This chapter was written by me. Enjoy! :)
The Mailman happily hummed as he toted the newest deliveries in his large mailbag. Then, finally, he flew down the streets on the way to his next destination. Yes, the sun was hardly up, but he was confident the townspeople would appreciate his quick and timely deliveries!
Unexpectedly, one of the packages he had in his possession flew out of his bag, then another. He gasped and pursued after them as they sailed through the air. He couldn't let his precious deliveries get misplaced! He was known and respected for protecting his customers' packages; he couldn't let this happen!
He followed the boxes to a nearby warehouse. One of the large garage doors was open, and the parcels flew through the entrance. Inside were even more floating boxes, all surrounding a strange apparition. "Come here, my prized rectangular containers!" The ghost exclaimed merrily as he gazed upon his collection of packages.
"Hey, you took my deliveries!" The Mailman accused as he floated into the warehouse. The other ghost turned around in surprise.
"Your deliveries?" the unfamiliar fellow questioned, confused.
"Yes, those are for my prized customers! I must have them back!" He pointed towards his two runaway boxes that floated alongside the ghost's other boxes. Suddenly the Mailman realized what tremendous power the unknown ghost had. "Oh my… my friend, you can levitate those boxes so effortlessly!"
The other ghost grinned. "Why, thank you! I am the Box Ghost, master of all containers, cardboard, and square! Who are you?" he asked rather politely.
"That makes perfect sense. I am the Mailman! I provide impeccable delivery times to the people of this great town! And you, my friend, would make a great delivery partner," the Mailman declared delightfully.
"As long as my prized boxes are safe and protected, and I can avoid that wretched cylindrical prison, I shall help you, Mailman."
"Sounds like a deal, my friend!" The two ghosts shook hands and began to devise their delivery strategies.
Ceci woke up gradually. She made a noise of annoyance and pulled the covers over her head to block the light beaming into her face. She had such an odd dream last night. But wait… that wasn't a dream!
She abruptly sat up, now fully awake. On the bright side, it was a weekend, so she didn't need to agonize about school for another day or so. She texted Jamie and Denise good morning and planned to meet with them within the hour. She showered before braiding her auburn hair neatly into its customary braid. Then, she ate a quick breakfast.
She glanced at her right palm and saw the black and white "DP" symbol. She smiled as she remembered the multidimensional Christmas truce where she and Danny had been given their soul bond. The Ancients had set it up, allowing her to see the other half-ghost again after he found his way to her dimension. Their bond was a secret to everyone except the two of them, and it let them call on the other and travel between their respective dimensions.
She returned her focus to the present and went to her bedroom to transform. She then phased out of the house and flew toward the source of the call. She ended up in a nearby playground, where she immediately saw Phantom, Sam, and Tucker. She grinned as she soared over to them.
"Long time no see!" Danny quipped with a smirk.
"Right? It's been forever!" Ceci answered with laughter in her voice. "I'll contact my friends to meet us here shortly, and then we can talk about where we should start."
"What's the game plan? Go ghost hunting and hope we find a ghost that isn't from this dimension?" Tucker asked as he cleaned his glasses.
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Sam responded as she flicked a stray hair out of her face. "We have our built-in ghost sensor right here!" She jokingly patted Phantom's back, who glared at her with piercing green eyes.
"Is that all I am to you?" he asked disgustingly.
"Yes." Sam and Tucker answered simultaneously, both giggling at Danny's annoyed expression.
"Tragic," Ceci commented sarcastically, causing her brother to move his glare in her direction.
After a few more minutes of banter, Denise and Jamie pulled up in Denise's teal Subaru outback. They parked along the nearby street and ran up to the others. The six of them were together again after the chaos of the day before.
"Wow, long time no see, huh?" Jamie commented.
"That's what I said!" Danny responded. "What are the odds?"
"Probably pretty high, considering you both are dorks." Denise teased. Danny and Jamie responded by sticking out their tongues at her in unison.
"Okay, everyone, simmer down," Ceci said. "What's the game plan?"
"Well, Sam figured out how to use her portal necklace, which is how we got here," Tucker responded. "We should keep track of who uses them when, so we know how long we have left on the cooldown. Hold on. I can set that up on my PDA." He pulled out his beloved device to set up timers for each.
"Good idea, Tuck," Danny praised. "I'm sure we're all pretty knowledgeable regarding the typical ghosts we see in our own dimensions, so it shouldn't be too problematic to differentiate them, right?"
