The Ghost Writer! Everyone's beloved, one-episoded, holiday character! Enjoy!
Thanks to Epona Harper for beta reading!
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"BOX GHOST!" The entire hallway echoed with rage from the ghostly warden that had just returned from his trip to the real world. Walker stormed past different cells, causing his passage sending a gust of frigid air into each one.
Every prisoner who had their head in between the bars quickly withdrew to the farthest corners of their empty and cold cells. The Ghost Writer was one of those prisoners. He had a jail cell right next to the Box Ghost. This should be interesting, he thought.
"I-the Box Ghost-am here to claim thanks and an apology from the ruler of this box of iron and a free ticket out of this square-like place!" the Box Ghost shouted with confidence, completely oblivious to the Warden's mood, even when Walker grabbed him, dragged him out of the cell and threw him against the wall.
"YOU IDIOTIC, LYING, OBNOXIOUS, PUNK!" Walker shouted, grabbing the Box Ghost again. He yelped in pain as he was thrown into the Ghost Writer's cell bars, and again when Walker tossed him down the hall.
Getting up, the Box Ghost backed up against the wall behind him, desperately trying to get away from Walker. In the process he hit a button on the wall, and Walker didn't realize it until after all the jail cells opened…
The Ghost Writer was one of the first to notice. The instant the bars vanished, he glanced around at the other freed ghosts. Suddenly, there was a mob flying from the cells, bowling over the Walker and his guards as they made for the door.
The Box Ghost was already gone, either fleeing the moment Walker's attention was diverted by the doors or when he was tackled by at least five prisoners. Either way, there was chaos, and a really easy escape route.
The Ghost Writer smiled. Now he had his chance to get revenge on Phantom. If what the Box Ghost said was true, this was going to be a piece of cake.
---
"No," Tucker said bluntly to a panicking Sam. Lunch was almost over and the three were desperately trying to come up with a plan to find Danny.
"But Tucker—" Sam said defensively.
"No, Sam," Tucker repeated. His arms were crossed and his face was firm as he looked at his best friend. Jazz was sitting at the table; head in her hands. Her abandoned cell phone lay in front of her, and she looked deep in thought so she obviously wasn't paying any attention to Sam and Tucker's argument.
"Tucker there's just a few more hours of school left…how much trouble can we get in?" Sam looked like she was having a hard time not smacking Tucker. She kept fidgeting with her fingers and pacing the grass. Tucker leaned on the table next to Jazz and sighed.
"Remember your Circus Gothica thing?" he asked, Sam raised an eyebrow. "That was just a couple hours too, a couple humiliating hours of dressing up like you, pretending to be a girl, and getting caught by Mr. Lancer." Sam frowned.
"This is different though!"
"You're not skipping school Sam!" Tucker stopped her.
"I'm not," She said, smiling wickedly. "We are… as in me, you, and—" she glanced over at the empty seat at their lunch table. "Jazz?" Tucker looked at where Danny's sister had previously been and his face fell.
"Where did she go?" he asked, looking around the table and even under it.
"Over there!" Sam pointed after a few seconds of searching. Jazz was heading over to her car and already attempting to open the door. Tucker and Sam ran over to her.
"What are you doing?" they asked in unison.
"Finding Danny," she responded. "Get in." Sam flashed Tucker a look of triumph before getting into Jazz's car.
---
Danny yawned. He was tired, and he didn't even know how he ended up at the mall. Phasing is a tricky ability sometimes. When you go through the ground without a clear destination, you can end up almost anywhere.
He went into a massive building full of people. Some of them did notice him, but he found it annoying that most kept their distance (except for the rare person who came to ask if he was lost).
Walking into a store called, Mirror World, he glanced at his reflection and smiled a goofy grin. He had to stand on his toes just to see himself, but he still giggled at the sight.
Without any warning, his image began to swirl. About to doze off, he quickly rubbed his eyes. Danny was having too much fun to go to sleep now…
But it wasn't his vision. His image really was swirling, and, when it returned to normal, his reflection wasn't staring at him anymore.
Danny found himself staring at a man with skin so pale it was almost blue. His eerily jet-black hair was extremely messy and almost came down to his face. He was dressed in winter clothes which was weird seeing as it was spring.
"Do you remember me Danny?" The Ghost Writer asked. Danny stepped away from the mirror, mouth slightly agape. His eyes widened with fear. He backed up into another mirror.
"You destroyed my greatest work…" the voice whispered into the toddler's ear. Danny flipped around and fell to the ground. The Ghost Writer was now in the mirror he bumped into.
"I got revenge for that…" He said, grinning mischievously. "But I still need vengeance for something else you destroyed…"
"Excuse me!" snapped an irritated sounding voice. Danny's head shot up to see the store manager. "There are way too many delicate items in here! No children allowed unless supervised by an adult." The store manager looked around, trying to spot the supposed guardian.
