WoM- Gnah! You have no idea how much being grounded is screwing with my scheduled! 'sulking' I really can't stand my dad right now… Anywho, sorry this chapter is late! I hope its entertainment value makes up for it!
"In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds."
-Aristotle
Creepy Complications
"WHAT?" Valerie screamed, startling Kwan into consciousness, "What do you mean the Ghost Zone? What did you do?"
"Nothing!" Phantom said defensively, backing away as the girl advanced.
'Why is everything automatically my fault, anyways…?' The ghost thought sullenly.
"I didn't do anything!" Phantom repeated, "It was Desiree, the wish-granting ghost. She heard Star say that she wished she could be somewhere else, so the brought us somewhere else. The Ghost Zone."
"Well did it have to be here?" Star whined, "This place is creepy! Why couldn't we have landed in the Bahamas? I wouldn't mind being stranded in the Bahamas!"
"Stranded?" Kwan repeated, his face paling as he looked around, "We're stranded here?"
"We're not stranded!" Phantom said before a panic could start, "look, all we need to do if find the Fenton Portal and get back in through FentonWorks."
"An excellent idea Mr.… ah… Phantom." Mr. Lancer said, jumping in to agree with the calm, reasonable plan the ghost had made. "I assume you know where we are? Considering that you are a ghost and all…"
'Isn't that a good reason to… oh, I dunno, NOT TRUST HIM?' Valerie thought, glaring at the ghost boy.
"Sorta…" Phantom admitted, frowning thoughtfully and blissfully unaware of the plot against his afterlife now forming in Valerie's head, "But we need to fly to get to the Fenton Portal, and since you guys are kinda gravity-bound and I can only carry two people at once…" Phantom didn't get the chance to say anything else when Paulina suddenly latched herself around the ghost's neck.
"I'm ready for take off!" She said sweetly to the surprised teenaged ghost. Mr. Lancer blinked when a sudden surge attacked his mind coming from the girl's psyche, a strong feeling of affection. Shaking his head, Mr. Lancer brushed the feeling aside the best he could.
'Well, that was abnormal…' the teacher thought dryly.
"No way," Valerie said shortly, "I'm not going anywhere with you! Why should I trust you, huh?"
'You've never given me a good reason to before…' She added bitterly in her head.
'I still don't get why she's so hostel to him…' Jazz mused with a soft sigh, 'And it's such a touchy subject with Danny and his friends that even Tucker won't tell me what's going on.'
"It would take too long that way, anyways," Phantom sighed.
'It's a good 45 minutes to the Portal from here, and If I'm only taking two people at a time and there's eight people here…' The ghost made a face, 'Gnah! Too much math!' Sighing, the ghost frowned thoughtfully, 'At any rate, it'll take too long, and while I'm taking anyone back home, that leaves everyone else defenseless in the Ghost Zone…'
'I bet he planned this somehow,' Valerie thought darkly, glowering at Phantom. 'I wouldn't put it past the jerk to kidnap my entire class just to get to me…' Mr. Lancer blinked curiously when the girl's thought trailed off there, before a wave of the girl's fear hit the teacher and taking him as off guard as she glared sharply at Phantom.
"What happened to Danny?" She asked harshly, narrowing her eyes in a silent threat. Phantom blinked back at her.
'Well, this is bittersweet…' He thought dryly.
"Danny's fine," He said out loud, absently, "He wasn't there when Desiree granted Star's wish, remember?"
'Not technically, anyway,' Jazz thought dryly, making her teacher blink, 'It's amazing how good we've all gotten at lying while still actually telling the truth thanks to this whole ghost thing… Especially Danny,'
"Well where is here?" Valerie asked, her glare never faltering.
'If he did ANYTHING to Danny, I swear I'm gonna…'
"That doesn't matter right now," Phantom snapped, clearly losing his patience with the subject. Mr. Lancer frowned in confusion when he felt a large amount of discomfort coming from the boy. Why would talking about Danny make Phantom so nervous…?
'Unless he doesn't want to reveal his connection with Danny to Valerie,' Mr. Lancer realized. 'Perhaps he does not want to endanger Danny and Valerie's friendship with his presence, despite the fact that if Valerie ever found out there was a connection, she could use it against him…' Mr. Lancer wasn't sure whether to admire the ghost's faith in his friend (Or at least, Lancer was starting to assume Danny and Phantom were friends…) or roll his eyes at the stupidity of such blind trust.
