So, this is a little later than normal. If you guys waited till midnight, I'm so sorry. I've been busy all last week, so i barely had any writing time much less any ideas on what to write. So some of this might be garbage.
Reviews:
danifan3000: Those are vividly interesting ideas. I might use them when the time is right.. or when im bored. If i don't have a chapter on it, it'll definitely be a oneshot.
dInvadorJohnny: Eye for an eye indeed.
Okay let's get to it.
Chapter XI:
Planning
"That's a terrible plan."
Danny tensed the moment all eyes turned to him. The three of them were wearing shocked expressions on their faces. Which was admittedly his fault. He didn't mean for the words to sound as harsh as it did. He cleared his throat and muttered an apology. "I mean, it's not a bad idea." He said. "It's just where we'd have to go that's the problem."
"I know," Jazz sighed, relaxing slightly, but her expression stayed grim. "We don't have to do it now. Just whenever you genuinely feel ready to."
He wasn't sure if that was a better response. Is that something he could just feel ready for?
Once again, the full idea wasn't bad. In fact, he liked it. Hiding in the Ghost Zone was a great idea. The problem was getting to. There were only two working portals in all of Amity Park, but only one was actively on at all times. Meaning, he'd have to go back home. Did it count as home anymore? He doesn't think so. It was more like his old house. His old house that had two particular people that he spent months trying to escape from. That was the problem. A big one.
Danny felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. The first thing he noticed was Ellie not being in his lap anymore. Instead, Jazz was sitting in front of him, eyes laced with concern.
"Danny," his sister spoke to him in a soft voice. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure everything out."
The halfa stared at his older sister. He desperately wanted to trust her words. He wanted everything to be okay, but that's proving more difficult than he wanted.
Danny's lips tightened for a moment before he gave her a wary smile. "I'm guessing building it ourselves isn't an option?"
That must have not been what she was expecting because Jazz was taken aback. "Build it? You know how long it took them. Imagine how long that would take us!"
"Only because they built up with trial and error. We watched them make a successful one in front of our eyes." Danny explained.
Jazz was obviously on the fence with the idea. "So you know everything that you would have to do from memory?"
"Well, no." Danny admitted. "But, the blueprints have to be somewhere in the lab."
"We'll need the parts."
"I can help with that." Valerie spoke up, hand raised. "Maybe even borrow some tech from Axion Labs."
"Where your dad works?" Jazz exclaimed.
At the same time as Danny said, "Is borrowing the right word for that?"
Valerie shrugged. "They have the money to get more. It's literally owned by a billionaire. They'll be fine. Besides, what dad won't know won't hurt."
While Jazz looked at the teen with shock, Danny was amused by the offer. He wasn't fully expecting Valerie to want to help out. Frankly, he was relieved that she did. "Oh, but if I tried to," Danny started to say, only to get nudged by the girl.
"Don't start, Phantom. You're lucky I'm trying to help." Valerie gave him a playful glare.
Danny grinned before turning back to Jazz. "If we can't build it, then we'll.. try your plan."
"And if everything fails?"
He repressed the urge not to wince at the idea of the plan not working, but it was a necessary process when it came to plans. Not everything works out. So he thought about it.
"There's Vlad."
Silence.
Maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud.
"What? I'm just saying he had one!" He said to try and defend himself with minimal success. He was met with that same silence. "You guys don't think I'd go to Vlad for anything, right?"
That stirred some different reactions. Ellie, who he adored and loved so much, shook her head. Valerie simply shrugged her shoulders, and Jazz..
"Why are you thinking about it-?!"
"I mean, I could see you running to him if he was still in Wisconsin."
He definitely shouldn't have said that out loud.
Danny was disgusted. He was about to retort, until he thought about it. Vlad's place there was pretty cool. Then he thought about it more. His nose scrunching up as he thought of the main problem he had with the billionaire. "There is no way I am going to my biggest enemy for help."
"Yet."
