Chapter 7

"Daniel."

"Five more minutes mom," Daniel groaned and rolled over.

"Daniel, wake up already!"

Daniel opened his eyes to find himself staring at Danny Phantom. Daniel jerked back and glanced up at Phantom's face before burying his face in his pillow.

"Do I even want to know what time it is?" Daniel muttered into the fabric.

"Probably not," Danny admitted.

Daniel sighed and flipped back over. "What do you want?"

"I think I know where the ghost portal is," Danny said in an excited whisper. "We have to get up. We have to find it!"

Daniel furrowed his brow. "Why do you need me for that?"

Danny's face fell. "You said you'd help me and this is your chance. You want to get rid of me, don't you?" Daniel didn't deny it. "I thought so. If you want me out now's the time."

Daniel stared at the ceiling above his bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling like he was signing his life away, yet again, Daniel said, "Fine, what do I do?"

Danny shoved a bright silver and green gun toward Daniel. "Take this."

Daniel shrank away from the weapon fear clear in his face. "What do you expect me to do with that?"

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "If you're going out there you need to be able to defend yourself."

Daniel shook his head. "Where did you even find that?"

"The supply closet. Daniel, take it we're wasting time."

"I've never even held a gun before, how do you expect me to be able to do this?"

"You point and pull the trigger. It's not hard," exasperation tainted Danny's voice but Daniel couldn't bring himself to take the weapon.

"I can't. I won't. I won't shoot at people!"

Realization flickered in Danny's eyes and his voice softened, "It won't hurt humans, Daniel. It's an ecto-gun, meant for ghosts only. You probably won't even need to use it."

"It doesn't hurt people?"

A different look that Daniel couldn't identify passed over Danny's face. "No. It won't"

Daniel took a deep breath before taking the gun.

"For emergencies only."

"Right."

The boys crept down the hall jumping at every little noise. Daniel stared at the gun in his hands. He was having a hard time keeping it aimed at the floor.

If Danny didn't realistically think Daniel would have to use the gun why would he have given it to him? Daniel wished he had his baseball bat instead, he knew how to use that. Plus, you didn't have to know how to aim to hit your target. People recover faster from bruises than they do gun shots.

Daniel wished he had changed out of his pajamas. Who goes off on an adventure in his PJ's?

Daniel didn't notice that Danny had stopped moving until he ran straight into him.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Danny was muttering to himself. "The portal's right here. It's like I'm," Danny's eyes lit up, "Standing right on top of it!"

Danny suddenly grabbed Daniel's arm and they phased through the floor before Daniel could protest. They landed in the middle of the Master's private library. Danny glanced around and shook his head.

"Not down far enough."

Daniel yelped as they began to sink through the floor again. Before they were waist deep in floor Danny cried out in shock and the pair sprang out of the carpeting. Danny released his death grip on Daniel and hung his head, taking deep breaths.

Daniel started at him. "What happened?"

The other boy shook his head. "It's blocked from ghosts. I don't know how she does it."

Danny's smile sent a shiver down Daniel's spine. "How who does it?"

"Mom. There's a ghost shield around the lab." Danny glanced at the blank look on Daniel's face and elaborated, "It means that I can't phase through. We'll have to get to it the huma- normal way. There has to be a way to get in from here. Start looking."

Danny spun toward the shelves and started tugging at random books. Daniel rolled his eyes. It would take all week to find an entrance that way. Instead he turned toward the table and couch groups placed around the space. One group had books splayed out across the small round table. Daniel wandered over and was surprised to find a collection of yearbooks from his parent's college days. Since when did college's give out yearbooks?

The book was open to the graduating class of 1985. There was his mother Maddie, looking as eccentrically regal as always. Daniel smiled at her disgusting 80s haircut and flipped the page, looking for his father. As he turned the page a picture fell out of the binding. It was a photo of his parents with a big man standing behind them. The man had his arms wrapped around Vlad and Maddie. The trio looked comfortable as they laughed at the camera. They looked happy together.

Daniel flipped through the class headshots trying to find a face to match the unknown man in the photograph. There he was, Jack Fenton. He looked vaguely familiar but Daniel had no idea why.

"Whatcha lookin' at?"

Daniel jumped. Of course he hadn't heard Danny come up behind him.

"Just some stuff from my parent's college days. It's not important," Daniel replied. He made to put the picture down but Danny ripped it out of his hands. Daniel was about to object when he saw tears in Danny's eyes. Panic spiked in Daniel's stomach then Danny blinked and the tears were gone, like Daniel had imagined them.

Daniel took a risk and asked, "Danny, who is that?"

Danny bit his lip and considered not answering. "My dad." Like it matters anyway.

"Oh."

