The night, for once, was peaceful for Danny and Tucker. No ghosts to fight and no dangers to protect the city from. It was a great night, though it had a sad event that happened just moments prior. An event that has put Danny down a path of self-loathing.
"If only I was there sooner," He kept saying over and over again in his mind, wishing that maybe things could have been different if he had been there with her. He could have saved her.
But then...maybe he'd be the one 6 feet underground instead.
Regardless, Danny still wished he could have saved her, in time. He was the hero of Amity Park! He should have been able to hear her cries for help or should have gotten his ghost sense triggered at some point that day. But...it never did...and he lost the girl he loved because of that.
The next morning, Danny got ready for school, taking a shaky breath as he looked at his desk. A photo of himself with Sam and Tucker caught his eye, but only for a moment. The one next to it, the one of just him and Sam on the beach together, made him walk over and look at it. Her smiling face shone brighter than the horizon in the background. Her eyes glimmered with love toward him. And if she was around to hear him think these thoughts of her, she'd hit him upside the head.
"I'm not your typical girl to fawn over, Danny," She would say.
Danny scoffed, grinning at the thought of her saying that...before it faded to sadness once more. Memories of that night of her disappearance played like an old record in his mind. She had been missing that whole day. From 12 to the time Danny found her in the park. It was a sight he wished he could unseen.
"I need to find out who killed you, Sam," He said, tracing the frame for a bit. "I promise...you'll get your peace." With a simple blow of a kiss, he went to leave his room when...
"Ah, ah, ah," A voice sang out in the air, making Danny perk up and look toward his window. "Ah, ah, ah," He rushed to his window, opening it to listen closely as the voice sounded to be close by, though he couldn't see who it was. No one he knew, none of his next door neighbors, could sing with a voice like that. Yes, there was Sarah across the street, and she had the voice of an angel. But this voice...it belonged to a Siren.
"Hello?!" He called out, hoping to get an answer back. But as quickly as the voice came, it no longer returned its gorgeous hymn. For a moment, Danny felt as if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But then...he saw her. The green-haired ghost girl from the night prior, floating and flying around town. How his ghost sense never went off was beyond him. But regardless, he grinned either way.
And then...
"Ah, ah, ah," She sang out, making him stare in surprise.
She's the voice I'm hearing? He thought before he saw Tucker walking up to his door. I'll have to find her after school. And then he was off.
Meanwhile, Beatrice flew around the sky, enjoying the fresh, human air she so craved to be able to breathe in completely. The sun's warmth hit her deathly pale skin, making her take in the sensation with a deep breath and eyes closed.
"Oh, if only I could make my father understand," She said, flying over to a building and sitting on the edge of the roof, feet dangling off the side. "I just don't see how a world with wonderful sights and sounds...could be so bad."
"Beatrice!" She perked up, looking over to see Octavia flying over to her once again. "You can't keep leaving the Ghost Zone! What if Phantom finds you?!"
"Oh, Octavia," Beatrice sighed, looking back to the rising sun. "He already had...and he did nothing to harm me."
"Wait...when!?" Octavia yelled, floating over and sitting beside her best friend.
"The other night," Beatrice grinned. "He was sweet and kind. He even offered to give me a tour of the city." She giggled, not noticing the terrified look Octavia was wearing. "He wasn't what my father had warned me about."
"But he could be playing you!" Octavia interjected, making Beatrice scoff.
"He isn't," She said. "Besides, didn't he save the world from that meteor with the help of GHOSTS?" This shut Octavia up, making her think this over. She had to agree with Beatrice on that. Though it was before Beatrice's father took over as "Mayor" of the Ghost Zone and Netherworld, the ghosts still lent a helping hand to Phantom to save not only his world, but also the Ghost Zone. There was no denying that Phantom was a hero.
But Betelgeuse didn't see that.
With a sigh and a hand combing through her hair, Octavia gave Beatrice a look. "You know your father won't approve of this."
"I know," Beatrice sighed, looking straight ahead at the old abandoned Townsend Place straight ahead. She grinned, grabbing her friend's arm as a thought came to her mind. "Follow me." And they flew through the sky, heading straight for the manor.
