Hey everyone. Lord Pugsy here. Here is the next chapter for A Phantom Marooned; I hope you enjoy it. I do not own Danny Phantom, just the plot and the odd character.
"Hey. Has anyone seen Danny this morning?" Asked Tucker, piling bacon and sausages high onto his plate. Sam, Tucker and Valerie had awoken to find Danny gone first thing; they thought he may have already left for breakfast, but upon arriving at the restaurant on their level, he was nowhere to be found.
"I bet he's checking the ship for bombs or something stupid like that." Said an annoyed Sam, disgusted at the amount of meat Tucker was attempting to get on his plate, as she got some toast and tea for herself.
"Actually, I was just looking for a shower." Came an amused voice from behind them. They turned to see Danny standing there in shorts, t-shirt and trainers with a towel around his neck; Sam couldn't help the small blush creeping onto her cheeks at the sight of Danny in a tight white t-shirt. Saving her the embarrassment of talking, Valerie stepped in.
"Where have you been?" She asked. "We woke up to you already gone. Sam thought you had gone off hunting for imaginary danger."
"To tell you the truth, I was to begin with." Admitted Danny, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. This snapped Sam out of her stupor and gave him a stern glare.
"I thought we talked about this Danny." Sam said, still glaring at him.
"I know, I know. But I didn't sleep very well last night, so I took a stroll to clear my head. And I thought while I was gone, I could check the ship out." Sam's expression softened quickly.
"Still the nightmares?" She asked gently. Danny just nodded. Valerie went to ask about Danny's nightmare, but she caught the look Tucker was giving her that clearly said 'not now'.
"I didn't find anything anyway," Danny started again, trying to get off the touchy subject. "But when I was heading back to the room, I bumped into Alice and Bradley from class. They said they were going to a gym they found on the main map and asked if I wanted to join them. I wasn't going to get anymore sleep as it was, so I went back to the room, picked up my stuff and went with them. The gym here is amazing; it literally had every single exercise machine invented."
"I may look into that." Said Valerie thoughtfully.
"Anyway, I'm going to get a quick shower and I'll be back in about fifteen minutes." He said, before hurrying off, Sam staring off after him.
"Earth to Sam." Said Tucker, waving a sausage in front of her face.
"What?" She asked, too deep in thought to notice the meat in front of her face.
"Tuck?" Valerie said, turning to the other boy. "Mind giving us a minute?" He took one look at her face, as well as Sam's and nodded and went back to the buffet to fill in the small gaps on his plate.
"Talk." Valerie demanded.
"About?" Asked a confused Sam, her thoughts still on Danny.
"C'mon girl. We all know you like him, so why not just tell him?"
"We're best friends. Nothing more." Sam said unconvincingly.
"Yeah, and I'm turtle and Tucker is actually a vegetarian." Valerie said sarcastically. Sam gave Valerie her best glare that would normally leave the guys quivering on the floor, but she just shrugged it off.
"You don't scare me girl, so get to it already. Before someone else does." She added slyly, hoping to get a reaction out of the Goth. Sam's eyes widened.
"Someone else?" She whispered.
"I don't know if you've noticed but Danny isn't exactly the scrawny little geek he was two years ago. He's grown and filled out nicely. But you already know that after we just caught you ogling him in that shirt. It's a good thing he's just as clueless as he was two years ago." She chuckled, causing Sam to blush. Before Sam could say anything, Danny came back into the room and went to grab a plate of food. When he got to the table, Sam had managed to get the colour of her cheeks back to normal, only for them to tinge again when Danny sat down next to her.
"So what are we talking about?" He asked, completely oblivious to their conversation, pouring himself some tea. Tucker then sat down as well, thinking that it was safe to return, plate still piled high.
"We were just thinking of what we could do today, weren't we Sam?" Said Valerie, giving Sam the eye.
"Yeah, of course." She said hurriedly. "I was actually thinking we could go bowling; two decks down have a fifteen lane bowling alley. Could be fun."
