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camels-pen · 2 years

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Princess of the Sea

Ectoberhaunt day 11 - Thirst & Drown

Summary: Danny's not sleeping with the fishes, but he thinks this might actually be worse.

Ao3 Link

There was a new ghost causing havoc at the camping grounds near Lake Eerie. The trail of destruction, starting from a town not far from the lakeshore, was devastating.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker had decided they needed to put a stop to this ghost’s rampage, taking the Spectre Speeder to get to the lake quickly and being taken aback by the size of the destructive ghost.

They all thought it’d be easy to catch this one compared to some of Danny’s regular enemies, but the ghost was surprisingly fast and avoided all of their attempts at capture. Danny was kept on his toes as he fought and tried to subdue the ghost while avoiding attacks from the ghost’s little minions.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t avoid all of them.

Danny gasped. He felt a scalding hot pain shoot straight through his core. He couldn’t, wouldn’t look down enough to see what hit him (he knew, he knew exactly what stabbed through him), but from the looks on his friends’ faces it was probably something lethal to humans at least.

He tried to lift his hand, but found himself unable to do more than twitch a finger. He tried to give them a joke about kebabs to lighten the mood a little—let them know he was fine and that it was just a small hiccup really, and he’d bounce back soon—but the motion forced a warm liquid to well up in his throat and out of his mouth with a wet cough, splattering somewhere on the concrete below.

Something tingled across his body as he tried to phase his way free, content to land on the ground and let his friends pick up the slack. The falling sensation and the feeling of his body forcibly changing forms gave him a vague sense of what it cost him.

Valerie had to be close by now, right? He could afford a 20 minute nap?

Yeah, that sounded right.

Just for a little bit.

They could handle themselves just fine until then.

Sam had Cujo’s new squeaky toy somewhere in her bag and the three of them came armed to the teeth to fight this ghost, so there was nothing to worry about.

Jazz was on standby at home in case Vlad tried anything while the trio were miles away and she was running interference to keep their parents from tracking down this new ghost (he loved his parents, but he didn’t want them here, didn’t want them to see him, not now, not like this).

Of course, Valerie needed no invitation to follow; they heard from his sister maybe a few minutes after they left that the Red Huntress was spotted zooming out of Amity in their direction, wanting to fry the big fish before it could cause anymore damage.

Yeah, she would probably be here soon. Guns blazing, but thankfully nothing too harmful. The alliance they made last week would keep Valerie from ending Danny the first chance she got, but he’d definitely get some kind of beating for letting himself be reduced to this (like he had a choice). All the more reason to tap out; she’d be more concerned about Fenton than Phantom and considering the current situation (he couldn’t get air past the liquid drowning his lungs; he couldn’t feel his limbs) it might be better if she didn't see his ghost form for a while.

Danny finally hit the ground with a painful thud and as his friends’ voices became harder to hear, he thought to himself, 20 minutes, then I’ll play damage control.

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“A-And then, he did a flop and and he went splat!” the little ghost girl, Li’ilt, said excitedly, giggling every few words, “Phanty went big splat!”

“Is that so?”

The little girl nodded her head furiously, “Uh huh, uh huh! I can do it again, wanna see?”

Jazz locked eyes with Danny, who shook his head and mouthed ‘no’. She turned back to the floating mermaid ghost holding her hand, “Maybe later, Princess. How about you show me something else instead; you said you liked to sing, right?”

The little girl’s smile widened, revealing a small gap between her front teeth. She flapped her tail and swim-floated in front of the group of four, her large curly hair following her as if underwater.

She began performing ‘Under the Sea’ at the top of her lungs and Danny’s mouth pressed into a thin line. The sea creatures on her blue t-shirt peeled themselves off the cotton with a few of them pulling instruments out of nowhere. They played the musical accompaniment and sang along with voices identical to each character from the movie, almost as if the sounds came from a recording.

“So,” Danny leaned closer to his sister, whispering, “What do you think?”

“I think she’s a child,” she whispered back harshly, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye.

A snort. “Told you.”

“Shut up, Sam.”

“Danny, we can’t just tell her she’s dead and drop her in the Ghost Zone. That’s cruel,” Jazz said, turning a bit more to let him fully see her disappointment. Scoffing, he turned away to look for help.

Sam’s attention was centre stage, her irritation at having to deal with a clingy ghost girl for the majority of the trip all but forgotten, the scowl Danny thought was becoming permanent started to melt away at the magical performance. Tucker was in a similar state of awe, stylus held still just above a news headline on his PDA screen. The halfa leaned back into the couch, grumbling to himself.

“Full ghosts get the whole ingrained knowledge thing, remember?” he whispered after a particularly high note he’s pretty sure sounded like a dog whistle. “She’d do better than I would.”

Li’ilt was spinning and swimming all over the living room, lost in her performance. There were more fish than before, one he recognized intimately.

He glared at the cartoon manta ray, letting his eyes glow a bright green. It played on a drum set made of clams and didn’t acknowledge him in any way despite it looking directly at him. Wary eyes watched the goofy sea creature until well after the performance had ended, finally looking away as it rejoined the other creatures in shrinking and sticking back to the ghost girl’s shirt.

A few of the characters’ outlines stayed empty while some ghost fish stuck around for a dramatic bow after the applause. Li’ilt copied them, but ended up bending too far and sending herself spinning in the air. She giggled and quickly readjusted herself, but not before Danny spotted another manta ray shaped outline on her back.

The others showered her with praise while Danny surveyed the room, tensing and allowing his eyes to glow brighter in anticipation. She had two manta rays. Because of course she would have two manta rays, why did he expect any different?

He felt a prick at his back and the overwhelming heat that bloomed in his core from being skewered for the second time today reminded him that manta rays were harmless. Great.

Danny managed to jerk his head to the side to see the gray not-manta ray with an identical face to the manta half-phased into the couch behind him, its tail stabbing his back.

“Miss Jazz, Miss Jazz, lemme show you what Phanty can do!” Li’ilt said excitedly, swimming right up in her face. Tucker leaned forward a bit, research entirely forgotten.

“Li’ilt, I don’t think Phanty wants to do that right now,” Tucker said slowly, in an even tone. Danny tried speaking, but ended up spitting out a mouthful of warm seawater.

“See, Phanty said,” she dropped her voice, “‘It’s okay! I’m a hero so I can always play!’” Danny shook his head and waved his hands, but the ghost girl had already started her clapping.

He turned into… well, Flounder Phantom was the only way to describe it. He let out a long sigh, water pouring from his mouth in a continuous stream.

“Danny, the carpet!” Jazz screeched, quickly pulling her feet up onto the couch.

Sam snorted hard and mimicked her on the other side of Danny, “Oh my god, you’re even more Flounder than Phantom this time!”

Danny’s face turned a bright yellow with blue stripes along his cheeks reaching back into his hair which had also turned blue. His jumpsuit’s colour scheme changed from black and white to blue and yellow and a small set of gills were visible in new slits on his collar. This time, however, Danny also had blue flippers instead of hands and feet, fish scales covering his skin, and was noticeably smaller. Fish sized, if you will.

Tucker not-so-discreetly held up his phone to take a picture.

“So why is Danny—sorry, Phanty—spitting up water?”

“Fish breathe water so Phanty gotta breathe water too!” Jazz looked to Sam and Tucker, who both shrugged. Danny swam-floated to sit on Tucker’s shoulder and sulked.

“Ah, of course. That was a silly question.” He tilted his PDA screen closer to his chest and Danny looked down, catching part of an old newspaper article talking about a broken carbon monoxide alarm. “Er, how about you tell us why you were so angry before you got to the lake?”

“My chest felt bad when I finished my nap,” she said with a frown. “And I couldn’t find Mommy or Woosha so I got really sad.” They all collectively winced. Danny had a feeling he knew where her mom and her ‘Woosha’ went.

“Who’s Woosha?”

“My puppy!” She grinned wide and bobbed in the air. “She’s a big dog, but she’s my puppy, and she’s the same colour as Phanty!”

“She was blue and yellow?”

“No silly! She was black and white. And she was just as nice too!”

Danny felt a stab of guilt at that, thinking about how he wanted to drop kick this little kid into the Ghost Zone just moments before. Being turned into a fish wasn’t so bad. It’s not like he was dying again.

He resolved to be a little more patient with her—

“Woosha is really fun to play with too! Just like Phanty! ‘Cept she doesn’t scream as much,” Li’ilt said with a giggle. Sam and Tucker were very visibly trying not to laugh and Danny scowled.

Maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to scrap his drop kicking plans.

#danny phantom #Ectoberhaunt22 #EH chaos #day 11 #drown #nemo the writing ho

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sanchoyo · 3 years

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danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

#sanchoyorambles #dp thoughts #danny phantom

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goldenchan-fx2thepeacock · 3 years

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Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do pt 3

Hek. I woke up today and found that my FNP phic has 41 notes and my DGROIDEIID phic is gaining attention and reblogs; holy shit. And I woke up at noon. It’s Saturday. I sleep in on such days. Anyways. Last I checked, Val and Danny were gonna go get Dani, but we need some Dip and Mabs action cause I forgot last night. I will probably develop an uploading schedule later. For now, just have random updates. I might even make a side blog for this shit.

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Chapter 3

Dipper stood off in the background as Danny got into an argument with a dracula ghost. By the amount of times he heard Plasmius, this must’ve been Vlad. Danny looked pissed when he finished. He still took Dipper and Mabel to their classes, but when they tried to find him at lunch, he was absent. “I wonder where he is?” Mabel pondered. “I’m sure he just had something to do,” Dipper replied. Some guy walked up to their table. “Hey, you’re the kids Fenton is touring. Listen, he’s Phantom and I have proof!” “And you are?” Mabel said patiently. “Wes Weston. Listen, you gotta believe me!” “We legit just moved here, we have no clue what you’re talking about. Leave us alone,” Dipper said. Wes looked taken aback. “Fine! Fenton better worry. I will expose him. I just need more proof,” Wes stalked off. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look. “Should we be worried?” He asked Mabel. “He seems to have it under control,”

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Danny stared off into the daylight as they flew. Val set down. “Come on. She’s fine. Why are you losing it?” “Just a certain Wisconsin Ghost told me about you keeping her,” “Vlad?” “Wait, you know?” “I’ve known since I met Dani,” “Jeez. I’ve known since I met the guy during my parents college reunion. I’m still pissed at him for that whole invisble wall fiasco,” “That was him?” “Yeah. I mean, I started it, but he kept trying to get in my mom’s pants. I needed to put him down a peg,” “You made his wall invisble!?” “Yeah. But it’s not like being naked on camera is going to tell the public any secrets,” “I’m confused. Why do care so much?” “It’s nothing,” Danny grunted. They were headed to the basement. “It seems to be something,” “I have things I’d prefer not to reveal to the entire school,” “No one saw your dick. You managed to catch it in time,” Val was confused. Danny laughed. “Hey Val. Why would a guy have a female clone? Oh right. I forgot to tell you. Dani is more or less my clone because Vlad was being extra creepy,” “Weird. So she isn’t your cousin. Wait. OH MY GOD! Danny, I understand completely. If Dash knew, you’d be dead meat,” Val caught on quickly. Danny couldn’t but laugh at the dead meat. “Hey! What’s funny?” “I am dead meat Val!” “I’m an idiot. Anyways, we’re here,” She opened the basement door. Dani was sitting on the couch. “Danny? Val? What’re you guys doing here. Shit, sorry Danny,” “It’s fine. She knows,” “Who else knows anyways?” Val said. “You, Jazz, Tucker, Sam and literally all the ghosts,” “Vlad included?” “Vlad included,” “And Amity Park can’t connect the dots?” “No one knows Danny Phantom has a human life. I’d be seriously pissed if someone told the general public,” “That’s fair. Anyways. We’re here because a certain Dracula cosplayer told Danny you were in danger,” Val said. Danny snorted. “Dracula cosplayer? I have to use that on him,” “Why would anyone think that’s a good look?” “My ‘dad’,” Dani said. Thus causing both her and Danny to break out in laughter. “Where does the whole cousin thing come in?” Val asked. “My ‘Unkie Vlad’. It’s his way of making me family,” “Unkie?” Val looked lost. “I like being a little bitch to him,” “He deserves it! You should expose him,” “If I expose Plasmius, Masters exposes Phantom,” “Oh jeez,” “And there is a very good reason not to expose Phantom. And they wear way too much white,” Dani said quietly. “I’d prefer not to get dissected,” Danny said haughtily. “They already want to,” Val made a noise of disgust. “How could anyone with a set of morals do that?” “Heh. I’m a ghost. Not really real to most of the world. I don’t have feelings. Don’t feel pain,” Danny repeated what the ghost hunters had told him way too many times. “That sounds awful, but we should get back to school. Cya Dani!” Val waved and put on her helmet. “Hey, wanna leave the quick way?” “What do you mea- AAAAAAAH!” Val screamed as Danny made them both go intangible and up through the roof. “Never. Do that again,” “Hey, at least you didn’t end up going through the table and random floors and get banned from handling anything fragile,” “I’m confused,” “When these powers first came in, I was stuck dropping everything. From my pants to beakers,” “Oh jeez. So, why aren’t nerd and nerdette with you?” “Tucker had to go see a doctor out of town and Sam’s mom took her to this convention thing. They’ll be back tomorrow,” “No comment on the nicknames?” “They’ve been called worse,” Danny shrugged. “And I’ve been shoved in way too many lockers to care,” “I have one last question. Why on earth would you try to date me when I was trying to kill you? And why did you destroy the suit when I could’ve been inside?” “That’s two questions. But Fenton and Phantom needed a distinction, and I knew you weren’t inside. Technus was controlling the suit,” “You are a mystery,” “I’d like to keep it that way,” “You won’t tell anyone my secret if I don’t tell anyone both of yours?” “That makes it sound like you’re going to tell one of them,” “That’s not what I meant,” “We need to come up with an excuse as to why The Red Huntress suddenly has a truce with Phantom,” “Later. I need coffee,” “I couldn’t agree more,” The plume of blue air showed up. “OH COME ON!” “What,” “I have to deal with something,” Danny sped off.

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Dipper and Mabel looked at the chaos in the caf. “Students! Hide under tables! Ghost Hunters and/or Phantom will be here soon,” Mr Lancer yelled into a megaphone. “Already here!” Someone yelled. A flash of white said Phantom. There was blue ghost throwing boxes around. “I am the BOX GHOST!” It yelled. “Yeah, we know. Just say it already,” “I will win this fight with boxes of... spoons! BEWARE!” “Don’t you know not to bring a spoon to a knife fight?” “You do not have a knife!” “No, but I do have a thermos!” Phantom pulled out a green and grey thermos and flipped the lid. “I will not stay in your cylindrical object!” “Looks like you’re gonna have to,” Phantom pressed a button and a beam of light came out of the thermos and sucked the Box Ghost inside. “Is everyone okay?” Kids pushed out from under the tables. “Phantom! Will you sign my book?” Dash said. This must be a cruel joke. “Ghost boy! The Fenton Peeler is back in action,” “Whoops, gotta go!” Phantom dashed off as Jack and Maddie Fenton came rushing in. “Darn it. Missed him again,” They ran off. Danny walked into the caf and ran over to them. “You guys are lucky that your first ghost attack was the Box Ghost. Harmless,” “Doesn’t look very harmless to me! That’s gotta’ve been at least a level 5,” Dipper opened the journal. “Nah. Box is a solid 2. Hardly a step up from an ectopus. Might get concerned if Desiree shows up. She’s a level 5,” “What’re you?” “We more or less tested it. Pretty sure I’m a 7,” “That means they aren’t a big concern to you most days,” “Mmm. King Pariah was a level 10. That was terrifying. Vlad’s an 8. Convinced he’s a 9,” “Okay,” “Skulker gets to be a 6 on a technicality. Without the suit, he’s a 1. He can be an 8 on a bad day. I think Frostbite is a 9. He won’t bother you guys though. Dan must’ve been a 9, but I’m not going into that. Technus is an 8, but can be a 10 if he gets his hands on the right tech. Clockwork is an 11, which technically doesn’t exsist, but Clockwork breaks the mold. He won’t bother you unless you end up destroying the world in the future,” Danny shivered. “Who’s Dan?” Mabel looked confused. “Nobody. Just a horrible way to learn not to cheat on tests,” Danny shivered again. “But that’s not important. I didn’t cheat on the CAT,” “Your life seems more hectic than Gravity Falls sometimes,” Dipper said. “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it,” “Oregan. Never Mind All That,” He knew the rules. “You know, the way you say that is kinda creepy,” “We’d be breaking the law if we told you why,” “Jesus. Well, it’s not like we’ll get another Pariah unless an idiot thinks it’s a good idea. He’ll never get his hands on the crown of Fire,” “Time Out,” Dipper and Mabel looked around. “Umm, CW, why aren’t they out with everyone else?” “They’ve met Cipher. At this point, I cannot pause time for them,” “Eh, whatever. Mason, Mabel, this is Clockwork. What’d you need?” “I actually came to speak to you about the Crown of Fire. In defeating Pariah, you gained ownership,” “I, uh, did what now?” “Gained ownership of the Crown. Though in your case, it would be the Crown of Ice,” Clockwork repeated. Danny looked lost. “I don’t need to be the King of the Ghost Zone,” “Someone must take the place. It’s your duty,” Danny looked like he was about to have a full on panic attack. “Can it wait?” “Two years is a long wait as is,” “B-but it went thousands of years before!” “Because they failed to remove the crown and it wasn’t a singular person,” “What’s two years in the Ghost Zone? As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t seem like a long time. Walker was gonna give me a thousand year prison sentence,” “You get some time, but I’ll tell you, if you take the crown, the Ghost Zone enters an era of peace unprecedented,” “Danny, what’s happening,” Mabel asked. Danny snapped and started hyperventilating. “I can’t. No. Why? I just wanted to keep the world safe! Is that too much to ask?” “Daniel, you do get time to think about it. Just remember, time can pass however fast or slow I want it too,” “Right, of course. Cya CW,” “Time In,”

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Danny trudged home. Exhaustion and anxiety gripped him. Mason and Mabel had been concerned, but he wasn’t about to explain everything. He’d talk to Sam and Tucker tomorrow. It didn’t help that he’d had gym after lunch. At least there wasn’t any more disappearing walls. “Danny! How was school?” Mom asked as he walked in the door. “Great!” Danny said and rushed upstairs. He’d deal with The Box Ghost in a minute. Jazz stood in his doorway. She didn’t know about Dan, but she did know about Pariah. “Danny, is everything okay?” “No, everything is not okay!” “What happened? Is it Dash again? We should report him,” “It’s not just that. You remember the Pariah incident?” “Yeah, you don’t just forget that,” “Well, turns out that by beating him, I ‘gained ownership’ to the crown,” “That doesn’t sound bad exactly,” “It’s horrible!” “How?” “I just wanna be a kid, ya know? It’s hard enough living a double life, but ruling the Ghost Zone? I’d have no chance to do anything remotely useful in the human world,” “You wouldn’t need to. If you ruled the Ghost Zone, ghosts wouldn’t come here anymore,” “The King can’t enforce rules in the Human World. It’s just scary,”

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Aight, that’s a chapter, I guess. The ideas tend to come from random places, and my brain is running out of ideas. I need to do another “planning session” which is coming up with scenarios in my head to make sure they make sense.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #jazz fenton #maddie fenton #jack fenton #dipper pines #mabel pines #clockwork #crown of fire #gravity falls #crossover #trans!danny #trans!dipper #dash baxter #valerie gray #danielle (dani) phantom #bill cipher (mentioned)

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ayamari-no-goshi · 4 years

Text

Verboten 3 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 3

“You heard me. They’re saying he’s dead,” Dash clarified as he watched Danny for his reaction. “And from what Kwan said, his body was really messed up.”