"Where are we going?" Octavia asked with wonder as they went intangible and flew through the bottom floor window of the Townsend Place.
"You'll see," Beatrice said before flying them down to the basement. Once reached, Beatrice made them tangible and snapped her fingers. Immediately, an old portal to the Ghost Zone lit up and lights around the room turned on, revealing human artifacts placed delicately on shelves and tables.
Octavia gasped at the sight, staring in awe at the trinkets and baubles around her. "What is this place?"
"This is my collection," Beatrice answered, floating over to a figurine of a ballerina. "I've collected many things throughout my adventures out here."
(SONG: "Part of That World" - The Little Mermaid, 2023) [Semi-lyric change]
"Aren't you worried about your father finding this place?" Octavia asked, fear present on her face as Beatrice waved it off, floating over to a music box.
"He won't, and he wouldn't understand."
BEATRICE: Look at this stuff/isn't it neat?/Wouldn't you think my collections complete?/Wouldn't you think I'm the girl/the girl who has/everything?/Look at this trove/treasures untold./How many wanders can one basement hold?/Looking around here you'd think/"Sure, she's got everything."/I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty./I've got whozits and whatzits galore./You want thingamabobs?/I've got twenty./But who cares./No big deal./I want more.
Beatrice sighed, floating up to a window and watching some people walk by either alone or with someone else.
BEATRICE: I want to be/where the people are./I want to see/want to see them dancing./Walking around on those.../what do you call 'em?/Oh, feet./Floating on air/you don't get too far./Legs are required for jumping/dancing/strolling along down a.../What's that word again?/Street./Up where they walk/up where they run/up where they stay all day in the sun/wondering free/wish I could be/part of that world./What would I give/if I could live/out of the Ghost Zone?/What would I pay/to spend a day/cool on the grass./Bet'cha humans/they understand./Bet they don't reprimand their daughters./Bright, young woman/sick of floating/ready to stand!/And ready to know what the people know./Ask my questions and get some answers./What's a fire/and why does it...what's the word...burn?!/When's it my turn?!/Wouldn't I love/love to EXPLORE THAT WORLD I DREAM OF!
Octavia gave her friend a sympathetic grin as Beatrice sat on one of the chairs off to the side, her dreams playing in her ever-glowing eyes.
BEATRICE: Out of the Zone...wouldn't be alone...as part of that world.
(End of the song)
All of a sudden, the shrill sound of the ghost alarm blared throughout town, making Beatrice perk up from her saddened mood.
"What's going on?" Octavia asked as Beatrice floated back up to the window and looked out, seeing everyone running away screaming.
"I wAnT tO Go To ThE bAlL!" The dragon ghost yelled through the air, making Beatrice roll her eyes annoyed.
"It's the Dragon Ghost...again," She said.
"Well, let Phantom..." But before Octavia could finish her sentence, Beatrice disappeared from her sight. "Bea!"
Beatrice flew through sky, using her powers to try and distract the Dragon Ghost as she tried her best to stay safe.
"Okay, honey," She said, floating around. "I get it, life's unfair. But all we can do is..."
But stopping mid-sentence, the Dragon Ghost swung her tail and knocked Beatrice into a building, making her hit her back hard on the stone wall.
"Okay, that was rude," She quipped before a flash of black and white whipped through the sky and shot the dragon with a green ecto-beam. It flew back some, though kept its stance.
"Look, lizard!" Danny said. "I've been through a lot this week, I don't need you ruining it even more."
"Phantom," Beatrice took a breath, grateful that she wasn't winded thanks to her being a ghost, and flew up next to him.
"I want to go to..."
"Yeah, yeah, we know!" Danny said. "You want to go to the ball. I get it."
"Just calm down, Dora." Beatrice said, finally getting Danny to look at her in surprise. He stared as she flew forward, reaching out her hand to calm her. He couldn't stop staring, watching as her green curls blew in the light morning breeze.
Was he doing something wrong? Was he starting to move on from Sam after only a few days?
...
No, he couldn't get distracted. He couldn't let another girl into his heart just yet. He wasn't ready.
Right?
