#ectober2019

[wastefulreverie]

Ectober19 Fangs

A Little Off Point

Genre: Humor/Family

Word Count: 2705

Maddie had noticed that there was something off about her son for a while but fangs were really pushing it. She saw the way that they poked out when he smiled… how they pierced into his food, leaving holes in his unfinished meals. But when she looked, they were never there. His teeth were smooth, not pointy at all! She wasn't stupid; she knew that he must be hiding them somehow. That was the only explanation.

Danny had fangs. That wasn't the only thing that was wrong about him, but it was definitely the most frustrating.

Nowadays, he was cold to the touch, cold enough that she'd mistaken his flesh for porcelain more than once. Additionally, he always wore darker, longer clothing—even in the midst of summer. She tried asking him why and he always claimed that it was just a fashion choice. His friend Sam backed him up, defending Danny's emo aesthetic. She knew she shouldn't criticize Danny's clothes but she couldn't just let it go.

His grades were dropping too. Sure, high school was difficult and Danny never made stellar grades in middle school but Maddie knew that this was deeper. She'd spoken with several of his teachers and learned that he often slept in class or failed to show up at all.

That drew Maddie's attention to Danny's sleeping habits, which lead to another can of worms. He was sneaking out at night! She still couldn't figure how he left his room, but he refused to tell her how or where he'd been.

Despite all this, the fangs were what got her. All the other oddities could be brushed off as normal teenage problems. But not the fangs. This was something supernaturally wrong.

"You've noticed it, haven't you Mads?" Jack broached the topic one morning after Danny left for school. "That he's..."

"Not human anymore," she whispered. "He's something else."

"Our son… is he still Danny? He—he acts like Danny."

"I want to believe it's still him, but he's so different now. You know he sneaks out, right?" Her eyes welled with tears. "My baby… I don't know who he is anymore, Jack!"

He shook his head. "Neither do I. I think he's trying to act like nothing's changed, but it's clear that something has. I just… we need to talk to him about this. About what he is now."

"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking? That he's a—a—"

"Vampire. He has to be. I've never seen anything else like it."

She nodded. "It would explain the coldness, the dark clothes, and the late-night outings. And his fangs, those damn fangs. I can't really see what else it would be!"

"Exactly. Today, after he comes home from school we'll confront him about it. I can't keep pretending anymore."

"Neither can I, Jack. Neither can I."

Typically, when he returned home from school, his parents were in the lab or out ghost hunting. So, Danny usually flew straight right up to his bedroom. By the time his parents finished their afternoon activities, they assumed he was already in his room, so there wasn't any reason to pretend to use the door. He figured that today was the same as any other day, so he phased right into his room and started on his homework.

As luck had it, today was not like every other day.

He pulled his desk chair across the floor and dropped his backpack onto the carpet. He was about to sit down when Mom's voice carried upstairs.

"Danny! Is that you?"

Shit.

She wasn't supposed to be out of the lab yet. He'd messed up; he shouldn't have started taking things for granted.

Hopefully, she hadn't realized that he hadn't come in through the front door. Otherwise, he'd have to pretend he scaled his window and that wouldn't be easy to explain. Oh yeah Mom, just figured I'd climb two stories in broad daylight because it seemed fun! Like that'll go over well.

"Uh, yeah! Just doing my homework!"

His heart pounded in his chest. Please… leave it at that.

Unfortunately, Mom had other plans.

"Could you come down here? Your Dad and I want to talk with you."

The hairs on his neck stood on end. A talk was never good. It was probably about his grades again. He'd failed two tests in the past week and completely bombed an essay worth twenty percent of his grade.

"Alright!" he called. "Just a minute!"

He pushed his chair back in and hesitantly descended the stairs. Both of his parents were waiting for him on the couch, glancing between him and the floor. Okay… that was weird. If his parents were nervous too this may not be the sort of conversation he'd anticipated. Maybe they had realized he hadn't used the front door.

"Take a seat, Danno."

He sat in the loveseat across from the couch.

"We need to talk about something and I don't really know how to say it. Mads?"

Danny gulped. That really didn't sound good.

"We need to talk about how you've changed. We know Danny, and it's okay. We just… need to talk about it. No holding back, no secrets."

It took a good ten seconds before her words made sense.

They… knew?

This couldn't be happening. They couldn't know! They'd—they'd reject him for sure! But somehow they did know and Mom had said it was 'okay'. Alright, so that meant they didn't want to experiment on him or kick him out (unless it was a trick!), so… they were open-minded. But why? He was a ghost! The thing they hated most in the world!

Maybe they didn't know all of it. Maybe they only knew part of it… could that be it? Maybe they knew that he had powers or that he was half-ghost. Or… maybe he'd slipped up completely; maybe they knew he was Phantom.

All that mattered is that he messed up somewhere. He just didn't know where or when. And now he was facing the consequences. Now his parents knew and everything was going to change. He wasn't ready for this. (But would he ever be?)

"What do you mean?" he tried playing dumb. It was a futile attempt—the look on his face had already given him away.

"You're… not human anymore. We don't know how, but we get it. You're still trying to be yourself despite your nature," Dad said.

Mom nodded. "We just want to understand this and how we can help you. We want to embrace this as a family and move on."

Danny's eyes widened. "You're okay with this? With… how I am?"

This was all too… perfect. He figured that he would have to plead for acceptance, that they'd shoot first and ask questions later. But they were content with their son's inhumanity and maybe that didn't mean they knew everything, but Danny was far too relieved to jeopardize their acceptance to qualify exactly what they knew.

"It doesn't hurt me that you've changed, it hurts me that you've hidden this whole other side from us," Mom explained. "I'm mad, but I can move on."

"We'd never hate you over something you can't control."

"Wow… you guys—" he choked. "You guys actually get it."

"Well, we don't get everything," Dad admitted. "We've figured out that you're… y'know… but we don't understand anything other than that."

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty complicated," he laughed. "It's not every day you find out your son's half-dead."

His parents' expressions fell. Suddenly, he was paranoid about what he'd said wrong.

Mom wrapped her hand around her wrist and squeezed.

"So… so you've died?" she whispered. "Oh, Danny…"

"Uh, yeah." He brushed the back of his neck. "Only half, though. My heart still beats, I need air, and I still need to eat human food."

"But that's not all you need?" Dad caught on.

"Well, yeah… I need to feed my other half. Which is gross and it sucks."

His parents shared a significant glance.

"Danny," Dad said carefully, "we get that it's a personal topic, but we need to know. Have you… ever killed anyone?"

Where the fuck did that come from? Murder? He knew his parents thought Phantom was a criminal, but surely they thought he was better than that!

"Wh—no! Why?"

"It's just—how-do-you-eat?" Mom blurted. "You mentioned feeding your 'other half'."

Did they think feeding his ghost half meant killing people? Huh? Well, in a way… okay, he did have to kill some ghosts from time to time. But never people!

Ancients.

"I uh. I have to drink ectoplasm." His face suddenly felt hot. "I guess sometimes I do hurt ghosts, even though I really hate doing it. Usually nothing sentient, just blob ghosts."

Dad's jaw dropped. "Vampires can drink ectoplasm? Wow! Who woulda thought?"

"Whew! That changes everything. Thank God."

"Hold up," Danny cut in. "Vampires? Vampires aren't real." (At least he thought they weren't…?)

Mom frowned. "But you're a vampire?"

Danny did a double-take.

His parents—ghost hunting parents—believed that he, a ghost, was a vampire. No way. No fucking way. It was so ridiculous that he couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.

Somehow they'd misinterpreted ghostliness for vampirism and were actually ready to accept him even if he drank people's blood! Holy shit. It all made sense now.

He wondered how they managed it. What did they supposedly see that made them jump to the 'Danny's a vampire, not a ghost' conclusion? It was probably the fangs. He retracted them at school, but they got sore being crammed up in his gums all the time, so he let them out at home sometimes. He must've gotten caught with them at some point.

Maybe it wasn't so ridiculous, but it was still hilarious. If everything went over well, he wouldn't let them live it down.

"Mom, Dad," he laughed. "I'm a ghost. Not a vampire."

They both looked like they'd been slapped.

"Oh," Dad whispered.

"I mean, I'm only half-ghost. I guess?"

"How?" Mom asked. "We were so sure that you were—and you can't be—but how?"

"Two years ago, I turned the ghost portal on from the inside and almost died. It fused just enough ectoplasm with my DNA to change me, to save me from fully dying. Ever since I've been half-ghost."

"But what exactly does that mean? How can you be half alive and dead?"

He shrugged. "It's beyond me. I need ectoplasm and food to live, my temperature's really low and my heart beats a bit slow. I have ghost powers and can transform into a ghostly form. Which I guess we need to talk about that too."

His parents were probably going to be upset about Phantom, but if they could accept him when they thought he was a bloodsucking monster they could likely accept anything.

"You're losing us, kid," Dad said.

"And somehow vampires made more sense?" he raised a brow.

"Well, you got me there."

"What do you mean 'ghost form'?" Mom drew out. "Does that mean you can change your appearance?"

"Yeah, pretty much. But it's probably better if you see it," Danny decided. "You're not gonna like it though. My ghost form looks like any regular ghost. Which is why this is so complicated; you guys have seen my ghost form before."

"We have?"

"You don't mean… you change into a ghost and haunt the town! That's where you go at night?"

He laughed nervously. "Guilty. It's not what you think, though. Even when I change… please keep an open mind."

His words did little to console them. If it were possible, they looked even more startled than before.

"Danny—"

Before they could protest, he drew his core out to the surface and let the transformation rings wrap around his waist. He kept his eyes down, looking anywhere but at his parents. To his dismay, he heard their sharp gasps as the rings panned out to reveal Phantom—glossy black spandex, billowing white hair, toxic green eyes, and piercing white fangs. After several seconds, Danny bit back his fear and met his parents' gazes.

Mom had her hands clamped over her face and Dad's mouth was ajar. Sure, their reactions weren'tgood but they weren't bad either. Honestly, Mom and Dad were right where Danny expected them to be. He could work with this; he only had to persuade them that he was still their son.

"I know this isn't what you expected and you're probably pissed because I know you hate me, but before you finish judging me can I explain?"

"Ph—Phantom?" Dad stammered. "But Danny… and what?"

"Dad, I'm still Danny. This is just my ghost form. There is no 'Phantom', it's just a dumb name I made up for myself whenever I transform."

"No, no… you can't be Danny," Mom denied. "You're different. I've seen the two of you together! And—and Danny wouldn't do the things you've done!"

"To protect my identity, I've pulled a few tricks to make myself look like different people. And… I know that some of the things I've done look bad, but most of those were mistakes. I… mess up a lot. I'll explain them if you just listen to me."

"And how do we know this isn't a trick?" Jack accused.

"You're the ones that called me down to have a conversation about what's wrong with me. Do you really think I could've planned this?" he deadpanned.

"Fair."

"So you get it? That I'm still the same person even though I look like a ghost? That Phantom isn't some parasite possessing me? That being a half-ghost means I'm still half-alive and that all that really changes is my appearance?"