Not that he thought Danny would reveal his relationship with Phantom to the young ghost huntress, but it was still a rather dangerous risk to take. So much could go so wrong in that kind of situation, why would the ghost take that chance?
"I've got it!" Tucker exclaimed out of nowhere, making several people jump. "SAM!"
'…Huh?'
"What are you talking about?" Phantom asked with a baffled expression as Tucker dug through his pockets and pulled out his ever-present PDA.
"Sam didn't have detention today," Tucker explained to the ghost boy, "So she can go over to FentonWorks and get the Specter Speeder and come pick us up!" Phantom brightened at that.
'Hey, that's not a bad idea!' He thought to himself before frowning slightly, 'Wait, hang on…'
"But the Specter Speeder can only hold four people max," He reminded Tucker with a thoughtful look. "And even if I carry two people, That still leaves three people here alone," Tucker's face fell at that.
'Didn't think of that…' He admitted in his head.
"Well, think you can ask somebody?" Jazz asked, motioning around her, "I mean, there are ghost all over the place here! Maybe you'll catch someone in a good mood and they'll give us a hand,"
"Another excellent idea," Mr. Lancer broke in, "As a matter of fact, allow me to accompany you as you do so, Mr. Phantom."
'Huh?' Phantom thought, shock flickering across his face.
"Uh, I don't think that's a very good idea, Mr. Lancer…" He said cautiously.
'It's gonna be hard enough getting a ghost to help me without dragging Mr. Lancer along,' The ghost added in his mind. 'I mean, if he says the wrong thing, We'll both be put into danger and if I have to fight one ghost, the others will hear about it and take off before I could even ask them!' Phantom blinked thoughtfully here, 'Hey, wow… I never realized before that the Ghost Zone has an etiquette…'
"Be that as it may," I told the ghost firmly, "It's my job as an educator to look after my young disciples. That means making sure that they get out of here safely, by any means necessary."
'Why do teachers like to use so many big words?' Phantom wondered irritably for a second before he sighed in defeat.
"Well, I can't take everyone, and if we go too far then everyone here's gonna be totally defenseless," Phantom reminded Mr. Lancer. Valerie shot the ghost a scowl.
'He said that on purpose to remind me I don't have my weapons,' She thought sullenly, 'I know he did!'
"Never fear, dude!" Tucker said vigorously, thrusting his hand into his pocket to pull out what looked like a container of-
"Is that lipstick?" Star asked, giving Tucker a strange look. Phantom, only the other hand, stared at the small tube for a second before groaning.
'Oh man…' He thought in a helpless sort of way.
"Where did you get that?" He asked, sounding annoyed.
"And why are you keeping it?" Jazz asked, raising an eyebrow.
'That's just a little creepy in my book,' She added in her head, 'And considering that my entire family fights ghosts for a living, that's gotta be saying something,'
"I kept it after the Spectra thing at the hospital," Tucker explained. "I mean, you never know, right?"
"You're a freak, Foley," Kwan said, gaping at Tucker, "What kind of guy carries LIPSTICK on him?"
"Kwan!" Mr. Lancer said in warning.
"It's not lipstick!" Tucker said defensively, "Its an ecto-blaster Mrs. Fenton made!"
"Really?" Paulina said, sounding intrigued.
'Wow…' She thought to herself, 'Ghost-proof make-up… that's not something you see every day… Though something like that would probably make kissing a lot harder…' Mr. Lancer wasn't in the frame of mind to even fathom why the girl would be considering something like that in their current situation.
"You're still a freak…" Kwan muttered.
"Not important," Phantom said with an impatient sigh. "And the longer we stand around talking about stupid stuff, the more chance of Skulker or someone coming along and blasting us into next year!"
"I'll take that," Valerie said, snatching the small weapon from Tucker, "You're gonna call Sam and ask her for help, right?"
"Huh?" Tucker blinked before his eyes widened and he laughed meekly, "Oh! Right! Sam!"
"And in the meantime, Mr. Phantom and I will secure some aid, right Mr. Phantom?"
"Uh, okay?" Phantom said, gaping.
'…Did he just call me MR. PHANTOM…?' The ghost thought, 'That's a little creepy…'
'He's a paranormal being and he finds being called 'Mr.' Creepy?' Mr. Lancer wondered, smirking a little at the irony of that.
