WoM- Wow, people really seemed interested in this one… 'giggles evilly' Sorry for taking so long with the update! The next one shouldn't take as long, if my computer behaves for once in its miserable existence…
Walker: I am your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and if necessary your executioner.
Danny: You said executioner three times.
Walker: I like that part of the job.
Fast-Shootin' Fenton!
"Please tell me this is someone's idea of a joke." Even as he looked around at his wide-eyed classmates, Danny knew the hope was futile. Unnerved, he turned back to the wall, studying the picture again.
Taking a closer look, he noticed that the boy in the photograph looked a little older then he was, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Other then that though, the resemblance was uncanny right down to the wide, easy grin on Daniel's face.
"I don't…" Sam said, looking between the picture and her best friend. "It's doesn't… How could… Why?"
Why indeed. Danny said wryly in his head, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly his nice, relaxing break for his chaotic life was going straight down the tubes…
"There you guys are!" trotting over, Jane stopped in front of the group, her eyebrow raising when she realized that everyone's attention was elsewhere. Turning, she gasped when she saw what the teens were staring at.
"Oh, wow…" She said, blinking as she looked between the picture and Danny. "I thought I knew you from somewhere… Guess I just didn't make the connection before because you were dressed differently…"
"Fast-Shootin' Fenton?" Sam read, shooting Jane a curious look.
"He was a gunslinger raised here in Harmony." Jane explained. "And he was good, too. Almost scary, what he could do with a gun… There's one story about this contest he and Buck— they were friends back then— got into when they were thirteen to see who the better shot was. Daniel won when he managed to hit a thimble in mid air from eighty paces away."
"If he was so good, why'd he stay in this dump." Dash sneered, shooting Danny a pointed look.
"He didn't." Jane said. "Daniel disappeared right after the death of his fiancée."
"Come on, Jane." Henry chuckled as he joined the conversation, making a few kids jump. "You're getting ahead of yourself. That's no way to tell the tale of Fast Shootin' Fenton." Beside him, Mr. Lancer looked alarmed at that statement.
"I beg your pardon?" He said, looking over at Danny accusingly.
"I didn't do anything!" Danny defended himself immediately, a little irritated. Henry frowned between the two, apparently not making the connection right away. After a moment or two, though, he finally noticed the resemblance between the man in the black and white photo and the teen in front of him.
"Well I'll be…" He said with a low whistle. "I thought you looked familiar…"
"You never told me you had a famous relative, Danny." Sam said, her tone borderline accusing.
"I didn't know!" Danny defended himself at once. "Dad never said a word about it…"
Which is weird, because normally it's hard to get him to shut up about stuff like this. Danny finished in his head. Frowning, he studied the man in the picture again, trying to shake off how unnerving it felt to look at a man who was so similar to him in appearance.
"Well, Fast-shootin' Fenton was a very mysterious character." Henry said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Very little is known about him… when he was born, who his parents were… Heck, for a long time no one even knew it was him fightin' off the bandits and train robbers coming through Harmony. People just called him the Phantom Slinger…"
Henry paused here when Sam was suddenly overcome with a violent coughing fit, glancing at her in wary concern until she'd recovered. Danny, in the meantime, was white as a sheet, looking more then a little shaken.
It's just a coincidence… He reassured himself hastily, swallowing against a lump in his throat. I mean, Phantom's a really common nickname, it's not like I have it trademarked or anything… Though Tucker was definitely working on that.
"Anyways." Henry continued after Sam had reassured everyone she was fine. "Fenton wasn't what you'd call popular growing up, and only had two known friends. One was Buck Jones, who would grow up to be Black-eye Buck, and the other was The daughter of the Saloon manager, and an ancestor of my and Jane's— and Sammy here, for that matter— Gwendolyn Viper. Those two were the only ones he confided with his secret double life."
Here, Henry pointed to a second picture hanging on the wall, of Daniel Fenton and two other people, all in their early teens. One was a larger boy, built very burly with a sun worn face and a wide grin. He was dressed simply, obviously a farmer or something of the sorts, and had a fishing pole in his hands. The other was a girl, her long black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, save for the strands framing her face. Freckles spotted her tanned face, and she smiled into the camera with a confidence that belied her simple, dusty dress.
More frightening, though, was the fact that only a few details kept the girl from looking nearly identical to Sam, who drew in a sharp breath when she saw this.
"Danny…" the goth hissed, casting the boy a worried look.
"It's just a coincidence!" Danny insisted under his breath curtly, giving her a look that dared her to challenge that statement. Sam rolled her eyes, but let the subject drop.
"When Fenton was in his late teens, he was exposed as the Phantom Shooter and forced into the media spotlight. Things got really nasty after that, and Fenton even considered skipping town and starting over somewhere else, but then the Gold Family moved into town in May of 1881."
Danny grimaced when Henry motioned to yet another picture before glancing at it warily. Luckily, none of the people in it resembled anyone he knew. Still, his eyes were immediately drawn to the girl in the picture, who was a little older then him.
