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[phicphight]

Cracked Clay Cup Chapter 6

@greatbigolhampuckjustforme

“Well,” said Danny.  “That sucked a lot.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Daniel.”

“It’s just… What even was the plan there?” he asked the ceiling over the couch.  “What were they doing?  Did they think I wouldn’t notice if they just switched out while I was sleeping?  Were they going to run the entirety of their council through while trying to distract me with stuff?  Why did they even want to do that instead of just picking two of them?”

“I believe they wished to escape any specific, personal responsibility for you,” said Clockwork.  

“Typical,” said Danny.  “Are any of these people going to not lie to me?”

“I could not say.  May I offer you some lunch?”

“Yeah.”  Danny rolled off the couch.  “What’ve you got?”

“Grilled cheese and soup,” said Clockwork.  “I also have apples.”

“That sounds good.  I’m, um, I’m not going back out right away.  I can wait until morning, right?”

“As I said, you can wait here for as long as you want.”

Danny nodded.  “It’s just… I don’t know, it’s just occurred to me that I don’t really know what else is here.  Like, I’ve been in this room, and the kitchen, and my bedroom and bathroom, but not anywhere else here.  If there is anywhere else.  Did you decorate this place?”

Clockwork sighed.  “I asked a friend for help,” he admitted.  “They have an interesting sense of humor.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Danny, nodding.  

“I don’t suppose you would like a tour after lunch?”  There was a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth.  

“Yeah, that sounds like it’d be nice.”

.

There actually wasn’t that much to the little house beyond what Danny had already seen.  There was a little workshop, a formal dining room (currently set up for tea), another bathroom, and a small bedroom that looked as if it had never been slept in.  

“Do you need to sleep?” asked Danny.  

“Only once in a great while.  I will not need to do so for quite some time.”

“What do you do in the workshop?”

“I have an interest in repairing clocks.  The workshop is there to give me something to do while you are away.”

“That makes sense,” said Danny, trying to muffle a yawn that slipped out with his words.  

“You’ve had a trying day.  Why don’t you take a nap?  I will wake you for dinner.”

“Is that really alright?” asked Danny.  “I feel bad, leaving you just sort of stuck here by yourself.”

Clockwork shrugged.  “It is no imposition on me.  You could also avail yourself of one of the books in the library, or one of the ones you brought back from Jasmine’s.”

“Didn’t I leave those there?”

“They were presented to you as yours.  As such, they now are.  Of course, you also retain the things the Observants gifted you.”

“Including the video games?” asked Danny.  

“Including those, yes.”

“Huh.  I’m not secretly an Observant, am I?  I know you said my appearance was changed, but I don’t think I could handle going from this to being an Observant.”

“I cannot tell you that, Daniel.”

“Right.  The rules.  Bleh.  Bet the Observants made them to give themselves an advantage.  They even put themselves on top of the list!  Losers.”

Clockwork patted Danny’s shoulder.  “That they did.”

Danny nodded, then started yawning again.  He blinked hard and looked around the little workshop.  “Maybe I could just watch you or something?  I need an actual break from thinking after Jazz and the Observants.”

Clockwork nodded.  “As you would.”

.

Dinner, naturally, was great.  Breakfast was good, too, but Danny felt as if he wasn’t fully appreciating it on account of the massive weight of having to choose the next person to spend who-knows-how-long with while having nothing more than a single, mostly empty, piece of paper to learn about them.  

“What if they all suck?” asked Danny.  

“I thought you liked Jasmine,” said Clockwork as he handed over a cheese omelet with sausages.

“I liked her, but she was lying to me.  I don’t like that.”

“A reasonable enough objection.  However, a lack of honesty can be surmounted more easily than a lack of trust.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” complained Danny.  

“For example, I am being less than honest with you by refusing to tell you certain things, but you still trust me more than the Observants.”

“Not telling me stuff is different than lying to me.”

“And yet, the English language does include the phrase ‘lie of omission.’”

“It's still different.”

“And you also trust Jasmine more than the Observants.”

“That's true,” said Danny.  “But that's also partially because she sucks so much at lying.  Maybe it's just that young people are bad at lying.  But I feel like I'm better at lying, and I'm younger than Jazz, right?  Otherwise she couldn't adopt me.”

“That is the generally accepted way of things.”

“Hm,” said Danny.  “Maybe I'll do something closer to the middle.  But not exactly the middle!  That's what they'd want me to do.”

“I suspect the Observants expected you to simply go from the top of the list and be dazzled by their apparent wealth.”

“Yeah, probably.  Still, it’s kind of funny to joke about.  Like the brain thing with Jazz.  But if I’m going to basically pick who I’m going with based on zero information, I might as well have the funniest reason possible for who I pick.  Like, maybe I should pick this guy with a really weird name.

“Weird how?”  

“He's got a bunch of them.  Vladimir ‘Vlad’ Masters-Plasmius, Ceo Mastersoft, Ceo Vladco, Ceo– Wait, these are his job titles, aren't they?”  He squinted at the page.  “Who does this?

“Vlad Masters-Plasmius, presumably.  But I believe that among his titles you have missed the name of the second person under that entry.”

“Really?”  He ran his finger down the list.  “Huh, yeah, this last one is separated out by a semicolon, I didn’t notice that.  The Dairy King.  Is that like the restaurant?”

“You will have to ask them when you see them,” said Clockwork.  

“Yeah,” said Danny, “I guess so.  It’d make these interests make more sense.  You’d have to be pretty business savvy to run all those restaurants.”

“You don’t think the person who listed all their CEO titles is business savvy or interested in business?”

“Not if he lists it like that.  That’s definitely overcompensating.  Like, it’s way too, uh, what’s the world.”  He whirled his fork in the air.  “Boastful.  People who have real skills don’t need to brag that much.”

“People from any level of skill may find occasion to brag.”

“Well, yeah, but not that much.  Right?  Vlad’s probably the football guy.”

“Again, you will have to find out when you join them.  Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”  Danny picked up his plate and put it in the sink.

“And you want to visit Vladimir and the Dairy King?”

“Yeah.  The others sound more normal, so I’ll save them for later.  Better to get all the really strange ones out of the way, right?”

“That is, again, your own choice.”

“I knew you’d say that,” he said.  He spread out his arms.  “Take me away, then.”

The portal whirled into being around him and deposited him in a green and gold atrium.  It had a passing similarity to the Observant’s foyer, but was more colorful.  It also had more football in it.  Like, literally it had more football in it, in the form of several footballs in glass cases.

Maybe ‘Plasmius’ or ‘Masters’ or some other part of this guy’s name had something to do with football.  At least a football Obsession would be… well… it would be something. 

Yeah.  

“Daniel!” said a tall, silver-haired man, spreading his arms in welcome.  He wore a slick suit.  “It’s so good to see you.  I am Vlad Masters-Plasmius, your godfather.”

“Oh, hi,” said Danny.  He looked around.  “Isn’t there supposed to be another one of you?  The Dairy King?”

“Ah, yes,” said Vlad, looking to the side.  “My grandfather.  He will certainly join us shortly.  Normally, it would just be me here, but I must confess that I am not what you would call a great cook.  I can avoid poisoning myself, but my grandfather is much better, and he’s agreed to help.”

“That’s nice of him,” said Danny, deciding to close the rest of the distance between himself and Vlad.  “So, is the football stuff yours or his?”

“Mine.  I’m something of a fan of the Packers.”  

“That’s Green Bay’s team, right?” asked Danny, trying to bring a fuzzy memory into focus. 

“It is!  Are you interested in football?”

Danny shrugged.  “I’ve not seen any games that I remember.”

“Something we’ll have to remedy.  I have my favorite games recorded, and a theater to watch them in.  It isn’t the same as seeing them live, but it will give you an idea of their flavor.”  He patted Danny’s shoulder and guided him towards a staircase.  “Come, now, I have much to show you.  I’m sure you’re wondering how I came to be so wealthy.”

“Not really,” said Danny.  “The last place I was at was bigger.”

“Pardon.”

“Also, you’re like the CEO of a dozen companies, and your grandfather is the Dairy King.  Like the restaurant.  You probably inherited a bunch, then went to school for business or something and made investments.”

“Ah, I see.  I didn’t realize you were… so aware of the normal progression of such things.”

“What I’m really interested in is how you know me, seeing as I’m a ghost and you’re human.  You said you’re my godfather.  So… How did that happen?  Did you know me when I was alive?  Did you know my actual parents?”

“When you were alive?” asked Vlad with raised eyebrows.  “My dear boy, did no one tell you?  You are alive.  You’re a half ghost, just like me.”

“People did tell me, I’m just not sure that I–  Wait, you, too?”

“Indeed.  You and I are the only ones to die in… that specific way.”  He stopped walking and looked away from Danny.  “Forgive me.  It is difficult for me to speak of it, even now.”  He shook himself and continued on, down the hall.  “As for your parents, well…  They are no longer with us, I’m afraid.”

“Oh,” said Danny.  “I guess that makes some sense, with this trial thing and all.”  In the abstract, though, it was better than them being abusive or something.  In the abstract.  “Did I have any other, um, family?  Other than you?”

“You have two sisters.  One older, one younger.  Rather fiery, both of them.  But the younger has her own arrangements, and the elder is old enough, and human enough, that this process isn’t necessary for her.”

“Is the older one named Jazz?”

“You’ve met her already?  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that she would try to get custody of you.  She is very protective of you, but it is often at her own detriment.”

“What do you mean?” asked Danny, a little offended.  

“She isn’t ready for the responsibility,” said Vlad.  “Oh, I suspect she would happily and willingly take you on, and she is better than certain… other options, but she doesn’t have the life - or death - experience to do so without a great deal of personal sacrifice.  Meanwhile, I am well established in both worlds.  She need not sacrifice what remains of her own childhood.  Ah, and here is your room.”

Vlad opened the door, showing Danny a room that bore a striking resemblance to his room in Jazz’s house.  It was bigger, and it had a computer and a shelf of video games next to the shelf of rocket models, and the space theme wasn’t quite as pronounced or as detailed, but it was there.  

Vlad probably did know him, then.  And Danny hadn’t detected any lies.  On the other hand, he probably was just better at lying, all things considered.  A CEO would have to be.  

He’d withhold judgment until he’d met the Dairy King.  But for now… this didn’t seem too bad.   

“If you would like, you can stay here and familiarize yourself with your lodgings, we can take a tour, or we can go ahead to my training room.  I’ve made it large enough to maneuver comfortably in and accomplish some sparring, among other things.  Perhaps we can explore your abilities, or… considering your prior comments… show you how to take your human form?”

Danny felt himself start to levitate slightly in excitement.  “You can do that?  Really?”

“I can at least give you some pointers.  I’m the only one who knows how it feels to transform from human to ghost.  So, can I assume that is your choice?”

“Yeah!” said Danny.  “If that’s really something I can do, I want to know how to do it.”  Also, this was a nice change from telling him nothing (Clockwork), lying to him (Jazz), or being the Observants (the Observants).  

“Very well,” said Vlad, turning back into the hallway.  “I keep my paranormal endeavors below ground.  I entertain here quite frequently, and it wouldn’t do for random humans to come across some of the things I keep in my lab.”

Danny stilled.  “Lab?” he asked.  

“Yes, before I was a businessman, I was a man of science, and being as unique as we are, the only way to know anything about our own bodies and abilities is to discover it for ourselves.”

“Right,” said Danny, walking quickly to catch up, “that makes sense.  But, um, your training room is in the lab?”

“They’re connected, for ease of measurement.  The better to know exactly how strong our ectoblasts are, or how many wavelengths of light we are invisible to.”

Danny nodded.  Again, that made sense.  However…

“Is there a way to get there without going through the lab?”

“I don’t–” started Vlad, giving Danny a confused look.  “No, I’m afraid not.  In the past we might have phased through the walls, but the rules of this trial render them quite impenetrable.  Why do you ask?”

“I just…”  Danny shrugged.  “Jazz said I died in a lab accident.  And even without that…”

Vlad frowned.  “I assure you, my lab has the best safety precautions money can buy and my ingenuity can produce.  However, as I said, we do not have to begin with testing our powers.  Could I perhaps interest you in a documentary on the greatest football team of all time?”

“I…”  Danny really did want to learn how to transform.  On the other hand…  Maybe it was stupid, and maybe he’d been half joking about mad science labs the whole time he was with Jazz, but…  “Yeah, we can watch a documentary.”

“Excellent.  My theater is just this way.  Do you like popcorn?”

[phicphight]

Phic Phight - A Vega-Bond Space Case

@a-closet-emo @Anguished-Lurker @library-of-cronos @ghostboidanny @lexosaurus @uniasus @redactedgoose

Danny has a thing for space, always had, except now his ‘thing’ for space was more like actually physically BEING space. Danny’s also always had a thing for NASA, these two things were of course related since NASA’s entire thing was space, except now NASA also has a thing for Danny

Danny didn’t exactly have a ton of ways to go about being within his ‘domain’ as it were or satisfying that pesky little obsession of his. Yes he could go star gazing or literally fly up into space, which was great and all, but no matter how much you love and feel fulfilled by something it’s still good and needed to spice things up a bit. ClockWork subtly messed with the time stream in harmless, to time and the future, ways. Nocturne gave people nightmares even though that did disrupt their ability to sleep. Undergrowth went and ‘adopted a kid’ aka Sam to ‘raise someone worthy’ even though there was no need.

In short, everyone occasionally did something different and new.

So, Danny figured he should too. After all, he was still somewhat human and humans get bored and burnt out a lot easier and quicker. And Danny getting bored and burnt out meant an Obsessive crisis or two, which he’d rather avoid thank you very much. So he figured he‘d try something completely new, a way of being all ✨Space✨ by simply talking about it instead of staring at it or being physically surrounded by it. And by talking he means online, because he is not going to attempt to become a science teacher just to talk about space at bored teenagers or something. Sure him starting a vlog to excitedly blab about space was probably pretty silly, and sure he could also use the term vtuber since he used a 3d model to attempt to hide his identity, and sure he didn’t exactly expect many people to care; but it was nice. The 3d model was a fun little project for him and Tuck, and Sam had enjoyed picking out the things quirky clothing, and watching it move to his facial features and voice was really cool. It was almost like getting to listen to someone else blabber about space, which was super nice even if they weren’t actually even a real person or saying anything he hasn’t said before. It’s not like anyone could actually tell him something he didn’t already know anyways.

What Danny hadn’t expected was for his stupid little white-haired (because of course), shark-toothed, sparkly-skinned, virtual model vlog channel to actually do well. Like yes, some of his stuff was shorter clips, more ‘digestible’ as Jazz would say, but most of it was hours of knowledge vomit with breaths usually only taken for comedic effect. Then again, he was obsessed with space before he half died and it literally became his Obsession or before he became the literal god of space; so there was bound to be regular humans who actually did want to watch a five hour video about the composition of Jupiter’s rings and how it having slightly different compositions would change it. He’s still baffled that that video has over one million views, he’s also very thankful he went the 3d model route. He’s also thankful he still finds the channel name he picked funny: Vega-bond, after the North Star and based off of the word vagabond, since space was endless so his home as a being was effectively everywhere and nowhere and he could wander it’s and his own vastness forever. It had also caused some ‘James bond in space’ jokes though, even if he’s never actually see all those movies it was still funny.

Leaning back in his chair and editing a couple more seconds of a clip, taking a bite out of his sandwich and scowling. Ew. He really should learn to stop letting Jazz make food for him. Not only was she just as bad at cooking as he was, possibly worse actually, but she kept putting ectoplasm in his food! Intentionally or not, he doesn’t care. The sandwich goes back on the plate, he’ll get crackers later, right now he’s got a bit on asteroid turn over rates to fix. He’s also pretty sure this is the video where he goes on a bit of a tangent about the flavour of space rocks and what a star would most likely taste like to someone if they were able to eat one. Which fine, not the smartest thing to be talking about in a public form like this but hey, that hasn’t bit him in the ass yet. That Absentiona planet a few galaxies over was way too cool not to talk about okay! At least it seemed like a lot of people either thought he was theorising or that he actually worked with a space program and had been given permission to use the internet to educate people, since most people were not spending their time reading all of NASA’s public reports like he was.

…

Danny was also reading their not public reports of course, a great use of Tuck’s hacking skills if he says so himself. He left most of the internal memos alone since those were near always personell stuff and seldom related to space. (Which was something he was going to regret deeply later or maybe not). He did try to make a point to not talk about missions that hadn’t yet been made public or recent human discoveries that NASA hasn’t yet had a chance to publish their papers and internal memos on, Danny wasn’t trying to accidentally get people accused of plagiarism or rip away months to years of research away from the people who figured it out by stealing their thunder. But he’d get excited and he couldn’t bring himself to cut out stuff after the fact.

So sue him if he’s maybe stolen someone’s thunder once or twice, and maybe talked about things that humans would have never discovered, or things that humans don’t have the physical capability to comprehend. Hopefully no one tries to actually sue him though, if NASA does that he’s positive he’ll ugly cry for, like, a week.

Hearing Jazz footsteps up the stairs he tilts his head back, “Jazz! Neither of us can cook! Including with freaking ectoplasm! Stop trying!”.

She pokes her head into his room with a huff, eyes the sandwich with a single bite taken out of it, “I refuse. I will figure out a way to make it work, you need it”.

“What I need is for my food to be edible and not have definitely old and corrupted ecto in it”.

She winces, “damn. You know I can’t tell that”.

“Then stop trying!”.

“No!”.

Danny picks up the sandwich and makes throwing motions with it, he doesn’t actually throw it because he’ll probably give her a damn ecto-burn with the thing. It’s a miracle it hasn’t started moving on its own yet. she comes in anyways and grabs the plate, putting a hand on her hip and holding it out for him to put the sandwich back down on, “I’ll throw this one in the incinerator, Danny, but I’m not stopping”.

He releases the sandwich, “you suck”.

She rolls her eyes at him and eyes the computer, smiling a little, “I’m not even going to ask, since I can’t grasp your space babble any more than you can grasp my psycho babble”.

Danny snorts, shaking his head as she leaves, his sister cares but damn was it ever inconvenient and hazardous to his health. He was a freaking Ancient after all, he could get by without freaking ectoplasm, he wasn’t some weak level six ghost; stupid cravings or no. Heck, he wasn’t even a child ghost anymore so it was even less necessary! Sighing, “she’s still not going to give it a rest, is she?”.

And then his email pings. Oh cool, it’s probably another comment since it looks like it’s from his channel linked email.

It is an email.

It’s an email from NASA.

Holy shit.

By all the Ancients including himself and every single one of their domains. What the zone?!?

He’s pretty sure he actually squeaked and started floating, some little stars might have even appeared in the air.

What should he do?!? Should he open it?!? Should he ask Tuck to hack it so that the message won’t read as read?!? Should he attempt to knock himself out so he doesn’t have to deal with this?!? Should he take that sandwich back purely so he can give himself a horrific upset stomach with it?!?

It’s fucking NASA!

He can’t just… not. Like, even if that was a good idea he absolutely has to know what NASA wants!

He’s not freaking out, you’re freaking out. He should call someone right?!?

Yes.

Yeah.

He should.

Purely so he doesn’t violently click open the email in Obsession fuelled glee and horror. Tuck doesn’t even get a chance to ask what’s up, “NASA fucking emailed me, man. What do I do?!? Like it’s totally NASA, right email and everything and it’s totally to my vlog email so oh my zone that means that NASA, FREAKING NASA, has been watching my shit! Is this good is this bad should I be complimented? Do they want to talk space or tell me to shut up about space! What am I going to do if they want me to shut up about space I can’t shut up about space and why would I shut up about space! Wait what if they have a space problem and I can like totally help with that shit and they think I’m some odd expert and not some random dude in small town USA! What if they think I’m one of their men and are going to try and give me shit for spilling space secrets because oh shit I’m pretty sure no one actually released that new shit about plutos gravitational pull which is super neat and all but what if they’re mad-”

“Danny man, shut up before you start speaking in tongues or something”

Danny doesn’t even hear him honestly, “-because I could totally understand them being mad but it’s not like I’m actually stepping on their turf since their turf is actually my turf and I’m technically only letting them in it because I can and because people knowing and learning about space is like super cool and I totally would still love to be an astronaut even if that is totally not possible for so many damn reasons! But wait what if that’s what they want that would be so cool! Even if I know that’s not how they hire people and even if I totally disagree with their choice of head engineer because he seems kind of like an ass but hey I’m kinda an ass and I’d be great at the job and oh fuck what if I ignore this for too long and they send another email what do I do then-”

“DANNY!”.

Danny jerks a little bit and falls from the ceiling nearly face planting into his floor, “oh I ah, whoops. Sorry Tuck, it’s just space and NASA and what if they emailed me about space and of course they emailed me about space they’re freaking NASA and my channel is about space we can totally talk space-”.

“I’m going to have Sam show up and throw her shoe at you if you don’t chill, man. I can’t give you advice or offer to try and help, if you won’t let me speak”.

Danny curling into himself and breathing a little, putting a hand over his shirt to feel the way his core is pulsing like crazy, “right, shit, just, give me one second to just vibrate my shit out”.

“Of course, I’m going to hack your email to at least give you a heads up if you should be actually worried”.

Danny wheezing, stars just sort of popping into existence around him, “yeah, yeah, that’s good”; he fiddles with one of the little stars like is a fidget toy. He always loved the way they felt, and tasted, and they just looked stupidly wonderful. Even if he had to be careful about it since him ‘getting starry’ could be hard on people’s eyes. Forming a little planetary ring and swirling it around with his fingers, “how do I even respond to NASA without coming off as crazy?”.

“Do not word vomit? Don’t tell them you’re a space god? Don’t get mad at them for getting something wrong?”.

Danny blinks, twirling the planetary ring around his finger, “so everything I’m inclined to do? Gotcha”.

“Dude”.

“Well what if they ask for my credentials? What else do I have besides acing flight simulators and being a literal god?!?”.

“You do have a point there, but you’re actually good. They aren’t trying to sue or silence you, they aren’t attacking your credibility, they aren’t accusing you of running an illegal space operation, they aren’t questioning if you’re an alien, and they aren’t commenting on you basically having a backdoor into their systems”, he chuckles, “you absolutely should open it, man. Stay on the line because I want to hear you cry”.

Oh? Oh no why would Danny cry??? But Tuck giving him a verbal thumbs up means he can’t not open it right?

He’s stares at the computer and it’s unread email for a while. He’s nearly vibrating out of his skin, he’s pretty sure one of his arms has unfurled as he likes to call it. Spread out into goo strings and pulsating constellations of eyes and teeth, gaps in between filled with galaxy’s and miniature planets that could barely be called an arm with fingers with hundreds of joints that could be long as trees if he let them; as it was they were wrapping around his desk he thinks.

He opens the damn email.

It’s…

It’s a freaking job offer and Danny basically explodes into galaxy’s and constellations and eyes and teeth and bits of different animals, and what comes out of his mouth is utter ghost speak gibberish and random space noises even to his ears. He has to fold his legs and feet under him because they’re just too long when he’s like this, all of him is but his legs are the most needlessly long, but he doesn’t drop the phone at least.

Then Jazz bangs open the door, “Danny what the hell! Oh why!”, and promptly passes out. He manages to catch her with his tail before she hits the ground at least, he forgets that he can be incomprehensible like this if whoever isn’t prepared. He’ll just leave her lying on the fluffy cloud space dust that made up the ‘fluff fur’ at the end of his tail till she wakes up.

Him whining immediately, “T̶͈͎͚͗͗ù̴̢̜͝c̴͖̯͐̔͜k̸̲͇̹̅͑͠ ̶̛̲̀̎I̵͕̔̆ ̴̞̘̌̌̃k̸̦͚̲̎n̸̳͛o̴̟̎c̷̩̕k̶̗͍̽͛̈́ͅe̶̢̛͍̐d̷͎̞͒ ̶̞̞̆̓̕J̵̦̭̤̽ȁ̶̰̖̈́͘z̸̧͇̼͝ẓ̴̹̳̇̑̇ ̵̟͌̈̀o̵̡̝̅ṵ̷̚t̴̺̣͒̓̈́͜!”, and attempting to keep his voice not filled with the sound of dying stars.

Tuck laughs at least, “at this point she should know what she might be in for! You all space lovercraftian jerboa looking?”.

