Alright, this is so lame it's not even funny! Okay, it is a little funny but I'm basically just going to be throwing in chapters here to delay the inevitable end for as long as possible.
Um, have I done a disclaimer? I don't remember. Anyway, I don't own Danny, Sam, Tucker, the Ghost Zone, Jak or Maddie Fenton, Jazz, Casper High, Lancer, Dash, Quan, or anything associated with the Danny Phantom show! I think that about covers my butt for a disclaimer.
Four: Fangs; Ouch That Hurts!
"So, really now, you're not worried about giant ghost cats coming out of the Ghost Zone to hunt down you and Danny; and possibly us; and that could also easily level half of Amity Park if they really wanted to?" Tucker asked, not looking away from the big screen TV where he and his best friend were fighting off hordes of enemies in the Co-op Mode of 'Ratchet: Deadlocked'. The four of them were at Sam's house, hanging out just for the heck of it; not that Amethyst understood what 'hanging out' was.
"Nope." Amethyst replied, not looking away from the screen either, utterly fascinated with the concept of video games, "Yokai Tabbies act tough but are cowards by nature. I'd be worried if it was sub-clans of Yokai Dragon or Yokai Bull; they're the most powerful Clans in the Yokai Ghost Zone pits."
"Yeah, well, I still don't like how nonchalant you two are acting." Sam put in, coming down the stairs with four cans of ice cold lemonade, "Who wants lemonade?"
"Me!" Danny paused the game, dropped the controller, and snatched a can from Sam's hands, "Thanks Sam!"
Tucker grabbed one too and Sam handed the third to Amethyst. The fox girl looked at it questioningly and sniffed it. Sam half-smiled and opened the can for her.
"Hey Tuck, watch this!" Danny turned intangible and put the unopened can to his lips, the end of the can turned intangible as well and all the lemonade fell into Danny's open mouth. He turned tangible again and set the empty, unopened can down with a laugh, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, "How do you like that!?"
"That was awesome dude!" Tucker high-fived him, "Now fill it with something else and put it back in the fridge!"
"Oh, I know! Fill it with something nasty and give it to Dash!" The two boys laughed whole-heartedly, falling over into each other's laps and off the couch. Amethyst sneered at them and Sam frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"Idiots." She muttered and turned to Amethyst "So, how's school?"
"Eh…" The ghost fox shrugged, "It's weird being surrounded by so many people and not fighting them. This place is so much more different from the Ghost Zone I know that I still feel lost, no matter what you guys do for me." She stretched, setting down the half-empty lemonade, "And I need to get out of this body…! I feel so confined!"
"Well, my parents are too busy upstairs, they rarely come down here anyway, and Grandma's sleeping so…"Sam glanced at Danny who shrugged and nodded, "I guess it's okay for you to 'go fox' (Danny made a face at these words) as long as you keep it small."
Amethyst didn't respond, just clasped her hands around the gem on her neck and closed her eyes. A blinding flash of crimson light erupted and a fox the size of a Welsh Corgi was perched on the back of the couch, tail held high, tongue lolling out, violet eyes alight.
"You know, you look pretty cute when you're a tiny fox!" Tucker commented as he and Danny scrambled off the floor and back onto the couch, "Not all that formidable looking either, I might add…!"
"I'm glad somebody appreciates the size difference." Amethyst responded, stretching again and leaping onto Danny's shoulder, "What is the point of this game video?"
"It's video game." Danny muttered, "And will you please get your tail out of my face? I can't see the screen!"
"Ha! Danny! You got killed by a little guy! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Shut up, Tucker!"
"Danny is dead? But he's right here? How can he be dead if he is here?"
"Not literally, Amethyst, his character in the game's been totaled by one of the weakest enemies out there…!"
"Quit laughing Sam! Amethyst! Get…OFF!"
"Don't you dare push me around like that again, Halfa, or I'll bite you and that's the last thing you want to happen!"
"Why!? You got rabies!?"
"Don't sneer at me! And no I don't!"
"Quit fighting! It's like watching a bad sitcom!"
"What is a sitcom?"
They all ended up laughing, the game forgotten, Danny ranting on about how he was always getting the sour end of the deal. But he had to admit, they made a good team and for once it was nice to have someone else with ghost powers on his side, watching his back, instead of trying to shoot it. He breathed out heavily, leaning back on the couch with Tucker, Sam, and the fox-formed Amethyst, all of them wiping tears from their eyes from laughing so hard, and smiled at his friends. They all smiled back which was slightly disconcerting coming from Amethyst.
"SAMANTHA!" Sam winced as the voice of her parents echoed down that stairs, "SAMANTHA!" Sam stood and motioned for Amethyst to change back into her human form as footsteps coming towards became louder. Amethyst leapt off the couch and, as she did so, changed into her red-haired girl form. Danny and Tucker stood up as well, looking slightly nervous. Sam's parents weren't very fond of Fenton and Foley.
"Sam," Said the Goth girl's mother, "What is all that racket!?" She saw Danny and Tucker, "Oh, I see…! Well, tell your friends they need to go home! It's time for supper!"