"You guys wait here," Phantom told the teenagers as he picked Mr. Lancer up by the upper arms and started to fly away. "We'll be back as soon as we can with help. And if anything approaches you guys- and I mean ANYTHING- scream. We'll try to stay in hearing distance, got it,"
"We'll be fine, okay?" Valerie snapped, "Now go so we can get out of here already!"
"Don't yell at him!" Paulina said defensively, "He doesn't have to help us, you know!" In her mind, she called the ghost hunter some things in Spanish that Mr. Lancer was certain wasn't proper language for a young woman to be using.
'Well, I suppose the fact that she's keeping then to herself merits some credit…' He thought dryly as he and the ghost flew away. He glanced at Phantom's serious face as the ghost boy started listing off all the ghosts he knew and weighing the chance that they'd help him, also casually revealing some disturbing facts about his life Mr. Lancer never knew. 'At any rate, this trip should be very eventful…'
"Great, I can't believe that little brat turned us out like that!" Phantom snapped, steaming as he slammed the door of another ghost's lair.
"'Turned us out' is putting it mildly, don't you think?" Mr. Lancer asked, still a little shaken by the last paranormal encounter he and the ghost had had. "Can all ghosts do that?"
"Nah," Phantom sighed absently as he flew off to another door, "Most will do without all the lighting. That wasn't really dangerous, anyways. Just for show more then anything. He was a pushover ghost. Still, didn't give him any reason to be so rude…
"I… ah… I see…"
"When I die, I am never, EVER becoming a ghost,' The teacher promised himself sternly, suppressing a shudder of horror at the thought of actually living in such a chaotic realm as the Ghost Zone, 'How does Phantom put up with it…?'
"What about that one?" The teacher asked out loud, nodding towards another door, this one a large black one with blue and white flames stenciled on it. Phantom glanced at it before frowning and shaking his head.
"No way," He said firmly.
'That's Ember's place,' He added in his head, 'There's n way she'd help me, not in a million years…' Ember? Why did that name seem so-?
'The Three Musketeers!'
"EMBER MCLAIN?" The teacher exclaimed, "That pompous singer? SHE'S A ghost? I knew she was bead news, but I never thought-!" Mr. Lancer cut himself off when Phantom's grip tightened on his arms.
"How did you know I was thinking about Ember?" He asked, his tone sharp and suspicious.
'That CAN'T be a coincidence!' He added furiously in his head, and though the look he was giving the teacher was guarded and carefully unreadable, Mr. Lancer could feel the fear rolling off of him.
The ghost boy was actually scared of him, Mr. Lancer.
'This is ironic…' The teacher couldn't help but think before he began speaking.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He told the ghost boy, not meeting his eyes.
'Bull,' Phantom though, his fear giving way to anger. Out of the scorner of his eye, Mr. Lancer saw a suppressed scowl work it's way across the boy's face. 'At the Nasty Burger, at school, here…'
"You can read minds!"
It wasn't a question, it was an accusation. The Ghost Boy of Amity Park knew of Mr. Lancer's new ability, and he was clearly irritated by it. To say nothing of the questions now running through his head.
'When did he get telepathy? How long has he had it? Does anyone else know about it,' Paling even more, he added, 'Wait… how much has he heard? He can't know, can he?'
"That is entirely none of your business," Mr. Lancer said firmly, "But while we are on the subject, I have a question for you, Mr. Phantom. Why is it that despite the fact that I am limited to hearing only the thoughts of my students, I can still hear your thoughts loud and clear?' Phantom blinked at the teacher at that.
'Wait, so he doesn't know yet?' the ghost thought, brightening slightly before the look fell away, 'Aw, crap…'
"Ah…I, uh…" Phantom stammered out.
'What to say, what to say…!'
"Don't bother, Mr. Phantom," Mr. Lancer sighed, "Not if it's going to end up being a lie." The ghost looked surprised and a little annoyed at that.
'Well way to make me feel guilty…' He thought sullenly, and Mr. Lancer could feel the guilt that the boy spoke of before he sighed loudly.
"It's not like that, okay?" He said loudly, "It's… complicated." Then, with a slight frown, Phantom asked the teacher, "How can you read minds now, anyways?"
Mr. Lancer, luckily, was spared answering by a new arrival.
"Sir Phantom?"
The ghost boy jumped at the new voice, blinking when he turned to the source.
"DORA?" He said, shock clear in his tone, the young medieval female smiled back.
"I thought that was you, Sir Phantom," She said warmly, "What business brings you so far into the Ghost Zone?" Phantom blinked at her before his mouth spread into a wide grin.