“D̶͙̪̃͠ủ̸̦̕d̵̜̑̔̒ę̴̛̥̻̒ ̶̜̊ͅǸ̵̞̐A̴̤͛͒̃S̸̢̓͗A̸͚̩̿,̴͉̊̔ ̸͂̋̅͜N̶̡̥͇̏A̵͍̐̌͘Ṡ̸͕͛̽Ã̷̯̫!̸̯̩͎̓̇̕,̷̳̈́ ̶̭̥̗̏i̷̥̘̻̐s̵͉͉̹̈͂͐ ̴͖̃͛t̶̘̚r̷͚̀̈́y̸͈͚̕ǐ̵̡ǹ̴͓g̵̣͇̱̚ ̶͖̕ṱ̶̝̫̈̂ö̶̻̲́̌͜ ̵̠̠̑ḩ̴̣̅̆͊i̷͎̠̤͌r̷͈̻͐̀͠e̶̡̮̽̀̈ ̶̡͕͒m̶̧̧̬͒é̷̺͙̈!̸̜̀ ̷̳͒͆Ỏ̸̳͖̰f̴̟̩̈́ ̵̼̔c̵̨͚̅̄͊ǒ̸̺̥̊ͅủ̴͇̬͎ŕ̵̳ṡ̸̟̼̪͋̿ȩ̸̢́͆̈́ ̵̢͔͗͒İ̵̪̦͒ ̷̟͎͉̈́̎â̶̺̭̥m̴̮̄!̵̘̰͛͜ ̴̠̀͠D̶̙͆o̶̠̬͂ͅ ̴̟͕̻̃̅͂t̷͖̦̳̃̂̈́h̷̜̣͊̏ē̴̡y̶̦̙̜͐͗̇ ̴͍̞̉́ͅk̴̗͗n̶̹̒ǒ̵̼̲̬̄̈́w̴̥̄̆ ̶̣̞̂̈w̶̢̧̝͗̕h̶͕͇̓̉͘e̶̳͎̎̅ͅr̵͕̊͆ĕ̷͚̮̾͝ ̶̡̭͊͒Í̴͇͝͝ ̶̦̤̔͂̚l̶͚̦͕̔͝i̴̺̍̄̑v̸̫̎̚͝ė̶̼͔̓͛ ̷̫̥̆o̶̩̍͘͠r̸̮̹͛ ̴̩͔̣͗̍̈́m̵̨̯̲̍y̷̮̤̖̌̾̾ ̵̯̜̈́a̵̪͇̐͝g̸̭͖̋ẽ̶͇ ̶͖͆w̶̔͜h̶͕̖̘͆̒̎y̶͕͇̾ ̸̬̠̈́d̴̰̈́o̷͇̽͒͘ë̴͈̭́s̶̺̭̈́ͅ ̸̜̇͆̌ḯ̷ͅt̷̪̗̩̔̿̇ ̴͖͈̼̄̊͋l̸̛̲͈͐̆ͅǒ̷̡̗ͅö̸̥́̍͆ḱ̷̭̟̪̈́̑ ̵̬̻̈́͘ͅl̴͕̙̞̐i̵̲̥̔̇̕k̶̛̫̎ê̶̼͙ ̴̫͌̑̆t̷̤̀̾ͅh̶̠̻̳͂̏e̸̛̺̣̬͂̾y̶̫̾̊ ̸͖̗̖̓͒̇d̸̮͈͆̿̏o̶̧͇̽͒͝n̶̖̈́’̷̡͔̮́̏t̴̛̙͑͝ ̶̡̰͋ȇ̷͓̘v̷̙̈́͠ͅe̸̡̙͍͠ṅ̴̰̚ ̴̠̦̾̈͛c̴̤̘͖͗̉̽a̵͔͑̚r̵̢͔̫̽́̒e̶̼̕ ̸̥̘͒̈́͐ͅá̶͎͝b̴̧͚̞̂ő̴̟̕͠ü̴̱̐͌t̶͔̻̙͒ ̵̹̳͉͂̉̉á̶̠̯̚͜ṅ̶̦̜̈́ẏ̶̛̪͙͘ ̴̢̥͖̈́c̷͙̓̈́́r̷̜̳͖͑ḕ̴͉̣̂͜d̸̲̬̒̊͝ę̸͕̋̾̏n̷̺̤̂t̴̤̐̽͋i̸͍͕̻͌̒ả̴̘̝͑ͅl̸̺͎̅̾̈š̶̻͚́̒”

“Danny chill, I can’t actually understand you and you’re going to wreck my phones speaker, I’m taking that mess as a yes and do you really think they’ll hire you if you can’t keep yourself together? I’m pretty sure they can’t let a horror monster onto a spaceship”.

Damn Tuck always knew how to cool him down quickly, he doesn’t compact himself back to ‘normal’ though just squishes down enough that he’s not knocking anything over or making the ceiling creak. Moving that tail that Jazz is still on so it and her are laying on his bed, “r̵i̷g̸h̶t̴,̷ ̴r̵i̸g̶h̴t̶,̷ ̸y̶e̷a̵h̶ ̶t̴h̷a̷t̵,̶ ̴t̷h̸a̴t̸ ̵w̴o̸u̷l̷d̶n̵’̸t̴ ̷g̵o̴ ̵o̴v̵e̶r̸ ̸w̴e̴l̷l̴”̵”.

“No kidding. Now did you put a hole through anything with your horns?”:

Danny glances around, it didn’t look like it at least. Plus Tuck didn’t call them goddamn bunny ears for a change, regardless of how similar they looked. “N̶o̶,̸ ̸d̴o̵n̷’̸t̵ ̷t̴h̷i̵n̴k̸ ̸s̶o̶”.

“You’re getting better! Congrats! Now are you going to try and take this job? Can you even type with your fingers right now?”.

Danny looking back to the computer and the email on screen, he has to really curl and bend his joints up and one of his shoulders is going past the entire computer but he can manage, “t̵h̴e̸r̸e̷'̵s̵ ̷n̵o̵ ̴w̵a̵y̴ ̸I̷ ̷c̴a̵n̴’̶t̷ ̵a̷t̷ ̷l̸e̸a̶s̵ ̵t̵r̷y̸,̴ ̷T̷u̷c̴k̴,̷ ̵a̵n̸d̴ ̴b̴a̴r̵e̷l̷y̶ ̶b̴u̵t̸ ̴y̷e̸s̷”.

“Alright then shoot your shot, man. Just try not to give away that you’re an eldritch horror”.

Danny can t help but grin, his teeth and lips swirling and curling on the sides of his face like galaxies, “t̷h̶a̸n̷k̴ ̷T̵u̸c̵k̸,̴ ̸s̸o̴r̶r̴y̵ ̴i̷f̶ ̷I̴ ̵f̴u̷c̶k̶e̴d̵ ̸u̶p̴ ̴y̸o̴u̸r̷ ̵p̸h̵o̵n̸e̵ ̴a̸g̵a̵i̷n̷”.

“Think nothing of it, Danny, not only do I expect it but I legit do not mind at all. I’ll take my best friend getting a hella awesome job offer that makes him go eldritch nightmare fuel on my ear drums over impromptu rescue mission any day”, Tuck laughing as he hangs up.

Man is Danny ever glad he called his goddamn best friend. The message he sends back to FREAKING NASA is excited but not overly crazy. He doesn’t go on a tangent, he only hits the wrong keys a few times and has to fix it, he doesn’t accidentally break anything, and he doesn’t mention anything that he knows NASA doesn’t know about. Yes he wants the job, yes that would be very awesome, yes he promises he has the capability, yes yes yes. Oh he’s vibrating again and a couple of his stars that comprise up part of his knee explode and reform.

Jazz groaning makes him still, moving a hand to have two finger tips over her eyes, “s̶o̷r̸r̴y̷,̴ ̴t̸o̵o̷ ̴e̶x̴c̷i̷t̸e̴d̷ ̴t̵o̸ ̵c̸o̶m̴p̴a̴c̷t̶ ̸m̸y̴s̸e̷l̵f̶ ̸r̶i̷g̴h̶t̸ ̶n̷o̶w̵.̷ ̶N̷A̸S̵A̵ ̶y̷e̵s̵ ̸N̴A̴S̶A̸ ̶o̶f̵f̵e̶r̶e̵d̷ ̷m̶e̴ ̵a̶ ̴j̵o̷b̸ a̴n̵d̸ I̵ ̷a̴m̵ ̵l̴o̵s̵i̵n̴g̷ ̵m̴y̵ ̷m̸i̶n̵d̷ ̶a̶n̷d̷ ̷c̴o̷r̸e̵ a̵ l̵i̷t̵t̶l̸e̶ ̵b̶i̸t̴ ̶h̷e̵r̴e̷”.

She beams, sitting up slowly and not moving Danny’s fingers off of her eyes, “that’s awesome Danny!”, she points in the direction his voice came from, “you better have said yes”.

“I̸t̸’̸s̶ ̷N̸A̵S̷A̴ ̵o̶f̶ ̸c̶o̵u̵r̷s̸e̵ ̴I̸ ̷d̸i̶d̶!̸”, pouting to himself, “I̴’̷m̶ ̸j̵u̴s̸t̵ ̷t̴r̸y̷i̴n̷g̷ t̵o̴ ̷f̶i̷g̸u̶r̸e̷ ̸o̷u̷t̷ ̴h̷o̶w̶ ̸t̷o̸ ̴e̷v̸e̸n̵ g̸o̸ t̴h̸e̴r̷e̸ ̵w̵i̷t̶h̷o̵u̷t̴ ̷b̶e̶i̶n̶g̵ ̵a̵l̴l̷ ̷n̶i̷g̵h̶t̴m̴a̸r̶e̷ f̴u̵e̴l̵”.

She hums and taps her chin, “yeah your potential employer or coworkers wouldn’t appreciate having to wear blind folds or ear protection in case you get too excited or hyper-fixate into your Obsession too much”, humming some more, “obviously depowering yourself would be stupid, so don’t even think about it. They found you through your vlog I'm to guess, which I know you’re a little too liberal on with information, so they probably know something about you is off, so you can get away with being a little strange; your more human level of strange at least”. He’s fully fucking aware of that, hence why this was kind of a problem, even in his human form he wasn’t going to be able to contain himself super well. Just getting the job offer made him unfurl entirely, actually getting the job? He’s going to accidentally rip the building apart or something. She nods to herself, “well you will not get the job like this, meaning you will not be able to do space stuff with NASA if you can’t keep a lid on this”.

He knows tha- oh OH! Okay yeah. Okay. Right sometimes he needed others to tell him that shit for his core to get the damn message. Jazz nearly stumbling forward off his bed when he folds in on himself, leaving his white-haired ‘normal’ ghost self floating vaguely in the middle of the room and blinking at her, “point received apparently”, and shakes his head. He wasn’t exactly a super huge fan of his eldritch form, it was freaky and so disconnected from how a human body worked and moved.

She cracks an eye open cautiously before opening them fully at Danny being normal, “okay good”, standing up and moving on slightly shaky legs to his closet, “now what do you have to wear that is professional and doesn’t make you seem obessesed with space”.

He floats after her, “it’s a space job shouldn’t I dress space-themed?”, his laptop email pinning results in him nearly teleporting to it.

“No. They can already tell you’re crazy about space from the vlog, you don’t want to seem like that’s all you care about and love by also dressing in space themed clothing”.

Danny vibrates, it’s from NASA, NASA!, oh he almost wants to spread out again just to have more of him to vibrate! They set a date! A time! Three days.

It’s in three days!

They were moving so fast! Oh they definitely knew something weird was up with him! Was that good? Bad? Probably good-ish. Otherwise they’d care about his schooling and expirence and wouldn’t possibly ignore his inhumanness. He knows he’s got stars zipping through his hair and too many eyes when he looks at Jazz, “three days. They want to talk to me in three days! Me!”, and screams a little.

She hurls a button up patterned like a arcade floor at his face, “if you scream at them they won’t hire you, and what you’re saying is they’re not giving you any time to actually calm down. They are absolutely trying to figure out how you know what you know by blindsiding you like this”.

Danny gestures ridiculously, “and I don’t even care because it’s NASA, NASA can mess with me all they want!”. He pops that stupid tail of his out and bits the fluffy space dust, spinning head over heels in the air excitedly. This was awesome! So cool! Even if they didn’t hire him or thought he was utterly insane he would still get to met them! This was the best day ever!

She laughs at his antics, “you are so lucky mom and dad aren’t here right now. Even if they would be very proud”, she grabs him, stilling his spinning but almost dragging her along with, “as I am, but you definitely got to keep yourself contained. Even if they do want to hire ‘nightmare fuel’ they won’t if they think meeting you was a hallucination”.

He pouts a little, dropping his tail from his mouth, “I know that”, pouting a little more, “it’s times like this I’d rather look more like Clocky than Nocturne”.

“I know, but it suits you, and at least if you do wind up going to space legally any stars might get brushed off as just being part of space”.

“Aka part of me”.

She rolls her eyes at him before going wide-eyed and jumped up, “oh! Now I need to figure out how to make space food for you!”.

“What?!? No! Bad! What if you poison one of the astronauts!”.

“Then you can nurse them back to health”.

“Do not mess with my protectiveness like that!”.

She only laughs at him, but at least he gets himself human again, tail sticking around so he can fiddle with the ‘fluff’ while attempting to keep editing and not vibrate himself out of his mortal flesh again. He fails at that repeatedly.

----

Pretty much the only thing that’s keeping him compact and human while he’s getting ready for the goddam interview with NASA is the fact he absolutely will not get the job without being at least human passing. Sam actually showed up and stole all his space themed clothing -even the underwear!- to make sure he couldn’t wear it. He does go with the dress shirt Jazz threw at him that day, wound up picking pants that he’s pretty sure are actually Sam’s that she just left here, and a stupid pair of dress shoes Vlad gave him once. Heck he even threw on a yellow bandanna around his neck to make double sure his scars were hidden! Who knows if his medical history was going to get questioned because he’d fail that shit instantaneously.

… Unfortunately none of that matter at all.

Why?

Because the second he got to the freaking NASA field centre he loses his human form from pure excitement… and the secretary walks out before he can change back! At least he didn’t unfurl or explode! She… isn’t even surprised and that’s enough to keep him from vibrating himself into the floor. She just leads him, currently a ghost -she knows this isn’t what any human being looks like right? She can see that he’s glowing right? Right!?!-, into the little interview room.

He.

Is in.

A NASA interview room. He wants to smell the walls and eat them. Shit his teeth are too big. He slaps his cheeks mere seconds before his apparent interviewer comes in.

At least as a ghost his cheeks won’t be tinted red. Fuck him entirely.

The man actually chuckles, setting papers down on the desk and holding his hand out for a hand shake. How the Zone is this going okay? He shakes the man’s hand, his name tag says ‘A. Bowman’. Holy shit he’s one of the actual higher up’s!

… Oh they one hundred percent knew something was funky with ‘Vega-bond’ if they sent a higher up to talk to him.

Bowman eyes his own hand as they both sit down, Danny aggressively forcing himself not to float, “ghost skin tingles, interesting”, looking at Danny properly, “well I suppose this answers one of many questions, or rather most of many”.

Danny being a ghost was a… good thing? Well alright then. Tilting his head, “it does?”. He didn’t even mean to show up looking like this!

Bowman knits his fingers together and leans forwards at him, actually grinning, “it does. Your channel, you’ve talked about subjects, in depth, that even we have no knowledge of. It was much too in-depth to not be reality, and while encouraging plenty of debates is a good outcome actually meeting the person behind it is far more valuable”.

Sweet Ancients the job offer was serious. It is so hard to bounce around or something, fuck his eyes are probably glowing a bit too much to be pleasant to look at, “I technically am not actually supposed to be talking about that stuff but I get carried away easily”, and rubs his neck awkwardly.

Bowman hums at him and Danny doesn’t know if that’s good or bad. “Well I can certainly say I’m glad space excites you”, he shuffles the papers a bit, “I take it your interest in space, regardless of your state of living, is why you agreed to this interview?”.

Danny nodding immediately, “yeah! I’ve actually wanted to be an astronaut since I could walk, you know, before the obvious happened”. Oh Zone is he going to have to explain dying to NASA? “I’m pretty sure no doctor in their right mind would clear me to go to space, legally at least”.

Bowman nods acceptingly, “and based on your wealth of knowledge it’s clear you would have been willing to work towards that childhood dream, yes?”.

Danny begins gesturing a little excitedly, “I used to build model rockets and memorised every space flight simulator I could get my hands on. I spent years saving up for the best telescope money could buy and never missed any celestial event. My family even paid for a zero gravity flight once as my birthday and truce- I mean christmas present”, laughing awkwardly to try and stop himself from rambling, “I probably had a concerning amount of drive for it”.

“That’s the only kind worth having”, the man nods strongly, “anything less and this isn’t a good fit. Would you say you still have that drive?”.

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t be me”, Danny says that in the firm voice he usually used when fighting someone genuinely dangerous or lecturing the Observants about trying to inhibit him.

Bowman grins at that, “good. Then-”, eyeing the papers, “-obviously your, younger appearance means you don’t have any work experience to speak of. So what experience do you have?”.

“Does being a town hero since my freshman year of high school count as previous working experience? I feel like it should”. Like really, the sheer amount of ‘experiences’ he’s had could fill novels and pad out entire tv shows. “I’ve fist fought a god? Multiple gods actually?”.

“Typically, we strictly prefer if our employees don’t get into fist fights”.

Ah yeah, that tracked and was fair. “Think of a weird situation and I’ve probably done it, I had to land one of your spacecrafts once actually since it became sentient and tried to eat me; everyone got mind wiped because it was a little too weird for most people to handle remembering. I’ve got lots of lab experience and my hazmat isn’t just for show, especially with handling hazardous materials; granted I am made of hazardous materials. I’ve time travelled, had to wrangle sentient turkey, been inside books, been shrunk”.

Bowman shaking his head and pulling a tablet out of the drawer, holding up a finger while he types on it.

Danny really hopes he’s not in trouble, he could probably go on forever about the things he’s done. Oh and now his tails out, damn it, at least it’s just wrapped around his one ankle and he’s squishing its space dust fluff with his foot for something to do other than mentally freak out.

Bowman puts the tablet down, oh hey he was looking Phantom up! for stories about the stuff he’s done? Him eyeing Danny, “you’ve ridden a dragon and yet want to be an astronaut?”.

Danny beams, “yes!”, rubbing his neck, “dragons aren’t that special to me, since my younger sister is one. I’m literally from a dimension that doesn’t have gravity and I’ve been to space a lot”.

He blinks, “you’ve already been to space?”.

Oh are they going to be bothered he violated space sanctions? Laughing awkwardly, “I’m always in a state of zero gravity and don’t need to breathe, so yeah as soon as I knew I could I did. I’ve been outside of the Milky Way multiple times”. How the actual Zone would this interview have even gone if he had managed to stay human the whole time???

Bowman looks baffled, “you’ve actually been outside of the Milky Way? No human could ever hope to do that”, he looks more confused, “if you can do such a thing then why would you want to work with us?”.

He’s honestly a little lost on why Bowman is even confused why Danny’d want to still work at NASA, it’s NASA! Traveling to space with other people who are crazy about space would be a-mazing! Regardless of how much they know or don’t he could excitedly babble with people who could excitedly babble back and actually understand each other! He could see all their faces when they see all his space and their fascination and love for all of it! And ain’t that great all on its own? Sure he could observe them as he is now from space but it would be so different to actually be in there with them and have them actually know he’s there! Should he tell Bowman that Danny’s the one that rescued Oppy? Technically he shouldn’t have and yes the Observants gave him shit but that ‘I’ll be seeing you’ song broke his still somewhat human heart and he had to save the little fella. Danny quirks an eyebrow, “because travelling to space with others who love and research space and seeing all the wonder and research over it sounds like a dream?”.

Bowman blinks and nods, “then it’s more the people, the science, than the mere act of going to space for you?”, tilting his head, “how far have you gone?”.

“I… can’t answer that second one since that would confirm whether or not the universe has an edge”. It didn’t but he can’t be confirming that. “And that might mess with established reality and multiple gods would get very mad at me”. Bowman looks impressed actually. “But yeah, it’s the people and just getting to work with and for NASA. I couldn’t think of a better thing to do with my afterlife”, rubbing his neck, “obviously I still have my protector job to do but it wouldn’t interfere”.

“You can still protect your town while also being on a spaceship?”.

“Time and space are more malleable than people think”, shrugging, “and I can duplicate my body so being two places at once isn’t really an issue”. Not to mention the fact that he literally was space so he could move through it however he pleased. Huh, it’s starting to feel more like he’s just talking to a person than NASA which is making this freak his shit out a little less.

Bowman nods more to himself, “and if you can leave the Milky Way and return in an infinitely small amount of time then you could certainly do the same within its system”, lifting his hands up and resting his chin on them, “well my mind’s certain made up, consider yourself hired. If I may, how do you move though space and time so fast? Are there improvements we could make to our suits or crafts, you think?”.

Danny’s pretty sure his smile breaks his face a little and there’s stars in his teeth, a nebula in his mouth when he speaks, “a̷w̷e̸s̵o̵m̸e̵!”, clearing his throat and ignoring Bowman’s wince, “o̶h̸ t̶h̵i̶s̵ ̵i̶s̵ ̵s̴o̴ ̷a̴m̶a̵z̶i̷n̴g̸!”, there’s a little pop and crackle, a high pitched whine sizzle; oh shit he might have broken a minor galaxy, whoops. Being a young god was a such a pain. He swats at some of the stars that had cropped up around his head and through his hair, “heh. Got a little excited there”.

“I’m pretty sure you just created tiny stars”, Bowman looks stuck between awe and bafflement, “the sheer amount of research that would be available with stars so small. How?”.

“Uh”. Well shit, there goes the ‘be normal Danny’ crap. But! But but but but but! NASA WANTS HIM! Like ACTUALLY wants HIM! HIM! Sure he’s going to get asked so many questions about him and how he is what he is but it’ll be by astronomists! And astrochemists! And astrophysicists! And just general stargazers! He wants to scream but if he does that he’s going to terrify this guy! Ugh! Shaking his head out and possibly sending away eyes that shouldn’t be there, tail squeezing around his ankle a little, “okay so it might not be super public right now but I have space-related powers? Space is my thing as a ghost”.

Bowman makes a couple of faces, “do these powers often act up when you’re excited? Are any coworkers going to need to be briefed on you?”, eyeing the tablet, “so it’s similar to the… Box Ghosts interest in boxes?”.

Should… should Danny just say fuck it and tell this man that he’s not simply space related but the literal personification of space??? It would probably explain some stuff and holy shit no way could Danny actually really keep himself all contained if he gets to GO TO SPACE WITH NASA! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. His stupid horns are gonna pop out at this point, ugh. “Probably a good idea, heh. I’m young so I guess, you could say, I don’t keep the best lid on myself. I totally definitely want to see and get involved in everything immediately but if I do that I will definitely terrify you guys and possibly destroy something even if I will definitely be able to fix it too”, oh he’s vibrating now, great, “I can definitely be a lot in a lot of categories but you can’t really use me or mine for research, or well none of mine that’s actually like directly connected to me since studying all of mine is kinda what y’all do but the more direct me me is very ghostly and made of ecto and totally useless for human based research”. Danny manages to make himself shut up, it’s a feat really, his horns are absolutely poking out his hair a little.

A shooting stars goes across his chest and Bowman absolutely stares at it. The man eyeing Danny’s hair/horns and his face, while Danny’s trying to keep his grin from doing that damn spiral galaxy thing at the edges. “It… sounds like you view space as being yours and… your appearance can clearly change to something less human-looking”.

Oh no Danny’s made this awkward. He can’t rescind the job right? Right! “Lots of ghosts can be on the incomprehensible side, I’m generally good at not pulling that out on people. And um, it kinda is? I’m not exactly a normal ghost, more of a person who ascended into becoming a personification?”, gesturing wth a hand that’s fingers are a little too long and sharp and have a few too many joints, “I’m not gonna like spoil things or steal people’s glory or anything though I’m pretty good at making sure I don’t spill the beans on something I know NASA’s researching even if there’s nothing to be found that I don’t know but people researching and finding out and being baffled and loving space is my jam and I love it very much and would very much like to be along for the ride and aid?”.

Bowman squints at Danny, making him squeak a sound similar to Benstoma’s fire rain. Please let him still get hired. Please let him still get hired. Please let him still get hired. Please let him still get hired. PLEASE! “Are you claiming you’re a… personification of part or all of space? And that’s why you know things we could never hope to know and why you spent hours talking about such things online?”.

“Yes? Am I still hired?”.

… “Can you refrain from creating stars and what sounded like what we’ve hypothesised a minor cool dwarf star exploding would sound like?”.

“I won’t do it on the ship? Or near research stuff? Or I’ll keep it contained inside myself very solidly?”.

Bowman actually sighs tiredly at him, oh no now Danny’s getting the reaction he always did from people who had put up with his bullshit for a little too long. Shit. Blurting out, “I’m also the person who rescued Oppy?”; yanking out his phone and showing the selfie he took with the little rover, giving a very awkward smile. Oh the Observants were gonna be pissed about this entire conversation holy shit.

Bowman stares at him, almost looking like he’s tearing up a little, before shaking his head, “oh what the hell, who am I to tell literal space itself ‘no’”, and stands up to shake Danny’s hand again.

Danny absolutely wants to unfurl and maybe if Jazz and Tuck and Sam hadn’t been very aggressive about pointing how bad of an idea that would be then he would have. As it is he just vibrates, tail unwinding and swishing around, “y̸o̵u̸ ̸a̵r̸e̸ ̴t̸h̴e̴ ̶b̶e̸s̴t̶!”, standing up and giving the man his hand shake, quickly realising he’s at least a foot taller that he should be; crap his legs got all long and weirdly animisticly jointed.