"I guess it does make some sense," Mom conceded. "Being half-ghost would explain the cold skin and the sneaking out... oh, and the fangs!"

Danny ran his tongue over his teeth. "I can't believe these made you think I was a vampire."

"Thinking about it now is kind of stupid," Dad chortled. "I can't believe I thought my son was a bloodsucker but he was actually just a spook!"

"I can't believe you guys were okay with me killing people. That's literally the opposite of my job."

"Your job?"

"Uh, yeah," Danny put a hand on his hip. "I'm a ghost hunter? That's what I've been doing and telling you guys for the past two years?"

Dad's eyes lit up. "You have?"

"Yeah, but all you see is the bad stuff! Like, I don't try to cause property damage, it just happens when I'm fighting ghosts! And I don't fight them for attention, I actually want less of it! As Phantom, I try to keep the town safe just like you guys."

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry we doubted you, Danno. We just thought you were like every other ghost… I never thought—"

"I know. You had no reason to believe that I was different."

"But we should have." Maddie declared. "You're our son! Why didn't we see that it was you?"

"Because I didn't want you to see. I was… afraid of you guys knowing because I thought if you knew, you'd hate me anyway. That you wouldn't care that I'm your son and that you'd…" he shook his head, "nevermind."

His parents' expressions softened.

"Oh, Danny…" Mom moved forward and brushed a strand of his white hair. "I'm so sorry I made you feel this way."

"It's fine," he dismissed. "I'm just being stupid."

"No, you're not," Jack cut in. "We said awful things about you. We said it to your face, we said it to the town, hell—we even put anti-Phantom warnings in pamphlets! Even though we didn't know, that doesn't excuse all the horrible things you must've felt. We gave you no reason to trust us and that's not stupid, that's being smart."

"But you're my parents… I should've had more faith. I should've… I—"

"This isn't on you, kiddo. It's on us. You don't deserve to carry this guilt, we do. I'm sorry that it's taken this long."

"We love you, Danny," Mom assured. "You're our son no matter what. Ghost, human, or vampire."

He tilted his head back and laughed. "Okay yeah, I'm never letting you guys live that one down."

[sailor-toni]

I'm super late on #ectoberweek19 but here is my day 5: Grave Robber!

This is a mermaid ghost that uses her sweet but haunting song to lure ghost, before stabbing them with the end of her tail! Paralyzing them before stealing their cores. She hasn't been able to obtain an ice core yet but she's been looking for a weakling to leave the frozen north.

But she heard a rumor, that a certain ghost boy had discovered his core...

There is blood in the water. | Fangs | Tarot | Electricity | Artifact | Grave Robber | Candlelight | Masquerade

[five-rivers]

Tarot/Stalker

Here’s Ectober Day 2!  It’s a continuation of Necromancy from last year.  

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Tarot/Stalker

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It was known, in certain social circles of Casper High, that on days when Danny Fenton came into school with bruises on his head and a faraway look in his eyes, he could see the future, but not remember it. Well. At least, he could prophesy to it, and his prophecies were accurate. Disturbingly so.

Sometimes, he would give one out of the blue. He'd tell a freshman that their cat was going to die, or what scores everyone would get on the next test. He'd slide up beside the jocks in the senior class, and warn them about a party going wrong. He'd sit down at lunch time and spoil an entire week's worth of TV shows for someone- because the power was going to go out at their house, and they'd miss them otherwise; and it would. These would rarely be about anything more than a month out.

But if Danny was caught in the right mood, he could be asked about things. Things that wouldn't happen for a long time, for months, or even years. College admissions, marriage, sports, events, politics, friendships, contests, romance, deaths. No one had tested a prophecy that went out more than a few months, but he was rarely wrong, and when he was wrong, he wasn't wrong by very much. One student was wait-listed for a college, instead of accepted outright. Another found proof their boyfriend was cheating before Danny had predicted. A third managed to avoid being injured in that basketball game.

More importantly, on those days, his advice was always spot-on.

Hannah Weston had been observing Danny Fenton for a while. Unlike her older cousin, she didn't think that Danny was Phantom, that was kind of crazy, but she did have a soft spot for conspiracy theories and occult rumors.

Her current theory? Danny was some kind of esper. Or a necromancer, in the original sense of the word. His whole family was weird. Mad scientists. Everyone knew they had a lab in their basement, and they had done something with the government, according to Amity Park's conspiracy message boards. They could have done... something. Something to make Jazz super smart, and to give Danny precognition.

And what was to say Danny didn't have precognition all the time? He certainly made himself scarce during ghost attacks. He always seemed to know when they were going to happen. His 'prophesy mode' always seemed to come on right after big ghost fights, too. Hannah's working theory was that his powers ran on ectoplasm (ectoenergy?), and the ectoplasm shed in big ghost fights overloaded him, and made him less careful about hiding his powers.

Of course, not everyone followed Hannah's logic, which is why she and some of the other 'socially neutral' girls were trying to corner Danny away from his ever-present protectors, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley.

It was so weird to think of herself as 'socially neutral.' Then again, considering all the ghosts, being a conspiracy theorist in Amity Park was almost respectable. Right along with the occult, and the tiny ghost-centric actual cult.

Which only made Danny's outcast status weirder. Whatever. No one said high school social dynamics had to be logical.

Their idea (not Hannah's) was that if Danny could already predict stuff well, then he could predict it even better with some actual fortune telling paraphernalia. It didn't make sense, as far as Hannah was concerned, but she was willing to humor her friends, and this was the only way she'd be able to ask him questions without Sam or Tucker shooing her off.

Not that she had anything really pressing to ask. She was just curious.

She peeked in the classroom window. Her friend Mia had found out that Danny and his two friends hung out in this classroom during lunch when Danny was in a prophetic mood. It was mostly used for storage, so the teachers didn't care, even though students technically weren't supposed to be in there.

The PA system coughed to life, summoning Sam and Tucker to the office, as planned. Sarah, her other friend, had been in charge of that. Now it was Hannah's turn. She knocked on the window, and waved at Danny.

Danny came over and opened it. "I can help you, Mia, and Sarah," he said, before Hannah could repeat her lines, "but it's too cold by the field."

"Uh," said Hannah.

"We could go stand by the stairs to the roof, since the upperclassmen who smoke there got busted." Danny smiled absently, his eyes glassy. "I hope they stop doing that now. Smoking isn't good."

Hannah thought about it for a second. "Sure, let me text Mia."

"Also, I don't know how tarot works."

"That's fine."

.

Sarah brought a magic 8 ball. Mia brought cards.

"I couldn't find a crystal ball," Sarah said, defensively, taking the toy out of her bag.

"It's fine." Hannah peered at Mia's cards. They were black and gold. "Those are pretty," she said.

"Thanks," said Mia. "My grandma got them for me for my birthday."

"So," said Sarah, slightly pink. She held up her magic 8 ball. "What should we do first?"

Surprising everyone, Danny reached for the magic 8 ball.

"Signs point to no," he said. He shook the ball.

Everyone leaned in to see the answer. The ball said, 'SIGNS POINT TO NO.'

After a few more minutes, it became obvious that Danny could accurately predict which answer the magic 8 ball would display every time. It became equally obvious that, as long as he had the ball, that was all he would do.

Hannah pulled the ball away. "Let's try the cards," she said. They were halfway through lunch, and as cool as the trick was, it got boring after a while.

"Oh," said Danny, face falling. "I don't know how tarot works, though."

"That's okay," said Mia, holding out the cards. "Just do what feels right."

"I'll try," said Danny, dubiously. He shuffled the cards. "I think Sam would like these," he said, running a finger over the gold foil back. "What is the question you want to ask?"

"You first," said Sarah to Mia. "They're your cards."

Mia licked her lips. "Tell me about what will happen if I become an exchange student." Mia had wanted to be an exchange student for a while. She was even taking Honors Spanish. Her parents, however, weren't enthusiastic about the idea.

Danny divided the cards into three piles.

He flipped over one card. It showed a pair of clasped hands, each wearing a bracelet. "It won't happen the way you expect it to," said Danny. He turned over the next card. It showed two flowers. "You'll go far away, but your plans won't help." He turned over the card on top of the last pile. It had a pair of skeletons on it. "You'll find something important, though."

"Er, you couldn't be maybe a little bit more... specific?" asked Mia.

"No?"

"I told you it wouldn't work," said Hannah. She was just a little smug.

"Sam and Tucker are looking for me," said Danny. "You shouldn't be here when they come up. Here are your cards."

"Thanks," said Mia. She and Sarah went down the stairs. Hannah lingered.

"Are those two ever going to get together?" asked Hannah, hooking her thumb over her shoulder.

Danny blinked up at her. "Weren't you listening?"

"Hannah!" called Sarah. "Come on, we've got to go."

"Well, bye," said Hannah.

"Bye," said Danny, waving. He stood up and stretched. That wasn't too bad. At least they hadn't asked for lottery numbers.

His concussion would be better by tomorrow.

[bibbumblebee]

Ectober19: In Which Sam Falls Apart at a Halloween Party

My first ever fic for anything before. Not perfect, but it was a lot of fun to write! Also it’s 22 minutes late shhh don’t tell anybody.

Prompt: Fangs/Shatter

Sam’s fangs were really starting to bother her.

They poked at the inside of her bottom lip, and if she wasn’t careful, she found herself sticking them into her tongue or the soft gums behind her bottom row of teeth. She wondered how on earth some of the ghosts Danny fought back to the Ghost Zone could stand having such deadly teeth. All the time. Her fake ones were about to drive her crazy.

Just a few more hours, Manson, she told herself. She took a drink of punch, wishing it was spiked, to soothe the sores forming along her lip and the bristly, nervous anger that had lodged itself in the back of her throat. Gothika, Vampire Queen, doesn’t take her fangs out. Not even for boring parties.

She had come with Tucker and Danny, had actually come at their insistence. Tucker begged her the moment he found an invitation to Paulina’s party in his locker. She’d declined and declined, in varying shades of no, until Danny asked her one day after class. He’d held his invitation in his hands like a secret the two of them could share and looked at her shyly.

“Be more fun with you there,” he said.

Those eyes. Bluer than springtime. That little half-smile that, had she not known him since grade school, she wouldn’t have noticed. Would have thought was sadness. The slight quiver in his voice, like he wasn’t sure he should be saying anything. Afraid he might mess it up. Afraid she might say no. But how could she say no to that? To him?

She realized now she probably should have.

***

Danny had decided to dress up as Phantom for Halloween, saying that it was the only time during the year he could be himself and no one would be suspicious of it. “People love Phantom,” he told her when he announced his plan. “Maybe I can use tonight to get people to like Fenton, too.”

“Dude,” Tucker said, scrolling on his PDA for lists of popular Halloween costume ideas, “Phantom’s public enemy number one. They don’t love you.”

“Yeah, well, they love the idea of me.”

