I really have no clue where this came from.

The Lair of Danny Phantom

"Friends I've never met…places I've never been. In my dreams I become another person. In a world that has nothing to do with me. I don't know…I don't know. I don't know. I've been having these dreams…" –Roxas from Shiro Amano's adaptation of Kingdom Hearts 2

Danny stuck his head out of the door to his room, looking first to the left and then to the right. Seeing that the coast was clear, he slipped out the door, closing it softly behind him, and tip-toed down the hall. Voices came from the living room downstairs and the by the sounds of it the TV was on too. Clutching his violet backpack close to his chest he bounced lightly down the steps, slid unnoticed into the kitchen, and then down into the lab. Once there, he slung his bag over his shoulders, opened the Fenton Portal, and dove into its swirling green depths, transforming into his ghost form mid-jump.

The Ghost Zone didn't bother Danny anymore. Actually, when he was in his ghost form, he felt right at home. As he flew along, the fifteen year old boy gazed around at the numerous, deviant doors that hung suspended in midair and wondered how many of his enemies were plotting ridiculous plans of revenge behind them.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. One of the smaller, shattered land formations that dotted the almost infinite expanse of the Ghost Zone. He dropped onto its grassy surface. True, the grass was blue and the leaves on the palm trees were an eerie dark violet but it was rather like a strange version of paradise. Besides, the crystal clear pool of water that sparkled with ectoplasm was absolutely beautiful. After stopping to admire the glowing pool, the boy wandered up to a door. It was rectangular and painted a brilliant sky blue that would have matched his human eyes, nailed rather clumsily to the front of the door was a white sign covered in stuck on golden stars with the words "Phantom's Lair" painted on it in clumsy black lettering.

Danny chuckled to himself, "I never could paint." And pushed the door open, closing it behind him as he went inside.

"Alright! School's out! Who's up for a round of butt-kicking at the arcade by yours truly, Tucker Foley!"

"Thanks for the dramatic speech, Tuck, but, uh, I'm gonna have to pass."

Sam and Tucker looked around at their best friend in wonder. Danny never passed up the opportunity to beat Tucker at the arcade. Especially because he and Sam could always get a laugh watching Tucker trying to play Dance Dance Revolution.

"Geez, come on Danny! What're you doing, studying!?" Sam put her hands on her hips, scowling at her half ghost friend, "I mean, you've hardly hung out with us at all lately! What're you up to?"

Danny blushed a brilliant crimson and hung his head, muttering so that they could barely hear, "It's not done yet."

"What's not done?" Tucker demanded.

"I can't tell you yet, it's a se—surprise!" Danny tried to grin but it was so fake it was like a grimace. Sam looked like she wanted to slap him, "Look, I'll show you guys tomorrow! I promise! I just have to finish it tonight! I'll see you later!" And he took off running down the sidewalk.

"Clueless…!" Tucker murmured in a sing-song voice and Sam rolled her eyes.

The doorbell rang and Danny, who had been oddly fidgety all night, jumped, ran out of the living room, and flung the door open. Jazz, Jack, and Maddie could hear his voice along with those of Sam and Tucker. There were some footsteps and then Danny stuck his head back into the living room.

"We'll be down in the lab! Bye!" And he vanished.

Jazz looked at her parents who shrugged and went back to watching their show.

Meanwhile, down in the lab, Danny had transformed in Danny Phantom and was currently in the process of persuading an irritable Tucker to go into the Ghost Zone.

"Look, no one's going to attack us, alright! I swear! Now get out of the Specter Speeder!"

"No way, man! I want some protection in there!"

"Tucker, how thick is that skull of yours?" Sam put in, "Humans are ghosts in the Ghost Zone, remember. The ghosts can't touch us and besides," She turned her gaze on Danny who met her eyes, "Who's going to attack the infamous Danny Phantom?"

Danny blushed a furious bright red and glanced away.

Grumbling, Tucker jumped out of the Specter Speeder and sidled up to stand beside Danny who looped one arm around the techno-geek's waist and the other around the waist of Sam and floated into the Ghost Zone.

"Danny, where are we going? We've never been to this part of the Ghost Zone before." Sam muttered, looking around. It wasn't that bad, actually. Most of it was floating islands.

"You'll see…" Danny replied in a distracted sort of way, "You'll see…" His face brightened, "There it is!" He dropped with alarming speed onto a small islet with purple-leafed palm trees, blue grass, and a dazzling pool of sparkling, ectoplasmic water.

"Wow…this is…cool." Sam said, gazing around with Tucker.