It took the other girls to keep Danny from lunging at his laughing sister. The rest of the conversation was lighter from then on. The change of the atmosphere from before was relaxing for Danny. Which wasn't surprising. After being in that boring cell and horrifying lab, anything would be better. It was nice to let his guard down just a bit. He wanted to fully be relaxed among his peers, but something in him was against it. He wanted to say he didn't know why, but that would be a lie. He knew exactly why. Which is why he didn't fight the thought. He felt safer with his guard being up still. But he also felt guilty to have it up with his family and.. friend.
"Okay," Jazz spoke up. They were all sitting closer to the coffee table. The older spread out sheets of paper along the table, all covered in neat handwriting. "So far we have Plan A and Plan B." She pointed to both respected labeled papers.
After a long debate about which was which, Plan A, was eventually Danny's idea of building their own ghost portal. Reasoning being they figured out mostly everything already. Jazz will go into Fenton's Lab and snag the blueprints when Maddie and Jack aren't there. Once that's in their possession, Valerie will manage to get the parts necessary, with the help of Ellie if needed. Danny was in charge of putting it together because 'you wanted to build it, so you're building it.' But he didn't mind it, with how long he'd watch and help his parents with their portal, he was the right person to do so. Of course there was the problem of the portal not working. He'd seen it happen enough times for it to be possible. But they grab the recent blueprints (and put the button somewhere else) it was less likely. The main problem was location. They were sure Damon; Valerie's father, wouldn't appreciate having a ghost portal in their apartment. So, they needed a spot to both build and hide the new portal. And as much as he didn't want to admit it at the time, time was also a problem. Especially if it would be just him doing the construction work.
Plan B was Jazz's idea. It stayed small and simple. All of them sneaking into FentonWorks and going through the portal. All they needed was Jack and Maddie out of the building. So, yes, the plan was very simple. But it wasn't easy. Not to Danny, anyways. He'd rather spend the rest of his life farther away from the house. To him, there were too many risks. His mind was racing with what could go wrong. He couldn't afford to get caught again. They already tried to kill him multiple times- once. Who knows what would happen if they see him again. What if they got the GIW again? Would they try to kill him again? What if they changed the security in the house? What if— Basically, Danny didn't think it would be a good idea, but he'll kept it as an option. After all, it was simple. But, much like the portal, there was much room for error. Just this plan had higher stakes.
Then there was Vlad…
.
. .
. . .
Continuing.
But if he had to go to the billionaire, that too was also relatively simple. Easy, too. Despite their 'differences,' Vlad's goals weren't exactly difficult to maneuver around. It was just the inevitable topic of bringing up his mother, that was the problem. …or was it? It could be very entertaining to see Vlad's reaction. As fun as the thought was, Danny's gut was against it. He didn't know exactly why, but something would definitely go wrong. Like making a deal or something he didn't want to do. It was Vlad, after all. But he kept that much to himself.
After roughly an hour on and off the topic, Jazz had left the apartment for the night, despite Danny's protests. She had classes early in the morning. He supposed some things never change. He begrudgingly let her leave, but was glad Ellie had stayed. Even if she passed out only minutes after the oldest Fenton had left. Danny laid Ellie to sleep comfortably on the couch, thanking Valerie before he put a blanket over her.
Tearing his eyes away from the younger, he looked at their current host. Briefly catching the pointed stare that was between them. Strange. But he didn't comment on it. He found no need to. The girl made her way back to the choice and sat down as Danny stared absentmindedly at the wall. There was a silence between them. It wasn't tense, but not exactly comfortable either. They were both waiting to see if the other would speak or not.
"You know," Valerie spoke up, finally breaking the silence between them (Danny mentally cheered). "You've been taking all this stuff surprisingly well."
Danny huffed. "Not really. I think I'm still processing everything. Need more time for it to finally sink in, I guess. Waking up in new places hasn't really been common the past year."
Valerie absentmindedly nodded her head. She wanted to ask more, but bit her tongue.
"Where have you been sleeping, by the way?"
The girl stiffened. He could see the internal debate that was going on in her head. After a few seconds she responded with, "here."
Danny blinked. "Here? On the couch?" There was a wave of guilt the moment she nodded her head. "Sorry, Val. You can have it tonight."