Sam knew how much it hurt Danny that the world feared Phantom as much as they hated Fenton. She’d been so certain that using his ghostly half to save the city from other ghosts would work. Would make him a hero. Would make him realize people loved him. She never suspected Amity Park would turn on him. And judging by how Danny’s face fell every time he saw Phantom on the news, every time Tucker reminded him that Amity Park wanted him dead for real, every time his parents invented another doomsday device, Sam got the feeling that Danny never suspected the hate, either.

***

She sipped some more punch, eyeing her black lipstick stain on the cup. She’d have to reapply soon. Maybe go and find Tucker, trying to pick up girls with his sexy professor costume. Sam tried to tell him that sexy professor was not the costume he thought it was, but his heart was set. He’d come in tight pants that highlighted his (admittedly) nice calves and a shirt he only buttoned up halfway.

Just as Sam figured they would, most of the popular kids assumed he was trying to be a sexy Mr. Lancer. Sam would have felt bad if she didn’t think Tucker needed to learn his lesson.

Still. She could use a dance.

Sam set down her empty cup and adjusted her black gloves where they had slid down her arms. She was going to go and find Tucker when she saw a flash of green from across the courtyard.

Paulina’s Most Perfect Halloween Party was held at the country club, like all her other parties, and the outdoor garden and courtyard had been decorated in purple streamers and smiling Jack-o’lanterns. Candles with artificial flames had been rigged on wires, suspended above their heads. It cast everything into a warm haze, everyone’s costumes cloaked and flickering between shadow and light.

Everyone’s except Danny’s.

He lit up like a star, a star with its own gravity, pulling everyone at the party to him. It was that natural magnetism Sam noticed he had while he was Phantom. Smiling, making jokes, puffing his chest out boldly. Confident. In control. With that smile, and that mop of silvery white hair, it wasn’t difficult to see why people were drawn to him. Why they feared him.

“Oooh, Ghost Boy,” said Paulina. She grabbed his arm. “How do you make your eyes light up like that?”

“Ghost Boy?” Dash said. Sam noticed him lurking behind the two of them, his face painted green like Frakenstein’s monster. Big, hulking, mindless mistake, Sam thought. Fitting.

“If that’s really the Ghost Boy,” said Kwan, appearing next to Dash as if summoned, “then we gotta report him.”

“It- it’s not Ghost Boy,” Danny said, and Sam heard the panic in his voice. “It’s just me. Danny Fenton.”

“Yeah right,” Kwan said. “Don’t lie.”

“Why would Ghost Boy lie about being Fentwerp?” Dash’s voice carried across the courtyard as if he was standing next to Sam at the punch bowl, making conversation. “He wouldn’t stoop that low.”

“Yeah,” Paulina said. Sam noticed her back away from Danny. She tried not to notice Danny’s face as it fell. “Ghost Boy wouldn’t lie about being a loser. No offense.”

“Yeah…” Danny said. “I guess not.”

“But still…” Paulina said, “You do have a pretty sweet costume, Danny. How does it glow like that?”

“My parents’ ghost hunting tech,” Danny said. His voice, which had lost a significant portion of its confidence, strengthened a little.

He and Tucker had rehearsed answers on the walk from Sam’s house. She’d tried to pretend to be focused on gluing her fangs over her real canines, but really she was trying not to turn around and stick the fake teeth through Tucker’s cheek. Asking questions like If Paulina wants to dance with you, what do you say? and If she wants you to turn invisible, will you? and Yo, man, I never thought. Can you turn just clothes invisible?

Sam stopped listening after that.

***

She only came tonight because Danny wanted her to. “Be more fun with you there,” he’d told her. But he hadn’t been with her the entire evening. She’d stood, her back to the garden wall, following his spectral glow around the party, trying not to think about the way he smiled when someone said his name. The way he fidgeted with his hands, more than likely trying to fight the urge to show off too much.

“You can’t shoot ectoblasts, you know,” Tucker told him. “Unless you lie and say you rigged one of your parents’ guns into your suit.”

They were in Sam’s room, waiting on her to finish applying her makeup. She’d decided on a darker, more dramatic look than the one she usually wore, replacing her purple eyeshadow for gray, opting for fake eyelashes over her natural.

Danny hovered behind her, watching her glue her eyelashes on. She felt his t-shirt brush against her shoulder. Caught the smell of laundry detergent and winter air and electricity—something he’d had since the accident. A permanent, static chill where there should have been body heat. Even while alive, he carried the chill of the dead.

“Why are you covering up your lashes?” he asked, watching her in the mirror.

She turned and batted them at him, laughing at the expression on his face. “For dramatic effect.”

“I’d say it worked,” Tucker said, sitting on Sam’s bed to tie his sexy loafers. “Earth to Danny? You in there?”

A second too late, Danny turned away, and Sam noticed the flush along his pale cheeks.

***

“Remember,” Tucker said. “You’re not Danny Phantom tonight. You’re Danny Fenton dressed up as Danny Phantom.”

“I know.” Danny watched Tucker unbutton and rebutton his dress shirt, making what he probably thought were sexy faces in the mirror. “I want them to like me. They already like Phantom.”

“And possibly want to kill him.”

Danny blanched. “Yeah. That too.”

After Sam finished her makeup, she encouraged Danny to sit down so she could cover his face with some powder, too.

Danny was sporting a black eye, only just starting to fade, from his most recent run-in with Dash’s fists. He’d been in worse shape from other fights, but Sam didn’t want Danny to be embarrassed by the bruise. She knew, too, that he carried marks far worse than the black eye, but it was the least she could do for the party.

Though neither of them would say so, Sam had seen the scars. She hadn’t meant to. It had been an accident, walking into his room without knocking. He’d been quick, but she’d seen his side where Valerie shot him. The long burned scar along his ribs. She couldn’t imagine it didn’t hurt, even now nearly a month later. She’d seen the smaller scars along his back, random collections from his fights over the last year and a half. The wings of a purpling bruise along his shoulders—more than likely from his fight with Skulker that ended with Danny’s back buried in ten inches of brick.

And it was all her fault. Because she couldn’t say no. She couldn’t say No, don’t go into the portal. She couldn’t say No, it’s okay. You don’t have to prove anything to me. No, she’d taken one look at those big blue eyes, that mess of black hair, the suit he’d slipped on, highlighting his narrow waist and lean arms. The curve of his back. Of course she wouldn’t tell him no.

And he’d died because of it.

He died a little more every day because of it.

It had taken Sam a few moments of convincing, but she managed to seat Danny at her vanity and powder his face to cover the worst of the bruising.

He fluttered his eyes shut so she didn’t get any powder stuck in them, and she occupied herself with blending over the purple and black blossom around his eye. She tried not to think of his hair, tickling her cheek, or of his cold breath on her hand. Just a brush and powder and a fresh bruise that, if she pressed too quickly, caused him to wince with phantom pain.

***

She didn’t notice she’d been lingering next to the punch table, her cup empty in her hand, her eyes focused on a spot just next to the DJ’s table on the dance floor.

“Sam?”

She looked up to see Danny standing next to her, his eyes glowing like will-o-the-wisps waiting to lure her away. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said.

His eyes searched her face. Sam wondered what he found there. Anger? Sadness? That oh-so carefully practiced apathy?

“Paulina and the others are actually talking to me. Me,” he said. “Not Phantom. Fenton.”

Sam tried to appear happy at the news, but she’d known that would be what happened. She chewed her bottom lip, no longer caring about the sharp fangs still glued in her mouth.

“I mean, all they want to talk about is my parents’ gear and my costume, but still.” When he stepped closer, a chill fell over Sam and she shivered. It was as if she had decided to step into a bucket of ice water. “They actually seem interested.”

The way his voice swooped up with hope. It was enough to make Sam regret coming, regret hearing that joy in Danny’s voice and know it wasn’t because of her. Sure, she was happy for him. Being accepted is all he ever wanted, Phantom and Fenton. He was obsessed with saving people, protecting people. Being loved.

She wondered if he knew.

“I know,” he said.

Sam froze. About how she felt? She wasn’t sure she knew how she felt. She just knew that guilt that followed her wherever she went, that feeling of walking on ice every time she felt Danny near her. The way the chill traveled up her spine and froze the bones under her skin. And when he touched her...a wayward brush, an intentional hold on her wrist, a thoughtless clasp of her hand...it shattered her. Broke her into a million pieces inside. Thin ice under a heavy weight—gone.

And yet, in amongst those pieces lay a stronger, scarier feeling. The feeling of the life she’d nearly destroyed, the life fighting through the death, the patient blue of his eyes. The slight pout lingering behind every smile. His spidery fingers. His birdlike bone structure.

She had been the death of him.

She wished he’d return the favor.

“I know they’re only going to like me for tonight.”

Oh.

Oh.

Right. Of course. The popular kids. The costumes. The party.

“Well you know you’ve always got me,” she said. After a moment, she added, “And Tuck.”

There it was. That sad, shy smile. “I know.”

“I know you do.”

“The fangs,” he said, glancing toward her mouth. “When did you put those in?”

“Put them in? I’ve always had them.” She tried to lift her voice, dangle it on a thread of humor. She failed.

“I mean,” Danny said, “I guess Gothika, Vampire Queen, wouldn’t be a very good vampire without fangs.”

“You remember Gothika?” She hadn’t talked about her in weeks, and she never believed Danny had really been listening to her.

“I remember,” he said. He looked up at the popular kids, who were clustered on the dance floor, not dancing, just talking. Taking selfies. Checking their friends’ profiles. Even Tucker was out there, Sam noticed, trying to talk to a very harassed-looking Valerie.

“I invited you tonight,” he said.

“Yeah?” Sam knew she was the only person at Casper High to not get an invite from Paulina. It stopped bothering her well over a year ago.

Danny turned and looked at her mouth again. “Stop chewing on your lips,” he said. “You’re going to put a hole through them.”

She tucked her fangs inside her mouth, licking her teeth along them, tasting the sour glue holding them in place. “Nervous habit.”

They shared a silence for a moment, Danny’s eyes flicking away from her face, looking up to the candles above their heads. Sam watched the light bounce around his features, casting his eyes and the hollows of his cheeks into shadow. Be more fun with you there.

She forced her eyes away before he caught her staring.

“I’d love to dance,” he said, answering her unasked question. He turned and gave her his sad half-smile.

“With me?”

“With you.”

He took her hand, and she shattered at the touch.

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 10: Exorcism - Mimicry

Ghosts aren’t that different from demons. And Danny’s got no problem fucking with a priest.

Danny’s sitting, curling his ghostly tail around, on a rooftop building when he spots him. He shows up in an arguably insanely pompous Mustang, the kind with wood side panelling. Danny tilts his head as he watches the car park, at least whoever wasn’t enough of a stick-up-the-ass to double park. The guy stepping out in head to toe black, nearly looking like he’s wearing a dress. At first, Danny figured it was some goth, but sticking his head invisibly through the hotel lobby ceiling -curious about this stranger in his town, his lair- the guy spoke like his car looked; professional but egotistical. Spotting the little white on the guys neck only makes Danny internally groan. Priests. Well, technically only one but still. Though he is a little curious, there had never been one of their types here before. Probably thought ghosts were demons or something.