Bowman’s blinking down at the tail, “is that made out of IDP’s and micro-meteors?”; meanwhile Danny’s shaking out his legs to get them back to a more human length.

Danny blinking, oops. Moving the tail end fluff up into his own hands and cupping it, still having to lean down a little, “yup! Most of my, uh, I guess ‘fur’? is cosmic dust. Wanna touch it? It won’t hurt you”, shrugging, “my stars do burn though so don’t touch those”.

Bowman looks absolutely fascinated and Danny is absolutely living for it! He’s vibrating again and just seeing the man poking it and thinking a mile a minute is making Danny oh so giddy. Some parts of him are absolutely getting all goopy constellations but it’s not too extreme… yet. Is this why ClockWork never really put up much of a fight when Danny wanted to do dumb shit with the time stream? Because it was just so great and satisfying to watch someone be focused in on your thing as an Ancient? And he thought talking to people in the comments section about everything space was a rush, this was so much better! He’s gonna have to make sure he doesn’t aggressively over indulge.

Bowman hums, “actually seeing cosmic dust moving as it does this close is certainly interesting”, looking at Danny’s face, “you won’t contaminate our samples though”.

“Oh absolutely not! Messing up space research would go against my nature so that’s not gonna happen”. Danny would never! Plus if he even could he would have already considering he’s already been inside basically every NASA building by now; including some that don’t exist anymore or never did and never will.

Bowman grinning, “good. Even if you can’t also be an impromptu sample source”.

Danny holding up a finger, “I also can’t or shouldn’t really, answer your questions for you. What’s on my channel isn’t stuff humans would have ever figured out so I decided it was no harm”, muttering to himself, tail flicking near the ground, “the universe overseers still weren’t happy but I hate them so whatever”.

Bowman shakes his head and walks to the door, “come along, I’ll show you around, try to contain all your space self please?”.

“If I hadn’t already been inside this building multiple times that would be impossible for me”.

“You broke in? Repeatedly?”.

“I can be invisible and intangible. And space is technically everywhere all the time. But actually getting shown around is, a-mazing. Tell me everything”.

Bowman smiles at him like he’s an excitable child and actually indulges Danny, explaining even the really simply tiny things and Danny is absolutely adoring and absorbing every second of it; he’s vibrating and stars dance across his skin, sometimes he has to smack bits of stars or galaxy back into himself but he mostly manages.

…

He also has to throw out the lunch Jazz packed him -having rightfully assumed that he absolutely would not be back home in time for said lunch- as it had growled at him and Danny refused to eat anything that could make sounds. Bowman eyeing the bag Danny crushed closed hastily, “you eat? And your food shrieks?”.

Danny sighing, damn it Jazz, “a certain someone keeps trying to get me to eat ectoplasm since I technically spend too much time in the living realm to get enough from the environment here, unfortunately she is not a good cook and I think eating ectoplasm is extremely disgusting and morally questionable”.

“That does sound unfortunately close to cannibalism, but I’m sure we could work something out with this caretaker of yours to get you approved for special lunches”.

Danny groans exaggeratedly at the man, who smirks a little at him.

And Bowman absolutely did get in touch with one Jasmine Fenton who was all too eager to try and set up program approved experimental ectoplasm space rations for NASA’s newest and strangest member. NASA’s scientists were dramatically better at figuring out how to get ectoplasm to work in physical food, so she was very happy.

When Danny got home the very first thing he did was call Tuck with, “so you know that whole don’t tell them you’re a space eldritch god? Yeah I fucked that up”.

“Ha! I’m almost impressed! And they still hired you?”.

“Yup! I might have appealed to his love for space with my stupid space dust tail, and I mentioned saving Oppy”.

“Oh how manipulative”.

“Oh shut up! Anyway he showed me around-”, Danny spends over an hour just gushing about everything Bowman had showed off to him, Tuck humours him but clearly isn’t really following the conversation. Man it was going to be awesome to talk space with people who could and would!

End.

Prompts: "Shouldn't being the town hero since my freshman year of high school count as previous working experience?" "What did you want to be, when you grew up?" Every strange thing Danny has ever done, accidentally or not, comes back not to haunt him, but to help him. Danny starts a vlog to talk about space, but as the Ancient of Space he knows more about it than all top scientists together. NASA discovers his vlog. Danny accidentally shows up to a NASA job interview as Phantom. He’s hired on the spot. Ghosts need ectoplasm to stay healthy and by golly is Jazz going to figure out a way to introduce it to Danny's diet. Sometimes you just gotta be an eldritch horror.

[phicphight]

Easier When Unknown

Summary: Danny could have imagined his life would be interesting after everyone learned his secret, but he didn't think it would be this different.

Author's Note: A phic phight fanfiction! Here are the two prompts:

AU where no one knew Danny was Phantom until PP (or some alternate big reveal of the author's choice). Sam and Tucker are sure that a famous hero like Danny Phantom is too cool to be their friend again, especially since they haven't talked since before freshman year of high school. Danny just wants to be part of the trio again and has no idea how to ask.

Danny finds out that Sam's been being bullied at school and has been hiding it from him and Tucker out of embarrassment.

...

Danny’s life definitely didn’t get easier after his identity was revealed, but it didn’t get that much harder, which was good.  Right?

Or, well, that was a little bit of an oversimplification.  His life definitely got harder in a lot of ways.  People stared at  him wherever he went.  Suddenly all of the popular kids at school wanted to be best friends with him, like he couldn’t see through that change of pace from a mile away.  There were news stations constantly vying for the first interview with the half-ghost kid who defeated the Ghost King.

But his parents stopped hunting him.  And they were going to try to work things out.  And Jazz revealed that she’d actually known for a while now, and that made her more ready to adapt to everything, and she didn’t treat him like anything had changed.

And all of that kind of evened it out, at the end of the day.  Even if he wasn’t exactly sure he was ready to go from town’s enemy to world’s hero.

Because that was another part of this: word of Amity Park, ghosts in general, and what he’d done had been spreading like wildfire since he’d put Pariah Dark back in his coffin.  Suddenly everyone was talking about him, and everyone knew him, and, as stated with the aforementioned journalists, everyone wanted to talk to him.  He woke up every day to see news trucks that were local and ones that were very much not right outside his house.  He’d flown intangibly to school every day for the past month.

Ancients, all this fame needed to die down soon.  He wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take.

He was often so caught up in everything changing all at once, however, that he didn’t have much of a chance to think about things he might want to happen.  Which was why he was a little caught off guard that morning.  He was running from the daily mob of screaming girls who wanted his autograph (which was never something he thought he’d get sick of), and after getting at least a little bit of a lead on them, he turned intangible and dove through the door to the janitor’s closet, then turned back to normal and rested his hands on his knees, panting slightly to catch his breath.

“Uh,” came a very familiar female voice, and Danny’s head shot up.  He found standing on the other side of the closet the one part of his life that hadn’t changed.

And for a long, long moment, he and Sam and Tucker just stared at each other.

Danny’s feelings about Sam and Tucker had never been more mixed.  They really were the one aspect of his life that stayed the same post identity-reveal-to-the-entire-world, and he couldn’t decide whether to thank them for the consistency or be pissed at them for the audacity.

Because he hadn’t talked to Sam and Tucker since the beginning of Freshman year.

And then his secret was revealed to the entire world.

And he still hadn’t talked to Sam and Tucker since the beginning of Freshman year.

“Uh,” Danny said finally, because they couldn’t just all keep staring at each other.  “Hi.”

“Hey,” Tucker said.  Sam nodded in acknowledgement.

Really, guys.  Work with him a little bit, please?

“Are you hiding from people too?” Danny asked, pushing himself up using his knees.

“Yeah,” Sam said.

“I didn’t think you’d be hiding from anyone anymore,” Tucker said, and Danny didn’t miss the tinge of bitterness in his voice.

“Um,” Danny said.  He didn’t seem to have any more words for Sam and Tucker than he had a year and a half ago.

“Danny!” came from outside the closet, and Danny whirled around instinctually.  “Get back here!  What makes you think you can run from me?”

“Hey you mind if I hang out here for a bit cool thanks,” Danny said, moving across the closet until he was right across from Sam and Tucker.  A second later, the door handle started jiggling, and Danny turned intangible, even though he could feel Sam and Tucker’s stares.

The door swung open and Paulina poked her head in.

“Oh, it’s just you two,” she said, disappointment obvious in her voice.  A second later, she perked up.  “Hey, you haven’t seen Danny, have you?”

“No,” Sam said, crossing her arms.  “Would you back off?  We’re trying to hide in a closet here.”

Paulina laughed.  “Sure, okay.  Have fun, losers.”  She slammed the door after herself.

Danny dropped the intangibility as soon as she was gone with a sigh of relief.  “Thanks,” he said to Sam and Tucker.

“Don’t mention it,” Sam grumbled, and leaned back against the shelf behind her.  “I’m surprised you didn’t want to see her, though.”

“Honestly, yeah,” Tucker agreed, giving him a weird look.  “Never thought I’d see the day you’d turn down Paulina.”

“It’s not that,” Danny said.  “I mean she… she’s not…”

The warning bell rang, and all three of them looked towards the door, where they could hear it outside.  For a second afterwards, none of them moved.

Sam did first, pushing herself off the shelf.  “Bye,” she said, starting towards the door.  Tucker followed her closely.

Danny tried not to make his deflation obvious.  “Yeah, okay,” he muttered.  He turned intangible again, and slipped through the floor, rather than try and go past them.

It was only when he actually made it to his homeroom that he realized he still had no idea why Sam and Tucker were in that closet.

…

“Hey, Fenturd— I mean Fenton!”

Danny heaved an internal sigh and looked up from his tray of food to find Dash and Kwan walking up to his table.

“Are these seats taken?” Dash asked with a grin, gesturing at the as-of-yet empty table around him.  He’d gotten to lunch early in order to try and hang on to one.

“Yeah,” Danny said to Dash, leaning over to rest his chin on his hand in what was intended to be a representation of how little he wanted them here.  “I’m holding it for all of the ghosts that are going to show up during lunch and blast you across the room.”

“Ha, you’re a riot Fenton!” Dash said, completely ignoring Danny’s tone and face and sliding into the seat next to him.  Danny cringed and didn’t bother to hide it, sliding as far away from Dash as he could.  Unfortunately, Dash just slid right down after him, which resulted in Danny nearly being pushed off the bench and Dash not noticing.

Kwan followed his lead and took the seat across from Danny, meaning Danny was forced to look in boredom to the side to avoid both of their gazes.  He waited a couple extra seconds, but eventually it became clear that neither of them were going to move.  So, Danny sighed, resigned himself to his life, and picked up one of his terrible school-lunch chicken nuggets.

“So, we were both thinking that maybe you could come watch one of our practices!” Dash called, slinging an arm around Danny’s shoulder.  “The football team’s, I mean.”

“Why would I do that?” Danny asked, making his shoulder go intangible just long enough for Dash’s arm to fall through.

“Well I mean, it would be neat to have you there,” Dash said, glancing across the table at Kwan.  “Right Kwan?”

“Totally,” Kwan agreed with a grin of his own.  “And I mean, you’re pretty good with athletic stuff.  You know, when you’re a cool ghost fighting superhero and not a weak dweeb.  Maybe you could come as Phantom, you know, show us some tricks!”

“Gee, that sounds great,” Danny deadpanned.  “So am I just supposed to ignore the insults in there, or…?”

“Hey,” came Paulina’s voice, and Danny turned around to see her walking up behind them all.  “Can’t you two leave him alone?  It’s clear he doesn’t want to be bothered by you.”

Danny blinked in surprise.  He really hadn’t expected Paulina to pick up on that.  Maybe she actually—

“He’d clearly rather be sitting with me!” Paulina said, reaching down and pulling Danny up by his arm.

“Okay, that’s it!”  Danny went intangible again and slipped out of Paulina’s grasp, then grabbed his lunch and walked out of the room, straight through the doors without bothering to open them.

He made his way out to the front steps of the school and sat down, and managed to get through at least a couple bites before he remembered the reason eating outside was also a bad idea.  The reminder came in the form of a reporter and a camera man leaping out from what he thought was a normal van sitting across the street.

“Mr Fenton!” called one of them as he ran up towards the steps.  “Or would you prefer Mr Phantom?”

“I’d prefer solitude,” Danny snapped, leaning back and away from them both.

“Oh absolutely!  Just a couple of quick questions first of course, you wouldn’t mind.”

The door slammed open behind them, and Danny prepared himself for Dash or Paulina again when, to his surprise, Mr Lancer stepped down the steps and stopped right in front of him.

“You’re on school property,” he said, crossing his arms.  “You have two minutes to get back in your van and drive away or I am calling the police.”

“Sir, can I ask, how long have you known that one of your students is dead?” the reporter asked, shoving a mic in Lancer’s face.

Lancer raised an eyebrow and pulled out his phone, then started dialing 911.  Thankfully, the reporters turned and ran back across the street before he could finish.

Lancer turned back around as soon as they were gone.  “Are you alright?” he asked, casting a concerned look down at Danny.

“Fine,” Danny muttered, picking up his tray and climbing to his feet.  “You know.  Great.”

Lancer looked at him for another second, then said, “Mr Fenton, come and eat your lunch in my classroom.”

“What?  Why?”

“You can sit out of view from my door,” Lancer said.  “It’ll give you a break from the crowds.”

Danny felt a knot in his chest loosen.  “Really?”

Lancer gave him a sympathetic frown.  “I can’t imagine it’s an easy thing to deal with all the time,” he said.  He opened the door again and gestured for Danny to go first, so he did.

And for the first time in a while, he ate his lunch in silence.

…

He wasn’t expecting to see Sam and Tucker again that day.  Most of the time his time at school was spent avoiding every single person he possibly could.  The morning incident in the janitor’s closet had been a once in a blue moon event.

But, as fate would have it, there was a ghost attack during the last period, and after going and taking care of it (just the Box Ghost showing up as an irritation), he landed behind the school to find Sam and Tucker leaning against the wall and talking.

And while he’d originally come back here to try and avoid all of the cheers he’d get going right back into class, he was sort of regretting that decision now.

Sam and Tucker were clearly deep in conversation, but they noticed when he landed right in front of them, and then they all got to do a lovely repeat of that morning’s staring at each other.

“Hiding again?” Tucker asked eventually.

Danny nodded.  “You too?”

Sam nodded.

Danny gave them a curious look.  “From what?”

“Danny!”

Danny groaned audibly this time, as Star ran around the side of the building and straight for him.

“That was so cool the way you just flew off like that!” she called.  “Not a second thought to how you might be putting yourself in danger!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Danny said, already starting to fly away.  “Make my excuses in class, will you?  Got to get this really dangerous ghost back to the portal right away and send him through to the ghost zone.  Great thanks bye!”

He flew off maybe a little bit too quickly for the given situation, but he couldn’t stand another second there, and school was basically over anyway.  He made it home pretty quickly, and thankfully wasn’t stopped by any news outlets on the way, though that was likely because he made the whole trip while intangible.

But while he made it inside without any fuss, as soon as he flew down to the lab he was greeted with his parents working on what looked like a weapon of some kind.

He winced.  He was never quite able to stop the touch of fear that came with his parents working on a ghost weapon.  After a second, though, he floated down to the ground anyway and changed back from his ghost form.

Both his parents startled and looked over at him.

“Danny,” his mom said.  “You’re back early.”

“Yeah uh, ghost fight in last period,” Danny muttered, heading over towards the portal and attaching the thermos to it.  “School was already basically over, so I just came home.”  He hit the button on the side of the portal and sent the Box Ghost flying into the portal, crying out dramatically all the way.

“Well that’s nice,” Mom said, the tension in her voice obvious.

“Yeah, uh, anyway I have homework,” Danny said, starting for the steps.  He had a feeling flying up through the ceiling wouldn’t be a great idea right now.

“Will we see you for dinner, Danno?” Dad asked.  “We were hoping to all eat together tonight.”

Danny tightened his grip on the railing of the stairs.  “Okay.”

He considered asking what they’d be having, but given the tension in the room he really didn’t think he could spend much more time in the lab.

So instead, he just said “See you later,” and headed upstairs.

It’s not that his parents had reacted badly to the Phantom news.  They’d done the important stuff, they’d given him a huge apology and stopped actively hunting him.  But none of them seemed to really know where they stood with each other anymore.  Danny didn’t logically think they were going to hurt him anymore, but it was difficult to get rid of that fear response that for the longest time, it made sense to have.

But at the same time, he could tell it made them feel guilty to see him be scared of them.  Jazz said it wasn’t his fault, and she was probably right.  But he still hated it.

He started first for his bedroom, and made it part of the way through the living room when the front door opened and Jazz sprinted in, slamming the door shut on nearly a dozen reporters.  Danny could still hear their voice through the door after it shut.  Some were asking how it felt to be the brother of a hero, some were asking how long she’d known and how she’d found out, and some were asking how it felt to know her brother was dead.

Jazz heaved out a breath, though all of the reporters were still easily heard through the windows.  Then she looked up and met eyes with Danny.

“Oh hey,” she said, clearly still exhausted.  “How was school?”

Danny didn’t respond, instead gazing out the gap in the curtains to the people shoving cameras in it.

“Sorry,” he said to Jazz.

“Oh, don’t you dare,” Jazz said.  “I know you hate them as much as I do.”

Danny sighed and looked down.  “Yeah.”

“Are you doing okay?” Jazz asked hesitantly.  “I’m sure it’s… a lot.”

Danny snorted.  “Understatement.”

Jazz smiled a little.  “Yeah.”

Danny turned to face her more directly, chewing on his lip.  He’d avoided the topic with her so far, mostly because too much was going on, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been desperately curious.  “Can I…” he said hesitantly.  “Can I be like one of those awful reporters and ask you how you found out?”

Jazz rolled her eyes.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  You’re not a reporter, you’re my brother.  And I know if I tell you it’s not going to end up on the 5:00 news.”

She paused, and turned and glanced out the windows for a moment.  “You want to go upstairs, though?”

“Yes,” Danny said immediately.

So they both ended up in Jazz’s room, sitting next to each other on her bed, with the curtains drawn tight in case the helicopters came back.

“I found out during the Spectra thing,” Jazz started.  “I spotted you transforming.”

Danny nodded, thinking about that.  “Okay,” he said quietly.  “And… why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to wait until you wanted to tell me,” Jazz said.  She sighed, and glanced towards the windows.  “I guess that didn’t really work out.”

“No,” Danny muttered.  “But… I appreciate the sentiment.”

Jazz turned to look at him, concerned.  “Are you doing okay?  I mean, obviously not, just… you know.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Danny said, rolling his eyes.  “I always hoped that everyone would learn my secret in the aftermath of an exhausting battle when I was definitely not prepared for them to learn, and then I’d be hounded by literally everyone who suddenly feels entitled to my attention and my time.  Dream come true, this is.”

“I’m really sorry it turned out this way,” Jazz said quietly.

Danny sighed.  “Me too.”

“Is there anything I could do to be helpful?” Jazz asked.

“Do you know if anyone’s figured out time travel yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Dammit.”

There was a moment of silence, and Jazz said, “I mean it.”

Danny shook his head.  “There’s nothing you could do that you aren’t already doing,” he said.  “You’re not looking at me different.  Like your entire worldview’s been flipped on its head.  Which, I mean I guess for a lot of people it has, but… still.  It’s nice that you’re not.”

Jazz was quiet for a moment, and then she reached over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  And despite how totally lame it was to hug his sister, Danny did the same back.

“Still, if you want me to stand in between you and anyone, just let me know,” Jazz said.

“I wouldn’t ask you do that,” Danny said, pulling back, though he was smiling a little.  “I can just fly away from the news vans, and go intangible to get away from the helicopters.  And Lancer already gave me permission to hide in his office during school hours if I ever need to.”

“Good,” Jazz said with a nod.  She paused for a second, and Danny got the feeling she was about to ask something delicate.  He was proven right when a second later she said, “And what about Sam and Tucker?”

“What about them?” Danny said, glaring away.  “We’ve said about ten words to each other since everything happened.  And about half of them are ‘um.’”

…Okay, so maybe he’s a little more bitter than he realized.  He sighed.

“I can’t expect everything to suddenly change,” he said, turning back to Jazz.  “Our falling out had nothing to do with Phantom.”

Or, it technically did.  Their falling out had been because he constantly ditched them and left mid-way through hangouts.  Because he was Phantom, and had to go fight whatever ghost had shown up.  But they didn’t know that at the time.  And it had been over a year since they’d talked.  They had probably moved on.

“You should still talk to them,” Jazz said.  “And I mean really talk to them.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see much of an opportunity for that in between getting interrupted every ten seconds, either by classmates or reporters,” Danny said.  He paused, and turned to look at Jazz as a realization struck him.  “Hey, how are you doing with all that, by the way?  It doesn’t look like the reporters are leaving you alone.”

“They’re definitely not,” Jazz said.  “But I can handle myself.  Besides, they tend to leave me alone as soon as they see you.”

Danny smiled a bit.  “Glad I can take that off your shoulders for you.”

“Oh yeah, if anything you owe me,” Jazz said with a smile.  “After everything I did for you?”

“I think I’ve saved your life three times now.”

“Do my dishes for a month and we’re even.”

Danny snorted.  “Sure, you got it.”  He took a deep breath, feeling lighter than he had when he got home.

“Hey, thanks, Jazz,” he said, looking over at her.  “You’re surprisingly easy to talk to.”

“Anytime,” Jazz said, smiling warmly at him.  “I mean it.”

…

The next day didn’t start much better, with flying invisibly to school and hiding in various places until first period starts, but Danny found himself in a better mood despite it.  Talking with Jazz had helped, and knowing he’d have a quiet place to eat lunch helped too.

He still didn’t love being swarmed in the halls on his way to his first period after the warning bell rang, though.  Maybe he could use his well-established reputation for being late for everything and just hide until the halls were empty between classes.

…Or would that not work anymore because everyone knew the reason?

Well, he’d give it a shot anyway.

First period was uneventful, thankfully, aside from everyone spending the period staring at him while he was trying to focus, which was nothing new.  He could tell it was irritating both him and the teacher, however, because eventually he set his chalk down from writing math equations on the board.

“Anyone who doesn’t stop staring at Mr Fenton loses an entire letter grade on the next test,” he snapped.  “This is school, this is not your free time.  Mr Fenton, thank you for at least trying to pay attention.”

“Anytime,” Danny deadpanned, because he wasn’t about to turn down a compliment from a teacher, and he really was trying.

Apparently the threat of losing a letter grade was only enough to sway a couple students, though, likely the ones who hadn’t entirely given up on their grades like he had.

(Although maybe the administration would go easier on him now…?)

Either way, he managed to get at least some of the notes down by the end of the class, and going up to the teacher to ask if there was anything else he absolutely needed to have written down seemed to put him on his better side.  Being a teacher’s favorite was also something he wasn’t used to.

And as a second bonus, staying behind and finishing the notes resulted in a late pass, meaning he could wait until everyone had filed out of the hallway.

Or at least, he thought that’s what he was doing.

Instead, as he turned a corner towards his next period, he stumbled across Dash shoving someone inside a locker.  And instead of adding him to the bunch like he used to, when Dash spotting him he brightened.

“Fenton!  You want to help me stuff these losers in here?”

“Not really,” Danny said, starting over towards them to help out whoever he was bullying.  “You know, if you’re really trying to get on my good side, you might try—” he stopped as he reached the locker.

Well, apparently Dash really didn’t care about getting on his good side, because staring back out at him were Sam and Tucker.

“Uh, hey Danny,” Tucker said, waving at him from inside the locker.

Danny turned back to Dash, raising an eyebrow in what hopefully came across as “are you fucking kidding me.”

“Aw, come on, you’re not trying to say you still care about these losers,” Dash said, like the very idea was ridiculous.  “You can hang out with anyone you want now!  By the way, you’re still coming to football practice later, right?”

“Probably not,” Danny snapped.  He held a hand out to Tucker, who grabbed it.  Danny turned him intangible and pulled Tucker out until he could stand on the floor.

Tucker looked a little off balance after he let go, but Sam still grabbed his hand when he offered the same to her.

“Okay,” Tucker said as Danny set Sam down.  “A little warning next time maybe?”

“Sorry,” Danny said.  He glared back over at Dash.  “Beat it.”

“Aw come on Fenton, you know I didn’t mean anything by it, I just—”

“Beat it or I tell everyone about that time you wet your pants after I saved your life from the Box Ghost.”

Dash went pale, and then quickly left.

“Wait,” Sam said.  “Really?”

Danny snorted.  “Oh yeah,” he said, turning back to face them.  “I could tell you stories about what Dash is like when he’s in danger.”  He paused, looking at them both in concern.  “Are you guys okay?”

