Edit: 6/5/18: Next wave of grammar fixes and wording tweaks or some scenes altered to avoid cliches. Took out AN question and answer sections.
Here we go. The first chapter of the Field Trip portion.
zzz- normal separation
ooo- dream or vision separation
Mental thoughts or distant speaking
"...there ain't no journey what don't change you some." ~ David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas.
zzz
A day before Spring Break. The day of the High School Camping Trip.
Spring Break and the Senior Trip would be starting tomorrow, so Danny had invited everyone over to his house to spend the night. Sam, Valerie, and Tucker were finishing packing some of their things and even Danny's things in Danny's room, while Danny himself was in the lab talking with his mother and father about some ghost hunting equipment they wanted him to bring for safety's sake. Dani was mad that the trip was only for High Schoolers, but Maddie had promised time for her to bond with herself, Jazz and Jack while Danny was gone; Jazz would be visiting for Spring Break but would be missing Danny by a day or so. Tucker had pleaded with the others to have a video game night before they left since they'd be mostly without electronics until the trip was over. After staying up a while and playing games with Sam, Valerie, and Dani too, the five all fell asleep leaning against one another.
The next morning, Danny was going to fly them to school after they said goodbye to Danny's parents and Dani. They'd packed their tents, sleeping bags, and all the camping equipment they'd need. Ultimately, they'd found that only Valerie was really interested in their clan tent idea, but honestly that was okay with them. Though they really were warming up to Brandon, Lester, and some of the others, it was nice to have just the four of them in a tent where they could talk about secretive things when they were careful. Sam had contacted Mr. Fundoo and told him that TheEidolon would be unable to work for the next week so he shouldn't expect any new pieces at the end of that period.
After getting everything together, they said goodbye to the Fentons and Danny grabbed up his three friends and their things before flying them invisibly to school. They arrived at six AM just like they had been told to. A large bus was in front of the establishment since over twenty students had decided to come. Many of them were standing around in the parking lot in their groups and talking excitedly. Danny and his friends appeared from behind a bush and walked up to check in with Mr. Lancer.
When they saw the bus, Danny face-palmed, Tucker had a dry look on his face, Sam sighed in exasperation and Valerie wanted to punch something. On the side of the bus was DALV corps' logo and a big goofily grinning portrait of Vlad Masters.
"Of all the kinds of busses the school could've rented." Danny grumbled from behind his hand.
"How embarrassing to have to travel around with that thing plastered on there." Sam sighed.
"At least we won't have to see it for a while once we get to Arkansas," Tucker added.
"I'm not getting on that thing," Valerie hissed. She glanced at Tucker grumpily when he slid an arm around her shoulders.
"Eh, Vlad's ego is bigger than that bus. I say it's false advertising."
Danny actually laughed. "That was actually a good one, Tuck."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker narrowed his eyes.
Valerie snickered when Sam grinned. "He means usually your jokes suck."
"Why am I friends with you people again? I don't have to deal with this kind of abuse."
Valerie smirked and pulled Tucker's beret over his eyes and pulled him into a side hug. "Because you love us."
"Oh yeah. Dang it."
At that moment, Mrs. Telstaff blew her whistle sharply to gain everyone's attention. "Okay boys and girls, Mr. Lancer is going to do roll call, so listen up and raise your hand when your name is called."
Lancer then went down the list alphabetically by their last names.
There was Megan, Brandon, Dash, Danny, Tucker, Valerie, Lester, Star, Alroy, Brad, who was a large boy with a red and white shirt and red baseball cap and jeans, Stan, who was a blond boy with red glasses and an orange shirt and jeans, Norman, Sam, Mikey, Kwan, Melanie, who was a red head with glasses that Mikey had a crush on, Lesley, a brown skinned girl with wavy black hair straight above her head who wore a green headband and shirt with jeans, John, who had brown hair, glasses, and an orange shirt, Dinah a brown haired and eyed girl with a pink shirt and jeans that often hung out with Paulina, Paulina, Freddie, who had orange hair, a green hat and orange shirt with jeans, Tyson, Richard, who was a Hispanic young man with short cropped black hair and wore a blue v-neck shirt with jeans, and finally TJ, who was a dark skinned boy with a green beanie, orange sweatshirt, and green cargo pants.
All the students then piled onto the bus and took their seats. Danny and his friends, naturally moved towards the back. Everyone started talking immediately as both teachers sat near the front. The chaperones talked to the driver a bit and the bus started to move.
"This is going to be great," Sam beamed. "A week of being out in nature."
Tucker sighed. "Sounds terrible. And hiking? Are they trying to kill me?"
"Aw come on, Foley. You need a bit more exercise." Valerie laughed a bit.
"I hope we get a good view of the sky at least one night." Danny smiled and then stretched his arms behind his head.
"I wonder if we'll find a place to swim. It's finally starting to feel like spring." Valerie mentioned.
"I just hope no ghosts show up," Tucker spoke up and clicked a few buttons on his PDA.
"TUCK!" Danny, Sam, and Valerie yelped.
Tucker face palmed. "I'm an idiot."
zzz
Amity Park.
Dani sat in the den at FentonWorks, upside down, watching TV. She'd woken up early to say goodbye to Danny and his friends so now she was wide awake. She would flick between cartoons and the news from time to time to make sure no ghosts were causing trouble. She'd promised Danny that she'd watch after the town while he was gone but also be very careful. Of course, she had Maddie, Jack, and Jazz too, at least once she arrived home for the break, but she was pretty sure she could handle it on her own if she had to.