For whatever reason the guy seems to intimidate Jamey the receptionist, watching as she’s clearly trying to get the guy away from her and is trying not to touch the guy. Which only seems to make priest dude suspicious, intentionally grabbing and holding onto her hand and looking like he’s searching her eyes. Danny floats down closer, invisible of course, at this, in case this guy is legit dangerous and tries to attack her or something.

Thankfully, he lets go and heads to his room with a smile. Jamey shaking herself off after a bit. Danny hangs around the lobby for a bit to make sure she’s fine and priest guy doesn’t come back.

Danny sniffs out the guys' room and promptly puts a SpookSpot, a camera that looks like a little black ghost sticker, to watch priest guys door. And heads back to proper patrolling and enjoying the late afternoon sky.

Two day’s later Danny’s pretty well forgotten about the guy. He just seems to be wandering the town, muttering to himself, and nodding at things. The only real beef Danny had with the guy was that he was creeping people out.

But apparently, the guy was just patient, or spent a lot of time plotting. As Danny comes upon him doing...something? to the Box Ghost of all ghosts. He was seemingly chanting and making erratic hand motions. While the Box Ghost just looks really confused. Eventually, the Box Ghost, seeing a lost cause, shouts, “BEWARE!!!”, and promptly flies off.

The priest looks pleased with himself for whatever reason.

The next day Danny groans at spotting the priest, with a visitors badge, wandering the halls of Casper high, hands clasped behind his back and occasionally nodding at things.

Tucker pokes Danny, “you know, your folks aren’t the weirdest people here anymore”.

Danny sighs, “yeah, guy’s super weird. I think he tried to exorcise Boxy. It was...really sad. Boxy took pity on him”.

Tucker snorts, “that is pretty sad”.

Danny’s ghost sense goes off just as they start heading to class. Danny sighs dramatically, “so much for first period”, Tucker pats him on the back as well slinks off. Never noticing the ever so slightly wide-eyed priest watching.

Danny gets up with a yawn in the morning, struggling into a sweater and ruffling up his hair before heading down for breakfast.

Danny looks around the table, slightly caught off guard. The priest guy, who Danny has figured out was named Jospeh which honestly was a stereotypical as Hell name, is just sitting at the table; letting Jack and Maddie talk ghost at him with a pleasant smile, though it felt rather fake.

Danny shrugs loosely, and goes to make his cereal, “mornin’”.

Maddie smiles, “morning sweetie. This fine man was curious about the ghosts in town, so Jack decided he could stay for tea”, looking to Jospeh, “you’re named Jospeh you said right?”.

“It is”.

Danny sits down with his bowl, nodding at the guy, “mine’s Danny. And if you wanna talk ghosts then yeah, this is the house to do it in”, Danny decides to fuck with the guy a little, “who knows, maybe my dad’ll pull out the portal photo album”.

Jack grins wide, “yes! We should!”, springing up and rushing off.

Jospeh squints ever so slightly at Danny and turns to face him more, “portal?”.

Danny leans back and puts his hands behind his head nonchalantly, “yup, ghosties come and go through it sometimes. Dad fishes trough it”, deciding to be the mild to colossal idiot that he is, “I've come and gone through it here and there”.

Maddie shakes her head, “I remember that time you stumbled out with a knife in your leg. Didn’t you trip in that time?”.

Danny chuckles, ignoring the priests staring, “yup. Dad left some stuff on the floor and you know how clumsy I am”. Maddie giggles at that before going back to drinking her coffee.

Jospeh stares at him a bit before Jack returns with the aforementioned photo album and Jospeh changes to staring at that.

Danny chuckles and fills up a large thermos with coffee and promptly leaves. Only walking for a ways before slinking into an alley, turning invisible and intangible, then going back to the house.

Danny tilts his head Jospeh seemingly convincing his parents to go out hunting extra long and letting Jospeh help house sit so that he can ‘get a feel for ghosts’. His folks were way too easy to trick sometimes. If Danny’s stuck with this stuck up religious nut then he’s gonna mess around, moving closer to make creepy breathing sounds and blow air at the guy; who shivers from the cold temperature, before looking around for the source. Danny facepalms as Jospeh subtly throws salt out in one direction, clearly thinking there’s a ‘demon’ there. Danny absolutely was going to torment this poor prick. He was creeping all his humans out, would probably grow bold enough to interrupt fights, and he was a pompous twat. The last was honestly reason enough.

Danny comes home that night and as soon as he closes the door, Jospeh is staring at him. Danny waves at him, “sup priest boy”, pointing at the guy, “you know you’re creeping out pretty well the whole town? What’s your issue?”.

“Am I now”.

“Yup”.

Joshep squints but takes a sip of tea, “good. The Fenton parents seem to be the only not under demonic influence in this infested town”, Jospeh slowly walks closer to Danny, “but of course you already know that, don’t you demon”.

Danny makes a show of looking overly offended, “me? Some powerful being from another dimension? Why I never”.

“Hell is hardly another dimension, beast”.

Danny chuckles, “well look at you, able to come up with not one but two insulting names to spit like venom”.

Joseph walks closer and pushes a large silver cross into Danny’s chest, “that’s enough from you. Give it up and release the boy who’s body you’ve stolen and this town. You should have known your time was numbered as soon as you saw me”.

Danny rolls his eyes, utterly unaffected, “of a pompous twat who’s so greatly out of his depth? Hardly”

Joshep pushes the cross in hard and glares, “you're using protections, Foul thing. No matter, there’s seals everywhere, you’re trapped”.

Danny chuckles and makes it sound a bit threatening, “sure, whatever you say buddy”. Pushing past the guy to fetch himself some coffee. Pouring it but giving Joshep dramatic side-eye as the guy starts chanting at him.

“Princeps gloriosissime caelestis militiae, sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio et colluctatione, quae nobis adversus principes et potestates, adversus mundi rectores tenebrarum harum, contra spiritualia nequitiae, in caelestibus“. Danny watching as the guy flips a coin with a cross hollowed out of it and clutches at rosary beads. This guy really was going there wasn’t he? Danny chuckles and smirks, fine, Danny will give this weirdo a damn show.

Joseph continues his chant prayer, “Veni in auxilium hominum, quos Deus creavit inexterminabiles, et ad imaginem similitudinis suae fecit, et a tyrannide diaboli emit pretio magno“.

He holds up and waves around the rosary, making sure the light glints off it. While Danny starts pretending to be in agony but like he’s trying not to show it. As Joshep continues, “Proeliare hodie cum beatorum Angelorum exercitu proelia Domini, sicut pugnasti contra ducem superbiae Luciferum, et angelos eius apostaticos: et non valuerunt, neque locus inventus est eorum amplius in coelo. Sed proiectus est draco ille magnus, serpens antiquus, qui vocatur diabolus et satanas, qui seducit universum orbem; et proiectus est in terram, et angeli eius cum illo missi sunt“.

Danny’s just letting out his fangs and ears at this point, curled up on the ground and pretending to be pissed off at the priest. Who only narrows his eyes with resolute determination, “En antiquus inimicus et homicida vehementer erectus est. Transfiguratus in angelum lucis, cum tota malignorum spirituum caterva late circuit et invadit terram, ut in ea deleat nomen Dei et Christi eius, animasque ad aeternae gloriae coronam destinatas furetur, mactet ac perdat in sempiternum interitum“.

Joshep splashes a container of holy water over Danny, who has to try really hard to not laugh and break character, “Virus nequitiae suae, tamquam flumen immundissimum, draco maleficus transfundit in homines depravatos mente et corruptos corde; spiritum mendacii, impietatis et blasphemiae; halitumque mortiferum luxuriae, vitiorum omnium et iniquitatum“.

Joshep starts aggressively pointing the cross at Danny, “Ecclesiam, Agni immaculati sponsam, faverrimi hostes repleverunt amaritudinibus, inebriarunt absinthio; ad omnia desiderabilia eius impias miserunt manus“.

Danny makes a show off grabbing the guys ankle and letting Joshep shake him off. Though taking amusement in the ever so slight startled waver in his voice, “Ubi sedes beatissimi Petri et Cathedra veritatis ad lucem gentium constituta est, ibi thronum posuerunt abominationis et impietatis suae; ut percusso Pastore, et gregem disperdere valeant“.

Danny starts abortedly duplicating, only letting the duplicate start forming or splitting for seconds before snapping them back. Joshep near bellowing now, “Adesto itaque, Dux invictissime, populo Dei contra irrumpentes spirituales nequitias, et fac victoriam“.

Danny once again has to resist laugh as the guy throws salt at him again, “Te custodem et patronum sancta veneratur Ecclesia; te gloriatur defensore adversus terrestrium et infernorum nefarias potestates; tibi tradidit Dominus animas redemptorum in superna felicitate locandas“.

Danny lets a duplicate form halfway but seemingly attempting to snap back ‘into’ Danny. Catching the slight smile on the priests face, “Deprecare Deum pacis, ut conterat satanam sub pedibus nostris, ne ultra valeat captivos tenere homines, et Ecclesiae nocere“.

Danny lets the duplicate fly out of him and slam into the back wall, letting his originally body collapse and pretend to be unconscious. While Joshep stalks after the duplicate, waving the cross and slashing holy water, “Offer nostras preces in conspectu Altissimi, ut cito anticipent nos misericordiae Domini, et apprehendas draconem, serpentem antiquum, qui est diabolus et satanas, ac ligatum mittas in abyssum, ut non seducat amplius gentes“.

Joshep grins wide at the duplicate, pushing the cross into his face, “I cast away any devout dismay, that child in these Christ blessed arms of mine shall never fall at the hands of hellish beasts”.

The duplicate chuckles into the cross, “he’s mine old man”.

Joshep grits his teeth, “you shall evade the one of holy youth, the blessed one of creators uncorrupted, malevolent apparition. Vade retro Satana”.

The duplicate smirks, “ah so foolish, you think you’re some great knowing thing. How much longer till your facade breaks down?”.

“Truth and God shall never waver Beast”.

Original Danny gets up and stretches. Walking over and tapping on Joshep’s shoulder, “if I may turn you away from this rather pathetic display. This child was never one to fall. And I’m only in my own hands”.

The duplicate sits up and pretty well pushes over Joshep. The duplicate roles his eyes, “dude come one. There ain’t no demons here. And do you really think shit like salt and water is going to work on a being bound to eternity?”. The duplicate simply dissipates in the air while Joshep stands up and whirls around to see Danny just standing there and picking at his nails.

Danny pats him on the shoulder, “that was fun, good acting lessons on my part. Anyway, you got that whole need to exorcise out of you system?”.

Joshep sputters, “w-what are you?”.

Danny, deciding to be a dick and really freak this guy out, let’s his transformation ring form around his forehead like a halo for a split second and makes his eyes glow icy blue.