Danny rolled his eyes as Tucker stuttered in fear. Dash was known for trying to scare his ‘victims,’ so most likely he was just trying to get a rise out of them. “Yeah, yeah, and what’s your proof?” he asked as he sat down on his bed.

That caused the jock to back track. “Well… Kwan said…”

“Dash, I get we’re in the middle of the woods, and you’re in a prime position to tell ghost stories, but unless you have proof, this is not something you should joke about,” Danny scolded which drew a few surprised looks.

“What? It goes against your morals?”

The teen’s sneer was enough to cause uncharacteristic anger to flood through him. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Danny glowered at him. “I’m only going to explain this once,” he warned as he tried to sound deadly serious, “I’ve seen the aftermath of what happens in a family who has someone go missing, especially when there’s no explanation as to what happened. It’s not pretty, and when it comes to people who get out here all sorts of terrible things can happen, so you shouldn’t be spreading rumors that could reach the family.”

“Wait, hold on. Fenton, you had someone in your family go missing?” one of the other jocks, Zach, asked. Danny was actually surprised he caught on to that. “Did they at least find them?”

“Luckily, they did, but that’s the reason my parents were so vocal against me going, and while I think they’re way too extreme about it, I, at least, understand their concerns.”

“But, no offense, your parents go on and on about weird creatures, ghosts, and other weird crap.”

“Well, yeah, that’s what happens when you try to rationalize what happened when nothing else makes sense. They were already involved in fringe metaphysics and stuff before that happened, so it was a logical jump for them to consider time slips and other dimensions with how bizarre everything was.”

A silence fell between them as they let Danny’s words sink in. It seemed that Zach wanted to say something else, but decided against it. Dash did eventually mumble something about how he’d drop it for now. That by itself was enough validation for Danny.

“Hey,” Tucker hesitantly spoke up after several minutes as all of them began to lay down, “do you think that kind of thing is real? I mean like falling into other dimensions and stuff.”

Danny didn’t answer him immediately. “To be honest with you, I really don’t know. I know there are a lot of legends regarding things like this, and my parents’ research at least suggests the concept of other dimensions is possible. I know the concept of wormholes are mathematically supported, and that some astronomers think wormholes could possibly bridge dimensions, but we don’t have the technology to get close to one or survive it. But random rips appearing in the woods? It sounds more like sci-fi horror movie stuff, but sometimes, as stupid as it sounds, that’s the only thing that makes sense.”

…..

“Maybe Kwan was right,” Tucker mused when he and Danny exited their cabin the next morning.

There were police officers present, and an ambulance with closed doors was on the far side of the camp. Danny briefly caught sight of an officer speaking to the driver of the ambulance until he noticed the markings on the ambulance were off. After a moment, he realized it belonged to the local Coroner. If that was the case, then there was a body retrieved.

“Well, I don’t know if it was that missing camper, but something definitely happened to someone,” Danny agreed as they made their way to the mess hall for breakfast.

The worst was confirmed as breakfast was finished. Rusty once again stood in front of them. His face was somehow bleaker than the previous day as he confirmed that the missing camper had been found deceased. After the murmurs of the teenagers quieted, he continued, “I know you’re supposed to be out here for fun, but unfortunately, this circumstance happened. We are going to do our best, after the police finish their investigation, to make sure you enjoy yourself here. However, the police have requested to interview each of you to see if anyone you may have seen or heard anything while you were out yesterday. They have also requested that no one go off by themselves while they were under investigation. Please go in groups of at least two. We rangers will also try to be with you when you’re outside of camp, but we may be stretched a little thin during the investigation.”

“I’m surprised they aren’t sending us home,” Tucker mentioned once Rusty was finished speaking and the roar of the students overtook the mess hall.

“I don’t think they can. I mean, the police need to talk to us, and since it’s an open investigation, they won’t want anyone to leave the area until they’ve determined there’s nothing else they can do here,” Sam pointed out as she checked her phone.

“Hey, are you able to get any service?” Danny asked her. “I couldn’t reach my parents yesterday.”

“It’s weird. Yesterday, I could, but I’m having trouble getting service this morning.”

“Now that you mention it, I noticed that too,” Tucker added as he brought out his PDA. “And that’s the thing, with how I modified this, that shouldn’t be the case. I wonder if there’s a disrupter somewhere nearby.”

“You mean a cell phone disrupter?”

He nodded as he leaned towards them. His voice lowered as he glanced around the room. “I’m not sure if anyone else noticed it. I think most of our classmates think it’s just because we’re in the woods, but that’s not really how it works anymore. This is something that should be brought up to the police.”

“I think you’re right,” Danny agreed as he checked his phone again. “And with everything happening, I think I won’t be able to use the ranger’s phone today either.”

….

About an hour after breakfast finished, the police began their interviews of the students. While Danny and his friends waited for their turn, they hung out near the front of the mess hall. They didn’t say much, but instead, they decided to watch the area.

A while later, a long black limousine approached from the only road fit for normal vehicles and came into the camp. A few minutes after it parked, a well-dressed man with silver hair exited. As one of the officers approached the man, Danny finally realized why he recognized him.

“Oh, that’s Vlad. I wonder why he’s here,” he mused as he watched. After a moment, he noticed his friends were gaping at him. “What’s wrong?”

“You know the Vladimir Masters?” Tucker nearly choked. “He’s one of the most influential billionaires in the world!”

“He is? I knew he had money, since he helps fund some of my parents’ experiments, but I didn’t realize it was that much. Anyways, apparently he and my parents went to college together. With how often he visited when we were younger, Jazz and I kind of view him as an uncle.”

“That’s actually pretty impressive. My parents know him due to some of the business galas they’ve attended,” Sam mentioned as a devious smirk crossed her face. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell them that Vlad is your parents’ benefactor. Mother dearest will have a conniption.”

Their conversation turned to what Danny knew of the man, and he answered the best he could. As he thought about it, he realized he didn’t know a lot of personal details about the man. Vlad tended to focus on the people around him and avoid talking about himself. He just figured Vlad was a very private person.

When Vlad finished speaking with the officer, he approached the trio. “Oh, Daniel! What a surprise! I never expected to run into you in a place like this with how protective Maddie is.” His tone was pleasant, but his exaggerated gestures almost made it seem like he was acting.

“We’re here on a school trip. I guess the PTA and teachers managed to convince her and Dad we’d be protected. But why are you here? No offense, but seeing you in the middle of the woods in a suit is weird,” Danny replied nonchalantly. He was used to Vlad’s over the top behavior.

“It’s unfortunate, really,” he explained as he glanced over his shoulder towards the officers. “The gentleman who they found dead works for one of my companies. I came out to see if the police officers required any assistance with resources, funds or otherwise, and offer my services.” As he turned back to face Danny, his eyes widened as he seemingly noticed Sam and Tucker for the first time. “Ah, you must be Daniel’s friends. Where are my manners? I’m Vladimir Masters, but you may call me Vlad.” He extended his hand towards them.

Tucker eagerly took his hand, but Sam was a little more hesitant. “I’m surprised that a big name like yourself personally looks in on their workers,” she told him.

A pleasant hum escaped the man. “I do try to keep tabs on those I employ. This particular incident, however, is extremely tragic and unusual, so I felt it was prudent to personally show my support for those investigating.”

“Yeah? I’ve also heard that killers like to inject themselves into investigations.”

“Sam!?”

“It’s quite alright, Daniel,” Vlad told him as he flashed a pleasant smile. “She does bring up a valid point, and it’s likely I will be asked a few more questions at a later time as a result. However, I can assure you that I was in my office a few states away when Mr. Aiden Jones was reported missing. Hmm, I also think I may have a word with your teacher. With a tragic event like this, it’s unwise to have you remain here when it is unclear if it is safe or not. Now, if you excuse me.”

As Vlad began to turn, Danny took a step closer as a thought crossed his mind. “Oh, Vlad, I hate to ask, but would you happen to have a phone I can use to call my parents? Mom left me a frantic message, but my phone’s not working, and I can’t use the Rangers’ phone right now…”

The man appraised him for a moment. “I don’t have a phone on me right now, but I do have one in my car. While I don’t think your teacher or the police would find it appropriate to let you in my car at the moment, I can at least give them a call for you.”

“Thank you!”

Vlad flashed him a large grin. “Anything for you, dear boy. But, I really must be off. Ta!” With that, he walked away, approached one of the nearby rangers, and struck up a conversation.

“So that’s Vlad Masters,” Tucker mentioned once he was certain the man was out of earshot. “I can’t figure out if I like him or not.”

“I don’t. It felt like everything he said and did was an act,” Sam told them as she crossed her arms. Her eyes never left the billionaire.

Danny just shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. “He’s always been like that. I don’t really know if it’s because being involved in business, or because he lives alone.”

“He lives alone? No family or anything?”

“Nope,” he replied as he popped the ‘p’. “He’s never had anyone as long as I’ve known him. Both Dad and Mom like to ask him about whether or not he’s dating anyone whenever he’s stopped by, but he’s always answered that he’s too busy. I think Mom’s tried to hook him up with a few dates, but it never panned out.”

A frown crossed Tucker’s features as he glanced at the man. “You’d think he’d have people throwing themselves at him because of his wealth.”

“That might be why he isn’t seeing anyone. Anyways, any thoughts on what happened?”

“Not really,” Sam replied as she glanced towards some of the rangers and police. “If they thought it was just an accident, you’d think they’d come right out and tell us. I’m going to assume they aren’t sure, so they need to try to rule out a few things before they tell us anything.”

“Looks like we’ll have a chance to ask one of the officers. I guess it’s our turn to be interviewed,” Danny mentioned as one of the officers caught their attention and beckoned them.

A few minutes later, the officer took them into the mess hall. It was fairly routine. The officer, Malik, assured them they weren’t in any trouble or suspects. He just wanted to know if they had seen or heard anything while they were out on the trails the previous day. They explained that everything seemed normal, and they couldn’t recall seeing anything out of the norm. Tucker did mention that the three of them were having trouble with their cell phones.

Officer Malik made a strange expression at the new information, but did say anything regarding it. He just thanked them for their time, and sent them on their way.

Before he left the room, Danny spoke up, “Sir, do you know what happened? Should we be worried?”

He was silent for a few moments before replying. “We’re pretty sure he just had a bad accident, but, since we don’t have an official answer yet, we do have to investigate and take statements. Sorry this had to happen while you kids are on a trip.”

Danny thanked him and hurried out the door with his friends. “So, what do you think?” he asked as he checked behind him to make sure no one was paying attention to them as they walked behind one of the cabins.

“That’s pretty cut and dry, isn’t it?” Tucker asked as he scratched his head. “Accidents do happen.”

“Yeah, but the officer didn’t reassure us it was safe. Danny, you noticed it too?” When he nodded, Sam continued, “I think they’re trying to downplay what might have happened which worries me. And since our cell phones still aren’t working properly, it makes me more anxious. I guess Vlad was right. We shouldn’t be here right now.”

“Sam! Don’t say things like that!” The scared whine in Tucker’s voice almost made Danny laugh. “You’ll see, Dash and his jerk friends will use it to tell ghost stories tonight. I not going to be happy if I lose sleep.”

“And here I thought you liked scary stories.”

“Not when we’re smack dab in the middle of the beginning of a real life horror movie!”

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goldenspecter · 4 years

Text

Forgivness

Summary: “I was possessed! Da-A ghost took over my body!” Tucker shouts and that’s the moment he breaks down, pulling his hands away from his parents and holding him close to his chest-if he holds his chest, then no one can enter his body. That burning in his chest is back as he sobs brokenly. Here he was, breaking down over something Danny did to him and here he is, still holding on to Danny’s secret. Where was the fairness in that? “I didn’t want to!”

Valerie doesn’t know how to forgive someone. She’s never really had to, because people usually don’t hurt her this badly. Usually they apologize on the spot for some minor thing and Valerie instantly forgives them because she knows that they meant her no harm.

In which we see how Tucker copes with the events of Parental Bonding and Valerie gets some closure.

Archive of Our Own | FFN

Notes:

Here's the first side story in the AU! I'm quite happy with how this one turned out and hopefully plan on doing more of these as the AU progresses!

I knew I had to write this after writing that confrontation scene between Tucker and Valerie in the French Braids and it's been something I've been wanting to write anyways. Not to mention that I'm currently having some form of writers block when it's coming to writing the next part of the other fic.

- I've seen plenty of works within the fandom that addresses how overshadowing/possessing someone fucks them up but I don't think I've quite seen anything that talks about how it personally affected Tucker. It's really, really, really fucked up for Tucker to explicitly say no and not consent to be overshadowed and Danny, his best friend and someone who's the narrative says is a good person, ignore Tucker and do it any way and deeply violate his agency and consent. Even more fucked up that the narrative plays this for jokes at the end of the episode. This is literally a Vlad move my dudes, this is something that we should expect of Vlad because we know that he doesn't really view people as actual people, just pawns that he can use to meet a goal. Danny doing shit like this multiple times throughout canon(and it being played for jokes) only makes him more like Vlad. A more interesting concept would have been Danny asking to overshadow someone/not using except for dire circumstances but canon said fuck good ideas right?

-Valerie deserves closure. She deserves good things, good things and she deserves closure for being stood up at home coming.

-Re: Self-Harm Tag: Okay so Tucker has a certain behavior in this fic where he picks at scabs in his hair until they bleed but the thing is, Tucker doesn't really have a choice whether or not he wants to do it but rather it's compulsive. He doesn't really realize he's doing it and doesn't intend to cause physical damage(whereas its the opposite with self-harming) but he knows its a thing. Trichotillomania (hair pulling) and skin picking are commonly seen in autistic people. It can serve as a way to self-soothe and self-stimulate the individual in day to day life. Some Autism Specialists can classify this behavior as a SIB(Self-Injurious-Behavior) since it is harmful to the person's body. Also I do this a lot, have been for several years and once again the projection is real.

-Also Tucker in this AU has a really hardcore squish(friend crush) on Valerie but doesn't really understand/realize that he just wants to be friends with her and thus pursued her in a romantic manner.

Timeline wise in the AU: The first half, in Tucker’s POV, takes place right after Parental Bonding, through One of a Kind and mid way through pt one of French Braids. The second half, Valerie’s POV, is after pt one of French Braids and in between Attack of the Killer Garage Sale and Splitting Images.

-----

When Tucker fully comes back into his body, he's at the homecoming dance. Dragon Sam’s been subdued and back to her normal self and the three of them are standing in the middle of the dance floor.

“Dude, sorry your date didn't pan out. Where is Paulina anyway?” asks Tucker, the words taste bitter in his mouth as he says them.

Sam shrugs, “Ah, who cares? Look, the DJ's still playing. I think there's time for one last dance?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Danny turns and hands the amulet to Tucker. “Keep an eye on this will you?”

Danny doesn’t bother waiting for an answer before dropping the amulet in Tucker’s hands. Tucker’s fingers instinctively curl around the amulet and Tucker turns away from Danny’s smile because all he can see now is Danny’s green eyes smiling at him before Danny took over. How come he didn’t get an apology for being forced to stand up Valerie? How come he’s the only one who doesn’t get a happy ending this time around? How come Danny gets to pretend like none of this ever happened while he was stuck with the aftermath?

Tucker swallows the lump in his chest, “Wait a second,” he begins, “I’m dateless again?! What does a guy have to do to get hooked up around here?”

“I want to go to the ball!” wails Dora.

He doesn’t know why he had to turn his feelings into a mere joke. He does of course. Because no one here really thinks his feelings matter and jokes are the only way he has right now to process it. Tucker knows this but can’t help the heartache and nausea bury when Danny and Sam laugh at his misfortune. Can they not see that he’s hurting or do they just not care ?

The fourteen year old forces a smile on his face as he steps away from Dora. “Maybe I don’t need a date that badly,” he says and runs away from the blooming romance and the burning in his chest.

~~~~~~~

Home should be safe. Home was safe. Home was where it happened, so how safe was he? Tucker opens the door and both of his parents are there, sitting at the table waiting for him.

How safe were they? Were any of them safe anymore?

His parents look up from the card game they were playing, “Tucker?” his mom asks, with confusion in her eyes. “It’s pretty early, you shouldn’t be home for another hour or two.”

Tucker shakes his head, kicking the door behind him. “Wanted to go home early.” He turns around facing the door and locks it, and with it, his emotions.

Maurice blinks, laying down his cards. “Did something happen dear?”

Tucker shakes his head even harder. “It’s nothing,” his voice cracks slightly and he can feel his parents' looks of concern.

Maurice stands up and slowly walks towards him, “Something happened dear,” he says softly and Tucker just knows that he can’t keep up this facade any longer. “Whatever happened, it’ll be okay.”

“No it won’t,” he says in a rough whisper. Maybe, if he keeps his eyes down then he won't lose it. “It won’t ever be.”

Maurice tries to wrap his arm around his son but steps back when his son roughly pushes him away. He tries again, but this time, he gently takes one of his son's hands and holds it in his. “Please, just talk to us.”

It’s the desperation in his dad’s voice that does it for him, that finally gets him to talk. “I stood up Valerie,” he says, voice cracking and thick with emotion, growing more and more panicked by the second. “I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, I didn’t have a choice.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t have a choice?” Angela asks, coming up to him and taking his other hand in hers.

“I was possessed! Da-A ghost took over my body!” Tucker shouts and that’s the moment he breaks down, pulling his hands away from his parents and holding him close to his chest-if he holds his chest, then no one can enter his body. That burning in his chest is back as he sobs brokenly. Here he was, breaking down over something Danny did to him and here he is, still holding on to Danny’s secret. Where was the fairness in that? “I didn’t want to!”

Maurice gets over his initial shock at Tucker’s outburst, before he jumps in to help his hurting son. “Tucker, can you take deep breaths with me?” he takes exaggerated deep breaths, “Follow my breathing.”

“I can’t,” he manages to say through a sob, “It’s not safe, you aren’t safe, none of us are safe.”

“You’re safe honey, you’re safe,” Angela says, sliding off his hat and gently stroking his hair in an effort to calm him down. “Maybe we can go to the Fentons-”

Tucker reels back and the panic kicks into overdrive, “No!” The sobbing grows into deep and broken wails. They can’t go to Ground Zero, where the source of this misery originated from, because then all three of them definitely won’t be safe. Home is safer, Home has to be safer, Home needs to be safer.

Maurice and Angela look at each other in confusion, unable to understand why their child was so adamant about not going to the Fentons. Both parents put aside their confusion to help their son calm down, taking nearly 45 minutes to do so. Once Tucker was calm, they gave him some water and some medications to help him sleep through the night. Maurice walks his son upstairs, stands outside the door as he changes into pajamas and personally tucks his son in for the night, turning out the light and leaving Tucker’s door slightly ajar.

Tucker doesn’t leave the house for the rest of the weekend.

~~~~~~

Tucker wants to stay away from Danny, he doesn’t feel safe near him anymore. He doesn’t know when his best friend is going to overshadow his body and take control of him.

He’s just on the brink of telling Danny to leave him alone, to not talk to him anymore when Danny says he needs them both to help him with ghost hunting and studying for the test.

Tucker feels the no on his tongue, practically taste it, but instead a sour yes spills out instead.

The incident with the Purple Back Gorilla happens and the week passes by quickly. Tucker can not help but feel uneasy, thankful when the weekend comes by.

Somehow, someway he’s at the grocery store and he comes across Valerie pushing a cart with a little kid inside of it. Nerves garble his voice even as he clears his voice, “Valerie? I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while.”

“Go away Tucker,” she says and he can hear the anger boiling in her.

“I know I messed up-”

She whips around, her green eyes narrowing at him in anger and he feels so small right about now. “You left me!” she hisses, “I was alone!”

Tucker winces, rubbing his neck. “Let me explain Valerie.”

