Last part of SD. :( READ NOTE AT THE BOTTOM.
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Abby and Danny flew over a trashed landscape. A rough path was chiseled into the ground.
"I'm not an expert, but I'd say he came through here," Abby speculated sarcastically. Danny ignored her, used to her sarcastic quips by now. That, and it really wouldn't be fair to snap at her since he had said similar things often during his youth…and nowadays, too. "Where are we, anyway?"
"About 37 miles out from Amity Park," Danny answered, still searching.
"Huh, that's weird," Abby suddenly muttered.
Danny looked at her curiously. "What's weird?"
"Usually, Shadow is tagging along by now. Not that I'm complaining." She glanced behind her for emphasis.
"The kid's a human-er, ghost-electricity generator," Danny replied. "I don't think he'd…"
Zap!
"I spoke too soon." The two turned around only to find Shadow glaring at an uprooted electrical wire that had found his charge and took electricity from him. Danny sighed. "I thought you were staying out of the way until the charge died off!" he called back.
Shadow lifted his eyes from the cable toward Danny. "I was," he started, flying closer but staying a good distance away, "but I got bored." Another wire attacked him. He threw an ecto-blast at it to make it stay away. "Plus, I think it's getting worse. I got struck by lightning twice on my way here."
Abby smacked her head. "What made you think it was a good idea to fly into the middle of a storm in the first place?"
"Shortcut," he replied. Abby looked at him like he was a complete moron.
"Just be careful," Danny warned. "The last thing we want is for someone else to get shocked."
"That's another reason I came," Shadow continued. "I figured I give Vortex a little taste of it. It's his fault in the first place."
Danny groaned. "This is all giving me a case of serious déjà vu."
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Matt and Tori were still crammed into the storm cellar. Most people were now sitting on the ground, their legs too tired from standing for so long. The two were not excluded from this category. The huntress's chin rested on her knees. She was staring at the ceiling.
"He's going to be okay, you know," Matt assured.
She exhaled, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "Yeah, I know, but like he said, 'it doesn't mean that I still don't worry.'" The boy nodded in understanding, then smirked. He pulled out his handheld. Tori spared him a curious glance as he typed furiously. "What are you doing?"
"Reassurance," he said with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. "Remember when Jake was captured by GUARD?" He paused, but didn't intend for her to answer. "Well, they put a chip on him so he couldn't escape. I destroyed the main program, but I kept a back-up on my PDA just in case." He smiled and held up a map of the U.S. with a little red dot blinking on it. "That's Jake. Unless the light goes out, he's alive."
She laughed. "You know he would be so ticked if he found out about this, right?"
The geek's smile widened. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm not gonna let him find out."
Smiling, the two watched the little screen; their guarantee that their friend was safe.
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"I think we're lost," Abby commented, gazing around at the destroyed landscape.
"We're not lost," Danny replied snappily.
"But we've been following this trail for hours! Vortex moves slower than we do and even with his head start, we should have caught up to him by now."
Danny brought them down and landed. He looked across the landscape, not seeing anything. "Maybe…"
"This is a false trail," Shadow suddenly injected.
"Huh?" said the two Phantoms in synchronization.
"There's no way that Vortex is smart enough to make a false trail," Abby stated.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. This path ends right up there and, if no one noticed, the weather hasn't been altered at all. Doesn't anyone find that weird?"
Danny smacked his head. "How did I miss that?"
"The same way you missed it when I started sinking through the floor," Abby said with a smirk. Danny glared at her. However, both were distracted when Shadow bent and put his hand on the ground. Abby gave him a curious look. "What are you doing?"
"The ground's shaking," he stated. "That means Vortex can't be too far away."
"So which way…"
"Shh."
His eyes were now closed and he was concentrating hard on something. His head suddenly jerked up and he stared straight ahead of him. Pointing, he claimed, "He's that way."
"How would you know?" Abby questioned, more confusion than irritation.
"Because," the male teen began as he took off into the sky with the others following, "I can feel the pull of his electricity." At their blank looks, he clarified, "My electrical charge is pulling me toward his electrical charge."