"Where are your—" he started to say, looking down at Danny; or at least, the spot he had been. The little toddler was completely gone, without a trace. That kid was fast… in fact, in was almost like he disappeared… the manager laughed at the thought and went over to the phone at the front counter…
Danny reappeared behind another mirror. Glancing over the edge, he saw the man who was now on the phone with someone apparently important.
"You broke my keyboard Daniel," The Ghost Writer continued, completely ignoring the fact the manager interrupted. Speaking of the manager, he hung up the phone and the loud speaker came on.
"WOULD MALL SECURITY PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR A CHILD AROUND THE AGE OF TWO? HE WAS LAST SEEN AT MIRROR WORLD AND DISAPPEARED BEFORE THE MANAGER COULD GET HIM. HE'S DRESSED LIKE… UH… HE'S DRESSED LIKE DANNY PHANTOM… THANK YOU…"
There was a faint laughter before the loud speaker cut off. Danny's head shot up at his name. However looking up, he saw the Ghost Writer's face in the mirror he was hiding behind. His face was twisted in a smile. Purple fog wrapped around Danny's tiny body.
"Revenge can be found in many ways child," The Ghost Writer smiled, and Danny closed his eyes tight…
When he opened them, he wasn't in Mirror World anymore. He was somewhere in the center of the mall on a ledge with plants and a weird statue of a hawk. People didn't take too much notice of him though.
"Daniel's fate became quite clear,
When he first glanced into my magic mirror.
Instead of seeing his toddler face,
He saw me and was sent to this wretched place."
Danny searched for the voice that seemed to be coming from all directions. He smiled when he saw the man floating above him with that wicked smile on his face.
"Who are you?" Danny asked cheerfully. The Ghost Writer still did freak him out a little bit, but other than that, he wasn't so bad. And he hadn't tried to hurt him yet… so he couldn't be mean.
"I am the Ghost Writer!" the ghost shouted, causing a few people in the mall to look up. They stared right at the flying man, but apparently couldn't see him.
"I write stories… and mainly use my enemies to help." He looked down at Danny, expecting fear. Instead, he saw him smiling his enormous, joyous smile.
"You write stories!" he asked. "Just like Mother Goose!" The Ghost Writer nodded.
"Yes, just like… wait a minute… No! Not like Mother Goose!" Danny was jumping up and down.
"Tell a story! Tell a story! Tell a story!" he sang. "Just like the one with the three people that are all freaky-looking attack a poor little pretty girl who gets saved by some person that she likes, but doesn't know it's also the person that she hates!"
The Ghost Writer's face was blank with confusion. There was an awkward silence between the author and the toddler.
"What Mother Goose story have you been reading?" he asked after a few seconds. The boy must've pulled that story from a memory of his. But the Box Ghost said that he didn't remember anything. Walker did call him a liar though… maybe that's what he meant.
Danny giggled as he jumped off the ledge. A few people were taking notice of him now. Particularly because he matched the description given over the PA.
"Excuse me little boy." An old lady grabbed Danny's arm. "Are you lost?"
"Nope!" he said cheerfully. "Mother Goose is watching me!" Danny fell into a giggle fit, and the woman attempted to pick him up.
"There, there sweetie," she said, getting annoyed at the struggling toddler. "We'll find your parents soon…" Danny finally phased through the woman's arms and started to run.
"I said I'm not lost old lady!" Danny yelled behind him at the woman who was no where near catching up to the toddler. He reached the escalator and stopped with hesitation.
Slowly putting one foot on the first stair, his feet began to get separated extremely far apart. Panicking, he pulled it back and nearly fell down the moving stairs. He probably would have too if he wasn't caught by that woman that was following him before.
"It's okay sweetheart I got you," she said, again attempting to pick him up. Danny was getting annoyed now, and again began to squirm.
"Honey, hold still and you won't fall down the—"
Too late.
Danny pulled really hard and began to fall forward. Swinging his arms frantically to regain balance, he tripped and was about to smash on the first step of escalator. The woman tried to snag him, but it was no use. She screamed as she saw the little boy about to fall to that which would be his death. She screamed louder when Danny caught himself in midair, inches from the revolving stairs.
He was on his back, hovering just over the moving treads. Flipping over on his belly, he began to half-wiggle, half-swim in the air. He was flying yes, but his balance was terrible. Flipping upside-down, he smiled at the wide-eyed, horrorstruck woman.
"How'd you get upside-down silly!" he asked and giggled again. The woman had a surprising strong scream for her age. It rang through the mall just before she fainted.
"She must be tired…" Danny said, trying to get right-side-up but failing miserably. "Silly old lady!"
"Stuck?" the familiar voice of the Ghost Writer asked. Danny looked up (well, down seeing as he was still upside-down). He smiled his big goofy grin and giggled.