"Yeah, I'm up for that." Said Danny, taking a sip of his tea.
"But my aim sucks." Whined Tucker.
"Dude, you ghost hunt. Your aim should be amazing by now." Laughed Danny.
"That's different. Ghost hunting I'm using a high-tech laser beam, not a bowling ball."
"You'll be fine." Said Valerie, giving Tucker a smile. This caused Tucker to blush slightly and agreed immediately.
"Lovebirds." Muttered Sam and Danny together, both breaking out into silent giggles as they finished their breakfast. Valerie didn't hear them, but Tucker did and decided to change the subject.
"Hey Danny," Tucker started. "Before you left for your 'stroll', did you hear the announcement from the Captain this morning?"
"Announcement?" He questioned.
"Yeah. Turns out we've got an extra two days on this cruise because we're on a temporary rescue mission."
"Oh?" Replied Danny, the nagging feeling starting to grow again. Sam and Valerie, noticing this, were trying to silently stop Tucker, but he wasn't paying attention.
"Yep. A ship suddenly lost power in the middle of the Atlantic and so we're off to rescue them. We'll get to them by tonight the Captain reckons." Tucker finished, as he made a sausage and bacon sandwich, with extra sausage and bacon. Danny became very quiet after this, completely wrapped up in his own thoughts. He didn't even notice when Sam kicked Tucker's shins under the table, causing him to choke on his meaty sandwich.
"Let's get to the bowling alley before it gets full." Suggested Valerie, attempting to break the stifling silence.
When they arrived a few minutes later, they were disheartened to find only one lane spare, right next to their favourite people; Dash, Paulina, Kwan and Star.
"Hey. What's Fenturd and his geek squad doing here?" Taunted Dash when he saw them enter the alley.
"Well we are in a bowling alley Dash, so I guess that means we're here to bowl." Valerie said curtly, glaring at the jock. Dash faltered slightly, as he knew he wouldn't be able to take Valerie. Luckily for him, Paulina decided to jump in.
"Eww," she whinged. "I'm going to lose now as the creepy Goth is going to do her creepy voodoo magic on me."
"Trust me Paulina," Started Sam. "No amount of voodoo magic will improve your game."
"Woo!" Cheered Tucker from the side-lines. "Cat fight."
"No one asked you Foley." Said Dash threateningly, before turning to Danny who was chuckling at the whole affair.
"You got something to say Fentonia?" He demanded.
"Yeah." Said Danny, still laughing. "Got any popcorn? This is going to be good." Even Dash couldn't help but give a small smile, until he saw Paulina glaring at him.
"Dash!" She shouted. "The geeks are disrespecting me. Do something." Dash looked at Kwan for some support but he was all for the cat fight too; Star was just staying quiet throughout it all as she looked guiltily over at Valerie. Dash then got an idea.
"How about this Fentoid," He started. "One bowling game; one on one. Me and you, Paulina and the Goth, Kwan and Foley and Valerie and Star. Whoever loses has to be the other person's slave for the rest of the cruise." He said, holding out his hand. Danny looked at his friends, who were all nodding encouragement at him; he took Dash's hand.
"Deal." He said confidently, smirking as Dash was trying to crush his hand but was failing miserably, as he poured some of his ghostly strength into the shake to prevent Dash from crumbling it to dust. Realising he wasn't going to win, Dash released Danny's hand and went back to his side of the lane. Danny walked back to his side with a wide smile on his face.
"This is going to be awesome." Tucker gleefully said.
"I know." Said Valerie, smiling widely too. "We can all hit a bull's eye with our eyes closed."
"I can't wait to have that paddling pool as my servant." Sam said ominously.
"I think I'm going to have some fun with Dash. He, as well as the others, don't know what we're capable of." News of the bowling match had spread quickly, and soon their entire English class, as well as Mr Lancer and several other passengers, had turned up to watch the showdown. Danny looked around at the spectators and saw the elderly gent and his grandson watching as well. Danny gave them a wave, which they returned.