Her parents were in the lab at the moment, working on something. They'd told her to warn them if she was wanting to come into the lab since the materials they were working with could harm ghosts. She hadn't really asked questions after that. What she did know though, was that she was bored. SOOOOOOOO bored.
-Ring ring- -Ring ring-
"I'll get it!" Dani yelled so that her parents could hear and ran over to the home phone. She picked it up and heard Ash's voice.
"Hey there Dani."
"Oh hey, Ash. What's up?" She was a little surprised that he was even up at this hour. Jace probably pried him out of bed. She thought.
"Uh, me and Jace were wondering if you wanted to hang out since it's Spring Break. We could go to the Arcade or something."
Dani paused. She wasn't sure how to react. Sure, she'd hung out with the two boys at school and the Nasty Burger, but she hadn't ever actually hung out with them much outside of school.
"Dani? You there?"
Dani blinked. "Oh, uh yeah… Let me ask my parents. Sounds fun!" Dani put down the phone carefully and ran towards the lab shouting for her parents.
"Mom! Dad!" She started down the stairs only for Jack to halt her and scoop her up effortlessly. He hurried back up the steps to the lab with Dani blinking in confusion. Jack put her down and looked her over before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Dani, ya got to warn us. You feel okay?" Jack asked. Moments later, Maddie hurried up towards them.
"Yeah dad… I'm fine." Dani laughed a bit and frowned.
"Sorry sweetie. The compounds we are using are deadly to ghosts… as weird as that sounds. It could destabilize you even getting close to them!" Maddie expressed and then felt a bit of guilt when Dani's face paled.
"Destabilize?" Dani whispered and rubbed her arms.
"Oh Dani… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, but that's what me and Jack are trying to figure out. We need to discover an antidote for this material." Maddie added.
"Oh…" Dani nodded and then took a breath and smiled.
"What was it you needed, Ellie?" Jack smiled brightly. Ellie had been the nickname that Jack had eventually come up with for his new daughter.
"Oh!" Dani exclaimed. "Ash and Jace wanted to hang out. Can I go meet them?"
Maddie and Jack smiled and nodded. "Be careful, have fun, and your curfew is ten thirty."
"Awww Danny's is twelve!"
"He's older sweetie."
"Okaaay~" Dani nodded and then said goodbye before running back to the phone. "You there?"
"Oh uh, yeah!"
"I can come, where do you guys wanna meet?"
"How about the Nasty Burger in ten minutes?"
"Can do! Bye!" Dani hung up the phone and grabbed her backpack, which had her phone her parents had gotten her, some money of hers, and a Fenton Thermos. She then ran out the door and into an alleyway to transform and fly towards the Nasty Burger.
She transformed back into Fenton and walked towards the doors of the restaurant and entered. She knew it would be a few minutes before the other two boys would get there so she went up to the counter and bought herself a soda. She then sat on a stool and waited for her friends.
"Dani!"
Dani perked up and smiled when she saw Ash and Jace walk in wearing their typical clothing.
"You're so fast. How do you always beat us to places?" Ash grinned and scratched his head.
"Um… I'm punctual?" Dani answered and grimaced slightly when it sounded like more of a question.
"Ash could learn a think from you," Jace responded.
"Shut up, man." Ash grumbled and nudged Jace playfully.
Jace only grinned back at his friend. "What?" He faked innocence easily.
"You can be such a jerk."
Dani laughed and walked over. "Let's get going! I wanna beat you guys at Zombie Fighter Five."
Ash glanced at her and rose a brow. "Whoa now, who said you'll be winning?"
Dani frowned and then narrowed her eyes. "Is this what Sam was warning me about? You think I can't play video games because I'm a girl?"
Ash's eyes got wider. "Oh no wait. I wasn't-"
Dani grabbed his wrist and started dragging him towards the exit. "Come on! I hope you're ready to have your butt handed to you!"
Jace chuckled and followed them at a sedate pace.
zzz
Amity Mall. Arcade.
"Wait, how, when, where?"
"What? You don't know any five-button combo moves? If you wanna even try getting competitive on this game you've got to know some of the finishers."
Ash frowned as his zombie's head was torn off, losing him the match.
"And that's fifteen to zero."
Ash shook his head and then laughed loudly. "Man, I've never been beaten so badly." Dani paused and blinked at him. Ash finished his laugh and then glanced at Dani with his eyes dancing. "I'm so glad I ran into you in the hallway." Dani felt her cheeks warm as she continued to blink at her friend. Ash was too busy looking at her happily before his brain suddenly caught up with how that response could be taken. He blushed a bit and put a hand on his head as he looked at the ceiling. "It's nice having another good friend. I feel like I could tell you anything."
Dani flinched and glanced down at the ground with a bit of shame. "Anything?"
Ash shook his head. "Sorry, that sounded really corny."
Dani shook her hands. "No no. It's fine, really. I'm glad you trust me so much."
"TAKE THAT BLINKY! HA HA! THE ORANGE IS MINE!"
Dani and Ash paused and turned to look over at where they'd left Jace. He was staring at the Pacman machine carefully twisting and moving the joystick in his left hand.
"Pacman?" Dani asked and then giggled. "I think there's enough ghost hunting going on in Amity Park as it is."
"Don't interrupt him. Jace is like a master at that game. It's like he becomes a different guy when he plays it. It is funny to watch though." Ash grinned and then laughed with Dani. Finally, Jace stopped and straightened up before combing his fingers through his slightly disorganized brown hair to neaten it. He glanced over at the other two. "Were you watching me again?"
Ash laughed a bit. "Uh… maybe?"
"You get really excited over that game," Dani giggled.