Joshep goes slightly wide-eyed but composes himself quickly. It’s obvious he now thinks Danny’s an angel as he dips his head slightly, “Dânêl. Concede nos famulos tuos, tu pro nobis intercedere dignentur in solio mixtum commiscere divinae miserationis in praesentem necessitatem, quod tu vis quemadmodum nuntiare Mariae in mysterio incarnationis Christi, ut per tua suffragia et patrocinia sentiamus in caelis perpetuae capiamus beneficia eiusdem, et laudem Dei usque in aeternum cantabo in terra viventium“.

Danny holds his hands up and waves the guy off, “you’re freaking my humans out. Stop that. This place is in good hands”, smirking slightly, “as for the shit that just happened. I’m a trickster”.

Danny walks up and pats the guys shoulder with a chuckle, “there are so many things in this world that you’ll never understand. Do not fall to the faults of assuming you know what you do not. Nor that the truths you know are all there is to know. There are no demons here”.

Joshep looks into Danny’s eyes, seeing nothing but fierce protectiveness, twinkling of amusement, and soft kindness. “Then what be they, should you bless me with that knowledge? Could it be that this is why I am here?”.

Danny chuckles and walks to look out the window. Snickering at the seals, “in all the forms of existences there’s bound to be a few you’ve never seen, you could try to achieve it. Become one of the beings of the Infinite Realms. But most of them can never leave or it will be a long time. So I don’t really recommend”, turning to look at Joshep before Danny gestures out the window, “most of them were once living mortals. Some were not. Souls unable to move on granted powering and purpose. Some protect and guide, watching over mortals or time itself. Others try to keep order and punish those who miss-use their power. Others do what you see here in Amity. Scare. Goof around. There are very few who are what you may call evil”.

Joshep walks up next to Danny, and looks out, jerking as all the seals burn away win blue flames. Side-eyeing the chuckling Danny, “you are a well humoured one”.

Danny smirks, “very much so”, nodding his head at the window, “the ones who are dead’s. They all died in brutal fashion. So horrid that existence itself decided they deserved another chance to live free and strong. Make no mistake priest. I protect them as well”. Danny makes his eyes blue and the frost creep across the window to make his point clear.

Joshep nods and dips his head, “but of course. I did not expect my wrongs and I have much to ponder. To none will I bring hassle nor harm”.

Danny chuckles, “good. I will continue keeping an eye on you regardless”.

Joshep blinks but nods with a small smile. And while this was highly enlightening and a blessing, he had zero intentional of imposing on or hanging around an Angel. Angel’s often said ‘be not afraid’ for a reason, they were not truly pleasant creatures and this one had firmly pretended to be a demon and be in agony. So Joshep bows with clasped hands, “blessed you”, before heading out the door.

Danny chuckles, “oh I’m very blessed indeed”.  

End.

[howdoib]

Ectober Day 1: Shatter

This is a day late. Gonna have some misgendering, angst, and a bit of pain here; read at your own risk. I'm sorry humans.

Math class was boring. Obviously it was nice that he could get halfway through the class without being pulled away but what did it matter if everything seemed to be in a code he never had a chance to learn. This is ok he asserted, his jaw set solid, I have a teacher here to help me. His hand darted through the air, pushing past his own hesitance and reaching for the skies. 

And the teacher paused. She sighed.

"No Danny, you may not go to the restroom." Her tired voice heavy laden with surrender as she turned back to writing notes on the board. 

Danny's mouth opened, silently writhing in contrition and his hand slowly plummeted back down to earth. That's not the right response! A couple of kids laughed, turning to chatter slightly. His mouth closed. No! I want to, I need to be able to do this.

"Actually miss," Absently his hand rubbed his neck, "I was wondering if you could explain this?"

"I explained them yesterday. The day you missed." Her voice quivering with irritation, "Maybe if you showed up to class you wouldn't be so confused."

The class erupted into oohs and chuckles as she turned yet again to the board. Danny slumped further in his chair. This doesn't make any sense tough! I can't- I can't do this. They won't help me. His shoulders squared again.

"I'm glad you taught it yesterday," he shot back, his voice only slightly quavering "But I was hoping I could learn what it meant today?"

She started laughing, her face twisting slightly. "No I don't think you will. I really don't. You're never even here, you've breached the point where coming to school is even worth it. I'm not going to stall an entire lesson just because you like skipping class."

Once more the class exploded in on itself. Everyone was laughing, joking, chattering back and forth. Danny's heart skipped a beat abd his mouth opened again. This isn't a fight; she's on my side. Yet it didn't feel like it. It didn't feel like it at all. His shoulders sagged downwards and his head bowed down towards the desk. He could feel eyes focusing on him. Everything felt like it was imploding, the air biting him and his own body crushing his heart, his lungs. Why am I even here? Shivers breached his spine and a ghostly plume breached his mouth. 

He raised his hand again.

In the most defeated voice she replied. "What Danny."

His voice shook. "May I go to the restroom?"

"If you leave I'm calling security." Without even turning from the board.

His legs slowly slid around and he stood up, bag in hand. Giggles bred themselves into gossip as he walked silently to the front. The teacher didn't even turn. And, his throat bobbing and choking, he marched out the door. 

He stood there in the silent halls for a moment feet heavy and oh-so light in their numbness. Until without feeling, he made his way to the restroom to change. The halls were so quiet and empty feeling with only the occasional lonely student or patrolling teacher. 

"Where do you think you're going?" 

The chill of the halls became a burning inferno.

"To the bathroom." He said.

Without even turning he already knew it was George, the oldest and by far most lenient and friendly security guard. Danny heard him sigh. George was surely very disappointed; after all, everyone has their limits. Please just let me get past just this once. Just once. 

George sighed. "You and I both know that's not what's happening here kid." Danny didn't need to turn to see the reluctance in his face.

"Why don't we head up to the security office and talk about it?" 

Danny really really truly did not want that at all. What he wanted was to fight this ghost as fast as he could and not miss another class. To finally get everything under control. But he turned anyways; the old guard's face looked grieved, like he was hoping that this kid would take this treasured olive branch. Like this was his last chance on a chain of many before.

"Ok." 

George turned away, no longer facing him, beckoning for Danny to follow. His sense went off again, more insistent. His ears twitched at sounds just barely in range of hearing. It sounded like screams. George wasn't looking. He had to do this. Someone could be hurt. With his heart twisting in his chest and his stomach weighed down with rocks he let himself fade away.

The sky was clear and cold when he broke through the building. It bit his face. His head head felt on fire. Someone was in danger he had to-has to help. Sharp dust hit his face and stray wind streamed through his nose as he dove forward. 

His ears pounded and head burned. Green. There was green! He slid to a halt. It was Spectra. Fuck. This is just fucking fantastic.

"Spectra!" His voice rose a sarcastic octave- hand reaching to his mouth in fake shock "How are you??! Oh My God have I missed you."

Sharp claws thunked behind him.

"Wow it looks like you missed me too." The witty tone cracked halfway through and his eyes didn't quite crinkle as he smiled; he locked eyes with Spectra- daring her to point it out.

That was a mistake. He was slammed against the pavement as Bertrand with his black tail lashing pounced him. A claw went through his wrist. It burned.

"... Bertrand…" he gritted out "I guess everyone does want to be a cat."

There was no reaction.

"... Pickin up on that feline craze…?"

His voice seemed too high. "Cause a cat's the o-"

He gasped out. His side was bleeding.

"Ah yes, very witty remarks. I wonder if you feel quite so strong as you seem. " Spectra purred. Her rasping voice taunted his ears, her shadowy form curling about like a cloud of biting acid.

He felt his lip tremble. The pit in his stomach seemed deeper. I can't let her- She'll know. She always has. I just- What beat her through your obviously superior skill? Run away? Invisible and untouchable? I just-

"A cat got your tongue? No sharp retort?" Her voice lowed "I would've thought you'd fight harder-"

"... Technically a cat doesn't have my tongue.." Danny gasped out. Chest heaving and arms straining as he squirmed to get away from Bertrand.

"Perhaps that could be arranged. Where would you be after that little ghost child? Pray tell just what good are you then? A silent hero?" She cooed, "The town's great protector?" Her grin widened, laughing, mocking, "You can't even protect yourself."

"I can!" His voice shot back desperately.

"Really?" She tutted. "Do it now!?" Her eyes wide in false amazement. 

Danny struggled against the claws. His stomach spun. The air was choking him. They were laughing.

He opened his mouth. He didn't have anything to say. The pit in his stomach twisted. His eyes were stinging. No she's- She was right. There's no proof of that. Isn't there? Right now. No, jaw clenching and teeth grinding, people needed him.

His arms strained once more against Bertrand. The claw sunk deeper. Everything froze. 

"I was wondering," her voice set in mockong curiosity, "How exactly this heroing thing has turned out for you. Have people managed to forgive your…" her eyes glanced across him, nose wrinkling in disgust "... Flaws."

His face froze. "I don't know what your talking about."

"Oh of course, of course," dramatically swooping her voice, her laughing voice. "What flaws could you possibly have?"

Danny felt his gut drop. She knows. His stomach twisted tighter. Arms shook. I-

"Is it that you're not a boy? Not a ghost either. Certainly oh certainly not a boy. "Isn't that right Desmonda?" She gasped, drawing her hand to her mouth.

Then pit in his stomach shattered. His breathe drew clear again. Air rushed past his nose. He was laughing now.

"You.." Turning intangible he pushed himself through the pavement, beneath and away from the sharpened claws, "Didn't even get my deadname right!"

And with that he brought up the thermos, silencing her and Bertrand for about… Well, however long until he emptied the thermos. Maybe I should just leave them there forever. 

He flew back to the school. The security guard would be mad, he knew. There was another detention in his future. Tomorrow he might secure his binder too tight and just maybe cry in the mirror. But for now. The lunch bell had just rang and He needed to tell Tucker and Sam about how Spectra said the dumbest shit ever. The next? It could wait. Just for a bit.

[q-gorgeous]

Shattered

fanfiction

DUAL PROMPT

The wind was howling through the trees in the dense forest. Rain fell from the clouds, soaking the grass below. There was no trace of the moon in the sky, sending the woods into a deep blackness.

A figure ran through the trees, breath coming from their chest rapidly as tears streamed down their face. Their foot caught on a hidden tree root and they were sent toppling to the ground. Lightning struck, followed by a clap of thunder, and lit up the muddy figure lying on the ground among the leaves. 

Dash Baxter lay on the ground, his hand clenched into a fist as it rose up and down to repeatedly hit the squishy dirt. 

He’d messed up. He’d messed up real bad. 

They had to go on this school camping trip and Dash had thought, what better time to confess his feelings? He’d been trying to follow Kwan’s advice, had apologized to Danny a couple weeks ago. They weren’t friends or anything but they got along a little better now. 

But Dash had pulled Danny aside as everyone else was heading to their tents. He told Danny and as the other boy’s eyes widened and he shuffled on his feet, Dash’s heart fell. 

He hadn’t seemed to be disgusted by the idea but he began to spout off all these reasons why it wouldn’t work. It’s not the right time. He has too much going on. 

Dash had stared past Danny’s shoulder, horror filling his stomach. He knew and Danny didn’t feel the same way. What if he told someone? There was no doubt he’d tell his two best friends. What if they told someone else? What if word spread around so much it got back to his dad?