Sam glared away, crossing her arms.  “Fine,” she muttered, a note in her voice that Danny couldn’t read.

“Thanks for the help,” Tucker said.  And then they both turned around, clearly about to leave.

“Wait!” Danny yelled after them.  “I— please.”

They both turned hesitantly back around.

“We’re late for class,” Sam said.

“I’ll tell them you got caught up in a ghost attack,” Danny said.  “Just, please can we talk?  Just once, and then we can be done.  Okay?”

They both exchanged a glance, and seemed to say something to each other with their eyes that Danny couldn’t read anymore.

Finally, they turned back to face him, and they both nodded.

“Where?” Tucker asked.

Well, eventually the bell was going to ring, and then the hall would flood with people who wouldn’t leave them alone.  And if they went outside, they’d be met with a similar problem, just with the news crews instead of students.  And if they were going to pretend a ghost attack happened, they should probably go somewhere to make it at least a little more believable.

“How do you feel about the roof?” Danny asked.

“Uh,” Tucker said.  “Have you been there?”

Danny nodded.  “It’s… quiet.  Sometimes.”

They were both quiet for another moment, then Sam nodded.  “Okay.”

Danny started over to them, glanced at Tucker and said, “This is your warning,” and then grabbed them both by the arms, transformed, and flew them all up through the ceiling and onto the roof.

Tucker stumbled a little as Danny let go of him.  “Okay,” he said.  “Needed a different kind of warning there.”

Danny smiled a little bit.  “Be glad you’ve never fallen through the floor in your sleep.”

“That’s not really something I’ve ever thought would happen to me,” Tucker said.

“Tell me about it.”

There’s a couple seconds of silence, and Tucker and Sam exchanged another glance.

Finally, Sam turned back to him and crossed her arms.  “So,” she said.  “You’re Phantom.”

Danny sighed.  “Yeah.”

“Can I ask…” Tucker started.  “I mean what— like how did you become— it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” he added quickly, holding up his hands.  “You don’t have to.”

Danny looked at him for a second.  It was definitely the same question he was sick of getting from other classmates and the reporters.  But Tucker at least had given him an out.  And if this really was going to be the last time they talked, he wanted them to know everything.

“You remember the portal in my parent’s lab?” he asked.  “How I told you it just started working one day?”

Tucker nodded.

“That’s… not actually true.  I turned it on.  From… from inside.”

Tucker’s eyes widened.  “Dude.”

Danny gave a short laugh.  “Yeah.”

“What happened with the ghost fighting?” Sam asked.  “I mean did you get pulled into that, or…?”

“What?  No,” Danny said.  “I mean, kind of, sure, but someone had to do it.  I wasn’t going to let people get hurt.”

“But— you got hurt,” Sam said, gesturing at him.  “All the time.  We talked about it around you.  Back when— when we were still talking.”

Danny shrugged.  “I can take it.  Normal humans can’t.”

The phrasing seemed to throw them off, which was fair, but he didn’t take it back.  He wasn’t a normal human anymore.

“Still,” Sam said finally.  “You should have told us.  We could have helped you.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped.  “I know,” he muttered.  “I— I really didn’t want you to find out like this.”

“On the news?” Tucker asked.  “Along with everyone else?  Like we weren’t any different from them?”

Danny winced.  “Yeah.”

A pause.

“If I knew everyone was going to find out, I would have told you first,” he added.  “For what it’s worth.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sam asked.

“It just… it felt so big,” Danny said, shaking his head.  “And I didn’t know how you’d react.  And… I’m sorry.”

Neither of them said anything for a minute.  Danny wasn’t sure what exactly they were waiting for, but eventually he had to help fill the silence.

“How long has Dash been bothering you?” he asked.

Both of them immediately looked away.

“Oh, come on.  You can’t make this conversation entirely about me.”

“We can’t?” Sam asked raising an eyebrow.

“No.  That’s not fair to me or you.”

Sam glared away again.

“Pretty much since everyone found out,” Tucker said a second later.  “I guess he figured he couldn’t mess with you anymore so he moved on to easier targets.”

Danny clenched his fists.  “Asshole.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Tucker said.

“No, I just mean,” Danny gestured vaguely with his hands, not sure what he meant.  “God, I’m so sick of him.  Of all of them.”

Tucker gave him a look.  “You really don’t like all the praise?”

Danny shrugged.  “I dunno.  I guess it beats being hunted.”

Tucker and Sam were both silent for a minute.  Danny looked at them for a second and saw slight horror on their faces.

Oh.  Maybe they hadn’t quite realized that part yet.

“You could have told me about Dash, you know,” Danny said, trying to stop them from thinking too much about that.  “I would have helped.”

“We… kind of didn’t think you’d care,” Tucker said hesitantly.

Danny blinked.  “What?” he asked.

“I mean, you are kind of a big deal now,” Sam said, gesturing at him.

Danny crossed his arms.  “I’m sorry?  Did you miss the part where I didn’t want to be?”

“No, I just mean—” Sam started.

“Yeah, I should go hang out with Dash, huh?  Or start dating Paulina?  Wouldn’t that be just great?”

Sam blinked at him.  “Would it not?”

“Of course not,” Danny snapped.  “None of them actually give a shit about me.   They all just think it’ll get them something if they’re best friends with Phantom.  They still don’t like Danny.   I don’t want to be friends with people who only ever see one side of me.  That—” he looked away.  “That already didn’t work.”

“Oh,” Sam said quietly.  “Sorry.”

Danny sighed.  “It’s okay,” he muttered.

There was another long stretch of silence.

“That wasn’t the only reason, you know,” Sam said.

Danny looked up at her.  “What wasn’t?”

“That we didn’t tell you.  Or— I guess I can’t speak for Tucker.  But it was just kind of embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?”

“I meant it when I said I noticed you were getting hurt all the time,” Sam said, looking down at the ground.  “You’re fighting actual ghosts, and I’m supposed to come up to you and say ‘hey Dash is being mean to me?’”

Danny stared at her.  “Sam,” he said.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  I would have put the ghosts on hold.”

“I don’t want to call you for backup every time I need help,” Sam snapped.  “You’re not like— my bodyguard.  Even if we had spoken in the last year.”

“Well, I appreciate the sentiment,” Danny said, because he did.  “But you— I hate it when you guys are hurt.”

“We hate it when you’re hurt too,” Tucker said, looking pointedly at him.  “It’s why we didn’t exactly love it when you pushed away while you were so obviously dealing with something.”

Danny winced.  “I’m sorry,” he said again.  “I should have told you.”

“Yeah, you should have,” Tucker said.  And then all of them stood there, none of them saying anything.

Tucker broke the silence again, this time with a sigh.  “But for what it’s worth?” he said.  “Thanks for saving everyone all the time.  And for recently, with that weird ghost king guy.”

Danny nodded.  “Anytime,” he said.  He didn’t have to tell them the part about how he thought he was going to die.  Again.

“And, you know, for what it’s worth?” he said instead.  “Thanks for trying.  While I was being an idiot.  Sorry I didn’t let you help me.”

“How about this,” Tucker said.  “We’ll be there to help you as Danny and Phantom if you kick Dash across the football field once or twice.”

Danny blinked, confused.  “Huh?”

“That sound good to you, Sam?” Tucker asked, glancing at her.

“Yeah, I wanna see that,” Sam said with a nod.  “And I’d like to learn how to kick some ghost butt.”  She smirked over at Danny.  “Maybe I’ll start with yours.”

“Wait, I thought,” Danny said, looking back and forth between them both.  “I thought we said we’d be done after this.”

“Are you kidding?  You think you’re getting rid of us again?” Sam asked.  “Now that we finally know what’s been going on with you?”

“Sorry, you’re stuck with us this time,” Tucker said, crossing his arms with a grin.  “Like we’re gonna let your total loser half go unacknowledged.  You can’t be Phantom all the time.  Sometimes you have to get teased for how much you like NASA.”

“Or get your butt kicked in Doomed,” Sam chimed in.  She raised an eyebrow.  “Sound good?”

Danny didn’t try to hide his smile at all, and instead he closed the space between the three of them and wrapped his arms around Sam and Tucker in a hug.

“That sounds great,” he said, meaning every word.

[phicphight]

A Twisted Situation

Phic Phight for @bellsandmischief / bellsandmischeif on ao3! Prompt "Board game night! The crazier the combination of characters, the better!"

I physically need you all to know that this just sort of happened in about two and a half hours. I didn't write, I was fucking posessed at 3.4k words. Here it is in Ao3 glory

Sam was gong to kill someone, actually.

Star’s lips peeled back in something that couldn’t be called a smile as she waited for Sam to make the first move, waving the hat menacingly.

“I will start a fight you can’t end. Don’t.”

Star’s eyes narrowed before sense washed over her expression, shaking rage off with a short jerk of the head, proper fake smile bouncing straight into place.

Dammit, Sam needed the excuse to leave. Even if it was in cuffs.

“Nothing?”

“Buy your school charity game night pass or leave. You’re gonna build a line, and I don’t care what your issue is, even if it’s really obvious.”

Sam was probably going to kill Tucker worse than she was going to kill Danny, this time.

Danny was… Danny. If box ghost showed up, then getting ditched wasn’t about her.

But Tucker?

“Not that you asked, but apparently the losers forgot to do their homework and now need to do it last minute.”

Sam was going to kill Tucker for not having a better excuse to ditch.

“They do homework?” Star asked, chipper as she watched carefully.

Case in point….

“That’s what I said.” Sam sighed, finally moving to pull out her wallet.

Stupid damn ghosts wrecking the stupid damn scoreboard and pieces of the football field, making Ishiyama panic to get a budget for fixing it now and not next year.

Begging on her knees to Vlad or Sam’s parents was not ideal, and Sam had to admit that this was a better option.

“You donating extra to add to the community ticket pool?” Star asked, leaning back in the shit chair in disinterest, shaking the hat in a taunt.

“Considering I only have a hundred on me, yes.”

Star’s eyebrows raised at that, but she ultimately didn’t remark on it as she put the hat down to unlock the register and shove the hundred in.

It was definitely a first class problem, but one of these days Sam was going to end up tearing out hair over trying to explain that hundred dollar bills are not appropriate amounts of cash to take to so much as an average middle class outing, let alone a charity event in the school gym.

It didn’t have to be her hair either. Violence on her mother sounded nice far too often.

Star absently tossed down four poker chips right behind a sign reading ‘DONATED EXTRA TICKETS’, and picked the hat back up. The crinkle of the numbered paper bits were a guise for the gods laughing at her, Sam was sure.

“Your move, Sam.”

And yeah, it sure was her move.

~

Group four. Japanese number of death, not that it mattered.

Group four, over on the left side of the gym. Wes and Ishiyama eyed her as she approached.

Nobody spoke as she held her paper piece for viewing.

“You know what, I think dad was right. This isn’t worth it.” Wes informed gravely, moving to stand.

“Sit. It’ll be fine, and you got half in advance.” Ishiyama informed, twice as grave.

“The hell does half in advance mean?” Sam accused, already looking to leave again.

Bite her, this was gonna go badly and she needed out.

“Wes has been hired to take some photo’s to help with paper coverage.” Ishiyama stated mildly, her expression warning that if Sam was anyone else the verbal abuse would be much more severe already.

“Okay. Can I ask why Stevie and-” Sam started, motioning to Wes as she spoke even as she made eye contact with Ishiyama.

“You know the butcher place?” Wes asked, cutting off her solicitation of a scathing remark. Ishiyama’s smile tightened, because Stevie and Logan probably were the original plan. Yet, she remained silent.

Dammit. Just this once, provoke her. Give her the excuse.

Bu yeah, fine. Sure. Whatever.

“The one down on-”

She could play ball. She could totally ace the polite conversation contest she and Wes were definitely having.

“They weren’t inside, technically, but like… it’ll be another week.”

Sam cringed in understanding. Lunch Lady and Skulker had both done their number on the joint.

“Well, everyone knows I don’t miss the place, but… Anyone made a card yet?”

They were an alarmingly destructive pair, and debris is rather dangerous to the average person.

“It’ll probably be the homeroom activity on Monday. Now smile, Manson.” Wes sighed, holding up the camera.

Sam immediately made the ugliest grimace she could, even as Wes scowled at her.

“Don’t give me that. I’m with Ishiyama for tonight, and Ishiyama is is in charge of group four. And like, I want to play! Part of my thing was free admission to play. What’s the point of a fight?”

“It just means I go down with you, idiot. And if I go down, I’d do it swinging anyways.”

“Take a seat and wait for the rest of the group.” Ishiyama finally growled, pointedly not looking at either of them.

~

“Ishiyama. I am begging you with no shame; You know, already, how this won’t work!”

Ishiyama was just as transfixed as Sam was on Paulina’s approach, Wes too distracted with taking photos to know the danger everyone was now in.

Ishiyama finally broke the trance to give Sam the most miserable look she could, right as Paulina looked up or long enough to see who she was heading for.

Wes continued to very narrowly evade losing the social politics required to keep from being punched by Dash over in group six, oblivious.

Paulina carefully looked at Sam, glancing at Ishiyama.

Paulina carefully looked at Ishiyama, glancing at Sam.

Sam grimaced and pointed at Wes, who was rapidly realizing that Dash might actually hit him this time.

Paulina immediately fixated on Wes, wide-eyed.

Wes, making his exit, turned to find out that paulina was staring at him, and Sam had swapped to pointing at Paulina.

Wes was now staring at Sam, and also pointing at Paulina.

Sam very slowly nodded.

Wes turned to Ishiyama, who was refusing to look anyone in the eye.

Paulina turned to look at the gym doors, clearly mentally calculating the danger and not coming to any favorable conclusions.

Before she could simply turn around and walk out however, Jack Fenton came bellowing in.

“Hey-o kiddo! You in group four too?” He asked, not waiting to loop an arm around Paulina and start dragging.

Wes looked like he was dreaming of the nearest breakable window, but there was money on the line. He began the miserable shuffle towards his doom..

Sam moved to stand, stopped by Ishiyama.

“God help us both child, if this has to be my night then it’s going to be yours too.” Ishiyama demanded, breathing just a little too hard.

“You and what blackmail?” Sam challenged.

“The glitter and glue spray bomb on the cheer team a month ago, straight to your parents.” Ishiyama hissed, just low enough Paulina wouldn’t catch it in her rapid forced approach.

Sam contemplated, and sat back down.

If she got Sam that meant she go Danny, and Danny was on some very thin tightropes right now. Tightropes apparently held by her parents monetary support, because even if Sam got punished they’d pull their next donation for being bothered with such lowly activities.

This was fine. This was going to be so fine. Why wouldn’t it be so fine?

~

“The first game, at least before we are free to chose…” Ishiyama started, taking a shuddering breath.

“Is however far we get in monopoly.”

There were multiple monopoly sets donated for this event, and no time limit on playing.

The limiting factor being potential assault charges was not mentioned as Wes clicked his tongue and Ishiyama and Paulina both plastered on smiles for the camera.

Sam was going to hate that tongue click by the end of the night.

“I love monopoly!” Jack sounded off, missing the sheer rage of the other four people tapped here with him.

~

“I…”

The silence of the third doubles in a row was deafening.

“I sit my little piece in the jail, and leave to go take a photo of group two in twister. Yell at me when someone rolls me out.” Wes huffed, borderline slamming the flatscreen TV token onto the board.

It was the second turn.

Ishiyama had made them take the Electronic Banking monopoly set, to hopefully discourage cheating as she now held the little device that could read their fake little cards. Ishiyama herself gave a faintly wistful look as Wes stomped off, likely dreaming of doing the same.

“Six, not a double.” Sam sighed, hauling her little coin case to the Mall Of America. Obviously she bought it.

Paulina glared at her, the purse token sitting innocently on the Saint Louis Arch. Her master plan of getting all of those spots was ruined, truly.

Might even have to buy it from Sam.

“Alright! My Turn! Two, woohoo baby! The airports are like train stations in this one, right? I’m taking it!” Jack hollered, deafening. Paulina cringed as she reassessed her plans yet again, watching Jack take his second roll straight into Sam’s MOA. Small blessings.

“So, Jack. What brings you, but not your wife.” Ishiyama asked mildly after fiddling with the stupid little device to transfer everyone’s money, picking up the dice and rolling.

She got herself another ten, and was sent straight to the parking lot. Where there was no pot to take.

“Oh, Mads is out chasing that box spook and the town menace!”

“Alone?” Paulina asked flatly, picking up the dice. Nine. Straight into a treasure chest, which she seemed pleased by.

She seemed modestly displeased by the card she pulled, but ultimately didn’t do anything as Ishiyama verified if she was supposed to do anything based on it. Clearly not.

“Mads is smart! And we promised we’d do something to help get the school in order, so I’m here!”

Ah, yes. Because they’re about ninety five percent of the reason the turf was ruined.

“Right then.” Ishiyama soothed, giving Paulina a flat look.

Paulina seemed unbothered at least. Ishiyama tossed the dice for Wes and came up with no doubles.

~

“Utilities are always good.” Jack hummed, getting his cards in order.

“What about your son?” Ishiyama asked, passive as ever.

“Hmmm…. Dunno. I don’t think this is his kinda thing, though.”

Sam was suddenly glad Wes wasn’t here, the doubles ever elusive.

By the way Paulina carefully eyed his position at team two, she was in agreement. Just because she thought he was nuts didn’t mean she was unaware the moment his little “theory” breached containment to Danny’s parents was the same moment secen kinds of hell broke loose.

“I see.” Ishiyama offered flatly, taking her question mark card.

~

“There’s no way none of you have rolled me doubles yet.”

“Tell you what, Wes… do you want us to just do a gentlemans agreement that you can come back in? I’m sure our lovely team here wouldn’t be opposed.”

“I… wouldn’t want to impose. And those photos-”

“No, truly. Sam? Jack? Paulie?”

“Really, no trouble at all Wes. It’d be mean to leave you there.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh, sure thing kids! Come on, all in honor of having fun!”

“I… thank. You. Your generosity towards rule breaking is truly touching.”

“No problem.” Ishiyama hummed, faintly pleased with herself about dragging everyone down with her.

~

Jack Fenton was the luckiest man this side of Amity.

Sure, Sam had gotten both green spaces already, but this was…

“That’s the last airport, right?”

“I think we’re done.” Ishiyama decided. Wes didn’t take his face out of his hands, his TV token sitting in jail again.

Jacks face fell.

“Yeahhhh, it’s not fun when one person dominates. I know it’s like, luck, but we’ve also got other games to do.” Paulina absently remarked, examining her nails.

“It’s like you’ve forgotten you hate us. Where’s your fast exit?” Sam taunted.

“Samantha.”

“Haven’t. You’re just more invested than I am. And my brother drove me because my engine blew, so I’m stuck anyways because I’m not taking a ride from any of you.”

Jack seemed to contemplate before making his statement.

“I guess that’s fair. But do you two not really…”

“Worlds most open secret my man, not unlike-”

“Wes. I cannot stress enough that I will simply take the murder charge. Ishiyama is not capable of pulling me off in time.” Sam threatened.

“Principal, are you going to take that!?”

“Yes. Of all the people to antagonize, not him!”

“What?” Jack asked, befuddled.

“Not a problem. Cluedo, anyone? It’s open, now.” Paulina offered, the picture of innocence.

~

Jack really was the saving grace to the whole situation, honestly. Insane luck aside, nobody wanted to pull any social triggers with him around.

Sam because she really didn’t need Danny’s parents to hate her, Ishiyama because Jack was the frontline of a contactable defense in emergencies, Paulina had just mentally checked out, and Wes didn’t want to die by Sam’s hand and Ishiyama’s approval.

“I know I asked about Daniel earlier, but did Jasmine not want to come? Rope, Green, Spa.” Ishiyama prattled off.

Paulina was elbowed not so subtly as the player to the left, pretty much her whole pad at Ishiyama so she didn’t have to ask her to speak again.

“Oh, Jazzy’s out tutoring!”

What? Sam tended to have a pretty good idea of where Jazz was at, given she was backup, and… well...

“I didn’t know Spike was on the tutor list.” Sam prodded.

“Manson, who?” Wes asked, glaring.

“Uhhh. I think it’s Edward? Edward… something. I don’t know what his last name is, actually.”

“Edmund Cox. His parents are like, freaks about Narnia.” Paulina offered, realigning with reality as Ishiyama blatantly cheated off Paulinas notepad in the background.

Nobody said anything for a half beat.

“Why do you know that?” Wes finally bit out.

“Money hides in odd places, and I know many with money.” Paulia said, almost totally tranquil as she gave Sam the stink eye.

She could keep at it, nobody would ever believe her that Sam was rich.

“I dunno that Jazzy tutors any Edmunds… You sure she knows an Edmund?”

Ishiyama cleared her throat, and Wes tossed the dice down to move a few more spaces.

A grand total of two.

“Okay, well, I’m sure Jasmine is helping your son. You know, with his homework.” Wes hissed, trying to kill Sam with his eyes.

“Hell if I know, I’m stuck here with you all.”

Wes deflated as Jack finally made it to the kitchen.

“Green, knife, kitchen!” Jack cheered, pointing at Wes to fork over information.

~

Sam was starting to get the picture of the murder, but something was wrong.

Very wrong.

“You. Scarlett, living room, bat!”

“Nothing! You! Loser! Stop trying to catch me lying!” Paulina screamed, barely restraining herself from throwing the entire notepad at Sam’s skull.

“If he doesn’t have it, and you don’t have it, and SHE doesn’t have it, then who has the god damn-!”

“Peace, children.” Ishiyama warned, clearly not believing that peace would be achieved.

~

“I just find it all odd.” Ishiyama hummed, pressing Jack for answers about Danny.

“Yeah, well… It’s not like he really opens up to us anymore. Me and Mads chalk it up to teenager stuff, but…”

Wes wasn’t even focused on chewing mental glass over the secrets he wasn’t allowed to spill, that’s how fucked up this game of Clue was.

“So we’re just ignoring that nobody can narrow it down to one murderer?” He hissed, inching closer to Ishiyama. “We’re just having a super casual little conversation about the idiots school life?”

Ishiyama finally connected that she was only skating by a shitfit from her captive audience because everyone was in an old western style stalemate, and turned to the board again.

“It is very strange….”

“I give. I fucking give. I give up and I’m looking in the fucking packet and I’m taking the loss.” Paulina ranted, snatching up the little yellow envelope before Ishiyama could protest.

Everyone pretended they weren’t super pissed about it when four cards fell out instead of three.

“We have two murders. Green and Scarlett in the kitchen, with the bat.”

Nobody spoke.

“Well… what’s our next game, then?” Ishiyama asked, slightly strained. Even Jack looked mad at this twist.

~

“Left hand blue.” Wes called, exactly as miserable as the rest of them.

Why twister? Who decided that letting Jack Fenton pick was a good idea?

~

Sam crab shuffled between the apropiate colors for limbs so that her head was closer to Ishiyama’s. Wes gave her an unpleasant look for technically cheating, but remained silent. Taking limb detangling off the option list was lethal.

“Call it.”

“UGH! Right foot green.” Paulina wailed, twisting even worse to make it work.

“You know I can’t. I don’t want to plead with Vlad, and this already isn’t enough. Everyone needs to walk away with perfect opinions so they come to the next one, and how can they do that if the organizer won’t play?”

“What about Vladdie!?” Jack called, getting dangerously close to having to stick his head under Ishiyama’s ass.

“Bullshit.” Sam barked, calling bluff. “Not a damn person would seriously rail at you about it.”

“Yes. They would.”

“Left hand blue.” Paulina called miserably. Jack went stock still as he now had very critical choice about where his center of balance, and thusly his head, was going to start drastically leaning to.

~

“Move, loser!”

“I physically cannot! Get your ass off my back first!”

“Get your thigh off my fucking-”

Jack, having detangled from Ishiyama a bit ago, muttered something about him and his bad decisions.

“Right foot yellow.” Wes informed innocently from the safety of the losers seats, watching as Sam and Paulina tried to break each others spines without falling over.

~

They had a crowd for this lunacy. Wes, so safe and cozy from the chair, was busy imortalizing the event with pictures. Even Ishiyama was openly unamused about her humiliation, trapped under Jack’s massive rear, desperately trying not to get squished by his leg curing back underneath..

Sam didn’t have very appropriate thoughts about the way Paulina was twisted around her, and she really wasn’t trying to be crass about it but god if she could do this in twister then professional level gymnast routines would be a joke for her.

“I think you should like, get tested for joint issues. Before you maybe fuck them up permanently.”

“Suck it, Manson!”

Dash gave an extremely pleased look as the spinner stopped spinning, having taken the damn thing from Wes.

… No.

“Left”

No.

“Hand”

No!!!

“Blue.”

Wes coughed from laughter as all four of them started screaming.

First Ishiyama fell. There was nothing near her that didn’t tangle her worse in Jack’s leg than she already was.

But then Jack, who had to contort into the bridge position just to make it to a blue circle, got a short stocky principal to the leg.

The carnage was immense. You couldn’t see Ishiyama’s head underneath Jack’s ass.

