Okay I know I've said my next updates would be for SOS Text and Cards Against Humanity but um, in my defense, I've been working on this for several months now and was really excited when I finished the first bit last night. I'm not going to make any promises as to when the next part will be out, since then I'll break them, but I'm proud of myself for finally finishing this first bit! ^-^
So, there's probably a few people who are squinting suspiciously at that title. I can confirm that my OC, Time Twister, will not appear.
Time Twister
Danny's parents were upstairs when he woke up Monday morning, already in their jumpsuits. For a moment he stayed still, remembering the event from last night he'd tried so desperately to avoid. Had his parents put off activating their portal? Had his five hour adventure of wandering around Amity Park been for nothing?
"Cereal's in the cupboard, Sweetie." His mom said at last, "Would you mind eating in the living room? Your father and I need the table."
"Um, sure?" Danny climbed on the counter so he could reach the box of cereal he was looking for. Curse you shortness! "What're you guys working on?"
"Recalculating the ectoplasm intake for our ghost portal," Maddie sighed, "We must have screwed up on the math somewhere."
"Think we should call up Vladdie?" Jack asked, "He was the best as these things!"
"He's ignored us for twenty years, Jack." Maddie scratched something down on her sheet of paper, "I don't think we can all start being friends again just because of the portal."
Danny grabbed a bowl and poured his cereal in, "Have fun with your math."
"We won't," His dad said.
Danny finished his cereal just as Jazz came down the stairs. "Hey, Jazz. Can I get a ride with your friends to school?"
Jazz shrugged, "It's a free country." She entered the kitchen, returning a moment later with a stick of celery in his hand. "Let's go, then. They'll be here in a minute."
"Is your breakfast crunchy water?"
"I don't judge you and your Spooky O's." She grabbed her bag and walked out the door.
Danny dropped his bowl in the kitchen sink, waving to his parents as he left.
"Bye, Danny," Maddie said.
"Have a good day at school!" Jack said.
Danny grinned, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. "I won't!"
Danny left the house as his dad laughed, and closed the door as his mom said "Focus, Jack."
.-.-.-.-.-.
Something was wrong.
It was like there was a weight in Danny's gut, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Strange emotions were washing over him- sadness, guilt- and Danny couldn't figure out why he felt this way. He'd gotten a B on his math test, they had just started a unit on space in science class, and they were finally done with poetry in English. He should be happy.
"Dude," Tucker and Sam cornered him at the beginning of lunch, "You've been looking like your dog just died all day. What's wrong?"
Danny shrugged, "Nothing. I don't even have a dog. Can we go? I'm starving."
"Does it have anything to do with your parent's ghost portal?" Sam asked.
"No; the thing didn't work so they're redoing their math or something." Danny replied, slipping under the arm of the duo who'd attempted to pin him to the wall. "Guys, I'm fine. Let's just go get our…" He trailed off when the ground seemed to shake beneath his feet.
Amity Park rocked as a jolt was sent through the ground, knocking the trio and citizens everywhere off their feet. People screamed, windows broke, car alarms went off, and teachers poured out of their rooms into the hallway.
Something's wrong. Something's wrong. Something's wrong.
"Danny!" Jazz appeared from somewhere, helping Danny to his feet. Sam and Tucker followed. "Something's wrong, are you okay?"
"You feel it too?" Danny said softly.
Something's wrong. Something's wrong. Something's wrong.
"Guys?" Sam called with her voice shaking in a way that Danny never thought he'd hear from Sam. "You might want to take a look at this!"
Danny turned, and as he looked out the window his world was coated in shades of green.
It was Tucker who shouted, "What the hell is that?!"
Over the tops of some of the houses, half of a huge, swirling, green oval was visible.
"Danny," Jazz said, "Our house is in that direction."
Mom and Dad.
Danny ran. Faster than he ever had in his life, faster than he thought he could, he ran. Through the hallway, out the doors, and down the street. Jazz was at his heels, with no words exchanged between them. They just ran. Danny hopped over a fallen streetlamp, the feeling of something being wrong intensifying with each step he took. It overwhelmed him once he finally, exhausted and feeling like he was about to throw up, turned the corner expecting to see his house.
He didn't.
