moment, and slowly edged into a sitting position. Dizziness nearly made me collapse. I finally stood. Something was wrong. "I can't feel the floor. Why am I in my room? The temperature is supposed to be 70F, not boiling!" I sank to the ground, having caught a glimpse of white hair and green eyes. They didn't belong on my face. My skin was the wrong color. It was dark brown, easily as dark as Tucker's. I was in the middle of a mental breakdown. A hand touched my shoulder, and I jerked away.

"Relax, Danny. As much as this is really wierd, it will go away, probably. After all, how could a portal do this to you?" The words calmed me.

"Thanks, Tuck." After all, it was hardly possible that it could be more...

A white ring formed around my waist, and suddenly, I was perfectly normal. I decided on what to do. "I want this to be secret, just today. Jazz will kill me if I tell her I stepped into a portal."

Tucker and Sam reluctantly agreed. I felt bad right now, but it wasn't likely that I would feel that bad for very long, was it?

/ /

Jazz came back with Mom and Dad. Well, not with them, but soon after they returned. She was carrying bags of books, and some other stuff that I didn't notice. I felt sick, even if only a little, and didn't bother to notice. Dad went down to the kitchen, and Mom fixed herself and Dad some cookies. They left to look at books and calculate any problems with an invention they had decided to invent while in the restaurant, a fast-cooking hotdog boiler. Jazz studied me up and down, before asking me if I felt alright. Of course, I told her I felt fine. She didn't look convinced, but left the topic. She knew that if I didn't want to talk about something, I almost always shut up and failed to speak for the rest of the day on anything that might relate to it. She finally dragged me aside, and into her room, where she had a plate of gingerbread cookies and candles. At the place where she forced me to sit, there were three wrapped presents. Sam and Tucker had already given me presents, the day before.

Jazz felt excited, and told me to make a wish and blow out my candles. I took a deep breath in, and let it out. The candles all blew out. It might seem like a childish tradition, but for us, birthdays were about as fun as life got when it came to family time, even when Mom and Dad forgot. I wished for life to be okay, and normal. If only I knew...I didn't stop to contemplate how I knew she was excited, instead starting in on the cookies. They were really good.

"You are a great cook, Jazz!" I spoke through the gingerbread in my mouth. She just laughed. After all, if either of us wanted to have a hope of surviving the meals we were subject to, we had to be the ones who cooked them.

The cheer on her face furthered my resolution not to tell her what had happened. I didn't want her to look worried. She was always psychoanalyzing someone, and I hoped I wouldn't be her next victim. We finished the cookies, and I slowly unwrapped the presents. The first was a book on the atmosphere of outer space, and a history on flight. The second was a set of black gloves with sunglasses that I remembered commenting on during a window-shopping expedition. The third was a model rocket, incredibly delicate in design. It was absolutely beautiful. I thanked her. As brother though, I couldn't hug her, so instead, I just grinned and told her that they were wonderful.

/

Finally, the day was over, and I slipped to bed, exhausted.

Review! Follow! Flame! (Not that last one). Tell me what you want to happen! I will also be putting up a story explaining what I think the accident did to his DNA, which will explain some of what happens to him. The story will be titled: Danny Phantom: DNA

-Miaulin