A/N: Back when cartoons were still good enough for me to come running right in front of the TV upon hearing their opening themes... Danny Phantom was and still is the best of them all! :D

As a result of the nostalgia that welled up within me after watching a rerun on Nick... I just had to write this! XD

I hope you enjoy this newest idea of mine! ^^

Disclaimer: If I owned Danny Phantom, why do you think I'm writing fanfiction instead of making it happen on the show itself? XD Butch Hartman takes the cake! :)

"Are you sure this is a good idea...?"

"...No."

"I thought so."

It was supposed to be a perfect plan... born of love, compassion and a tiny bit of sheer annoyance.

I don't need to tell you who I am, 'cause you already know. Don't even try to deny it. Everyone knows the Fentons, a.k.a. the freaks of nature. My brother and I... we're outcasts. And, for some reason, we actually like it that way. It's certainly better than those disgusting popular kids at Amity High.

Anyway, let's not talk about my school life right now, 'kay? Right now, something more significant is happening as we speak, and I don't want to repeat and relive the trauma more than once.

And what, pray tell, would the trauma be about?

The fact that the Fenton twins were going to enter a freaking ghost portal seems reason enough.

Oh, joy.

You see, our parents are experts in ghost-hunting technology. You name it, they invented it. And recently, they had developed something that definitely outdid everything they had created before: a state-of-the-art Ghost Portal, aptly named the Fenton Ghost Portal. During our "family meeting", Dad claimed that it was a path to a world unseen, a world known as the Ghost Zone. I remember rolling my eyes at him as he explained further, with Mom smiling beside him. From the corners of my eyes, I could see my siblings on either side of me. Danny, my twin brother, was staring at our parents with the infamous half-lidded eyes of boredom, while Jazz, our ever nonchalant older sister, just sat on her seat, ignoring everyone in favor of her Psychology book.

Ah, the usual routine of my life.

But then, the time came when Dad took out a remote from his back pocket and, before our very eyes, pressed the button.

The familiar whirring of a machine coming to life echoed throughout the now silent basement. Numerous lights were turning on inside the portal, illuminating the faces of those watching. Against even my own will, I leaned forward. I even heard a certain book snap shut! Was this portal actually... working?

Everyone watched with bated breath as it started glowing an eerie green... before something within the machine sparked violently, as though the power was too much for its inner workings. It was all we could do to watch as the portal slowly fizzled out and died... the hope of a new realm dying with it. Hollow silence followed... and, all at once, everything returned to normal. I didn't even need to look at Jazz to find her reading again.

The disbelief and sorrow emanating from Mom and Dad was almost enough to induce suffocation.

At first, I didn't understand. I mean, they were inventors. Didn't they usually experience failures like this?

...Then again, it was their first major project... and we weren't exactly supportive, either.

I watched them head for the stairs, their shoulders hunched. Dad placed the remote on a table nearby and, with another glance at the portal, he exited the basement, with Mom gently closing the door behind them.

Jazz stood up, shutting her book once again. "Well, if no one else wants to corrupt my mind with useless ghost technology, I'm out of here.", she said coolly, heading out as well. Unlike before, the door was slammed shut.

So that left...

I craned my head to the side, locking eyes with curious blue almost immediately. For an agonizingly slow moment, Danny and I just stared at each other... before he sighed in defeat.

"You want us to help 'em, huh?"

I nodded, looking down. Sure, my parents were weird, and I admit that I didn't actually regard them seriously most of the time... but those tears I saw in Dad's eyes were real enough to convince me. I scuffed my foot on the tiled floor, waiting for how my brother would react.

For a split second, I thought Danny had left me alone... until I felt a hand ruffling my hair. Startled, I looked up. He was smiling slightly.

"What do we have to do?"

It took me some time, but I finally registered his eagerness to help me, and I grinned in relief. That's my brother!

So now, here we were, facing inevitable doom. More specifically...

...the entrance to the Fenton Ghost Portal.

A/N: Part II of the Prologue is well on its way... I do hope my ideas won't fizzle out... T^T

Anyway, I'll try updating my other stories as soon as I can destroy the huge mental block on them... In the meantime, I'll be sticking with alternating between them. ;)

Stay tuned! :D

~ Hoshiakari Mitsukai :)