"You sure?" Valerie asked, surprised.
"You can take it as my apology for biting you earlier." He said (half) jokingly.
Valerie huffed out a laugh. "If you say so."
The two fell into another silence. Danny thinks this one was more on the comfortable side. He vividly remembered the same silences whenever they were on patrol together as Phantom and Red. After a moment, she finally asks him something. "You hungry?"
"..huh?"
"Are you hungry?" She repeated.
Danny blinked. He was about to say no. That the single bag of chips he had snagged before was more than enough. Until he turned to look at her. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't exactly place. Nothing bad, but it still rubbed him the wrong way. So, he did the best thing he could and looked away with a shrug. Eyes on the papers that were left on the coffee table. "I'm not starving, yet. So I'm fine."
"I see." Valerie hummed.
No more words were exchanged. A shuffling filling the halfa's ears, but he didn't turn his head to check on what it was. From the distant steps he heard after, he could only assume that Valerie had gotten up and walked off.
That was all that he heard clearly. Soon after, the world started to sound.. foggy? No. Muffled. His vision was the foggy one. Right? No, that still wasn't right. It didn't matter. He didn't know when he turned around to lean back against the couch while he sat on the floor. But he did. The image of Valerie's expression on his mind. It made him feel.. vulnerable. Exposed. But not in the way Maddie's or Jake's gaze did.
Of course, that didn't mean he liked it..
His vision flickered for a moment before he heard an audible 'click.'
Danny's vision cleared as he looked to see what caught his attention.
"A.. sandwich?' Danny tilted his head curiously at the plate.
"Ham and Turkey." Valerie stated. "It's not much, but it should still do some good."
Danny looked up at Valerie. "I said I was fine."
"I know…"
He stayed silent, expecting something else to be said.
"But" 'There it is.' "You've been asleep for two weeks. You need more than just chips and water." She explained. "If you're really not hungry, then I won't force you to eat it or anything. I just wanted to be sure."
Should that shock him? Probably not. He shouldn't be shocked over basic human things.
Danny dumbily nodded at his host.
Valerie smiled and went to her room after double checking to see if the halfa was really sure about giving her the bed tonight. To which, Danny reassured her by saying he was sure and that he didn't feel like sleeping anyways. The answer seemed to have lowered her worries because she fully went in the room, closing the door behind her. It was faint, but he could hear the bed creak after a while. The lights under the door going dark.
So, Danny stayed on the floor.
It was quiet.
Unlike the quietness in the cell, he was aware of the breathing of his cou-daughter-sin behind him as he sat on a carpeted floor. It was different. A pleasant one. Or that's what he wants to think. Everything about the day was different.
He sat on the floor. Staying silent as he recounted the day that he had. He's not dead. He's been asleep for 2 weeks, with Valerie. Valerie knows he's Phantom. He bit her. He's not dead. Jazz and Ellie hugged him. He talked to his family again. He's not dead. He needs a ghost portal. He's not dead. ….right?
Danny looked back at the plate in front of him. There he saw the ham and turkey sandwich, perfectly cut up horizontally so he could see the layers of the meat with cheese and lettuce. Reaching out, he picked up the closest slice. He stared mindlessly at it. He wasn't hungry. He hasn't been for months awhile. The chips were fine.
He took a bite.
He wasn't hungry.
He took another.
The chips were fine.
And another.
Then he stopped.
Danny's vision got blurry as he lowered his head on a popped up knee. Vaguely aware that he was trembling as he tried to wipe away the oncoming tears. "It shouldn't be this good.." he muttered to himself. He felt pathetic, but at the same time he was relieved. He wasn't dead.
He had escaped.
That's all for this chapter. So, the plans are detailed out for a reason. I decided to make a little poll for all you readers. What plan would you like to see? To note, I have chapters planned. I know which plan im going to do, but if it's a plan that people would like to see.. ill make a little "What if" side story on it.
So, vote on that. You guys have a week.
See you all til then (hopefully).
Have a wonderful day/night. Don't forget to drink water and eat, seriously.
Next up: Jazz and Danny have a private conversation; the plan is chosen.