#Kit's got the internal struggle of the phantom

[vampirecatboy]

realizing i can do a combination phantom of the opera/jekyl and hyde style story with Amaury and Kit/Bao and suddenly frothing at the mouth because i've over excited myself with the fun possibilities and the vibes the VIBES

[mulletpeters]

toothache of the mind

ship: peterpatter

rating: g

word count: 1938

tags: canon compliant, pre-canon, high school, 1990s, best friends, feelings realization, pining

Reggie gets braces for his sweet sixteen.

He doesn’t tell anyone―not even his best friends in the whole wide world. So when he walks into homeroom the Tuesday after his birthday, Luke nearly topples out of his chair at the sight of the metal wrapped around Reggie’s adorable little snaggletooth. Alex may or may not be hyperventilating, but Luke wouldn’t know. He’s distracted.

Reggie, for his part, is acting like Luke’s world hasn’t just been tilted on its axis in a dangerous way. “Hey, guys,” he says nonchalantly. “Sup?”

Alex recovers much quicker than Luke, though there’s still a glint of concern in his eyes. They both know how self-conscious Reggie can be, especially about his smile, so he treads carefully. “Hey, Reginald. Do anything fun for your birthday?”

They had their own party on Friday after school―Luke gave Reggie a new studded strap for his bass because the one he’d found in Bobby’s garage had started to look pretty sad―but Reggie’s parents are the type to force family time onto him any chance they get. Luke has a sneaking suspicion they only do it so they can use Reggie against each other in whatever asinine argument comes up that day, but it’s not like he can really do anything about it. None of them can, so Reggie is unfortunately left to his own devices when it comes to compulsory dysfunctional family celebrations. “Not really,” he says in lieu of giving any actual details; he’ll tell them eventually, but a crowded classroom is not ideal for dishing out his personal drama. “Got braces.” He shrugs, like his mom hasn’t made him feel like shit about his less than perfect teeth for most of his childhood. Definitely since Luke’s known him, anyway, and they’ve been friends since they were ten.

“Oh, did you?” Alex asks, and it sounds borderline sarcastic but he holds back most of his usual bite. “Let’s see ‘em, then.” He holds an arm out in a grand gesture like he’s giving Reggie the floor, and Reggie flashes the most hesitant smile Luke’s ever seen on him.

Luke swears his heart stops, but Alex is once again carrying the conversation so he does his best to tune in. “Oh, nice,” Alex says, approving of the red brackets stuck to the front of Reggie’s teeth with a slight nod.

Reggie returns the gesture, and he looks considerably more relaxed now that he knows his friends won’t shun him for something this mundane. “Thanks,” he tells Alex before turning to face Luke, and he looks a little apprehensive, like maybe Luke should get his brain to reboot so he can offer some reassuring words instead of just staring like a total weirdo.

Luke wants to say something about how red looks good on him, or how it’s cool that it’ll match his favourite flannel, or maybe he’d settle for even just a supportive thumbs up. What actually comes out of his mouth is, “How long do you have to wear them?”

Reggie gives him a funny look, head tilted and brow furrowed. “Only like, a year,” he answers anyway, and Luke wants to scream.

Thankfully, the teacher chooses that moment to draw their attention to the front of the room, and Reggie turns around in his seat so Luke can only see the back of his head. Luke sighs in relief, sinking further into his chair till his limbs are sprawled out into the aisle, accepting his defeat. It’s gonna be a long year.

-

Luke decidedly does not address the issue after that day. The issue being that weird fluttery feeling he gets in his chest every time Reggie smiles at him, or laughs, or talks, or breathes. Basically any time he sees the glint of metal in Reggie’s mouth, really.

It’s not like this is a new development, exactly; Luke has always had a bit of a soft spot for Reggie, a little bit of weakness. In the six years they’ve known each other, he can’t recall a time that Reggie just existing didn’t make his brain static out. The braces just made him recognize what’s always been true, even if he still doesn’t know how to make sense of it.

Normally he’d talk to his best friends about whatever’s on his mind, but he can’t very well articulate a dilemma he can’t comprehend to begin with. Plus, he doubts Alex would be any help, considering he’s got his own set of issues to work through, and he’d rather die than bring it up with Reggie himself. And as for Bobby, well. Bobby’s got the emotional depth of a puddle. So, naturally, he does the only logical thing there is to do: he writes.

He figures if Reggie’s smile is stuck in his head like a song, he might as well make it one. It’s what he’s good at, and it gives him a false sense of separation from the issue that grants a certain clarity he can’t get any other way. He jots down pages and pages of lyrics, curled up in his bed late one night, fingers itching for his guitar even though he knows his mom would kill him if she caught him playing at 1am again. So he just sits cross-legged on his comforter, hunched over his ratty old notebook, scrawling cliche lines about green eyes and freckles and an endearingly crooked canine.

It’s the sappiest thing he’s ever written. When he reads over it before school the next morning, he knows he’s well and truly fucked.

-

Reggie plops down into the dip in the center of the studio couch, inadvertently leaning onto Luke’s shoulder. “You working on a new song?” he asks, tilting his chin at the notebook on Luke’s lap like the question needs clarification.

Luke nods even as he scrambles to shut the book, shuffling loose papers to stuff them between the creased cover. “Uh,” he stammers, biting his lip. “Yeah, I am.”

Reggie just nods back, averting his eyes to look up at the loft when he realizes that Luke doesn’t want him to see the song. “Rad. What's it called?” He glances at Luke, offering a comforting smile that says Luke can tell him as much or as little as he wants.

And well, that's the thing. Luke hasn't given it a name yet―the song, or the bewildering cocktail of feelings that inspired it to begin with. So he looks up from his scratchy handwriting to Reggie’s lopsided grin and says the first thing his useless brain can come up with. “Crooked Teeth.”

“Oh.” Reggie’s smile slides right off his face and Luke realizes what he's done half a second too late. Reggie bites his lip self-consciously, fidgeting with the sleeves of the flannel tied around his waist as Luke scrambles to backtrack into less sensitive territory.

“It's about Bobby,” he blurts unwittingly. And technically speaking, it is a little bit about Bobby, mostly because it's a little bit about the whole band, seeing as they’re mentioned in one line of the second chorus. But Bobby’s not the point of the song, not by a long shot. Luke decides Reggie doesn't need to know that, though. Especially not when his face lights up at the revelation, conspiratorial eyebrow raised like Luke’s letting him in on some great secret.

