Hey guys! Wow look, it's only been *checks calendar sheepishly*… 7 months since the last update… but y'all should be used to this by now to be completely honest.
Thanks to these people for following/favoriting this story since January: zwetkowasaeaki123, Jester94, Crazydawg19, 1228248, The Arc Knight, therandomgamer26, TheGoldenTrio16, Bellatrix Morgenstern, TheAceofAll, Taki-nee-chan, splitpersonalitygoddess, Kid'sDarkWolf, Captainbean006, Carayen, silent blue rose, Lucifer's Remnants, BeBraveBeLion, Hanzo of the Salamander 2.0, AminatheAwesome1, DazlerAngel, Nebula'sPhoenix, Beacool, Luna1532, SoulMore, Faceball-92, Raushea, MidnightStorm022, The Legendary Dragon Reaper, starwars05, Ace . W . 15, FanOfmanyThings1, Xenvic, Zekky-Reshi-Kyu, Secret Wind, avert 1523, Nagisa Tabitha Scholz, Pineapplequeen02, Izi Wilson, DorkyyThief, Doorkeeper, Redthorne19, PhoenixQueen15, Fyrusfairy, DrinkSomeLethe, IronTiger16, CeleneTheAngel, blackreaper201, and TheFriendlySpecter (cool name lol).
Thanks to these peeps who reviewed: Invader Johnny, cg037, jeanette9a, memmek10k, 1228248, Guest, Kimera20, Invader ash, Ella Le Hissy, Sonozaki Mion, Guest, Phantom14 (omg so similar to my name on DA, I had to do a second take there lol), Itsaghost, Helpthispoorsoul, Amazingghost, SoulMore, and La-luna lady of the ghost zone! It always makes my day to read comments, especially ones as amazing and nice as yours! ;D And thanks to those of you who gave me ideas for future chaps!
Special thanks to these amazing humans who decided to follow me as an author: The Arc Knight, Bellatrix Morgenstern, Hanzo of the Salamander 2.0, AnimaTheAwesome1, and blackreaper201. Thanks you guys! :D
This chapter is a special one because it's the first one that was really influenced by someone who gave me an awesome idea, thought of a lot of the events, and helped with research/OC names! This chapter is dedicated to Ella Le Hissy for giving me this idea back in January and keeping in touch since then! This chapter wouldn't be possible without them, so thanks so much!
Disclaimer: I don't own the show Danny Phantom or any of the characters in it.
Fox in Sheep's Clothing
"I have a great idea!"
"Oh, boy..." Sam muttered, slightly afraid to hear what exactly her friend was thinking.
"You know how Vlad's all alone in his cheese castle talking to his cat 24-7?"
"Uh... yeah?"
"No one deserves to sink slowly into oblivion alone like that! So... we should hook him up!"
"What?" Tucker exclaimed, running up to join his two best friends in the crowded high school hallway. "Hook who up? Tucker the Match-Maker is humbly at your service."
"Ghost Boy here thinks we should play Cupid and find the fruitloop a lady."
The techno-geek snorted, barely holding back a laugh. "I'm sorry, what?!"
"Who knows, maybe it's what he secretly wants!" Danny shrugged. "And maybe it would help him get over... you know who."
"Don't you think this could backfire?" Sam asked dryly, thinking of the introverted, reserved man the trio had gotten to know over the past several months.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try!" Tucker grinned. "But if it goes terribly wrong, it was your idea." He looked pointedly to Danny.
"Because it is my idea!" The blue-eyed boy said proudly, ignoring the eye roll from the girl next to him.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"To bring you one step closer to love!"
Vlad blinked, reading his 'profile' on some online dating website. "Ummmm..."
"Isn't it great?" Tucker said, looking quite proud of his work. Behind the two boys was Sam, looking at the man in pity and apology.
The man felt torn between laughter and anger. "Kids, I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think-"
"C'mon, give us a chance!" Tucker exclaimed, furiously continuing to add stuff to the profile. "Look, you already have two match requests!"
"I already have—wait, what?" The man shoved the techno-geek to the side to get a closer look. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Chat with them!" The dark-skinned boy opened the chat function. "Here."
A few messages came through from one of the 'match requests'. The four people watched the screen first with excited anticipation and then with shock and disgust.
"Okay, so online dating is a bust..." Tucker muttered, turning off the screen and wanting to forget what he had just seen.
"Yep." Danny agreed meekly.
"You did WHAT?!"
"Put an ad in the national newspaper calling for a speed date tomorrow morning."