"Yeah, I know, it's great isn't it? But come here," He grabbed her hand and motioned for Tucker to follow, "This is what I really wanted to show you!" He led them past the pool, through a knot of palm trees, and stopped in front of a blue door, grinning.

"You're lair, huh?" Tucker reached out for the handle.

"Tucker! No!" Sam shouted and as the two boys turned around to look at her, she turned a delicate shade of pink, "I mean, it's your ghost half's lair…just barging in…it's sort of a private thing…"

"Nah!" Danny turned the knob and pushed the door open, "I'm inviting you, it's fine!" And he led them inside, closing the door behind them.

"Whoa…" Tucker whispered.

"Whoa" was an understatement in Sam's personal opinion. If Danny Phantom's lair was supposed to be a normal, square room then she could see no visible walls. Instead, stretched before her, there was a huge, black expanse dotted with glowing pinpoints of light and swirling vortexes of color. It took her bewildered mind a moment or two to understand exactly where they were.

"Danny this is…space."

"Yeah, it's awesome, isn't it?" Danny reached out a white gloved hand, which was glowing emerald slightly against the black, and poked a nearby star which flared a brilliant silver before dying back down, "I was zipping around the Ghost Zone about a week ago and came across this cool little island. That's when I found the door. It had my name on it so I opened it and found this. Apparently, the Ghost Zone makes the lairs for its inhabitants."

"This is incredible, dude!" Tucker stuck his hand into a galaxy and spun it around so that the mass of colors twisted around like fog before settling back into their natural shape, "This is so cool! There's no words for it! It's just that awesome!"

Sam rolled her eyes and Danny smiled, shaking his head.

"So this is your whole lair? This is it, really?" The Goth asked, "I mean, Danny Phantom's lair is simply this; space?" She waved a hand around at it, raising an eyebrow at the half ghost.

"Not really, no." Danny grinned and reached out again, cupping his fingers around one of the stars in the constellation of The Winged Horse Pegasus and pulled it towards him, "I keep a stash of random, personal items in here too."

"I keep a stash of random, personal items in here too. I am a ghost. Fear me." A mechanical, monotone voice repeated from the drawer that had popped out of the air when Danny had tugged on the star. Danny quickly shut it, pushing the star away.

"I'm also, sort of, hiding some of my parents' stuff in here too." Sam and Tucker laughed and Danny turned red again, "Okay, tour's over, out you go! Both of you! Out!" He started pushing his two best friends out the door standing in the middle of space, "Out, I say, out!"

This only made them laugh harder and, finally, laughter being as contagious as it is, Danny collapsed onto the blue grass as well, leaning back against his closed door and laughing himself silly. It took a moment, but the trio eventually settled down and lay sprawled in the grass, gasping to get their breath back.

"Hey, who's up for a swim?" Tucker was already pulling his shirt over his head by the edge of the crystal pool.

"Tucker, are you nuts!? It's going to be freezing cold in there!" Sam looked slightly agitated but also very intrigued.

"COWABUNGA!" Danny was already way ahead of both of them, his ghost form abandoned and his shirt, pants, shoes, and socks left on the grass, he jumped into the water with a tremendous splash. He surfaced with a sharp gasp, shaking his head sharply so droplets of water were flung into the air. Then he floated there, grinning, his black hair flopping into his face, "It's really not that cold!"

Tucker kicked off his shoes and socks, trying to take his pants off at the same time, and did a cannonball right beside Danny, making the other boy splutter as he got a face-full of water.

"You two are going to regret having wet boxers." Sam stated calmly, sitting with her knees tucked under her near the edge of the pool.

"Oh yeah, well not as much as you're going to regret not coming in here!" Danny heaved upwards with his arms, sending a wave of crystal liquid washing over Sam. The girl screamed in shock and fury and stumbled backwards, wiping her face off and cursing Danny who was now laughing in the shallows with Tucker.

"Oooooooohhhhh, that was a bad idea…!" Sam scowled playfully, pulled off her boots and socks, rolled up her jeans, and lunged into the water, kicking up spray and attempting to shove Tucker under the water.

Danny howled with glee and went to join the fray.

Ah, the sweet life…

For the purpose of this one shot, Sam is wearing jeans. Because, I mean, really, how decent is it to wear a skirt when you're swimming? Really?

Anyway, as stated before, I have no idea where this came from it just spontaneously burst into my head one day. Of course, then we leave on vacation for a week and the poor thing sits on my thumb drive half-finished along with everything else I've been working on and when I come I go: "What the—I don't remember doing this!"

But it's okay because it got finished in the end, didn't it!? Yes it did! Alrighty then, thanks for reading and please leave me a review! Byes!