“Oh, snap! Well, I won't tell him, but don't let him find those lyrics.” Reggie winks, and it's not like it’s an unfamiliar sight, but Luke’s heart stutters out of time all the same. He's just glad Reggie isn’t the type to ask to see a song before Luke’s ready to share it; Luke doubts he'll ever be ready to share this particular piece, but if he does show it to Reggie, it'll be his choice.

He laughs halfheartedly, more a forceful exhale than anything else, and lands a playful punch to Reggie’s bicep. “Sure, man.”

Reggie just smiles wider. It feels like a kick straight to Luke’s solar plexus.

-

“You told him it’s about Bobby?” Alex asks, but what Luke hears is, you’re an idiot. Luke looks down at his best friend―he used to consider Reggie his best friend too, but he thinks maybe Reggie is in a category all his own at this point―and frowns. “He got his braces off before we even met him.” Alex stands up, walking around his drum kit to pace the floor. “And you told Reggie it’s called Crooked Teeth before you said that? Dude, you know how insecure he is about―”

“Yeah, Al, I know,” Luke huffs, cutting him off. It’s not the title Luke would've consciously chosen, but it's weirdly fitting, in a sort of convoluted way. Like, maybe Reggie’s teeth weren’t the sole catalyst for this whole...whatever this is, but they definitely played a major part. Luke’s really gonna miss Reggie’s snaggletooth, okay? He resents Reggie’s parents for a lot of reasons, but forcing him to get braces instead of a real birthday present is pretty damn high on the list.

Alex, with all his anxiety-induced powers of perception, notices Luke’s internal struggle and momentarily stops wearing a hole in the floor. “You’re kinda wiggin’ out, man. Chill.” He holds his hands out in what’s meant to be a placating gesture, but the drumsticks in his fists sort of ruin the effect.

“You’re one to talk,” Luke mumbles, but he doesn’t mean it, and Alex knows that. He’s just confused, and stressed, and generally unsure what to do with his recent epiphany. “What should I do?” he asks louder, eyes pleading.

Alex goes back to nervously lapping the room, and Luke picks at a loose string on his guitar strap just to have something to do. “I dunno,” Alex says after what could very well be an eternity. “But I think you’d feel better if you told him.”

Luke’s eyes shoot up to meet Alex’s gaze, brow furrowing involuntarily. “You what?”

Alex walks over, planting his feet in front of Luke, clapping a hand on Luke’s shoulder that isn’t holding his guitar strap up. “You’re clearly upset about this, Lucas. Tell him.”

Luke is shaking his head before Alex has even finished his sentence. “Not happening.” He folds his arms like a petulant child, but it loses its effectiveness when his guitar gets in the way, a sad thump echoing through the room. “I wouldn’t know what to say, anyway.”

Alex cocks an eyebrow with a pointed look at the notebook sitting on top of Luke’s amp. “I think you already said it.”

Luke follows his line of sight, eyes landing on the folded corner of a piece of paper sticking out from all the others. He already knows what’s written on it―has the words memorized by now. They were written on his heart long before he put them to the page, anyway.

Bobby bursts into the studio then, Reggie in tow, and the moment is broken. They’re laughing about something Bobby said, and Reggie is as beautiful as ever as he throws his head back, and Luke thinks that maybe one day he’ll get the courage to tell him how he feels. He’ll ask Alex to work with him on the music to go with his lyrics, maybe even get Bobby to help with the melody. He’ll throw rocks at Reggie’s window and serenade him from his front lawn like they do in the movies, and his friends will back him up, and it’ll be perfect.

For now, he needs to focus on perfecting the songs they already have. They’ve got a show at the Orpheum next summer to prepare for.

[darks-ink]

What a Nice Surprise CH.7

I never know what the state of links and linebreaks on Tumblr is. Do posts with links appear in tags again? Who knows. Still haven’t got any linebreaks though so I’m making do with ---, but I would still recommend following the mirror links to AO3 or Fanfiction.net instead tbh.

First Chapter - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter AO3 - FFnet

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Danny knew, logically, that this wasn’t the best moment to go visit his parents as Phantom. It was the middle of the week, after all, just after school. He should be working on his homework, or patrolling the city, or something. Not this. Definitely not this.

He rang the doorbell anyway.

The door swung open, his dad’s head poking out. “Phantom?” he asked, uncertainly.

“Hey Jack.” Danny twitched his spectral tail, even if the man couldn’t see it – he was invisible, after all. “I promised I would drop by, didn’t I?”

“You did.” Jack stepped back and opened the door further, a clear sign for Danny to enter. “Not as busy anymore?”

“Nope.” He let the invisibility leech away now that the door was closed. “But I also used this time to prepare something neat for today.”

“Really now?” His dad looked intrigued, wandering further into the house and towards the kitchen. “Well, I assume you won’t tell me unless Mads is around to hear it as well.” Danny nodded, and he continued. “Down to the lab we go, then.”

“Hold on one moment,” Maddie said as they entered the lab. Something in her hands clicked – a part in the machine finding its place – and she nodded appreciatively. Then she turned around to face Danny and Jack. “Phantom, I hope you’ve been well?”

“Uh.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck, unsure. “I mean, yeah? No worse than usual, I guess. But, um. I arranged some things for today, if you’re interested.”

“Oh?” She pulled her goggles up, a spark of interest in her eyes. “Are we meeting more of your allies, then? I thought none of them left the Ghost Zone?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah, I, uh. If you’re okay with going in the Zone, I arranged that you could go meet some of my more established allies. Frostbite and his yetis in the Far Frozen, and Queen Dorathea in the Kingdom of Aragon, although we probably won’t get around to that today.”

“I don’t know, Phantom. We’ve never been in the Ghost Zone before.” Maddie frowned. “The Specter Speeder should be ready, but…”

“But won’t this be one of your best shots?” Danny continued after she’d trailed off. “It won’t get much safer than if I’m by your side protecting you, right? Plus I know how to navigate the Zone, so there’s no risk of you getting lost.”

“He’s got a point, Mads.” Jack looked rather excited at the prospect. Danny wouldn’t be surprised if the man had been eager to explore the Zone even before now. “Plus, isn’t this why we built the Portal in the first place? To explore the world of the ghosts, and the ones that live there?”