But there was something about this green-haired beauty that called out to him, stole his heart all over again like how Sam had years prior. He could just feel it. And though he wished his brain and heart would ignore this ache and let him move on naturally, they were going to make this decision for him now. It was too soon, yes, but the heart wants what it wants.
And it wanted the girl who called herself Bea-Juice.
"It's okay, Dora. I'm here," Beatrice said, shaking Danny out of his thoughts.
"Bea?" The Dragon said, grimacing in anger. "You're supposed to be on my side!" She breathed out fire from her mouth.
"I am!" Beatrice yelled as she did her best to dodge the attacks. "But you can't destroy an entire city just because you're angry!"
"Watch me!" The Dragon yelled, getting ready to attack her when Danny flew in and took the hit instead.
"No!" Beatrice yelled as she watched Danny fly through the air and hit a building, his head bouncing off the hard surface and falling to the ground, out cold.
The Dragon roared in anger as she went to attack Beatrice as well, only to get an evil look from the ghost girl. Her eyes, normally glowing green, were completely black, and the white glow around her changed to a bright green. Ecto-energy glowed around her hands in a white and black hue and her hair moved about in the wind wildly.
"How dare you!" Her voice boomed with a haunting echo through the air, causing the Dragon Ghost to back up in fear. Her eyes widened as Beatrice outstretched her arms to the side.
"I hear by banish you...to the Cold Realm!" She then brought her hands together, clapping her palms and making a sonar blast spread out toward the Dragon Ghost. And in a blink of an eye, she was gone.
"Bea!" Beatrice calmed her powers, taking slow, deep breaths as her eyes (now back to neon-green as before) scanned the air to find Octavia flying toward her. "You know that power is dangerous! What were you thinking?!"
But Beatrice wasn't listening, for her sight was now on Danny who had reverted back to his human form, still laying on the pavement...unconscious.
"No way," She said, flying toward him and falling beside him to check if he was okay. Octavia followed, watching as she flipped him onto his back. His eyes were closed, but he looked to be at peace in this dream-like state.
"Is he okay?" Octavia asked as Beatrice placed her ear to his chest. A small grin showed he still had a heartbeat.
"He's fine," She said, looking at his face as she sat up. And now that she got a better look at him, she was in fact mesmerized by him. His jet black hair shimmered in the sunlight and his pale white skin felt soft to the touch. His seemed more tan than her own (which made sense with what she was). And his parted lips looked almost equally as soft. All she wanted to do was kiss him. But she held back.
However, she was mostly captivated by the fact that he had two forms: a human that lived amongst the rest, and Phantom...the hero of Amity Park. She couldn't help but let her heart sore above her as she brushed some dirt off his cheek and smiled. She didn't know this feeling well...but it for sure made it's new home in her chest.
"Oh, Octavia...just look at him." She said, dreamily. "He's so, beautiful." Octavia stared with wide eyes as she took in what her friend said quickly.
Did she just hear the Daughter of Betelgeuse himself say she had fallen in love...with a human?
(SONG: "Part of Your World" REPRISE - The Little Mermaid, 2023)
BEATRICE: (Sings to DANNY) What would I give to live where you are?/What would I pay/to stay here beside you?/What would I do to see you/smiling at me?/Where would we walk?/Where would we run?/If we could stay all day in the sun/just you and me/and I could be...
DANNY: (Opens eyes slightly as he takes BEATRICE's hand on his cheek)
BEATRICE: ...part of your world.
TUCKER: Danny!? Danny!
BEATRICE: (Perks up and goes invisible with OCTAVIA as they hide)
TUCKER RUNS IN AND HELPS DANNY UP
TUCKER: Dude, are you okay?
DANNY: I'm fine. (Looks around) There was this girl.
TUCKER: Uh, what?
DANNY: She saved me from that ghost attack.
TUCKER: Bro, did you hit your head?! There's no one else here!
DANNY: I know what I saw, Tucker! Her voice was so...beautiful. I swear, one day...I'll find her.
THE DUO LEAVES THE AREA AS BEATRICE LOOKS OUT FROM BEHIND A BUILDING FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM HIM.
BEATRICE: I don't know when/I don't know how/but I know something's starting right now!/Watch and you'll see/someday I'll be/part of your WORLD!
(End of the song)