Dont ask. I justyeah. I guess its in honor of Fall Leaves A shovel-full of leaves rained into a trashcan.

The leaves scraped the sides, making a shhwiisshh sound. Bit by bit, the trashcan filled, and two hands tied together the ends of the bag. They lifted the bag out of the can and heaved it over their shoulder. The owner of the hands and shoulder grunted as the bag proved heavier than expected, pulling him backwards. Painstakingly, the being carried the bag to a pile of many other identical bags and hoisted it onto the others. The being rolled his shoulders, groaning at the tension. Slowly, he placed another bag in the trashcan and picked up the shovel to fill it again. Inaudible mutterings left the boys mouth, his brow creased in frustration. He filled another bag and took it to the pile in the same manner as the one before And the one before And the one before He sighed and sat on the porch. He ran his grubby hand through his raven hair, and growled when he realized that hed just left a black smudge on his forehead. His inaudible mutterings became audible. Honestly, I protect the town all the time from evil ghosts, and I have to do chores to earn money for the carnival? I should make the people pay me a salary for protecting them He chuckled humorously. Yeah, right. Who would pay a ghost? Why would a ghost need money, anyways? For a carnival? Yeah, good luck with that. Danny Fenton pushed himself to his feet and went back to work. Ever since hed sold his dads stuff in a yard sale, hed been forced to do chores whenever he wanted money. It was really annoying. His thoughts were interrupted by a blue mist leaving his throat. He gasped and sprang to attention, searching for the ghost. Skulkers attack from behind sent him flying. Danny struggled to his feet and turned to glare at the ghost. He glanced at the door and transformed into Danny Phantom when he didnt see his parents. What do you want this time, Skulker? he shouted. Skulker grinned. What else? Your pelt! He punctuated this statement with a volley of

missiles. Danny ducked, and the missiles hit the leaves behind him. The leaves broke into a million pieces and scattered everywhere. Danny stared at the leaves all over the yard, dismayed, and turned back to glare at Skulker. Thanks a lot! Now I have to rake up all of that! Skulker grinned. Youre welcome! Danny growled and sped toward Skulker, intending to land an ecto-charged punch on him. Skulker grabbed his arm before he could, though, and threw him into another pile of leaves. The leaves were crushed under Dannys weight, and he looked around to see only crumbs. He groaned and surged at Skulker again. Leave crumbs were almost impossible to pick up. He attacked Skulker again, and this time he actually landed the kick. Skulker flew back into the remaining pile of leaves, crushing them much like Danny had. Danny stared around in disbelief. How was he supposed to pick up the leaves now? They were all crushed! Skulker took his advantage and shot a net at Danny. Danny barely dodged it, and the net swept over him, brushing over the leaves behind him. The draft following it stirred the crumbs into a storm. Danny shot a volley of ecto-blasts at Skulker, growling. The wind they raised caused the leave crumbs to swirl towards Skulker. He grinned. Guess what? I think you just lost! Skulker blinked at him, confused. Hed dodged all of Dannys shots. How did he lose? He was answered by a Fenton Thermos vacuum-like vortex pulling back. He glanced behind him in bewilderment. Who had the Fenton Thermos?! Jazz grinned as the vortex dragged him in. See ya! she gloated. Skulker growled. Around him, small specks circled his form into the Thermos depths. He stared, confused. That had never happened before Jazz snapped the lid back onto the Thermos and grinned at Danny as he changed back. Good work with the leaves! she said before running to the backyard and going back to her room. Danny groaned. During the fight, all of the leaves had been crushed into miniscule pieces. It would take hours to clean it up He stopped that thought process when he opened his eyes and stared around. The lawn was perfectly cleannot a hint of leaves other than the pile of bags. He grinned as he

realized that the Fenton Thermos must have sucked them in with Skulker. His grin widened when he looked up the Jazzs window, where she grinned back at him with a wink. He ran into the house and barged into the kitchen where his parents were tinkering with their latest invention. Finished! he crowed. His parents looked up in shock. Already? That was fast Maddie said. She stood up and followed him to the front yard, muttering, Theres no way he could have finished that fast. She stood stock-still in the yard, slack-jawed. Numbly, she handed thirty dollars to Dannys waiting hand. He grinned. Thanks Mom! Danny rushed to Sams house to tell her the story, and Maddie shook her head and went back inside. Danny grinned wider. There was more than one way to clean up leaves. I hate raking leaves. ~Sasia~