Maddie hummed, thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Both of you.” She shook her head, then folded her hands together, looking much more determined. “We’ll check the Specter Speeder over once more just to be sure, and then we’ll grab some supplies. Phantom, do you need to warn your allies beforehand?”

“Nah.” He flapped a hand in her direction. “Frostbite knows I’m coming, plus he and his people are open to me visiting whenever.”

“Those were the guys that worship you, right? Does Frostbite do so as well?” Jack had lumbered over to the Specter Speeder, opening the machine to look at the internal mechanisms. Sometimes Danny admired his parents’ ability to multitask – it seemed pretty useful.

“Kinda, yeah.” Danny shrugged, floating over to peek into the Specter Speeder. None of the machinery made sense to him, however, so he wasn’t sure if he could offer to help. “He’s gotten a lot easier about it, thankfully. Still insists on calling me ‘Great One’, though.”

Maddie sidled up next to Jack, also eyeing up the Specter Speeder’s… engine, maybe? “And that was because you defeated Pariah Dark, right? Does that affect your relationship with him in any way, you think?”

“Maybe at first, but that wore off quick, I think.” Danny swung himself upside down to attempt to decipher the complicated mess of electronics and machinery. “Working on my ice powers with him made him see me more like, well, me. My status just made sure I had a good enough first impression to get that far, I guess.”

She nodded. Then both of the adults stepped back, closing the panel on the Specter Speeder. “Well, looks like it should be fine. I’ll grab some supplies from the Vault. Jack, Phantom, can you collect the things here in the lab?”

“Of course honey,” Jack said, and Danny stuck up his thumb in her direction. Maddie nodded, seemingly pleased, and left for the Vault.

Once she was gone, Danny turned to his dad. “So, uh. I’m guessing you know what we need to take along to the Zone?”

Jack blinked. Then again. “Oh. Oh, right. Sorry, Phantom. I guess you’ve become such a normal sight around here that I forgot how recent that change was.”

“It’s fine.” Danny shrugged, then looped around so he hung in front of his dad. “So… supplies?”

He nodded. “Most of it is in the Vault, so we’ll just need some of the basic stuff. Fenton Phones, medical supplies, snacks…”

“I’ve got a pair of Fenton Phones myself, so we just need two more pairs for you two.” Danny let his eyes wander through the lab, but the gadgets were too small to pick out in the mess. “If you can point me in the right direction I can get those, and you can focus on the food.”

“Good man,” Jack complimented with a grin. He gestured to a large table close to the Portal – loaded with half-finished inventions, of course. “They should be on that table, since that’s where we store everything we’re not actively working on. Well, besides the stuff in the Vault, of course. Are you sure you’ll be fine? Most of it is anti-ghost, you know?”

“I’ll be fine.” Danny shot his dad a comforting smile. It wasn’t like this would be much more dangerous than cleaning the lab, and he did that on regular basis. Not as often as his parents would’ve liked, but still. “If I can handle it while it’s being wielded by ghost hunters, I’m sure I can deal with the inactive ones lying on a table.”

His dad barked out a surprised laugh, then nodded. “Alright, fair enough. I’ll go grab the food then. If you run into trouble, shout.”

“I will,” Danny assured him, floating over to the table in question.

Thankfully, the Fenton Phones ended up being easy to find. While carefully pushing aside a deactivated Ghost Catcher (you could never be too careful with those) Danny accidentally knocked over a stack of other inventions. And underneath those were the Fenton Phones! And none of the inventions had really fallen, either – Danny had managed to catch them all using his telekinesis.

After somewhat carefully putting everything else back into place, Danny floated back to the Specter Speeder. The four Fenton Phones – two pairs of them – were held carefully in his hand. With his other, he unzipped the pocket he carried his own pair in, not that he’d ever used them.

When he took them, he had hoped to maybe link them to Valerie’s suit. If they ever made a permanent alliance, it would be good to be able to communicate on the field. Or if another invasion happened, of course.

This, however. This was better, actually.

His parents might be a strange choice for allies, but dang if they didn’t make good ones.

“Did you find them alright?” Jack asked when he wandered back over. His arms were loaded full of snacks – mostly unhealthy foods, of course. It was a good thing that they didn’t plan on staying long – worst came to worst, Danny could ask Frostbite for human-safe food.

Danny opened his hand to show his dad the earpieces. The shiny metal shone against his white glove, the ecto-green accents matching his eyes. It was a funny coincidence, he thought, that the accident turned his eyes the exact color of ectoplasm.

“Good, good.” Jack stepped forward to open the Specter Speeder’s door, but seemed to be struggling. Danny floated past him and reached to open it instead. “Oh, thanks, kid.”

“No prob.” Danny floated in after his dad, glancing around the cabin. He’d been in the Speeder before, of course – his dad had accidentally pushed him in when he first met Walker. It was how he knew that the Speeder worked and would be safe in the first place – it wasn’t like he had ever brought anyone else to Zone before, after all. “What else do we need? Medical supplies, right?”

Jack nodded, opening a kit that was mounted to the wall. “Yeah, but this one is stocked well enough. We should be fine with just this.”

“And if anything happens, Frostbite has medical facilities as well.” And a good thing too. Danny didn’t like to think about what could’ve happened if he had truly overloaded his ghost form with his newly emerging ice powers, back during Undergrowth’s invasion.

“Really?” His dad looked intrigued, eyes bright and wide. “I suppose it makes sense – we’ve seen that you can get injured beyond what your enhanced healing can take care of. I just figured that it was because you were more human in structure.” Then he refocused, growing a little more serious. “Still, though, just because they have medics of their own doesn’t mean we can sit back. Ghost medicine won’t work on humans, most likely.”

“Nah, any ghost can get injured if you try hard enough.” Danny shrugged. “That aside, if my anatomy is so similar to that of a human, why wouldn’t Frostbite’s people know how to treat the living as well?”

“I suppose you have a point,” Jack acknowledged with a tilt of his head. “And they might’ve preserved information from when they were among the living as well, I guess. Or otherwise had an interest and studied it.”

An interest which definitely didn’t come from the fact that their great savior was half human, no sirree!

Before he could say anything, however, his mom appeared in the door of the Specter Speeder.

“There you two are,” she said, looking over the pile of food with a mild grimace. “Did you get everything?”