"HI MOTHER GOOSE!" he shouted cheerfully. The Ghost Writer slapped his forehead and rubbed his temples.
"Stop calling me that!" he snapped, and his eyes turned a solid color. A banner that said you should buy Old Army clothing came off its hinges and wrapped around Danny. The sign acted like a snake and constricted the little toddler.
"Poor Danny Phantom, small with no manners,
Can't take on snake-like banners!
I'm going to make it so he has no hope,
Is he going to beat me…?"
Danny lost the very little concentration he had on flying and fell down the escalator wrapped up in the fabric.
"…That's a nope!"
He landed with an 'Oomph' and furiously struggled to get out of the thick material that was slowly starting to suffocate him. A few passersby saw the commotion and came over to pull at the fabric. A crowd was gathering around the trapped toddler and his would-be rescuers. Everyone nearly panicked when the squirming stopped.
The three men pulled desperately at the material now, and fear of finding a dead or unconscious little toddler under the mess started to grow. But, the harder they pulled, the tighter the banner seemed to wrap around.
"Need help?" a small voice asked. The crowd looked up at what looked like a miniature version of Danny Phantom: the same little toddler that was supposed to be nearly suffocating in the banner.
"Haha!" Danny giggled pointing to the banner. "That looks like a taco! TACO, TACO, TACO!" he jumped up and down chanting.
"How did you—?" a man who had nearly half of the fabric wrapped around in his hands asked.
"Where did you—?" another man begun. He then looked down at the banner only to find it empty. Maniacal laughter filled the mall as the Ghost Writer appeared above the assembled group of people, obviously not caring if people saw him anymore.
"Okay, Phantom, so you can use your powers." The Ghost Writer raised his hands in the air and the weird statue of the hawk came to life. "But that doesn't mean you can beat me…"
"Wait!" One of the bystanders picked Danny up. "This is Phantom? As in… Danny Phantom?" Again Danny's head shot around at the sound of his name. He smiled enormously as he looked at the person holding him.
"YUP!" he shouted cheerfully. "How does everyone know my name?" The hawk that the Ghost Writer animated swooped down and snatched Danny out of the man's hands. Fear swept through the crowd as the statue bird threw Danny through a store window. A cloud of dust billowed out of Carpet Cleaners.
"Phantom?" the Ghost Writer asked at last when the quiet started to get to him. Then the bird squawked and shot out of the cloud with Danny riding on its back. Flipping upside-down, it squawked louder when Danny held on and shouted his usual, WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The bird and the toddler banked sharply and crashed into the ghostly author.
The Ghost Writer didn't even notice the item in Danny's hands…
The hawk shot upward and flipped again, this time bouncing off the ceiling, dislodging Danny who fell right on top of the Ghost Writer. The bird crashed into the wall and smashed into a thousand pieces.
"Hey, Mother Goose," he shouted happily. "Look what I found!"
"I said don't call me…" the Ghost Writer snarled but froze when he saw the item in the child's hands. "…that…" It was a vacuum. A Super Deluxe Vacuum, whatever the heck that meant. Danny turned it on and it sucked the Ghost Writer right up…
Danny fell to the ground as he support vanished.
"Mother Goose?" he asked, and, hearing no response, he threw the occupied vacuum behind him and walked out of the mall with the same bored and tired expression he had when he first came in there…
The Box Ghost never flew so fast in his afterlife. What the heck got into Walker? He didn't even do anything! He was just repeating what Brittney said...
Again the Box Ghost was so caught up in thought that he didn't notice the other ghosts that were around him…in this case, Penelope Spectra and her assistant Bertrand.
"Excuse you!" Spectra shouted, glaring evilly at the Box Ghost when he bumped into her. She was wearing her natural, black shadow form. Rumor has it that she had been in an incredibly foul mood ever since Danny tricked her into the whole 'Here's my DNA' thing. Bad story, not going to go there.
The Box Ghost didn't know much about Spectra, but he did know that she was really good at making people miserable. Not wanting to feel worse than he already did, he decided to share his little secret with the duo. Who knows? Maybe something good will come out of this after all.
Smiling, he looked at the shadow lady and the green blob.
"Why are you smiling?" Bertrand asked. "Are you happy?" Spectra glared at the obnoxious ghost.
"Where going to have to fix that now aren't we…"
"Wait shadow lady of destruction and misery." The Box Ghost raised his hand in the air and smiled at the confused look on the duo's face. "Are you two still angry at Danny Phantom?" Bertrand and Spectra looked at each other, then back at the Box Ghost. Both of them nodded.
"Then do I have news for you…"
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Spectra and Bertrand are next. Danny's gonna get sugar-high! Hey, the boy needs an energy boast. What better way than coffee?
-angelofsuspense