Jace smiled at them both. "Me and my father used to play that game together a lot. He's a bit busy now, but playing it makes me happy." He grew distracted from his explanation since he'd noticed a speck of lent on his polo and tried to pick it off.
Ash noticed and snorted. "Neat-freak."
Jace glared up at his friends after the offending lent was gone. "There's nothing wrong with wanting one's environment to be orderly."
"Yeah Ash, stop teasing Jace about his issues," Dani spoke and then walked off. Jace deadpanned and Ash scratched his head.
"Hey, wait!" Ash yelped and ran after her. Jace sighed, smiled and followed after them more slowly.
Ash ran up beside Dani and Jace joined him soon after. "So, what do you guys wanna do now?"
"Hmmm… how about we go get smoothies or something?" Before either Ash or Jace could reply, a scream tore through the mall. Dani felt a cold breath of air leave her mouth. "Dang it."
"What the heck was that?" Ash gasped, mentioning the scream.
As if the universe was wanting to answer him, a ghost that looked like a Were-wolf, but was definitely not Wulf, pounced out from behind a small stand. More people started to scream.
Ash grabbed Dani's sleeve and turned swiftly before starting to run. Jace turned with them and ran for cover as well. Dani glanced back behind them at the ghost and saw it turn to glare at a woman and a young child. Her face grew determined and she waited until they were someplace safe before using intangibly and invisibly to slip away from Ash and Jace and run to a changing booth to transform. She shot out towards the woman and child who had become cornered. She snatched them away right before the ghost's jaws could snap down on them.
Back in a store down the way, Ash and Jace were just noticing that Dani was gone.
"I had grabbed her sleeve! Where'd she go!?" Ash asked worriedly and started looking all around. Jace tried to speak but Ash ran out from behind cover before he could. Jace ran out to try and stop his friend, but the damage had already been done. The Were-wolf ghost turned and locked its eyes on Ash and Jace, Ash's white hair was bright in the ghost's vision. It charged, snarling.
Dani finished putting down the lady and her child, only to turn and see Ash freeze in the ghost's line of sight. Jace was trying to move his friend and was also in danger since he wouldn't just leave his friend behind.
"Ash! Jace!" Dani yelled and shot forward. "RRRAAAHH!" She crashed into the side of the Were-wolf and forced him off his path and into a nearby wall. The sound of both ghosts hitting the wall snapped Ash out of his daze and he let Jace lead him away.
Dani blasted the beast with a few good ecto-blasts and dodged a swipe of his claws before freezing him solid and sucking him up in the thermos. Someone ended up asking her where her cousin had been and she said he was busy with something and would be away for a little while. Once she was done, she flew back to a secluded place and then transformed. She needed to find Ash and Jace.
"…I…I don't understand."
Dani froze and slowly turned to look over her shoulder. There was Ash and Jace staring at her, eyes wide. Jace was deathly pale and Ash was frozen in mid speech.
"You're Dani Phantom?"
zzz
FentonWorks.
Dani was pacing back and forth, back and forth in her living room. Two sets of eyes were watching her closely, trying to understand what they'd just seen. Her parents were out, having left a note that they'd gone to the store.
"I'm so dumb… I mess everything up… Danny's going to kill me… He'll hate me forever… He warned me about this." Dani mumbled to herself as she paced.
Jace was still pale and Ash was trembling slightly. Right after they'd spoken at the mall, Dani had practically spirited them away to her house against their will. They both flinched when the door opened.
"I'm home! Hello?"
Dani perked up and looked over at the door to see Jazz walk through.
"Dani? Oh! Are your friends over? Where's mom and dad?"
"Thank God you're here!" Dani yelped and ran over to hug her sister. She beckoned her lower so she could whisper in her ear.
"YOU WHAT!?" Jazz yelled.
Dani shrank back in alarm. Jazz calmed herself and sighed. She then walked over to sit in front of the two still frightened boys and smiled. As Dani came to sit somewhere close by, Jazz sighed.
"Boys, you don't need to be afraid. Settle down and let me tell you one doozy of a story. What I'm going to tell you is really important so please try and pledge secrecy on the matter."
Ash and Jace looked at each other and then Jazz.
"Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, myself, and Danny all know these things."
The two seemed to relax a bit and gave one more look towards Dani who was rubbing her hands together and averting her eyes. Honestly Jazz was nervous too, but she was trying to act calm so as to help subconsciously alleviate some of the two younger boys' own anxiety.
"It started when my parents wanted to poke a hole into another dimension. They call it a Ghost Portal."
zzz
Deltry, Illinois. 7:30 AM.
"Where are we now?"
"According to my PDA, just south of Chicago in a little place called Deltry."
Danny yawned. "I hope we stop soon. I'm hungry."
Tucker, Sam, and Valerie laughed right as Danny's stomach growled.
"That's probably my ghost half talking."
"Well tell him to be a bit patient."
Danny snickered right before a wall ball smacked into his head, forcing it back some.
"Nice catch, dweeb!"
Danny growled and looked up with his friends to see Dash and Kwan laughing. Danny growled a bit and he could feel the ectoplasm heat up behind his eyes before he closed them and took a breath. He exhaled completely and then inhaled slowly.
"Danny?" Sam asked.
"I'm just calming myself. Don't worry," Danny replied and opened his blue eyes.
"Okay students!"
Everyone glanced at the front as they felt the bus come to a stop. Lancer was standing up and looking at them.
"We're stopping here for breakfast. There are a few establishments within walking distance, so choose whatever you wish. The rules are, don't go alone and come back close to nine. That's when we'll be leaving. Understand?!"