"You don't get to explain how you stood me up at homecoming," Valerie starts, her voice tight. "You don't get to waltz in here-" Her shoulders deflate, the anger leaving her body and soon washes her over with sadness. Tucker knows that she’s holding herself back and he can only assume it’s because of the kid in the cart.

"Go," she points down the aisle, "I don't want to hear your excuses."

Tucker bows his head in shame, walking down the aisle and out of the store with the few items he bought, his chance to repair...whatever he wanted to have with Valerie gone.

~~~~~

But with Tucker? She has no idea where to begin. The only reason she’s considering forgiving Tucker in the first place is because Clockwork told her that Tucker didn’t want to stand her up, that he didn’t mean to hurt her, that Clockwork knew what happened that night but couldn’t tell her.

Clockwork leans over her shoulder as she contemplates sending Tucker a text. “What are you doing?” they ask, sipping on their juice.

“Trying to send a text,” she says, “To Tucker to talk about...you know.”

Clockwork tilts their head before nodding in realization. “What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know what to say!” Valerie says, throwing her hands up in frustration. “That’s just it!”

The small child shrugs, “Mmm, just go with what feels right?” they question in a stilted voice.

Valerie raises an eyebrow, “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I picked it up from someone on one of the TV shows you were watching,” Clockwork says, “I thought it was appropriate.”

It was appropriate, she has to give them that, no matter how stilted and unnatural they sounded while saying it. She encouragingly rubs their back, “You did good, though.” she praises, pulling them in close to her for a side hug.

Valerie’s thumb hovers over the keyboard, typing and retyping her message until she’s satisfied with it and pressing send.

You: I’ve thought about it and I’m giving you one chance to explain yourself. Meet me at the park at 5:30. I’ll be at the tables near the swings.

Several minutes pass by before she feels her phone vibrate, looking down to see the notification.

Tucker: Okay, meet you there.

Valerie sighs, pulling away from Clockwork. She sits up, checks the time on her phone. It’s 4:45 now and the park was only a five to ten minute walk from the Nasty Burger. Then again, it didn’t hurt to be early, Clockwork could play on the swings while she waits for him to meet her.

“You finished with your food?” she asks Clockwork, who nods. “Come on, we’re heading to the park.”

“Whoo!” exclaims Clockwork, eagerly sliding out of the dining booth. Valerie shakes her head with a smile, picking up their trays, dumping the food and sitting the trays on top of the trash cans as they walk out of the diner. Traffic was a little heavy, which only set them back by five minutes and the two managed to get to Amity Park in a timely manner.

Once they’re in the park, Valerie hunts for the set of swings. She quickly finds it, the tables she mentioned earlier close by. She sits down at the wooden tables and tells Clockwork to go play on the swing, which they do without a fuss. Valerie checks her phone again, the time now 5:05, leaving her with only twenty five minutes till Tucker was supposed to be here. She decides to scroll through her social media, occasionally breaking away from her phone to check on Clockwork.

Valerie feels the table and bench groan and shift under new weight, she looks up and Tucker is sitting right across from her.

He looks nervous and uncertain. So is she.

Turning her phone screen off and placing it face down on the table, Valerie sits there in silence for a moment before speaking.

“Uh, speak your truth,” Valerie says awkwardly and she wishes that she had gone over what she was going to say. “Don’t bullshit me.”

“I got possessed by a ghost,” Tucker says, looking away from her and throwing his hands out. “I don’t remember what happened when I was possessed.”

“We’re her best friends! We should have known.” Danny laments.

“It’s not our responsibility to read and protect Sam’s emotions, she should have said she wanted to go to the dance from the beginning,” Tucker says back, straightening his tie a bit. “There’s nothing we can do about it now anyways.”

Danny thinks for a moment, then a mischievous smile appears as green eyes flash at Tucker.

Tucker realizes what Danny wants him to do, “No way. Forget it. Absolutely not. No!” he loudly protests and the next thing he knows, he’s feeling a gaping hole in his chest as his consciousness is taken over by Danny.

“You were possessed….by a ghost?” Valerie asks incredulously, she feels something tugging her arms. Looking down, she sees Clockwork looking up at her with their big eyes, silently saying “He’s telling the truth.”

Tucker’s nods, “I know that sounds absurd and it sounds stupid but it happened and I’m so sorry that I stood you up.” Tucker pleads, holding his face in his hands, one of them crawling up to his head and pulling at the short curls. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m so, so sorry.”

Valerie notices how distressed Tucker sounds, how his voice cracks a tiny bit after he shields his face from her and how broken Tucker looks and sounds. There have been plenty of ghosts attacks in the city and it sounds just as likely he was possessed by one of these ghosts. He didn’t have a reason to make any of this up; it wouldn’t have made sense if he did since he was too excited to be her date to the dance.

Clockwork’s words ring in her head, “If it helps, he didn't want to hurt you.He didn't want to though," and she gets it. She finally gets it.

Valerie reaches out, uncertain as she pulls Tucker’s hands away from his hair, not saying anything as she notices blood staining the pads of his fingers and holds it in her hand. Tucker stops shaking, stops pleading, simply stops and looks at Valerie, waiting for her to confirm his worst suspicions.

“That possession stuff? That’s some weak shit fam,” she says, “But I forgive you.”

Tucker’s body sags with relief, and the unheard ‘Thank You’ is loud enough for all three of them at the table.

Clockwork reaches forward, takes one of Tucker’s hands and holds it.

Valerie grabs a tissue and some hand sanitizer out of her book bag, squeezes some on the tissue and begins gently wiping the blood off of his finger pads. He tries to pull back but Valerie tightens her grip on him.

“Let...let us handle this,” she says softly, continuing to wipe the blood off his fingers. “Why so much blood?”

Tucker looks away in embarrassment. “I have a thing where I can’t help but pick at the scabs in my hair,” he explains, “It gets really bad sometimes.”

“I bet what happened hasn’t helped any,” Valerie says, silently gesturing for Clockwork to give her his other hand so she can continue. “Do you remember the ghost who did it?”

Tucker shakes his head, “No,” The lie comes too easily. The little kid sitting next to Valerie eyes him with some scrutiny, and Tucker resists the urge to pull away from Valerie while wondering if this kid knew more than they let on. “What would you do if you ever found them?”

“Punch them in the face,” Valerie says without skipping a beat, oblivious to Clockwork’s and Tucker’s simultaneous wince. “No ghost gets away with possessing my friends.”

“Friend?” Tucker repeats back, “We’re friends?”

“Well, yeah,” Valerie answers, as if it wasn’t obvious. “You’re my friend now.”

Tucker blinks several times to make sure he heard her properly. “Oh, okay.”

Valerie finishes wiping the blood off of his fingers and he slowly pulls them back towards his chest. “I should go home now,” Tucker says, standing up and pulling away from the table.

“Why don’t we go with you? Me and...Isaiah can keep you company while you walk home. Ghosts probably won’t attack if all three of us are together.” Valerie says, standing up to wipe the imaginary dirt off her orange skirt. Isaiah follows suit, tightly holding her hand. “You in?”

“Sure,” he stutters. The three begin the walk to Tucker’s house and as they walk, he can’t help but focus on how safe he feels with Valerie and Isaiah and feels that gaping hole in his chest slowly begin to heal.

#danny phantom #tucker foley #valerie gray #dp clockwork #dp fanfiction #dp fanfic #goldenspecter writes

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five-rivers · 4 years

Text

Glass Beetle

Based on a prompt by 2fruity4u for the Phic Phight! Might be sort of... fragmentary, in parts.

Danny frowned at his hand as it flickered in the evening's fading sunlight. He'd been having trouble with his invisibility lately. Nothing so obvious, for the most part, but both Sam and Tucker had noticed him 'blurring' or 'fading' around the edges this past week. He'd been able to correct himself so far, pull himself back into focus, so to speak, but, if that flicker was any sign, this was getting worse, not better.

He wondered if a new power was coming in. Sometimes his other powers acted weird when that happened. He hadn't noticed anything like that, though.

Either way, there wasn't all that much he could do about this. It wasn't as if he could just ask anyone what was wrong with his ghost powers.

Actually, that wasn't quite true. He did have a few ghostly allies. Sadly, they all lived (resided?) in lairs that took hours and hours to get to from the Fenton Portal. Lairs that also moved. He didn't really have the time to go find them.

Honestly, with all the schoolwork that had been heaped on him and his friends, he didn't have time to go do anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Including sleep. He would give a lot to just be able to go to bed now, rather than whenever he finished his math homework. His extra math homework, assigned in lieu of detention. But, no, Skulker had to show up again, this time with ghostly hunting dogs, and completely waste Danny's afternoon.

But maybe that was the real reason he was having trouble with his invisibility. Exhaustion. And embarrassment. The two seemed to go hand in hand.

Just that week... Ugh, he didn't want to think about it.

He perched in a tree in the park, resting, and, inevitably, thought about it.

He really hated the people at his school sometimes. Dash for dumping glitter all over him and calling him a fairy... as if that insult wasn't so old it was fossilized... all the other people in his class for staring at him... Mrs. Hall for calling him out for 'disturbing the class'... the inevitable interruption of said class by ghosts... the detention... and everyone staring at him and giggling behind their hands.

Not to mention the toilet paper and what Dash and his cronies had done to his locker. Carrying his waterlogged books around and trying to explain to the teachers had been... painful.

In other words, the A-list had been in a bullying mood this week. No wonder he wanted to be invisible.

He sighed and drifted out of the tree. He had his breath back, as much as he had it as a ghost, and it was time to go home and do math.

Of course, to put a cherry on top of this already horrible week, he was immediately shot. He tumbled head over heels, and instinct took over. He went invisible, hard, erasing his light even in the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum, the chill of the power washing over him. He didn't know what had hit him, after all. A lot of ghost hunters had special goggles for seeing ghosts only transparent in the visible spectrum. Ghosts could often see through invisibility.

He reoriented himself, scanning the area for his attacker, one hand on the thermos.

Valerie. Very confused Valerie, judging by how she was whipping her head back and forth, scanning the ground and the skies.

Danny didn't want to deal with her. He hid himself behind a tree and went human in order to confuse any ectosignature tracing equipment she might have. He never knew what she'd get from Vlad, the jerk, but he probably wouldn't have included anything capable of tracking a half-ghost in human form.

He let out a breath as Valerie flew away. Now it was really time to get home.

He let go of his invisibility.

The cool feeling on his skin didn't go away. He looked down. Still invisible.

He let go of his invisibility.

Still, he only saw a faint outline of his limbs, visible only to his eyes.

Oh, this was going to be bad.

Danny had snuck into his house while invisible before, but usually he had a choice about it. He couldn't just walk through the walls, because his parents had coated most of the ground floor with something that blocked phasing a couple months ago (and was also a truly hideous orange), and he couldn't climb through his bedroom window because they had rigged it with a special anti-ghost alarm after noticing an ectoplasm stain on his windowsill.

He decided to go around to the back door, so no one would notice the front door opening and closing on its own. From there, he'd go to the lab and use the portal. Hours of flying and missing his math homework were preferable to being stuck invisible indefinitely. If only his parents had invented something to counteract invisibility... But, no, they were too focused on making things that hurt.

Yeah, maybe he was a bit bitter about that.

Okay, the coast was clear. Good. He padded down the back hall, unwilling to go ghost to fly. The security system was set to ignore him in human form, but sometimes it still picked up his ghost.

He turned the corner into the kitchen and froze as he heard the hateful beep of the Fenton Finder. His father's head snapped up, away from his plate of (unsanctioned by his diet) fudge.

"There is a ghost ten feet in front of you."

Jack leaped from his seat, and slammed the button to activate the Fenton Anti-Creep System. Lights strobed, some of them green with ectoenergy. Danny yelped and dodged a laser, then a laser sword, then a metal-backed cutout of his dad's face.

He ran.

By the time he got out of Fentonworks (the deathtrap) he was out of breath, slightly singed, and definitely bruised. He also felt, weirdly, more invisible.

He frowned. Was he diving deeper into invisibility without realizing it? Why? Because he'd been startled?

He turned to Sam's house.

"Okay," said Jazz, over the speaker on Sam's phone, after he had explained his current predicament. "It sounds like a confidence problem. Just, tell yourself you want to be seen- No. You have to want to be seen."

"I do want to be seen," said Danny. "I've been over this with Sam and Tucker. I don't want to be invisible."

"You know that," said Jazz, "but do you feel it?"

"Trust me," said Danny. "I feel it. Can you not get them out of the house for a bit so I can sneak in?"

"Afraid not," said Jazz. "They've put us on lockdown until they find, well, you. Or tomorrow morning."

Danny groaned. He'd already called them to say he was staying over at Tucker's. He'd wondered at the time why they were so happy about that.

He hadn't managed even a flicker of visibility by midnight. Even his transformation rings, usually blindingly bright, went unseen. Stuff he picked up turned invisible, too. Anything he wore turned invisible.

Also, the constant invisibility was draining him. Ghost powers took energy, especially when he was in human form. He was exhausted.

Maybe he would spend all his energy and wake up visible. He could hope. In the meantime, he'd sleep in one of the Manson's guest rooms.

He did not wake up visible. He woke up just as exhausted and unable to so much as see his own outline anymore. That was new. Before, he'd always been able to see himself while invisible.

He had to ask Sam to call Jazz, because he couldn't hold and see the phone at the same time.

"It should be safe to come home, now," said Jazz. "I turned off the security system, and Mom and Dad are off chasing ectopuses near the mall."

"Oh, good," said Danny, sluggishly transforming. "I'll be there in a few."

He took the same route in as before, but, this time, only Jazz was waiting for him in the kitchen.

Since he was a younger brother, he snuck up on her and poked the back of her neck. She jumped about a foot, and glared at a bit of air several inches above his eyes.

"Danny," she said, "would it kill you to take things seriously for once?"

"It already did," said Danny. "And, honestly, you sort of walked into that one."

Jazz rolled her eyes, and pushed open the door to the lab. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked. "We can take the Specter Speeder."

"Better not," said Danny. "I should be fine. None of my enemies are going to be able to see me, after all."

"Well," said Jazz, as they stopped in front of the portal. She looked over a foot to his left as she said, "Be safe, Danny."

"I will," he said, and launched himself into the Ghost Zone.

"Your sister thought you had a what?" asked Frostbite, amused. He, also, wasn't looking quite where Danny was. In fact, Danny kept having to dodge out of the larger ghost's way.

"A confidence problem," said Danny. His voice sounded weirdly quiet, even to himself, and he wondered if his voice would also be affect by whatever this was.

The large ghost suppressed a toothy smile. "While your current condition may respond to your emotional state, great one, and your powers are linked to your emotions, they are not the cause."

"Then what is?"

"You have a parasite," said Frostbite.

Danny didn't say anything for a moment, half-convinced Frostbite was joking.

"A what?" he squeaked.

"A parasite. Don't be concerned, it is relatively harmless." Frostbite paused. "For ghosts. I have never heard of a human or half-ghost getting one."

That was comforting. Not. "What kind of parasite?" asked Danny. "What does it do? I mean, other than force you to be invisible."

"Well," said Frostbite. He turned to face the dizzying array of screens and other technology embedded in the icy wall of the cave. He brought up a image that made Danny blanch.

"It's that big?" he asked, one hand kneading his stomach, as if he could thereby force the many-legged thing out.

"Yes. Actually, it's a rather small example of this species. This must be its first breeding cycle."

Danny's eye twitched. "Breeding cycle?" he asked, feeling even sicker.

"Yes," said Frostbite. "The malaperas eraro is very sensitive to light during its breeding cycle, but they are also very weak ghosts, unable to become invisible for long periods of time. So they find a host and use their host's abilities. Once the breeding cycle is complete, all of the parasites will leave the host, and symptoms will stop almost immediately."

"And how long does this take, exactly?" asked Danny, voice cracking.

"Ah, it varies, great one," said Frostbite. "From the point that the ghost is unable to become visible, no longer than a week, depending on the strength of the host ghost."

"I can't be invisible for a week!" said Danny, alarmed. "I have school! My parents will notice I'm gone! I'm already exhausted from being invisible for this long. I can't take a week of this!"

"Ah, yes. The fatigue," said Frostbite. His eyes flicked from side to side. "That is, actually, the reason for the variable time. The malaperas eraro cannot finish breeding while the host is awake. It waits for the forced invisibility to drain the host and drop them into a sort of hibernation. It takes longer for stronger ghosts to reach that point."

"Oh," said Danny. "Great."

"We will be more than happy to have you stay with us while you recover. We will provide everything you need, and keep close track of your condition. This is more of an inconvenience to most ghosts than anything else. Similar to, say, the common cold or chicken pox for humans. It is difficult to be reinfected."

That was something, at least. He didn't want to do this again. "You're sure it will be safe for me? I mean, I'm not normal. Maybe we should just... take it out?" He mimed pulling, even though Frostbite couldn't see him.

"That is a matter to consider," agreed Frostbite. "Due to your unique physiology there may be... unforeseen complications. That is another reason for you to stay here, where we can monitor you. If it becomes necessary, we can remove the parasite, but doing so is an invasive and rather dangerous procedure."

Danny briefly considered flying to Clockwork, who could probably do something about the time problem, but exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders. "Okay. Fine, I guess. Just- Could you- If it isn't too much- take a message to my sister for me?"

The room was cozier and warmer than the norm for the Far Frozen, in deference to Danny's smaller stature and warm-blooded human form. There were also a number of nice, safe nooks and crannies that were attractive from a ghostly perspective, and a large number of paper-wrapped items.

"What?" asked Danny, leaning back into Frosbite's fluffy fur. On the way over, they had come to a compromise regarding how not to run Danny over. It involved Danny holding onto Frostbite (teenage pride required that he refuse Frostbite's offer to carry him) and Danny had enjoyed the contact more than he wanted to admit.

"Ah, gifts from your admirers, great one. We all wish for you to recover swiftly."

"So I don't freeze everyone again and leave quickly?" joked Danny.

Frostbite chuckled. "Nothing like that. We enjoy having you here, great one. It is an honor."

Danny hummed and let Frostbite guide him to the nest-like bed.

Danny felt like he was sleepwalking the past couple of... whatevers. Honestly, he didn't know how long he'd been in the Far Frozen anymore. It was all sort of blurring together, and Danny found it difficult to focus on anything.

Frostbite was doing another body-scan on him today, to check where the parasite was and what it was doing. Danny wasn't enthusiastic. The table for the scanner had been built for someone much larger than him and was distinctly uncomfortable.

Right now, Danny was sitting in a chair across the room, a blanket wrapped around him, waiting for Frostbite to wave him over. It was useful, he had found, to announce where he was going to be and then stay there. People wouldn't trip over him as much, if he was where he was expected to be.

"Alright, great one," said Frostbite. "We are ready to take your scan."

"Okay," mumbled Danny. He stood up, walked halfway to the table, and then collapsed under a wave of dizziness and fatigue.

"Great one?"

Danny only managed to make a pathetic sort of mewling sound. His vision was all grey around the edges, but he could still watch Frostbite grope along the floor, searching for him, and hissed when Frostbite bumped into him a little too roughly for comfort.

After that, Frostbite picked him up, and Danny stopped forcing his eyes open.

He woke up cocooned in sadly invisible blankets. There were voices. Deep, rhythmic ones. He sighed and tucked his chin down against his chest. He was safe here.

He woke up again, hungry and grumbling. He complained until he got food and went back to sleep.

When was the last time he opened his eyes? It was dark.

"... have finished?" said the voices.

"... reconsider the surgery..."

"... preparations..."

Danny woke up.

He could see his nose. Huh. He'd never really noticed how visible his nose was before he'd been stuck invisible. Really. It was right there.

He went back to sleep.

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 2020

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phantomphangphucker · 5 years

Text

A Life Of Role Playing Weakness - PhannieMay - Day 14 D & D

Summary: What’s a halfa to do when school is on lockdown and everyone’s bored? Games and trickery.

Most of the class groans as they can tell the sun has set by the room becoming near pitch black. Though pretty well everyone’s glad Mr. Lancer got stuck outside of class, otherwise he would have spent the afternoon making them do school work.