“Yeah we did!” Jack grinned, clearly not noticing Maddie’s less-than-stellar opinion of his food choices. “You got everything from the Vault as well, Mads?”

She nodded, handing him several ecto-guns, complete with holsters. Then she turned to Danny and, to his surprise, handed him another Thermos.

Seeing his surprise, she explained. “I’m not sure how well it’ll work in the Ghost Zone, but I felt uncomfortable not bringing any weaponry for you as well.”

“Oh, well, um. Thanks.” Danny clipped it to his belt, in the spot where he normally carried his replacement Thermos. He had, admittedly, left it behind for this trip – he didn’t like to use the Thermos in the Zone because that’s where he dumped the ghosts anyway.

“We’re all ready to go, then?” Jack asked, glancing between Danny and Maddie. “We have everything we need?”

“Well, we definitely have everything we need. Phantom?” His mom looked over to him as well.

Danny smirked. “Well, I kinda don’t need anything to go into the Ghost Zone? So yeah, I’m good as well.”

She blinked, once, and then nodded with sudden understanding. “Oh, right. Yes, of course. Lead the way, Phantom.”

“First, these.” He floated closer, handing both of his parents the Fenton Phones. “I don’t know how much sound the walls of the Speeder block, and I don’t want to have to phase through to talk.”

They took the earphones and put them in, while Danny did the same. “You raise a good point, kid,” Jack said once they all lowered their hands again. “Wouldn’t want to have to travel in silence the whole way. Unless it’s not far from our Portal?”

“Eh.” Danny wiggled his hand. “Distance in the Zone is weird. Obviously I’m not a good judge since I don’t know how quickly I fly at any given moment, but I know that some places I can fly to within minutes and other times they’re like an hours flight away.”

He flew through the still-open door and closed it behind him. Hovering between the Speeder and the Portal itself, he continued speaking. “That having been said, the Far Frozen is very true to both parts of its name. You don’t have to worry about the cold much, since we can meet Frostbite inside where it’s warmer, but, well. It’s still pretty far.”

“Well, at least we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery?” Jack suggested, voice a mingling of excitement and uncertainty. “Hang on, Phantom, we’ll open the Portal doors from inside the Speeder.”

Danny nodded, hovering in front of the enormous yellow-and-black doors. Moments later they groaned open, thick metal sliding into the arch around it.

He remembered being afraid of the Portal, at first. The accident had changed him, he’d been hurt and alone and terrified. And it was all the fault of the Portal. His own too, of course, for messing with the machine in the first place. But most of all it was the Portal’s.

It had taken him forever to get over it, really. Every time he had gone in the lab, it just lurked there. It was so big, and his parents refused to distance themselves from it, so Danny kept having to come close. And then one day his dad accidentally pushed him through it-

The Ghost Zone was enormous and green and simultaneously everything Danny had been expecting and nothing like it. And knowing what laid behind the frame, that entering the Zone was nothing like his accident, that helped. Approaching the Portal was still scary, at first, but it got easier over time.

Visiting the Zone with friends, or to visit friends, that helped too. Promising to meet Sidney and sight-see. Going to help other ghosts in the Zone. That kinda thing.

Flying through the Portal felt refreshing. Its surface was cool to the touch, barely tangible regardless of form and tangibility. But the Ghost Zone behind it, and its enormous amount of free-floating ectoplasm, was like a pick-me-up for his ghost form. A booster shot of energy.

The Specter Speeder glid through the Portal as well, closely behind Danny. For a moment he stopped to watch it, in awe of his parents’ skill at engineering despite himself. Seeing it from the outside was way different than the one time he had rode it.

“Phantom, are we okay to go?” his mom asked him via the Fenton Phones, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” He cleared his throat and looked away, hiding the blush that crept onto his face. “I’ll, uh, start flying in the right direction.”

He angled himself in the right direction, merged his legs into a spectral tail, and flew off. He tempered his speed at first, unsure of how fast the Speeder could go. That, and he could keep a closer eye on his environment at lower speeds. Danny knew he could fly to the Far Frozen blind – it was the other ghosts he was worried about.

They flew on in silence for a while. Danny raised his speed, little by little, until the Speeder could no longer match it. His parents, he assumed, were busy watching the Zone. It was their first time visiting it, at least. And, as far as they knew, it was the first time a living human had visited the Ghost Zone.

Danny wouldn’t tell them that Valerie been here. Multiple times, even. It would only ruin their fun.

“Say, Phantom, don’t you ever get cold?” Jack asked out of the blue after more than 30 minutes of silence. Danny, startled, jerked off course and only barely dodged a floating rock.

“What?” he replied as he tried to calm down from his start. “No, I mean, not really. Why?”

“Well,” a scuffing sound, like Jack was scraping his foot over the floor of the Speeder, “You mentioned how cold the Far Frozen was earlier. And while most ghosts seem immune to temperatures, we know that you’re warmer than most.”

“Oh.” Well, he supposed his dad had a point. “Um, not really? Sometimes in the past it could get a little nippy if it was very cold, but now that I have ice powers I’m basically immune to extreme temperatures.” Danny shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the Speeder. “Plus my suit does a pretty adequate job of keeping me warm.”

“It is a pretty neat suit.” Danny could see his dad shift inside the cabin of the Speeder. “You’re a man of taste, Phantom, wearing jumpsuits just like we do!”

“I mean, um.” Danny glanced away, blush crawling onto his cheeks again. “I, uh. I didn’t make the conscious decision to wear it, per se.”

“Oh?” It was his mom, now. “Don’t all ghosts pick their clothing on their own? How else did you come to wear a jumpsuit?”

“Well, you see.” Danny floated closer to the Speeder, still leading it in the right direction. “I kind of, um. Died wearing it?”

A moment of silence. A long moment of silence. Then–

“Oh.” Jack cleared his throat. “I see. That’s um. Unfortunate.”

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan of it at first either. I, uh. Used to say I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them.”

“Phantom,” his mom chastised, her tone tired. “Are you really making jokes about your death?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?” He locked eyes with her through the window, offering a shrug. “Mope about it? It’s not like it’ll get better. Might as well live with it, for as far as you can call it ‘living’, you know? ‘s better than being sad about it.”