"Yes, Mr. Lancer." Everyone called out with innocent grins on their faces.
"Then hustle!" Mrs. Telstaff exclaimed.
The students leapt up and headed out of the bus. Oddly enough, it was like the students split into three groups. Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Star, Dinah, Lesley, Tyson, and Alroy formed a group and walked to a nearby Nasty Burger to get something from their breakfast menu. TJ, Brad, Stan, John, and Freddie made their way to a breakfast joint. Finally Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie walked off towards a place Tucker had spotted called Danny's which made breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. Brandon, Lester, Norman, and Mikey wandered off after them. Melanie was left alone and watched the three groups walk off.
"Ya coming? Uh… your name's Melanie, right?"
Melanie looked up in surprise and saw Danny looking back at her over his shoulder. His hand was holding Sam's.
"Me?"
"Ya. I mean… Mr. Lancer didn't want anyone going anywhere alone. You're free to join us."
"Yeah we don't bite." Tucker joked.
"Much." Sam added with a smirk.
Melanie slowly nodded her head and gave a tiny smile before hurrying to catch up to the group. The nine of them walked inside. Danny licked his lips and rushed up to the counter.
"Geez and I thought I liked meat!" Tucker exclaimed.
"What's with Danny?" Mikey asked.
"He's uh… just really hungry. He eats a lot." Sam answered.
"He doesn't look like he eats a lot," Norman added skeptically.
"His metabolism is super-fast." Valerie answered. Sam and Tucker gave her a pleased look.
"Whoa! They have French toast!"
Everyone except Danny, who was ordering his third breakfast side, turned to looked at Melanie.
"Oh sorry… was that annoying?" Melanie whimpered.
"No way, French Toast is always something to get excited over." Tucker replied.
"You like French Toast too?" Mikey asked timidly.
"Who doesn't like Fren-Oof" Tucker started only to get elbowed by Valerie.
Melanie smiled at Mikey and vice versa as everyone continued to order their breakfast. Eventually they got their food and all sat at a couple of tables close to each other.
"My word… I think he could out eat half of the football team!" Brandon yelped.
Danny looked like he was hardly breathing as he inhaled his eggs and then a piece of bacon, which was probably true since Danny didn't need to breathe as often.
"Whoa, dude easy! I guess I need to get out of the splash zone," Tucker yelped as a bit of Hash Browns splattered onto his cheek.
"Danny! Slow down, cowboy. Take a breath." Sam laughed and pulled on the back of his shirt. He whimpered to the amusement of the others sitting there.
"Come on Sammm~"
"Take a few breaths and then resume."
"Hhh… fine."
"Hmm… thirty-minute warning guys." Norman glanced up at everyone from his watch. After eating for a bit longer, the group paid and then made their way back to the bus. They got back a bit early so they stood and stretched their legs a bit longer. The others wandered off a bit and left Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie on their own near the side of the bus. Lancer had returned from finding his own place to eat and noticed the four students talking.
"Does Tucker always jinx things?" Valerie asked.
"Most often," Sam replied.
"Hey! I resent that!" Tucker yelped.
"You've got to admit, Tuck. Almost every time you say something, a ghost pops up and then we all have to fix everything." Danny shrugged but gave Tucker a cheeky grin.
"Geez your confidence in me is overwhelming, dude."
"You think we all have enough equipment?" Valerie asked.
Danny laughed. "I think we have too much. After all, my parents go overboard if that isn't already obvious."
Before Valerie could reply, Tucker spoke. "I'm going to say that Danny jinxed us even more now. I'm calling it! To prove that I'm not the only jinxer! If my jinx happens and there are ghosts, then we'll end up not having enough equipment, so there."
"Sounds like real fun, Tucker," Sam deadpanned.
Lancer turned and leaned against the front of the bus where he was hidden. He was positive now; the four students were hunting ghosts in their free time. The remaining questions he had still lingered though. For starters how long had they been ghost hunters? Did the Fentons know? Did the other parents know? And how did the Phantoms come into the picture? This required more observation and study. He jumped practically a foot in the air when Telstaff blew her accursed whistle. Lancer sighed and calmed himself before preparing to do roll call again. Most everyone had wandered back in the meantime.
Everyone was accounted for and then they boarded the bus and started off again.
zzz
Bus. Westtry. Missouri. 12:30 PM.
"I'm hungry…"
"Danny… Why are you so hungry? I mean I'm glad you're actually eating like you need to, but usually you aren't. Why now?" Sam asked and looked at her boyfriend skeptically.
Danny paused and furrowed his brows in confusion. "I… huh. I don't know why. That's a good question. For some reason I feel like I just need to eat a bunch."
"Maybe it's because your powers are getting stronger so you need the extra carbs… OH MAN!" Tucker yelped.
"What!?" Danny almost shouted back. Valerie and Sam looked at him, waiting.
"I lost my last life on Galaga. I was doing so good too…"
Danny hit his head against the empty seat in front of him a few times, Sam glared at Tucker and Valerie slapped the back of his head lightly.
"Ouch!"
"You're going to give us a heart attack," Valerie warned, though it seemed to lack her normal impatience.
"Good news is we'll probably stop soon. It's Lunch time," Tucker replied and actually slipped his PDA into his pocket after laughing nervously at Valerie.
"Good," Danny replied, keeping his head on the cool leather seat.
"We could go to the Falafel House!" Tucker grinned. "They have some good food."
"I think we're all eating there as a class. Something about getting everyone to enjoy each other's company or something revolting like that," Sam grumbled.
"That's my Sam," Danny chuckled and leaned up straight before wrapping his arm around her.
"Hey Dash!"
