The Halfa Prince (Book 1) *RE-MASTERED*

Chapter 10: Crickets of Conscience

Third Person POV

Danny woke up to something wet and cold all over his face paired with the beeping of his alarm clock. As he slowly opened his eyes he found himself staring straight into the mouth of one hyper beagle puppy. "Mmm, morning CJ," he mumbled, scratching the puppy behind his ears.

CJ yapped in response and licked Danny's face again before leaping off his bed and clawing at the door. Danny yawned, getting out of bed and opened the door for CJ to run downstairs. Tucker had taken the liberty of house-training CJ so he didn't have to worry about waking up with suspiciously wet sheets. He quickly ran downstairs to let CJ out into the backyard to do his business before sitting down at the table for breakfast.

"Morning, sweetie," Maddie called over her shoulder as she fried eggs. Jazz walked into the kitchen shortly after Danny, already fully dressed and her nose stuffed in a new book. She ruffled her brother's hair before sitting next to him at the table. CJ came running into the kitchen and to his food dish, greedily eating up his breakfast.

Suddenly, the house shook as an explosion sounded from the lab. The door to the lab swung open as Jack emerged covered in green goop and black smoke. "Well," Jack said with a cough, "I suppose that now is a good time to stop for breakfast."

Maddie sighed at her husband as she served breakfast to her family. Danny was about to dig into his eggs when he felt an icy hand on his shoulder. The teen whipped around, holding his fork out like a sword only to see nor sense anything behind him.

"Danny, you OK?" Jazz asked, waving her hand in front of Danny's face.

The young halfa blinked a few times before sitting properly in his seat. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I feel just fine."

Hey it's Normal Line Break making my required appearance in this story so I can get 'paid'.  I say it lightly as Phantom pays us in peanuts. Actually... peanuts is being too generous of a description... Hmm... Come back to me later and I'll think of something crueler to say about Phantom. Until then, enjoy the chapter.

"...ton? MR. FENTON!"

Danny jolted upright in his seat so fast that he toppled backwards onto the floor and crashed his head against the tiles. As his vision swam before him he saw a bright shining light reflect off the top of Mr. Lancer's bald head.

"This is the third time this month, Mr. Fenton, that you have fallen asleep in my class," the teacher scolded. "One more slip up and I will be forced to contact your parents."

"Yes, Mr. Lancer. I'm sorry," Danny apologized as he fixed his chair and sat back down, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment as his fellow peers silently giggled at him. His head began to pound with a headache as the rest of class droned on. When the bell rang, Danny rushed out of the class and his friends quickly caught up to him.

"Danny, are you ok? You've been kinda out of it all day," Sam said, jogging to Danny's side. 

Danny did not respond. He winced as the headache grew stronger, closing his eyes in pain. 

Tucker tapped on his friends shoulder, "Danny if there's something going on, you know you can talk to us."

The young halfa brought his hands up to his ears, trying to block out the noise around him. His head felt like someone was using a jackhammer in his brain. He felt bile in the back of his throat and found it increasingly hard to stay standing. As Danny slumped to his side, nearly taking Sam down with him, he had the unfortunate luck of crashing in everyone's favorite bully, Dash.

"Watch where you're going Fen-toenail before I give you a knuckle sandwich," Dash growled, shoving Danny away from him and onto the ground. Tucker rushed to Danny's aid while Sam confronted Dash, all while Danny's head felt like it was about to split open.

But, in the blink of an eye, the headache stopped. The noise and pounding ceased, leaving the teen in a dazed state. Through the fog of his mind, a voice whispered to him,

"Take your vengeance."

Danny slowly got off the ground, shoving Tucker away from him. His eyes fell on Dash and flashed a dangerous green as he stalked up to the bully. Danny placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, moving her out of the way.

"What now, Fenturd? You asking for a beating?" Dash questioned as he towered over the skinny male.

"No," Danny replied, "but you just did." Before Dash could even process what Danny had just said the smaller teen landed a punch to Dash's gut. The blond doubled over, the wind knocked out of him and Danny took that opportunity to sweep out Dash's legs. As the football player landed on the floor, Danny pinned him down with his knee and landed a punch to Dash's jaw. He was about to punch him again, but a hand stopped him, dragging him off of Dash.

It was Sam's. She was frantically pulling at Danny, trying desperately to separate the two boys before the situation escalated. In the distance, Lancer's voice could be heard so all the students that had gathered to watch the fight quickly dispersed, with Dash's lackeys grabbing him and pulling him away as well. 

Sam didn't let go of Danny's arm until she had successfully gotten him to the back stairwell of the school, with Tucker trailing close behind. "What the hell was that all about, Danny?!" she cried out, her face twisted in confusion.

Danny blinked rapidly, shaking his head. He looked down at his hand which already showed signs of bruising on his knuckle. "I... I don't know," Danny said.

"My liege," a voice said from the shadows. The three teens jumped as Danny's ghost sense went off and Fright Knight faded into visibility. "Pardon my rudeness, but those actions are quite unlike you," the bodyguard commented.

Tucker nodded. "He's got a point Danny. No matter how bad Dash bullied you before you never reacted like that."

Danny started getting annoyed. The pounding in his head had returned and he didn't feel like getting lectured by three people. "I don't know, okay?!" he shouted. "Just leave me alone!" the halfa finished as he stormed off, leaving his two friends and bodyguard in stunned silence.

"What is up with that ghost boy," Sam grumbled, crossing her arms and tapping her foot angrily. The goth then turned her attention to the ghost among them. "Fright Knight, you're his bodyguard right?" she asked, to which Fright Knight replied with a nod. "Then you better keep a good eye on him, because next time I see him my combat boot will be so far up his-"

Sam was interrupted by the ringing of the bell and she grumbled to herself.

"Just, please look out for him," Tucker finished, adjusting his backpack. "You know more about this ghost stuff than we do." With that, the two teens rushed off to their class which they were now late for.

Fright Knight sighed, resuming his invisible state and flying through the school to find his young liege. He had to remember that if he got a chance tonight that he would have to contact Clockwork about the young Prince's odd behavior. Fright Knight recalled his observation of the fight that just before Danny had punched the blond human he could have sworn he saw the Ring of Rage appear on the halfa's finger.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter guys. Next one will be longer I promise. See you all in the next one!