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Danny and his friends tracked though the surrounding area of Amity Park. Along a road in-between the corn fields. Danny stopped walking and demanded to know, "Wes, why are you following us?"
Something moved in the corn fields. Then a ginger boy came out. "I..."
"If this is about your theory again..." Danny sighed. "For your information, we just want to explore the abandoned mall."
"I didn't knew you were into urban unboxing." Wes said.
"I'm not, but she is." He pointed to Sam. "Wanna tag along? Maybe you get your proof. Or you finally accept that I am not a ghost."
Wes looked around. "Fine, but only because I don't want to walk around here on my own."
"Then get going." Sam said as she took lead of their group of five. Sam, Danny, Tuck, Val and Wes.
Minutes later, they found the old, big building. "A shame it closed..." Val mused. "But the new one is easier to reach, even if this one is bigger."
"Bigger?" Tuck said, "The old Amity Mall is twice the size of the new Master's Mall."
Danny rolled his eyes. "You would think someone this rich could build a bigger mall." he commented.
The entrance was closed, but Sam broke the look. For all Wes cared, this confirmed her reputation to him. Not necessarily the ones that she breaks into morgues. As no one can agree on a reason why she would do that, he decided there rumors are trash.
Stepping into the building, they were hit with a feel of dread. The building was familiar to them, so it was even more uncanny to see it emptied out. There was nothing, not even dirt.
The mall closed because most people couldn't be bothered to drive there, especially after the new mall in the heart of Amity had been opened. Not even vandals can be bothered to get there.
The light, weirdly enough, was still on. Stepping in, their steps echoed though the hall.
"Kind of disappointing." Danny said, "Boring."
"I suppose you are used to scarier things, Fenton." Wes said, "did you plan anything to do here?"
"Exploring." Sam said.
Tucker said hopefully, "Maybe we see some unsold items!"
Val rolled her eyes, "Doubt that. The valuable stuff had been send to other stores long before the mall closed down. Any remaining stuff, hm, either sold out due to very cheap prices or also send to other stores. This mall is more picked empty than Danny's allowance."
"Hey!" Danny complained.
"She has a point." Tucker admitted.
Then, they felt how they slipped. They fell and landed on the floor. On a floor.
Not the gray linoleum of the mall, but mustard yellow carpet. Danny stood up and looked around. The walls were plank with a yellow wall paper, there were no windows. The ceiling was not exactly high, with led lights, the energy was on.
"Where are we?" Valerie asked, "Did we fall though a portal?"
"Didn't feel like a portal." Danny stated. He gestured them to be silent, Sam even covering Wes' mouth. Closing his eyes and focusing on his hearing, he heard, first of all, their breathing. But then he heard steps. Fast, yet heavy steps, getting louder and louder. Then there was the sound of cables rubbing against each other, saturated with metallic clinging. "I hear something. Val...." She activated her suit. Wes eyed her surprised. "Damn, didn't see that coming." he thought. Valerie activated her wrist gun. Sam let go of Wes and activated her wrist ray. Tucker got one too. Sam then took something out of her skirt pocket. A lip stick.
She gave it to Wes who looked on confused, then it clicked. Danny hears something, everyone readies a weapon, this stick must be a weapon.
Then a black amalgamation of what looked like cables peaked out of a corner. Then it attacked with a roar. A cold feeling rushed down Wes' spine, he dropped his stick. Valerie shot the thing, pushing it back. Other than that, it was unbothered by the blast.
"Run!" Danny called. Wes felt himself be picked up. It was Phantom. He and the ghost flew close to the wall. "The hell! can't go through walls!"
They ran and flew though the same looking corridors, Danny and Val taking turns to shoot at the thing. Sam and Tuck also got some shots in.
They soon reached an exit door, there Danny dropped Wes and created a shield around them. As he opened the door, the monster hammered against the neon green shell, it cracked.
The door closed and Danny sealed it, gluing another shield, albeit flat, against it, using ecto as the clue. After that, they got going.
More floors, the same mustard carpet.
It felt like hours that they had walked around. By now, even Tucker gave up to find a signal.
"Not our world, not the ghost zone." Danny said. "I can't sense a lick of ectoplasm."
"This is not how I imagined it to go." Wes said. "Being stuck in whatever this is."
"Wes, if we ever get out of here-"
"I won't dox you." Wes said. "You, too, Valerie."
Tucker asked, "Why the change of mind?"
Wes took a deep breath. "When that thing came, and Danny carried me... I lost my weapon, so he definitively saved me there. Something you do on the daily for Amity Park." Wes said. "I realized, you save us, constantly. Many people depend on you, maybe this is why I dropped it? I was counting on you. Amity Park would be lost if the GIW would get you.
"Sure, Valerie exists, but you... you fought the Ghost King!" Wes recalled. "Sorry, Valerie, but this is hard to top."
"I can't disagree." Valerie said. "Now that you mention that. Danny, about the king... what now? How is the zone fairing without..."
"Without Pariah?" Danny said. "Like before."
"Doesn't the zone need a ruler?" Wes asked.