She sighed, weary. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. It’s just…”

“Death is a difficult topic,” Danny finished for her. “I know. Believe me, I do. But you can’t get hung up on it forever, you know? It’s a thing that happens for everyone, eventually.”

“But you’re just a kid,” Jack said, voice also heavy with sadness. “You’re our son’s age, Phantom, and you died wearing a hazmat suit. I know you don’t like talking about your death, but…”

“It wasn’t natural, no.” Danny phased through the windscreen of the Speeder, startling both of his parents. “Sorry, this was easier for the conversation. Just, uh, keep heading in the direction we were going.”

His parents shared a glance. A few quick ones, actually, making Danny think it was an entire silent conversation. Then, finally, his mom spoke up again.

“But you still didn’t tell anybody?”

He huffed out a breath. “No. It was nobody’s fault but my own, and no one else was hurt. No more than they’ll be if they know the entire truth, anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Jack’s voice was quieter than usual, but in the silence of the cabin it still carried. “But we can’t force you to do anything, Phantom. Just… think about it? About telling your parents?”

“Yeah.” He smiled, humorlessly. “I think about it pretty often, to be honest. It’s just…” He combed his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs out of his face. “It would hurt them more than help them. At least for now. Maybe… Maybe later. When things are better.”

“But what if things never get better?” His mom’s hand wrapped around his upper arm, warm and comforting. “What is better, anyway? What amount of improvement would be enough?”

“I don’t– I don’t know,” Danny admitted, shoulders slumping down. “I can’t tell them, though. Not yet.”

“As long as you really do plan on telling them, kid.” Jack’s massive hand wrapped around his shoulders, pulling Danny against his side. “Your parents deserve to know the truth.”

“I know,” Danny said before his dad had really stopped talking. The man smiled, but continued anyway.

“They deserve to know how wonderful their son really is. How much good he does, even now.”

Danny nodded, ducking his head to hide the smile that had crept onto his face. “I… I’ll think about it, okay? But, um.” He looked up, out of the window, straight at a giant rock in front of the Specter Speeder.

“Shit,” he swore, automatically lifting higher in the air even though there was nothing he could do anymore. They were going too fast, couldn’t dodge or turn intangible–

The Speeder careened through the rock like it didn’t even exist. Danny barely missed it, but his dad went straight through it.

In front of them empty green sky hung. Danny looked back to see the last of the rock phase through the Specter Speeder, stunned. His dad, next to him, look at his hands with wide-eyed amazement.

“Phantom, no swearing,” his mom scolded belatedly, like she had only just realized what he’d said. Then, “What on Earth was that?”

“Well, not Earth,” Danny said before he could really think about it. “I think… that humans can turn themselves intangible in the Ghost Zone, to ectoplasm-based materials at least. But I’m not sure how the Speeder did it, here.”

“Do you think we could’ve turned it intangible?” Jack offered, brow creased in thought. “Like how you could turn us intangible in the human world?”

“Maybe.” Danny glanced out the window to make sure they weren’t about to hit anything else. “But you should hold off on testing that theory until we get to the Far Frozen, at least, just in case it doesn’t work.”

Jack barked out a laugh. “Yeah, probably.”

“Maybe it would be for the best if you went ahead again, Phantom.” Maddie’s hands were still clawed around the controls. Danny was sure that her hands were white-knuckled beneath her gloves. “Just to avoid a repeat performance.”

Danny nodded, phasing through the front of the Speeder. “At least we can still keep up the conversation. Your Fenton Phones work really well.”

“We should test them more while we’re here,” Jack suggested. “Maybe the tech behind them could be used for those phones the other ghosts were talking about a while back.”

Caught off-guard, Danny glanced over his shoulder back at his dad. “Huh?”

“Well, our Fenton Phones work in the Zone, right?” his dad started explaining. “So if they work over longer distances, or even while one is here and the other is in our world, then that technology could be used to help with that phone network the biker ghosts were talking about before, yeah?”

“I– Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” If they really did work, then Danny might even be able to improve his relationship with Technus a little. Helping with this would be a sure-fire way of winning the ghost’s favor – or at least keeping him out of Amity for a little longer. “If you’re okay with me sharing the tech like that, that would be really helpful, yeah.”

“Wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t okay,” Jack said, an amused tone to his voice. “Seriously, Phantom, we really do want to help in whatever way possible.”

“I know, I know. I’m just…” Danny twitched his spectral tail, uncertain. “Just not used to it, I guess. Even my allies who want to help just can’t. There’s not much they can do for me, besides offer me their company.”

He looked ahead, spotting the enormous mountains of the Far Frozen. “And speaking of which, we’re nearly there. You probably can’t see it yet, but soon you should be able to see the tunnel we’ll use to enter.”

“Why a tunnel?” his mom asked, a hint of worry in her voice. “Isn’t it an island like everything else seems to be?”

“Well, most lairs are actually sub-dimensions that you can only access via doors.” Danny slowed a little as they approached the tunnel, which should now be visible to his parents as well. “But yeah, the Far Frozen is an island as well. The correct way to approach is via the tunnel – it’s so they can protect their realm more easily.”

“Like a bottleneck in case they’re attacked?” The Speeder slowed down as well, Maddie clearly eyeing up the tunnel. “That might be a narrow fit, Phantom.”

“We might have to try the intangibility thing.” He stopped to float over the opening, glancing between it and the Speeder. “Worst come to worst we can leave it here and I’ll carry you to the palace. Frostbite can set guards on it to make sure no ghost messes with it.”

The Specter Speeder lowered closer to the tunnel entrance. Danny could see his parents sitting behind the window, worried expressions on their faces. Maddie, especially, had a crease in her brow that suggested extreme focus.

“I’ll go just ahead,” Danny offered, dipping into the tunnel. “To make sure the guards won’t worry.”

“Copy that, Phantom,” his dad replied, seeing that Maddie wouldn’t. “We’ll follow at our own pace.”

The crawl through the tunnels was slow, but steady. As it turned out, they’d gotten lucky; the tunnel was just big enough to fit the Specter Speeder.

One of the guards stationed at the end of the tunnel glanced between Danny and the Speeder, warily. He waved a greeting at her, however, offering an understanding smile. “It’s fine, Frostbite knew they were coming.”

“Great One,” she replied with a short bow. “Very well, although I wish he had informed us as well.”