She looked delicate and refined, a true model of what a girl was supposed to be in that era, dainty and polite. An expensive-looking dress (Much like the one Sam was currently wearing) adorned her, and her fair colored hair (Danny couldn't tell for sure, but guess she was a redhead.) curled loosely around her face, framing it perfectly.
"Pretty." Danny observed, earning a grin from Henry.
"Fenton thought so too, apparently." He confided to the group. "That's Lunette Gold, Lord Richard Gold's sole child and heiress to the Gold family fortune. When she and Fenton met, they were immediately drawn to one another, and it wasn't long before they fell in love. Finally, in October of 1889, the two announced their official engagement."
"I'm guessing they didn't live happily ever after…" Danny said, remembering Jane's earlier comment.
"You guess right." Henry said with a grim smile. "You see, Fenton and Buck got into a big fight not long after Lunette's arrival. We're still not completely sure what it was about, but the two childhood friends became bitter enemies from that day on. So when Buck heard about Lunette and Fenton getting hitched, he just about snapped. Apparently, he kidnapped Lunette and killed her in cold blood, hiding her body where no one could find it. Fenton went ballistic when he heard, and ended up confronting Buck about it. It turned into a gunfight, and Buck was shot dead in the streets. After that, Fenton disappeared, and no one's seen or heard anything of him since." People shot Danny curious looks here, and the blue eyed boy blushed at being put on the spot.
"I've never heard anything about any of this before." He said apologetically. "I mean, Dad's told me millions of stories about my grandfather and great-grandfather, but he's never said a word about a Fast-shootin' Fenton…"
"I'm sure it's all just a coincidence." Sam intervened. "Anyways, we should probably get started with that tour now, right?"
"I guess…" Jane said, shooting her cousin a curious look. "Alright then, if you'll all follow me…" Danny paid no heed to his classmates as they followed Jane and Henry out of the room, his eyes fixed on the face of his supposed ancestor with a small frown tugging at his lips.
Events shall go full circle until the end is rectified…
"Danny?" Jumping, Danny wheeled around to meet concerned violet eyes. Grimacing, Danny dismissed the strange words and sighed before he turned his attention to the unasked question in Sam's worried glance.
"I'm fine." He assured her with a forced smile. "Come on, we'd better catch up with the group." Looking a little troubled, Sam followed her friend as he started towards the rest of their class.
Fine my butt. She scoffed in her head. Sighing, she silently wished that Danny would just drop his pride every once in a while and admit when he was worried about something… I'll talk to him later, when he's not so defensive. Maybe then he'll tell me what's wrong. Satisfied with this decision, Sam pretended to concentrate on the artifacts around her as her cousin rambled on about them, not taking in a word of it.
Danny, in the meantime, was trying to shake off the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck.
Get a hold of yourself, Fenton. He scolded mentally. Who would be spying on you anyways? Your miles away from any ghosts… smiling slightly, Danny shook his groundless worries away, determined to enjoy every minute of this rare break he'd been offered…
"Do we really have to do this?"
Henry chuckled a little at Danny's question, taking in the boy's pasty complexion and sudden case of the shakes. Grinning, the man clasped Danny's shoulder, making the smaller boy buckle at the knees.
"Relax kid." He reassured him. "It's like I told Lancer earlier, these guns and bullets are fake. You don't have anything to worry about, trust me. Just remember to wait for the bell, and hope you hit." Somehow, Danny found that difficult to do with Dash grinning down at him in the same predatory fashion of a cat who had just cornered a wounded mouse.
After a long winded tour about the Old West, followed by a quick dinner (which was mildly entertaining in Sam's tirade against the lack of vegetarian entrees.) Henry had suggested they wrap the evening up with a standoff between the two elected gunslingers before they hit the hay for the night, which the class was more then eager to see.
Which had led to Danny and Dash standing twenty paces from one another in the middle of town, the rest of the class hovering in the nearby buildings.
Danny's heart hammered as he swallowed to keep the pork and beans he'd just gotten done eating from coming back up, one hand clutching his firearm nervously as he tugged at his collar with the other, wondering blankly why it was so hard to breathe.
It's not like I haven't had a gun pointed at me before. He reminded himself. And those were guns that could actually hurt me, too. Still, those were ecto-guns, and he was in his ghost form. Not facing down one of the nastiest bullies in his school as geeky, clumsy Danny Fenton. Who, by the way, was a fan of Phantom, despite making a sport out of giving wedgies to Fenton.
Theses were the times when Danny really hated his life…
Before Danny could mull this over any further, a bell sounded to begin the match, and Dash wasted no time drawing his gun and taking a shot at Danny. Acting on instincts of one who has spent a year of being shot at by friends, parents and assorted ghost hunters, Danny dodged to the left before he realized that Dash's aim had been off anyways.