"Who are they Danny?" Asked Sam, walking up to Danny.
"I'll explain later. For now, let's beat these guys."
It was decided that Dash and Danny would be the first ones to bowl, and things immediately turned sour for the jock. Scoring a spare on his first go, Dash was quite proud of himself as the audience clapped for him. His joyous feeling, however, was short lived when he looked over to the neighbouring lane and saw Danny bowl a strike. The audience gave him a much bigger round of applause as he walked back to his friends, giving Tucker a high five. He looked over to the jock whose jaw was still on the floor.
"Beginners luck." He said smiling. "Don't worry. It probably won't happen again." But Danny's 'luck', much to Dash's dismay, stayed constant throughout the entire game as he scored a perfect game, with the other three scoring an almost perfect game. When Dash looked at the final scores at the end, he was angered when he realised that everyone on Danny's team had beaten him; the audience were still applauding their bowling skills. His pride and ego having taken a beating, he turned on Danny.
"Fenton you cheat!" He yelled. "There is no way you could've beaten me. You fixed it." As if on cue, Paulina immediately sided with Dash, complaining about voodoo magic. Kwan and Star, on the other hand, knew better than to get involved as they knew they hadn't cheated; the audience were screaming 'bad sportsmanship.'
"Man, I knew you were a sore loser Dash, but I didn't think you would take it this far." Chuckled Danny, as he got up to leave, as did the others.
"Yeah dude." Chimed in Tucker. "About fifty people just watched us and would've seen if we had cheated. Face it, you lost." Dash was fuming so much, he couldn't form a sentence, so the four went to leave the alley; the audience parting for them as they continued to applaud them. Danny noticed, when they reached the doorway, that the gent and his grandson were there waiting for him, big smiles on their faces.
"I have to say lad," The gent started. "That was quite the spectacle."
"It was brilliant." Said the boy, staring at the four with awe.
"Nah, it was nothing." Said an embarrassed Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. "By the way, I never got your names before?"
"Forgive my old age. My name is Robert Wilkinson, but people just call me Bob." Said Bob. "And this here is my grandson Billy."
"Nice to meet you." Danny said, sticking out his hand and shaking theirs. "My name's Danny. This here is Sam, Tucker and Valerie." Pointing at his friends respectively.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintances." Bob said, tipping his hat at them. "Well don't let us keep you. I suppose you want to carry on celebrating. Until we meet again lad." Both Billy and Bob stepped aside and let them leave the alley. Just as they were about to leave, Dash had finally formed an insult.
"You're such a freak Fenton." He said viciously. The crowd was silent, waiting for Danny's comeback against the jock. Sam balled up her fists and went to go back and hit him, before Danny took her hand and shook his head. He then turned to Dash.
"You're right Dash, I am a freak." Dash snickered as the crowd were about to defend Danny, but Danny put his hand up to motion them to be silent. "But remember this Dash. This freak just wiped the floor with you at a sport." The crowd gave him an even bigger applause as Danny and his friends walked out of the alley, leaving a thoroughly humiliated Dash in their wake.
"Bob seemed nice." Said Valerie, as they walked along the promenade deck.
"Yeah. How did you know them dude?" Asked Tucker.
"Back at port. Bob was struggling to climb the steep ramp and so I hung back and helped him on." Replied Danny.
"Always thinking of others aren't you Danny?" Sam said sarcastically, but with an underlying proudness in her voice.
"Guilty as charged." Smirked Danny, as he edged slightly closer to Sam as they continued to walk.
"It'll get you seriously injured or killed one of these days Danny." Tucker said, trying to be dramatic.
"Well I know how much you like to say 'I told you so'." Countered Danny with a wink.
"You know it dude." Laughed Tucker.
"C'mon guys," Started Sam. "We need to think of something to do before the open air film tonight."