“We didn’t exactly pick a specific moment.” He shrugged, still smiling somewhat sheepishly. “Sorry. I’ll try to give more of a warning next time.”

“It’s much appreciated.” She stepped aside, nodding towards the Fentons in the Specter Speeder. “Carry on, you three. Enjoy your stay in the Far Frozen.”

“Thanks.” Danny waved at her before flying off. He moderated his speed even though most ghosts in the Far Frozen didn’t fly – it just seemed more polite. Knowing that his parents were probably still listening, he said, “I’ll bring us right to the front steps of Frostbite’s palace. The Speeder will be fine there, unless it can’t handle the cold for extended periods of time?” Hmm, he should’ve considered that possibility before. There was probably a better place to park it if that was the case.

“It should be fine with the cold,” his dad assured him before he could worry too much. “But will it be fine parked out in the open like that?”

“None of the ghosts will mess with it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Danny slowed as he approached the palace, coming to a stop in front of the massive sprawling structure – made entirely out of ice, of course. “You’re with me, and I’m the ‘Great One’, remember? So they’ll leave it alone.”

“If you’re sure.” His dad more or less mumbled the reply, clearly worried about the machine. For all that he tried to change, the man clearly still struggled to trust ghosts, especially ones he didn’t know. That, and he was just very protective of things he considered his own.

Danny would’ve been annoyed, except that his dad clearly trusted him, trusted his judgment enough to leave it be.

The Specter Speeder came to a halt as well, lowering until it gently landed in the snow. It then promptly sunk another 3 inches before actually settling down.

Danny was already floating over to the door when it opened, his mom standing in the opening. “It certainly does honor to its name.” She looked around, at the town made entirely out of ice and the ghosts that were peeking outside, just as curious of them as they were of the ghosts. “And it’s so different from the rest of the Zone.”

“Everything else was just green and purple, but this place is almost entirely white and blue.” His dad was looking around as well, wide-eyed but grinning. “It’s incredible.”

“I thank you very much.” Both Fentons whirled around, startled, at the unexpected voice. Danny just grinned at the yeti who had just exited the palace.

“Frostbite! These are Jack and Maddie Fenton, the ghost hunters I told you I would bring by.” He turned to face his parents again. “Jack, Maddie, this is Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Maddie stepped forward first, uncertainly offering her hand. She was clearly eyeing up Frostbite – and Danny couldn’t blame them. He cut an imposing figure, large and muscular with an enormous amount of fur that made him look even bigger. The icy horns on his head and toothy muzzle didn’t help. Neither did the false left arm, composed only of bone with ice surrounding it.

Frostbite took her hand – with his right hand, thankfully – and shook it. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Huntress. And you too, Hunter,” he added as he shook Jack’s hand as well. “The Great One has spoken well of your skills, even before your current alliance.”

“Frostbite,” Danny whined, leaning on the ghost’s shoulder. “Can’t you just call me by my name for once?”

“No, I cannot.” He grinned, frustratingly, knowing exactly how much Danny disliked the title. Then he turned back to the Fentons. “Come, let us go inside. I’m sure you two are cold out here.”

“Yeah, kinda.” Jack eagerly followed the ghost, and Maddie trailed behind them. Danny matched her pace, floating alongside.

“You okay?” he asked, a little worried. Jack had enough flesh to weather the cold a little while. His mom, however, had far less protection. And Danny didn’t know how well the jumpsuit would protect her – how cold it really was in the Far Frozen.

“I’m fine Phantom, no worries.” She smiled at him, then turned to look at the palace they were entering. “It’s just a little… overwhelming. No, not overwhelming. Humbling is a better word.”

“How so?” He flipped onto his side so he could watch her more easily.

“All this time, we’ve insisted that ghosts were dumb, unintelligent, inhuman.” She looked away, shoulders tense. “That they were incapable of the depth that humans have. Yet the proof was right here, all this time. If we had just gone through the Portal, we could’ve seen how wrong we were. But we had to wait until you almost died at our feet before we noticed.”

“Well, everyone makes mistakes.” Danny shrugged when she looked back at him, slightly incredulous. “It’s part of being… uh. I was gonna say human but that doesn’t entirely work. Existing? It’s part of existing. You make mistakes, you learn from them, and then you do better.”

He threw out a hand, demonstratively. “And that’s this. You’re here, both of you, following a ghost to meet another ghost you had never even heard of.”

She huffed out a short breath. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. But I can’t help but think…”

“Don’t,” he insisted, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Mo– Maddie, there’s no changing the past. Thinking about how things could have gone won’t make things better. Focus on the here and the now, and stop worrying, alright?”

“Yeah, alright.” She smiled at him, still a little shaky but clearly real. “Thanks, Phantom. I think I needed to hear that.”

“It’s no problem.” He looked forward to where the huge shapes of Frostbite and his dad had stopped. “Come on, I think they’re waiting for us.”

She nodded, and they both sped up to meet up with the other two again.

---

They didn’t end up staying all that long, in the end. The flight had taken longer than they had really expected (apparently Danny really did fly significantly faster than the Speeder) and his parents were unsure about staying too long in the Ghost Zone. After all, little was known about the Ghost Zone or its effects on humans.

Danny had tried to reassure them, that it would do no harm, but their minds had been made. They had thanked Frostbite for his hospitality – and for teaching them more about ghosts – and left.

But despite the shorter-than-expected stay, the visit had gone well. Despite Frostbite’s uncertainty beforehand, when Danny had suggested the visit, he showed no fear towards the Fentons. Not that Danny had expected him to – Frostbite was a leader, and could very easily put on a brave face. Even if he was worried that he would accidentally spill the Great One’s secret.

He had been cajoled into teaching the Fentons more about ghostly anatomy, however. When he had mentioned their medical facilities the Fentons had shown clear interest and asked more. And while Frostbite had been initially unsure, they told him that they mostly wanted to know so they could help ‘the Great One’ if he got hurt, and, well… That was all they needed to say, apparently.

Still, Danny couldn’t really be mad. His parents did intend to use it to help him. He didn’t hope it would be necessary, but even so. The gesture was very nice.

The three of them agreed that he would return another time for the next visit to the Ghost Zone. After all, he had promised to introduce them to Queen Dorathea as well, and they hadn’t gotten around to that quite yet.

---

The Specter Speeder hovered just above the floor of the lab. Its metal walls shone under the bright artificial light, its green lights blinking energetically. The door hung open, Maddie standing in its opening to peer inside the vehicle.