The four looked forward as Tyson increased his volume.
"I dare you to go into the Goremire Mansion if it's nearby!"
"Tch, some dusty place, no big." Dash boasted.
"Dude! It's supposed to be haunted," Kwan added.
"Yep I wonder if it's haunted like Amity Park is," Alroy questioned.
"Dawg, my Auntie lives near here, that place is definitely haunted, yo." TJ grunted and folded his arms.
"Dude, you have to do it now," Tyson grinned.
"That would be so brave," Paulina spoke up and batted her eyelashes.
Danny sighed and rolled his eyes at the idea of walking into a ghost's territory. Most ghosts in old mansions just wanted to be left alone because they were attached to their home.
"Really? Are they that daft?" Sam huffed.
"What's the info on Goremire Mansion?" Valerie asked and leaned over to look at Tucker's PDA screen when he whipped it out.
"One moment… Here we go. Mostly it just says the normal things about a family that once lived there remain there… Oh that's… Guys?"
"What?" Sam and Danny asked at the same time and looked over to see what Tucker and Valerie were staring at. He turned the device so they could see too.
"Does that kid look familiar?"
Sam was speechless and Danny was gulping for air. In the old-time picture sat a younger Klemper, fleshy and very much alive, but Klemper.
"Klemper?" Danny whispered.
"What does it say?" Sam asked.
"It says the rumors say he was the head of the house's deformed brother. Supposedly he had down-syndrome. They say they just locked him in the attic most of the time." Tucker frowned after he finished.
"That's…" Valerie started.
"Just wrong," Sam sighed.
Danny sighed and looked out the window. "Poor Klemper…"
"At least you've been warming up to him recently," Tucker grinned. "See what I did there…" Valerie looked at him with a deadpan expression, Sam rolled her eyes and Danny was smirking slightly and cocking a brow. "Because he has… a cold… core? Oh, come on, I can't be that bad at jokes!"
Danny laughed. "Naw, you're good man."
Sam elbowed Danny. "Don't encourage him!"
Danny laughed a bit more before he glanced at the ground. "But Klemper…"
"Maybe we could talk to his family?" Valerie asked and frowned when Danny shook his head.
"No, most of the time most ghosts forget their human names for a reason. I didn't but I do feel a bit better having two names for myself. We'd probably just be walking into a hornet's nest if we even tried anything." Danny sighed.
Before they could continue their talking, Lancer's voice cut over the voices of everyone there.
"Okay students! We'll be stopping soon for a good Lunch at the Falafel House. Stay together and behave while we eat. We want everyone to know that Casper High can act like civilized people, right?"
Most of the students said yes or grumbled it out. Soon afterwards, the bus stopped and everyone got out. Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Telstaff went to see if there was room for their group to sit and eat. Lancer came back and sighed. "We'll have to wait forty minutes to be seated, so you can all explore so long as you stick in groups and come back in forty minutes or so."
Most all the students sat down to wait, merely enjoying the chance to rest and stretch their legs. Danny and his friends were going to do the same until they saw Dash, Tyson, Kwan, Alroy, Paulina and Dinah walk off.
Danny groaned. "They're going to the Goremire Mansion aren't they?"
"Yep." Tucker spoke and popped the P.
"And they'll probably get some ghosts mad at them, right?" Sam grumbled and rubbed her temples.
"Yep."
"And we have to go and help them since we can't leave them to their own devices?" Valerie sighed.
"Yep."
"Alright, then let's go and get back so I can eat," Danny spoke and stood up. "You guys head that direction… I'll find a place to change."
The other three nodded and walked off behind Dash's group. Danny nodded and went to find a bathroom.
"May I use your bathroom while we wait?"
A clerk who was in charge of getting people seated nodded. "Of course, sir. Over there."
Danny smiled and walked off. Lancer hadn't heard anything the students had said, except for Daniel asking where the bathroom was. That took away any doubt he had had that Daniel was just going to the bathroom the skip class time. He did however see Dash's group wander off, with Daniel's friends trailing them. Maybe they were just curious about the ghosts from Goremire Mansion like Dash and his friends had mentioned in the bus… Having the deep suspicion that those four students were indeed ghost hunting made Lancer wonder how to approach the issue. Did he stop them if he thought they were off the hunt a ghost? If he was wrong about his theories it could come back in his face in more than one way. For now, he'd have to keep watching.
zzz
Goremire Mansion.
"Dude, this place just looks like a dump," Dash muttered as he and his group stood on the steps.
"Then go in," Tyson grinned.
"That's trespassing if they're closed," Kwan spoke.
"Uh it's a bed and breakfast. They're never closed," Alroy spoke up.
"Let's go then. I wanna see if they have ghosts too," Tyson explained before nudging Dash.
Dash flinched and then scowled. "Fine, let's go."
"We'll be in the lobby, looking around," Paulina spoke and waved at the jocks. Dinah smirked venomously and rolled her eyes as the boys walked off.
"Guys are too easy to mess with," Dinah spoke to Paulina.
"Most anyways," Paulina grumbled.
"What you still hung up on that loser Fenton turning you down?" Dinah asked. "He just has bad taste. He's a loser, remember?"
"The school seems to be liking him for the Valentine's vote and the nerds and geeks are starting to flock to him and to his geek squad. We can't handle an uprising."
"Tch."
"Dinah, you didn't see him when he lead us against that pirate ghost. He was still a loser, but he can get people to listen when he tries hard enough."
"Don't sweat it, girl. It'll fade."
"Hopefully," Paulina grumbled.
A screech suddenly pierced the air just as a few more people ran up to the mansion's steps. Patrons started fleeing from the building.