At that thought, Dash had taken off into the trees, the rain just starting. He ignored Danny’s yell. He just kept running through the darkness. 

Laying on the ground, he began to make his way to his hands and knees. Another sob wracked his body and he laid his forehead against the mud as he angrily hit the ground, heart shattered. 

“Dash!”

His head jolted up and whipped around as he heard the call of his name. Scrawny little Danny Fenton had followed him into the pitch black forest. 

Dash tried to quiet his sobs, hoping Danny wouldn’t hear him and would turn back. He didn’t know when he’d be able to face the other boy. 

“Dash! I know you’re out here! We need to get back to camp! It’s not safe!”

He scoffed. What did Fenton care if he was safe or not?

Footsteps sounded a ways to Dash’s left, leaves crunching as Danny drew closer. 

“Dash, where are-”

Lightning lit up the forest once again, Dash and Danny’s gazes met in the split second of light.

“Dash, stay there. I’m coming to get you.” Danny’s footsteps started moving confidently towards him in the dark. 

“No. Leave me alone.” Dash grumbled.

“Dash we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm. I’m not leaving you out-”

Another crack of lightning flashed in the air, followed by a horrible cracking sound. One of the trees behind Dash began to creak and he felt everything slow as it started falling. 

Just before the tree squashed him, Dash was barreled out of the way. He rolled and flipped over a few times before he stopped. Raising his head, he looked up to glance at where the tree was laying. Where he’d been a moment ago. 

A groan sounded to his right. Danny.

“What the hell, man?!” Dash shouted. “You could’ve been killed!”

Danny scoffed. “Well you would have been killed. You’re welcome.”

Silence fell between them, Dash’s hands shaking. Another sob forced its way from Dash’s throat and he heard Danny sigh before a hand was gently placed on his shoulder. 

“Let’s get back to camp.”

Dash heard Danny stand and a hand met his arm, helping to pull him up. Together, they trudged back to camp to be met with an upset Lancer.

Danny’s tight grip never left the whole way back.

[logicalghost]

ECTOBER2019: DAY ONE- “WHAT IF?”

[tsubaki94]

17. Witching hour

I'm trying to make them all still, making them simpler, smaller with less things happening.

[enigmaris]

Ectober Day 4! Prompt: Artifact/ Nursery Rhyme

Prequel to Wrong Number Danny woke up late one morning to find three ghosts in his closet with an offer he couldn't refuse. Even if he didn't look at the fine print too closely.

[clarinetily]

Tarot

Hi! My story for today’s Ectober prompt. Hope you enjoy!

~clarinetily

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny was curious. He had heard of tarot cards before, even played with some before the accident, but he didn’t know how they would work on a dead guy. So he asked Sam and Tucker to try using some on him.

Ha was disappointed. They were normal cards. Nothing weird about them. No death omens. Nothing that reacted to his ghostliness,

That is, until a few days later.

He decided to try again, but this time he was already transformed. He had just finished a fight with Ember, and when he mentioned the tarot cards non-weirdness to his friends yet again, they started complaining and saying that he should just try it again and see if he got different results.

So that’s why all three of them were sitting around a deck of tarot cards. Danny was sitting across from Sam with Tucker at his side as they waited impatiently for Sam to finish readying the deck, with some help from Danny as needed.

“Come on, Sam, it’s not that hard.” Tucker whined as he waited for Sam to start. He was hungry, and Danny wouldn’t let him go downstairs to get a snack lest he miss something important.

Sam finally finished with the deck and set them in front of Danny. “Okay, Danny. I want you to pick the three cards that draw you in the most.”

Danny closed his eyes and drew his cards. He kept them closed until he heard Tucker whistle in surprise. “Dude, you’re gonna wanna take a look at this.

Danny opened his eyes and in front of him sat three death cards.

Then he scooped them up, tossed them in their box, closed the box, and threw it out the window. He was so not dealing with this today.

[wastefulreverie]

Ectober19 Nursery Rhyme

700 Follower gift fic for @lexosaurus! Enjoy dude!

Up Above the World So High

Genre: Angst/Horror

Word Count: 4960

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky…”

To the specimen’s obvious elation, his cheeks glimmered brilliantly with the mark of constellations. In this state, he was docile. Slower. Almost childlike in nature. He would pester the scientists, eagerly asking what they were going to do to him next. Like he wanted to be experimented on. His space obsession was fueled by wonder—as long as they played along, he was easily contained. His admiration of the stars provided them with a plethora of data.

His other obsession… wasn’t as passive. In his hero-mode, Phantom was more skittish, defensive, and cocky. Especially cocky. Unlike his space-mode, he struggled against the scientists and threatened to escape (as if he could). His defiance was a liability and made it difficult to conduct experiments. And he was always insisting that Amity Park—the nearest town—needed protecting and that he was the sole force between that town and oblivion. He just never stopped.

The scientists were trying to devise how to eliminate his hero-obsession, but they were at a loss. Phantom was the first ghost they’d observed with dual-obsessions, so this was completely new territory. They figured that they needed to slowly break down his hero-obsession by employing psychological tactics. Simultaneously, they would reward his space-obsession with subtle encouragement and mental stimuli. They couldn’t predict the result, but it was worth a shot.

“Twinkle, twinkle…” Agent Foxtrot traced a finger across Phantom’s cheeks. “Someone’s shining bright today, aren’t we?”

Phantom gasped. “I am? That means it’s a new moon! The stars always look brightest under a new moon! So mine do too!”

“And so your face… just does whatever the sky does, space freak?” Agent Kilo jabbed.

“Yeah-huh! Except my face doesn’t have clouds. Or birds. It only has astronomical bodies on it, not Earth sky stuff. That’d look really funny. Like you,” he laughed. “You look silly with that mask on.”

“It’s so we don’t breathe in any of the chemicals we’re testing on you today,” Agent Foxtrot explained. “Safety precaution.”

“Oh… okay. What are you doing, then?”

“Testing your reaction to different mixtures. Some have anti-ghost components, others are just regular toxic chemicals.”

Phantom tensed against the lab table. “So this is another one of the hurting tests?”

“Yep.”

Phantom’s face flickered. For a moment the stars blinked from his face before reappearing. “I—I don’t wanna—”

“Shhh,” Agent Foxtrot soothed. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are… Everything’s going to be alright. Just breathe.”

They couldn’t let his hero mode take over for this experiment. His obsessions were in equilibrium, fighting for dominance. His defensive side was trying to protect himself, to combat the pain. However, his space mode was still holding on. The speckled stars across his faces weren’t completely diminished.

“The stars,” Agent Sierra said. “Remember the stars? The ones you were talking about yesterday?”

Phantom blinked. His freckles stabilized and his hero side remained secured. “Oh yeah! Did you know that some stars have rain sometimes? Not like our rain, it’s plasma rain so it’s lethal and stuff, but it’s still rain!”

They all collectively sighed in relief.

“Inject the first chemical,” Agent Foxtrot instructed.

Agent Kilo held Phantom’s arm down with one hand and held the syringe with the other. He steadily inserted the needle into the specimen’s vein and introduced the chemical. The results were almost immediate.

Phantom’s eyes dulled with pain and raw agony slid across his face. The site of the injection quickly became inflamed and visible welts graced his skin. He choked out an anguished sob and pressed his fingers into the metal table. “Ma—make it stop—”

“Which chemical was this?” Agent Sierra asked.

“Blood blossom extract. We hypothesized that he’d be able to withstand it since he’s more resilient than most ghosts, but it turns out we were incorrect. This is interesting, though. Most ecto-entities completely break down into ectoplasm when they’re introduced to this… but he’s only reacting mildly.”

“Must be because of his organic composition. We need to look into that more and investigate why he’s fused with human matter.”

Phantom tried cradling himself, but his bondage prevented him from moving. “Ev—rythin’ burns.”

The scientists ignored him.

“Agent Bravo has a theory that he’s a hybrid. She claims that during her session, his midriff kept trying to morph into some kind of white material. That was right after he fried the laboratory camera, so there’s no evidence.”

Agent Kilo snorted. “That’s convenient. She’s always making up shit, I wouldn’t doubt she’s trying to jeopardize our team’s experiments.”

“I don’t know… some of her hypotheses have been correct in the past.”

“We’ll see, then.”

Suddenly, Phantom made a gurgling noise and started to retch. The scientists, although intrigued, moved back from the specimen.

“Is he… puking?”

“He is,” Agent Foxtrot marveled.

Since he was still strapped to the table, Phantom wasn’t able to aim his vomit anywhere but onto himself. It wasn’t unlike human vomit besides that it was green. Oh, and glowing. It drenched his entire torso and matted into his hair, which was already greasy and gray from weeks of captivity. Phantom coughed up even more bile and growled. “Fuck you guys.”

He’d slipped back into hero mode.

Goddamnit.

Agent Kilo wrinkled his nose. “Should we collect a sample?”

“Sure, but I’m not touching that stuff.”

“What were you asshats trying to accomplish anyway? Get me to throw up so I feel as nasty as you tell I am? Might’ve worked,” Phantom said darkly.

“Should we spray him down in the sanitation chamber? Because I don’t think we’re going to clean that off easily with only bleach wipes.”

“Good idea, Sierra.”

Phantom groaned. “Not that thing.”

The sanitation chamber sprayed its target with as much water pressure as a firehose. Phantom had only been in it once, but he didn’t speak for hours in either mode.

“Do you want to stay covered in your own sick, ghost? Because we can let that happen.”

He fell silent.

“Alright, Kilo collect the sample. Agent Foxtrot help me slide him onto the stretcher and set up the chamber,” Agent Sierra directed.

The scientists obliged and Phantom held his tongue, not dumb enough to risk the shallow kindness of his captors.

The ferocious torrent of the sanitation chamber didn’t help the welts from the experiment. After a few hours, the welts grew into a rash and the scientists dragged Phantom into temporary hospice. Their favorite specimen had to be in good health, after all. They couldn’t let his poor condition skew their data.

“Don’t you guys just want me to suffer? Why are you doing this?” Phantom asked. “You’re not trying to bribe into forgetting that I’m your lab rat, right? Well, I’m never going to forget why I’m here. That you fucking ripped me from my town that’s probably in shambles by now. And all the people that I love… I just want my life back.”

Agent X-Ray resumed rubbing ointment onto Phantom’s rash. He hissed at the contact but didn’t swat the scientist away.

To Phantom’s left, Agent Quebec was working on his tablet, making a few revisions for their next experiment. Quebec looked up from his device and met Phantom’s gaze. “Do you really think anyone noticed that you’ve even left?” he asked innocently.

The ghost’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Just a question,” Agent Quebec shrugged. “Do you think anyone has noticed?”

“Of—of course. I’m their hero.”

“I guess you are. Since you’ve disappeared, nobody in your precious town has been attacked. You’re protecting them by not being there. If that’s what you call a hero, ghost.”

“I don’t understand,” he whispered.

“I guess a creature like you wouldn’t understand the matters of human affairs. Typical.”