"But—but that sounds so... desperate!"
"Well, I'd say this is a pretty desperate situation..." Tucker muttered honestly, scrolling down through the page he had set up.
"Wow... a thousand thirty six people RSVP'd." Danny commented in shock.
"Wha—A THOUSAND—?"
"Well, you'd better get busy Fruitloop."
The man looked practically ready to feint. After only a few moments of silence, he answered with a single word.
"Okay."
It was the afternoon of the next day, and speed dating had also turned out to be a disaster.
Long story short, the trio found out that while Vlad was great at many things, flirting wasn't one of them... which wasn't a surprise, really, since it had been decades since he had trusted anyone enough to consider a relationship.
After it was obvious that it wasn't going anywhere, the four decided to go out for lunch.
"Don't worry, Tucker the Match-Maker still—" the statement was cut off by a yelp when Sam swiftly kicked his leg.
"Maybe this was a bad idea..." The blue-eyed teenager muttered. "Sam was right."
The waitress brought another beer to replace the one Vlad already finished. "Excuse me while I attempt to drink away my sorrows." He took another gulp and grumbled to himself. "Curse you, increased metabolism and related inability to get drunk..."
Danny snorted. "Well I didn't even get to experience it at all, so—"
"That's honestly a good thing." The second glass was already half empty. He sighed. "I should have known this was a bad idea from the beginning..."
The man stood up with the intent to walk away, only to bump into someone. With a thud, the other person fell to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so—" Vlad's eyes widened upon seeing the stranger. "—sorry..."
"Well, are you going to help me up or not?" A light, teasing voice piped up from the ground after several seconds of awkward staring.
Once the lady was back on her feet, she smoothed out her dress. She seemed to be of Asian origin, middle aged but beautiful. She had slightly wavy, dark brown hair that seemed to fade a bit at the edges, and it went down a few inches past her shoulders. Brown eyes were framed with a light layer of mascara, and her lips were the color of ripe cherries. She wore a burnt-orange colored floor-length dress, in addition to a long, dark trench coat.
"That's quite a cliche way to meet, huh?"
"Yes." Blinking out of his trance, the man replied with a chuckle before holding out a hand. "Vlad Masters."
The lady smiled and shook the man's hand. "Jae Hwa. Or just Jay for short."
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, as well." The lady's eyes sparkled playfully.
"Um... do you want to..." he motioned at his table.
"Sure! Thanks." The two adults sat down, Jay pulling up a convenient extra chair, and immediately they started to make conversation.
"Match made." Tucker whispered, high-fiving Danny and ignoring Sam's amused eye roll.
A few minutes later, everyone had finished their lunch. Jay had left behind her purse to run to the restroom, and Vlad went to the front desk to pay.
"Does anyone else get the major creeps around that woman?" Sam muttered to her friends once the two adults were out of earshot.
"What do you mean?" Tucker questioned. "She seems nice!"
"I don't know..." The girl answered, fighting back a shudder as she remembered the concealed, hungry look in the lady's eyes.
"Well, I don't think she's a ghost." Danny answered under his breath. "My ghost sense didn't go off, and Vlad doesn't seem concerned."
Sam eyed the leather purse hanging on the edge of the lady's chair, which was halfway open. "Watch my back. I'm going in." Before the boys could argue, the teenage girl stood up and approached the bag.
Old receipts. An expensive leather wallet with several pockets and zippers. Several teeth on a string. Driver's license. Lipstick. Old discolored pictures. Wait...
Eyes widening, the girl scanned the space around her for onlookers before pulling out the white string in disgust. There were six teeth strung on it, some still bloody at the roots. They didn't seem to match; slightly different sizes and colors revealed that each had been from a different mouth.
"What the h—"
"Sam!" A harsh whisper.
The goth whipped her head up, seeing the warning glances from her friends as the woman was returning. She quickly put back the string and stole a few of the pictures before returning to her friends.
"Did you need something, dear?" The lady asked, causing the girl to hide a flinch. She had been seen.
"Um, yeah..." At least she didn't have to pretend to be embarrassed. "I was caught unprepared..."
"Oh. Oh..." The woman's expression changed from suspicion to sincerity. "Sure thing, honey."
The goth couldn't help but smirk at the red faces and awkward coughs of her male friends, who clearly hadn't been ready. "Thanks."
"She had human teeth in her purse...?"
"Well... everyone has their hobbies, right?"