Dash shot again, but Danny kept moving around sporadically to make himself an even more difficult target, yet another trick being hunted had taught him. Still, most of the spectators didn't see it as anything more then geeky Danny Fenton running around like a total coward. A few students even started snickering amongst themselves at how ridiculous the boy looked.
Only Henry, who'd seen these kinds of fights a million times over, realized that Danny's movements were too purposeful for him to be panicking.
"Your friend is one weird kid…" Henry muttered to Sam softly as he watched Danny, not seeing his niece's flinch. "Has he ever done anything like this before?"
"Come on, Uncle Henry." She said, faking a laugh. "How many high school kids spend their spare time getting shot at?" Henry frown at this, but didn't respond, and his attention was drawn back to the streets below when Dash decided to taunt Danny verbally.
"What's the matter, Fenton?" The jock sneered, obviously getting his kicks out of the situation. "too scared to do anything but run around like a loser?" Danny stiffened at the word 'loser,' his hand going for his gun before he even had time to stop and think about it.
He drew the weapon and took fire in one quick, fluid movement, and the next thing anyone knew Dash had fallen to a sitting position in the dirt, a vivid red mark in his abdomen and a stunned look on his face. And with the exception of a smirking Sam, the rest of the class seemed just as shocked as he did.
"Looks like you're the loser this time, Dash." Danny snapped, glaring at the boy before turning and starting away. Hitching up her skirts, Sam ran to catch up with him.
"That was awesome!" She said gleefully when she was matching Danny's strides. "Jeeze Danny, why didn't you tell me quick draw was genetic?" Any further teasing remarks disappeared when Sam took in the look on Danny's face. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Fine." He sighed, not wanting to talk about how much Dash's remark had upset him. Sam seemed to accept this, however reluctantly.
"Well, now that the match is over I guess it's time for bed." She reminded the boy, making a face. "Meaning I've got to put up with Paulina as my roommate until morning. That's sure to be fun…" Danny's sour mood disappeared at the thought of the entertainment Sam's living arrangements would bring for him.
"Oh come on, Sam." He laughed. "It probably won't be that bad…" Sam scowled at him before she smile mischievously.
"Well…" She sang out. "I guess it won't be as bad as you and your roomie." Danny blinked at that, looking confused before glaring at her warily.
"What about my roommate?" He asked suspiciously.
"Didn't you hear?" Sam asked innocently. "You and Dash are sharing a room. And considering how mad he probably is at you right now, it's a good thing this whole ghost mess made you a light sleeper." Danny groaned to himself as Sam pranced ahead to join up with the group as they headed to the inn (Not skipped, though. Goths never skipped, after all.)
Why me…? Danny wondered woefully as he reluctantly headed in for the night. This vacation was starting to look bleaker and bleaker by the minute…
She sighed in irritation as these new invaders continued decimating her town, disturbing her chances for a peaceful afterlife. Her lips thinning, the girl glared out the window of her room sourly at the group below before her eyes were drawn to a boy straggling behind the others and she gasped loudly.
It can't be… She thought, rising to her feet and pressing a semi-transparent porcelain-colored hand against the glass. It's impossible… it's been over a hundred years…
But there he was, clear as day walking along in the same easy stride she remembered so well, identical to the man she'd loved so long ago…
"…Daniel…?"
WoM- That's all for now:D Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta finish up the next chapter of AS! Then I've got Gender Confusion to worry about… At any rate, stay tuned for the next chapter, kay?
Thanks to-
Light Dragon SunsSong, Splout, Jimmy the Gothic Egg, Esme Kali Phantom, Evillittlegurlie, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Freak, The Person Who Rights, Lumias, ghostgirl14027, X-Roosterrelli-X, KelseyAlicia, Epona Harper, Horselvr4evr123, brittney, The Labyrinths Scribe, ghostlover15, Ytak, dfd, BarnOwl93, Firefury, Majestic Moon, katiesparks, Siren of Time, ShiroAndFubuki, Sasia, Anomaly25, KILLERGRIM23, 1800's style curtains, Boongdaba, ur1crazedupfruitloop, liz, Lieutenant Laqua Quacker Queen, Phantom of a Rose, Tazzel Quickbow, Soultail Omega-Light, Straying Life, ImMoRtAl-FoOl, jessicajason, conan98002, Warrior of winds, kawaii chibi shun, midnightpyro, Giff, Invader Johnny, unlovedepacifist, Black January, Blaidd Drwg, Zuzanny, chaotic.calm, SilverstarsEbonyskies, Half-elf, JosephineInLove, Shades-of-Pink, emotigone crazy, Sparky the Wonder Weasel, ghostreader, Redwind, DPWolf, BugzAttack, Dphomegurl, Phantom of a Rose, Rob Phantom, glossy3, phantomshadowdragon, Mayday5, Tearsofblood, BratCat, The Unknown Alias, RedLion2, Baka Hanyou Rahvin, radian, Twisted Creampuff, Anonymous Reader, The world has finally ended, Linariel, kennyk12, StarsOfTwilight