'Hey, I can use this!' He thought brightly.
"Boy am I glad to see you, Dora," He told the female ghost, earning a look of surprise, "There was a bit of a problem with Desiree, and now I've got a whole group of detentionees stuck here in the Ghost Zone and no way to get them out,"
"Oh?" Dora said, sounding interested, "How many?"
"Eight, including Mr. Lancer here," Phantom sighed, "Sam's coming with the Specter Speeder right now, so that should take care of transportation for three of them, but even if carry two that still leaves three here by themselves. So I was wondering…?"
"If I would help?" Dora finished, smiling again, "Certainly, Mr. Phantom. On one condition…"
"Which is…?" Phantom asked suspiciously.
"I'm afraid that the Yearly Ghost Zone Gathering is coming up soon, and I'm still rather date-less," Dora explained, "If it wouldn't be asking too much for you to secure me a consort…?"
"Matchmaker?" Phantom asked, clearly surprised, "You want me to play matchmaker?"
'Well that's a new one…'
"If It's not asking too much of you, of course," Dora repeated herself hastily, "I won't mind of the gentleman is human, either."
"Really…?" Phantom looked thoughtful.
'Well, it probably won't take too much to get Tuck to go…' he thought to himself, 'Besides, if I have to, I can always resort to blackmail.' Mr. Lancer shot the ghost a disapproving frown at that, earning a sheepish grin as the boy remembered his power before he turned back to Dora.
"Deal!" He said, holding out a hand to shake with the ghost.
"Wonderful!" Dora said with a wide smile as she took the ghost boy's hand, "And will you be attending this event, Sir Phantom? Surely you're received your invitation already, as it is a time of truce between all ghosts, even half…" The girl trial of as Phantom shook his head furiously, motioning towards Mr. Lancer and making her eyes widen. "Ah, Half… formed! Half formed, yes, quite a shame that you're still in your first year as a ghost and have not yet learn to hold a steady form!" The girl laughed nervously, and the teacher frowned, sensing the lie in her words.
'Why did I have to limit myself to my students?' he asked himself dryly
"Anyways, we should go," Phantom said pointedly, "Sam's probably gotten back to the others by now, so they're waiting for us,"
"Lead the way, Sir Phantom," Dora said with a smile.
'As soon as I find the time, I've really gotta ask her why she calls me 'sir' now…' Phantom thought wryly, 'Still, it's better then what other ghosts are calling me, I'd bet.' Mr. Lancer blinked at that.
'Phantom is an outcast among his fellow ghost?' He wondered, studying the ghost, 'Interesting…'
That was when the three of them heard the scream.
'Oh, man…' Phantom thought, his eyes widening, 'That was Paulina!'
WoM- I'm really tired right now and in a bad mood because of my dad, so please don't start with me, kay? I'll get next chapter up on time (Hopefully) so please be patent with me!
Thanks to;
SilverstarsEbonyskies, My Eternal Facade, Queen S of Randomness, Light Dragon SunsSong, Firefury, Raving-Lunatic, Kikiness, shadow929, werewulf, Moss Royal, Laura, Paul Powell, GhostAnn, Halfa-NariMaruko, kinguofdoragons, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Freak, AirGirl Phantom, epobbp, Golden Lunar Eclipse, Phantomhobbitses, CarmenElizabeth, Mystic Dragon, purpledog100, The Sole Survivor, conan98002, BratCat, Darth Frodo, Horselvr4evr123, Zuzanny, Inumaru12, SquirrelGirl, dArkliTe-sPirit, Reviewer, Ohka Breynekai, puppyface, Sukira-chan, Frommyheart, steven, midnightgoth9, Leesa, Ghost Writer's Assistant, Hiroshi Yakuza Ketchum, fish n chips n vinegar, littlekittykat, Redwind, Insomniac Jaki, Pocky Katze, the sleep warrior, The Outdated Reviewer, chocolatemercury, Erebus Faustus, livinglife, Catmedium, Truth91920, Pterodactyl, Petitio Principii, Fade, Firehedgehog, WolfDaughter, Lumias, Kagome lover, ilikedan, Writer's-BlockDP, The Great Susinko, Erica Clayton, black curtains, Invader Johnny, dante hunter, RoseGirl from planet Pluto, Black Mage758, kdm13, ShadowDog34, pippy32388, peppymint
Next update; March 10th
See you then!