But then, Sam.

Second place wasn’t too bad, she decided as her wrist gave. It just couldn’t do it anymore.

And Paulina, tangled around Sam like she was, came down with her.

Yeowch…

The whole gym cheered, reveling in the chaos.

Paulina stared at the ceiling from beside Sam, expression unintelligable.

“I’m done.” Was all she said, unmoving.

Which, fucking same.

Wes laughed even harder, taking photos of Jack rolling off Ishiyama.

“You can’t stop us from leaving, anymore, Ishiyama. This was it. Nothing can keep me here anymore.” Sam declared, doing her best to detangle from Paulina’s limbs.

“I, too, yield. It was fun while it lasted.” Ishiyama wheezed.

“No. It wasn’t.”

“I think I should go check on Mads and the kids.” Jack decided, not moving from his side despite the declaration.

Wes was still too buy laughing as Sam did a four legged crawl off the twister board.

“You need a ride, kiddo?” Jack offered, still unmoving.

“Absolutely not.”

“I do.” Paulina decided.

But Sam was already heading for the door, trying to erase the whole night from her memories.

Tucker would never let this die once the news broke. Which meant she’d have to kill him even harder than before.

Still, that was a job for tomorrow. Right now? She sword to herself the entire school would burn before she could be coaxed into another charity game night.

[phicphight]

I've Always Wanted a Puppy

fanfiction

ao3

word count: 1332

Post AGIT. Waking up in the body of a clone was the last thing Phantom expected after being offered a second chance. But now he's finding that being half human again, and a teenager at that, is full of unexpected struggles and joys. @dp-marvel94

more words hooray

He’d always wanted a puppy. 

That was all he could think about as he laid in bed in his room. 

He’d been forced back into a teenager's body to go through puberty a third time and to think about every bad thing he’d ever done. He didn’t know why Clockwork thought he deserved another chance. 

He also didn’t understand why Vlad was the one who needed to take care of him. Why did Dan need anyone to take care of him? It’s not like he was mentally a teenager, no matter how much he looked like one now. He could take care of himself. It didn’t matter that he forgot that he needed to eat food or drink water again. Or that he should be showering. Or that he wanted to lay in bed all day.

He could take care of himself. 

Vlad kept trying to do things to cheer him up too. He’d take him to an arcade and when that didn’t work he took him to a cheese tasting. Vlad knew the separate halves when they merged but he didn’t understand who Dan had become. He was treating him like he was just the halves of two people merged together. He hadn’t been that for ten years. 

A knock sounded at his door. 

“Dan?” Vlad called. He could hear Vlad shuffle awkwardly outside his door. 

“What do you want?” Dan shouted back, turning over to his other side, facing away from the door. 

“I know you don’t like visitors, but there’s someone here to see you.”

“Tell Danny to go away.” Dan ground out. “I’m not in the mood for him to play therapist. He’s been taking too many pages from Jazz.” 

“That’s not who we have out here.” Vlad said.

Dan’s brow furrowed. Who else could be here to visit him? It couldn’t have been his parents. Or, Danny’s parents. They didn’t remember anything about him or Danny. Could it be Sam or Tucker? They never really came to visit him without Danny. He seemed to always be getting his hopes up though. 

“Who is it?” Dan called back.

“Can we come in?”

Dan paused for a moment. “Sure. I guess.”

He heard the door creak open behind him. Vlad didn’t say anything but he could feel the bed sink under some weight by his feet. 

Then he felt it.

The quick falling walk of four little feet making their way up to his head. Dan turned his head just in time to see a little black and white puppy get all up in his face. It licked all over his face, his nose, his cheeks, even inside his ear. He tried to contain his smile out of spite. He didn’t want Vlad to witness him having any emotions, but a small smile finally crept over his face. 

“Where did you get a puppy from, old man?”

“Oh, I just happened to be passing by a humane society with Danny. He’d never been able to get his own dog but he thought maybe having a little buddy would be helpful for you. Jazz has recently taken to explaining to him the benefits of having an emotional support animal.” 

“Danny picked this puppy out for me?” Dan asked, staring at the small puppy. 

“He had a little help from me.” Vlad said. “But yes. We picked him out for you. What will you name him?” 

“I get to name him?” Dan asked. He’d never had to name something before. 

“Yes. He’s yours.” Vlad smiled at him. 

What name could he give? What name would fit him? He didn’t know. How did he know if he’d pick the right name? 

Dan spent a few moments thinking, waiting for it to come to him. 

“I think I’ll name him shadow.” Dan said. 

Vlad nodded. “A good name.”

Vlad stood up and gestured for Dan to follow him. “Let’s go to the pet store and pick some stuff out for him. He’ll need some toys and a bed.”

Dan scratched Shadow behind the ear and watched as he leaned into his hand. After a moment he sat up and got out of bed, taking Shadow with him. 

“Can we take him with us?” Dan asked as he caught up with Vlad. “Maybe he can pick out his own toys that way.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Vlad said as he walked with his arms held behind his back. “That way we can get an idea of what he likes at the store instead of buying something he might not like and bringing it home.” 

Dan nodded. He followed Vlad to the living room and Vlad picked up a collar and leash. They got Shadow all suited up and ready to go and then they were out the door. 

The ride to the pet store was quick and when they got there, Dan made a beeline towards the dog toys, Shadow walking close behind him on the floor. 

“How many toys can we get?” Dan called over his shoulder.

“As many as he wants. We’ve got the funds for it.”

Dan rolled his eyes. Yeah, of course they did. He was a millionaire. 

They went through the toy aisles and Dan tried many different toys with Shadow. He found out that Shadow didn’t like the rope tug a war toys but he did like playing tug a war with other toys. He liked chasing after balls but he didn’t seem big on certain chewy toys. Dan found one last crinkly toy that Shadow went crazy for and threw it in Vlad’s arms with the rest of them.

Vlad dropped one and Dan looked up at him.

“I’ll go get a cart.” He shot a thumb over his shoulder.

“I think that’d be a splendid idea.” Vlad said as he juggled the toys, instead settling on setting them on the shelf for the time being. “I’ll take Shadow’s leash until you come back.”

“Okay.” Dan passed Vlad the leash and headed towards the front where the carts were. He turned out of the aisle and ran straight into someone. 

“Watch where you’re going Fen-dweeb.” 

Dan scrunched his face up at the impact. That voice was familiar. He hadn’t heard it in such a long time he was shocked that he remembered the sound. He opened his eyes and looked up. It was Dash Baxter.

“Uh. I’m not Fenton.” Dan frowned at him.

“Oh yeah?” Dash leaned down and mocked him. “And I’m Albert Einstein.”

“No, really. I’m, uh, Danny’s cousin. Yeah. Dan. Dan Masters.”

Dash squinted at him, studying him hard. “Why do you look so much like him? It’s like that bug and cat show.”

“What?” Dan shot him a confused look but Dash just shrugged and walked away. 

“Probably still a dweeb, though.”

Dan’s eyebrows drew down and he could feel his eyes glowing a vivid red. He was about to call an ecto-blast to his fists when a hand landed on his shoulder.

He turned and looked up sharply just to find Vlad staring at him.

“Getting into fights with other teenagers, are we?” He asked disapprovingly.

“No.” Dan said, crossing his arms. “Not yet anyways.”

Shadow yipped at him, standing up on his hind legs with his front paw resting on Dan’s leg.

He smiled. “I’ll go get that cart.”

Together they piled their toys into the cart and went to pick out a bed for Shadow. He seemed to like the biggest bed best. Vlad tried to say maybe a smaller bed would be better because Shadow would not grow up to be a big dog. But Dan wanted to give this little puppy anything he wanted.

They got the big bed. 

After getting some food, they packed everything into the car and headed home.

That night, Dan played with Shadow until he tuckered him out. Shadow crawled on top of Dan on the couch and curled up on his chest. Dan petted him until he too fell asleep. 

[phicphight]

Cracked Clay Cup Chapter 5

@greatbigolhampuckjustforme

“Clockwork!” called the head Observant, its eye blazing.  “Clockwork!”  The sound bounced off the walls of the great observatory, echoing over and over.

“You called?”

The Observant whirled. “What took you so long?”

“Shockingly enough, I have other duties.  Duties that you assigned me, in fact.”

“You,” said the Observant, its shoulders making a rigid line, “are the Master of Time.  You should get here immediately.”

“You have also forbidden me from using my powers in such a recursive and overlapping manner.  Much less for a personal matter.  I fail to see what difference fifty-two seconds makes in any case.”

The Observant pulled itself back from its far forward lean, visibly collecting itself.  “Clockwork.  You will return Phantom to the house we prepared for him.”

Clockwork raised an eyebrow and mockingly shifted from his typical form to a much younger one.  “That is against the rules you have given me.”

“The rules require that each candidate be given a fair chance!  The human girl had him for a week, and we only had him for a single day.  We must be given an equal amount of time.”

“That is not one of the requirements you listed at the inception of this trial,” said Clockwork, gleefully.  “You rather insisted on the opposite case being true, citing the sanctity of the child’s choice in cases like these.”

“He did not spend enough time with us to choose!”

“Interesting choice of phrase, considering that you, personally, did not interact with him at all, and that you were using a loophole to switch out which of your… comrades were in the residence at the time.”  Said comrades, the full council of Observants, who were in attendance, began muttering to one another.

“That is perfectly legal.  The laws say only that only those named in the application can be present in the residence, it does not limit it to only one of those named.”

“And so you named all of yourselves Oculus and Orbis, at least temporarily.  Yes, yes, very clever.  Lesser minds are in awe of your brilliance.”

“You will return him.”

Clockwork smiled.  “No.”

“You will do as I command you!”

“I will not.  And I would not, even if I had not been previously commanded to adhere to the rules of this trial without bias or error.  You may command me when it comes to matters of paradox and the continuation of the timeline, fields that you interpret very broadly indeed, but neither of those pertain to the situation at hand.  So.  No.  I will not do as you command.  Furthermore, I am only here as, how should I put this, a courtesy.  I will not be returning here for the duration of the trial.”

“Now, listen here, you–”

“Goodbye, Oculus.  I do with you and Orbis all the luck you deserve.”

Clockwork promptly disappeared.  

The chief Observant snarled as much as a being that consisted of a stick-thin body and a very large eyeball could.  “Find Phantom!  If we cannot have him by his choice, we will have him by force!”But before the Observants could organize themselves, a mist rose up from the floor of their great chamber, coalescing into a woman in blue silk.  “Did someone say wish?”

[phicphight]

Perfect Bill of Health

fanfiction

ao3

word count: 2671

Danny's forced trip to the doctor reveals he has several unexplained and suspicious unhealed or badly healed injuries

more phic for phic phight

He was sore. Even just laying in bed hurt. He didn’t know how long it would last for like this. But his alarm was going off and he needed to get ready for school. 

He lifted his arm up and pressed the button to turn his alarm off. He laid his arm across his face and groaned. Time to get up. 

Danny rolled onto his side and shakily pushed himself up. Once up, he sat on his bed for a few moments out of breath. It took too long to pass and he sighed. A knock sounded at the door and he jumped.

“Danny, sweetie, are you waking up?” His mom called. 

The sound of a saw. A bright light above him. His missing kidney being passed from one person to the other. 

He shook his head and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, Mom! I’m awake!” He said shakily.

“Okay. Make sure to get some breakfast on the way out. I made eggs and bacon with waffles today.”

“Okay, I’ll eat some.” He called back. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stomach it.

He listened to the sound of her walking away from the door and waited until he couldn’t hear her steps anymore. 

Time to start the day.

He slowly stood up and grabbed a change of clothes and headed across the hallway to the bathroom. He started up the water and waited for it to get warm while he brushed his teeth. He turned the water off and stared into the mirror for a few moments as the water ran in the shower behind him. 

He started peeling off his hoodie, trying to avoid looking at the scar on his chest that trailed up over his collarbones. He turned around and dropped the hoodie on the floor and finished undressing before he stepped into the shower. 

Once he was done, he got dressed and pulled on a new hoodie. Dropping his old clothes off in his room, he grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs. 

His mom turned and looked up at him when he entered the kitchen.

“Danny, it’s awfully warm today. Are you sure you want to wear a hoodie?” Maddie asked as she set a plate down in front of him. 

“It’s colder inside the school.” Danny poked at the food on his plate. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Are you sure-”

“Danny-boy!” Jack walked into the living and slapped a hand on Danny’s back. “Be sure to save some waffles for the rest of us!”

“Jack!” Maddie shooed him to his own seat as Danny gasped for the air that was knocked out of him. “You know Danny’s been sore and out of breath lately.”

Jack knocked himself in the head. “Drat! That’s right. Sorry, Danny.”

“Speaking of that.” Maddie took her spot next to Jack. “You have a doctor’s appointment after school today, Danny.”

Danny spit out the small bite of eggs he finally put in his mouth. “A doctor’s appointment?”

Maddie nodded. “You’re overdue for a regular checkup and with all these other concerning symptoms you’ve been having, I think it’s time you go in for one.”

“But after school I-”

“Nope.” Maddie shook her head. “You have no extracurriculars and whatever you might have planned with Sam and Tucker can wait until after you go to your doctor’s appointment.”

“But-”

“No buts. I’ll be picking you up after school today and we’ll be heading straight there.”

Danny slumped forward in his seat and twirled his fork around on his plate. 

Maddie sighed. “Look, I know going to the doctor can be scary. Especially when something is wrong but you don’t know what. Going to the doctor when symptoms first appear instead of waiting will prevent any issues from getting worse.”

Danny nodded. “I understand.”

They finished eating the rest of their breakfast. Danny still had a bit on his plate, but he pushed it away from him and stood up.

“Have a good day at school, Danny.” Maddie came around the table and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Danny tried not to cringe and stooped down to pick up his backpack and head to school.

~~~~~~~~~~

Danny stared at where his mom’s car was parked in the parking lot.

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

He turned to look at Sam and Tucker as they walked up to him. 

“Yeah, Sam. I think I’ll be okay. It’ll just be a regular check up, right? What can they all do at one of those?”

“Just give us a call when you’re done.” Sam said.

“Or if you need us to break you out of there.” Tucker gently nudged him. “We’ll bust down every door to get you out.”

Danny chuckled. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Tuck. But I will let you guys know how it went afterwards.” 

He walked away from them and made his way to his mom’s car. 

He pulled the door open and threw his bag onto the floor and jumped into the passenger seat.

“Hi, Danny!” His mom smiled at him as he shut the door and put his seatbelt on. “How was school?”

He shrugged as she pulled out of the parking lot. “It was fine. It was school. Didn’t do much of anything interesting today.”

“Aw. That’s too bad.” Maddie said. 

They drove his silence until they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.

“The hospital?” Danny asked. “Why didn’t we go to our usual doctor’s office?”

“Because here they can perform any kind of tests they might deem necessary. If they don’t think you need anything else done, they will. If they don’t they’ll just do the regular check up and then send us home.”

She turned the car off and got out. Danny sat there for a few moments staring at the building before he finally opened his door and stood up. He followed his mom across the parking lot and into the building. Right inside the entrance was a reception desk and his mom walked up to an empty booth and smiled at the receptionist. 

“Hi! We’re here for an appointment for Danny Fenton?”

The receptionist shuffled around a couple papers and clipped them into a clipboard with a pen.

“You can take a seat and fill out these forms while you wait for the nurse. They’ll be out shortly.”

They walked over to the waiting area and took a seat in two chairs. 

They went through the checklist and filled out every symptom Danny could remember having in the last six months and his family’s medical history. They were at the bottom of the sheet when a nurse walked through the door leading to the examination rooms.

“Danny Fenton?”

Maddie stood up and Danny’s heart rate spiked.

“Haha, you don’t have to come with me, mom. I’m old enough to go to my own doctor’s appointments on my own now.”

Maddie frowned at him. “Are you sure? I can come in and advocate for you. Make sure they’re taking you seriously.”

“No no, it’s fine. I’ll be okay.”

He stood up with the clipboard and walked over to the nurse.

“I’m Danny.”

“Hi, Danny.” The nurse smiled at him. “If you follow me, we’ll start by taking your height and weight. Once we get to the examination room we’ll go through checking your vitals.” 

They walked up to a scale and Danny took off his shoes.

“120 pounds.” The nurse said.

She unfolded the height thing and pulled it down to the top of his head. 

“Five foot five. Follow me.” 

He followed behind her down the hallway. He studied the walls as they walked by another desk. She stopped and opened a door to their right. 

“In here. You can take a seat on the bed over there.”

He sat down and took another look around the room. It looked like any other normal doctor’s room he’s been in before. 

“We’re going to start with your temperature.” 

She stuck a thermometer in his ear and took it out when it beeped. She frowned at it. “Ninety four degrees.” 

She stuck another thing in his ear and moved to his other side. When she was done, she grabbed the blood pressure device. He held up his arm and she wrapped it around it and started pumping it. It squeezed Danny’s arm as she studied the measurement. She pulled it off.

“Blood pressure is low.”

A knock sounded at the door and a doctor walked in.

“Hi, Susan. I can take it from here.” She said. 

Susan walked out of the room and the doctor sat down in the swivel chair next to the bed.

“I’m Dr. Burnell. Your mom said you came in with concerns about shortness of breath today?”

“You talked to my mom?” He asked.

She nodded. “I just went to ask her a few questions and to get permission to run tests.”

“Don’t you need my permission too?” Danny frowned at her. 

“Unfortunately, your mom has the legal say on any medical treatment you go through. But any tests we run are for your benefit so we can get to the root of the issue. But before we get to any of that, I’m going to ask you to take a couple deep breaths while I listen through the stethoscope.”

“Okay…”

She stood up and walked over to him. She placed the stethoscope on his back and listened as he took a deep breath. She frowned.

“Can you take another breath?”

He did as she asked and she stepped away. 

“Have you had any injuries lately? Been hurt in any sports at school?”

His bones cracking as his chest was ripped open. The pain as it radiated outward. Voices talking around him. 

“No.” He said shakily. “No injuries. I don’t play any sports at school.”

Her frown deepened. “I’d like to do an x-ray of your chest. It sounds like you may have a couple broken ribs. That could explain your soreness but not your shortness of breath. For that I’d like to do an MRI.”

“Broken ribs?” Danny asked. He would have thought those would have healed by now.

Dr. Burnell nodded. “When a patient has broken ribs, you can hear them rattling through the stethoscope. There’s not much we can do for those besides prescribe bed rest and pain meds while you’re healing.”

He nodded. “Okay.” 

“If you come with me, we can get started.”

~~~~~~~~~

Danny was led back to his examination room once the tests were over. They were much more painless than he was expecting, but he still didn’t know what his body would look like in them. If his ghostly qualities would appear in them. 

He’d been sitting in this room for quite a while now and he wasn’t sure when the doctor would be coming back. 

A knock finally sounded at the door and Danny jumped in his seat. “Come in.” He called.

Dr. Burnell walked in, staring at some sheets in her hands. She looked frazzled and concerned. 

“We have your scans back Danny, but we haven’t gone to talk to your mom yet. We wanted to check in with you first.” 

Danny frowned at her. What could they have found that she’d be this concerned about? Especially if they still haven’t gone to get his mom to tell them the news together?

“You do indeed have a couple broken ribs. When we did the MRI we did find out that the broken ribs are pushing against your lungs causing your shortness of breath.”

Danny nodded. Was that all they were concerned about?

“But we found something else.”

She handed him his x-ray. His heart dropped into his stomach at the color he saw in the scan that he knew wasn’t supposed to be there.

A green orb sat in the center of his chest.

“And your MRI.”

She handed him another scan and this one had specks of green littered throughout his body. 

The doctor stared at Danny.

“What did your parents do to you?”

Danny pulled back suddenly. “What do you mean what did my parents do to me?“ he asked shakily. 

“We have no other evidence of this type of ecto-contamination in any other patients in Amity Park.” Dr. Burnell said. “We see cases of child abuse often in the hospital. It’s something we have to ask.”

“My parents would never hurt me.” Danny said shakily as he stood up from his seat. 

“We’ve already contacted CPS. They’re going to come and ask you and your mom some questions.”

Danny started hyperventilating. They were going to tell his mom about his injuries and ecto-contamination. They were going to tell her about his core. How would he explain this away? If he was just ecto-contaminated he could get away with that, but not having a core. 

“I- I have to go.” Danny turned towards the door and tripped over his own feet. He hit the ground hard and his chest exploded in pain and stars burst in his eyes.

“Danny!” Dr. Burnell shouted. He could hear her running over and kneeling on the ground beside him. She turned him to his back. Then there was a light shining in his eyes.

White light. The pain. His parents. 

“Get away from me!” Danny shouted. 

His ghostly wail must’ve pushed its way into his shout through his anxiety because the windows on the wall opposite from them shattered. Dr. Burnell covered her face and Danny pulled himself away from her, backing up across the floor. 

“What was that?” Dr. Burnell asked. 

Danny shook his head. “My mom didn’t do anything.”

“Okay.” She whispered. “Okay. She didn’t do anything. But we still don’t know what that is inside your chest. It might be a tumor. We need to-”

He covered his chest with his hands. “No!” 

His core in their hands. Bright lights. Even brighter light. It fell back in his chest and his parents were covering their eyes. His chance.

“You can’t have it!” 

“What is it?”

Danny stared at her. He couldn’t tell some random person his secret. There was no way. 

But this was a doctor. If his mom kept forcing him to go to doctors appointment after doctor's appointment, he’d keep having the same problem. The doctor’s discovering something they shouldn’t have that could only really be worked back to his parents. 

Was there anything else he could do?

“It’s… It’s my core. I’m half ghost.”

“Half ghost?” Dr. Burnell asked. “That doesn’t sound real.”

Danny nodded. “It is. But you can’t tell my parents. CPS can’t talk to them.” 

She gave him some placating hand gestures. “Okay, okay. They’re on their way right now. How do we stop them?”

Danny turned intangible and invisible and called on his transformation. He flew his way towards the waiting room and got there just as someone walked up to his mom. 

“Madeline Fenton-”

He flew into their body, overshadowing him. 

“Yes?” Maddie asked. 

“Oh, nothing much. We just wanted to check and say hi. Danny will be out shortly.”

“Oh! Okay. Should I start checking out?”

He nodded. “You guys will be all set to go.”

She stood up and headed towards the reception desk. Danny turned and walked through the door leading to the hallway and walked the agent around a couple turns and corners before flying out of him. 

Danny transformed back and was about to walk back out through the door when he saw Dr. Burnell. 

She had a stoney expression on her face. He was sure she didn’t believe him. He wouldn’t believe him either. But there was no other option. Not one that disrupted his entire life and flipped everything on its side. He was already different. He didn’t want anything else to change.

He walked back out through the door, ignoring Dr. Burnells gaze. 

“How did everything turn out Danny?” Maddie asked him as they walked out through the front entrance. 

Bright light. Saw. Nicked his core. Screams. Escape. 

“It’s alright.” Danny lied. “Perfect bill of health.”

[phicphight]

The Little Phintom

@duchi-nesten's prompt: Danny’s been enjoying spending time with Nocturn lately, even with the unfortunate side effect of his skin being replaced by stars. That’s… probably fine, right?

Summary: Danny becomes what he’s always wanted to be.

TW: Mild Body Horror (If you count Danny turning into a reflection of space), Body Modification

Words: 1,712

Story also posted below the cut.

It’s no surprise that Danny loves space. Between his NASA t-shirts, star-patterned socks, and space-themed doodles on his homework, anyone paying attention would know. Which, surprisingly, isn’t a lot of people despite everything.

So when Danny began drifting closer and closer to a ghost with the universe as his skin, it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. Anyone who knew about his love and obsession with space should have expected it. Space makes up a part of the half-ghost’s Core Type after all. It only makes sense. Plus, who could have known that the ghost of dreams would reflect one’s deepest desires? Danny sure as hell didn’t. And it isn’t like Nocturn had a choice either.

As the days slipped into weeks, Nocturn quickly found himself wrapped around Danny’s little finger. He began to speak of the stars, distant galaxies, and the dreams he’d collected from them far more often than ever. Together, they would hover at the edge of the ghost zone, talking about nebulae and supernovas, or floating through the darker corners of dreams that spanned across galaxies. And Danny found himself growing more and more comfortable around Nocturn. The boy always listened, entranced, as Nocturn spoke of cosmic winds and starlit shadows with a voice that echoed the ancient light of distant stars.

Somehow, Nocturn ended up being stuck with Clockwork’s chaos child.

And somehow, Nocturn didn’t mind.

But then things began to change. Not in Nocturn’s lair. No, but in the ghost boy who had been following him around.

The transformation started subtly enough, with a glimmer here, a shimmer there, much like the first stars appearing at dusk. At first, it was just his fingertips, which seemed to have absorbed the night sky. Then, his arms began to show the faint glimmer of a distant galaxy, spiraling gently down to his elbows. The boy still had yet to notice this, but Nocturn knew it was only a matter of time. The faint twinkling on the black of the boy’s suit was becoming far too noticeable to ignore now.