"Whatever." Sam muttered and made a face at her mother as she went back up the stairs, "Sorry about that guys."
"No problem!" Tucker waved his hand through the air, brushing Sam's apology aside, "We get your mom, she's nuts…!"
"See ya' Sam!" Danny slung his backpack over his shoulders and gave her a high-five, "And you too Amethyst." He held out his hand and she reached out hesitantly to shake it. Danny grinned, released her hand, winked at Sam, and left with Tucker. Sam watched them go before turning to Amethyst who had a look on her face like she knew something that Sam didn't.
"What?" Sam asked, "What's that look for?"
"You like him." The fox-girl breathed, the smallest traces of a giggle in her voice, "You like the halfa…!"
"What!? No, we're just…good friends!"
"Alright then!" Amethyst skipped lightly ahead, almost gliding over the carpet, "But I can smell that you're lying…!" And she gave a hoot of laughter as Sam howled in mock-fury, chasing her up the stairs.
----
Danny waved Tucker good-bye and headed for his own house, whistling randomly, when his ghost sense went off. He froze, hands on the straps of his pack, not moving. The hairs on the back of his neck rose; someone was watching him. Not another Yokai Tabby. Not now. Not this late…! Not by himself…
"What're you doing out here on the street by yourself?" Asked a thickly accented, deep voice, "It's dangerous."
Danny spun on his heels, black hair sliding over half of his face so that he had to shove it out of the way again. His blue eyes locked upon a tall, heavily built man with greasy looking dirt brown hair that was spiked, broad sideburns, and the starting of a goatee. He wore a dark colored business suit with a cream colored under shirt and a black tie. The tie had a pin on it; a small sapphire stone ringed in gold. A hint of a smile was tracing his lips and his eyes flashed a golden-brown tinted with hints of green; they seemed to glow in the light from the street lamps.
"Who're you?" Danny interrogated, suspicious, he knew about every single person in this town and he'd never seen this guy before.
"Mr. Timothy Chris, at your service." He gave a half-bow and, as he straitened, Danny saw the flash of the letters 'T.C.' on his tie, "Now, young man, why're you out here on the street so late at night and so alone?"
There was something in his voice other than concern but Danny couldn't put his finger on it.
"I was visiting a friend and we lost track of time."
"Ah, youth…!" Timothy chuckled but it seemed false, "Such as it was, I remember a time when I would-."
"Look, man, I don't really care." Ever subtle Danny interrupted, "And you're starting to freak me out and I don't like it! If you want something just say it." The feeling in his gut was saying there was still a ghost nearby and it was only a matter of time before it showed up and then he'd have to get away from this old nut case!
"What's your name, boy?"
"Why do you care?"
"Curious, that's all."
"Danny Fenton."
"Well Danny…" A shadow passed over Timothy's face, "Do you like cats?"
"Wha-?" Something slammed Danny to the ground and he coughed as all the air rushed out of his lungs. Long silver claws sank into the concrete on either side of his head, hot smelly breath wafted over him, glowing golden eyes bore into his own terrified blue ones, and the street lights glittered off thick plates of steel armor. Another Yokai Tabby was pinning him to the sidewalk. Timothy Chris walked around the side of the great beast, laying a hand on its furry leg.
"You see, Danny Fenton, I pride myself on always catching my prey," The pupils of his eyes became slits and sharp, feline fangs replaced his teeth, "And I've been hunting that Yokai Fox for a while now…"
"Y-you're…beginning…t-to sound like…S-Skulker…!" Danny wheezed and the Yokai Tabby on top of him pressed down harder with its paw, making him cry out.
"And you're beginning to get on my very short nerves, halfa!" Snarled Timothy, "I want that Yokai girl and I will get her! Tell me where she is!"
"Heh…!" Danny smirked, "Like I'd ever tell you!" A flash of light and he turned into Danny Phantom, going intangible and sinking into the ground. The Yokai Tabby lifted its paw in confusion, wondering where it's the little mouse it had been playing had disappeared to. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light and the Tabby was pulled underground. Actually, it was pulled into the Fenton Thermos, which Danny slapped the cap onto as he rose from the ground and glared at Timothy.
"Are you allies with the Yokai Tabbies!?" He snapped, green eyes blazing, "What's your problem!?"
"You are very close, Danny Fenton-or should I say Phantom…!" The strange man's ears melted into cat-like ones and a thin furry tail uncurled behind him, "I've decided you just might be worth my time…!"
Next time on 'Melody in Red'
Danny: Okay, I swear never to screw with EmptyHeart's preview studio anymore!
Amethyst: Danny, where are your cloths?
Sam and Tucker: (falling over with laughter because Danny's only in his boxers)
Danny: (blushes) EmptyHeart let me go as long as she got my cloths…
Tucker: Danny, dude, can't you just 'go ghost'?
Danny: Oh yeah! (goes ghost) Ah, I feel complete!
Sam: Well, now that that whole situation's been sorted out, can we do something productive with this time we've got after every chapter?
Tucker: Productive? Danny? Oh, please!
Danny: I resent that, Tuck…!
Amethyst: Let's play a game video!
Sam, Tucker, and Danny: (forehead slap)