"Oh."
"Well then," Danny announced, "let's go!"
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"Huh," Shadow muttered, flying around in a quick circle. "He should be right here."
"I knew it was a bad idea to trust you," Abby grumbled.
"But I was so sure…"
His sentence remained unfinished. At that moment, the ground started shaking and clouds swirled overhead. Wind blew harshly, whipping at everything in sight, and rain began to pound down. A large green twister swirled down from the sky. It touched the ground and became Vortex.
"Knew it," Shadow confirmed.
"So, you have somehow managed to track me down. (Gasp). Clever."
Abby looked angry. "Let's just get to the fight so we can get Amity Park back to normal."
"Very well," Vortex sneered. He charged up his hands with lightning, ready to zap the three. What happened next stunned him. The lightning flew off of his fingers and directed itself at Shadow. The boy held out his hand and, bracing himself, caught the lightning. His hand sparked for a moment as the electricity settled. However, it quickly charged back up with red lightning. He flung the energy back at the unsuspecting weather ghost. The being was pushed backward. "What…what is this?!"
"A little taste of your own medicine," Shadow replied. As he was talking, Danny and Abby had come around the back of the ghost. Both now fired strong ghost rays at the weather ghost. Vortex screamed as he was flung forward. As he neared Shadow, the ghost boy zoomed up to give him a hard punch. His fist started sparking and the moment it made contact with the larger ghost, Vortex was electrocuted. Shadow's face tightened as he tried keeping the connection for as long as possible. Finally, the two were forced apart in one last jolting explosion.
"Looks like it's back to the Observants for you," Danny declared, whipping out the thermos.
"No!" Vortex screamed as he was pulled into the contraption. The last thing to be sucked in was his outstretched hand. The cap was clicked on, Danny smiling.
"That takes care of that," he declared, attaching the thermos to his belt. He looked up, only seeing his daughter. "And gone again," he muttered when he noticed the other teen wasn't there. "Ready to go home, Abby?"
"Definitely."
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Matt pressed buttons on his handheld furiously. "I don't get it. Why is this thing on the fritz?"
Tori looked at the screen which was fading in and out of static. "I don't know, but…"
"Hey, guys," a boy greeted, placing his hands on their shoulders. 'Whatcha lookin' at?"
Matt and Tori spun around, surprised, but big grins split across their faces in an instant. "Jake!" The goth boy soon found himself tackled into a hug.
"You're okay!" Tori exclaimed happily.
"And you're not shocking anyone!" Matt added.
Jake smiled. "Yep. I told you it was nothing to worry about. You're forgetting one thing, though."
"What?" they asked together.
"Now that Vortex is gone," he replied, "summer is back on."
"In that case," Matt responded. "I call watching Day of Destruction first!"
And they all laughed.
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Alright, guys, I have some BAD news. First, I'd like to start off by saying I'm sorry for taking so long and thanks for being accepting and sticking with me. I really love all of you. :D
Okay, here come the bad part. My life is getting a little crazy right now. Between school, a possible job, fencing, and writing a book, I don't have a lot of time on my hands. I guess you can see where this is going. Adventures After a Mistake is being put on hiatus. Now, I'd like to say here and now that it will not be discontinued. I never discontinue anything. It's just being held off for a little while...until I can get some time back on my hands. It's a shame, too, because I had what happens next planned out. Sadly, it can't be helped. Besides, I'm suffering from lack of drive to keep writing this. If I kept going, the quality would go down. But hwo knows? Maybe when come back, I'll have more inspiration.
Let me remind you that I am neither leaving the fandom nor leaving fanfiction. I'm much too hooked for that. I'll always love Danny Phantom and I'll try reading a fanfic every now and then. I also promise that I'll still send in my entry for the DP Day of Angst. And don't be surprised if my one-shot collection gets updated every now and then. Lastly, I WILL finish Camp Out first.
So, I guess this is goodbye for now guys. But don't worry. I'll be around.