It was the very last day of school before Christmas break. While most of the kids were happy about this they were all a little miffed that they weren't spending it how they had wanted. It was noon on a half day for pete's sake! Yet a large blizzard had hit the town before school had ended and there was an emergency evacuation before it stranded them there. Now, they were stranded at the house they were closest to when it got too bad for them to continue. In other words; they were all trapped at the Fentons with their weird daughter while the parents were gone. Lancer was watching them in the front room as loud noises came from the second floor where the twins were arguing. When it seemed that a victory had been crowned they came to the top of the stairs.
"Welcome to our home" Delilah chirped pleased with herself.
To say that Danny was frustrated would be an understatement, he knew as soon as he told Delilah okay that he should have stuck to his guns. At least then he wouldn't be sharing in the blame of what was going to happen. All Danny really would have needed was to send the A-listers home, but no.
At first things were quiet, the cliques had split up and sat around the room. The A-listers had already taken over the couch completely banishing the rest of the class to the floor, and the nerds to the stairs.
Looking around Delilah could already tell what each group was like. The nerds a tightly woven group of outcasts turned friends, the A-listers a forced alliance out of social abligation. A few other groups sat here and there, none very interesting or eye catching. Danny and his friends had already gone up to his room. With a sigh Delilah went to sit on the couch (it was big enough for more people and it WAS her house). It other groups gave her a look as the A-listers glared at her but she turned on the Tv and ignored them, if they wanted to say something they could walk home. She put on the Hallmark channel to catch up on the years of Tv and more importantly, Christmas, she had missed. A few kids groaned when How the Grinch Stole Christmas lit the room and even fewer still sat up to watch the movie, much to the surprise of the other students and even , it was the A-listers that had moved to watch the show. The forced conversations they had hosted came to a stop as they sat up to watch the show.
"Why are we watching this?" Nathan asked.
"Why not?" Kwan shrugged
"It's on every year." One of the other students points out.
"Well, it's the first time I've seen it so, sh." Delilah finalizes.
When Danny and his friends came out the show was almost over. Sam saw it and sat down to watch- she loved the enter Christmas season after all.
"Hey" Danny interrupted "You'll never guess who I found holed up in her room."
"Um? Mom." she joked as Jazz made her way downstairs. "So, when did you get back?"
"Actually I'm just leaving, Mom and Dad are stuck out at convention. They'll be back tonight but I'm going to pick up some stuff for the portal and whatever that thing Dad is trying to build down there."
"Portal?" Valorie asked.
"To the 'Ghost Zone'. My parents think that they can reach the area where the ghosts are coming from." Jazz said over her shoulder as she walked out the door. Danny left out a small groan at her words then a louder one when he realized the his classmates were starting to look for the lab.
"This is a bad idea." Danny pointed out as his classmates filed into the Specter Speeder.
"I am inclined to agree with ." pointed out. Still the students filed in and Delilah sat down in the pilot's a sigh climbed in after them.
Danny glared "Move, I'm driving." Delilah Put her hands up in surrender.
"You know this is all your fault, right?" Danny grumbled at Delilah, who was standing up at the front advising him on where to go.
"Oh, yeah. If I hadn't let them in they would froze to death on the way home and we would have come here by ourselves to go talk with Gran-Gran." She replied quietly, completely unfazed and utterly bored as she gazed out into the Zone not even sparing a glance at Danny.
"Whatever, let's just do a round about then kick them out okay?"
"Ah, no." Paulina spoke up "I'm not leaving until I get to meet the Ghost Boy."
The was a chorus of agreements and requests, Danny sighed.
"The Ghost Zone is far too dangerous and it is more likely to meet Phantom in the human world." He tried.
"Hey, Fenturd. I don't know who put you in charge but you are not. I make the decisions around here not you." Dash yelled pushing his way up front.
Calmly Delilah turned around and faced the class.
"We are turning around and leaving" Her voice blunt and final.
"And who are you to say that we can't be here?" Dash accused
"I'm the girl who will end you if you do not back off. Ha. And it's not like you didn't read what was released to the public."
Suddenly the Specter Speeder shook as violently knocking everybody to the floor. A few people screamed but only the twins were able to get up and do something.
"Real world objects are against the rules, punk."
The Speeder dropped, plummeting to the bottom of the Ghost Zone. The class had a bit of a mixed reaction. Most were in shock, some were unconscious, few were in awe, and one was very pleased with herself.
"Well" she said "That went better than I expected."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Danny exploded "You could have killed us all."
"A what would have happened if HE, got us, huh?"
"Walker isn't that dangerous!"
"Look there are millions of shape shifters in the Zone. Most what my head on a plate, so let me handle it."
