I've never had so much trouble writing than I did getting into these next few chapters.
Anyways, I hope this one is good. Lotta late nights and they keep on coming and they won't stop coming-
Chapter XXI:
I know the feeling haunt you
Danny Phantom sighed in defeat and turned to Dani with an exasperated expression.
"I hope you know that you're setting me up to fail."
Dani, being Dani, smiled at him. Raising a gloved hand to point at him. "Only when you're thinking like that. You have to be more positive!"
"Positive? Okay.." Danny looked at the floating rock in front of him then back at Dani, who was floating behind him. "I'm positive this isn't going to work."
Danny did smile at Dani's laugh.
The two halfas were currently in the Ghost Zone. Danielle had a plan to help Danny with the Lair issue. Because Danny didn't want to discourage her, he reluctantly went along with it.
Danny turned away from Dani and glared at the large piece of land. He held back a sigh at the thought of him listening to the younger halfa. But now he couldn't disappoint her since she knew he was going to try it out. He didn't even need to turn around to know she was staring at him with those big eyes filled with anticipation.
Ready to get it over with, Danny balled his hand into a fist and charged up an attack. He blasted a beam of ectoplasm onto the land and dragged his arm down, then up, then to the side. Satisfied, Danny stopped the beam and looked at his work.
It was a drawing of a shack that was carved onto the island.
Danny looked back at Dani with a smug smile that sank as he saw her glaring at him.
"What?" He eventually asked after making sure he was the one she was staring at. "I told you it wasn't going to work."
Dani huffed and crossed her arms. "Because you don't believe it will!"
"I don't think this is a "believe in the heart of the cards" moment, El," Danny chuckled. Upon seeing her unamused frown, he sighed and floated next to her. "But.. maybe you're on the right track. Only other ghosts would know."
A sigh came from the younger halfa. Then Danny saw her eyes light up.
"Wait," she started causing Danny to raise an eyebrow. "Other ghosts?"
"Dani," He warned.
"That could be it!"
Oh.. Oh no.
"Dani, don't-"
"We should totally ask around for help! Great idea, Danny!"
"Dani, wait-!"
But before he could stop her. All he saw was Dani taking off to, what would be for her, a random direction. His eyes widened. She was really going to go up to random ghosts for lair help?! Calling out her name, Danny hurried to fly after her.
There was no telling who she'd run into.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Are you sure you want me to do this with you?" Valerie asked Jazz as they walked up a flight of stairs.
Jazz nodded her head. "I'm sure," she verbally answered. "You've done the whole moving thing before."
"More times than I would've liked…"
"Then you're perfect to help me out," Jazz said as she stopped at the entrance door, Valerie behind her. She checked her notes before opening the door and walking inside the building.
Valerie was still reluctant about her involvement. She only knew what her dad had told her when it came to buying a place to live.
Yes, Valerie knew about Jazz's plan on getting an apartment. For whatever reason, the older teen told her first while it was still in the thinking phase. In fact, it was her idea, if it could even be called that.
("..And, I feel like I more than deserve the full college experience. Especially away from my loony parents," Jazz rambled.
Valerie doesn't know how this started. They had just walked back from the Ghost Portal after seeing Danny and Ellie off. All Valerie did was start a conversation on what Jazz was planning to do now that the lost teen was back, safe and sound. She wasn't expecting a full monologue about whether or not the redhead should stay on campus or not.
"Yeah, it's not like you can move out and get your own apartment just close enough for you to still be able to check on Danny regularly."
"Exactly," Jazz groaned. "…wait, repeat that?")
How was she supposed to know that Jazz Fenton, one of the smartest people in Casper High, would listen to a former A-lister-turned-Ghost hunter?! Though her "plan" did not involve Jazz at a courthouse. Unless it was a crucial part of getting a place that her dad didn't tell her about.
Before she could ask about what the redhead was doing, she saw her talking to someone so she kept to herself. With a grunt, she crossed her arms and looked around. So far it didn't look like anything she saw on Judge Judy. It just reminded her of a bigger and sadder version of going to the doctor when she was a kid.
Luckily for her, Jazz soon called out her name and they left the building with paperwork in hand. Valerie was more confused than ever. Stealing a glance at the blank papers, her eyes widened slightly.
"Is this what you and Danny talked about the other day?" She asked, her curiosity fully piqued.
Jazz nodded, but said nothing more. Talk about a interest raise. But the teen didn't try to bother her. She wasn't the type to get into other family's drama unless she was involved.
But that didn't stop her from being curious.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
By the time Danny caught sight of Danielle, he saw her stopped in front of someone. From the looks of it, she was talking to the ghost. It didn't look like she was hurt or anything, so he was immediately relieved.