The effect was enchanting, and as days turned into nights and back into days, Danny’s transformation became more pronounced. Now it wasn't just his arms, but his face began to show signs too; his eyes twinkled with the light of twin stars, and his smile seemed to curve with the elegance of a lunar crescent. As they sat one evening, floating amidst the dreamy expanse of the universe, Nocturn finally decided to address it.

“Child, do you notice anything… different about yourself lately?”

Danny turned to him, his starry eyes blinking in innocent curiosity. "Different? Like what?" he asked, his voice tinged with a nebulous echo that hadn’t been there before.

"Your skin," Nocturn pointed out gently, "it’s becoming like... well, like mine."

Danny glanced down at his hands, truly noticing for the first time the cosmic dance playing across his skin. Instead of shock or fear, a wide grin spread across his face, “That’s awesome!” He exclaimed, his excitement causing a small shower of stardust to drift from his fingertips, “It’s like I’m becoming part of the universe!”

Nocturn, however, wasn’t quite as enthused. “It is fascinating, yes, but have you considered the implications?”

Danny’s smile faltered slightly.

“This transformation… it could mean you’re losing your humanity.”

“Losing my humanity?” He echoed, the twinkle in his eyes dimming a little, “But I thought it was just because I’m hanging out with you. Because we’re friends.”

“We are friends, Danny,” Nocturn assured him quickly, “And nothing could change that. But the essence of my being is tied to dreams and the cosmos. Your close connection to me may be altering you more fundamentally than you realize.”

A silence settled between them, filled only by the whisper of solar winds and the distant hum of starlight. Danny looked thoughtful, his gaze drifting off into the swirling galaxies around them.

“Maybe it’s not such a bad thing,” Danny finally said, more to himself than to Nocturn, “Maybe this is just part of who I am supposed to be.”

To be adorned in the cosmos, to feel the pulse of the universe beneath his skin— Nocturn knew it would be a dream come true for the boy, but the ghost worries that he will lose parts of himself to the vastness of the universe. A shimmer here, a twinkle there. What was the cost of becoming this beautifully decorated?

Nocturn watched him carefully, admiration mingling with a tinge of worry, “Just make sure, Danny, that this is what you truly want. Being like me… it’s not just about bearing the universe on your shoulders. It’s about being forever bound to the intangible, to dreams and starlight.”

Danny nodded, understanding the weight of his friend’s words. "I'll think about it, Nocturn. But for now, can we just keep exploring? I've never felt more... alive."

“Of course,” Nocturn replied, a slight smile breaking through his usual stoic demeanor. As they resumed their journey through the dreamscape of the universe, Nocturn made a silent vow to keep a close watch on Danny’s transformation.

—

In the following weeks, Danny’s transformation grew even more profound, his once human features now glimmering with an ethereal light that seemed to illuminate the darkest recesses of the ghost zone. They continued their adventures, drifting through the cosmic realms of dreamscapes and nebulae, but the change in Danny was not lost on Nocturn.

One evening, as they floated through a dream resembling a vast ocean reflecting the night sky above, Nocturn decided it was time to revisit their earlier conversation. The serene sounds of imaginary waves gently lapping against the shore provided a soothing backdrop to their dialogue.

“Have you given any more thought to what’s happening to you?” Nocturn asked, his tone gentle yet filled with an undercurrent of concern.

Danny paused, his gaze fixed on the shimmering water below them. He dipped his hand into the dream-sea, watching as the waters turned to stardust at his touch, “I have,” He finally said, his voice calm, “And I think... I think I’m okay with it. It’s like I’m becoming more myself than ever.”

Nocturn floated closer, his own cosmic form reflecting in the starlit sea, “Your soul resonates with the cosmos, Danny. The more time you spend with me, the more you become a part of what you love. You are merging with the dreamscape of the universe, embracing your deepest desire to connect with the vastness of space.”

“What will I become?” Danny asked, finally voicing his worries despite his initial wonder, “Am I still going to be me?”

“You will always be you, just a different version,” Nocturn assured him, his tone soothing but cryptic, “A version that lives in the dream of the stars.”

Danny nodded slowly, his starry eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions. “That sounds... incredible,” He murmured, almost breathlessly, as the cosmic winds of the dream-sea whipped around them, “What if I lose touch with… everything?”

“That’s a valid fear,” Nocturn conceded, his voice echoing softly across the dream waves, “Transformation of any kind comes with its risks. You might find that some parts of your old life no longer fit with what you are becoming.”

Danny’s expression grew distant, pensive, “Like my family and friends?”

“Possibly,” Nocturn replied gently, “You may find that as you drift further into the universe, the connections to your earthly existence might stretch thin.”

The weight of his friend’s words pressed heavily on Danny, the enormity of his journey making his heart pulse with a nebulous mix of excitement and fear.

“But that doesn't mean you have to choose now, or ever fully decide,” Nocturn added, sensing Danny’s internal struggle. “Life, like the universe, isn't about absolute states. It’s about evolution, exploration, and sometimes, finding a balance between worlds.”

Danny looked up, his face lit by the ethereal glow of the stars within him. “Balance, huh?” He said with a small smile, trying to wrap his mind around the enormity of his situation, “I guess I’ve always been about that, haven’t I? Half ghost, half human... now maybe part cosmic.”

Nocturn chuckled softly, the sound like the distant twinkling of celestial bodies. “Indeed, you have always been caught between realms.”

Danny felt a resurgence of his earlier enthusiasm. “Then let’s keep going. I want to see everything—every galaxy, every star!” His voice grew stronger, more confident. “And I’ll figure out my place in all of it as I go.”

Nocturn nodded, pleased with Danny’s resolve but still bearing the silent promise to protect and guide him as much as possible, “Very well, then. There are dreams out there waiting to be discovered. Let’s not keep them waiting.”

Together, they resumed their exploration, delving deeper into the dreamscape of the universe. With each new vista and every unexplored dream, Danny’s connection to the cosmos grew stronger. His body shimmered with stardust, and the echoes of nebulae hummed through his veins. The universe wasn’t just around him; it was within him, part of his very essence.

As they moved through swirling galaxies and past shimmering auroras, Nocturn watched Danny with a mix of pride and apprehension. The boy who loved space was becoming a creature of it, embodying the wonder and vastness he had always adored. Yet, the ghost knew the journey they were on was unprecedented, the path uncharted. Danny was transforming into something new, something neither entirely ghost nor human, nor purely cosmic, but a unique fusion of all three.

The dreamscapes they visited became more surreal, shaped by the dreams of beings from countless worlds—dreams of peace, of exploration, of fears, and hopes. Each dream added layers to Danny’s transformation, coloring his perceptions and deepening his connection to the universe.

One evening, as they paused to watch a supernova bloom in the distance, casting radiant waves of light across the dreamscape, Nocturn spoke up, his voice soft yet clear.

“You have embraced your new role admirably,” He said, “But remember, no matter how far you go or how much you change, you are never alone.”

Danny looked at Nocturn, gratitude filling his twinkling eyes, “Thank you, Nocturn. And thank you for showing me this path, for being my friend through all of it.”

[phicphight]

Phic Phight of Past Years

Evey year we hold Phic Phight, and each year hundreds of prompts are submitted. It is rare for every prompt to be filled. And there are many who wish to write a fic for a prompt, but they missed the sign ups. It is sad to see these ideas fall to the wayside, therefore we are now posting links to previous years prompt list and we welcome anyone to fill any prompts from there. This years prompts won't be posted until May 2nd.

If you fill a prompt from a pevious year, it will not count for the current years score, but you can tag it as #phic phight and tag the person who submitted the prompt. 2021 Prompts 2022 Prompts 2023 Prompts 2024 Prompts: Coming May 2nd

[phicphight]

The Little Phintom

@greatbigolhampuckjustforme's prompt: Danny is a merperson who has always been fascinated by humans. AND @bellsandmischief's prompt: Danny, but make it disney prince/princess

Summary: Danny Phantom, but it's the Little Mermaid.

TW: Dark Magic, Body Horror, Body Modification

Words: 2,516 (Chapter 1)

[phicphight]

Phight '24 Phic 3

For @phicphight (I keep forgetting to tag them lol)

Title: Casper High Class of '08

Words: 1282

Warnings: None

Rating: G

Prompt by @coyotecrackers : Ten years since Danny graduated high school, and fourteen years since his accident. The former A-listers are organizing a high school reunion, and somehow both Danny AND Phantom got an invite… Seriously, how are these things still happening to him?

AO3

“You could always decline as Phantom,” Sam mentioned. Danny was currently on the phone with her and Tucker staring down at his recent piece of mail.

“I know, but they’ll be disappointed.”

“Well, Phantom never was officially a Casper High student, and he’s probably too busy with his position as ambassador,” Tucker chimed in.

“You’re right. They’d probably understand if Phantom couldn’t show up. Besides, I’d like to enjoy or at least stand in boredom without being gawked at. I’ll call Paulina, as Phantom, and let her know.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Paulina was understanding, if a little guilt-tripping, and told Danny if he ended up being free he was still welcome to come. Danny agreed before letting her go. He contacted his job to let him know he’ll need that night off before heading off to work.

Ever since he was a child, Danny has always had his eyes set on NASA. After the accident, he was a bit concerned over whether or not his dreams would be attainable. After the ghost problems started to settle down, Danny pulled his grades back up and went to college for engineering and astronomy.

He knew that with his ‘medical condition’ being an astronaut was out of the question. However, he still got to work with spacecraft and educate children on the different planets.

Sam and Tucker went on to become an environmentalist and a computer scientist respectively. The trio decided after highschool to room together and save money. They still live together, but with their conflicting work schedules, they often don’t see each other until night.

Cujo, the ghost of a guard dog from the old Axion Labs, decided to take up residence in their tiny apartment as well. Although, he tends to come and go as he pleases.

Overall, Danny’s life has been pretty good now that things have settled down. He did tell his parents about his alter ego, and they took it well! Jazz was doing amazing things as a psychiatrist. Even Vlad has started to patch things up with Danny’s parents.

Now if only that reunion would have run as smoothly.

~~~~~~~~~~

The night of the reunion approached, and the trio found themselves getting ready. Danny decided to ditch the tie after several failed attempts at tying it. Sam donned on a professional looking outfit that still had touches of her gothic aesthetic. Tucker had rented a tux and switched to his ‘special occasion’ beret, which was just the exact same hat except cleaner.

The three of them piled into Sam’s Nissan LEAF (not sponsored lmao) and drove towards their old high school. After about 30 minutes, the familiar sight of Casper High greeted them. Sam parked her car, and the three headed inside.

“Hey guys! Glad you could make it,” Star, one of the former A-Listers, sat at a check-in table with name tags. The trio walked over to grab their tags. While picking up his ‘Danny Fenton’ label, Danny noticed one of the stickers labeled ‘Phantom’. Star must’ve noticed his brow quirk because she spoke.

“He said he was busy with his ambassadorial gig, but we decided to make a tag for him just in case.”

Danny smiled and nodded, ignoring the pit in his stomach. The trio made their way into the gym.

“Holy shit! Fenton is that you?!” Danny turned around to see a shocked Dash Baxter, who was noticeably shorter than him. Danny grinned.

“Sure is! How’s it going, Baxter? I hear you landed a spot on the Packers.”

After freshman year, Dash started to mellow out. He decided that his school work and friendships were more important than bullying some nerd. Danny also suspects that he got some counseling, but that is not really his business.

“Sure did! In fact, Preseasons are starting up in a couple months. If you want to come I’m sure I could score you some tickets.” Danny chuckled.

“I might have to take you up on that.”

After their conversation, Dash spotted one of the other football players and bolted. Danny was pulling a can of pop out of the cooler when he noticed someone approaching.

“Hey, Val! Long time no see!” Valerie Gray rolled her eyes.

“We literally saw each other yesterday,” she stated.

“Well, yeah, but that was different because it was for business.”

“You were playing that new Zelda game for half of patrol.”

“Listen, Breath of the Wild is really fun, okay?” Danny retorted with mock hurt. Valerie giggled.

“Whatever you say, Fenton.”

The night continued forward. Danny caught up with several classmates he hadn’t seen in a while. The DJ was playing absolute bangers. It was fun to relax and socialize for a little bit. Danny was dishing out round two of Puppy Chow when he felt the familiar cold sensation in the back of his throat.

The blue mist of his ghost sense escaped Danny’s mouth. The man started glancing around the gym, trying to figure out its source.

A distinct cracking noise came from the ceiling. Fractures spread their way down to the walls. They needed to get out of there. Guests started running towards the exits until they were blocked by falling debris. Danny stared up at the fissures. The roof was going to collapse, and there was still no sign of a ghost!

Without thinking, Danny started pulling chunks of debris away from the doors. Dash, Val, and several other people joined in. Danny felt his ghost sense go off again and whipped his head around towards the gym. A large piece of the roof started falling with one final break.

The people in the middle of the gym braced for the impact or tried to run, but the impact never came. Floating above the crowd, one Daniel James Fenton held the massive piece of debris and gently set it down in an empty corner of the gym.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked and was met with quick nods. Looking through the new skylight in the gym, Danny spotted a very guilty looking ghost. The man floated up to meet their gaze.

“One night! I asked for one night off, and you decided to come and break regulations!”

“I’m sorry Mr. Phantom, sir, I didn’t realize you’d be here!” the ghost’s voice came out rather meekly.

“Whether or not I was here shouldn’t matter! We have rules for a reason,” Danny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Look, can I ask why you thought attacking a highschool reunion was a good idea?”

“I just wanted to test out my new earthquake powers!” the ghost responded. They must be pretty young if their core is still developing.

“Well how about this, you apologize to the people down there, and tomorrow we can find out a way to train your powers safely with less property damage.”

The ghost nodded and accompanied Danny down to the ruined gym. They made their apology before flying out the roof. The people watched the ghost fade from view before turning their attention to Danny. The man rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ah, yeah, I guess I’ve got some explaining to do,” and so the rest of the night was spent sharing the stories and adventures of Team Phantom, as well as other ghost related shenanigans.

After the night was over, Paulina caught Danny on his way out.

“Well, it looks like my invite worked out well after all,” she said before picking up the last name tag left on the table, “Here. We hope to see you and Phantom at our next reunion.” Danny smiled.

“I’m sure Phantom would love to make an appearance.”

Danny turned and rejoined his group. This was certainly a night to remember.

[phicphight]

This is the story of the road that goes to my house, and what ghosts there do remain

Phic Phight Fill for @moipale

“Thermos?”

“Got it.”

“Wrist rays?”

“Got ‘em.” 

“Ray guns?” 

“Nah,” Sam drawls, bare feet on Jazz’s driver seat’s shoulder. Her fingers are on her phone. Her socks and shoes are somewhere below her seat. “Forgot them at home.”

Tucker takes a look at her. Despite her insistence on their absence, there’s three ray gun handles bulging out of the pockets in her black daisy dukes. The purple-green-plaid flannel’s tied around her waist, hiding half of it, but they’re not not there. 

In her black tank and bare feet in the back of Jazz’s jalopy, she looks as overheated as the rest of them. 

Tucker doesn’t feel any better, sweating through his tank and board shorts and all that. At least he had the sense to wear sandals, and not black pleather combat boots. 

“Jazz, she’s lying,” Tucker snitches, groaning when Sam gives him a retaliatory slap to the ribs. He gropes at the spot where a bruise will no doubt be forming. “Ow.”

“Sam,” Jazz offers with the finite patience of older siblings, “Stop hitting Tucker.”

“...M’kay,” Sam mumbles, and slumps down into the hot cloth seats that only soak up more heat the longer they’re in this car. “Can we turn on the AC?”

“It’s already on full blast, Sam.” 

Sam retaliates by kicking a car seat. Thankfully, slumping over allows her to reach Danny’s seat, as opposed to Jazz, who is driving, and Danny is fast asleep with what’s probably early-onset heat exhaustion. He doesn’t even notice.

Tucker needs AC, a nap, and snacks, in that order. “Can we break from the road trip for a gas station?” he begs, not whining, because he’s almost an adult now and begging is far more mature. 

Jazz doesn’t even dignify him with a glare in the mirror. “No stops. If we want to make it to Tracy, tonight, we’re not stopping unless someone has an emergency pee break on the side of the road.”

Great. Just great. 

“Bazooka?” Jazz continues their list, looking just as wilted as everyone else in the car. There’s no head band today; her hair is piled up as high on her head as she can get it, wire sunglasses perched there from their drive to Chelsea this morning. 

“Trunk,” Sam offers listlessly. 

“Map?”

Danny doesn’t answer. Because he’s asleep. 

“Danny’s got it,” Tucker points out, since he was at least paying attention. 

Jazz grumbles something rude and swipes the map of of her brother’s lap. “The next time the three of you upset an Ancient spirit of the Wild, I’m not helping you run.”

“Noted,” Tucker and Sam chorus. Tucker’s pretty sure she’s over exaggerating. 

…Maybe. 

He swipes his hat off and shoves it into a pocket, wiping sweat off of his forehead with the back of a hand. “Okay. We have…one night to get out to Tracy and find the body. The abandoned barge should actually be there this time.”

Jazz taps the brake, flicks on the turn signal, and takes a steep turn across the highway— superseding an additional three lanes of now-irritated traffic. “As opposed to…?”

Sam sighs. 

“As opposed to breaking into his haunted house and getting arrested,” Tucker admits wryly, just as slumped back as the girl herself. “Sam.”

“I paid bail. We’re fine,” Sam grumbles. Her arms cross. 

“We weren’t fine until Danny infected their computer to delete their records. I need to get to college, Sam! I can’t have an arrest on my record!” 

“Record, schmecord.”

“Sam!”

“As long as no one’s got a record,” Jazz intervenes loudly, the only college student in their car, “We’re good! Now, are we hunting the dead guy, or the guy who killed the dead guy?”

Tucker mentally debates whether or not rolling down the car window would give them some air, or just let more hot air into their already sweltering back seat. 

“Ghost who killed a dead guy, but who the dead guy probably summoned,” Sam clarifies with a sigh. 

“Oh, great. One of those.”

“And sending him back probably shot him back to the barge, though, so now…” Tucker leads the problem on, “And there’s a new moon tonight. So.”

Jazz sighs. Loudly. “Of all the months…it’s got to be the dog days of summer, huh?”

Sam tucks her legs in, finally too tired to pout about their circumstances. “More like hellhounds, honestly. Did you see the ghost in the lake last week?”

“Heard about it. There was a poltergeist in the old high school last night— the one before the move to Casper in the fifties. Mom and Dad went out there at midnight before they went to tackle the bog thing in the golf course pond this morning.” 

“So that’s what Dad was whining about,” Sam muses, tired and sweaty. “I’d assumed parks and recreation got mad at them for violating the water conservation order again.”

“Nah.” Jazz signals another turn, cutting around an Amazon delivery truck and zooming into a side road. “Bog monster thing. Enraged by all the golf balls hit at it.” 

“Goootcha.” 

Tucker throws his head back and groans. “Is this going to be all we do all summer break? Hunt ghosts? Get chased around the state by cops?” 

“Yeah/Probably,” Sam and Jazz agree, both exhausted at the prospect. 

Tucker gives in and rolls down the window. If he’s going to be stuck in the car with his two best friends and their adult supervision, he needs some moving air— even if it’s just as hot and twice as humid as inside the car. 

They’ll be in Tracy tomorrow. All they have to do is find an abandoned barge floating in a forgotten waterway. 

Easy. 

…And then all they have to do is fix the problem all over again the next time someone gets it in their head to go treasure-hunting this summer.

Tucker bangs his head against Danny’s headrest, waking the guy up in the process, and wishes he had agreed to go to comp-sci camp after all. 

“I hate July,” Jazz mutters. “All the crazies come out with the heat.”

Everyone agrees with a moan and a groan. 

Jazz clicks on the radio, finds something that isn’t entirely static, and the road continues onwards in front of them…and will for miles and miles of hot pavement more.

*

Complementary song accompaniment/title source for this fic: July, July by the Decemberists. Thanks for reading!

[phicphight]

radiology

for @dekalko-mania and @dragonsdomain

Danny looked down at his arm and leg, then up at the ER desk, then over to his mother, sitting next to him, who had witnessed the car ‘clipping’ him.  Unknown to her, it had done quite a bit more than clip him.  Anyone else, and the driver’d have a vehicular homicide charge on his hands, not just a hit and run.  

If she hadn’t been watching– If he’d seen the car– 

Well, then he wouldn’t be in this mess, would he?  He would’ve dodged, or gone intangible, or just hidden the injuries he did get until they cleared up.  Just like he’d hidden all the other injuries he’d gotten that week. 

Although, he could admit that these were pretty bad, all things considered.  Worse than he usually got, which was incredible, considering he’d gotten it from something as banal as a car accident. 

Less banal were the other injuries he was sporting.  Like, new broken bones and bruises?  That’s what he was supposed to have.  That’s what was normal to have after a car accident.

Old broken bones and bruises… He definitely still had the ones from being hit by the car, but they just as definitely had started healing already, faster than a normal human’s ever could.  So had the broken bones and bruises he’d gotten earlier in the week after a particularly nasty fight with Aragon, the bites from the ghost bear, the stab wound from an anti-ghost knife (thanks Valerie)...  But they were still there.  Those would be harder to explain.  If he even could explain them.  

He needed to figure out how to hide all of this.  Like, obviously, he couldn’t hide everything.  He had been hit by a car, and, more importantly, he’d been seen getting hit by a car.  But the weirder stuff?  He could do that.  

“Fentons?” called the receptionist.  “They’re ready with the x-ray.”

“He’s going to need a wheelchair,” said Maddie.  

They got him a wheelchair, despite his protests that he could still walk, and wheeled him over to radiology.  He eyed the x-ray machine with trepidation and distaste.  It didn’t look like much, not compared to some of the machines he’d been in, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have the power to destroy his life.  Metaphorically.  Probably couldn’t do it literally.  Probably.  

A woman leaned into the room.  “Mrs. Fenton, we have a question about your insurance.”

“Right, okay, I’ll be right back, sweetie.”

“Don’t worry,” said the radiologist, who was adjusting something on her computer.  “We’d actually ask you to leave the room while we did this anyway.  No reason to irradiate you today.”

“My jumpsuit would–”

“Mrs. Fenton, the insurance.”

“Yes, yes,” said Maddie, she walked out, leaving Danny behind with the radiologist and the nurse that had helped them back here.  

The nurse helped the doctor make sure he was arranged properly for the x-ray, each limb in place, while the radiologist took a series of images.  Then he got him back into the wheelchair.  

“Thanks David, I think we’ll be okay here for now, if you need to get back to the ER.  I’ll call Molly when Mr. Fenton’s ready to get his bones set.”

“Alright,” said the nurse, nodding.  “You’ll be in good hands, kid, Molly’s great.”

That left Danny alone with the radiologist, who was clicking through Danny’s x-rays on her computer and rapidly paling.  With a flash, he went ghost and phased into the radiologist.  

He didn’t like overshadowing people very much anymore.  It had been fun at first, getting to be someone else.  Like playing a part.  But being the part, being puppeted… That was a lot less fun, and once Danny realized that, he stopped, except for when it was going to save a life.  Or his secret.  Which was pretty much his life.  

He stared at the computer screen.  Overshadowing someone didn’t mean that he knew what they knew.  Not really.  But he did get echoes.  Impressions.  Bits of emotion.  Sometimes, he even got a snippet of something they knew so well that it was basically muscle memory.  So, he knew his x-rays were screwed up, but not in what way, except–

Oh, yeah.  That would do it.  That was probably it, anyway.  He’d forgotten that he’d phased the thermos into his stomach to hide it, earlier.  Along with a couple pencils, a spoon, and various other small objects.  That was probably also related to why his liver felt so bruised…  He hadn’t realized it’d show up in x-ray even though it was intangible, but then, Danny was still visible while intangible, unless he went invisible at the same time, so…  Yeah…  Huh, the physics behind that had to be wild. 

But that wasn’t relevant right now.  He was hurt enough that he didn’t think he could hold onto the radiologist for more than a few minutes longer.  She wasn’t really fighting him, but she had a strong sense of self.  

However… he deleted all his x-rays.  That was step one.  Now, she had to have, like, spares or something.  Something he could substitute in for the images he’d just deleted.  He minimized the window and started looking through the radiologist’s files.  The spares might not have bones broken in the same places… or even broken bones at all, but that was fine.  People got lucky in accidents all the time.  He could play it off as the car not hitting him that hard.  Or something.  

Panic and aching pain may have disrupted his thought processes just a little bit.  

Finally, he found something labeled EXAMPLE 20XX.  That’d work.  That was over ten years ago, for all that it looked like the right file type for the x-ray program, so hopefully the radiologist wouldn’t recognize it.  

He loaded the pictures up and fled the radiologist’s body.  Just in time, too.  As the radiologist was orienting herself, Maddie came back in, a scowl on her face.  However, the scowl quickly turned into naked worry when she saw Danny.  

“Were you able to take his pictures already?”

“Yes, we have a new fast imager.  But these are…”  She trailed off, examining the screen intensely.  

“Is something wrong?” asked Maddie.

“Well,” said the radiologist, “come look.”

Maddie crossed the distance between Danny and the radiologist.  “Oh, thank goodness, I don’t see any breaks.”

“And that would be good, if these were his bones.”

“They’re not?”

“Not unless he’s a thirty-five year old woman,” she said.  “Sorry, this is my sample set.  It shouldn’t be connected to his– Nothing like this has happened before.  I didn’t even have my samples open.”

“Could the undo button help?” asked Maddie.  

“I mean, if they were in here at all, maybe,” said the radiologist.  

Tucker was going to kill him for not restarting that program.  And the computer.  And emptying the ‘trash’ bin.  And probably a dozen other things that would have prevented from the radiologist and his mother being able to restore everything with a few clicks of an ‘undo’ button.  

“Oh, here they are, they’re…”  She started losing color again.  “Mrs. Fenton, do you have any idea what this… what these things are?  Or how he could have…  Dear lord, I think these are more break than bone.”  

Maddie turned to Danny.  Her stance looked casual, but Danny knew she could whip out a gun faster than you could blink.  

“Danny,” she said, “can you explain any of this?”

[phicphight]

Remember Me

fanfiction

ao3

word count: 1177

Backstory: pick your favorite ghost and flesh out their history a little. How did they die? What do they miss most about being alive? @aggressivelyclueless

yoyoyo

Ember sat in front of her vanity in her room putting on her eyeliner. Marty Spunk had asked her out today. She liked him but she never had the courage to ask him out herself. She dreamed of the day he would return her feelings. They were supposed to go to the movies tonight. A late showing. They were supposed to go to the earlier one but then it got pushed back. 

Once she was done with her eyeliner she started on her mascara. 

“Ember!” 

Her sister Millie ran into her room and started shaking her.

“Millie!” She pushed away. “I’m doing my makeup!” 

“You said you’d help me make my pizza rolls before you left! I’m hungry.”

Ember leaned back towards her vanity. “I’m almost done. I’ll be down soon. I didn;t forget.” 

Millie made kissy sounds at Ember. “Ember and some guy, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g!”

Ember capped her mascara and stood up. “I’m gonna get you for that one!” She made a grabby motion and Millie squealed and ran out of Ember’s room. 

She followed Millie out of her room and down the stairs. She made her way into the kitchen where Millie was bouncing up and down. Ember grabbed the pizza rolls from the freezer and poured a bunch onto the cookie sheet and popped it in the oven. 

“Now you’ll have pizza rolls in no time, babypop.” 

“Thank you!” 

They waited together in the kitchen until the pizza rolls were done. Ember turned the stove off and pulled the pizza rolls out of the oven. She plated them and handed them to her sister. 

“There you go. Now I’m off to my date.”

“Have fun!” Millie shouted with a mouthful of pizza rolls. “I hope you do some smooching and that he’s the one.”

Ember barked out a laugh. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

~~~~~~~

Ember stood outside of that theater for hours. She thought at first maybe she had just gotten the time of the movie wrong. When the next showing started, she thought maybe she could catch him walking out. That maybe she just missed him as he walked in. But now it was four hours after the time they were supposed to meet up at and she just had to accept it.