"You stranded us at the bottom of the Ghost Zone!"
The class began to panic but Delilah screamed over them. "Danny! Don't scare them! This isn't that bad." Her voice lowered as less people talked. "The bottom of the GZ is also the top so really we only have to work our way down."
Danny's face was still red and his eyes betrayed him.
"Danny, that man up there, is definitely not Walker and would have killed them all anyway. What we have to face now, well" she laughed "it's nothing."
After much complaining and yelling the whole class was on foot following Delilah's lead across the Zone. She had already told them that it would be a long trip and had laid out the way for them, not that they know what any of those places are. The thrusters had accidentally turned on in the fall leaving them far from the portal and since the Far Frozen was closer that's where the final destination was. Plus Delilah reasoned with Danny, the infa-map would allow them to get home in the time that they need rather than where they should be.
"Are we there yet." Paulina whined from the back of the group. "We've been walking for hours!"
"NO" Delilah snapped "We weren't there an hour ago we won't be there in two hours from now. We will be walking for at least three days stopping off to sleep every once in awhile," she said getting tired of the whining from the group as a whole " now, if anyone has anything to say about it, I'll throw you off this rock and let you fall until you hit another rock." The teens silenced quickly at her dangerous tone and walked quietly until they reached the ledge of the long, thin rock.
"Ahh!" a shrill scream was let out as Delilah walked straight to the edge, kicked up one leg and twisted to fall onto her back. She laughed, float in the air above them.
"JUst…" She said simply "Think happy thoughts"
"Not really." Danny threw in "just think about being weightless and floating in the air."
One by one the students, and eventually an overweight teacher, left the ground. Excitement, and some nausea, swept through the crowd as they flew higher into the the green void.
"Why didn't we do this before I ruined my shoes?" Paulina screeched.
"Because I liked listening to you whine." Delilah said sarcastically, as she spun with her legs crossed.
Danny sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "It's dangerous" he said "we can't just be out here floating around. What if we get attacked? There is no way we could defend ourselves while in the air." Paulina was about to say something but huffed in disapproval instead. Danny took the lead this time with Delilah in the back. As they flew cliques started to disappear, the trip was silent almost the whole time since most kids were trying hard to stay in the sky. Some of the slower kids, keep in front of Delilah, she practically pushed. Sam and Tucker were up by Danny talking quietly, they seemed to be joking a little and having fun being able to fly. The quick learners of the class were close behind them, straining most of the average kids in the the fact that most of the kids were clumped up close to the front there was still quite a bit of space between the twins.
The slowest flyer by far was Dash, though if Mr. Lancer stop concentrating for even a second he would fall behind even Dash. When the gap between the group and Dash got too big for Delilah's liking she speed up and grabbed his arm, taking him right next to Kwan.
"Huh? oh, I-I must have spaced out there for a minute."Dash stuttered.
"Yeah, well, you really can't do that while flying" Delilah said rolling her eyes. Now that Dash was moving she could go at a far more bearable pace. Even so she was getting restless, which she knew could only get her into trouble. Delilah spun around it the void performing a few tricks before coming to a stop behind the cluster of humans.
"Hey"
"Oh, um hey Dash? Shouldn't you be up there? Wouldn't want to slow down the group." Delilah said.
"Oh, ah, yeah, um it's just" Dash stuttered
"Wow, such a way with words" She laughed "If you've got something to say just say it."
"Well, it's just that, earlier you were starting to talk about what had happened... in here and… " He started to rush.
"And you have questions." she finished.
"Well, yeah. Everyone does, I mean, how did you survive in this place for so long?"
"It's a long story. If you're lucky I might tell you."
The group came to a stop on another thin stretch of rock, this one though was covered in snow and ice. Tracks came from both directions and few weapons lay aimlessly on the path.
"hmmm" Delilah hummed in confusion. "Maybe the thrusters shot us farther than I originally thought" she yelled up to Danny as she examined the cold surroundings of the path.
"No" Danny said making his way to her "You were definitely right about where we landed"
"Well the zone moves right?" Tucker asked "Maybe that's what happened?"
"If it were that simple it wouldn't be a problem" Delilah shook her head "the Zone moves constantly but..." she sighed in frustration.
"This much change is dangerous" Danny rubbed his chin "Something is happening and it's bad."
"Whatever" Paulina declared from the surrounding crowd "This way there is less walking, which is killer on my pedicure." The crowd mumbled in general agreement; it couldn't be that bad, could it? The A-listers continued on the icy rock, followed apprehensively by the rest of the students. eyed the group before finally attempting to regain control. The twins just shared a worried glance before continuing on their way. As more evidence of a struggle appeared the slower the group moved until they were at a stand still looking just a few yards away at the path's end.