The group decided to go their separate ways before meeting up to watch the open air film; Danny and Tucker found a games room, Valerie went to the gym and Sam went and read in her room. By the time they met up again, it was late and they were scheduled to meet up with the stranded ship around about the time the film finished. The four got a large a deck sofa near the back with their mountain of food (courtesy of Tucker ); they bumped into the A-Listers, but they had gone back to their ignoring act as they went up to the front near the screen. As there was a slight chill in the air, the four opted to stay under a couple of blankets. Whether by accident or on purpose, Danny and Sam were under one, and Valerie and Tucker were under another one as they watched the film. About halfway through the film, the girls had completely fallen asleep, and were snuggled up to their male companions. Danny looked over to Tucker to see a look of pure bliss on his face; Danny could tell because he had the same expression. The moment was soon shattered though, as an ear-piercing klaxon rang through the air waking everyone up and scaring everyone half to death; the Captain's voice was then heard over the speaker system.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. We are approaching the incapacitated vessel as we speak. Please keep clear of the entry ramp and please no harassing the passengers upon boarding. We aim to complete this task as efficiently as possible. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Well that was a lovely evening ruined." Muttered Valerie, attempting to disentangle herself from the blanket.
"You're telling me." Agreed Sam, as she stretched out her stiff shoulder muscles. Danny took this moment to give Tucker a look, which he understood fully. He turned to Valerie and whispered something to her, who nodded, and then turned to the other two.
"Hey guys. We're going to see if there is still a restaurant open. We'll see you later." Tucker then, as he passed Danny, leaned in.
"Your turn mate." He smirked. Danny looked at Valerie who was nodding, a wide smile on her face.
"Congrats man." Said Danny, smiling nervously. "I'll see you later."
"Not is fine too." Grinned Tucker, who ducked away before Danny could hit him, and walked off with Valerie.
"What was that about?" Asked Sam, as she watched Tucker and Valerie walk back into the ship.
"Nothing." Danny said unconvincingly. "Just guy stuff." Before Sam could question it, he changed the subject.
"Hey, do you fancy a walk? We can go to the other side and see if we can get a glimpse of the other ship."
"Sure. Sounds good." Walking very close to each other, they walked to the port side and looked out to sea, where they saw a luxury yacht floating stationary a few hundred yards from them.
"That is a wicked looking boat." Said Danny, trying to start a conversation as he prepared himself for what he was about to ask Sam.
"Yeah, it is." Agreed Sam. "It's called the Optimus." Danny looked at her questioningly. "Rich family remember? We got one when they came out a month ago."
"Remind me to come round more often." Joked Danny. "Well, more so than I do already." This earned him a dig in the ribs as Sam laughed.
"Sorry." Said Danny, still smiling. "I am surprised that you were on a yacht though."
"Only that particular yacht." Corrected Sam. "It's extremely environmentally friendly and made only from recycled materials. The designer is part of the United Nation's Green Peace project."
"Fair enough then. Hey look. They've got there." Pointed out Danny, as the shipmen entered the craft to look for the crew and passengers, Sam following his gaze. He took this moment to look at her as he had done for a while when she wasn't looking.
Ok, thought Danny. Time to do this. "Hey Sam?" He asked nervously.
"Yes Danny?" Sam replied, turning to him.
"I was just, you know, wondering," Started Danny, leaning in closer to Sam as she did the same. "If you wanted to go-."
"Hey guys!" Shouted a voice from behind them. Cursing under his breath, he put a bit of distance between himself and Sam, much to both of their disappointment, and looked to see Mikey, Nathan and their twin sisters Chelsea and Michelle, coming towards them.
"Nice night isn't it?" Said a completely oblivious Nathan, gesturing towards the night sky.
"It was." Muttered an annoyed Danny, which only the sisters picked upon. About to stick up for their brothers, they saw the looks of disappointment on both Sam and Danny's faces and knew exactly what they had stumbled upon.