Sam rolled her eyes. The trio had regrouped at the Nasty Burger to discuss the events of the day. "I think it's more than that." She took out the collection of photos, displaying them on the table. "This one's dated 1948. This one's 1996."
"1948?" Tucker whistled. "She's older than she looks..."
"Wait..." Danny muttered, studying the two pictures side by side. "She looks around the same age in both... and she looks exactly the same now."
"What?" The techno-geek took another look. "That's weird..."
"So... she's immortal or something?" The halfa wondered. "But she's not a ghost..."
"What if she's... something else?" The girl suggested.
The two boys looked at their friend in surprise, watching curiously as she pulled a worn-looking book out of her backpack.
"'A Complete Guide to the World of Mystical Creatures'?" Danny read aloud, clearly doubting his friend's solution. The purple-eyed teenager opened the book to search for the page she needed.
"How do you know that it's accurate?" Tucker wondered. "It could be all fairytales for all we know."
"Or it could give us a clue about what's going on." The girl answered smartly, finally finding the page. "Here. Look familiar?"
On the page, a sketch of a fox with multiple tails took up the middle of the paper, surrounded by paragraphs of writing. At the bottom of the page was a smaller drawing of a woman with pointed ears smiling seductively at the figure of a man.
"'The kumiho is known to be a vicious Korean Fox spirit'..?" Danny read, looking back at his friend in confusion and skepticism. "You really think Jay is a Korean Fox spirit?"
"It says these spirits can transform into a beautiful woman and put men under a spell, for the end goal of... basically killing them." The goth explained, internally cringing at the details she was leaving out.
"But we can't prove Jay is one of them, can we?" Tucker piped in. "Just for having pictures and creepy teeth on a chain?"
Sam pointed to a specific paragraph. "When these spirits transform, they can hide all Fox-like features except one of the nine tails. Jay was wearing long, draping clothing that would hide something like that. Plus, it says they often keep 'souvenirs' to remember their past victims."
"So you think the teeth are..." Danny shuddered before he could finish his haunted question. "That's gross."
"Danny's the spooky Halloween creature here and even he thinks it's gross." The techno-geek joked half-heartedly, clearly shaken up as well.
The ghost stared at his friend, looking deeply offended. "If you never call me that again, it'll be too soon."
"But you've gotta admit that it's pretty accurate—"
"We have to get to the bottom of this." The girl interrupted, remaining focused on the task at hand. "Vlad could be in danger because of us!"
"And if he's under a spell like the book says, he'll be powerless to protect himself!" The ghost boy realized, eyes lighting up in shock and guilt. "I need to go let him know what's going on."
"But if he's under a spell, he might not believe you." The purple-eyed teenager informed grimly.
"Plus, if she thinks you're a danger to her plan, she could put you under a spell too... right?" Tucker wondered aloud and whipped out his PDA, fingers flying across the keyboard. "I'll see if I can find any more information online..."
"While he does that, I'll go keep an eye on them."
"They're going to know you're there from Vlad's ghost sense, if not Jay's own powers." Sam argued. "I should go. I can keep you updated with the Fenton Phones, and they'll never know I'm there."
"You don't know that." The boy muttered, worried about his friend being alone so close to an enemy.
"Well, it's the best idea we have right now." The girl stood up, followed by the other two high-schoolers. "Come on!"
"Welcome to my humble abode."
"Mhm, humble..." Jay giggled at the huge expensive-looking mansion and the many acres of green land surrounding it. "It's beautiful out here."
The two adults entered the house, Jay marveling at the shiny, spotless floors and interesting color scheme.
"Mrow."
The man's eyes widened; he had forgot about an explanation for his translucent cat, who was padding around the corner. "Oh, and this is, uh, Eleanor."
"Aww, what an adorable little kitty!" The woman knelt down to pet the feline.
The white cat cautiously sniffed at the woman's hand, ears immediately flattening. A warning hiss rose in her throat, quickly cut off when she was picked up.
"Sorry about that. She isn't usually like this..." The cat continued to glare menacingly from the man's arms, not at all calmed by the hand stroking through her fur.
The lady smiled almost arrogantly at the ghost cat, unnoticed by the halfa in the room. "No problem. I know how animals can be sometimes..."
"Finally!"
"Did you find something?"
"'The kumiho has few known fears, but the most well known and likely thing to scare this spirit is a canine...' and it goes on. But the point is, we can use—"
"Cujo!" The ghost boy finished with a grin. "I like this plan! But we have to find him first. He could be anywhere in the Ghost Zone!"
"Well, let's get searching then."