She’d been stood up. 

She thought she had finally found someone who would understand her. Someone who liked her. But he hadn’t meant it. It had been a joke to him. 

She stood up slowly, her knees creaking, and she began the long walk back home. 

She couldn’t wait until she could collapse into her bed. She was so tired. Physically and emotionally. 

The longer she walked, the more tired she got. As she got closer to her house, she could see some orange light coming from down the road. At first it didn’t look different enough from the street lights to concern her, but the closer she got, the brighter the orange light was and the more it flickered and grew. 

She turned the corner onto her street and her heart stopped in her chest.

Her house was engulfed in flames. 

She broke into a run and sprinted down the street. There were neighbors standing outside on their cell phones, already calling the police to report the fire. 

Ember didn’t think. She bolted past her neighbors and sprinted up to the front door. She ignored their shouts and threw the door open and ran inside. 

Her parents had gone out. They were gone for the weekend and her twelve year old sister was still home. 

“Millie!” 

Ember was horrified by the flames engulfing her house. Everything was on fire. Everything would be gone. 

“Millie!” She went through the rooms downstairs checking for her sister. She couldn;t find her. 

Ember scrambled up the crumbling stairs. She had to find her. She had to get her out.

“Millie!” She shouted. She looked in the bathroom first and then their parents room. She was checking Millie’s room when she heard something come from her own.

“Ember!” Millie’s voice rang out from Ember’s room. 

She ran across the hallway and threw her door open. Her room was ablaze, more than the rest of the house. 

“Millie!” She called out a second time and she saw something move under her bed.

“Ember!” Millie cried. “Ember, I’m scared!” 

Ember knelt down on the floor and pulled Millie out from under the bed. “I know, Millie. I’ve got you now. We’re going to get out of here.”

Ember picked Millie up and turned toward the door. She was about to walk out when the ceiling collapsed just outside it, blocking their way out. Ember’s heart was racing and she didn’t know what to do. 

Over the roar of the flames, Ember heard the wailing sirens of a fire truck getting closer. She ran to the window just in time to see them pull in front of the house. A group of firefighters jumped out and started getting ready. 

“Help!” Ember shouted. “We’re up here!”

She kept shouting until one of the firefighters heard her. He looked up at the and shouted something to one of the other firefighters. 

The floor creaked underneath her. Her hold on Millie tightened and she took a deep breath. 

“Millie, honey. This is going to be really scary.” Ember whispered. “I’m going to have to send you out the window.”

“The firefighters are getting the ladder ready.” Millie whimpered out, tears still streaming down her cheeks, leaving streaks through the smoke and ash. “We can go together.”

The floor creaked underneath her feet again. “I’m sorry, Milie. We don’t have time for that.”

“Ember-” 

“I love you.”

Millie screamed as Ember tossed her out the window. She heard the crunch of the bushes as Millie landed on them. 

The floor beneath her let out one final creak. Almost as if in slow motion, Ember felt herself fall through the floor into the room below her. Sparks flew everywhere and the flames engulfed her. 

