Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Gravity Falls, or any character from either cartoon.
The Ghost and the Lumberjane
Chapter 1: Preston's Plan
"Preston, I'm worried." Mrs. Northwest told her husband. "This year's party marks the 150th anniversary of Northwest Manor. What if your ancestor's warnings about the Lumberjack's ghost were well-founded?"
"Don't worry, my dear." Preston comforted his wife. "That's why I'm calling professionals."
"Do you mean the Guys in White?" Mrs. Northwest asked.
"The Government?" Mr. Northwest asked like his wife was stupid for suggesting that. "Of course not! Who knows what they would find if allowed to search our manor?"
"Sorry, Preston." His wife said. "I wasn't thinking."
"Priscilla, the professionals I meant are Jack and Maddie Fenton." Preston told his wife.
"The ghost hunters from Amity Park?" Priscilla asked in shock. "Is that why we're inviting rich people from that town?"
"Now you're thinking, Priscilla." Preston commented with a happy tone. "That town's Mayor, a Vladimir Masters, is an old friend of Jack Fenton's from their college days, not to mention he's even richer than us; and the Mansons have a daughter around the same age as the Fentons' son Daniel, as well as the heirs to the inventor of some device that made them a fortune. That will make sure the Fentons will come."
"Splendid idea, Preston." Priscilla commented.
Days later, Danny was talking to his best friend Samantha "Sam" Manson through the phone. "A Lumberjack's ghost? Really?"
"Yeah, Danny." Sam answered. "I've read about him in my books. One hundred and fifty years ago, Nathaniel Northwest, founder of Gravity Falls, Oregon, hired the local lumberjacks to build a manor and, to convince them to accept the job, promised them that his family would host a party every year for the citizens of Gravity Falls. Once those lumberjacks finished their work, he broke his word and only invited upper-class citizens. One of those lumberjacks, a man named Archibald Corduroy, kept banging on the manor's closed gates after the others left, causing him to be caught in a great flood that took place that very same night. That very same flood caused a stray axe to hit his head, and his last words were a threat that, 150 years later, his ghost will return and exact vengeance on the Northwests unless they honor their ancestor's promise."
"Are you telling me a ghost is threatening people over a promise broken before those people were born?" Danny asked, disgusted at the idea.
"Don't worry, son." Jack Fenton intervened. "No ghost attacks people protected by Jack Fenton!"
"Good to know, Dad." Danny replied and then resumed talking to Sam. "So, what do you know about the currently living Northwests?"
"Their patriarch is Preston Northwest and the only other Northwests I know of are his wife Priscilla and their pre-teen daughter Pacifica." Sam answered. "Keeping up with tradition, they invite rich people for their Northwest Fest every year. My parents are excited for finally having their turn." She said in disgust.
"Sammykins, stop talking to your loser friend and help me picking the dresses you're going to wear at the Northwest Fest." Her mother Pamela ordered. "The Northwests might have invited rich boys around your age."
"I hope not." Sam grumbled. "Gotta go, Danny. Bye."
"Bye, Sam." Danny replied and turned his attention towards his Dad. "So, are you and mom going straight to Northwest Manor to talk to Mr. Northwest?"
"No, son." Jack answered. "Some of Archibald Corduroy's living descendants live in Gravity Falls and the four of us are going to meet them first."
"Okay." Danny replied and then it clicked in what Jack said. "Dad, did you say four of us?"
"I sure did, son." Jack happily answered. "Hunting ghosts in a place like Gravity Falls is an experience the whole family must enjoy."
"Why is Gravity Falls so special in comparison to other places you and Mom could look for ghosts at, Dad?" Danny's sister Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton asked.
"Kids, Gravity Falls is the center of practically every supernatural phenomenon one could think!" Jack eagerly replied.
"In fact, if your father and I had no specific supernatural creature we were interested in, we'd have moved to Gravity Falls instead of settling here." Maddie added.
"Have you ever been there before?" Danny asked his parents.
"Yes." Jack sadly answered. "Your mother and I once went there to compare notes with Dr. Stanford Pines, a scientist with 12 PhDs who moved there in the Eighties to study the local anomalies or so we were told."
"When we met him, he turned out to be a hack running a tourist trap." Maddie added. "He laughed at us and didn't seem like he ever believed in the supernatural."
"All those years without finding anything must've destroyed his faith." Jazz commented.
"His faith and the grant he received from Backupsmore University, Jazz." Her father commented back.
"His PhDs are from Backupsmore?" Jazz asked. "No wonder he couldn't get a better job."
"Anyway, kids, if you see a place called 'Mystery Shack' or 'Mystery Hack' in Gravity Falls, stay away from it." Jack told Danny and Jazz.
"Mystery Hack?" Danny asked in confusion.
"A letter fell off the sign and still wasn't placed back the last time we were there." Maddie explained. "Probably his way to admit he's a hack."
"Anyway, let's pack!" Jack said.
One road trip later, they stopped at a place called Greasy's Diner. "Let's stop here, kids!" Jack Fenton said. "They have food."
"What kind of restaurant feels the need to say that?" Jazz asked her brother.
"The kind Dad eats in?" Danny guessed.
"Point." Jazz commented.
As the Fentons entered Greasy's, Jack noticed an ad about winning free pancakes. "Cool!" He exclaimed. "How do I win those pancakes?"
"By passing our manliness test, stranger." A lady who seemed to have a lazy eye answered. Thanks to her uniform, the Fentons figured out she worked at Greasy's.
"Okay, then." Jack replied and tested his manliness.
"Congratulations, stranger." The lady said. "You didn't reach Manly Dan levels but you passed. The free pancakes are yours."
The locals cheered in spite of the winner being an outsider. "Thank you." Jack said. "Now, can my family try to win the next pancakes?"