"That's true," Denise said. "I say we head into town and be ready for ghost appearances, considering they're sure to show up anytime now. Should we split up?"
"Nah," Ceci responded, "let's stay together until we have a better feel for how we work as a team." She glanced around for any onlookers before transforming back to human. "I'm less conspicuous this way."
"Good point." Danny followed her lead, and the six teenagers began casually strolling toward town. They continued the lighthearted conversation as they went, now more familiar with each other after their hangout the day before.
Not long into their search, they heard a commotion and screams nearby. They rushed over to see random boxes flying into the air, some spilling their contents as they went. Danny, Sam, and Tucker all groaned simultaneously.
"Boxy?"
"Boxy."
The other three looked at them in confusion. "Who's Boxy?" Denise asked.
"Box Ghost. He steals boxes all the time back home." Danny responded with an annoyed tone in his voice. "The good news is that he's pretty harmless and easy to catch, but the bad news is that he's annoying."
"Hey, on the bright side, finding a ghost that doesn't belong here was easier than I thought it would be!" Jamie exclaimed optimistically.
Immediately after the words left his mouth, two ghosts appeared. The boxes drifted in their wake, and the ghosts chitchatted animatedly. Suddenly Ceci, Denise, and Jamie groaned. "Mailman!"
"Mailman?" Sam questioned.
"He's this ghost who steals mail and packages to deliver them, which wouldn't be the worst thing ever, but he does it at the most inopportune times," Ceci answered.
"It looks like Mailman and Box Ghost teamed up then," Jamie said as the two ghosts swiped packages from nearby shops. "Sorry, everyone, I clearly jinxed it."
"Oh, brother. They'll be annoying together now," Tucker muttered.
The six began approaching the two ghosts. Luckily, most of the onlookers had already fled the scene. But, even if someone had been watching, most of the town knew Cecilia Masters as a child of the resident ghost hunters, so it wouldn't have been so odd for her to approach a ghost or two.
"Mailman, what's going on here?" Ceci asked, catching the attention of the two apparitions.
"Spirit! You wouldn't believe the new friend I've made! He's practically a junior mailman already," Mailman responded cheerfully, gesturing to the shorter ghost next to him.
"And finally, I've met someone who appreciates my power over all things cardboard and square!" Box Ghost added proudly.
"Boxy, we have to get you back home. You don't belong here," Danny informed him in a no-nonsense tone.
Box Ghost pondered for a few seconds. "I thought this place seemed strange… One second I was hunting the human world for boxes, and the next, I was here."
"Yeah, we're here to bring you back where you should be, by the Ancients' request," Ceci explained.
"The Ancients?" The two ghosts repeated curiously.
Box Ghost eventually sighed in disappointment. "I believe you. I shall come with you as long as Phantom promises that I may keep my boxes!"
"You need to return the ones from here, but sure, Boxy, you can have plenty of boxes once we get back home." Danny chuckled amusedly. He had never seen Box Ghost act quite like this.
"I don't want you to leave," Mailman said dejectedly, pointing at all the containers floating around them. "We were such a good team!"
"I know, Mailman. Maybe we shall see each other again someday." The other ghost responded before lowering all of the boxes to the ground.
"I almost feel bad about separating them," Denise commented quietly to the others. "They seem to be such good friends already."
"I've never seen Boxy quite like this. Who knew he just needed a friend to be less annoying!" Danny chuckled to himself.
"Oh, well. It's a problem for later. Possibly the Ancients can do something about that after everything is fixed," Ceci suggested hopefully.
"I guess the four of us should get back to where we belong," Sam said, gesturing to herself, Tucker, Danny, and Box Ghost.
"We could meet up again tomorrow to continue?"
"Sounds good to me," Ceci agreed. "Goodbye!" She and her two friends waved as Tucker opened a swirling portal with his pendant necklace, and they disappeared through it, one by one.
"What a day," Jamie said tiredly. "I'm about ready to hit the sack."
"Not yet. We still have all of this to put away." Denise pointed to the dozens of boxes lying around everywhere. Jamie groaned at the sight, causing the girls to giggle.
Mailman had already disappeared, probably off to deliver his packages once more. The trio began picking up the stray boxes and returning them to their rightful places as best as possible. All along, they wondered what tomorrow would bring.
Carl the Mailman: Looks like a mailman version of Mr. Smee from Disney Peter Pan. He has the same voice actor: Jeff Bennett.