"That sounded like Dash," Paulina whispered.
"He was dumb and decided to go mess with ghosts."
Paulina and Dinah whipped around to come face to face with Sam, Valerie, and Tucker.
"What are you doing here, Manson?"
"Well, we have ecto-weapons, so unless you want to leave Dash and his buddies to the lions…"
"You're packing?" Dinah asked, eyes wide.
"Always," Valerie replied sharply.
"It's in the top floor… now three… five… It's got to be the whole Goremire family," Tucker expressed, typing on his PDA.
"Wait, Phantom!?" Paulina suddenly yelled. The five students looked up to see Danny Phantom swoop into the top of the building.
"Just get out of here, we know what we're doing," Sam snapped and then ran inside the practically empty building. Tucker and Valerie ran after her.
Paulina and Dinah stood there for a moment.
"Now what?" Dinah asked.
Paulina glowered. "I'm going to see Invisobil er… Phantom."
The two girls ran inside the building as well.
A few flights of stairs were what they all had to climb to get to the action.
Phantom was standing in front of a cowering blue ghost in pajamas, Dash and his crew were backed against the wall behind the two, looking pale, Sam was scowling at the ghosts, Valerie was readying some sort of wrist weapon and Tucker was standing with his hand brushing over the handle of a ecto-gun that was now somehow in his pocket.
"You always mess everything up! You little wretch!" One of the ghosts yelled and wailed.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorrrrryyyy!" Klemper wailed and sobbed behind Danny's legs.
Danny snapped, "Stop yelling at him! He was trying to help out."
"He should know better though!" One of the old ghosts grumbled. "You can't scare humans too bad or they come to chase you out!"
"Yeah, making it snow indoors and making the blond baby cry out was too much! Now they'll chase us from OUR home!" Another expressed.
"Hey!" Dash yelped, hurt at the blond baby jab.
Danny growled, ignoring the student. "You left him in an attic for most of his life! I honestly think you deserve to be vacated!"
The eldest ghost in the family narrowed his eyes. "You have a large mouth on you, lad. You've only been dead for a few years and you come along and start demanding things of us!? We've been here for generations!"
"Generations!"
"Hundreds of years!" They chorused.
Danny didn't flinch at their shouts. "How'd you know I've only been dead for a while?"
"You have a strong aura of death… It's a thing all ghosts can tell about one another in passing."
"Not that you ever will," Sam whispered to Danny who only shivered.
"That would be awkward," He whispered back and Sam had to fight back a laugh.
"Get out," A ghost that looked a bit like Klemper suddenly spoke up.
Klemper whimpered. "But brother…"
Tucker frowned and spoke softly next to Valerie. "So, he is his brother."
"No buts! This is the final straw!"
Klemper wailed in torment. "No no no no no!" The ground started to get covered in ice and Paulina and Dinah let out a scream each as the door behind them froze solid.
Danny frowned and looked at the Goremire family. "Look maybe this is for the best… Obviously you're all obsessed with this home, maybe too much. Leaving might free you all. You can't possibility be behaving the way you used to in life."
Klemper's brother growled but then glanced at Kelmper for a moment before a sad look came to his eyes.
"You still love your family. Just try and let go and forgive one another…"
"Silence you! You don't know how long it takes to build a reputable living and family. The moment he came into our lives was the moment all our work fell apart!" One of the older specters grumbled.
Danny hissed and he could feel his eyes alight with energy.
"Leave now. We'll hide for years in the home if we must and then people will forget…" One of the older ladies spoke up.
"This isn't right," Danny replied.
"HE isn't right," The oldest ancestor replied again. That did it.
Danny lunged at the oldest ghost in the family and the two started rolling and fighting on the floor. The elder spirit obviously wasn't good at brawling like Danny was and continued to curse and shout as the two tussled. Sam and Valerie jumped into action and started to fire at the others that went to attack them. Tucker watched Danny a bit more closely and fired at any of the family that tried to double team Danny.
The old ghost roared and landed a solid, rage-fueled punch on Danny's chest, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the back wall between Dash and his friends.
"Phantom!" Klemper shouted in worry. "Friend!"
At the name Phantom, everything halted.
"Did you say Phantom?" Klemper's brother whispered.
Klemper blinked and looked away before floating over to Danny who was standing up again and looking around in confusion. "Yeah, Phantom's… my friend."
Danny looked at Klemper and smiled.
"Phantom, the Bane of Pariah?"
Everyone glanced over at the family who was whispering and speaking to each other.
"Uh… I guess?" Danny replied.
The elder ghost flinched at Danny's voice but spoke. "You're wanting us to leave?"
Danny frowned. "Well I think it would be best. You can be free and your obsession may lessen. Your personalities would become less hostile. That and be nicer to Klemper… That's what I'm asking for."
Klemper's brother looked like he was going to say something but the older ghost, the eldest spoke. "Fine, we'll leave as you say, Phantom."
In a flurry of movement and various shouts and cries, the Goremire family was gone.
"Bye," Klemper murmured.
Danny sighed and put a hand on Klemper's shoulder. "Sorry, Klemper…"
"It's okay. Family's a funny thing. It's not always what you think it'll be. That's the one thing I learned when I was alive," Klemper mumbled and smiled at Danny. "I'll see you around in Amity, Mr. Phantom. I hope you enjoy your trip!"
Danny flinched at Klemper mentioning a trip but smiled. "Yeah, see ya. I'll have to have you and Dani learn some more ice techniques soon."
"Oh boy!" Klemper laughed and then flew away and out of the home.
Danny concentrated as the ice in the room started to melt.