"Sorry, but the offer is restricted to one pile of pancakes per day but you can share yours with them." The lady said.
"Okay." Jack replied and took a seat with his wife and kids. 'Nice fella.' She thought. 'Too bad he's already married.'
Right after the Fentons started eating their pancakes, a burly man followed by a girl and three boys entered the place. The five of them were wearing flannel shirts. "Okay, family." The burly man said. "Time to eat… Lazy Susan, what happened to the free pancakes?"
"That stranger had just won them, Manly Dan." The lady Jack Fenton had previously talked to answered.
"Fine, I'll just buy some." Manly Dan grumbled and pulled some cash. After paying for his pancakes, he led his family to a table next to the one taken by the Fentons. Manly Dan also stopped by said table to talk to Jack. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, Manly Dan, right?" Jack replied and Manly Dan nodded. "Daniel Corduroy?"
"Yeah." Manly Dan grunted. "What's it to you?"
"Mr. Corduroy, I'm Jack Fenton." Jack introduced himself. "My wife Maddie and I came here to investigate the Lumberjack's Ghost."
"Tell the Northwests that, ghost or no ghost, they should have honored the promise Nathaniel Northwest made to the lumberjacks of his time." Manly Dan grumbled.
Meanwhile, the Corduroy girl caught the eye of the Fenton boy. "Do you like what you see, dude?" The girl asked.
"I... er… I mean…" The boy tried to reply.
"I'll take that for a yes." The girl said. "I'm Wendy Corduroy. What about you?"
"No, I'm not." Danny answered and then realized what he just said. "I mean, I'm Danny Fenton."
"And we're Wendy's brothers." One of the three boys with her said as they stared at Danny. "I'm Marcus."
"I'm Kevin."
"And I'm Gus."
"And who's that girl with you, Danny?" Marcus asked upon looking at Jazz.
"I'm his sister Jazz." Jazz answered.
"Well, Jazz, as I told your brother, I'm Marcus." Marcus reintroduced himself. "How about we…"
"No." Was Jazz's blunt reply.
"Burn." Wendy said with a smile. "So, Danny, how long are you staying in Gravity Falls?"
"At least until this year's Northwest Fest ends, Wendy." Danny answered.
"Dude, Archibald Corduroy might be reasoned with if a family member is there with you." Wendy suggested.
"It's a date!" Danny quickly replied without thinking it over.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A boy who just entered Greasy's screamed in terror.
"Dipper, I thought Wendy had already friend zoned you." A girl who looks like his twin sister said.
"I'm still digesting it, Mabel." Dipper replied.
Jack Fenton frowned upon recognizing the old man with the two kids. "Stanford Pines." He said in disgust.
"How do you know my name?" Stanford Pines asked and then grew worried. "You're not working for Rico, are you?"
Dipper smiled upon recognizing him. "Grunkle Stan, that's Jack Fenton! He and his wife Maddie Fenton hunt ghosts in Amity Park, Illinois."
"Oh, I recognize you now." Grunkle Stan said upon remembering the previous time he met the Fenton couple. "Still hunting 'ghosts'?"
"Was I that rude back when I was skeptical?" Jazz asked.
"Kinda." Maddie uneasily answered.
"Still wasting your PhDs in a tourist trap, Pines?" Jack asked back.
"Grunkle Stan has PhDs?" Dipper asked Mabel.
"He must've stolen them." Mabel guessed.
"Ha!" Jack laughed. "Even your family knows what a hack you are!"
"Mr. Fenton, what brings your family to Gravity Falls?" Dipper asked Jack.
"Well, Dipper, isn't it?" Jack asked and Dipper nodded. "We're here because Preston Northwest needs help with the Lumberjack's Ghost."
"Lumberjack's Ghost?" Dipper asked in confusion and Wendy explained about her ancestor from the pioneer days. "Wow, Nathaniel Northwest was a jerk."
"True, but Preston Northwest wasn't even born by the time Nathaniel Northwest started this mess." Jack replied, feeling the need to defend the person who called for his help.
"May I go with you?" Dipper eagerly asked Jack. "I never saw a ghost before."
"And I've never seen a fancy home before." Mabel added, earning a glare from Dipper. "What? Mystery Twins, remember?"
At that point, Maddie decided to intervene. "Pre-teens on a ghost hunt? I don't think any parents would approve it."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Fenton." Mabel said. "We're spending this summer with Grunkle Stan and he's an uncle, not a parent."
"Still sounds too dangerous." Stan commented. "I won't let you kids go unless I'm going with you."
"Deal!" Jack eagerly replied. 'Hopefully it'll restore his belief in the supernatural.'
"Just make sure he won't steal the silverware." Wendy said and giggled. "I'm serious."
"Do you wanna get fired?" Stan asked with a threatening tone.
"Do you work for him?" Danny asked in surprise.
"It was either this or spending summer at my cousin's logging camp." Wendy explained.
"I wonder if she made the right choice." Manly Dan commented.
"Yeah, she'd find manlier boyfriends among those working with our cousin." Kevin added.
"Kevin, I know my namesake doesn't look like much now but look at his father." Manly Dan told Kevin. "That's how huge that boy can become in the future."
'Mr. Corduroy's creeping me out, and I fight ghosts.' Danny thought as the idea of becoming as 'huge' as Jack scared him.
"Even if Danny Fenton remains skinny, he's still an upgrade from Robbie." Marcus said and practically every Gravity Falls resident at Greasy's agreed.
Gus then approached Danny. "Danny, speaking of how a person's looks improve over time, would you like to see what Wendy used to look like back when she used to wear braces?"
"Don't you dare, Gus." Wendy angrily demanded.
"I wept because I had a little brother, until I saw a girl who had three." Jazz joked, earning a glare from her brother.
End chapter.