Danny's head suddenly shot up and he shoved Daniel down behind a couch right as the library's double doors sprang open. Daniel stuck his head between table and couch legs to see who it was.

Standing In the wide space was Maddie. She held a giant bazooka the same colors as the gun Daniel had. The gun! Where had it gone?

"Give me back my son you ectoplasmic creatin!" Maddie yelled before firing off a blast. Danny jumped into the air a split second too late. The foaming blast struck his legs and Danny pinwheeled wildly toward the door. Daniel gaped as his mother pulled out a long silver tube and a net sprang out of the device entangling Danny and forcing him to the ground. Daniel was too shocked to move.

Maddie marched over to the fallen ghost child and stuck the bazooka in his face. "Where. Is. My. Son?" Maddie enunciated each word with such force Daniel shrank back in his hiding place.

Danny didn't reply. He stared straight back at Maddie daring her to shoot.

"Where is he?" She pushed the gun farther up her shoulder.

"I don't know. " Danny's voice was as icy as the Arctic Ocean.

"You're lying!"

No reply.

"If you won't tell me voluntarily, I'll have to force it out of you ghost," Maddie spat before grabbing a fistful of net and hair and dragging Danny out the door.

Finally Daniel found his legs. He sprang to his feet, still behind the couch, and planned to call out. The look on Danny's face stopped him.

No, Danny mouthed. Don't do it! Find the lab!

Daniel stood stunned as he watched his mother drag Danny away.

Daniel ran through the hallway. He had forced himself to wait fifteen long minutes in the library before he couldn't take it any longer. He had to stop Maddie from hurting Danny. God knows what she'd do to get him to talk.

Daniel ran until he couldn't take the burning in his side any longer. He slumped against a wall and sank and sat on the floor heaving deep breaths. This is useless. He had no idea where Maddie had gone and running through an empty hall isn't useful in the least.

Daniel's hope faded quickly in the early morning light. It had to be close to 6 AM by now. Daniel stood as he caught his breath. he'd go back to the library, there had to be something to help him. There has to be.

Daniel turned to retrace his steps and froze in place. Floating at eye level was a short, chubby, green skinned man. He had a wide handle bar mustache over a friendly smile. Kind eyes peeked out from under bushy eyebrows. He had on a regal red robe and the most ridiculous hat Daniel had ever seen. It was shaped like a giant cheese wedge and a small crown teetered on top.

"Hello, there young man," the ghost said his smile impossibly wide and his North American dialect incredibly thick. Daniel made a small noise deep in his throat and leveled the gun at the ghost's face.

"Who are you?" Daniel asked unable to keep his voice from wavering.

The ghost's smile didn't falter. "Watch where you're pointing that gun, young man. That can hurt people, don't you know."

"Who are you?" Daniel repeated more forcefully.

"I'm the Dairy king, don't you know!" The ghost replied with a laugh.

The gun sagged a bit. "The Dairy King?" Daniel asked incredulously.

The ghost nodded. "Well, I was in my time. You seem lost, young man."

Daniel hesitated. The ghost didn't seem dangerous but looks often deceive.

The ghost took Daniel's silence as an affirmation. "I could help you out, young man. I know this mansion like the back of my hand, don't you know!"

Daniel blinked in confusion. "You do?"

"Yessiree, I built this place & have been here ever since! Now, where are you trying to get to?"

Daniel finally lowered the gun but kept his guard up. "Do you know anything about a secret lab?"

A troubled expression took over the Dairy King's face. "Why would you want to go there? That's a dark place, don't you know."

Daniel bit his lip. "My friend might be in trouble. I need to help him. Please, if you know how to get there, please, tell me."

The King sighed before floating down the hall a few feet. he turned back to see Daniel hadn't moved and motioned for the human to follow.

Daniel followed the ghost back to the front of the corridor. The King stopped before a painting of a pastoral scene Daniel had never paid much attention to.

"Push on the bottom right corner of the frame, young man," the King instructed.

Daniel did so and jumped back in surprise as the wall panel swung open wide. Daniel peered down the ominous, dark staircase and gulped. He had ran right pasted it and hadn't even realized it.

He turned back to the King. "Thank you so much."

The King smiled. "Your welcome there, young man."

Something bugged Daniel and he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Why did you help me?"

The King gave a mock gasp before responding, "Not all ghosts are evil, don't you know!"

Daniel smiled and nodded.

"The Phantom is a very important young ghost, young Daniel. Protect him, please, sir," The ghost added as he faded from view.

Daniel's heart sped up when the ghost said his name. It kept its pace as Daniel turned back to the stairs and slowly began a long descent into what Daniel hoped wasn't his end.

A/N: Sorry it's relatively short. We're coming down to the wire! IT's about to hit the fan

What'd you think of the new description?

Until next time, GeekyZelda