At the end of this path there wasn't a drop off as most of the students expected, but an icy fortress instead. The Yeti guards stood atop the tower of ice and snow, armed with swords and spears. More guards stood in front of the door ready to attack the group of teenagers. Under normal circumstances the Yeti's of the Far Frozen clan would not be so apt to attack. But Frostbite was quick to look over the group of humans, declaring that they were no threat to the clan.
"Welcome, young ones." He greeted. "It seems as though you've come at a desperate time for all of the Ghost Zone. We must hurry if we are to get any of you out of here alive with the second Great War upon us."
"Great War?"
"Like, World War?"
"Who is he?"
"What is he?"
The class began to mumble. Delilah and The trio made their way to the front of the group, the girls plowing the way with determination.
"What happened." Delilah demanded coolly, standing tall and regal, though was thrown off when Frostbite bowed to respond.
"My Lady, the Council is at war." The class stared in awe and confusion. Why was Delilah addressed so formally? She was just a freak like her brother, the A-listers had even joked that her parents accidentally dropped her in the Ghost Zone to begin with. Why would any ghost care about her opinion?
Delilah mulled this over carefully as the class gawked at her, then responded.
"Why" the question came out as more of a statement but the Yeti answered none the less.
"No one knows for certain My Lady, but it appears that quite a few are lobbying for a monarchy; though only a select few extremists want to bring back Pariah Dark."
"Well, that's good." She mumbled thinking out loud "Maybe… no, that would be" She sighed "But if not Pariah, then… or? Would the Council dissolve? That is, just" She combed her hands through her hair sighing "who is winning?"
"No one, My Lady, it is aimless fighting. Battle for the sake of battle. We have already been pushed out of the Far Frozen. The Ghost Zone will continue to change until a victor is crowned, until then not even the Infa-map will be able to keep with the change." Frostbite informed
The class burst into conversation. Wasn't that their way home? What would they do now?
"May we enter?" Delilah asked kindly
"Of course, My Lady." He bowed.
They followed the Yeti creature into the tower. The nerds admired the technology the ghosts possessed; far better than anything they had ever seen before. The trio talked with Frostbite as he lead them through the tower while the rest of the kids talked to their friends about the day they were having. Delilah seemed to have disappeared as soon as the went through the door, going off in another direction grumbling something along the lines of 'gone for less than two full weeks'.
Frostbite lead the children, plus , to a large meeting room near the center of the tower. Food encased in ice sat on tables pushed against the wall. In the center of the room was a long table with plenty of chairs for everyone.
"Danny?" Delilah poked her head into the room "Get Sam and Tucker, then follow me. We've got a problem."
"What?" Danny asked closing the door behind him and his friends.
"The Council wants a Halfa to rule the Ghost Zone. That's why they are at war." Delilah hissed.
"So?" Tucker shrugged
"So the Council, which each member represents a whole section of the Ghost Zone, is split. Meaning the sections are split. Each member wants someone different, for the most part. A few who want the old king back have banned together, but thankfully that's the one thing everyone else is willing to come together to prevent."
"Who exactly do they want they take over." Danny asked slowly.
"Mostly the Elders, but most of them are too out of touch with the human world for what they seem to want?" She sighed. "And none of them would actually take the spot anyway, so, what's the point. Anyway that's not the important part." she shook her head.
"It's not" Sam asked
"No, the Far Frozen and Clockwork, and by extension the Observants, are lobbying for you, Danny. Their party is actually growing. You did defeat Pariah, which means technically, you are the king."
"I can't be king!" Danny exclaimed
"You might not get a choice."
They continued unaware of the eavesdroppers behind the door.
"Danny is going to be a king?"
"What's a Halfa?"
"Why would anyone want Fenturd to lead them."
"Ah! I could be a Queen. Danny is totally in love with me."
The class mumbled and theorized. In the back though Valorie came to a conclusion.
"Fenton, Phantom. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom, they look almost identical." She mumbled just a bit too loud. The class gasped.
"That does explain a lot." realized, rubbing his chin he continued "The slipping grades, the bruises, even the sleeping in class."
The group starred as the two Halfas and their friends came back into the room, Sam and Delilah still arguing.
"No he can not!" Sam screamed in finality that was completely lost on Delilah.
"Why not he would do a great job and he wouldn't be doing it alone!"
"Weren't you listening he doesn't want to!"
"That's only because-"
"You are Danny and Drifa Phantom." Dash stated interrupting the screaming match.
The room froze in shock, sure they knew about Danny but no one else had quite made the connection between Drifa and Delilah, who just laughed.
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