"Danielle," He called out to her as he stopped and landed behind her. His voice was stern as his eyes stayed on the ghostling.
Dani flinched, most likely at his tone, before slowly turning around. She looked nervous, but was trying to play it off with a smile. "I see you caught up."
"I gave you four rules and you break the first one after a few days."
Dani sighed. Her eyes to the ground. "I know," she said quietly then looked back up at Danny. "Sorry, dad."
Danny's expression softened at her apology and nodded his head. He opened his mouth, ready to tell her to be more careful next time, until two other voices got his attention.
"Danny?" A male and feminine voice said in unison. They both sounded very familiar.
Danny finally looked up, to see who Dani was talking to before he caught up to her, and saw two familiar faces… and a more familiar bike. On the motorcycle were two ghosts. The female ghost had shaggy green hair, purple eyeshadow and lipstick, and wore her signature red leather jacket and skirt. The male beside her had blonde hair and freckles, wearing a gray coat with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Their respective red and green eyes were wide in shock and surprise as they stared at Danny.
"Johnny, Kitty," Danny greeted with a lopsided smile to hide his own nerves. "It's been a while, huh?"
"'It's been a while,' he says like he didn't disappear off the face of the earth," Johnny said nonchalantly once he got over the shock.
Kitty got off the bike and went to Danny. Her eyes were roaming on him, like she was looking for something. "Are you real?" She asked as she poked Danny's cheek with her red painted fingernail. Then she grabbed his wrist and lifted his arm to align with his shoulder. She stared at him before poking his side with her sharp nail.
"Gah! Would you stop poking me?" Danny exclaimed and tore his wrist away from Kitty, covering his side with his other hand. "Yes. I'm real."
Johnny and Kitty looked at each other, then at Danny. After a second or two passed, they ran to him with worried and angered expressions.
"Where have you been?!"
"It's been a year!"
"Are you okay?"
"Also who's the kid?"
"We've seen her in Amity, but we didn't think she knew you."
"Why did she call you dad earlier?"
"Yea- wait." Kitty paused. Her eyes looking at Dani then back at Danny before they widened in a realization.
'Did she just notice we looked alike?' Danny couldn't help but ask himself.
The female ghost gasped and looked at Danny with an alarming angered expression, her eyes glowing a bright red. Danny immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Why do you have a kid at this age, Danny?"
Danny gulped. His eyes darted to Johnny, who was no help because he was waiting for an answer as well, then back to Kitty. "It's.. a long story-"
"Then make it short."
"Right, okay," Danny looked at Dani. The brat wasn't helping him in the situation at all. He frowned at her and got a wide smile back. With a sigh, he turned back to Kitty. "She's adopted?"
Johnny had the courtesy to speak up. "She looks just like you, dude."
Damn it. Danny shot Johnny a glare then watched as Kitty just raised an eyebrow, expecting an explanation. "That's part of the long story. Okay, slightly longer version. She's a clone that I recently claimed as my daughter. No, I'm not elaborating."
"Fine," Kitty grumbled, obviously not happy with the answer. "What about the first question?"
"The question of where I've been?" He asked for clarification. When they both nodded he grimaced lightly and sighed. "That's also a long story. I'll tell you guys later." Probably.
He saw their expression go more morbid as they looked at each other then back at Danny. With no words, they both nodded. Obviously, expecting him to keep his word when the time comes. With the pin in that question, they moved to the next.
"The kid-"
"It's Dani!"
Johnny continued, fully ignoring Dani's outburst. Leaning forward on his bike with her arms folded. "-mentioned a lair earlier. Was that for you?"
Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Heh. Yeah. Thought I should give it a shot." That just received a raised eyebrow each. With a sigh, he muttered. "Long story short, I need a break from Amity and a few people in it."
Kitty and Johnny looked at each other before they smiled.
"Well, why didn't you say so, punk?"
"Nothing we can't help with."
Danny sighed in relief. He was glad to get out of the interrogation/reunion scene. It was finally time to talk about the stuff that mattered.
"Have you tried the obsession method?" Kitty asked.
Nevermind. The interrogation was fine. More questions.. please.
Of course, Dani was the one to answer the question. A smirk on her face as she replied, "Pops here says he doesn't have an obsession."
Danny cringed a bit. "Don't say that again. I'm too young to be called Pops." With Dani snickering behind him, he turned to the two ghosts. "To answer your question, no."
Johnny had an amused expression on his face. His eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face. "Dude," he started. There was even a tone of humor in his voice. "Do you really don't think you have an obsession? You?"
"Wasn't the whole 'Gonna catch 'em all' thing your obsession?" Johnny spoke up, putting up air quotations.
Danny blinked. "What? No?" There was an uncertainty in his voice. Obviously confused by his choice of words. "What does that even mean?"