"Hey guys?" Said Chelsea, try to get the boys' attention who continuing to talk to the Danny and Sam. "It's getting cold out. Let's head inside. I think I heard Craig and Eric saying something about a pool tournament." This got their attention, so they said their goodbyes and walked inside, Danny letting out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Silence fell upon them both.
"Well that was awkward." Sam finally said.
"Just a tad." Agreed Danny, laughing slightly, causing Sam to laugh, and easing some of the tension.
"Anyway," Danny started again, looking into Sam's eyes again. "What I was going to ask was.-" A loud ringtone cut through the air as Danny's phone began to ring. Groaning, he answered it.
"What?" He asked a bit harshly.
"That's no way to speak to your mother young man." Came Maddie's annoyed voice on the other end.
"Sorry. I was just in the middle of something and you kind of interrupted."
"Are you finally telling Sam?" Squealed Maddie.
"Yes, I am. Now can you please go?" Whispered Danny.
"Oh my boy is all grown up. Good luck sweetie." Said Maddie, verging on sobbing; Danny could hear his dad on the other end.
"The boy's a Fenton! He doesn't need luck. Now where's the celebratory fudge?" He said loudly. Danny hung up before he could be embarrassed further by his parents. Sam must have realised because she was giggling at the sight of Danny's face. He was about to put his phone back in his pocket when he received a text. Danny looked at it; it was from Jazz.
Good luck little brother x
Danny then turned his phone off before putting it back in his pocket.
"Sorry about that." He said, embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it." Laughed Sam. "Everything normal in the Fenton Household?"
"As normal as it can be." He said, laughing too.
"So what were you going to ask me?" Asked Sam, hoping for no more interruptions.
"Right, I was going to ask you something important." Said Danny, confident of finishing this time. He was about to finally ask Sam out, when something caught his eye.
"Do you see that?" He asked, pointing out to the stationary yacht, the rescue boat still floating next to it.
"See what Daniel?" Responded a very angry Sam, but Danny was too caught up in his thoughts to register the angry tone or the use of his full name.
"They've been gone for a while now, and there has been no movement whatsoever on that boat." Anger starting to dissipate into mild annoyance, Sam spoke.
"What of it? Maybe your eyesight is off." Danny huffed.
"My eyesight is perfect. Keep a look out." With that, Danny used his Sense to see what was going on. What he saw made him shudder; there wasn't a single person on the Optimus. Danny scanned each level thoroughly and there wasn't a trace of anyone on board.
"No one's there." He muttered softly.
"What?" Asked Sam, getting angry again.
"There is no one on that boat. Everyone is gone." Sam's anger vanished quickly as she took in what Danny had just said. Before she could say anything, the Optimus exploded in a fiery ball of molten metal, sending jagged parts hurtling at the cruise ship. Sam screamed as Danny embraced her and erected a small, green ecto-shield around them; bits of debris bouncing harmlessly off of it. When the barrage on the ship had ended, Danny let go of the shield and looked around to see if anyone had seen them; luckily no one was around. Just as the two were calming themselves down, the klaxon sounded again with a distressed Captain on the other end of the speakers.
"Ladies and Gentleman. Will you please make your way to the lifeboats. The explosion from the Optimus has penetrated two of our bulk heads. I repeat, please make your way to the lifeboats post-haste." Danny, still holding Sam's hand, ran with her to the other side of the ship where people were already lining up to get on a lifeboat. They quickly found Tucker and Valerie waiting next to the rest of their class, embracing them as they arrived. All of them were present and accounted for, much to Danny's relief.
"There you are Mr Fenton, Miss Manson." Said Mr Lancer, relieved that the entire class was there. "We are going to be the next group of people to be lowered, so get ready." Danny just nodded as he took in the scene before him; people were crying and shouting, with the Stewards doing the best they could. The only consolation was that there would be enough lifeboats for everyone on board. However, the nagging feeling kept growing as Danny looked at all the passengers rushing around on the deck. Just as his class was getting on the lifeboat, Danny powered up his Sense and took a quick scan of the ship. To his horror, despite most people being on the top deck, there were two people stuck three decks down who appeared to be an old man and a young boy; Danny's stomach dropped.