"Phantom?"
Danny glanced over at Dash's confused face while Sam, Tucker, and Valerie put up their weapons.
"Yeah?"
"What was that all about?"
Danny shrugged. "It's complicated… has to do with territory disputes and… cruelty." Danny glanced over at the jock purposefully, somewhat hoping that stress on the word cruelty would penetrate the jock's skull. No such luck.
"What are you doing here then? Not that I'm not happy to see my hero."
Sam rolled her eyes at that.
"I'm taking a trip to visit some… ghosts…. Dani's got Amity Park in the meantime."
"Oh."
Danny grunted after that ice had melted. "Alright, bye then." He then flew through the roof to get back to the bathroom he'd changed in.
Sam, Valerie, and Tucker shrugged and walked out of the room to walk back to Falafel House.
"Since when do the geeks know how to use ghost weapons?" Alroy asked no one in particular.
"I don't know… something's up," Dinah huffed.
"And where was Fenton?" Dash grumbled.
Paulina narrowed her eyes. "Good question."
"Maybe we should tell Mr. Lancer that they have weapons," Kwan offered nervously.
"No way! If they haven't been caught with them before they won't now, plus then we'll never figure out what's going on," Tyson argued.
-beep- -beep-
"Oh, uh guys, my watch says we need to get back. Our wait's up," Kwan spoke.
begrudgingly the six of them left and headed back for the restaurant.
zzz
Falafel House. 1:10 PM.
"These beef kabobs are awesome!" Tucker declared as he worked on his third skewer.
Sam frowned and popped another piece of falafel in her mouth. Danny noticed she wasn't enjoying watching Tucker eat so he decided to distract her.
"Can I try one?"
Sam paused and looked over to see Danny smiling at her. She smiled back at his attempt and then picked a piece from her plate to pass it to him. Instead of putting his hand out, he opened his mouth. She blinked before poking the falafel in his mouth. Danny hummed in pleasure before reaching over and sticking a chip into his hummus he'd ordered. He then reached over to her with it. Sam flushed a bit before opening her mouth and letting Danny do the same action to her.
"I'm glad I at least have a girlfriend. Otherwise I think I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from hurling at that mushiness," Tucker spoke suddenly, almost making Sam choke.
"Tucker, you seriously are the worst at timing," Valerie sighed and picked a piece of the meat on his half-finished kabob off the skewer. She ate it without a second thought.
"Wow, a subconscious indirect kiss."
Valerie froze and looked over at Sam in surprise who was smiling like a Cheshire cat now that she'd stopped herself from choking.
Valerie blinked and then looked over at Tucker who actually blushed and looked away.
"Tucker acting shy? It's the end of the freaking world," Sam added.
Danny snorted at that. "Be careful what you wish for."
"I didn't say I wished for it."
"How about we don't even say that word, ever. It's safer."
Sam opened her mouth and then closed it. "You know… that's a good idea."
Everyone else at the clustered tables for the Casper High students were laughing and enjoying themselves greatly. As everyone continued to eat, Danny's four friends talked with the nerds, and the neutrals a good deal. The A-list talked with the neutrals but threw a few spoonfuls of food at the nerds and once at Danny who ducked in time.
Mr. Lancer had immediately halted the action from going further since he certainly wasn't going to let Casper High's name be spoiled on the trip down to the Ozarks at least. Once they were in the woods, he wouldn't burden himself as much, unless he saw a blatant issue.
"What are we even going to do in the mountains?" Dash asked suddenly.
"Well Mr. Baxter, we plan to hike, swim, participate in group activities and various other things one does when camping, what else?" Lancer asked with slight sarcasm.
After they finished eating and paying, everyone got up and was ready to get back on the bus after spending about an hour and a half in the restaurant.
zzz
South of Springfield Missouri. 5:10 PM.
It was around two and a half hours before they found themselves south of Springfield. There they found a few places to eat dinner. Eating dinner took around an hour to eat since those places weren't as busy. Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Telstaff then told the students that they would be stopping at a FloorStore for snacks. They were allowed thirty minutes to buy what they wanted to take on the trip.
It was there where Danny, Tucker, and Valerie were following behind Sam in surprise and gratitude as she explained everything they could and couldn't buy, what would keep for a week and what would go bad.
"We can get pasta and rice so long as we start a fire and can boil water. Dried fruits and nuts as well." Sam explained happily as they walked through the aisles and picked up medium sized packets and boxes of the foods Sam was mentioning. She paused and looked over the three following her. "And then of course there's oatmeal and cream of wheat."
"I'm going to get jerky," Tucker suddenly said when he realized what was missing. Valerie sighed and disappeared with him to make sure he wouldn't buy too much.
"We can get granola bars too oh and water, tea and coffee," Sam spoke. She turned to see why Danny was so quiet when she saw him holding marshmallows, peanut butter, chocolate bars, and gram crackers. She smiled when he huffed.
"Do not tell my dad I did this or it will only encourage him."
"You really are like your parents."
Danny visibly flinched. "Ouch. How would you feel if I said that about you?"
"You'd never know, because you'd soon be dead."
Danny laughed nervously. "You mean all the way?"
"All the way, ghost boy."
Danny gulped. "I'll shut up now."
"Very good idea." Sam then smiled to make sure Danny knew to relax and that of course she was kidding. He only smiled back at her and then reached to grab at some of the bags burdening her.
"I don't need help."
"I know. Do you want it though?"
Sam sighed and then passed a bag to Danny. She glanced down at her watch. "Oh SNAP!"
"WHAT!?" Danny flinched and his body tensed due to his instincts.