“No, I—nobody’s been attacked? Are you sure?” His voice was longing, desperate. “I’m supposed to protect them.”

Agent Quebec kept his glare cold and stern. “They don’t need you. It appears they never did.”

Everything was still for a moment. Agent X-Ray stopped smearing ointment onto Phantom’s rash and Agent Quebec froze in anticipation. They couldn’t place it, but something in Phantom’s eyes died.

In a matter of seconds, stars splashed across Phantom’s face. His freckles pulsated constellations and his eyes sparkled with space dust. His hero mode had been too weak to sustain dominance, so his space mode had taken over.

Agent X-Ray dropped the tube of ointment.

“What just—”

“His space mode. His hero obsession was too weak, so it automatically took over. This is—” Agent Quebec ran a hand over his face “—this changes everything. Our theories were actually right!”

“What theories?” Phantom tilted his head. “I like theories. My favorite theory the theory that when matter in a black hole—which is really really dense—bounces back against the center of the black hole it’ll create a baby universe. Like, imagine a tiny universe inside a black hole! Isn’t that interesting? Some people even think we might be inside a black hole, but nobody can prove anything…”

“You have to tell the higher-ups about this,” Agent X-Ray said. “If we can really eliminate his obsession, then—”

“I know.”

“Phantom will be reduced to a cute, little, babbling space ghost.”

Agent Quebec raised a brow. “Cute?”

“Come on man, those freckles are adorable.”

“Whatever you say.”

He turned back to his tablet and left Agent X-Ray to finish things with Phantom.

“I’ve heard our little star is all healed up,” Agent Foxtrot greeted playfully.

Phantom’s eyes darted around the room. He was strapped to the table again, so he didn’t have a good visage of Agent Foxtrot or the other scientists. He was also still in space mode and hadn’t switched back since his time in hospice—some wounds took longer to heal.

“Yeah,” Phantom chirped. “They managed to get the rash thing to go away.”

“Good. Because we need you to do something very important today.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re taking samples of your tissue from different parts of your body, so you need to stay very still. Some of these incisions have to be precise. Got it?”

His eyes dulled. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

The scientists prepared their tools, laying out everything on the metal tray inches from Phantom’s head. His eyes darted to the tray every time they placed another device on it, but he didn’t comment.

It was strange… his space mode was typically naive, but today he appeared lucid. He was assertive and brooding… like he was anticipating the pain that awaited him. This was how his hero mode behaved, but he wasn’t in his hero mode. Perhaps the trauma he’d experienced in his hero mode yesterday was preventing him from fully shifting? As a result, he was stuck in space mode with hero mode’s mentality.

At least that’s the conclusion that the scientists reached.

“We’re ready to make the first incision,” Agent Foxtrot announced.

Phantom stared straight up, locking his gaze onto the surgical light.

Agent Kilo drew the scalpel along the lines that Agent Sierra had marked along Phantom’s pectorals. The blade pulled the ghost’s flesh and Phantom bit his tongue to keep from crying out. Dark green oozed from the cut, spilling across his chest in rivets.

“Peculiar,” Agent Kilo remarked. “Ectoplasm typically isn’t this… runny. Or dark.”

Agent Sierra dug the scalpel deeper into the slice, trying to get a good piece of tissue of the sample. Phantom elicited a muffled scream and Agent Foxtrot shoved a nearby rag in his mouth. Finally, Agent Sierra managed to get a good chunk out of Phantom’s pecs and used the scalpel to loosen it. Agent Kilo collected the sample and carefully secured it in a sterile cooler.

Phantom heaved, sweat slicked against his skin. His face was a mess of bodily fluids… glowing saliva, snot, and tears smeared against his face. For a moment, the scientists didn’t even notice that the stars had slipped off his face and he’d reverted back into hero mode. He tried to speak, but the gag in his mouth only choked him. The scientists figured that was probably a good thing; they didn’t need another earful from him.

Agent Foxtrot grabbed another rag and wiped off the remaining ectoplasm on his chest.

“This is really runny,” she noted.

Agent Sierra furrowed his brow. “Do you think he hasn’t been fed enough? The viscosity of ectoplasm thins when a ghost is malnourished.”

“No. He drinks ectoplasm on the daily. I think this is just… him. Something’s weird with his composition.”

“Hopefully these tissue samples will illuminate why.”

“If they don’t, then we can always run more tests. Do you think the higher-ups will sign off on a dissection?”

“Oh! I’ve always wanted to do one of those.”

Phantom slammed his foot against the table.

“Knowing our luck, they’ll give it to Agent Bravo’s team.”

“God… that bitch always takes everything. Always stealing our glory,” Agent Kilo grumbled.

“Hey, we just have to push through. Sooner or later, we’ll reach some conclusive results! We’re lucky enough that we get to examine the most complex specimen in this institution.”

“Yeah… I guess. So should we start on the next sample?”

Though the gag, Phantom made a high-pitched whining noise. The scientists exchanged glances and began setting up for the next test.

“Why… am I here?” Phantom asked. He was sitting across from Agent Bravo in some kind of interrogation room. It was one of those rooms they have on police shows, with the double-sided glass. He was thoroughly strapped to his chair and fixed with an additional electrocution collar. They hadn’t had to use one of those on him in a while, but it was just for extra precaution.

“We need to have a chat. Well, more than one chat—starting today, you and I are going to have bi-weekly sessions.”

“Sessions?” he asked incredulously.

“Agent Quebec has recommended them. He has some ideas about how we can… expand your comfort.”

Phantom scoffed. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Quite.”

“But I’m your lab rat—you guys don’t give a damn about my feelings.”

“You’re our lab rat, yes. But it’s important to us that between your… tests… that you’re in prime condition.”

“Oh sure.”

“Your welfare affects our data, so this isn’t something we take lightly.”

“Fuck your data then. I never asked to be here. If it means screwing you out of the satisfaction, I’m perfectly content with being miserable!”

“Well, that’s just petty, isn’t it? Didn’t expect anything less… you only care about yourself. Well, and your precious town that hasn’t even noticed you’ve left.”

“Stop saying that… that’s a lie. They’ve had to notice I’ve been captured,” he growled. “I know there are people that care about me… I know.”

Agent Bravo’s smile curled. “Know… or believe? Everyone’s living their lives as normal—no thanks to you.”

“No, they aren’t! They—they can’t be! I’m the only thing keeping Amity from being destroyed! And then there’s Mo—” he shook his head. “What about the Fentons? They’ve had to have figured it out. Right?”

She shrugged. “At most, the Fentons are fending off small-fry ghosts that stayed behind when all your enemies left. Other than that, they’ve been occupied with other things. I doubt they’ve batted an eye in your direction.”

His eyes welled with tears. “But Jazz promised she'd…”

“Who?”

“No one.” He wiped at the tears rolling down his cheeks.

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “No one’s realized you’re gone. If they haven’t even noticed, what does that say about you? How important were you really to Amity Park? You’re better off here, where you’re actually useful.”

“But I was useful,” he cried. “I worked so hard… and I had to have made a difference. Didn’t I?”

“How many times are you going to make me say it? You didn’t make a damn difference. All you did was make the ghost problem worse by drawing your enemies into the town! Now that you’re gone, the only ghosts left are the weak ones. Let me get it through your thick—or shall I say thin, ectoplasmic skull! You’re the catalyst for all the disaster that ravaged Amity Park and now that you’re gone everyone is safe!”

At her words, Phantom stilled. His sobs started to dwindle and he locked eyes with the double-sided glass as if he could see the other side. Agent Bravo turned to see what he was looking at and almost missed his shift into space mode. Glittery freckles and star-speckled eyes emerged in the wake of Phantom’s tears.

Agent Bravo howled in delight. “Bingo.”

Phantom continued to meet with Agent Bravo over the next few weeks. Every time he’d go into the session, the scientists would ensure that he was in hero mode. She’d talk him down until finally, he reverted into his space mode. If he caught on, he didn’t say anything to his captors or Agent Bravo.

“He almost looks like he’s in mourning. Does that mean that this… ‘anti-therapy’ is working?” Agent Kilo approached Agent Quebec at lunch.

“Is that really the best thing you thought to call it?”

“What am I supposed to call it?” He crossed his arms.

“Not that.”

“Ugh. Whatever. It’s working, right?”

“Seems like it. He’s hardly spending any time in his hero mode unless we prompt him to change. If we keep this up, it looks like he’ll lose it for good!”

Agent Kilo frowned. “Are we sure that’s the best choice? I get that nobody likes his hero mode, but shouldn’t we study his dual-obsessions more before we destroy one?”

“If we study them now, that could jeopardize all of Agent Bravo’s progress. At this point, we can’t turn back. We can just study the next ghost with dual-obsessions. Sure, Phantom’s rare but I doubt he’s one of a kind.”

“Let’s hope not. That’d really suck.”

“Indeed.”

“Well, good talking to you Quebec. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Agent Quebec groaned. “Only if I’m unlucky.”

“Then it’s no question,” Agent Kilo laughed. “Buddy.”

He ducked out of Agent Quebec’s office, leaving him alone with his work.

“I want you to say it with me this time,” Agent Bravo instructed. “Amity Park is happy and safe without me.”

Phantom kept his head down on the table, arms curled around himself. Usually, he took much longer to break, which was a good sign. They were near the end; his hero obsession was finally giving out.

“A—Amity Park’s safe without me,” he mumbled.

“They’re not my town. My heroic efforts are futile.”

Phantom clenched his fists and released them.

“It’s not my town. My efforts are futile.”

Agent Bravo’s smile ripped across her face like a branch of lightning.

“The ghosts attacks were all my fault.”

“The attacks were all my fault.”

“Good. Very good.”

When Phantom finally lifted his head, he was in space mode. When he spoke, his voice was steady and soft.

“May I go to my cell now? I like the darkness.”

She nodded. “Agent Whiskey will escort you out.”

Right on cue, a tall, bullish man entered the interrogation room. He slammed his briefcase on the table between Phantom and Agent Bravo and clicked it open. He removed the inhibitors from the case and started fixing them on Phantom’s limbs. They were a mandatory precaution each time they moved Phantom around the facility—they couldn’t risk losing him in the hallways, the veins of the Guys in White.

“On your feet,” Agent Whiskey growled.

Phantom obliged, familiar with the weight of inhibitors dragging him down. Agent Whiskey pulled him by the arm and he parroted the man’s gait, step-for-step. Luckily, the interrogation room wasn’t too far from Phantom’s cell so they didn’t have to walk much. Agent Whiskey shoved Phantom into his cell, unclasped his inhibitors, and slammed the deadlock on the door. The ghost was left alone in the dark… with nothing but a creaky, metal bed.

“Finally,” he sighed.

He brought himself to his knees and crawled underneath his bed. He flattened himself out so that no part of his body was sticking out and let go of his transformation. In a flash of light, Phantom changed into Danny Fenton. He was worse for wear; bruised, battered, and broken in a million ways, but he was still alive. It was inevitable that the GIW would discover his duality, but he’d managed to hide it so far.