“I think we have everything,” she said, not turning around to face Danny and Jack. “Phantom, the Kingdom wasn’t as uninhabitable as the Far Frozen, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Less unified and still kind of medieval, but it’s not freezing cold or anything, at least.”

“Good, good.” She turned around. “In that case we should be…” she trailed off, clearly hearing the same footsteps as Danny.

Jazz walked into the lab, starting when she locked eyes with Danny. “Oh, Phantom! Sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

“We were just leaving,” Danny said with a shrug, looking over at the Speeder. Jazz followed his gaze with a slight frown.

“With the Specter Speeder?” She turned to their parents. “I thought you guys only wanted to use that in the Ghost Zone?”

“Which is where we’re going!” Jack grinned, bright and wide. “Earlier this week Phantom took us to meet one of his allies in the Zone, and today we’re meeting another one! Dora, right?”

“Queen Dorathea of Aragon, yeah.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “She doesn’t stand on titles much, but not using it when you’re first meeting her might annoy her. And uh, I can recommend avoiding that.”

“How so?” Jazz asked, looking intrigued. “And is she really a queen, or is that just a general title?”

“Well, Dora has this necklace which turns her into a dragon when she gets angry,” Danny started explaining, smiling slightly at the incredulous expressions of his family. “A really big fire-breathing dragon, yeah. Her brother had one as well, so that’s why she didn’t use it to overthrow him. But the Red Huntress and I convinced her that she was a better ruler and didn’t have to live in Aragon’s shadow, and she fought him. In the end, Red and I barely had to do anything – Dora was strong enough to deal with Aragon herself.”

“So this Dora… What’s the story between her and her brother, exactly?” Jazz looked surprising thoughtful. Oh, duh, of course. She had spotted another target to psycho-analyze, probably.

Which, actually… might be kind of good for Dora. At the very least she could meet another girl without having to worry about the whole rank thing getting in the way.

“Well, her brother used to be the king of their kingdom. Only he wasn’t a very good ruler – he insisted that things stay the way they had always been, was opposed to all change and such. He forcibly kept the entire kingdom in the Middle Ages, with all the things that came with it. Bad living situations, inequality for the women, and all that. Dora, especially, was more his servant than his sister. She had to listen to his every command, wasn’t allowed to stand for herself or do things she enjoyed. She wasn’t even allowed to have an opinion of her own.”

He shifted, pausing for a moment to let the story sink in. “It lasted for several centuries. Then Aragon decided that to really be a king, he needed a queen. But he didn’t just want any queen, he wanted the best queen. He wanted one no other ghost had – a living queen. So he instructed Dora to kidnap one from the human realm, with the specific instruction that it had to be one that I seemed to favor, since I was a strong powerful ghost and all that.”

Danny shrugged, scratching his cheek for a moment. “Of course, I don’t spend a whole lot of time around human girls, so. She ended up grabbing the Red Huntress. By the time I heard what had happened and made my way over, Red had already almost convinced Dora to stand up for herself. I helped convince her as well, and then Dora overthrew her brother, took his dragon-necklace, and locked him up in prison. She’s been ruling the Kingdom ever since.”

Jazz nodded, a determined expression settling on her face. “Sounds like she could use someone to talk to. Mind if I join you three?”

“Fine with me.” He looked at Maddie and Jack. “But she’s your kid, so it’s your call.”

The two of them shared a few glances. They were clearly caught between enthusiasm that their kid was showing an interest in ghosts, and worrying that the Ghost Zone wouldn’t be safe for her. Finally Maddie nodded, first at him and then at Jazz.

“You said that it’ll be safe, Phantom, and I trust you. Yes, Jazz, you can come along if you want.”

Grinning, Jazz strode towards the Speeder. Then she paused. Turned around. “So, uh. Do I need to bring anything to stay safe, or…?”

Danny snorted, accidentally drawing everyone’s attention back to him. He flapped a dismissive hand towards Jazz. “No, no, the Zone is perfectly safe. Your parents spent several hours in the Far Frozen earlier this week and the only thing that threatened them was the cold. Dora’s castle, unlike Frostbite’s, isn’t made out of ice, so you’ll be fine.”

“Take these though,” Maddie said, handing Jazz two Fenton Phones. Where she got them from, Danny didn’t know. But then, to be fair, his mom had a lot of stuff in her belt. “We’re all wearing them so we can talk more easily. Phantom will fly outside the Speeder to guide us, and this way we won’t have to shout.”

“And we won’t hit a rock because we were too busy talking to watch the road,” Danny joked, grinning. “Go and hop on before Dora gets impatient.”

“Actually, Phantom, why don’t you go ahead?” Jack stopped in the door of the Speeder to look at him. “We forgot to test the inter-dimensional range of the Fenton Phones last time, but we can try them now.”

“Oh, that’s actually… a pretty good idea.” Danny floated over to the Portal, then turned back to his family. “Can you, uh, open the Portal doors, then?”

“Right, right.” His dad ducked into the Speeder, and with a groan the Portal doors slid open. “We’ll be right behind you even if the Phones don’t work, okay kid?”

Danny nodded, then realized none of them could see him. “Uh, yeah, alright. See you guys in a minute.”

He dove through the Portal, replacing the artificial white of the lab for strangely-comforting green. Turning around to face the open Portal, he hesitantly spoke up. “So, uh. Are you guys hearing this?”

“Loud and clear,” his dad’s voice replied. The sound carried just as well as it had before, when they had all been in the Ghost Zone. “Try flying a little further from the Portal.”

Doing as asked, Danny flew about a hundred feet away and landed on a rock. “How about now?”

“Still good,” his mom confirmed, her voice ringing clear as well. “We’ll come through now. How far did you go?”

Seeing the Specter Speeder enter the Zone, Danny lifted up from the rock to catch their eye. “A hundred feet or so. We’re heading this way, anyway.”

The Speeder made its way over to where Danny floated, although he sped away before they reached him. “It’s not as far as the Far Frozen, but still 30 minutes flying or so, I think. Like I said last time, distances are weird in the Zone.”

“You’re also just bad at judging them,” Maddie said, her tone light and joking. “Since you base everything off of how fast you fly, despite not knowing how fast that is.”