Sam tip-toed up the stairs of the billionaire's lab. Luckily, it seemed that she had arrived in the Specter Speeder unnoticed.
The goth held her breath as she heard muffled voices. The microphones on her earrings were turned up to the maximum sensitivity, so hopefully her friends would be able to hear the same things she did.
For several minutes she listened to the quiet conversation, but nothing struck her as unusual. At least, not evil-Korean-fox-spirit unusual.
The girl crouched against the wall determinedly, prepared to remain there listening until the woman revealed her true intent.
After a while of roaming around the familiar part of the Ghost Zone, Tucker and Danny were tired.
They had whistled and yelled 'Cujo!' for what felt like hours, as well as squeaking dog toys and holding smelly meat in hopes to attract the green puppy. But unfortunately, the only one attracted to the meat was Tucker himself.
"Maybe we need to try something else..." The ghost boy finally muttered in disappointment. The techno-geek frowned in agreement, and the two began their trip back towards the portal.
"Hey, guys? If you found Cujo, you'd better get over here." An urgent voice chimed in their ears.
"We haven't had any luck." Tucker responded. "Did something happen?"
"They were just talking for a while, but a minute ago everything went silent. Something's definitely up."
"Okay, I'll come over and stall them. Get out of there as soon as you can." Danny replied before taking off full speed for the other portal, only half-listening to his friends brainstorm about what to do next. Confident that they had it under control, he muted the devices in his ears so he could focus on the task at hand.
After a few long minutes of flying, he finally crossed paths with the Specter Speeder, and the two teenagers waved at each other before heading different directions once again.
Soon he approached the gateway to Wisconsin. He entered the portal as silently as he could, praying that Vlad's ghost sense wouldn't give him away.
The halfa flew up through the ceiling of the lab, flickering into invisibility and listening intently for voices or footsteps. But the house was completely silent, even with his enhanced hearing. A sick feeling rose in his stomach as he began to scour the mansion with no luck.
As he flew past the open doorway that lead to the living room, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Taking a silent, anxious breath, he doubled back and poked his head in. Jay was standing only feet away with her back to the doorway, looking the same that she had at lunchtime. Standing motionlessly and facing her was Vlad, thankfully still in one piece, but oddly indifferent of Danny's presence which he normally would have noticed by then.
Putting on a brave face, the boy stepped into the room.
"Hey!"
Jay whipped around to see a thin, white-haired boy standing in the doorway, dressed in black and white.
The lady didn't look amused. "Who are you, some anime cosplayer?"
The half-ghost blinked at the statement, barely restraining a laugh and a snippy retort, but he remained serious.
He noticed in surprise that the lady's formerly dark brown eyes were now a bright purple, rivaling even the fiery amethyst of Sam's. Danny's attention shifted to the unmoving man behind Jay, who's eyes were overtaken by the same shade of purple. "What did you do to him?"
"Oh, just a simple spell, really." Jay smirked, looking proudly into the dazed eyes of the billionaire. "Makes him oblivious to my true intentions. Quite useful if I do say so myself."
"I know what you are." The ghost warned, green eyes glowing threateningly.
"I know what you are, too, halfa." The woman sneered at the surprised flinch. "In fact, I'm surprised I was able to get away with this for so long. I thought you two were more..." Her eyes twinkled humorlessly. "...impressive."
The ghost boy's expression hardened. "We don't have to fight. Just leave him alone and go back where you came from."
"Hmm..." The woman seemed to think about it. "No."
The green-eyed ghost stiffened as the hungry spark returned to the lady's purple eyes. She looked between the two males like a child deciding between two toys.
"But I could go for an appetizer." A tongue brushed over blood-red lips, and the boy flickered into intangibility just in time as the woman leapt at him. His eyes widened in shock and fear when he was knocked down despite the fact that he should have phased through the attack.
With a strangled gasp, he struggled to hold back a writhing, snarling animal not much larger than a cat. Razor-sharp claws ripped at his chest and stomach, gouging painfully through his clothing. Hot breath puffed against his neck, dozens of pointy teeth hovering less than an inch from the bare skin and preparing to bite down.
Right in the nick of time, a white blur barreled into the orange one with an enraged hiss. Breathlessly, Danny sat up and stared blankly at the two fighting ghost animals, who clawed and bit and scratched each other ruthlessly.
"Yep... that's a vicious Korean Fox spirit, all right." He wheezed before floating painfully up off of the floor and watching the two fighting ghosts.