Danny, knowing full well no one else can actually see, finds some candles and sneakily lights them with his fingers. Unfortunately, there’s only three but most of the class seems relieved to have them, “took you long enough Fenton”. Rolling his eyes at Kwan, “like you would have been any faster, at least I was actually doing something”. Danny honestly could have found them way faster but that would have been suspicious. Groaning a bit at the window, though the groan was more aimed at the extreme weather outside, that has caused the school lockdown and blackout. Sure he could technically just leave, but due to the schools' security system, all the doors and windows are sealed shut. The only way out would be to phase out and that would be so many levels beyond suspicious.

Clearly, a couple geeks are tired of Star and Lily bickering, “why don’t we play a game? You know, actually get along? For one night?”.

“Oh why would we do that when it’s more fun to annoy you losers?”, Danny rolls his eyes at Todd, sure he’s not as bad as Dash but still.

Apparently, the geek kid, James, isn’t very impressed either, “I’d rather get destroyed by stupid wind while having fun, than getting mocked by some meathead”. Danny’s not really sure how insulting the guy will get him to play games but whatever.

Deciding to interfere, “what game? Ain’t nobody going to play if no one knows what’s up. And if you say truth or dare even I will mock you”.

“Oh like you even know how to mock someone, Fenton. But yeah whatever, spill”, Danny muffles his snickering because he could out mock this guy easily. Half his fights involved mocking the opponent, eighty percent if it was Vlad.

The other geek kid, Tyler, rummages through his bag and pulls out what looks like a board game, “well, someone made a D & D ghost edition. Because this is Amity, got figures and everything”. Tyler is smirking as even Danny knows that anything ghosts gets pretty much every Amity teens attention. And Danny is honestly so down for this too, he will die if there’s a figure like him in this thing.

Flopping on his back as there is indeed a little crystal clear figure that, while mostly featureless, looks suspiciously like Phantom. Finger gun shooting himself in the head before pointing at the board, while still laying on the ground, “ok, I’m in”. Seems everyone else agrees while looking at the collection of ghostly figures.

Unsurprisingly, pretty well only the geeks know anything about this game. And no one’s interested in long explanations. So they just give a quick run down of classes and alignments. But having to pull out the book and read over it quickly for species, since this was an entirely ghosts and humans version.

Danny snickers, “chaotic good undying warlock suits me I’d say”. Really Danny only picked that because of the undying bit, the joke was there so he had to take it. And chaotic good pretty much was him, no way he could call himself lawful. Not when his very existence was against the laws of nature and reality themselves.

James tosses down a shorthand species sheet, “I’m surprised they actually made so many ghost species, so take your pick”.

Species:

Ghost - versatile but never the strongest

Ghoul - aggressive close and personal fighters

Spirit - gentle divine creatures, usually lawful

Spector - sneaky loners, like to appear highly intelligent.

Poltergeist - aggressive powerful fighters, always evil. Large but often invisible.

Whisp - tricksters but powerful with magic, always chaotic good. Small in size

Wraith - protective, unattractive and often feared by others

Banshee - prophetic strong healers

Phantom - selfless guardians who care for others, always good.

Danny obviously wants to pick the Phantom class but apparently, no gets to be that, as James taps on that class and snickers, “considering this is Amity, Phantom isn’t going to be a playable species otherwise half of you guys will pick that”. Danny sticks out his arms, “oh come on, if anyone should get that species it should be the guy with the same first name!”. A few of the other kids snicker and even James shrugs in amusement but, “can’t just let one person pick it. That would be a dick move”. Danny rolls his eyes but is thoroughly amused, seeing as he’s almost about to graduate and literally no one has figured out who exactly he is, he’s kind of stopped caring about going out of his way to hide shit. Heck, he’s tempted to just randomly clue in his classmates through various absurd means. At least now the government can’t even touch him, they wanted to be on “safe footing” with the ghost king even if they still have no clue who exactly that is. All they know is that he’s frequently in the human world and capable of taking the form of a regular human. Danny’s perfectly content to let them think that ability is unique to the Ghost King.

Shaking his head and looking down to the sheet, Whisp and Wraith are the only ones that stand out to him but trickster is much more in line with himself and would be much more amusing. And he’s not really surprised that no one picks regular ghost, “well Whisp it is for me. A chaotic Whispy Warlock that just can not fucking die already”.

“Dude, that’s not what undying means here”

“No shit, let me have my jokes”, besides undying warlocks get their magic from immortals right? Well this character was made by a damn immortal, given creation and thus power from Phantoms immortal ass.

Lily rolls the weird dice in her fingers, “so what? We roll for stat points now?”. While Rex eyes Danny up and down, “you picked the smallest class but you’re the tallest guy here. Did you just pick everything to be funny?”. Danny smirks wide, not why he picked the species but absolutely. Everything about him is practically one big joke, Hell he’s playing a board game with a bunch of regular humans while pretending to be trapped during a storm. He could literally fly through this weather and it would be fun too. He could also stop it if he really wanted to, use his ice to mess with the weather and air currents; but fucking around that much really wasn’t a good idea.

“Yup, roll three dice. Total stat point of three is the worst you could get, eighteen is the highest. Ten or eleven is the average. All the regular human npc’s are tens”, Danny’s not surprised Todd went with Ghoul. He might not be that big of a guy but man could he ever be an aggressive asshole to pretty much everyone. Speaking of asshole, “Fenton, your turn. What? your brain still fried from that weak little shock?”.

Turning to Todd and answering as he throws dice, “you know I underplayed that shit right? Didn’t want to deal with damn doctors, no way anyone would have let me out of going to the hospital if they had known it was closer to four billion than a hundred volts”. Smirking at Todd, “just for reference, a lightning bolt is around one billion. Your wall socket, that I’m sure you rammed forks into for kicks, is about a hundred and twenty”.

“Ok first off, you suck with dice, second how the hell aren’t you dead then?”, James clearly thinks Danny’s bullshitting and the sad thing is, the portal was probably more volts than that. Who knows what the volt readout for the entirety of a dimension colliding inside one tiny body is. Danny finishes rolling as he talks, “I’m not dead? Well, that’s news to me”.

Star elbows him, she’s become oddly friendly even flirty over the past year. Danny’s pretty well positive it’s because of his height and even if he wore baggy clothing pretty well always, if you really looked you could tell he wasn’t scrawny. Star’s got an eye for details so he can’t be too surprised and she’s perfectly fine with dating below her standing, Hell she dated Tucker of all people. “What even happened? Pretty sure you never told anyone”.

Rolling his eyes at her, “no one cared to ask. But if you must know a ghost portal opened up directly on top of me. There’s no real way to know just how much shocked me but I’m pretty sure an entire dimension carries more volts than one lightning bolt”.

Danny’s the only one to notice the straight up shit roll of his last dice as everyone gapes at him. Tyler’s the first to speak up, “you were electrocuted by the ghost zone?! Like all of it?! At once?! You should be a lot more than dead!”. Danny throws his head back and laughs, “what? Dead with a side of extra dead sauce?! Sounds like the perfect breakfast!”. Shaking his head as he continues talking, while catching James staring in bafflement at the dice, “sounds way more edible than those stupid ecto-contaminated Hot Dogs that try to eat you back! Or that damn overcooked turkey that stabbed me with a knife”.

Kwan mouths “what the fuck”, while James points at Danny, “dude, your luck is horrendous. I’m not even sure how you even get the worst stats possible. No wonder a portal opened up on you, I think the universe might actually hate you”, glancing at Danny who has curled up in laughter, “I don’t think it’s quite that funny though”. Danny can’t help but laugh harder, the king of ghosts, the most powerful ghost around, who’s literally worshiped as a god by some; is the weakest and shittiest ghost in this game. Like Boxy could beat this guys ass. That thought makes him laugh even harder. Wiping his eyes a bit and noticing that everyone actually looks slightly concerned know, “trust me, this is utterly hilarious. You just don’t know why! Oh man!”. Wheezing in laughter again, “now watch, the rest of my rolls will be so insanely good that I impossibly succeed at everything my character does”.

Kwan points at him, “with these awful stats you damn well better, otherwise you’re screwed”.

“I think the stats reflect Fenton perfectly. Weak and pathetic!”, Danny really can’t feel insulted because it’s just really funny right now. Todd is clearly not happy that Danny finds this funny instead of insulting, or that Star is mouthing, “are you blind?”, at Todd.

“How can you possibly find being insulted funny?”, comes Rex’s squeaky voice. Danny runs a hand through his hair, “insults are funny when they’re so insanely incorrect that it becomes absurd”.

Todd rolls his eyes at Danny, “you’re a complete weakling and a scaredy cat, just like al-”, Todd cuts himself off as he stares at Danny. Who just tore off his sweater, because this is way too funny. Chances are if he ever gets destroyed, it will be because he couldn’t resist a good joke. Danny smirks a bit as he nonchalantly flexes without doing any dumb poses, because he does have some shame. While everyone just stares at the clearly ripped and heavily scarred weirdest member of the weirdo trio.

“Todd, I could fucking maim you. I could maim the whole damn football team. But that wouldn’t be very good of me, now would it?”, tapping on his character sheet with a sly smirk.

“How the hell do you look like that man? And why don’t you just join the team then? Actually have good social standing?”, Danny can’t really blame Kwan for caring about that sort of thing. After all, being a jock was pretty well the guys' life and he wasn’t burdened with crazy weird responsibilities or power for that matter.

Responding mostly to Todd’s little insults, “I come from a family of ghost hunters, what the hell do you think? That scaredy cat crap is just a cover. Which is rather pointless now, what with graduation coming up and all the teachers not really giving a shit about my crap now”, aggressively pointing his finger at Kwan while the others finish rolling, “I don’t care for sports and my time is better spent elsewhere. Social standing in Highschool means nothing to me”.

Now it’s Tyler’s turn to look incredulously at the stupid powerful halfa, “why are you even telling us this?”.

“Because it’s funny. I picked a jokester species for a reason. I’m a little shit and this is one way I get my kicks. That and no one will believe you if you tell. So it really doesn’t matter. Even if you were believed, it would hardly matter. It’s too late for the school to really do anything and I really am someone of chaos. I will only laugh harder if the whole school starts freaking out”, Danny can tell he’s confusing everyone and that is only making him snickering more. So he takes the chance for first dibs on a figure, a transparent floating skinny man in a hooded robe with his legs crossed. Looks a shit ton like ClockWork, snickering “now if only he had a staff”. This prompts everyone else to realise what he did and to start snatching at figures, while Rex gives him a shy but quizzical look. So Danny decides to be more of a confusing mess to these regular mortals, “he looks like a close friend of mine. And this makes my horrid stats even funnier because my friend is flat out OP. His tricky ass will get a good laugh out of this I’m sure”.

“Uh, humans aren’t really OP, ever, are you friends with a freaking ghost? You’re damn weird enough to be the person who befriends some ghost. And what? You going to talk his ear off about actually hanging out with people other than the two other resident freaks for once?”, Todd’s tone goes from confused questioning to his typical insulting asshole mode. So Danny decides to be a bit of an ass right back, “Todd, my friend is an omniscient borderline god of a ghost. I don’t have to tell him, he already knows and is probably snickering like crazy right now. But of course you don’t believe me, why would you? Which is why he’ll either A, do nothing to make me the butt of a joke. Or B, do something to make you the butt of a joke. That, or he’ll hit me with his staff to do both at once”. Honestly Danny’s kind of looking for approval and pretty well a go-ahead from the master of time here, he’d like to know he’s not majorly fucking up just because he’s having a bit of fun.

Everyone’s staring at him in disbelief and he can tell Todd wants to mock him some more but Danny falling back laughing stops him. Holding the figure, which now has a little tiny glowing CW staff resting across its lap, above his face. Through a laugh, “fucking nice, you enigmatic weirdo”. Sitting back up as he places the figure on the board, “and now he’s got a staff”.

“Nice trick, maybe you can-”, Lily cuts Todd off, “dumb boy, pretty sure he doesn’t carry around mini glowing staff things. No ones that weird”. She’s not wrong, why would someone ever do that anyway? Well, ClockWork might, just to throw them at him. After all, he’s got all the time in the world to mess around, when he can anyway. Just like Danny, though Danny takes way more mess around time.

Tyler shakes his head, “something tells me, we barely know you”. Danny pats Tyler on the shoulder while James actually gets the game started, “so we’re doing this party style, just a dungeon crawl. Get through the city without getting caught by hunters and defeat the ghost king”. This makes Danny cough a bit startled, the goal of this game is for his classmates and him to defeat, himself? Well, he guesses that’s not really a first for him. “Hey, James. Who does this game think the ghost king is?”, everyone looks a bit confused at him. Then James grabs one of the figures, Danny can’t help but laugh at the little knock-off Pariah figure. “Well that’s a damn easy battle currently then! Dude’s locked inside the sarcophagus of forever sleep. So we’re beating up a sleeping man, or releasing him just to fight him. Which is grade A stupid and insane”, waving off their shocked glances, “besides he’s not even the ghost king”.

“Oh and you know who is? We could just swap out if there’s a figure for him. All the figures have set stats for if you’re going to use them as NPC’s”, now Danny’s just flat out interested, because that includes him. Danny motions for the book but James sticks it behind him, “oh Hell no, just tell us who”.

Rolling his eyes, “I’m just going to take the book, dude. I do want I wanna, chaotic and all that”.

“Fenton, he’s literally right across from you. How you plan to do that?”, Todd snickers a bit while James looks smug. Danny decides just fuck it at this point, because really how has no one noticed his crap yet. Using the free-floating ectoplasm in the air to fling the book over Jame’s head and at himself, flipping through it as everyone gapes. “How did you even do that? That’s more than just sleight of hand, holy shit”, Danny blinks at them over the top of the book and snickers, realising none of them actually noticed the slight ghostly glowing. Comparing his and Pariah’s page and damn they made Phantom overpowered. Sure, that’s accurate but, uh, even if everyone had freaky high stats this doesn’t seem winnable. Why the heck put a nearly undefeatable character in a board game? Sure it was accurate to real life but still. Though making Pariah just barely above half Phantoms strength was majorly underestimating the former king. Like insanely so. And did they seriously make a Walker look-alike stronger than Pariah? The tornado “race” too? Putting the book down, “yeah I don’t think we want to do that. The goal here is to actually win right? Not just have everybody’s asses get universally kicked”.

Lily puts her hands on her hips, “just spill already. You satiated your curiosity now do ours”.

Chuckling a bit as he pushes around the figures some, “fine fine, it really should be obvious though”. Smirking as he cups the little knock-off Phantom before slowly placing him at the castle, “our little town hero is a lot busier than he seems”. Literally all of them are grinning, though Star looks a bit confused, “so why do ghosts keep coming here and picking fights with Phantom. If he’s their king shouldn’t they, like, listen to him?”.

“Fighting is how ghosts socialise, know each other, and keep each other from getting rusty. The only way ghosts won't go picking fights with another ghost is if that ghost is hated or extremely annoying to literally everyone. Well, that or just being really dumb and pointless to fight”.

“So what Phantom’s not strong enough to be pointless to fight? Really Fenton”, Danny rolls his eyes at Todd’s unimpressed tone. Shaking his head, “oh the stats this book gives him are accurate. He’s pretty well the most powerful ghost there is. An omnipotent immortal who’s literally worshipped as a god by many other ghosts. All those fights are usually more like sparring matches, he’s having his ghostly fun and keeping in touch with everyone. He’d be so very bored otherwise and the other ghosts wouldn’t want him out of practice in case something happens”.

Todd actually starts laughing at this while James does indeed decide to stick with using knock-off Pariah because damn. Todd points at Danny, “of course Phantom likes hitting and fighting! Regular jock for sure, just with real power”.

“Well I don’t like that. He should be wanting ghosts to not come here, not eagerly, or whatever, awaiting the next fight”, Danny can’t help but jerk from that because dude fuck buddy. He absolutely did look forward to the next fight, fighting and witty batter was his bread and butter. Locking eyes with Tyler, “nearly every ghost awaits their next fight, welcome to ghost nature buddy. Humans go to cafes, ghosts punch each other. Humans show off pictures of their selfies or pets, ghosts show off new weapons by using them on each other. To fight is to socialise. Phantoms one of the few that doesn’t like others in the crossfire though. If ghosts stopped picking fights here, he’d feel unneeded and paranoid. Plus this is his home, ghosts have to come here to see him. Them being here doesn’t mean they’re causing problems”. Tyler still looks unimpressed.

There’s the occasional jokes and pepperings of ghost questions as they play a few turns before Lily has just about enough and finally asks Danny just what the fuck, “how do you even know all this shit? Even your parents, who’ve spent their whole lives researching ghosts, don’t know even half this shit. I would know, I’ve asked”. Danny chuckles, his parents would know this shit if they weren’t so damn biased and actually just asked. Smirking at her, “you learn this stuff by genuinely socialising and being friendly with ghosts. My parents only wish to send them back to the Zone or experiment. Of course, they don’t know”.

“That’s actually kind of sad, still doesn’t answer my main question though. You’re actually fighting ghosts?”, Danny will give her props on being pushy. But he rolls to see if he can avoid this random hunter trap before responding, smirking as it rolls high, “I spar yes, protect the citizens. Toss around witty banter, making Plasmius regret ever meeting me. In general, I’m an OP little shit”, Danny taps on his figure, that’s actually doing well for being an utter weakling, “that’s why this is funny. The strongest most capable person here has the utterly weakest character ever”.

“Capable ghost hunter isn’t a capable ghost, even if you’re a ghost friendly hunter”, Danny can’t help but wheeze. He was just a ghost being a ghost. Half human or not, he was sparing and socialising as a ghost does. Calling him a human hunting ghosts was just so entirely wrong. Smiling with his head in his hand, “I don’t call myself a hunter and neither do they”.

Kwan pushes him playfully, “yeah well, regardless of title, I still can’t believe you even do that. Props man, I guess”.

By the time the party gets to knock-off Pariah, both Lily and some quiet kid named Max have had their characters killed off. Danny’s snickering as his and Tyler’s characters are leading the face off. While James shakes his head and points his hand at the figures, “this is ridiculous even if you had raised your stats the most you possibly could, there’d still be no way to win this”. Danny chuckles because that’s pretty much what the odds were when he did face Pariah. Once again deciding fuck it, “well then let’s make this even more realistic then. I’ll roll to multiply my characters power a hundredfold”. James starts lowkey choking, “what?! How is that realistic?!”. Danny laughs as he rolls, “that’s how Phantom won. Multiplied his power a hundredfold and nearly destroyed himself in the process. This book drastically underestimates Pariah’s power. It took thirteen extremely powerful ancient ghosts just to seal him away, Phantom did it alone. Like the self-sacrificial idiot he is”. Shrugging, “well that and, no one else was even willing to fight Pariah cause he was too damn strong and wasn’t worth fighting”.

Smirking at his die showing a high ass number, while menacingly petting his figure, “having that much power... it’s a burden, isn’t it, child?”. James mouths, “what the fuck”, at both the die and Danny.

While Todd blinks a bit surprised, “Fenton, what? I would never have expected you to sound creepy, threatening, and powerful”. Danny grins wider, “and that’s why no one will believe you about any of this”.

Now, unfortunately, this battle with Pariah requires actually defeating him. No sealing him away, and his character is pathetically weak even at a hundredfold power. He could kick his own ass with his ghost powers completely neutralised. So it really surprised no one that Danny fuckin’ dies.

Snickering down at the figure, “little ragged around the edges, eh, child?”. Before bursting out laughing as the mini staff explodes into purple mist. Todd, Tyler, and Star do wind up surviving and winning though.