"DANNY WE'VE LITERALLY GOT LIKE FIVE MINUTES TO CHECK OUT AND GET BACK TO THE BUS!"
Danny gulped and grabbed the other bags.
"I've got super strength just go with it this time find Tucker and Valerie and meet me at the check-out lines!" Danny rambled, smashing the words into almost one continuous word.
Sam nodded, somehow able to understand him. He turned and dashed towards the front of the market while Sam dashed towards the back trying to find their other two friends. She skidded around a corner to find… them giving each other a kiss and standing close to each other.
"Ugh… Next time I've got to remind me and Danny to go somewhere private. TUCKER VALERIE! WE'VE GOT TO GO! NOW!"
Tucker cried out in shocked and flailed before crashing into a pyramid of cans. Valerie was blushing like crazy from Sam finding them and then she face-palmed before pulling Tucker out from under the tin cans. She practically drug her boyfriend through the store to find Danny at the counter. Valerie passed up the Jerky and a couple other dried meats Tucker had found before, up to Danny who then paid.
"Eidolon money?" Sam asked in a hushed whisper with a smirk playing on her lips. Danny only smiled.
Soon the four friends were running to the bus only to find something else was holding the whole group up.
"But But But…"
"No buts Paulina. There's no greek yogurt, no fresh fruits. We can't bring anything that can spoil without refrigeration." Lancer explained, exasperated.
It seemed like the A-listers and a few of the neutrals had made a few mistakes in picking out their food.
"Then what are we supposed to do with all this food?" Dash asked grumpily and crossed his arms.
Danny frowned and then looked over his shoulder to see a young homeless couple sitting on the side of the highway. He placed his bags down and walked over.
"Uh I have an idea."
"What kinda of idea could you possibly have, Fentonio?" Dash huffed.
Danny frowned and rolled his eyes right as Lancer spoke.
"How about we listen first Mr. Baxter, before we jump to conclusions." Lancer glanced at Danny. "Daniel?"
Danny looked over at the homeless couple and Lancer and the others followed his gaze.
"No way, Fenton. We paid for this stuff!"
Danny whipped his head around and had to really try hard not to make his eyes glow in anger. "So, it would be a waste of someone's money to help them out?"
Sam stalked up and shoved money into Dash's and one of the neutral's hands. "There happy?"
Danny smiled at his girlfriend before he picked up the food and walked over to the couple. Everyone watched from a distance as the two people looked at each other and then Danny in surprise before a big smile crossed both their faces. They'd at least be able to eat most of it before it went bad. Soon Danny was walking back over with a large goofy smile on his own face.
"So, let's get this show on the road."
"I've already put our sacks in the undercarriage," Valerie explained.
Danny nodded as Sam and Tucker moved with him to enter the bus. After a few more minutes, everyone was on board. The bus was a bit quiet as they drove off. It was most likely because the sun was starting to get low and everyone was tired. Most were talking quietly since everyone's energy was down. Danny did notice however that Dash was looking out the window with a scowl on his face. It wasn't one of anger however Danny noted from the emotions in the air, but one of deep thought.
zzz
Ozark Camping and Hiking Park. 8:55 PM.
Most everyone was half asleep when they finally got to the park. The four friends in the back looked like they were curled into one group hug. Danny's head was resting over Sam's, Tucker was face planting into Danny's arm, with his own arm around Valerie's shoulders, who's head had ended up in the crook of her boyfriend's neck.
Lancer announced they were finally there and that they would sleep in the emptied bunkers the pitstop provided until tomorrow to start hiking into the unknown. The boys and girls split up for the night. They got ready for bed so a good sleep could start them off on a good foot for the days of traveling ahead.
zzz
Amity Park. 11:00 PM.
A young figure ran through the alley ways, guarding a small glowing form. After trudging through the light rain shower that had come she found herself in front of FentonWorks.
-Knock- -Knock- -Knock-
Finally, Maddie Fenton opened the door.
"Danielle Fenton! Where have you been!?" Maddie yelped when she saw her soaked younger daughter. The wet blue hood slipped off Dani's head and a sheepish grin stretched across her face. "Would you be surprised if I said it was a ghost's fault?"
Maddie frowned. "You called me earlier after you'd taken Jace and Ash home, after that whole debacle. You said you were on your way home." Jace and Ash had seemed to take the big secret pretty well, even though Jazz had not told them that Dani was a clone and that instead she'd been visiting when Danny had walked into the portal and gotten zapped herself as well. There were inconsistencies in Jazz's explanation but he older girl had doubted that the two boys would figure it that out.
"I know, but something came up!"
"Well come in and tell me what in the world was so important you had to give your mother a heart attack."
Dani gulped and wandered in. She plopped down on the couch which elicited a yelp from the lump in her sweatshirt.
Maddie cocked a brow.
Cujo's head then popped up next to Dani's in her sweatshirt and he licked her face. Dani giggled and Maddie opened her mouth in slight surprise.
"Can we keep him!?" Dani cried out in earnest. "Danny always said you guys wouldn't let him have a dog since it was dangerous for it to be around ectoplasm, but Cujo EATS ectoplasm. He could clean up the lab, I'd feed him and clean him and play with him! PLEASE MOM!?" Dani had almost squished poor Cujo at that point and was he squirming in Dani's arms.
Maddie's face went from surprised to amused.
"I guess you successfully found a loop-hole. I never told Danny we couldn't keep a dead dog."
What did you think? I thought it would be fun and a little original to describe the actual journey to the Field Trip's location.
Thanks everyone for your support and patience! I hope I can continue to entertain you :)
~ NoSignal