He’d learned early on that the cameras in his room couldn’t see anything in the dark. They weren’t night-vision cameras because his cell was supposed to have light in it, but they kept it turned off for him. However, the cameras could still pick up on the light from his transformation, so he had to hide underneath the bed so that they wouldn’t catch it.

It wasn’t too difficult, at least. He only had to transform back into human form once every few days. By those standards, his body was low-maintenance. He didn’t have to eat human food since the GIW was generous enough to give him ectoplasm. And since he wasn’t drinking water, he didn’t have to use the bathroom. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked.

Danny closed his eyes, basking in the darkness.

“Can’t I just… fly into space? Where the darkness never ends?” he whispered. “Dotted by millions of galaxies, light-years away? Can’t I just be where I want to be instead of here? Where they tear me apart, push me around. Instead of… back home with those ungrateful people. Who forgot about me, who never needed me.”

He unfolded his arm to wipe the tears rolling down his starry cheeks.

“Can’t I live among the stars, just me?”

The darkness didn’t respond.

“A toast!” Agent Quebec announced. “To Agent Bravo, Dr. Laishram, for successfully eradicating Specimen 403’s heroic driven obsession! She’s a visionary in her field of study and bound to make many more accomplishments in the future!”

The scientists raised their glasses and drank.

It’d been two weeks since Agent Bravo’s final session with Phantom and he hadn’t shifted into his hero mode once, despite harsh prompting. After a week, they’d determined that she’d done it; that she’d broken down his obsession once and for all. It was definitely a matter of celebration, so they threw an office party in the facility’s lobby.

“I don’t deserve all the credit,” Agent Bravo dismissed. “If it wasn’t for Agent Quebec, I would’ve never had the opportunity! I owe this feat to my co-workers who helped me prepare for this role. Sometimes… it was hard to keep a straight face, knowing what we know about Amity now. Nonetheless, Phantom ate straight out of my hand.”

“He’s not the only one,” Agent Kilo muttered under his breath.

Agent Foxtrot swiftly elbowed him in the ribs. “Mind your manners.”

“You’re an incredible deceiver, Bravo. You impress me sometimes!” Agent X-Ray remarked.

“I’m not sure that’s an admirable quality, but thanks?”

Laughter rang around the room. It didn’t last long; red lights cast across the lobby and a high, whirring siren punctured the scientists’ merriment. The co-workers glanced at each other in alarm.

“Is that the fire alarm?” Agent Sierra asked.

Agent Quebec shook his head. “No… something’s escaped.”

His words sent the room into a flurry of panic.

“Who the hell’s on security tonight!?”

“Agents Whiskey and Tango!”

Heads turned toward Agent Whiskey, weakly holding a glass of champagne.

“Fuck!”

“I—I thought he had it covered?”

“Jesus, Jacquez. It’s Agent Tango for Christ’s sake!”

“I’m sorry!”

Agent Foxtrot fumbled through her bag and found a portable ecto-blaster. Other scientists were arming themselves with weapons, but nothing like the field-agents carried. They were ill-prepared to make a stand… their only hope was—

“The ghost shields! Are they all operational?”

“They should be? Oh, God.”

“Do we know who escaped yet?”

Agent Quebec waved his tablet. “I’m trying to find out, but half of our surveillance systems are down! Whoever escaped must be sentient enough to knock them out!”

“We only have three specimens that fit that profile… could it be—?”

Several scientists gasped.

“No, no it can’t be him! He’s lost his will to break out, hasn’t he?”

“Losing his heroics doesn’t make Phantom any less dangerous, Delta!”

“Dammit.”

“This is all your fault Whiskey! If you’d just stayed at your post—”

“I got video feed!” Agent Quebec announced. “Help me look for the escapee!’

He casted his tablet to the lobby’s TV and took a step back. There were at least thirty different cameras squeezed into tiny boxes, but it wasn’t hard to pick out where the escapee was. It was only a shadow, but his silhouette spoke enough.

"Phantom’s in Sector 4-F!”

“There’s a ghost shield on the other side of that wall, he’s cornered. Apprehend him before he changes trajectory!”

“Yes, Agent Quebec!” the scientists chorused.

“Wait…” Agent Quebec zoomed in on the screen. “What the hell?”

“… Quebec?” Agent Bravo asked. “What is it?”

“He went through th—the wall! He went through the ghost shield! Did you guys see that?”

“Quebec, there’s no way.”

Agent Quebec swiped upwards on his tablet and switched to exterior security cameras. And sure enough, there was a telltale black streak staggering across the screen. It stretched into the distance, far away from the facility and into the woods.

“Phantom’s escaped. He’s really… gone.”

He’d seen his chance and taken it. Danny had never dreamed he’d be this lucky, but he supposed karma owed him a lot of debt. There was only one guard on duty tonight, and even with his limited powers, it didn’t take much to overpower him when he slipped Danny’s ectoplasm tube into his cell. From there, he had cut the surveillance for the south side of the facility and used his human side to phase through the ghost shield.

He may have been caught on camera transforming, but he didn’t care. He was out. And it’s not like he was returning to his human life anyway, not after all they’d done for him. Or lack thereof. Nobody cared that he’d been captured, not even his family. And Amity Park was happy! They were fine without him! Agent Bravo made that clear, and he was glad she had. Now he could pursue his destiny. The stars.

He could explore the vastness of space without being chained to any responsibilities! He could escape his pain and misery, he could leave all his trauma back on Earth where it belonged. Space was his salvation, it could heal him. He just wanted to be one with it.

He wanted to breathe comets and dance with asteroids. He wanted to pour with Venus’s acid rain and fly through the rings of Saturn. He wanted to let the absence of gravity whisk him into infinite darkness and pour into his soul.

Physical and spiritual freedom. He could finally be himself.

Why had he ever been infatuated with the idea of heroism? That had never been him. Daniel Fenton had always wanted to be an astronaut and somewhere along the way he’d picked up the stupid idea that he was obligated to fight for others. He felt much better this way; he felt like Danny again. Not Phantom.

“I’m ready,” he breathed. And with that, he kicked off from the ground and shot into orbit.

He kept his gaze on the stars, glittering like precious jewels. They were so magnificent! He’d live among them, touch them, and dissolve into stardust…

Jazz crossed the house with a worn resolve. Things were bad. They’d been bad for months, ever since Danny vanished. No one noticed at first, it even took their parents a few days to realize that Fenton was missing. After that, tragedy after tragedy befell their town. With no protector, Amity Park was easy pickings for the ghosts. And thus, the invasions started.

Outside, she could hear them pillaging the streets. Her parents were on the other side of town, taking care of the ghosts tearing apart townhall. She didn’t know why they tried anymore; it was already a dump. They should reinforce the other areas of town that hadn’t been reduced to ruin yet, like their neighborhood. But Jazz was tired. She didn’t want to do anything anymore, she couldn’t fight. So, she let them be. Fuck it! Let the ghosts wreak all the havoc they want!

They needed Danny, they needed their hero. But no one knew where he’d gone. She’d spent days searching for him in the Ghost Zone, but she was at a loss. None of his allies or enemies knew of his whereabouts.

Sam and Tucker thought he was dead, but Jazz refused to believe that. She knew that he was out there somewhere, fretting about them, and she knew that he’d come back and fix everything. That’s what heroes did, after all.

She ascended the stairs and carefully dipped into Danny’s bedroom. Mom and Dad had torn it to shreds when he first disappeared, but now everything was eerily untouched. Layers of dust coated Danny’s shelves and model space shuttles. She didn’t know exactly how she felt, but it was vaguely comforting. To know that this stuff was still here, waiting… just like her.

Ignoring the carnage outside his window, Jazz drew the blinds switched off the light. She found Danny’s star projector on one of his shelves and placed it on the floor. She fiddled with the controls for a moment and managed to get constellations revolving around the ceiling. She laid down on the musty carpet and crossed her arms over her chest.

Danny used to do this. He found it relaxing. Maybe she would too.

As the star projector spun, it hummed a soft melody that haunted Jazz well into the night.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.”

[floating-pisces]

Ectober Day 4: Illusion.

They’re idiots.

[ryntrinity]

Hmmm! Now I want some dark chocolate cookie ÇvÇ I'm hungry...!🍪🍫 ☠️ ☠️ ☠️ I'll dedicate my whole Inktober hours tomorrow just to try to make that buffy anatomy right... Drawing muscle bois is soo hard! #ectober #ectober2019 #inktober2019 #inktober #inktoberbrasil #inktoberbr 🎃 #jazzfenton #jasminefenton #tasty 🎃 #dannyphantom #goghostagain #savedannyphantom #inktoberday25 #inktoberday25tasty #inktoberchallenge #ink #inkdraw  #inkdoodle #traditionaldrawing #traditionalsketch #traditionaldoodle #blackink #blackandwhite #traditional #traditionalart #inktoberbrasil #fanart 👻@inktober @inktoberbrasil 👻 #drawlloween #wip #workinprogress https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DhokbAPCa/?igshid=1wdvimprtheob

[katphantom69]

Hickory Dickory Dock

Once in the ghost zone, in a clocktower house.

Scampered inside a timid little mouse.

Running and scampering, it soon hopped off the ground,

And into the time master chest it's way found!

Time master jumped up, very surprised

As the mouse went crazy! Trapped inside!

The clock in his chest began loudly to chime

And striking one it froze in time!

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK

Clock is stuck striking one

TICK TOCK TICK TOCK

Mouse can't get out! This is no fun!

Finally loudly , Time Master did shout

Observants came to help him out

They found it silly, and began to mock

Starting the tease with a

Hickory dickory dock!

Hickory dickory dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one and the mouse ran down

Hickory dickory dock

And the poor master of time

Has to endure this terrible rhyme

Mouse was kicked out for his horrid crime

And every time a clock now chimes

The observants mock the clock...

With a

Hickory dickory dock!

[howdoib]

Ectober: Grave Robber

A struggle. 

To fight away a future

One of rubbles

And crumbling decay.

Arms are straining now, 

Beneath the heavy weights.

One arm stretched forwards 

Straining against the dark 

And the other back

Fighting and bleeding

Promising to protect.

To give up either arm

Would open the air

To the rot of mass open graves

And so there he stands.

Or crumples, knees bowing

Beneath the weight of a million souls

And so there he sits

Our preemptive grave robber.

Robbing each grave from ever forming

Robbing the calmed souls of peaced rest

And the impassioned from burning deaths

On lighter days

Where other arms push and pull

To lift the weight of two worlds-

One lost and the other not quite.

During these golden days

Mass graves seem to flicker 

And fade away.

Scattered gore seems to disappear

In these days the future is sweet and clear.

But on the darker days

Whether aiding arms fall to rest

Or protected souls turn and snear

Screams linger in the air

Screams that never happened in this land.

Groaning buildings bear cracking lines

Groaning lines that are but phantasms

And the mass open graves

They scream for refuge

On these darkening days

Of a future so set in stone.

So our hero stands

Arms straining and faltering

Both a grave robber

And a grave maker.