“So any other crazy bullshit you feel like pulling. Since we’re officially out of shit to do besides being dicks to each other”, James mutters while lying on the floor. Todd snickers, “I’m cool with that”. Danny rolls his eyes, “now-now, would you act like that in front of Phantom?”. Both Star and Todd shake their heads rapidly, only Todd speaks though, “why the hell would I? That guy’s like super moral, I’d be making a horrible impression”. Danny can’t help but laugh, yeah he’s definitely got strong morals but he’s also a little shit. He steals, pulls pranks, constantly breaks into to pretty much everywhere, and spends most of his time pounding the crap out of someone. Good reasons or no, he’s ain’t a golden boy. Just the good guy who generally plays fast and loose with morality... and mortality. Smirking at Todd, “it’s a little late to change his impression of you, I’d say. You’ve literally punched him in the face, multiple times actually”, Danny sneers mockingly but still humorously, at Todd looking startled, “oh what? Didn’t know Phantom can change into a regular human?”. Throwing his head back and laughing loudly, “funny thing! The town barely knows Phantom”. Danny sighs as his ghost sense goes off and well, surprise surprise, his icy breath also glows. Knowing full well it’s Skulker, who really is more of a threat, he has a bad tendency to abduct people after all.

“What the fuck was that?”, Danny completely ignores Tyler, though he does talk, “the town also barely knows Fenton. So you’re right about that, but looks like I’ve got a job to do. Guess Skulker doesn’t really care about the shit weather, but then again, neither do I. Flying in the wind is hella fun”. Smirking as his toxic green eyes fill the room with an eerie ghostly light, “anyways this has been quite amusing and like I said, I’m a little overpowered shit. And ain’t nobody gonna believe you”. Before transforming and phasing out the window.

“Fenton, Phantom. We are all idiots, holy shit”

End.

#danny phantom #phandom #phanniemay #phanniemay19 #d & d #danny fenton #kwan #oc’s #star #boardgame #reveal #danny’s a little shit #danny fuckin dies #ghost king phantom #danny is op #phantomphangphucker #have a fic suck my dick

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lonely-bored-writer · 5 years

Text

Is Everything Okay? Ch. 11

Danny yawned, leaning heavily into the back of his seat. Rubbing his bleary eyes with yet another yawn, dropping his pencil onto the desk. The week was finally over. Trial was supposed to start soon, it's been delayed because of everything that had happened. Even with everything looking up a heavy, gloomy sense of dread filled Daniel and wasn't going away. In the past few days the ghosts have been letting up... but that didn't mean his been having anymore sleep.

Every night, or should he say morning, around three AM something woke him. He doesn't know what, or why it was always at that time, but it kept happening. He'd stay up for two hours before his body finally decided he can sleep. That didn't make it any better. The sleep that followed was restless and fitful. He would wake up through out for brief moments, and he could stay still, always waking up in different positions

Danny jumped at the sound of a ping. His eyes landed on his now lighten up phone, a small smile slid its way on to his face. It was time for the one other thing that has become a constant for him. It happened every night after his dad without fail, and without planning. Every night around eight he would go down to the park, and usually Dash would end up showing up. It also helped Danny's mood that no ghosts would pop up during that time.

With a smile, the teen shrugged on jacket. A laugh escaped him when he realized the sheer size of the striped hooded jacket. Tucker had really thought he was going to grow into his dad's genes. Danny smiled when he realized that he never realized just how much clothing gifts Tucker had given him. Pulling the zipper up, Danny grabbed the spare key Lancer had given him. The older man had insisted Danny have one, after the teen kept declining his offers to drive him places.

Grabbing his wallet and phone, Danny slipped on his favorite red converses and made his way out the door. The smile still stayed sat on his lips as he plugged in his music and made for the walk to the park. For once, not in the mood to fly.

Danny hummed softly to the beat of the music, kicking his legs ever so softly. The chains still squeaked noisily into the night air, Daniel made a mental note to see if all it needed was oil. The young teen kept his eyes when he heard the shift in the swings beside him shift, the sharp shrill from the chains piercing through his music. His sapphire eyes popped open at the sound of the unexpected voice.

"Did expect to see you here, blue eyes." The purple haired teen smiled, flicking the died bud into the grass. Danny chuckled at the nickname Chris had given him, the older teen's explanation had been that he had eyes that almost seemed to glow.

"Didn't think you ever left the school roof." Danny joked, smiling back at the teen. That got hime a shove to the shoulder and a laugh from Chris.

"So..." Chris broke the growing silence. "How are things?" He questioned, starting to swing. The squeaking of the chains filled the empty park. Danny's the bought quickly supplied that every since he had gotten his powers and ghosts attack has raised, people didn't spend much time in the park after five.

"Things are starting to look up, so that's a plus" Danny shrugged, turning to face the other male. The rusty chains crossing before him. "How about you? How's skipping courses so far?" Chris released an exaggerated sigh, twisting slightly in the swing.

"Gotta start heading to classes." Chris grumbled, the corners of his lips tugging downward. "One of the teachers talked Principal Ishiyama into giving me a second chance. Starting Monday, I gotta go to classes or I'm expelled. Along with a shit ton of detention." Danny bit his lip to stop from smirking at the look his friend gave him.

"You must be proud." Danny joked, receiving a cocky grin from the goth. "I'm surprise one of your teachers even knew you existed enough to vouch for you." A chuckle escaped both teens.

"I know! Can you believe they wouldn't even tell me who?" Chris laughed, shaking his head. "Then again I don't know any teachers. Great friends with the janitor though." Chris pursed his lips, a thought fall look taking on his features. Danny outright laughed, causing the purple haired teen to stick a pierced tongue out.

"You pierced your tongue?" Danny's laughter quieted, a questioning eyebrow rose. Even with the confused face, the playful tone was clear through cobalt blue eyes.

"I don't know what your talking about." Chris crossed his arms, a challenging look slid to his face. Danny narrowed his eyes, a smirk slipping onto his lips. However, before the raven haired teen could even utter a response, a blonde clad in red took his focus.

"Hey Dash." Danny greeted with a smile, his eyes flickered to the confuse looking goth before him. When his eyes landed back on the jock, the same look of confusion clouded his features. "Uh, Chris this is Dash... Dash this is Chris." Danny made awkward hand movements between the two polar opposites.

"Hey man." Dash greeted, he offered a smile even if his eyes shone with confusion and suspicion. Chris only nodded, seeming ready to drop the greeting at that. That was until a certain younger teen kicked him in the shin. Giving the older teen a pointed look.

"Yea, hey Dash." Chris nodded, a much less forced looking smile slid onto his lips when the jock relaxed. A few seconds of tense silence followed the trio, only the squeaking of the chains filled the stale air.

"So, what can you guys tell me about a 'Coach Tetslaff'? Apparently I have her for second." Dash and Danny shared a look, a laugh pulled out from both teen. Danny shook his head, clearing his laughter. But the smile couldn't be shifted off his lips.

"Oh, what can we tell you about her..."

Daniel shifted in his seat, pacing the cup from hand to hand, his leg bounced underneath the table. His eyes kept shifting around the office, even thought by now he memorized pretty much every aspect of the room. Without having to look he could tell you that the owl shaped charm that hung right below the poster of the cat hanging from a tree was a slightly off kilt, and looked ready to drop from it's perch. He could also tell you about how many holes from nails littered the pale green walls of the room. His ran a hand through his unruly hair, huffing slightly when it landed back in front of his eye.

"Sorry for the wait." Anderson offered an apologetic smile as he entered, taking a seat at his desk. He dropped a beige colored folder onto his desk, straightened his back, a somber look taking his features. "We have a case hearing this Thursday. You will have to miss school for this, and so would a few people who have seen you and Mr. Masters together." Danny's frame tensed almost instantly.

"I'll-I'll have to testify?" Daniel asked, his hands tightening around the mug. That same dreaded feeling curling around his chest at the apologetic nod the agent gave him. "But...But Smith said that the photos would be enough and I wouldn't..."

"I know." Anderson sighed, leaning back slightly in the chair. Almost in a look of defeat. "We tried to bargain the case to exempt from having you speak, but the defense has a strong case. We were able to get me as your lawyer, which is a plus seeing as I have been overseeing this case from the start."

"You're a lawyer?"

"Yup. I know, odd, but I am a pretty good one." Anderson offered a smile when he noticed some of the tension leaving the teen's rigid shoulders. "But we need to talk about tactics. You friend, Tucker Foley, he will be called to the stand. His mother had already given permission. Along with him, Lancer, your family, you, Vlad, and a Spectra will be called as well." Danny almost spit out the water he had been drinking at the name of a certain ghost.

"Penelope Spectra?" Daniel questioned, trying to keep his voice as unwavering as he could. He didn't do a very good job when Anderson's eyes furrowed, scanning the open folder before him.

"Yes, her. Child psychologist. Why?"

"She works with Vlad." Danny bit out, swallowing harshly around the lump that was forming. The familiar feeling of something clutching at his heart and lungs shot fear through him. He bit the inside of his cheek in an attempt to ground himself, he couldn't panic. He'll be fine, Spectra couldn't tip the scales in Vlad's favor... could she?

"Danny" Anderson's concerned voice broke through the veil of fear and paranoia that had started to clear Danny's thoughts. Taking a deep breath, the teen focused his eyes back on the man. "She won't be able to do much. She's only there to give her insight. We have one of our own, an unbiased opinion." The anxiety that had been building, ready to burst, calmed at those words.

Danny released a sigh of relief, even if he knew Anderson heard it, he couldn't care. Things seem like he could win. He could actually get Vlad out of his hair once and for all. His dad would be safe, his mum wouldn't have to deal with the man's intensive flirting. Danny didn't bother trying to squish down the hope that began to bubble, instead he gave Anderson a small smile.

"So, what do I need to do?"

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #IM SORRY DANNY #danny phantom fanfiction #fanfiction #fandom #fanfic #fanfiction.net #Fandoms #Is Everything Okay?

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freshwater--mermaid · 6 years

Text

Ersatz Ch 24: A Tourist in the Waking World

Danny felt restless, standing so near to the Ghost Zone, but forced himself to focus on the task in front of him.

His increased 'curiosity' in his parents' research had the unintended effect of both making his parents proud, and causing his mother to insist that he help them with their latest studies.

His participation was limited to following exact instructions from Maddie about where to cut or what tools to retrieve. He was strictly not allowed to handle the ghosts otherwise, due to the risk of them escaping when being transported to and from the exam table.

Currently, Maddie was hovering beside him, watching his movements closely after instructing him to slice an ectoplasm sample in two.

Readjusting his grip on the scalpel, Danny lowered it toward the green blob. It had been taken earlier that day from one of the captured rats, and now Maddie wanted to test the sample against various temperatures.

She would start with both extremes; one half was to be frozen, while the other would be brought to boiling point.

The sharp blade cut neatly through the sample, splitting it down the middle. It was clearly beginning to rot already, its glow entirely gone. Maddie frowned as she noted this on her clipboard.

Danny wanted to shudder in revulsion at the memory of the acrid, old ectoplasm he's desperately eaten not too long ago. He was glad for the steady supply of new ghosts that had been roaming about recently. He never wanted to get that hungry ever again.

It had Danny feeling almost regretful that soon Halloween would pass, and the ghost sightings would dwindle back down to a minimum. He'd taken to hunting down any small ghosts he could find each night, easily tracking them with his parents busy in their lab most nights. And upon asking his mother about the exact functions of the Fenton thermos, he'd happily discovered that it could hold multiple ghosts at once, releasing them one at a time. He had used this knowledge to begin collecting the little spirits he captured for when he needed them.

However, one thought brought down his happy mood each time his mind wandered to the ghosts he had stored away. If there were this many of them pouring through the portal every day, then how many more were possibly lingering on the other side. In his home. With his body.

Danny's eyes were pulled once again to the closed metal doors, and he fought to stand still as his mom went about collecting the samples. His grip tightened on the scalpel, wishing vehemently that they'd forget about their stupid tests and go out ghost hunting for the night. Who cared what temperature did to ectoplasm, anyway?

Closing his eyes, Danny turned his head away and stepped back from the table. He looked toward his father's side of the lab. Jack was upstairs taking a snack break, and the finished ecto rifle sat alone on his desk, gleaming under the bright lights. The sight of it did not improve Danny's mood.

Maddie clearly didn't need anything more from him, fully absorbed in her work, and Danny had no interest in watching the experiment unfold. He stretched out his arm and dropped the blade onto the metal table with a light clang, removing his gloves and heading silently for the stairs.

Nothing upstairs could hold his attention, either. His father's loud eating and the buzz of the television got on his nerves within seconds, and he quickly walked to his room.

There he ended up sitting on his bed, staring down at his ever-growing pile of due assignments. At this rate he was going to start failing classes.

'Oh well.' he thought despondently. 'What's the point of keeping up with school? As soon as the next mandatory physical comes up I'm screwed, anyway.'

And there was the final nail in the coffin. The cherry on top of this pile of negative thoughts that had been plaguing Danny lately.

The realisation that his secret was temporary.

It had come to him just a few days ago, when he'd been standing outside the school awaiting his friends' arrival that morning. They had both walked up, laughing at some joke or piece of conversation that Danny wasn't listening to. What had caught his attention were the visible streams of breath that both teens exhaled as they spoke. They were also shivering quite a bit, arms crossed over jackets to keep out the sharp chill that Danny hadn't even been aware of. He himself had worn a short-sleeved shirt that day, forgetting to bring along his old hoodie.

That moment had sparked off the self-consciousness and worry. How was he supposed to fit in with everyone when he couldn't even remember to breathe or maintain a pulse, let alone react to the weather?

Sam had been right. Her statement from weeks before coming to haunt Danny. Eventually the clues would outweigh the doubts. People were seeing ghosts now. They were becoming part of Amity Park's day-to-day happenings. Soon it would take no leap of faith to suspect that the creepy kid who didn't make little spirals of visible breath might be dead.

Would his parents be the ones to find out first, he wondered. Maddie's keen eye could so easily pick up on the evidence if she took just one moment from her work to actually look at Danny. Even when she fretted over him, face filled with concern, she never seemed to actually take him in. He knew it was because of her guilt. The pained guilt that never really left her since the incident at Vlad's home. And as much as it saddened Danny, it was a great advantage to his current situation. He needed that distance between them; it was probably the only thing keeping her from noticing all of his increased oddities.

How would she react, knowing that he was dead. Knowing that he had died in that portal she had painstakingly pieced together over so many years. Would she be hurt? Would she cry and fall to the floor and plead his forgiveness for getting him killed? Or worse still. Would she see an opportunity. A chance to study an advanced form of ghost. One more powerful than any spectre she'd come across in her entire life. Maddie couldn't even comprehend a ghost like him. He'd gotten as much from her long lectures as she plucked samples from the little squawking rats. There was just no way in her mind that a ghost could possibly be so human as to actually fool her. He'd nearly smiled at her when she gave that confidant comment.

How would it feel to shatter that self-assurance? Would it feel gratifying, or just horrible.

Danny figured the latter, and rubbed a hand hard across his face. He frowned down at his textbooks, unable to take sitting still any longer. He had to get out and clear his head.

In the open air he could forget who he was, all of his problems scattering into the wind, seeming less dire. He could shirk his way around any future doctor appointments, and he could copy his friends' homework, and soon his parents would take to the streets once more, in search of new test subjects.

They were running out of the little blobs and rats, surprisingly enough. They had taken most of them apart completely, with Danny present to observe or lend a hand on a few occasions. He did feel sad for the small creatures, but couldn't help but be fascinated by everything his parents were discovering about the ghosts.

Sadly, since the test subjects were all so weak, Danny wasn't sure how well anything he learned from them would apply to himself. When cut open, they contained only globs of ectoplasm, while Danny could most definitely feel the intact bone structure beneath his skin.

And the lunch lady had organs. Green, misshapen organs, but definitely internal structures.

Danny hovered over an empty street, a hand drifting down to press against his stomach. He wondered what his insides looked like now. Not that he'd volunteer to be sliced open. No, best not to follow that line of thinking.

Shaking his head, Danny shot upward, flying around absently, no destination in mind.

A sudden burst of light caught his attention, his head whipping around toward the source. Even from several blocks away, the Fenton ghost shield shined like a beacon.

Curiosity and worry drew him back toward his home, though Danny assured himself it was most likely more little ghosts running amok. Maybe he'd get a chance to catch one before his parents got to them.

As he neared the house, careful to stay in the darkness, a white line swam across the ground below, moving swiftly away from the Fenton residence. Its strange shape and movement bewildered Danny, and he followed after it to get a better look.

The white creature lurched to the side, fading into a nearby home. Danny flew to the building, debating whether or not he should follow.

Screams from within ended his internal debate, and Danny quickly turned invisible before diving through the wall. What he came upon was like something out of a cheap scifi horror movie.

A teenage girl, clad in only a short nightgown, stood cowering in the corner of her bedroom. A disturbingly large, glowing snake raised up as it hissed at her. Its long fangs dripped as it opened its jaws wide, advancing on the girl.

Flying forward, Danny grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the way as the snake lunged. She was just as scared by the invisible grip on her, however, and immediately began to scream and flail about.

Danny grimaced at her in annoyance, grabbing her other arm and lifting her off the ground, planning on flying them both out of there.

That was when the door flew open and the lights turned on, revealing a burly man standing in the doorway and wielding a baseball bat. The man lost all bravado as he took in the sight before him. His daughter, hanging suspended in the air as she kicked and screamed. And a very big snake coiling up on the other side of the room.

For a few seconds he stood there, frozen, only his eyes moving as they swept back and forth between both spectacles. He was obviously deciding which target to go for first, and soon made his choice.

Apparently an invisible foe was less intimidating than a large, reptilian one. The man leapt forward and began swinging his bat wildly in the air around his daughter. When one swing came too close to Danny, he couldn't help but let out a startled "Hey!" in response.

The shout gave all three of them pause, but then seemed to ignite new strength within the father. He gripped the bat in both hands, swinging hard toward where the voice had come from. The strike landed, hitting Danny directly on the head.

Reeling, he dropped the girl to the floor, focusing on remaining unseen as his vision blurred. As it cleared, he could see that the snake was once again rising up, intent on continuing its attack.

Seeing no other option, Danny clenched his teeth and shot forward. He collided with the snake, grabbing hold and turning them both intangible. They flew upward and out of the house, into the open night air.

Danny quickly released the writhing ghost, shivering in revulsion as he put distance between them. The creature coiled around itself in the air, baring its long teeth at Danny and letting out a loud hiss.

Not waiting for it to make the first move, Danny charged up a ball of energy in his hand, sending it at the snake.

It connected, sending sparks of green dancing along the scaled body. The snake cried out and curled up tighter, muscles tensing. Danny realised too late what it was doing, and as he readied another blast, it struck out at him.

The energy in his hand shot off into the sky as he tried to dodge. One of the fangs sliced into his side as the snake dove past him. Blood began soaking into his torn shirt, and Danny pressed a hand against the wound, watching as the snake continued its descent, landing on the street below and winding away.

Danny glared at its retreating form, ready to follow after and get some revenge, when a loud blast sounded off from behind. A large green streak sailed over the snake's body, barely missing it.

"I see it, Maddie!" Jack's voice arose from the dark street below. "It's making a run for it!"

Danny turned invisible once more, following after the snake as his father tried to catch up. He didn't want the snake attacking more helpless people, and since his dad looked to be alone, he also didn't want him to get hurt. He imagined what those long fangs could do to a regular person.

Flying lower, Danny fired off small, quick shots at the glowing white creature. It began swerving widely on the road in an attempt to avoid him, but a few blasts hit, causing it to halt in the middle of the road.

An approaching car's headlights shone on the huge ghost, and the driver slammed their brakes, tires squealing, before quickly reversing and turning in the opposite direction. The snake watched after it, distracted.