"You assume wrong, mortal. The zone never had a ruler. Pariah was just a tyrant who conquered our realm." an Observant spoke, coming into view. "I finally found you."
"What is this place?" Danny demanded to know.
"A place not meant to exist nor a place you are meant to find." the Observant said. He opened a portal with his claws. "A world between worlds. Now follow me, you were here long enough."
"How long were we here?" Tucker asked.
"In this world, three hours. In your world, two days. This reality does not care about chronology of time." the Observant said.
"Two days! Shit!" Danny said. Wes eyed him surprised. "Yes, I cuss! Shocked?"
"A bit."
They walked though the portal. The Observant said, "Me and a few others were trying to get you out as soon as you fell in, but the gap world doesn't even tolerate our powers." They then left though a different portal.
"Two days. Our parents will be pissed." Sam said, draping an arm around Danny.
"Well, if mine notice." Danny corrected her.
"My parents and Val's dad will be worried." Tucker said. "And Wes'."
"Well, I'll get going." Val, still in her suit, took to the sky.
"Dude, could you give us a lift?" Tucker asked.
"Sure. You, too, Wes?" Danny looked to Wes.
"That would be nice." he said timidly.
Sam climbed into her room though the window. She did this so often, Sam did not worry about anything. As her foot was about to touch the floor, the light turned on. Her mother was in the door, arms crossed. Her mother looked angry, but Sam was sure she saw some worry in her eyes. "Samantha! Where have you been!"
She stood straight. "My friends and I accidentally fell into a natural portal. Phantom rescued is."
Pamela relaxed, but then she asked, "Who else was affected?"
"Tucker, Danny, Valerie Gray and Wesley Weston." Sam recalled, "They can confirm. Heck, you can ask Phantom, too."
"I will. Oh Samantha, I was worried you had ran away."
"And leaving Grandma Ida alone with you? I won't!"
Tucker was not a halfa like Danny, trained as Valerie nor sneaky like Sam, but he figured he could sneak into his house. However his mom gave him a bear hug as soon as he got in. "Tucker!"
"Where have you been?" his father asked. "Angela, let him breathe."
"My friends and I fell into a natural portal. But Phantom rescued us!" Tucker lied.
"Did he? Good." Angela said. "Danny was with you, right? Maybe the Fenton's leave him now."
"Eh... I doubt that..." Tucker admitted, rubbing his neck.
When Valerie arrived at her apartment, her dad rushed to the door. "Valerie! Where have you been!"
"Ghostly incident." Valerie said. Her dad knows she is the Red Huntress. "Stepped accidentally though a portal to another reality, but a ghost rescued us."
"Us?"
"Manson, Foley, Fenton, Wesley and me." Valerie said.
"That explains why..." He said. "Come, you must be hungry."
Wes' older brother, Kyle Weston, was somewhere between worried and annoyed. His brother vanished and knowing his theories regarding Fenton, he had a hunch his vanishing related to that.
Their parents will take this as a reason to break their deal, and it will be Wes' fault. Mr. and Mrs. Weston travel for work, a lot, to the point that the brothers rarely spend a whole school year in one school. It ruined Kyle's grades and Wes' aren't that much better.
However, Kyle managed to convince their parents that he can care for Wes now, that they can stay in Amity, near their aunt, while they travel. With Wes gone, this is not the case. Kyle had hoped he could get his last grades up, but with Wes gone, his parents demand they move around again.
Due to this predicament, Kyle paced around his room, a fixed up attic. Every few minutes, Kyle looked out of the window, looking onto the street in hopes that Wes turns up. Preferably before his parents notice. Their private phones are turned off for the next week as they have meeting after meeting after whatever business event. Their aunt Amanda, like always, judges them for it.
Amanda offered so often to take them, but Mrs. Weston just takes this as Amanda being a jealous family-thief. Kyle would have preferred that over moving every time a new business quarter begins.
The twenty seventh time he looked out the window, he heard someone yell, "Slower! Ah!" There he saw Wes being carried by Phantom, their town hero. "There it is! Fly down!" Both landed and Kyle bolted for the front door.
He ran down the stairs and ripped the door open. He saw Phantom wave goodbye. "Wesley!" Kyle yelled, "Where have you been!"
"Kyle, I-"
"Wes and a few others accidentally fell into a natural portal." Phantom said.
Kyle eyed the ghost. "I assume you rescued them?" Phantom nod. "Thank you, Phantom. Well, in that case I can't be angry at my brother. Did he cause any troubles?"
"The theories?" Phantom guessed.
Wes said, "Phantom had dis-proven my theories."
"You stop? Finally."
Danny opened the door and his mother watched TV. "Hello dear! I assume you were with Tucker?"
"Uh, yes..."
"Jack and I forgot the time, I hope you an your sister hadn't too much trouble cooking yourself?" Maddie said. "Well, the next time we are distracted, feel free to order something! For us, too."
"Sure, mom." he said, relieved. He chuckled lightly, they still don't realize that no sane person delivers to them. At most, they can pick up food. Jazz has him do it, due to the flight.
Said sister came down the stairs. He told her what had happened, well, the cover story. After their parents returned to the lab, Jazz asked, "What had happened really?"