"I think a better way of saying it," Kitty spoke up with a smirk. "Would be the whole 'Stopping all the ghosts' thing."
Johnny snapped his fingers, obviously agreeing with her choice of words. "Exactly. The wannabe superhero shtick."
"Oh, for the love of," Danny's hands covered his face. He didn't need to look back to know that Dani was most likely laughing at him. A bubbling frustration rose as he lowered his hands, showing his red face. "THAT'S NOT MY OBSESSION!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jazz suddenly paused, her pen frozen in place. The teen was sitting on Valerie's couch with a book and the paper she had gotten in her lap. On the other side of the couch was Valerie, remote in hand while the other was gently placed on her cheek.
Noticing Jazz freezing in place, Valerie took her eyes off the tv to look at her. "Something wrong?"
"No, I just," Jazz paused to get her thoughts together. "I had the strangest feeling that I started something.."
Valerie raised an eyebrow.
"Nevermind," she quickly said. "It's probably nothing."
"Right," Valerie said slowly before looking back at the TV in front of them. Though, she did cast a semi-concerned glance at Jazz.
The older teen couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by her uncontrollable outburst. Would it count as an outburst? It wasn't loud, but it definitely came out of nowhere.
'Another time, Jasmine.'
She went back to what she was doing, finishing up her paperwork. After a few minutes, she was finally done. A smile (smirk) on her face as she wrote on the last line. It was one step closer to starting her new life. After all, she can't let her baby brother get ahead of her.
Valerie seemed to notice Jazz's uncharacteristic mood. (And she wasn't sure if she should be scared or impressed by the smirk.)
"I guess that means you're finished," she said as she put the TV remote down. Jazz nodded. "Does that mean I get to know exactly what you're doing?"
"See for yourself."
Raising an eyebrow as Jazz handed it to her, she slowly took the paper and started to read through. Her eyes widened slightly before she blinked. Huh. This wasn't what she was expecting.
"Who's idea was this…?"
"Danny's."
"Huh." (A double huh!) "That's kinda cute."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Now back at the floating rock of an island, Danny sighed as he listened to the ghost couple give their suggestions. And that was putting it nicely. He wasn't too sure what they were. Their input became irrelevant when they admitted to not having a lair. (Which he wasn't going to get into at the moment.)
Admittedly, there was one idea that was similar to Danielle's. The only difference was that their way of thinking wasn't just 'everything is made of ectoplasm, so any ectoplasm could work.' And that was putting it in more comprehensible words.
It didn't stop the younger halfa from taking credit for the idea. Since Johnny 13 and Kitty weren't around for it, they couldn't debate. And Danny didn't *want* to debate, so he didn't say much about it either. Eventually, the trio were out of ideas on how to cheat their way out of Clockwork's game. The four of them were now sitting in a circle on the floating island.
"I'm sure actually building a lair would've looked really cool, Ellie." Danny said upon seeing her dejected expression, his hand on her shoulder. He could tell she was helping him as a way to thank him for helping her.
Dani looked up at Danny. He could see the disappointed pout on her face. "Really..?"
"Yeah," Danny answered with a wide smile. "It would be time consuming for multiple reasons. Mostly because making a mansion wouldn't be easy work."
"A mansion?" Dani perked up at that.
He nodded. "There'd be more than enough space for me, you, and any ghost in the GZ. I could even make something to entertain them! Like uh.."
"A Colosseum?" Johnny suggested at the same time Kitty suggested a park.
Danny was surprised by their inputs, but genuinely thought about it. "Actually.. yeah. There would probably be a lot of ghosts that want to test their strength. And it would be a nice way to keep them in the Ghost Zone," he said in acknowledgement. It wasn't a bad idea at all.
Well, now he wished he could make the lair. Which made accepting this a lot harder.
Oh my, oh my~
What a chapter huh?
I love writing Danny and Ellie dynamics. If I could do a whole fic on just them, I would. Mostly because I wouldn't need do a storyline.. (_ _).｡o
Anyways, I don't know if I spoke about the "Ellie" to "Dani" change. But I'm not gonna say, just in case.
Moving on, you guys don't know how long it took me to think about who would be the first ghosts Danny would run into in the ghost zone. I thought Ember at first cuz she my favorite, but I was like nahh at the last minute. So, I spent a few days just.. thinking. And I thought and landed on Johnny 13 and Kitty.
Is it cliché to make them Danny's closest Ghost friends in fics? Maybe. Do I care? Not really.
Finally, Jazz.. she's definitely doing something interesting. Wonder if it'll be brought up again.
Anyways that's gonna be all for now. Take it easy! Remember to hydrate yourselves and eat! Have a great night/morning! ~
Next up: Valerie and Danny has a chat.