Danny began charging up a more powerful ball of energy in his hand, but it dissipated as another large blast of green hit the snake dead on. It's white skin bubbled, peeling away as it flopped around it pain.

Jack had reached them, and Danny quickly glanced down at himself to make sure he was still invisible. Small drops of blood falling from seemingly nowhere was his only give-away. Hopefully his father wouldn't notice.

Jack didn't, and he grinned widely at the stunned snake, his ecto rifle propped up on his shoulder. Danny felt a thrill of fear as he realised that it was the new, improved model. It took a moment to power up for another attack, a high singing emanating from the gun, getting louder. The blast sounded almost like a canon, and Danny flinched away from it, flying far back as the ecto blast hit the snake again.

This time full chunks of the ghost's body flew off, splattering across the road. Danny felt the fear from before falling over him again, stricken in place as he watched the upper half of the animal writhe about on the road. Jack had definitely not been lying when he said he wanted to give the gun more power. It seemed he may have even overdone it.

But Jack didn't seem interested in capturing this particular specimen tonight. Instead, he charged the rifle up, striking his target a third and final time. The glow from the weapon cast shadows over his dad's face, morphing his grin from its usual bright beam into something sinister and malevolent.

There were only white and green bits of the creature left smeared across the black asphalt. Jack laid his gun on the ground, walking toward the remains with a proud stride. Danny turned and rocketed out of there, fearful that the man would soon take notice of the blood slowly collecting on the sidewalk.

The only thought passing through Danny's head as he flew was that he never, ever wanted to be on the barrel end of that gun. Ever.

He could still see the Fenton shield shining brightly, and groaned aloud. Giving up on returning home for the night, Danny began flying to the nearest safe place he could think of.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Tucker really didn't like being woken up to someone's hand clamped over his mouth. Especially when the owner of that hand was floating over his bed and looking down at him with glowing eyes.

The high pitched scream that followed was muffled by Danny's hand, and the hovering teen barely stifled his laughter as recognition dawned in Tucker's eyes.

The boy was less than thrilled, batting Danny away and sitting up.

"What the heck, dude?" he said lowly, reaching for his glasses so that he could glare at Danny properly.

As soon as he did, though, his gaze zeroed in on the red staining the lower half of his friend's shirt.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice rising.

"Calm down, it's stopped bleeding." Danny replied with an easy smile, his feet touching down upon the carpet noiselessly. "Soon it'll heal up completely. But I need to borrow one of your shirts for now."

"Yeah, sure." Tucker said, feeling faint as his eyes stayed glued on the wound.

Danny rifled through Tucker's closet briefly before pulling out a shirt. He then peeled off the ruined one, wincing as it caught on the dried blood.

Tucker muttered a few choice words and looked away as the long slice in Danny's skin was revealed, traveling in a nearly straight line across his stomach. Fresh blood leaked out in thin trails, and Danny frowned down at himself.

"Be right back." he said, disappearing through Tucker's bedroom wall.

He stepped inside the bathroom, where he knew Mrs Foley kept a well-stocked first aid kit. He'd need to bandage over the wound before it healed, or risk staining the new shirt as well. Danny wished it would get on with it, already. The persistent stinging was getting on his nerves.

When Danny returned to Tucker's room, the other teen was already laying out thick blankets across the floor, throwing one of his pillows on top. He scrubbed tiredly at his eyes as he went back to his bed, climbing under the covers with a yawn.

"Should I even ask?" he said as he removed his glasses.

"I'll tell you and Sam about it tomorrow." Danny promised, sitting down on the makeshift bed and pulling out his cellphone.

"I've got an alarm set so that I can get back to my place before Jazz tries to break my door down, so I'll be gone by the time you wake up."

"Cool." Tucker mumbled, already half-asleep.

Checking his alarm, Danny set the phone down and laid back against the blankets, pulling one over himself. He let himself relax, floating adrift in his own thoughts. It may not have been the night sky of Amity Park, but being out of his own home was still freeing somehow. Eventually he fell asleep as well.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Halloween day was heralded in with the sight of costumed kids walking to school. All of the banners and posters that the students of Caper High had worked on days before were now displayed all over the walls of the main hall.

Danny had barely managed to make it out of the house with an angry Jazz trying to "get him into the holiday spirit". She herself was dressed up as a doctor, and had been downright scandalised when Danny had commented that he didn't feel like dressing up. She had immediately begun trying to force different last-minute ideas onto him. In the end he managed to dodge the bed sheet, purple wig, and cat ears, making it out the front door in his plain jeans, shirt and hoodie.

He arrived at school to see Sam and Tucker waiting for him. Sam wore darker-than-usual makeup, her eyes overtaken by thick black. Her lips were dark red, with two little streams of fake blood running down the corners. She was clearly going for a spider theme, with little black and red arachnids adorning everything from the pattern on her dress to her jewelry. All of her earrings were little spiders and cobwebs, and there was even a spider hairclip resting on the unshaved part of her head.

By contrast, Tucker looked very out of place, standing next to her in a white long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He and Sam greeted Danny as he approached, and Tucker smirked heavily as he gestured at himself.

"Go ahead, ask me what I am." he said, already laughing.

"What are you?" Danny humored him.

"I'm a ghost!" Tucker held both arms out. "Get it? 'Cause they look like normal people!"

Sam rolled her eyes as Tucker cackled at his own joke. Danny couldn't help but smile as well. The three friends ascended the front steps and entered the school. The hallway was filled with kids admiring each others' costumes, and the trio had to do a bit of maneuvering before they could reach their lockers.

"Hey, one of you guys let me borrow your English homework." Danny said, spinning his combination into the lock.

"Danny." Sam scolded. "You have to stop ditching out on our study afternoons."

Danny bit back his reply, which was that he had better things to do. There was no way that wouldn't come across as mean. So he silently opened his locker and began putting away textbooks.

"Hey," Tucker spoke up from Sam's other side, his voice lowered. "Did that cut heal over yet? You still have to tell us why you crashed at my place last night."

Sam whipped her head between the two boys, eyes widening. Danny quickly held up both hands and smiled reassuringly at them both.

"Yes, it's gone. Not even a scar. And also yes, I'll explain the whole story at lunch."

Concern flickered behind Sam's eyes, but knowing that he couldn't very well talk about it openly in the hall, she didn't press the matter. She quickly moved on to a new subject as they headed down the hall.

"So are you going to be sticking around to help set up the haunted house tonight? Not that it can even be called that at this point." Sam asked, disappointment sharp in her voice.

Danny's sympathy for her, as well as his desire to not abandon his friends again, warred with the fact that he wanted to be back at his house by that afternoon. His parents would not spend Halloween night cooped up in their lab, and would instead take to the streets to hunt out any remaining ghosts. That would leave the Fenton portal unguarded, for the first time in too long.

"I can stay to set things up and hang out for a bit, but then I have to leave." Danny finally answered.

Sam opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short as her gaze flickered to something behind Danny. A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, but before Danny could react they quickly pulled away. He turned around to see Paulina rubbing her arms and frowning at him.

"Danny, you're freezing!" she exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah. They keep it way too cold in this place." Danny replied, shrugging.

Paulina blinked at him for a moment, before Tucker stepped in between the two, a big smile on his face.

"Wow, your costume is amazing!" he said, clearly not needing to feign the admiration.

Paulina blushed and giggled, hands gripping her skirts to give them a twirl. She wore a long, multi-layered victorian gown. Its pale pink fabric was complimented by white gloves that went almost all the way up each arm. The finishing touch was an elaborate crystal necklace that sat neatly upon her shoulders. She glowed a few moments more under Tucker's gaze before turning her attention to Sam.

"I can't wait to see your little haunted house tonight! It's going to be so cute!" she beamed at the goth girl.

"Thanks again for helping out, Paulina." Sam returned the smile, albeit with less shine.

The warning bell put an end to any further discussion, and everyone headed for their home rooms. Paulina followed behind Danny, and he could feel her stare as they neared their classroom.

"Are you feeling sick, Danny?" she asked. "You've been quiet a lot lately. And you're like really, really cold. Maybe we should skip this class and go hang around out back. Some time in the sun should do the trick!"

"No, I'm fine, Paulina. Really." Danny answered, entering the classroom.

Lancer was already there, and his reminder of the annual haunted house drowned out any further words Paulina may have had. Danny slouched into a seat near the front, his mind already drifting off, while Paulina joined a few of her friends at the back.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Tucker and Sam shivered as they listened to Danny finish his story about the encounter with the snake, minus a few details regarding how much his father had creeped him out, or the reason he'd gone flying in the first place.

"And thankfully they had the shield lowered by this morning. I flew into my room just as Jazz was threatening to break my door down." Danny smiled at the mental image of his sister ranting to his empty bedroom.

Tucker shivered, this time not from the cold.

"Giant ghost snake. Like we needed that in the city."

"So your dad really killed it? Like, completely?" Sam asked, frowning.

Only she would show open concern for an oversized ectoplasmic reptile. Danny honestly expected to find her standing outside of his house one day protesting the experiments his parents did on their captured subjects.

"Yeah, I guess he didn't have a Fenton thermos with him." Danny said, fingers picking at the worn end of one of his sleeves.

"Well, now that story time is over can we go back inside?" Sam asked, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"It's your fault for wearing that dress." Tucker smiled.

"I look awesome." Sam replied with a theatrical flourish of her hand. Her eyes then turned back to Danny, quirking an eyebrow.

"And what are you supposed to be, anyway? A ghost like Tucker?" she smirked.

"Didn't feel like coming up with a funny costume idea." Danny shrugged.

Accepting the nonchalant reply, Sam led the way back into the building.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Sam stared down at the little jack o' lantern display she and Tucker had made weeks before, now sitting on a table near the doors. She turned and looked out over the rest of the room. The large cafeteria was dimly lit, with the hand-crafted decorations hung up by her, Danny and Tucker. Fake cobwebs and little spiders were also spread around, along with the Biology class's skeleton propped up on its stand.

Various students stood around drinking punch and sampling the snack table, involved in their conversations. Lancer was the official chaperone for the event, and was clearly fighting to stay awake and alert as he sat in his chair. Tucker and Danny stood nearby, holding plates and looking bored. Tucker's plate was empty, and he occasionally stole a cookie from Danny, who didn't bother to even pretend to eat.

Sam couldn't help the bitter disappointment that still welled up within her. She'd wanted this year's haunted house to actually live up to its name, and not just be a social hangout like every year past. But without financial aid from her parents she'd just not had the money to achieve her goal. She was still refusing to talk to them, sending glares their way as they passed by in the halls of their home.

Tucker could be heard laughing, a pair of confused-looking students staring at him. He and Danny had been asked a few times that day just what they were supposed to be, and each time Tucker was all too happy to answer.

"We're ghosts!" he'd say, breaking off into a new bout of laughter, uncaring of the bewildered reactions of the other students.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Danny looked toward the clock hanging against the far wall. Halloween night had officially begun an hour ago, and his parents were probably halfway across Amity Park scaring trick-or-treaters. He really hoped the police didn't get involved this year.

He wanted to stick around and help Tucker and Sam clean the place up after everyone left, but knowing that the portal was unguarded was making it hard to stand still. He swore he could hear his old body calling for him, letting him know just how long it had been since he'd paid a visit.

He quickly gave his goodbyes and apologies to his friends before exiting out the back of the school. In the dark shadows he went invisible, lifting into the sky and flying as fast as he could toward home.

He'd been half-expecting to find a stream of ghosts pouring through the portal, what with how Vlad and his parents built up this night as a peak for ghostly activity. But as he dropped into the lab, he found it empty and silent, not a spirit or person in sight.

Relieved that he would get a night of peace, Danny quickly entered the portal. The other lab was empty as well, but Danny's mood was quickly torn down when several blasts were heard nearby.

Danny flew through the shadowed home, ignoring the call that urged him to go upstairs. He looked up the stairs, frowning as he turned and headed for the front door. Whoever was messing up his time here was about to have their butt blasted to the other side of the Ghost Zone.

Flinging the door open, Danny's eyes swept across the void landscape. Another blast rang out, and an arc of deep purple flames shot off into the distance.

Danny lifted out of the doorway, rising up over the walls of his house. He had to blink a few times to fully take in the sight that greeted him several yards away from Fenton Works.

"Mr Masters?" Danny shouted out in shock.

His cry drew the elder man's attention. His expression looked nearly as surprised as Danny as he looked at the boy. His opponent, a hulking ghost in armor, took the opportunity to strike out with a ball of flame. It hit Vlad in the chest, and he was sent backward from the force of it. The flames bit into his skin and clothes. His shirt was singed in places while the skin around his neck and chest blistered a painful-looking red.

Realising that he had to help, Danny dove over the rooftop, gathering energy into his hand and throwing it at the strange new ghost. A part of Danny's mind took a moment to admire the guy's style. His shiny black armor with purple flamed accents was definitely cool. He honestly looked like something off of Doomed.

In one smooth maneuver, the ghost pulled out his sword and struck Danny's ecto blast, sending it sailing away.

"Another fool dares to challenge me?" his voice echoed out from within the shadowed helm.

His unseen gaze held Danny for a second, before he turned once again to Vlad as the man sent two waves of ectoplasm toward him.

"Stay back, Daniel!" Vlad cautioned as he continued his attack.

Danny heeded him and backed away. He still sent out blasts toward the other ghost, hoping to distract him. Unfortunately he was a skilled fighter, dodging easily around the attacks while still focusing his attention primarily on Vlad.

He unsheathed his sword again, swinging it toward Vlad. The man dodged around him and sent out a line of ectoplasm. It solidified into a blade of his own, and Vlad began using it to block the incoming strikes. Danny noted how Vlad was completely on the defensive now, focusing solely on keeping the enemy's sword from hitting him.

They were both completely ignoring him, and Danny decided that this freed him up to move in closer, focusing a large ball of energy in between his hands. He neared the armored ghost and sent the charged energy right into his back. White sparks danced along the armor, and the ghost let out a cry.

His shadowed face turned toward Danny, who suddenly realised that it might have been a bad idea to get this close. He loomed over Danny, casting the boy in shadow, and raised his sword.

And then Vlad was swooping in from nowhere, sending a close-ranged blast at the ghost with one hand and grabbing Danny with the other. He flung the teen out, continuing his fight as Danny spun around dizzyingly.

After a few seconds he managed to right himself, annoyed and confused as to why Vlad had knocked him away. Did he think Danny couldn't handle a fight? Danny frowned at the man, who was once again displaying some cool powers by creating a shield out of ectoplasm, blocking the incoming blows. That annoyed Danny, too. Just how was he able to do that?

"Enough of this!" the ghost thundered, startling Danny out of his thoughts. "You have wasted enough of my time."

If at all possible, the ghost's efforts doubled, and Vlad was barely evading blasts of flame and the strike of metal against his shield.

Danny flew back toward them, not willing to let Vlad struggle on his own, despite what the man might think. He flew around the two as they battled, firing off quick shots as he went. As the minutes dragged by, Danny was grateful that they were in the Ghost Zone, or surely he'd be exhausted by now. Still, he wished this fight would end soon. He had only a few hours to spend here before his parents returned, and he did not want to sneak through the lab with them present again.

Frustrated, Danny dove in closer, powering up a second large ball of electricity. If he could stun the ghost again, then Vlad might be able to land a strike. That could be all they needed to end this fight and turn this guy into a floating mass of ectoplasm.

The powerful blast hit across his chestplate, shocks traveling across it, and the armored ghost nearly dropped his sword.

A low growl emanated from the shadowed face, and quicker than Danny could blink his opponent was practically on top of him. He swung the sword up in an arc, and Danny dove backward, just out of reach. The hulking ghost kept up his momentum, following after Danny as he retreated, bringing the sword in a second time.

Danny could distantly hear the sound of Vlad calling his name in alarm as the edge of the sword made contact with him. It went through him, leaving no mark, and Danny had but one second to look down at himself in bewilderment.

And then everything went black.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Danny's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, his body going limp and drifting downward.

Vlad cursed the child for his foolishness, glaring at the knight as he turned back toward him, no doubt planning on delivering him to the same fate. He had dearly hoped that Danny would be too distracted to come here this night.

As the ghost charged him, he dropped and flew under him, heading right for Danny. He grabbed hold of the slowly falling boy and flew toward the nearby lair. He dropped quickly all the way down into the lab, gritting his teeth in frustration. The knight would be following behind in mere moments.

He could not leave Danny to float helplessly about unattended in the Ghost Zone. There were still many small spirits hiding around, who would not pass up an opportunity to steal bites out an unconscious ghost.

It seemed that the knight would gain access to the human world, after all. Vlad had hoped to avoid that. Not for the sake of the citizens of Amity Park; it would only be one night, after all, and then the ghost would be bound in slumber for one more year.

But a supernatural attack on such a large scale would attract certain attention. Attention that Vlad hoped would never set its sights on this little city. Too much was here that could be discovered, namely Danny and the portal. And neither was exactly hidden.

Vlad had truly hoped that by engaging the knight in battle, he could have kept him away from the portal's pull just long enough for Halloween night to pass. He'd known it would be a close fight, and that getting cut with that sword was a high risk. What cruel fate had deigned that Danny's lair materialise so damnably close to that castle…

He had no more time for grim thoughts. As a crash sounded from above, Vlad dove through the portal and into the lab. He ascended into the boy's bedroom, dropping the unconscious teen onto his bed.

With his eyes closed and mouth slack, he looked as if he were simply sleeping. But Vlad knew better. He knew that Danny's mind existed in a cage now, and that only Halloween's end would release him.

He hoped that the boy's mind survived the hours to come. After all, one couldn't exactly mentor and mold a child who's mind had been shattered beyond help.

Vlad made a mental note to increase his observation of the boy after this night. If Danny slipped up and revealed himself, it would have far-reaching repercussions.

A roar reverberated through the house, shaking its foundation. Vlad turned away from the child, knowing that he'd need to draw the knight out of the Fenton home and into the streets. After that, he might as well stick around and watch the events unfold. It was sure to be an interesting night.

#ersatz au #i'll get these chs all caught up to the other sites i swear #the fright knight #danny phantom #vlad masters

26 notes · View notes

monotype-on-phantom · 7 years

Note

Please name or expand on Danny's weaknesses and flaws as a character ^^ And if you choose to do so, I thank you!

You mean, the flaws that don’t leave me shouting “ooc” or “bad writing”? This is a difficult task you have bestowed upon me, but I shall do my best.

Shallow:

This one’s mostly exclusive to s1 because Danny does grow and develop, but in early episodes, Danny wants so badly to be part of the popular crowd that he actually stops paying attention to things that are usually important to him. Even a possessed Hair Hornet gets somewhat blown off. “I know I should be concerned, and I will be. Right after the party.” He’s even more focused on this than Tucker is. He’s got the bigger crush on Paulina, he gets more depressed about being left out, and he’ll even hang out with Dash if it means he’ll be considered cool.

Like I said, he grows out of this. Comparing temporarily popular Danny in Attack of the Killer Garage Sale and temporarily popular Danny in Lucky in Love shows that it’s become less important to him, but it’s still something he initially struggled with.

Petty/Holds Grudges:

While Danny’s overall a good-natured kid and won’t stoop as low as a lot of people he has to deal with, when you push the right buttons, Danny’s far from forgiving.

A good example is how he acts toward Johnny in Lucky in Love. The two of them made a deal to work together and get Kitty to go back to Johnny, but Danny’s the one playing more dirty during the actual execution of the plan. He doesn’t pull any punches, and he even destroys the bit of Fenton tech he stole to ride in and out of the ghost zone.

It might be understandable, considering the fact that Johnny targeted Danny’s sister in 13, but during this situation, they’re not enemies. That doesn’t stop Danny from being bitter toward Johnny and enjoying kicking the crap out of him, though.

This side of him especially shows through with Vlad and Dash, who end up Danny victims more than anyone else. He’ll multiple times use his powers to get revenge, beat them down with snark, or even use Fenton tech on them (like shrinking Dash with the Fenton Crammer.)

Overly Suspicious:

This doesn’t usually apply to humans, but Danny does share his parents’ view of ghosts initially. It takes multiple instances of him seeing that ghosts can actually be friendly before he stops throwing the first punch. He assumes Technus is going to try to take over the world, that the Dairy King is going to attack him, and that Desiree is straight up evil when she’s not necessarily being antagonistic toward him.

It’s not all that often that he’s completely wrong, but he did think Wulf was a villain initially. Really, I attribute their friendship more to Wulf being pure and devoted than I do to Danny. Sure, Danny does get better about this post-Public Enemies, but he never stops being at least somewhat suspicious of basically every ghost he meets.

Temper:

Danny can be a grumpy, grumpy kid. I think we see him angry more than we see him happy in the show. It’s pretty much his automatic response to any negative situation. We never even once see Danny cry. Instead, he just gets mad at whatever situation he’s in.

My Brother’s Keeper, The Fright Before Christmas, Life Lessons. Even if he’s not always necessarily in the wrong, he does get angry more quickly than a lot of other characters. With enough pressure put on him, he’ll even snap at his loved ones and sometimes say unkind things he doesn’t really mean. It’s not like he’s usually out to hurt anyone, but when he’s fed up, he cares a lot less.

Sense of Responsibility:

This is a weakness/flaw because it gets him in trouble a lot. Prisoners of Love and Reign Storm are good examples.

Danny deals with a lot of pressure in his life, but really, few people put as much on him as he does. He has to fight the ghosts. He has to clean the house. He has to get back his dad’s present for his mom. He has to be the one to risk his life fighting Pariah Dark.

Very few of these situations actually are his fault or responsibility in any way, but Danny convinces himself that they are. It’s not even really that he’s willing to do these things even though he doesn’t have to. He fully believes that he doesn’t have a choice. These are things he needs to do. As a result, he ends up putting his life in jeopardy a lot more than necessary, and sometimes over what seem like minor things.

Lack of Self Awareness:

This actually ties into a lot of his other flaws. Danny isn’t always aware that he’s doing something wrong until someone points it out, and even then it sometimes takes multiple conversations for him to really get it. Changing those things can also be a struggle. He has to learn about and deal with situations as they come, because it takes time for him to really find the root of his problems.

Another way this causes issues is his failure to see his good points. He doesn’t realize how strong he is, for one thing, and even when he’s going out of his way to help people, it’s because he thinks it’s what he should do, not that he’s just, y’know...a good person.

In some situations, he’s not confident enough, and in others, he’s too confident. He might think he can handle a certain situation when he can’t, and in other situations he gets too nervous or frustrated with himself to do everything he’s capable of.

Puns:

His puns are painful. Somebody stop him.

That last one was mostly a joke, but yeah. I won’t say these are all his flaws, because I could’ve easily missed something, but I think this is a good summary. The reason these flaws are good ones is that they’re consistent and he often has to learn from them. No character is prefect, because otherwise they’d be boring, but a good hero is capable of growth.

Flaws that exist solely for a joke or to teach a lesson in exactly one episode are lazy and weak, and I tend to ignore those ones, especially if they go against how the character would normally act (Danny taking his friends for granted or sneaking into the girls locker room, for example). That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some good, interesting flaws, though.

#hopefully that was okay #danny phantom #danny fenton #cast #plot #i-understand-mon-cher #ask me

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hanzo-shimadacree · 8 years

Text

Secrets Within Our Cores

Chapter 1 One year has passed since the disasteroid incident and people have now come to love their beloved ghost hero Danny Fenton, A.K.A Danny Phantom. Ever since they found out that he was a hybrid, ghost hunters have stopped going after him. He and Sam were dating, but later on breaking up because they found some complicated things in their life. They are still good friends and recently, she started to date Tucker, which of course Danny didn’t mind. He has gotten better with his ghost powers, however, he felt as if he wasn’t as powerful as Vlad.

‘Speaking of Vlad,’ Danny thought while he ate his cereal, ‘I haven’t seen him in a while’. To be honest, the young hybrid kinda missed the Fruitloop. He has been asking if Plasmius ever got back from space, knowing well enough that there are portals in space that can lead back to the Ghost Zone, but no one has seen him. Phantom grew a little concerned thinking something happened to him and decided, ‘After school, I’m gonna visit Clockwork. Maybe he’ll know.’ School was slow and it was lunch when he went to sit with his two best friends. “Sup Danny,” Tucker said.

“Hey.”

“You alright Danny,” Asked Sam. “You kind of seem a little out of it lately.”

“I’m fine. I was just thinking of seeing Clockwork today.”

“Why?”

Danny looked down a bit. He was nervous to tell them, but he knew Sam won’t let him off the hook about it. “I want to ask him about a certain ghost. I want to know if he’s still around.”

Sam didn’t know who he was talking about and just shrugged it off. It’s best if she didn’t know. School was finally over and Danny flew to his house, letting his family know where he was going, and flew through the ghost portal. He still had some old enemies fight him, but they weren’t as bad as before. Sometimes they won’t fight and just hang out when they feel like it. Skulker stopped hunting him, but that wasn’t an excuse to just fire past him for the heck of it.

Danny entered the clock tower where he spotted the time master. “You probably know why I’m here,” Danny played.

“Yes, but you don’t have to be snarky about it,” Clockwork joked back. “But there is something you need to know.”

Danny saw the look in the ghost’s eyes, he was upset for some reason. “Okay, what is it?”

“There is a ghost in the Ghost Zone that is able to hide from the timeline. I have been having problems not being able to see him. His name is Korenos, also known as The Heart Thief.”

Clockwork showed an image of the ghost on his main timestream screens. The ghost looked half dead. Some parts of him were just exposed bone and he had a nasty grin that can give even the most rotten ghosts chills. “I had not been aware that he has corrupted ghost cores in order to force them to do evil things. He has not been bothering others for a while beca-”

“Then why do I need to know about him?” Danny interrupted.

He scowled at the young hybrid, which made him shrink down apologetically, then he continued. “Because, he has been doing it one one ghost.” he showed another picture and Danny’s eyes widened. The ghost on the monitor was Vlad.

“But, why him?”

“Because he was unique at the time. Korenos sensed a strong power within him and forced Vlad into becoming how you knew him now.”

Danny was stunned and looked at the image of the older hybrid. “What else did he do to him. I mean like how did he even find Vlad?”

“Vlad was still at the hospital when he knew about his powers. When the doctors were gone, he managed to fly away without being noticed.” he smiled a little. “He risked flying far from the hospital to go see your parents wedding. Since he couldn’t actually be there, per hospital’s orders, he snuck off.”

Clockwork showed Danny Vlad’s past of when he flew to the wedding and saw those two get married. What surprised him was that Vlad was actually happy. A little upset, but happy to see his best friends ‘tie the knot’. The image went fuzzy and Danny looked at Clockwork. “That was all I was able to see. The blurred parts are from when Vlad ran into Korenos.”

“Then how did you know all this?”

“Because, there was a ghost who was brave enough to tell me about Korenos and I had to find out for myself. So, I released someone who turns out to have his overshadowing him the whole time.”

Clockwork looked up and so did Danny. Danny was pale when he saw Dan Phantom laying down on a beam, asleep by the looks of it. “The Korenos from his time had overshadowed him for ten years until I freed him, separated the two, then trapped Korenos inside a thermos.” he pointed to a thermos on a table where Dan use to be at.

“What was his story?”

“Dan was fused between to two, that was true, but before Korenos overtook him, Dan merged back with his human form. The only reason why Vlad from that time thought Danny died, was because Dan knocked over a skeleton and a few packs of blood on the floor. When Korenos started to take over, his human cloths ripped apart and lied on the floor on top of the skeleton. Dan told me Vlad’s memories of the Heart Thief. How he shot a needle into Vlad’s neck, which caused him to turn bad and the small amount of feelings for your mom tuned to an obsession. Vlad didn’t want to be with her and most certainly did not want to separate his two friends from each other.”

Danny was dumbfounded when he heard that Vlad was trying to move on. “Does it wear off somehow?”

Clockwork nodded. “Korenos goes to inject Vlad every time it wears off. But when it does, Vlad’s body gets rid of it by him vomiting it out. However, it is spilled out along with a lot of blood.”

Danny, himself, felt nauseated. “Can I please find him? I- I want to help. Please Clockwork.”

The time ghost smiled at the young Phantom’s determination to help the older hybrid, who used to be considered as his enemy. “Go see Frightknight. He will show you where Vlad is. I will notify him with a messenger ghost to be aware of your arrival.”

“Where is he at?”

Clockwork looked at him. “The old caverns of Parah Dark’s castle.”

#meddling minutes #danny phantom #vlad plasmius

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lonely-bored-writer · 5 years

Text

Is Everything Okay? Ch. 9

Danny jumped up with a start. He blinked away the grogginess that laid in his eyes, trying to catch what it was that woke him up so roughly. His hands landed on a wet spot on the bed, looking down his eyes widened. His gaze fell onto his chest, and a groan escaped him. Blood drenched the bandage around his chest, and the sheets on the bed. Rolling onto his back with wince, he paused, taking a deep breath.

He still felt immensely tired, but he knew his alarm should be going off soon enough. His eyes fell once more on the stained sheets, his mind racing on what he should do. He could phase the blood out, but where would he put it? Pulling himself into a sitting, shaking his head clear of the tired foggy that began to gather again. He gathered the medical supplies back together from where they scattered.

He felt the throbbing radiating from his chest, grimacing at the feeling of the bandage peeling away from the torn skin. Danny scowled himself for being an idiot, he should have worked this properly, rather than just throwing a gauze over it. He rolled up the soiled wrap, placing it by the sheets, grabbing a cotton ball he covered it in rubbing alcohol and worked to cleaning the wound.

The sharp burn that erupted on contact only weaseled a tiny wince from the teen. The feeling was all too familiar to him, his movements all done robotically from muscle memory. His mind drifting to random thoughts before his realized something, a groan escaped him. He didn't finish his homework, and he's been doing so well these past three days.

"Daniel?" A knock sound at his door, causing the teen to jump, the rubbing alcohol fell to the floor. Danny was never so glad that he closed it before it fell. "What was that? Can I come in?"

"No!" Danny yelped, startled that Lancer was up. His alarm didn't go off... Danny cursed himself, leave it to him to set the alarm for PM rather than AM. "uh, no. I'm okay... I'll-"

"Bridget Jones' Diary!" Lancer gasped, his eyes glancing between Danny's bandaged chest, and the blood soak sheets and cotton balls near him. Danny took on a dear caught in headlights look, eyes widened in fear.

"I-I-I can explain!" Danny jumped from the bed, every part of him was yelling at him to run. To just turn around and phase out through the wall. He pushed down the very instinct to turn invisible, Lancer didn't need to start questioning how the teen disappeared before his eyes.

"What happened? Masters is in custody, who did this?" Lancer stepped into the room. "We need to get you to the hospital-"

"No!" Danny furiously shook his head. "It was just a scratch, it's not as bad as it seems. That just, uh, gathered overnight."

"Overnight?! You came back injured?!"

"No... I, um, snuck out after dinner..." Danny trailed, his gaze dropped to the floor, a hand rubbing the back of his neck while his other wrapped across his chest. "We were just... We-"

"Daniel, tell me who did this." Lancer's tone made anxiety flare in Danny. There was no way he was getting out of this.

"We ghost hunt, okay." Danny sighed defeated, he wrapped his arms around his abdomen and kept his eyes downcast. "My-My parents aren't the best, and Phantom can't be everywhere so when Sam, Tuck and I helped him once, we got him to let us help him on night patrols."

"Is that why? Did Masters really-"

"Yes!" Danny's eyes landed on Lancer, his eyes hard with truth. "Vlad did like to beat the crap out of be whatever chance he did... usually during the patrols but I couldn't just let the town get overrun by ghosts!"

"Daniel, this is dangerous, you could get seriously injured. This isn't a game." Lancer's face clearly showed his concern. His hands motioning to the blood covered bedding. "Did you not think I would find out?"

"My parents never did." Daniel mumbled, his eyes flickered downwards. "Just, let me do this?"

"Daniel-"

"No, look. I can balance this. Vlad was what messed everything up, but I can do this." Danny pleaded. Even though he knew Lancer couldn't truly stop him, he would try. He was staying with the teacher, he needed to at least have his permission.

"Two conditions." Lancer sighed after a moment of silence. Danny's nod prompted him to continue. "First, if it starts to take a large toll on you physically or mentally, you will take a break. Second, if you get injured like this again, you come to me. Deal?"

"Yes, yes." Relief flooded the teen's features, causing a small smile to slip its way onto Lancer's face. "Thank you"

"And he's just okay with us hunting ghosts?" Sam asked, doubt evident on her face. Danny shrugged, pulling a book from his locker. The trio crowded around their lockers, going over the events of that morning.

"And he insisted to drive you?" Tucker added.

"I'm telling you, it's like Lancer is naturally a protective parent." Danny closed his locker, turning to his friends.

"Now we know that the ghost hunting excuse would work just fine." Tucker urged, his face trying to communicate the words he didn't want to say.

"What?" Danny questioned, the trio sharing goodbyes as Sam parted from them.

"Dude, you should take up Clockwork's offer." Tucker exasperated, throwing his hands in the air. Danny sighed and shook his head, the duo pausing in front of Danny's class.

"No Tuck." Danny shook his head again to emphasize his point. "Unless something extremely unfix-able pops up, I'm not doing it."

"Okay man." Tucker put his hands up in a surrender form. "I just hope it all goes well." Tucker offered a smile, before the two shared farewells. Danny sighed, walking into the classroom and flashed his teacher a small smile. He found himself in the back of the classroom, eyes glued to the blank notebook before him. Keeping his ears trained on the ticking of the clock, rather than the gossip around, waiting for class to start. Also waiting for when he won't be the hottest gossip.

"Hey Fenton." Danny looked up startled to find Dash taking the desk next to him, the blonde smiling at him.

"Hey Dash" Danny nodded, offering his own small smile. Ever since the first meeting at the park, the two created a small friendship, although this is the first time any of them confronted the other at school.

"Everything good?" Danny could clearly see concern in Dash's blue eyes. Daniel nodded, his smile staying on his lips.

"Yea, just a little weird... Ya know?"

"Figure staying with a teacher would be." Dash nodded. Danny was going to retort back when the final class bell rang, cutting the conversation to an end. Leaving Danny's sentence unspoken...

Thursday evening, and Friday went by without too much of a hitch. Most of Daniel's issues came from ghosts who have finally decided to comeback, but never answer Danny on why they left in the first place. He hasn't gotten any new cuts that would need Lancer's attention. He planned to keep up his side of the deal they made... Only if he was bleeding.

Now, Danny found himself pacing back and forth waiting for Smith to tell him he can go in to see his sister and mum. Four days have passed since the last day he had seen either of them, well he noticed Jazz in the halls but she usually steered clear of him. Which he couldn't blame her, he knew she would do anything to keep the case from being corrupted.

"You keep pacing like that you'll pace yourself a hole." Anderson joked, his eyes stayed glue to the magazine in his hands. The teen huffed, flopping into chair of the waiting room. "You'll be in soon."

"Not soon enough-"

"You can go in." Danny jumped up, following Smith towards the room. Tears pricked at his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. "I was able to pull a few strings so that you guess can have your privacy." Daniel looked up shocked, a smile sliding on his lips.

"Thank you, that's-that means a lot." If Smith heard the slight crack in his voice, or the watery affect the pushed back tears had on his vocals, she didn't mention it. Instead, she rested her hand on his arm and gave him a smile.

"Good Luck." Danny thanked her again before opening the door and stepping in. The tears slide down his face when his eye's landed on the tired faces of his family, dark bags cleared under their eyes.

"I-I'm so-so sorry!" Danny cried, pulling the two of them in a hug. The guilt that had been building, and released a little with his father, came crashing on him. "I got dad arrested!"

"Sh" Maddie soothed her child, it broke her heart to see her baby boy hurting. It broke her heart more knowing that it has been happening for some time and she never noticed. "It's not your fault. It's the awful man, Vlad Masters. Your not to blame."

"Danny, none of this is your fault. It's basic victimology, but you caused none of this." Jazz ran her hand through his hair, her own tears stayed at bay while his mother cried her heart out.

It took a few minutes. The trio just stood there crying, Jazz gave into her tears after a few seconds of holding back. Danny felt his heart clenching knowing that he was the cause of his always strong sister cracking.

"Why aren't you guys staying at home?" Danny question when the three migrated to the table in the room. "The signs off..."

"We figured any evidence they might think could be there won't be tampered with if we stayed somewhere else." Jazz answered. "I won't be telling you where little brother , because knowing you you'll try to visit." The three chuckled softly.

"Where have you been?" Maddie asked, not being able to bring herself to finish the sentence.

"I, uh, first stayed at a holding home." Daniel informed, wringing his hands underneath the table. "The agents were asking who would take me in, and Mr. Lancer said he could. I started staying with him on Wednesday."

"That's nice of him." Maddie smiled. "Remind me to get him a gift basket."

"No ectoplasm please." Jazz retorted, dragging a chuckled from Danny.

"Have you seen dad?" Danny questioned, regretting it when the mood darkened. "I went to, um, see him the other day..."

"We did." Jazz nodded.

"We actually went yesterday." Maddie added, a small smile fell on her lips. "He was ecstatic you came to visit."

"Of course I did, Smith and Anderson are trying to keep contact minimal." Danny mumbled the last part, his eyes falling onto the table.

"Danny-"

"I'm so sorry to interrupt." Smith called from the now open door. "I know you three still have half an hour left, but there has been an emergency."

"What happened?" Maddie jumped from her seat. A sense of dread filled Danny, curling tightly around the knot that already sat in his stomach. The dread mingled and entwined with the depression and Anxiety that already sat there, causing a much more intense fury of emotions. He swallowed thickly, his eyes never leaving the concerned, and worried look on the agent's face.

"It's-It's your husband." Smith rushed, she was flushed in her cheeks. Her whole posture and face screamed she was in a rush, screamed that something tragic happened. "He's been-He's been stabbed. He's at the hospital."

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #IM SORRY DANNY #danny phantom fanfiction #fanfiction #fandom #fanfic #fanfiction.net #Fandoms #phandom #Is Everything Okay?

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freshwater--mermaid · 6 years

Text

Ersatz Ch 23: They Don’t Know They’re Dead To Me

Danny woke suddenly to the sound of screaming. He barely had time to process this before his body hit the bed with a dull thud.

He grimaced, rubbing at his eyes as he rolled out of bed. Another bout of yelling woke him up fully, and he quickly unlocked his door, flinging it open.

He looked out into the hallways and instantly spotted his mother, standing in the doorway to Jazz's room. She held up a small ecto gun, pointing it inside.

"Get down, Jazz!" she yelled as she took aim.

She fired a single shot, causing Jazz to cry out.

"Mom, you're going to set my room on fire!" the teen protested from within.

Danny wanted to approach and see what his mother was shooting at, but the sight of the active ecto gun kept him rooted.

Jack came bounding up the stairs, holding a mostly-finished ecto rifle in his hands, its wires still exposed.

Maddie glanced toward him and frowned.

"Jack, you're not firing that in the house." she said. "It's far too strong; it'll singe through the walls!"

Jazz squealed out, and all attention was turned once more inside the room.

"Just get these things out of here!" Jazz shouted unhappily.

Danny guessed correctly that it had to be ghosts, and his thoughts turned briefly to Vlad's warning about increased activity.