"DANNY!" Screamed Sam from behind him. "COME ON. THEY'RE LOWERING THE BOAT!" True enough, the boat was being lowered without them. He rushed over to Sam.
"The Wilkinson's. They're trapped below." He said, looking her dead in the eye. Sam's eyes widened, then gasped at what Danny was suggesting.
"Don't you even think about Danny. You can't save everybody." She begged, tears forming in her eyes as the boat got lower and lower.
"I'm sorry Sammy." He whispered into her ear. He then kissed her fully on the mouth and then threw her onto the descending lifeboat at Tucker and Valerie, and ran back towards the sinking ship, hearing Sam's screams all the way.
Danny made sure no one was watching before he turned invisible and intangible, and began floating down through the ship; his Sense active and guiding him towards the trapped duo. At last he arrived at the door.
"Mr Wilkinson?!" Danny shouted. "Are you in there?"
"Is that you Danny?" Asked a small voice from behind the door.
"Billy?! Are you and your grandfather alright?"
"I am, but grampy's leg is stuck." He whimpered.
"It's going to be ok. I need you to do me a favour Billy. I need you to step far away from the door. Can you do that for me?" A few seconds later, Billy spoke again.
"Ok, I'm not at the door anymore." Danny then used all his strength and kicked the door clean off its hinges, causing it sail across the room.
"Danny!" Danny looked over and saw the problem. Bob's leg was pinned under the wardrobe which had come loose after the impact. Bob looked over and saw the teen.
"Get out of here lad!" He shouted, wincing in pain. "Get Billy and yourself out of here. There's nothing you can do for me now."
"Nuts to that Bob. Both of you are coming with me right now. Billy, get in the doorway now." When Billy was a safe enough distance away, Danny leaned down and picked up the wardrobe above his head and tossed it into the corner of the room. He leaned down and helped Bob up, who had an incredulous look on his face.
"H…How did you do that?" He stuttered.
"No time to explain." Said Danny, as the whole ship gave an almighty lurch. "The boat is sinking and we need to get top side." Danny, acting as a crutch for Bob, picked up Billy with his other arm and half dragged, half ran up the three flights of stairs. When they got up to the top deck, they saw one lifeboat left, about to be lowered.
"HEY!" Shouted Danny. "WAIT FOR US!" The Steward saw them just in time, and beckoned them over.
"I can only fit two in!" He shouted as the ship began to creak from the water pressure.
"That's fine!" Danny shouted back. "My class are on another lifeboat on the other side of the ship! Just get them on!" He shouted, gesturing to Bob and Billy. He helped the Steward lower them onto the smaller boat, Bob giving him an appreciative look.
"I don't know how to thank you Danny!" Bob shouted.
"You can thank me by staying alive!" He shouted back to the old man. He then turned to the Steward. "Get these people out of here now!" Once he was sure the lifeboat was secure, Danny rushed to the other side of the sinking ship and looked down. He could see his class' lifeboat clearly not too far away; his class had seen him and were screaming his name, motioning him over to them. He was just climbing the railing, when the ship gave a colossal lurch sideways as it began to roll over, sending Danny crashing back the way he came, hitting his head as he went. With fuzzy vision, Danny struggled up the steep incline until he grabbed hold of the railing. He grabbed on just in time; as he grabbed it, the ship had rolled completely on its side, causing him to dangle from the railing. Pulling himself up, swaying as he stood atop the sinking ship, he looked down at the hundred foot drop. He did the only thing he could think of. He jumped; hoping that someone was looking out for him as he plummeted into the inky black water below him.
Slightly larger than the previous chapter, but there was a lot I wanted to get in. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time.
Lord Pugsy.