A bet (Gravity Falls x Danny Phantom crossover)

Chapter 17: A Professor And His Student

A.N. I finally brought myself to watch the final episodes of GF. Guess it will help me to continue.

"No."

"But Daddy!" Dani whined, "It's going to be fun! Don' be a grumpy old man."

Groaning, Phantom dropped his head on the pillow. The girl was not going to get off his chest until he explained it. And he, by extension, was not going to get off the bed any time soon.

"It's not that simple, kiddo. I can't go anywhere but here till the summer ends."

The girl pouted, "This is stupid."

"Sure is. But I have to follow the terms. This is for the both of us, kiddo," Danny smiled and rubbed her puff cheeks. It made the girl smile and giggle a bit, but he could see that she was not satisfied. She was an obedient kid, but it didn't mean that she liked everything.

Apparently, the Pines family, short of Ford, was going for a trip around all tourist traps of Oregon. Something about pranking every single one. And Dani, being the excitable little nugget, wanted to tag along. It was one thing to let her play with the girls, but to actually let her go miles away from him with the adult of questionable moral compass? Well, he had left her with the demon whose only goal was turning the entire world in his own pandemonium. Can't get much worse than that. With a sigh, Danny rubbed his eyes.

"Dani. You have to understand that I'm also worried about Vlad."

At the mention of the name the girl flinched. Danny continued.

"He is going to try something, of this I have no doubts. And if you are away, there will be nothing I can do."

Dani deflated, sadness evident on her face. The sight made Phantom angry at that stupid fruitloop. They couldn't just live in peace as long as that obsessive bastard was still around. There was nothing linking the mass destruction of his houses to the teen, but knowing Vlad, he would suspect something. Besides, he probably still wasn't over the fact that Dani defied him. And Vlad did not like being defied.

The girl nodded slowly. "Okay, Daddy," she lied atop of him, snuggling closer and hugging her father, "I don't want to go to Vlad."

"And you won't, I promise, kiddo. Hey, how about we do something?"

Dani looked up at him curiously.

"I just needed a little helper to repair my toys. Are you up to it?"

She immediately brightened and nodded happily. "Yep. I wanna help, Daddy."

The early evening of that Saturday was filled with laughter. With everyone away and Ford hiding in the basement, the Phantoms had an entire house to themselves. Danny used this time and space to finally check his equipment which so far had been doing nothing but gathering dust and being used by one presumptuous preteen to shoot its owner. Ever since Skulker had appeared and was beaten, not a single ghost had come, and it was expected. Usually it was him who found Danny first and then blathered everything to every spectre around. This time, not wishing to get spotted, Phantom kept the little guy inside his thermos. Perhaps an improvised prison would teach him a proper lesson.

The Phantoms occupied the kitchen. And right near a package filled with the food from a fast food joint Danny had some scattered screws and pieces of metal. He had to disassemble the tools to clear out the dust and ectoplasmic sub products. While in contact with oxygen and humidity it could get corrosive by letting out the acids. The alloy was made to withstand it, but the scum inside had to be removed, lest the device malfunctioned in the middle of a fight. Danny didn't like that part. He was careful, of course, not letting a single drop to fall on the table. The smell was nonexistent, and the waste did not let out the fumes by itself. This tinkering was therapeutic to the teen. Dani was twisting a screw on her side of the device, biting her sticking tongue in concentration.