Maddie dove into her daughter's room, firing off several times despite Jazz's protests.

Two small ghosts suddenly burst through the wall and sailed in random directions. They looked like animals of some kind, but their rapidly darting forms were hard to distinguish.

Maddie ran into the hallway and fired her gun repeatedly at the fleeing spectres, green beams arcing across the walls, fizzling out harmlessly against anything non-ghost they hit.

The two spirits streaked past Danny and Maddie's gun crossed over him as well, still firing.

With an unintended shout, Danny fell back from the doorway, barely dodging one of the stray blasts.

He could hear Maddie and Jacks' footsteps beat down the hall as they pursued their prey. He continued to lay upon the floor, unable to get back up.

That single, small beam of charged energy had conjured up far too-clear memories of pain and peeling skin. The bloom of sharp light, the burning and the sensation of falling. All of it crashed over Danny, and the teen could only lay there and hope his parents didn't come back.

Thankfully, as the minutes passed it seemed that the ghosts had tried to flee outside. Jack, of course, had preemptively set the shield, trapping the little spirits.

As he finally began to calm down, Danny sat up, pulling his knees up and resting his arms upon them. He raked a hand through his hair, frustrated and confused by his own actions. What had come over him?

Sure, the ecto gun would've stung, but it wasn't as powerful as the one that had blasted him out of the sky weeks ago. So why had he been so petrified moments ago?

Danny groaned in annoyance at himself. He couldn't afford to get jumpy around his parents; Maddie would undoubtedly pick up on it, and the last thing he needed was her attention.

Danny stood up, silence ringing out as the shooting ceased. Then Jack's boastful voice could be heard downstairs. They had definitely been successful in capturing the ghosts.

A lumbering gait thundered excitedly downstairs, while a second set of steps padded lightly back up to the second floor.

Danny turned and walked away from his open door as Maddie passed by, heading to Jazz's room.

Danny listened to the muffled conversation between mother and daughter as he looked out his window. The shield blinked out of existence as Jack shut it off, and it took Danny's eyes a moment to adjust to the black night sky.

A quiet knocking from behind beckoned Danny to turn, and he wasn't surprised to find his mom's concerned face looking at him.

"Danny, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, Mom." Danny answered casually.

Maddie paused for a moment, looking caught between thoughts before speaking again.

"I'm sorry I scared you, honey." she said, her voice almost as quiet as the silent house. "I guess I just wasn't thinking, and…the ecto gun can't hurt you, sweetie. You know that, right? I know that, but I suppose I…"

Maddie was at a loss for words, obviously trying very hard to assure Danny that she had meant him no harm. This at first alarmed Danny, as he wondered why she'd be so stressed over this unless she knew his secret.

And then it hit him, like a bolt from the sky.

More images from the past flickered across his mind. His mother. Not his mother anymore. Possessed by some unknown entity. The feel of her sharp nails as she dug her fingers into his hair, striking his head against the ground.

Stars danced across his vision briefly as he came back to the present. With a start, he stepped forward, coming to stand before Maddie.

"I wasn't scared," he insisted. "I was just caught off guard. Still half-asleep, and all…sorry for worrying you, Mom."

Maddie smiled at her son, moving forward, arms reaching out in the beginnings of a hug. Alarm bells sounded in Danny's head, and he quickly took two steps back, arms half-raised. He couldn't let her feel how cold he knew he was.

And like that, his words were undone. The smile was gone, and Maddie's face had drawn back up into a look of sadness and worry.

"Okay, honey…" Maddie said, her voice somehow even quieter. "Sorry this whole thing woke you up. Get back to sleep, sweetie."

With those parting words, she turned and went to join her husband in the lab, no doubt to observe their newly captured subjects.

Danny closed his door quietly and locked it. But instead of going back to sleep, he lifted off the ground cautiously and slowly flew out of his window, careful to remain invisible.

The freedom and solitude of roaming the dark skies of Amity Park helped ease the unwanted memories and thoughts from Danny's mind.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Laughter echoed down the empty halls of Casper High, as the group of teenagers stood around a large table in the cafeteria. Various craft supplies littered the table's surface.

Nearly everyone present was engaged in conversation as they cut, glued, and folded paper into different Halloween themed decorations.

Two individuals, however, were completely silent, and Tucker's gaze swept between them both.

Danny looked completely absorbed in his own thoughts. The only reason he was attempting to cut out little ghosts from white paper is because Tucker had given him the task, hoping the inside joke would bring a smile to his friend's face.

No such luck. Danny had taken the supplies and got to work without comment.

Tucker looked to the opposite end of the table, where his other best friend stood. Unlike Danny, Sam wasn't absorbed in thought. She was instead absorbed in her own sour mood, brooding as she created a glitter-coated skeleton out of black paper.

Tucker sighed quietly at Sam's childish attitude. He supposed she was still stung over Dash's comments from the day before, and the fact that the very jock in question was now joking with Star as he made paper pumpkins was apparently salt in the wound for Sam.

Paulina had heard of Dash's mistreatment of Sam, and had very angrily talked the boy into helping out with decorations for the haunted house. She had invited Star along as well, and managed to convince the principal to let them borrow the cafeteria after school hours.

Tucker guessed that also contributed to Sam's mood. Paulina had managed to organise this entire get-together, while Sam had still been mulling over a theme to go with.

Tucker just hoped that she stopped sulking and lightened up, or Dash would soon give in and call her out on her attitude. That would not go well.

The teen looked down at his own little project, a vampire made from several glued-together pieces of paper. Tucker knew he wasn't that great an artist, but he was actually proud of how it was coming along.

"Wow, nice job, Tucker." Paulina commented from across him. She held up her own work; a cut out banner depicting little orange pumpkins.

"What do you think?" she asked with a beaming smile.

"Dang." Tucker replied. "That's really good! How'd you learn to do that?"

Paulina gave a flattered laugh at the obvious awe in Tucker's voice.

Tucker could feel Sam's glare burning into the side of his face as he listened to Paulina go on about her art class at her old school.

Tucker continued to ignore her stare as he got back to his own work. Just because she was angry over Dash and Star being there didn't meant that he was going to ignore everyone too.

Another hour flew by as the group, save two, continued to chat and show off their crafts. Dash was surprisingly amiable, but Tucker suspected it was mostly a front to impress Paulina, since the blond didn't talk directly to him, Sam or Danny.

Still, Tucker sure wasn't going to rock the boat. As long as the ol' Bone-Cruncher stayed docile, there'd be no issues.

Soon enough it was time to head home. Everyone gathered the finished decorations and piled them in front of Sam, like some kind of Halloween offering to their goth queen.

Tucker was happily surprised when Sam looked up and thanked everyone for helping out. Paulina grinned and hugged Sam before bouncing off with Dash and Star in tow.

Tucker walked over to his friend, who was looking down at the pile with a blank expression.

"Don't set it on fire." he smiled. "We worked hard on those."

"I'm not gonna torch them." Sam huffed, hands at her hips.

She gave Tucker the same odd look as the crafts, and Tucker was about to question it when Sam's eyes widened and she looked around the room.

"Hey, where's Danny?" she asked, already worried.

Tucker hadn't even noticed Danny's absence, and joined Sam in walking around the large room. As Sam moved toward the entrance, calling Danny's name, Tucker stepped over to the large windows.

"Sam," he immediately called. "He's over here."

The girl jogged to him as he walked toward the back door. Opening it, the two stepped out into the evening air and walked over to their lone friend, who was staring silently off toward the distant buildings that neighbored the school grounds.

"Hey, space cadet." Sam greeted, standing beside Danny. "What're you looking at?"

Danny didn't answer for a moment, but then raised a hand and pointed out toward where he was looking.

"There's ghosts flying around over there." he said. "They came close to the school earlier, bit I think they felt me here, because they left fast. They're still in the area, though."

"Really?" Sam asked, tense and on alert as her eyes swept the vicinity.

Tucker felt the same apprehension. They really didn't need another ghost attack. But one part of Danny's explanation grabbed Tucker's focus.

"What do you mean by 'they felt you here'?" he asked.

"Ghosts can sense-" both Danny and Sam began at the same time, only to stop short and blink at each other.

Sam shrugged sheepishly.

"Hey, I've been reading through tons of books on ghosts, remember?" she said.

"Yeah," Danny replied, looking surprised. "But who knew they'd actually get some of their information right."

"Not all of them are written by hacks." Sam countered with a frown. "Some of them have been very helpful, in fact."

Danny raised an eyebrow at her, and Tucker worried that he might insist on seeing the very book that Sam was obviously talking about. Tucker himself had only skimmed through the first chapter, but even that was full of enough theories that he doubted Danny would appreciate.

But Danny only turned his gaze back out, quiet once more.

"Okay guys, we should be heading home now." Tucker spoke up after several seconds of silence.

He turned back toward the door, only to groan at his own mistake. He'd forgotten to prop the door open, and thus had locked the three of them out of the building.

"What?" Sam asked, before realisation hit her as well.

"Great." she muttered. "Now how are we gonna get our stuff?"

"We can always come over early-" Tucker began to suggest.

Danny stepped between them, interrupting Tucker with a raised hand. Smiling, the teen then proceeded to stretch his arm out toward the door. As soon as his hand collided with the metal surface, it fell through, making it appear is if Danny's hand had been taken at the wrist.

His smile grew as Tucker smacked himself over the forehead.

"We're such idiots." Sam groaned.

"Yeah, kinda." Danny replied.

The others gave him annoyed looks, but couldn't help but share in the lifted mood, smiling as well. Despite Danny's increased weirdness, it was still easy to forget that he was actually a ghost, Tucker mused.

His thoughts and smile both froze as he saw Danny take Sam's hand before holding out his second for Tucker to take.

"Uh uh, no way." the boy protested, stepping back. "I said never again."

Danny gave Tucker an amused look before shrugging.

"Have it your way." he said, looking at Sam. "You ready?"

Sam nodded, doing her best not to look nervous.

Tucker watched as the two became translucent before Danny stepped through the school wall, pulling Sam in behind him. Tucker shivered at the memory of becoming intangible. The cold numbness and the inability to breathe greatly disturbed him. He wondered if that was how Danny felt all the time now. No wonder the kid was in a bad mood so often.

Standing alone at the back of the school was also not ideal, and Tucker cast his gaze around the empty area. Tiny dots of color caught his attention, and he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look.

As Danny had said, small spirits could be seen flitting about around the distant buildings. Tucker was glad that most of said buildings were closed down old shops, otherwise people would surely be running around in a panic by now.

Danny appeared with Sam, fazing back through the building. Sam's arms were full of decorations while Danny held both his and Tuckers' bags. His attention focused immediately on the distant figures, and he held out Tucker's bag wordlessly.

Shrugging his own on, Danny began walking out across the grass toward the road. Sam called uselessly after him as she quickly folded up the papers and placed them within her backpack.

Tucker waited with her, watching Danny as he reached the sidewalk. Danny's posture didn't change much, and neither did his stride, but something had become off about him. It raised the hairs on the back of Tucker's neck, reminding him of that documentary Sam had made him watch once. A lioness had walked out toward a gathered group of zebra in much the same way. Like she was already calculating which angle was best to move in from, and which zebra looked like the optimal target.

Sam and Tucker jogged to catch up to their friend, and the little spots of color could be seen again further away, before once more turning invisible. Tucker wondered if they lacked the strength to go unseen for more than a few moments at a time. Sam's book had said something about smaller ghosts typically being weak.

As Danny neared them, they swirled rapidly through the air, shooting off and going invisible again. Danny responded by moving to stand behind a building, allowing his friends to catch up to him. He leaned against the brick wall, looking around for any potential pedestrians nearby.

"One of you look out there and tell me what you see." he said.

Both teens gave him matching odd looks, to which he shrugged.

"What? I don't want them to spot me." he reasoned.

"But they already sense you." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but they don't know exactly where I am, or they'd have run by now."

Sam moved to the corner of the building, stepping out into the open and casually looking around. She could see a couple walking into a store farther down, but no ghosts.

"I think they might already be running." she said, turning back to the boys.

Danny frowned, looking down at the ground in concentration.

"They are moving." he said, "Come on."

He stood away from the wall and proceeded to walk at a normal pace down the pavement, friends in tow. And then suddenly he turned a sharp right, heading down a long, narrow alley.

"This way." he called over his shoulder, breaking into a light jog.

The small passageway seemed to go on forever, the light dim, and Tucker fought off claustrophobia as he followed after Danny. The boy was obviously sensing that the ghosts were getting closer, his steps picking up speed more and more.

Tucker really hoped that Danny would remember that they were in public, and wouldn't automatically leap onto the first ghost he saw.

Danny burst out into the daylight, halting so abruptly that Sam and Tucker ran right into him. They lay on the ground in a stunned pile before Sam began righting herself.

Tucker shot up as soon as she was off him. Laying over Danny was like being on top of an ice sculpture, and he quickly began rubbing the warmth back into his arms.

Danny picked himself up without comment, his eyes turned toward the road.

Two figures walked down the sidewalk in their direction, not noticing the looks they got from passerbys as they searched about.

"Just great." Danny muttered lowly, frowning heavily toward his parents.

They hadn't spotted the group yet, too focused on tracking down their quarry.

'Probably the same ones Danny's after.' Tucker thought.

For a moment he wondered if Danny would duck back into the alley to avoid them, but instead the pale boy just shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward them.

Maddie spotted him quickly, her determined expression lifting into a bright smile.

"Hi, sweetheart." she greeted, propping her ecto rifle against her hip so she could wave at them.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Danny asked, an accusatory undertone lacing through his words.

Thankfully Maddie didn't pick up on it, and Jack wasn't listening to the conversation as he continued down the road.

"We found another cluster of ghosts near the house." Maddie answered. "We've been following them since, but they keep managing to slip away. By the way, you should be heading home; it's getting late."

"Actually, I was gonna stay over at Sam's." Danny replied. "We still have her haunted house thing to work on."

The quick lie appeased his mother somewhat, but Maddie still gave the three a disapproving frown.

"Then you should be heading to Sam's home. It's going to be dark soon and I don't want you out on the streets."

"Got it, Mom." Danny said.

He quickly stepped around her, keeping out of arm's reach, and continued down the sidewalk.

Tucker and Sam gave quick goodbyes to the Fenton parents as they followed Danny, who was looking toward another alley.

Upon reaching it, he ducked into the shadows, glancing back at the adults before turning to his friends.

"There right here somewhere." he whispered.

Tucker really wanted to suggest that they just leave and go to Sam's place, but he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Danny to drop the pursuit. And Sam was too busy being supportive to side with Tucker, despite how much she didn't like the whole ghost-eat-ghost thing.

The concept itself didn't scare Tucker. Heck, he ate meat all the time, and figured it was kinda the same thing.

But the way Danny had changed when he'd eaten that ghost in Sam's room. Not just his eyes but his expression as well. Now that had scared Tucker, as much as he hated to admit it.

Pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Danny quietly cheering. Tucker spotted the boy, Sam close behind, near the end of the alleyway.

Danny suddenly went invisible, causing Sam to jump back slightly. She stood completely still, eyes looking around for any sign of movement.

Both teens startled when a group of little ghosts flew up from behind a discarded pile of boxes and began flying around. They obviously wanted to stick close, and spun together in random directions.

Now that he could view them up close, Tucker realised that they looked like little rats, in shades of dim green and sickly yellow.

A bright stream erupted from nowhere, and the tiny spirits gave warped squeaks as they flew past Sam and Tucker, back toward the street.

One, however, became caught in the beam, and was quickly pulled into the thermos. A now visible Danny capped the device and shoved it down into his backpack.

An ecto gun firing sounded not a moment after, and the three ran out into the open to watch Jack and Maddie. The former was firing off his weapon at the fleeing ghosts, while Maddie had lowered her rifle to the ground and was taking aim with her own thermos.

She managed to capture the remaining ghosts in two shots as they fled about in a panicked circle.

She capped the thermos with a satisfied smile, Jack grinning as he ran up to her.

"That's my gal!" he exclaimed. "Did you kids see that?"

"Sure did, Mr F." Tucker smiled back.

"Danny, did you use your thermos?" Maddie asked her son, who stood at the back of the trio.

"Yeah, but I missed." Danny shrugged. "We should head to Sam's now. It's getting dark out, after all. Bye!"

Danny gave a short wave to his mom before turning on the spot and walking quickly down the street.

Tucker internally winced as he followed. The Fenton adults were certainly distracted by their catch, but Danny should've tried to not be so obvious. Then again, Danny had been pretty obvious about his ghost status since the beginning, in Tucker's opinion, and no one had found out yet.

'This city is full of morons, I guess.' he thought.

Danny practically ran the entire way to Sam's house, casting impatient glances over his shoulder occasionally at Sam and Tucker, who lagged a few paces behind.

He didn't wait for them to catch up before entering the large house, fishing out the thermos as he climbed the stairs.

"Man, Danny, are you starving or something?" Tucker asked as he and Sam entered her room, locking the door behind.

The question made Danny look up sharply at them from his spot in the middle of the room.

"What? No, it's just…these opportunities don't exactly come around that often." he said, throwing his bag into a corner.

"Maybe that's going to change." Sam suggested, staring at the thermos. "There seems to be more and more ghosts popping up."

Tucker silently agreed, but was surprised when Sam's words only seemed to make Danny nervous.

He quickly turned his attention back to the thermos in his hands, and the mood in the room became tense. Most of it was coming from Sam, who stood half-turned toward the door, frozen in mid-decision.

"Sam, you get grossed out just from watching Tucker eat a burger." Danny said, rolling his eyes at her. "You don't have to stay in here. I won't cry over it."

The last bit was said with a teasing smile, easing Sam into a more relaxed stance. She still looked unsure, but then took a deep breath and turned, leaving the room quietly.

Tucker bottled up the urge to follow her as he locked the door once more, walking across the room and sitting down on her bed.

Danny looked at him briefly before uncapping the thermos, letting the lid drop to the floor with a bounce. He was turned away from Tucker, so that the other boy couldn't see his face.

Tucker could see, however, that he held his shoulders tensely, still nervous like he'd been the first time. Maybe he too was aware of the change that overcame him? The manic way that he had moved and the look he had worn on his face?

Tucker had subconsciously been bracing himself, hands digging into the blankets beneath him, and he jumped when Danny spoke up.

"You know you don't have to stick around, either." Danny's voice came quiet and steady, offering no hint as to what he might be thinking. "It's not like you could do much if it got away."

Tucker cast about for a joking comeback to explain why he was remaining in the room. His mind drew a blank, with not even a serious reply available to him. Tucker honestly had no clue why he didn't just join Sam in whatever room she was surely pacing around in.

The silence stretched out awkwardly, hovering over them both until Danny finally accepted the non-answer.

Pressing his thumb over the release button, light streamed out momentarily, before vanishing as a small green shape manifested on the floor.

Without hesitation, Danny took advantage of its confusion, reaching down and grabbing the creature around its middle. It squeaked and struggled as Danny held it up to eye level. He watched it for a moment, eyebrows drawing together.

"Stop whining." Danny said, frowning in agitation at the rat's increasingly loud shrieks. "You could be on your way to my parents' lab right now. You're the lucky one."

#be honest does anyone actually read these? i post them here in case ppl dont go to ffnet or ao3 but maybe its a waste #not to mention im wayyyyy behind cause i hate tumblrs text boxes #danny phantom #ghost hunger #ersatz au #danny swinging in and out of being cold and cruel and then 'normal' again is fun to write #sorry for any mistakes i barely proofread this stuff cause i just hate tumblrs text sooo much

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