First off, I was bored. Really, isn't that how most adventures start? Its an excuse to leave behind the familiar and experience the unknown. Unfortunately, even parts of my world that were unknown to me seemed to know me very well. That comes with the territory of being a world-famous superhero.

My name is Danny Fenton, but the world, excluding some members of my hometown, knows me only as Danny Phantom, savior of the planet. This is the story of how I helped a world completely different than my own and learned some lesson about honesty or some such nonsense. Pretty good for avoiding mundanity, huh?

The good thing about my life after the Disasteroid is that I'm not alone anymore. I could leave temporarily and the town wouldn't be destroyed. My parents, Valerie, heck, even Sam and Tucker could protect the city if I were to go on an unplanned vacation. Well, that's what I was telling myself when I was flying through the Ghost Zone towards Clockwork's castle.

He's an old friend. Honestly, the situation with Clockwork is an odd one. If my life was in danger I wouldn't hesitate to ask him for help. He would definitely help me, too. On the other hand, I doubt we'd ever 'hang out.' That wasn't his style.

When I reached his floating castle, I flew right through the doors without a thought. Why bother knocking if the owner has always known you were coming? I soared into his main chamber, his normal haunt. Predictably, he was there, gazing silently at a multitude of time windows. He didn't even have to turn around to acknowledge me.

"Daniel. The answer is no." Well, Clockwork's nothing if not succinct.

"Come on!" I retorted, "You have to at least hear my request before turning me down!"

He waved his hand blithely. "Go on, then."

"I need a vacation. I've been running ragged all over the world, doing everything a good little superhero should: ribbon cuttings, crime fighting, baby kissing, giving overdue explanations to people about my secret double life…" I struggled to think of another duty. Merchandising supervision? Dealing with Tucker's increased jealousy at my expanded celebrity? Trying to be a good boyfriend to my best friend? Dealing with my parent's scientific curiosity at my very existence?

"...Yeah," I finished lamely. Clockwork sighed deeply.

"I can't just send you to a random timeline for a break from your responsibilities. That's not ethical. There could be untold repercussions… However…"

I perked up immediately. "What?"

"There is one thing…" He glanced around at the swirling windows around, looking for something. He gestured loosely and half the windows blink shut. A single window drifted in front of him, revealing a bustling town deep in a thick forest. "I do have a… task that needs doing." He glanced at me for the first time, then buried his concentration in the window again. "You've saved the world before, so it should be simple for you. If you accept this task, you won't come back until its done. Do you want to do it?"

"What task?" I was suspicious. Clockwork does not lie, but he doesn't always tell the whole truth.

"You'll figure it out. Its pretty important" His red, pupil-less eyes gleamed darkly as he looked over his shoulder at me. A tiny shudder ran through me. Sometimes, the fact that many of my friends are nonhuman bundles of otherworldly energy was distressingly obvious. But I trusted Clockwork.

"When do I leave?" Clockwork gave me a dark smile.

"Now."

The castle chamber around me was swept out of view like a map into a vacuum. I landed heavily on my feet in a thick forest.

I landed on my feet, but I didn't stay there long. Suddenly unbalanced, I fell onto my butt. Leaf litter cushioned me, thankfully, so I was just surprised, not bruised. It took me half a second to realize that I was in human form after slipping on some loose leaves or something.

This is weird, I thought. Did Clockwork send me here?

I got up slowly, trying to wipe the leaves and twigs off my jeans. Gross.

Just as I regained my balance, a brown, bird-shaped blur whizzed by near my head. I dodged out of the way and threw up my hands to protect myself. (I've gotten too many cardboard boxes and ectoplasmic nets thrown at my head to not be jumpy.) The blur missed me by an inch and flew past me and up, into the canopy of the forest.

That was close, I thought, two seconds before a green blur launched itself at my head. I punched it out of the air reflexively, silently thanking years of ghost fighting for saving me from this crazy forest. The blur audibly cracked when my fist connected. It dropped to the ground and started chittering angrily as it started to limp off into the underbrush.

It was a foot-long caterpillar. Its emerald exoskeleton had a visible crack on the forehead. It raised its head and chittered furiously at me again.

"You started it, bug eye!" I retorted. I slapped myself in the forehead. Was I really having an argument with a alien insect, of all things?

The bug began to limp off again, with exaggerated slowness.

"You're not that hurt!" Against my better judgement, I continued to berate the caterpillar.

Suddenly, the brown blur swooped out of the forest canopy, grabbing the bug and flying to a nearby tree branch. A brown bird with stubby, red wings glared down at me from a branch slightly above my head with its clawed, featherless foot holding the bug in place.

"Hey!" I screamed. I started running towards the bird waving my hands to try and scare it off. "We were talking! Give him back!"

The bird gave me a disdainful look.

"Roh-oh," it trilled.

"Give him back," I asked politely as I could muster. Maybe creatures in this world could understand speech? The green bug could definitely understand tone at least. It was worth a shot.

The bird tilted its head, a surprisingly innocent gesture. It brusquely kicked the caterpillar, causing it to roll off the branch and crash on the forest floor with a loud 'pii!' and a thud. Recovering quickly, it scampered into the patchy undergrowth with a quick nod to me.

"Row," the bird crowed pleasantly.

"See, this is what happens when you pick on someone smaller than you: a stranger bursts out of nowhere and steals your lunch." The bird made a harsh gagging noise, like it was choking. "Are you laughing at me?!" A bushy headed, enormous pigeon monster was making fun of me.

I stalked away red-faced. My first moments in this new world were confusing and hilarious only in hindsight. At the time, I was furious.

The gagging noise abruptly stopped and a light fluttering noise revealed the redwinged bird wheeling through the trees in front of me. It landed lightly a few yards away. It lightly clawed at the loose leaves, not making eye contact.

"Are you trying to apologize?" It looked up shyly.

"Roh... Spee."

"Fine. But I need you to help me, before I let you leave." It tilted it's head quizzically, blinking owlishly. At this point, I was still running on the assumption that these monsters were the dominant species. I'd just come from a dimension where everything was made out of goop, so, honestly, I don't feel overly stupid for my assumptions. "Is there anyone around that needs help? Or anything that needs doing?"

The bird fluffed up self importantly. It turned it's feathery brown head over its shoulder and cawed lightly.

"Someone over there needs help? You're sure?" It cawed again. I shrugged. What did I have to lose by following it?

"Lead the way, birdbrain."