The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 31: Shadow-Travel 101

{

So, uhh, remember that upcoming ~3 month hiatus we mentioned back in Chapter 28? Yeah, that's finally here.

We hope this chapter will tide y'all over for a bit, and we will update as soon as possible, but it will be about 3 months before we are able to do so again. Real life is pretty busy at the moment.

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.

}

     The Fates must have been smiling down on Danny for once (or at least not staring at him in disgust and disappointment) because he slept like the dead (ha!). When he finally woke up late the next morning, the sun had fully risen and was shining into his room. He blinked tiredly as he tried to form coherent thoughts.

     Promptly giving up, Danny turned over and pulled his blanket up over his head, snuggling deeper into his bed. It was too early to be thinking, anyway.

     There was a knock on his door.

     Danny grumbled but stayed put. Maybe whoever it was would give up and let him sleep some more.

     Another knock drove that thought out of his mind.

     Guess not.

     Danny swung his legs over the edge of his bed and phased out of his blanket. Rubbing his eyes, he trudged over to his door and opened it to find Jazz standing there with her fist raised to knock a third time. Before Jazz could react (and before Danny could really process what he was doing), Danny threw his arms around her.

     "Woah! What's this for?" Jazz asked, wrapping her arms around Danny in return.

     "I'm just glad you're okay..." Danny mumbled.

     "I am too, little brother," Jazz said. "What happened to you yesterday? You kinda disappeared after our talk."

     "Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Danny pulled away from her and scratched the back of his neck. "There was a ghost, and then I was with Thanatos, and... yeah."

     "Why were you gone for so long?" Jazz asked. "Did something happen?"

     Danny opened his mouth to respond, but the words died in his throat when he heard his friends' voices echoing up from the living room. They were alive. They were okay!

     All tiredness forgotten, Danny pushed by his sister and ran down the hall. From the top of the stairs, Danny saw Sam and Tucker sitting on the couch. He teared up at the sight of his friends and he bounded down the stairs, hopping over the banister halfway down. He tapped into his ghostly flight and flew at his friends. They didn't have time to react before Danny threw his arms around them, upending the couch in the process, and the trio toppled to the floor in a pile of limbs.

     "Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?" Jazz called down from the balcony.

     "Yeah. We're good," Sam wheezed as the trio untangled themselves from each other.

     "Speak for yourself," Tucker grumbled as he got to his feet, and Danny helped Sam up. "I think he threw out my back!"

     Once everyone was on their feet, Danny threw his arms around Sam and Tucker again, making sure not to knock them over this time. Relief filled his entire being, flooding him with peace and warmth. They were here. They were safe.

     "Dude, what happened?" Tucker questioned as he returned the hug.

     "Yeah, what's going on?" Sam added, also returning the embrace. "You disappeared after the test yesterday."