Danny gasped, offended, and clasped a hand to his chest. “How dare you! I, the Great One, Sir Phantom, am obviously the best at everything I ever do.”

Jazz snorted, and both of his parents chuckled.

“That’s a lot of titles, kid,” his dad commented in-between chuckles.

“Yeah, I keep getting them for some reason.” Danny looked in front of him to make sure he didn’t hit any floating rocks. “Maybe it’s because I keep befriending powerful ghosts in leadership roles.”

“You think?” Jazz asked with that perfect ‘sarcastic sister’ voice he was so familiar with.

He hummed, pretending to think about it. “Nah, probably not. Must be something else.”

After that the conversation more or less petered off. When Danny glanced over his shoulder he could see Jazz peering into the depths of the Ghost Zone, apparently captivated by her first visit. His parents, admittedly, weren’t much better.

But then again, neither had he. Maybe he shouldn’t have blamed his interest in the Zone on being part ghost. Maybe it was just part of being a Fenton. Who would’ve thought?

Eventually they reached the Kingdom of Aragon. Dora’s castle had been visible for a while, the rest of the island more mundane.

“So the good news is that we can just fly to the island this time,” he said, breaking the silence.

“What’s the bad news?” his mom asked, wary.

“There is no bad news.” Danny turned around mid-air to shoot her a grin. “We can just fly straight to the castle since I’m with you guys.”

“You’re a dork,” Jazz muttered under her breath. Through the window Danny could see her clamp her hands over her mouth as she realized he could hear her through the Fenton Phones.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He spun back around, slowly guiding the Specter Speeder to a safe place to land. “My jokes are the best kind of dorky, after all.”

“Don’t let the jocks hear you, they would be heartbroken.”

He looked over his shoulder to see both of his parents focusing on landing the Speeder. “Maybe that would finally get Paulina to stop obsessing over me.”

“Oh god, yeah, maybe.” She hummed. “That girl has a problem, and I say that as a professional.”

“Jazz, sweetie, you’re not actually a professional yet,” their mom commented as the Speeder touched down.

“You don’t have to be to know that Paulina’s crush on Phantom is unhealthy.” She stood up from her seat, stretching her arms over her head. “Man, these seats aren’t great for longer travels.”

“No, we definitely didn’t anticipate the Ghost Zone being this big.” Maddie opened the door to let Jack step out first, clearing room in the cabin for her and Jazz to move around more easily. “But I suppose that that was a silly mistake.”

“Kinda, yeah.” Danny flew over to the Speeder, hovering by the open door. “A lot of the ghosts call it the Infinite Realms, even. It’s just as never-ending as regular space, or so they say.”

Jack whistled, impressed.

Maddie and Jazz clambered out of the Speeder, joining him outside. Maddie had joined Jack in looking around wildly, but Jazz had focused her attention on the castle itself.

“We should go inside,” Danny suggested, seeing that none of them seemed inclined to move. “Unlike Frostbite, Dora probably won’t come looking for us.”

The three of them nodded, looking at him to lead the way. And with an internal shrug, Danny did.

A couple of guards stood by the castle, but they nodded at him in greeting and said nothing. His family remained silent, simply following him over the bridge and into the castle.

“Not as chatty as those yetis in the Far Frozen, huh?” Jack asked once they were inside.

“Not really, no.” Danny shrugged. “The Far Frozen are a very sociable people, and they’ve been led by Frostbite who encourages that kinda stuff. The people of Aragon are still recovering from their old ruler, so they’re stuck in their old ways still.”

They walked into the throne room, an enormous empty hall with a single raised throne set at the far wall. Sitting on it was Dora, who (literally) brightened up when she saw him. “Sir Phantom! How nice to see you again!”

She raised out of the chair, floating closer to them. Danny gave her a short bow, which his family quickly copied. “Queen Dora, it’s nice to see you as well. These are Jack, Maddie, and Jazz Fenton; the parents are the ghost hunters I mentioned, and Jazz is their daughter who asked to come along. I hope that that was okay?”

Dora smiled, her aura still steadily increasing in brightness – a clear sign of happiness. “Yes of course it is! And a pleasure to meet you three as well. Come, come, we can sit down in another room.”

The group followed Dora to another room, the parents right behind her and Jazz trailing a little further behind. Danny floated up next to her, giving her a short nudge. “Dora is pretty shy with initiating contact,” he told her with a conspiring tone. “Try introducing yourself more directly, and then I’ll offer to show your parents around the Kingdom so you two can talk in private.”

She glanced over at him. “Would that work? You know her better than I do, Phantom.”

“Definitely. Just, uh. If her eyes change color and her pupils narrow, try to calm her down.” He looked over at Dora, who was steadfastly looking straight-forward despite her obvious interest in her guests. “That’s a clear sign that she’s edging on a transformation.”

“Gotcha,” Jazz said with a nod. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“I know you will.” He looked back at her with a smile. “You’re good at this stuff, Jazz. That’s why I’m trusting you with this. I know it’ll be good for Dora.”

They entered the next room before Jazz could answer, Dora swirling around. “And here we are. Please, everyone, take a seat.”

Jazz looked over at him, and he gave her a short encouraging nod. Then she turned back to Dora, straightened her shoulders, and said, “Actually, um, Your Highness. I was wondering if we could… sit down and talk. Just the two of us, I mean.”

Dora frowned, looking between Jazz and Danny. Then she glanced over to the adult Fentons, uncertainly. “Ah, well…”

“I can take Maddie and Jack outside,” Danny offered with a smile. “I’ll show them around, since they haven’t seen much ghost society yet. It’ll be interesting, right guys?”

Maddie clearly caught on to the emphasized words. “Oh, certainly. That would be very nice actually, right Jack?” She jabbed him with her elbow.

“What? Oh, uh, yeah.” He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that would be really interesting.”

The ghost still frowned, glancing between her various guests. Then she slumped in a little, nodding towards Danny. “Very well then. Sir Phantom, please show our guests around. Miss… Jazz? Come and have a seat.”

Danny started leading his parents away, but paused to shoot Jazz an encouraging smile. She smiled back, grasping her confidence again now that she entered more familiar territory.

Yes, this would definitely be good for both of them. Danny would definitely have to look into those phones – connecting Dora and Jazz in a more manageable way would be good for them. Maybe he could even get Sidney mixed in. The three of them all desperately needed friends.