When Vlad was finally torn from his trance, he was greeted with the sight of a shocked and bleeding Phantom, watching a fighting blur of white and orange in the center of his living room.
The first thing he felt was confusion. The last he remembered, he and Jay had been hitting it off quite well, talking and laughing and getting to know each other. There had clearly been something between that moment and what he was currently witnessing, but his mind couldn't seem to piece together what had happened.
A strangled yowl cut through the noise, and the white cat was thrown back, skidding on the wooden floor and slamming roughly into a nearby wall. One ear bled green, halfway torn on one side, and fur had been ripped out in numerous places. One paw was held limply in the air as the feline spat menacingly at the sneering fox.
Now that the motion had ceased, the man could see the other animal in more detail. The she-fox had orange and white fur, resembling the appearance of the living animals, but there were a few unusual details. Her eyes were a bright, oddly familiar purple, which made it painfully obvious that she was supernatural. Also, in the place of a normal bushy tail, there were several spinning appendages, whipping around aggressively in a wide arc. Cuts littered the fox's lithe body, and sparkly dark purple blood leaked out and made drips onto the floor. Teeth were bared in a snarl, and her mesmerizing eyes glared ferociously at each of the three ghosts in the room.
"Um, what exactly is going on here?" Vlad finally spoke up, causing silence in the room as the three other ghosts looked at him.
Danny's eyes met his, and the boy smiled in relief before replying, "It's a long story. Oh, and I really hate to say this... but that's your girlfriend." He sheepishly pointed to the fox.
The man's gaze traveled over to the growling orange animal again, and then to his injured cat. He transformed and glared with rage at the fox, feeling angry that Eleanor had gotten hurt because of him and feeling betrayed by the second person he had let into his life since the accident.
Jay muttered to herself, completely ignoring the conversation. "I was so close... it was that girl in black, wasn't it?" Her tails whipped around angrily. "I knew I should have wasted her when I had the chance!" Vlad didn't miss the way Phantom bristled at the threat.
Right on time, the ghosts heard a thump from the hallway followed by excited yipping. With a frightened yelp, the fox bolted, running towards a different exit just as Cujo emerged from the the doorway. Upon seeing the escaping animal, the green puppy grew into his more intimidating form.
"Go get 'er, boy!" Danny shouted, and the green bulldog followed the order with a toothy grin. Aggressive barking and the sound of claws scattering across wood floors echoed throughout the house. "Thank Clockwork that's over."
"Yeah, that was too close." Tucker piped in, emerging from the doorway followed by Sam.
"For the record, I was against this whole idea from the beginning." The girl said, frowning apologetically at the older half-ghost.
The older halfa smiled tiredly in return and drifted across the room, just now noticing the scratches that littered the ghost boy's body. "Are you all right?"
"Are you all right?" The boy repeated with a smirk. "You were the one who was put under some creepy spell and about to be murdered by a Korean Fox spirit."
"Oh, so that's what she is."
Danny shrugged. "We did some research."
"Honestly, why did I expect anything different?" The man sighed. "I guess my love life is even more dead than I thought."
"Even more dead than you?"
"Apparently." The man couldn't manage to hide his concern as he inspected the boy's injuries, wincing at how deep some of the scratches were. "She really got you good, didn't she?"
"Since she's, like, a different kind of spirit than us, intangibility didn't work against her." He explained sheepishly. "So that's why I look like a scratching post right now. But I totally could have done better if I knew that in advance."
"Sorry," the techno-geek said sheepishly, "the internet didn't say anything about that."
"I guess books from the Ghost Zone could have been more informative, now that I think about it." The goth added.
"Well, thank you, all of you. If not for you three, I might not be half-alive right now."
"If not for us, you wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place." Danny chuckled.
Plasmius bent down and gently stroked the purring white cat that had limped over to him. "Come on, let's get you two fixed up."
"Mrrow."
Welp, that's all I got. xD Again, thanks so much to Ella Le Hissy for giving me this idea! Also, thanks to everyone else who has been giving me their ideas too! I'll definitely try to incorporate them at some point, even if I don't see a place for them right now. This one just happened to be at a good time and I already had a chapter like this in mind.
Next should be a Valerie chapter or another original, depending on which I finish first. Soon after that will be the parody of Masters of All Time, which I have some great ideas for already! So stay tuned!
Also, this fic recently reached 30,000 views! Thanks so much to everyone who is still here even with the super long waits between updates. This has been a wild ride and its not even close to being over! ;)
Well I hope you all enjoyed!
-Specter14