She could feel herself drifting away and she was gone before the firefighters could find her. 

~~~~~~~~

Ember floated outside her lair in the ghost zone. She studied the garden that was along the outside of the house. Her eyes lingered on the bushes that were on the ground floor below her window. She took a shuddering breath and looked away from it and at her guitar in her hands. 

She never knew what became of her sister. She hoped she was thriving. That she was living a good life. 

She strummed her guitar. 

“It was, it was September… Winds blow, the dead leaves fall…” 

She took another shuddering breath. 

“To you, I did surrender. Two weeks you didn’t call.”

She looked back at the bushes. 

“Your life… Goes on without me. My life… A losing game…”

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. 

“But you should, you should not doubt me… You will remember my name…” 

She dropped her guitar onto the ground and curled up into herself in the air. 

[phicphight]

Gonna Make You a Star

@lavendarlily's prompt: Who knew Danny Fenton was so agile? Paulina makes it her personal mission to get him on the cheer squad.

Summary: Danny never thought that being light on his feet and knowing martial arts would help him anywhere but fighting ghosts. He was wrong. Now Paulina wants to make him a cheerleader for Casper High’s football team.

TW: N/A

Words: 3435; Chapter 1 (This was supposed to be a one-shot)

[phicphight]

The Nuanced Relationship between Hunter and Prey

Skulker finds a creature like he'd never encountered before, but it's weak, and stupid. If he wants his hunt for it to be worthwhile, he'll have to wait until it's stronger, and maybe nudge it along.

For the prompt: After half-dying in the accident, Danny wakes up in the ghost zone and is raised by Skulker [From @roundaboutnow]

Read also on AO3

[Warnings for canon-typical violence and death threats]

There was a lot of worthwhile prey in the Ghost Zone for the hunter who knew how to look. But none quite so unusual as the one Skulker was currently stalking.

He'd almost overlooked the thing, weak and wounded as it was. It looked, on the surface, like an ordinary ghost, with nothing especially noteworthy about it. But Skulker of all ghosts knew that things could be more than they appeared to be on the surface, and for some reason this pathetic fledgling ghost was causing the sensors in his armor to go haywire. 

Body heat, they were saying. Heart beat. Blood pressure. Blood.

This creature was no ordinary ghost.

But it was weak, and wounded, and there was no glory in hunting prey like that, so Skulker took the thing, whatever it was, to his lair to nurse it back to health and hunt it when it was once more strong and worth hunting. He laid the creature down on a bed of soft animal furs, and examined it.

Chemical burns and Lichtenberg figures splayed out across the thing's sallow flesh. Unusual injuries for one who looked to have died so young and so recently, but a ghost was still a ghost, even a weird ghost like this, so an ectoplasmic poultice should promote healing just as well as if it were covered in regular cuts and bruises.

Skulker had met young-looking ghosts before, although of course, most of them were, chronologically, much older than they looked. He'd also met plenty of ghosts whose deaths were related to laboratory accidents. In all his many years hunting across the Infinite Realms, he'd never met a ghost to which both features applied. This... whatever it was... was a curiosity in many respects.

Finally, after what would have been a few days, if the Ghost Zone had days or nights, the thing awoke. It was still weak, of course, but it was conscious.

"What are you called?" Skulker asked it.

"Um... Danny?"

"No, what are you called?" Skulker repeated.

"I... I don't know what you mean," the thing, Danny insisted. "Who are you?"

Skulker sighed in frustration. "I am Skulker, greatest hunter in all the Ghost Zone, and once you are well enough to run, whatever you are, you will be my prey."

"Oh..." Danny said, speaking and blinking slowly. 

Evidently it had not regained full command of its mental faculties yet. Skulker resigned himself to wait longer before he could expect a proper hunt with this one.

"Rest now, Danny, whatever you are," Skulker commanded. "I will not kill you before you next awake."

"Thanks I guess," Danny said, eyes already drifting closed. "And I'm a boy."

So it was a he, then. Skulker supposed even that information could be valuable to him. A good hunter should know his prey well, after all.

When Danny next awoke, Skulker had a rejuvenating meal ready for him. Ghosts didn't need to eat, just like they didn't need to sleep, but when they were weak or injured, both could still aid in recovery. A Zone-born ghost like Skulker made for a pretty lousy cook, of course, but it didn't necessarily have to be good food in order to help.

Danny's eyes were still foggy and uncomprehending, but he was able to sit himself up to eat the soup Skulker had made him. He didn't appear to taste it as he sipped and swallowed, but his movement grew steadily less leaden as he ate, and he glowed a little brighter.

"What is your kind called," Skulker asked him again, paraphrasing slightly in the hopes that the boy would understand.

"I don't know what you mean," Danny insisted.

"You are no ordinary ghost, boy," Skulker clarified. "You're heart still beats, your lungs still breathe, and you having a heat and lungs to do that in and of itself makes you unlike any ghost I've yet encountered, but you are a ghost. You glow and fly and your veins are shared by both blood and ectoplasm alike. It as if you are half one and half the other. Half a ghost, and half a boy."

"Oh," Danny said, and fell unconscious again. Though, this time, Skulker was fairly sure he'd just fainted.

When he awoke again, he seemed stronger, so Skulker sent him into the jungle, and the hunt was on.

But Danny moved like a frail baby bird. He couldn't even stay upright when he flew, nor did he attempt to turn invisible, not that doing so could have saved him. His behavior was strange. He sought out a water source first, though the lake he found was occupied by ghost-eating piranha. He kept stopping to look at the plants, putting a few of them in his mouth for some reason before promptly spitting them out. Was he... trying to find something edible in Skulker's treacherous jungle?

How odd.

Perhaps his mind still wasn't all there, if his priorities were this out of order.

When Danny was nearly snapped up by a carnivorous plant, Skulker swooped in to save him. He may have been healed, but the half-boy was not nearly fit to hunt yet. There would be no glory in killing him if he would just as easily let himself be eaten by a plant that couldn't even give chase.

"Evidently, I was mistaken," Skulker told him, once they were back in the cave he called his home. "Prey that cannot survive on its own is no prey at all. To hunt you now would be like hunting a hamster that escaped its cage."

"Hey! I know how to survive in the wild!" Danny argued indignantly. "My parents made sure to teach me, and they even took me and my sister survival camping in the woods. First you find a source of water, and you build a shelter, and figure out which plants are edible—"

"The wilds of my domain are nothing like your earthly woods," Skulker interrupted. "The only thing edible in that jungle, as far as the jungle is concerned... is you."

Danny visibly swallowed, his eyes wide with fear.

"Well," he said, his voice shaking. "If you want me to survive until you can hunt me, then you'll have to teach me to survive, now won't you?"

Skulker growled under his breath, but the prey had a point. "Very well," he agreed.

He began to teach Danny about his domain. Warned him of the dangers in the rivers, the monsters lurking beyond his sight, the plants the would kill him if he ate them and the plants that would kill him by eating him. After a few hours, Danny yawned, and his eyelids started to droop.

"Do you tire, whelp?" Skulker asked curiously.

"Yeah," Danny said, yawning again. "It's been a long day. I'm kinda hungry, too."

"Ridiculous," Skulker scoffed, his mechanical lips warping into a sneer to match the tiny ectoplasmic mouth underneath. "Ghosts do not require food nor sleep, so we don't get tired, or hungry."

"I guess my body hasn't realized I'm a ghost yet," Danny replied. "You got anymore of that soup?"

"It's cold, but yes," Skulker replied. "I suppose I'll make you a bowl. Maybe you still haven't fully recovered and that's why your body wants food."

Danny nodded consideringly as Skulker started a fire near the mouth of the cave to warm the leftovers.

"If nothing in the jungle is edible," he asked. "Where did you get the ingredients for the soup?"

"I traded some of them," Skulker replied, "though some did come from the jungle. Nothing was a bit of an exaggeration. There are some fruits that grow which aren't poisonous, and a skilled hunter like myself knows how to hunt for food as well as sport, not that I need to, usually."

"Do you ever fish?"

Skulker scoffed. "Sit by a lake and wait for hours until my prey is foolish enough to kill itself on a hook? There's no thrill in such a passive activity."

Danny hummed thoughtfully. "I guess... but I always thought it was fun when my dad took me fishing. It could get boring, I guess, but it was fun, too. We didn't always catch anything, though, 'cause my dad's voice is really loud and he'd scare all the fish away."

Skulker rolled his eyes and made a sound halfway between a groan and a sigh. He really didn't care about what activities this mysterious creature used to partake in with his father.

"Fascinating," he replied sardonically, and handed Danny a warmed bowl of soup.

Even though he was fully lucid now, the boy slurped it up like he couldn't taste how bad it was—and it had to be terrible. Skulker had never cooked before in his existence, or eaten for that matter. He'd just thrown a bunch of random edible things in a pot and let it stew until he got impatient.

"How... does it taste?" Skulker asked, curious despite himself.

Danny furrowed his brows and swished around the mouthful of soup he'd just gulped up. "A little crunchy for soup," he said at last. "I think some of the vegetables didn't cook long enough. A little... watery, I guess? Weirdly sweet? Over all it tastes fine. But I haven't eaten all day, so I'll be honest, I could care less what it tastes like."

Skulker hummed thoughtfully, unsure what he wanted to do with this information, or why he'd bothered to ask.

"Hey, if I go to sleep, will you kill me?" Danny asked, putting his empty bowl on the ground next to him.

Skulker let out a weary sigh, not his first since picking up with wayward thing, and surely not the last, either. "I would sooner kill a newborn faun," he replied. "Sleep well, Danny. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

Danny snorted. "Okay, Dread Pirate Roberts."

"I'm no pirate," Skulker sneered, both confused and indignant. "I am a hunter, the best in the Realms."

"No, I didn't mean..." Danny started to say. "It was a reference. I guess you don't watch a lot of movies around here, though. Never mind. I'm gonna pass out now." 

He yawned again and laid down on the furs where Skulker had nursed him to health. For a few minutes, Skulker watched as he nuzzled and adjusted his body to get comfortable before eventually falling asleep. 

It was hours before the boy awoke, but once he did, Skulker sent him back out into the jungle to be hunted again. He fared better this time, not immediately shoving his hands into a lake full of spectral piranhas was a step in the right direction, at least, although he still insisted on trying to find food, water, and shelter, according to what his parents had apparently taught him about surviving in the wild.

When Skulker felt confident the boy wouldn't die immediately if he stopped watching, he went back to his cave to give young Danny a proper head start. It wouldn't be a very interesting hunt if he didn't have to work for it a little.

It had started raining by the time he set out to stalk his prey. It was so easy to find the young ghost's trail that Skulker almost considered dragging him back to the cave to give him a lesson on hiding his tracks. But he'd waited long enough, and he was not known for his patience. 

As he followed the trail, soon enough, he heard laughter up ahead, and he burst out into a clearing with weapons armed.

"Skulker, this rain makes my skin feel all tingly. Is it safe to drink?" Danny asked, as if he didn't have a dozen rockets aimed right at him. "Look, these curly leaves collect the rainwater like cups so I won't have to go to the lake with piranhas in it."

"I'm not here to teach you, whelp," Skulker jeered. "The hunt is on. Are you going to fight back or not?"

Danny blinked owlishly at him.

"How?" he asked.

"Wha—how?" Skulker sputtered, incredulous. "You are a ghost! Use your powers." 

"You mean like... fly away?" he asked.

"Flight is not the only ability you now possess. Invisibility, intangibility, and a whole host of powers unique to you are now within your grasp, but you must reach within yourself to access them."

Danny stared, obviously not comprehending.

"Fine," Skulker relented, disarming his weapons and letting his shoulders slump in disappointment. "To kill a creature unable to defend itself would be... anticlimactic. I wouldn't want this hunt to be a disappointment, so I will teach you how to use your powers to defend yourself."

Danny looked excited, and Skulker scowled and added:

"But after that I'm definitely going to hunt you! Your pelt will hang upon my wall!"

"Gross," Danny said. "So is the rainwater safe to drink or what?"

For about the thousandth time, Skulker sighed. "Yes. The rainwater is safe to drink."

"Nice!" Danny plucked one of the spiral leaves and drank greedily. "Hm... tastes kinda citrus-y. Oh, and I found some of those fruits you mentioned. They're pretty tasty on their own, but I don't know why you'd put 'em in soup, because they're way too sweet for that. I bet they'd make a good fruit salad, though."

"I have no intention of making fruit salad," Skulker told him. "I am going to train you, and then I am going to hunt and kill you for sport."

"Why go to all the trouble? Why not just kill me while I was still unconscious?"

He scoffed. "And what would be the sport in that?"

They returned to the cave that served as Skulker's home-base, but this time, Skulker led the way down a tunnel Danny had never entered before, and at the end of it was a larger cave, lit with green torches, where Skulker trained and tested new weapons and suit upgrades. He gave Danny a few moments to take it in, his mouth agape as he observed the various scorch marks on the pitted cave walls. Then, their training began.

After a few hours of training, Skulker had successfully taught the boy how to fly properly, how to turn invisible, and basic intangibility—although intangibility was a power that could only be utilized to its it fullest capacity outside of the Ghost Zone, in the Human Realm.

"Does that mean that I can go back?" Danny asked.

"What?"

"You said intangibility works best in the human world, that means ghosts can go there somehow," he pointed out. "Does that mean... that I could go back someday? And see my family again?"

Skulker didn't answer for a long moment. The whelp seemed so hopeful, and he didn't want to dash those hopes. A killer he may have been, but he wasn't a monster.

"No," he said finally. Because he wasn't a liar, either. "You will not be able to return because your fate is to become my prey. You will die before you get the chance."

Danny sagged in disappointment.

"It's unlikely you would have been able to, anyway," Skulker tried to comfort him. "Openings to the human world are hard to come by. Even if I were to let you leave and attempt to find a way into the Human Realm, it would likely be a century or more before you were successful. Anyone you knew in life would be long gone."

"Oh... I see."

Danny's movements became sluggish after that, and he wasn't catching on as quickly as before. It was unclear whether is was despair or lethargy that slowed him, but Skulker decided to stop the lessons for now.

"There's no point training when you can barely raise your arm," he said. "Go to bed, rest well. I shall hunt you when you wake."

"Okay," Danny agreed with a yawn. "See you in the morning."

There was no morning in the Ghost Zone, nor no night. There was no sun and no cosmic rotation to produce such things. Time passed in a relative way, so that one could accurately guess how much time had passed by virtue of the fact that it passed only as quickly or slowly as they thought it was passing. 

Some realms mimicked night and day with shadows and glowing orbs of mysterious origin, but Skulker saw no need for that on his island. The natural landscape of the island synthesized weather patterns, mostly rain, but occasionally strong winds, twisters, and earthquakes. Though earthquakes weren't exactly weather, Skulker supposed.

The rain from earlier was coming down in buckets now. It had been for hours, and it showed no signs of stopping. Skulker's armor was water resistant, but it wouldn't hold up in weather like this. The torrential downpour would doubtless cause a short-circuit, or a glitch, and then Skulker's true form would be trapped in a useless metal statue. Or, if he managed to eject in time, be completely defenseless, and at the mercy of the bloodthirsty creatures of the jungle.

If the rain didn't stop, he'd have to postpone his hunt for another day.

Maybe that would be for the best. He'd taught Danny how to use basic ghost powers, but they had yet to tap into any of his unique abilities, and with a creature such as Danny, the unique abilities would be what made the hunt most interesting.

It was still pouring when Danny finally awoke. He yawned and stretched and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked at Skulker, who was watching him intently.

"Let me guess," he said. "You're sending me into the jungle so you can hunt me again?"

"Not today." Skulker stood, and let Danny back down the tunnel to the larger cave used for training. "You've learned the basics, but that's hardly all there is. In addition to the standard ghost abilities, most ghosts also have powers unique to them. Now, I'm going to teach you how to tap into yours."

"Cool," Danny said, sounding awed. "What are your unique powers, Skulker?"

Skulker scowled. The truth was, he didn't have any. He may have abnormally high intelligence for a blob ghost, but he was still a blob ghost, and without his armored suit, there was nothing special about him.

"And why would I give my prey the advantage of knowing what I'm capable of," he said instead, because he wasn't so stupid as to give his prey the advantage of knowing his weaknesses, either.

Though Skulker's pure ectoplasm core didn't afford him the unique abilities of ghosts with elemental, emotional, or conceptual ectoplasmic cores, he had always been a curious thing, and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He could apply almost any information he had gleaned in his travels and studies to the hunt. As such, he knew enough to guide Danny through the process of discovering his own unique powers.

"A ghost's power comes for our core," Skulker explained. "The nature of a ghost's core varies from one to another, and no two are exactly alike. Close your eyes and focus inward."

Danny nodded and closed his eyes. He was... breathing... slowly, deeply.

Skulker had noticed him breathing before, but it had never been as pronounced as this. It seemed deliberate. For a moment, Skulker was distracted, watching the boy breathe steadily, and he wondered what the purpose of it was. Perhaps he would have the chance to ask later, but for now, he had to focus on the task at hand.

"Can you sense the energy pulsing through you from your core?" Skulker asked.

"I think so..." Danny said, his eyes still closed, though his nose scrunched up as he tried to concentrate and talk at the same time. "It feels... kinda like a second heart, a little lower and to the write, and beating more slowly."

"Interesting," Skulker said. 

He'd never heard it described like that before, even by other ghosts that had once been human. Skulker himself had never had a heart, so he couldn't have compared the two, but he filed the information away for later. If nothing else, he now knew more or less where this creature's heart was located, and if the heart was comparable to a ghost's core, than perhaps it was as vital.

"Tell me, how does the flow of energy feel?" he asked.

"Like... ripples on a lake," Danny replied. "The come from my core and move out until they stop just under my skin, like reaching the shoreline."

"Good." Skulker nodded thoughtfully. 

The ripple analogy was familiar to him. He'd heard it before, from the sirens of the Bottomless Sea, when he'd studied underwater navigation with them on his hunt for the kraken. After he'd killed it, he'd had to leave in a rush. He hadn't realized it was a beloved mascot of the Bottomless Sea. He'd only been able to bring back a single tentacle of the massive thing as a trophy. He never did find out what had happened to the rest of it.

"Try to make those ripples stronger. Let them push past the shoreline in waves."

As Skulker watched, he saw Danny's glow begin to pulse, brighter and dimmer, brighter and dimmer. Then, all at once, he glowed so brightly as to force Skulker to avert his eyes, and when the light faded, Danny looked... different.

"Did something happen?" Danny asked, opening his eyes. "I think I made something happen." 

He looked around the room, perhaps assuming that he'd caused an explosion or something, despite the lack of a boom. Upon seeing nothing amiss, he looked confused, then turned his gaze downward, at his own hands. It was then that he realized what he'd done.

"I... I'm human again," he said, amazed.

It... looked to be true. He was neither glowing, nor floating. His once ectoplasm-green eyes had turned blue, his shock-white hair a dark black, even the colors of his jumpsuit had inverted.

It looked true.

But it couldn't be.

Skulker consulted his instruments. They scanned his surroundings automatically every few seconds, so he didn't have to wait long before they scanned Danny in his new form.

"No," Skulker said, his tone solemn. "You're not."

"What? But... look at me!" Danny insisted.

"I see what you look like," Skulker said. "But you are not a human, not really. Your core is still there, pulsing with ghostly energy. The blood in your veins is still infused with ectoplasm. "You're as human as you were before, and as ghostly. Only your outward appearance has changed. On the inside, you're the same."

Danny's face fell and he put a hand in the center of his chest where his core would be.

"You... you're right," he said dismally. "I can feel it. I look human, but I'm still..."

"Half ghost," Skulker confirmed. "You're still a one of a kind specimen who will make for exceptional prey once you're not so pathetic. Let us keep training."

Once Danny learned that he could switch between two forms, Skulker had him practice going back and forth, changing from one to the other at will, without having to think too much about it. 

When it came to unique abilities, this had to be among the most unique Skulker had ever observed. He had heard of ghosts who could disguise themselves as humans before. It wasn't common, but it wasn't the rarest ghostly ability either. It was, however, merely disguise. They would look superficially like humans, but could be spotted under scrutiny, and internally, they were still ghosts all the way down.

With Danny, it was different. He truly was as much a human as he was a ghost, a perfect blend of the two, inside and—apparently—out.

Once he had his transformation down pat, Skulker had him try to unlock other abilities.

At first, trying to connect with his core, only resulted in switching forms again, no matter what he did, but after a while, he discovered that he could use ghost rays, another relatively common ghost ability. Notably, however, his ghost rays were green.

Ghost rays had different colors depending on how powerful they were, with blue being the weakest and green being the strongest. Skulker himself couldn't use them though he could synthesize the effect with his technology, it was too weak to be worth the effort most of the time, such a pale blue as to almost be white. Meanwhile, Danny could shoot out bright green ghost rays without even straining himself too much.

Once this ghost-boy realized even a fraction of his true power, he would make for worthy prey indeed.

The spent the remainder of their time before Danny grew tired again working on his aim, with a short break in the middle for Danny to eat the rest of the leftover soup. 

"If you're too tired to keep training, then go to bed so I can kill you tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Danny agreed, rolling his eyes.

Granted, Skulker didn't know a lot about human, or half-human sleep patterns, but it seemed excessive to him. Danny would barely stay awake for twenty hours, before going to sleep for a whole four or five. And he had to eat every single day, too, which also seemed like a lot. Perhaps he would talk to Danny about it, make sure he wasn't just being lazy and gluttonous.

This time, when Danny went to lie down on his bed of pelts, he first changed into his human form, then peeled off his jumpsuit to reveal a t-shirt and a pair of polka-dotted shorts underneath. He fell asleep faster than usual, Skulker noted, and wondered why.

It was still raining when next he woke. The storm didn't seem to be dying down at all.

It wasn't entirely unexpected, to be honest. When the weather changed like this, it often lasted for weeks. It was a bit frustrating, but Skulker supposed there was plenty more left to teach Danny until the rain let up. And the more skilled he was, the better the hunt would be. 

Danny didn't say anything when Skulker led him straight into the training cave rather than sending him out into the jungle.

They worked on ecto-energy manipulation, and they tested the limits of Danny's ghostly strength, speed in flight, stamina, agility, and durability until Danny asked for a lunch break.

"There's no soup left," Skulker said.

"That's okay," Danny said. "I'll just go out and find some of those edible fruits and stuff from the jungle. I know how to forage."

Skulker narrowed his eyes, and the mechanical  lenses on his suit followed.

"And how do I know you won't try to run?" he asked.

"Where would I even go," Danny asked. "The Ghost Zone is infinite, and this is the only realm of the bunch I know anything about. If I tried to run, I think I'd die pretty quick. Again, I mean."

Skulker frowned, but he supposed that made sense.

"You could always come with me, if your worried about it," Danny added.

Skulker turned up his nose, "I couldn't be bothered," he said, turning his back to Danny. "I have some housekeeping to do anyway."

"You mean cave-keeping?" Danny joke.

"Weren't you going somewhere?"

Danny laughed as he flew out the cave mouth into the rain. 

Despite Danny's claims that he couldn't really go anywhere else, Skulker didn't fully trust the boy not to try and live out on his own in the jungle. While he waited, Skulker did some maintenance on all his hunting trophies, keeping them from getting to dusty, or faded. He was proud of them, and liked to keep them all in good condition. 

It felt like a long time had passed without Danny returning, and Skulker was about ready to hunt him down rain or no rain. Even if it hadn't been planned, if his prey was on the run, then he was loathe to let it get away.

Just as he was preparing to leave, however, Danny returned, beaming. He shook the water out of his hair, splashing Skulker with it. Luckily, Skulker's armor was water resistant, even if it couldn't hold up long under rain as heavy as it had been.

"Did you know there's a tree at the edge of the island that grows rainbow fruits?" Danny said excitedly, producing one of the fruits in question for Skulker to see. It had a shimmering, luminescent skin, and the colors shifted and changed as he watched. "I wasn't sure whether I should try one or not, but I figured I already lived once, and they're super juicy and sooo good. I must've eaten like ten of 'em. You should try one!"

Skulker took the fruit from Danny's hand to examine it before placing it on a nearby table. If only to himself, he would admit that he was intrigued, but he would have to remove his helmet to eat, and he didn't think it wise to reveal his true form to someone he still planned to hunt.

"Ghosts like me don't eat," he said. "Come, let us return to training."

Danny looked crestfallen, but he followed without argument.

They kept training. Danny discovered the ability to make ecto-energy constructs, the same thrumming, powerful green as his ghost rays. Truly, the boy's raw power was a sight to behold... and he didn't even know it.

The rain was still coming down in torrents with the end of the storm nowhere in sight when Danny went to bed with the usual promise that Skulker would most likely kill him when he woke up. 

Once he was sure the boy was fast asleep, Skulker picked up the rainbow fruit from the table and took it to his trophy room. There, he lifted his helmet and took a bite. The fruit itself was nearly half as big as he was, but that didn't matter as he took another bite and another, until all that was left was a shiny, silver pit.

He'd never tasted anything before, but he couldn't imagine anything tasted as delectable as that rainbow fruit. And had it not been for Danny, he would never have known the flavor.

Perhaps, keeping the boy around wouldn't be so bad after all.

The days continued like that, as the rain did.

Danny would wake up, Skulker would train him until he got hungry, then he would fly out for an hour or so to find some new root, fruit, or berry in the jungle and bring some back. Skulker would always refuse, but leave it on the table to eat in secret. He was sure Danny noticed that the food kept disappearing when he slept, and since he kept bringing it, he must've assumed Skulker was eating in private, although Skulker couldn't guess to what exactly Danny thought about that objectively strange practice. 

Slowly, after teaching Danny about his powers, Skulker started teaching him strategy, tracking, how to find his opponent weakness and exploit it. If Danny thought it was odd that the lessons were getting progressively more advanced, he didn't remark upon it, only made as many puns as he could while they trained.

Then when Danny grew tired, Skulker would wish him goodnight in the form of a death threat.

Then, after weeks, the rain finally stopped.

"So, Skulker, what's the lesson today?" Danny asked upon waking up.

"No lesson today," Skulker replied. 

He was conflicted, of course. How could he not be after spending so much time with the boy, training him, accepting his edible gifts. He was proud of how much Danny had learned and grown, even fond of him. But he was only ever delaying his hunt until the rain stopped.

"Today, you go into the jungle alone, and become my prey."

This was always the plan.

"What? Seriously?" Danny asked.

"Yes."

"You're actually gonna hunt and kill me now? After all those weeks of work?"

"This is what we were working towards."

"But... Skulker—"

"Run and face your fate later, or stay and perish here and now," Skulker said, his voice monotone and cold, even to his own ears. "It makes no difference to me."

When Danny didn't move, Skulker armed a small rocket on the back of his forearm and took aim.

Danny shook his head, uncomprehending and betrayed.

He ran.

Skulker waited, giving his prey a head start.

He would typically give his prey about half an hour. But when a half hour had passed, Skulker didn't move. He kept waiting. Then an hour passed. Then two.

A part of him hoped that Danny had taken the risk to leave the island altogether, but another part of him knew he hadn't. He knew that the reality of the situation still hadn't sunk in for Danny. It hadn't quite sunk in for Skulker either.

But he was a hunter, the greatest in the Ghost Zone, and no head start, no matter how long, would spare his prey a swift demise.

After two hours, Skulker finally left the cave, and the hunt was on.

Danny was much better now than the last time Skulker had tried to hunt him. There was no trail to follow through the thick brush of the jungle, but Skulker knew this island like the back of his metal hand, and he knew Danny just as well.

He went straight to the clearing where he'd found Danny on his second hunt, the one with the spiral leaves that caught rainwater. After weeks of rain, most of the leaves were filled to the brim, but one of them was half-empty. Danny had been here.

Most ghosts drew power only from the ectoplasm around them and their own cores, but Danny was no ordinary ghost. He could also gain power by eating, drinking, and sleeping, and he knew this. It was why, every time Skulker sent him into the jungle, he would start trying to find food and water. Above Skulker's head, some of the branches had been broken, no doubt where Danny had flown up through them.

Skulker flew up through the canopy, looking for more gaps between the branches that might indicate where Danny had flown through. None. Meaning he had reentered the jungle at the lake, where the trees didn't fully cover.

Skulker followed.

As he lowered himself toward the lake surface, he looked this way and that for any sign of Danny's path. The water level was higher than usual due to the recent rain, the same was true of all the rivers and creeks on the island as well. The water now encroached into the treeline, thick trunks jutting out of it, unbothered by the damp.

Then, suddenly, his arms were slammed into his sides as a bright green, ectoplasmic rope wrapped around him from behind. There was no mistaking it. The rope was one of Danny's ecto-energy constructs. The kid had him.

A mighty pull forced Skulker out of the sky and plunged him into the lake. Fully submerged, his suit would short out in no time, but Skulker managed to eject just before he hit the surface, his true, tiny form flying backwards toward the trees.

He saw a streak of gray shoot out from the trees to intercept him, and a white glove wrapped around his middle. Skulker looked up to see a smiling Danny, and he couldn't help the pride that swelled in his chest, despite his failure.

"You're a lot smaller than I was expecting," Danny remarked. "Does this mean I win?"

Skulker laughed, and for once when the squeaky, high-pitched sound met his ears, he couldn't care enough to cringe at his true voice.

"You got me whelp," he said. "Well done."

"Will you stop trying to hunt me if we go home now?"

"Yes," Skulker agreed. "You've bested me for good. Now let's go home. There's still plenty more to teach you."

"Maybe I'll even surpass you and become the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone."

"Now, don't get ahead of yourself ghost-boy. I earned that title over a long several centuries. You won't take it from me that easily."

The two of them returned to the cave, Skulker got into his spare suit of armor, and they returned to their usual routine of training—with a few changes. The two of them would fly over the jungle together now, and Skulker would show Danny features he'd never seen before. Danny was teaching Skulker how to cook a little—though by his own admission, he wasn't much of a cook himself, so it was more like they were learning together. 

Danny even talked his way into going fishing together. It was as boring as Skulker remembered, but bearable with company. Piranhas weren't exactly the tastiest meal, though.

This comfortable routine continued for months, broken up only by the occasional hunting trip, which Danny was only allowed to join if he promised to only observe, and not get involved. He always got involved anyway, but as long as he wasn't hurt, Skulker wouldn't get too upset.

Then Skulker caught wind of a portal to the human world. One with had been opened from the other side, and even when it closed, it would reopen. When he returned to the cave, he looked dolefully at his charge. He knew how badly Danny wanted to return to the human world, but he wasn't sure he could bear to see him go.

"Danny," he said, "If you could go to the human world, would you even think about coming back?"

"I mean... you said portal were really hard to come by," Danny replied. "Would I even be able to?"

"For argument's sake, let's say you could come back whenever you wanted, and you'd be able to go between the to whenever you wanted to," Skulker proposed. "Would you?"

"Well... yeah, I think so," Danny said. "I want to go home, but... this is kinda like my home to. I wouldn't want to never see you again.... Why are you bringing this up all of the sudden?"

Of course. Danny was too good a kid to just leave and never look back. It was why he wanted to go back to the human world, too. If he kept this a secret, Danny would only resent him.

"I've heard rumors about a man-made portal between the Human Realm and the Ghost Zone," Skulker told him. "One which never permanently closes."

"Really?" Danny asked. "Let's go!"

"Now hold on," Skulker said, holding up his hands to calm the boy. "If you're going to go to the Human Realm, you'll need a ghostly name. You have a human name already, but you're not just a human. I should've had you pick out a ghost name long ago. Have you given it any thought?" 

Danny smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah, actually," he said. "Since I'm half human and half ghost, I thought that I should have a name that's both human and ghost, just like I am. When I was fully alive, my name was Danny Fenton... so... I thought my ghost name could be Danny Phantom.... What do you think?"

Skulker maintained a stone expression for a moment, just to keep Danny on his toes, before breaking into a satisfied smile and nodding approvingly.

"I think it suits you."

[phicphight]

Frozen Out

Another phic phight fill, another day; this one's for @akela-nakamura. No one is allowed to say anything about my need for Far Frozen fics.

(Sister fics are Snow Day and Snowdrift Sanctuary)

Breakfast comes, and breakfast goes. Frostbite cooked last night, so it’s leftover soup. 

There’s some kind of bird meat in it that Danny’s vaguely aware of, and a root vegetable that’s basically a hardy onion. The grain in it is a wild rice that’s virtually identical to the one in the human world, supposedly; Danny never had wild rice while he was eating at his parents’ house, though, so it’s new to him. 

It’s interesting how it cracks and breaks apart on his tongue. The food’s different here, but the Far Frozen has food that mostly matches human cuisine in far climates. Sure, it’s made of ghost birds and ghost vegetables and ghost grains, but they’re at least recognizable as sea birds, vegetation, and grain. It’s not weird for him to eat food that looked like food. 

If Danny had moved in with Princess Dorathea the way she’d offered, he’d be eating ghosts that looked like people. 

Yeah. This is better. 

Danny likes his soup. It’s reheated on the stovetop so that it’s warm. 

His bowl goes beside the door— he’ll scrape the dishes in the snow later— and goes for his coat and boots. There’s gloves that Neuschnee, Tundra’s mom,  knitted for him, on tiny needles that would have been hard for him to manipulate even without her huge clawed hands. 

They’re very warm. They have little green and blue stripes and little blue snowflakes spun on yeti-fur yarn. He likes them a lot. 

Danny leaves the warm interior of the cave, takes a big breath, and wanders out towards the center of the settlement. 

There are lots of occupied caves in the Far Frozen. Some of them are constructed in ice, but many are formed from natural rock— or whatever passes as ‘natural’ in the Infinite Realms. Early history of yeti society is rocky; there’s apparently debate as to whether the yetis found the land while wandering the zone, whether the land spawned the people to occupy it as a deterrent against wanderers and interlopers, or whether they all came into being together. 

“Aren’t you immortal? Or, you know…long-lived? Long-dead?” Danny had asked, confused. “Weren’t you here the whole time?”

“Yes,” Frostbite had agreed easily. 

“So…shouldn’t you remember?” 

“There are theories about that as well,” Frostbite had pointed out, amused with Danny’s frustration. “As it is, we do not.” 

So. There’s that. 

That being said, Danny knows there’s a lot of history; Arctic can recite cycles of songs for five hundred seasons back, and he’s not over a hundred years old. 

Probably. 

Danny stops beside a snow drift and scratches his head through his thick hood. Is Arctic a hundred years old? 

…Anyway, Danny continues, trucking onwards, if he is, he has to adjust his worldview on teenage yetis. If he’s not, then that means that Danny’s right about part two of his plan, which includes the vague idea that a society of yetis with an advanced medical techniques and application probably has a library somewhere. 

Or. You know. So he hopes. Man, if they pass down the entirety of their medical knowledge through oral tradition, Danny’s going to be screwed. Either way, he’s just in time to wander into Pritla’s glacial alcove before they’re finished with their own breakfast— a fish, apparently, devoured by sharp teeth and a huge maw. 

“Morning,” Danny greets, because he’s polite that way. He knows Pritla knows he’s here. Everyone so far has made fun of how loudly he walks. 

“Good morning, Phantom,” Pritla greets back, blue tongue licking bits of fish out from between huge fangs. Danny’s human right now, but for some reason, using his human name is culturally weird to them. It must be less intuitive, or something. It’s not like they can’t recognize him either way. “Is there something you’re missing?”

“No, thank you.” Last time he was here, it was because Jazz had sent over his workbooks and worksheets with pencils and no sharpener. Once the tips had snapped, it had all been over. “Is there a library?” 

Pritla’s furry eyebrows rise up over his brow ridge. “Did you expect there not to be one?” 

Danny’s nose squishes. “No. I assumed there is one. I just don’t know where it would be.”

The yeti’s eyes roll up to the ceiling; honestly, Danny knows that they do hard work for Frostbite, but they’re kind of annoying. “Have you tried downstairs?” 

“...Downwhat,” says Danny. 

So. It turns out. Far Frozen goes down. 

Like, there’s a hole in the ice, and it goes down— down long steps carved straight out of the ice, into blue-glowing tunnels woven with streams of rock and salt. 

“...Huh,” Danny observes. “Down.”

“Indeed,” Prita rumbles. The yeti turns, their bulk and form imposing as they head back up the stairs. “Everything is etched into the walls; feel free to make any copies of the writings you find. The farther down you go, the newer the writing becomes.”

“Thank you!” Danny hollers back, finally feeling some sense of burgeoning accomplishment. He’s almost there; all he has to do is take something impressive down, and get it copied onto something portable. He has old blank scrap paper stuck into his pockets. This should be easy. He feels very confident in reading into the yetis’ written cultural knowledge…

…And then notices that it’s written in an entirely different syllabary. 

Right. Danny wants to bang his head on the ice wall. Universally spoken ghost language, entirely different societal interpretation. Shoot. 

Interpreting this will take him ages. 

Still, Danny settles in; there’s no rush. He wasn’t supposed to have lessons today, since Tundra caught a wheeze and now he’s being all whiny about it, so he has all the time until dinner to copy and to get some graphite rubbings off the wall. 

Danny pulls up one of the carved stools, sits his butt down, and writes. 

*

“Frostbite?” 

Frostbite looks down. Danny smashes his face into the yeti’s fur; it’s hardly even a blow to his guardian, and it’s apparently instinctual for cubs to do something similar anyway. So. It’s a very affectionate gesture, even if it feels like playing rough to Danny. 

And Danny gets petted by a giant yeti hand. There are many advantages to living in the Far Frozen. 

Frostbite rumbles something, but Danny can’t actually hear him through the fur. He pokes his head out to get a listen. 

“—Good day?” 

“Mmhmm.” It had been productive, anyway. “I saw the library.” 

“The hall of records?” Frostbites ask, his voice a gentle rumble. Danny leans into the sound. “Ambitious of you. Did you learn anything new?”

Danny had. So he talks about the loss of the rainy seasons for snowy ones and The Year That It Rained Upwards, and about drifting too far against the edge of the Infinite Realms until they smashed into another kingdom and were forced to fight. He talks about the process of washing starlight moss until it becomes food instead of vegetation, and he talks about what it says about birthing traditions, and what it means to be Never-borne in a people that had probably never once lived in the human world.

Or maybe they had? There were some theories downstairs that speculated that they were the ghosts of real Yetis. Danny hadn’t known what to think. He’d taken the notes down anyway, because…well…what if they are? What if they’re all that’s left of the human world’s yeti population: ectoplasmic imprints and non-living beings??  

Frostbite knows everything Danny tells him about. Obviously. He was there for almost everything, too. But he lets Danny ramble on in a way that his parents never had, letting Danny explain his own history to him with new eyes and new words. It’s cathartic. Danny clings to Frostbite’s fur as the yeti walks around their living space, skinning and deboning Sky Whale meat to add to tonight’s meal. An adolescent human really weighs nothing to him. It’s so funny. 

“I am glad to know that you are able to take advantage of the histories,” Frostbite rumbles. Danny preens. “What encouraged you to seek them out?” 

Danny goes quiet. 

Frostbite looks over his shoulder to look at Danny, but lets Danny resolve his silence on his own terms. 

“...I wanted to see. If.” Danny licks his lips. Frostbite hums, showing that he’s listening. “If…if there’s records of a real ghost society, with its own language and culture and everything…they’ve gotta listen, right?”

The round knife in Frostbite’s hand stills. 

“They always say that…that ghosts are just pretending, that there’s nothing to ghost consciousness, that there’s nothing to anyone’s existence in the afterlife. But there’s records.” Danny’s throat tightens. “There’s known history. There’s language and a syllabary and…and there’s political conflict and agriculture and advanced medical care and weather charts. That has to be enough proof. If I show it to them, then they should be able to see.”

The knife gets set down. Frostbite wipes his hands on a towel. Danny can’t see his face. 

“It’s gotta be enough,” Danny tries again. His throat hurts. His eyes itch. But he thinks he could be right. “So if I show it to them, and they see it, and they see how far back the knowledge goes, and how careful everyone is to take care of each other and how nice everyone is and how good, and…and…”

Frostbite’s hug is soft, and warm. It’s amazing, and it’s not his Dad’s. Danny’s Dad is never going to hug him again. 

Danny cries. 

“Oh, little one,” Frostbite hums, and his face looks just as pained as Danny feels. “Little Phantom, it’s not safe for you to return to them, even to drop off records. If they had wanted to know more of the Infinite Realms, they would have tried to search them. I do not think that they are willing to listen, and I am too afraid to risk your health to see if they would change their minds when confronted with evidence.” 

He sobs. “But, but,” Danny cries, his throat torn with emotion. The hug pins his arms so his sides, so he just ends up snotting into his guardian’s fur. “...But I need them.” 

“I know, little one.” 

“They loved me,” Danny cries, because he knows that it had been true— that, once upon a time, there had been a family made of Jazz, Danny, Mom, and Dad. “They… Frostbite, I miss them so bad!”

Frostbite’s arms tighten. He lowers himself to the ground, until Danny is in a nest of yeti fur and pain and devastation and little else. 

“I know, little one,” Frostbite says, because there’s no other reassurance he can give. 

“I won’t… They’ll never want to see me again!”

“...I am so sorry,” Frostbite murmurs, endlessly patient with him. His ears are pulled back, his eyes taut with stress. 

He can’t help it. He breaks down. 

Danny clings. He cries— long, and loud, because pretending that he had a home to go back to had only worked until it stopped. He wants to go home. He wants to pretend to be all-human again. 

He’ll never go home. He’ll never pretend to be all-human again. 

He’ll do his lessons and Jazz will ferry his schoolwork to and from Casper High but he’ll never live with her again— never do his homework on her bed, never watch Dr. Phil with her on the couch, never eat lazy breakfasts with her or spend nights wondering if she’d come home safe from her date. 

Sam and Tucker can visit, but they’ll never be able to stay; every trip will be stolen, surreptitious, since they don’t have a reason to be in his house anymore. No more Tucker and Sam gaming nights. No more trips to catch dinner together at the Nasty Burger.

No more Ops Center. No more house. 

No more of Danny’s bedroom. 

Because otherwise, Mom and Dad would know. And they would get him. 

Mom and Dad don’t love him anymore. And…that’s the end of it.

So Danny cries himself out. Wipes off his nose with his undershirt sleeve. Resolves to get over himself. It hurts, because everything hurts, but there’s still life to be lived, kind of. Probably. 

Presumably. 

He doesn’t let go of Frostbite, though, who doesn’t let go of him; so Danny ends up eating his rare Sky Whale stew on a furry throne made of guardian yeti, blearily shoving food in his mouth until his stomach stops cramping. 

Frostbite puts him back into his coat, one arm at a time. Frostbite carries him out of their cave, even though it’s usually time for a bright night’s nap after dinner. Whatever. Danny doesn't have the energy to ask what’s happening to him. 

In the end, though, Danny does recognize Tundra’s Mom’s glacial ice cavern, since no one else has such carefully carved walls. 

Frostbite doesn’t ask, and Neuschnee doesn’t disrupt; she sits, calm, carving a soapstone block, as Danny gets laid down on their woven carpet. 

Danny blinks. 

Frostbite goes, and comes back— and Neuschnee smiles wryly as Tundra gets placed down beside Danny, fast asleep and dreaming of cars. 

Danny’s never been in such a huge, furry cuddle pile before, but as Frostbite lays down, his huge shoulder pushing him into Tundra’s smaller form in a cascade of ghost dominoes…

It’s nice. 

Danny will never have back what he had, but he has this. 

…That can be enough. Right?

Danny doesn’t know the answer for sure, but he falls asleep still thinking about it, the scrape of knife on stone all that he can hear. 

…Sure. This can be enough for now.