Jazz didn't scream. Danny didn't scream. The siblings stood in silence, staring at the colossal, swirling, green oval which came up from their basement and seemed to have swallowed their house whole.
"Mom?" Danny's voice was barely a whisper, "Dad!" He shook his head, stepping closer. "Mom, Dad!"
Only FentonWorks had been swallowed by it, none of the other houses were touched. People were pouring out of them and screaming, grabbing what they could and running down the street past the siblings. Danny paid them no heed, frozen with fear at the sight before him.
"No," Jazz's voice broke. "No!" She didn't move calmly forward, instead running past her brother. "Mom, Dad!"
"Jazz…" Danny shook his head again, rushing after his sister. "Jazz, no!" He tackled her to the ground, only a few feet away from the thing which had swallowed their home.
She squirmed, trying to throw him off as Danny tried to pin her down. "Danny, let me go! Mom and Dad are still-"
"I know!" Danny's voice broke, "And I'm not losing you too because you were stupid enough to try and pull them out!"
Jazz broke. Danny broke. By the time Sam and Tucker arrived, the siblings were a sobbing mess and sirens rang through the air. A man in a white suit had to pull them away from the remains of their home.
.-.-.-.-.-.
There was a memorial service arranged. Danny went, dressed in a rented tuxedo his Aunt Alicia had paid for. Jazz went too, silent, numb, and dressed in more rented clothing. Danny never once let go of his sister's hand.
A man named Vlad Masters found the siblings after the ceremony, when Aunt Alicia was trying to convince them to eat something.
"May I sit?" He asked. Danny nodded slowly, signalling he could. Vlad had given a huge speech in his mom's honour, and barely mentioned his dad.
"What do you want, Fancy Pants?" Alicia asked.
"Alicia, these children have lost their mother. I merely came to offer my condolences."
"You forgot my dad," Danny said.
"My dear boy," Vlad said, "How could I ever forget your father?"
"Don't know," Danny said, "I'm not a mind reader."
Vlad smiled, "I believe we'll get along quite well, Daniel."
Danny didn't know what was meant by that. He didn't want to. "Did my dad used to call you Vladdie?"
Vlad grimaced while Aunt Alicia grinned. "Yes, among other things."
"He mentioned you, the day they… died." They're gone. They're gone. "They were trying to fix up the ectoplasm intake for their portal. Dad thought they should call you up, ask you to come help."
"Did they now?"
Danny nodded, poking a square of fudge with a carrot. "Mom told him not to. She didn't think you'd want to help."
"Oh, if only they had." Vlad said, "Perhaps we would be meeting on a happier occasion."
"But we aren't," Alicia said. "So beat it."
"Alicia, you-"
Jazz grabbed Danny by his wrist and pulled him away from the quickly brewing fight.
Aunt Alicia would later sit her niece and nephew down in their hotel room. She'd talk about how Vlad had told her she wouldn't make a good parent, and as much as she'd tried to deny it she knew he was right. She'd say their parents would have wanted them to have a life so much better than the one she could provide. They'd discuss other options.
At one point, Danny would mention this to Tucker. The next day, Tucker and his family would show up in the hotel room and reveal that if Danny and Jazz wanted to, Angela and Maurice Foley would be more than willing to take them in.
Danny and Jazz would both break down into tears as it sunk in a little deeper that their parents weren't coming back.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Danny focused on the corner of the room, listening to the pencil scratches of his classmates. He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes.
For a moment, he could trick himself into believing this was just a dream. That these past weeks hadn't been real. He'd wake up the day before it all to the smell of smoke, because his mom had tried 'enhancing' her breakfast. He'd go downstairs in his pink flannel pajamas. Jazz would groan and hide her face in a book. Their dad would bother her until she told him what it was about. Mom would offer Danny some breakfast; he'd refuse, looking at the reanimated whatever, and get himself down some cereal. He'd-
"Casper High is now in lockdown. I repeat; we are now in lockdown."
Danny sat up a little straighter as the announcement ended, watching as Mr. Lancer moved to lock the door and close the blinds. "You heard the principal, everyone; stay quiet."
Danny raised his eyebrows, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was a text from Jazz.
'Tetslaff says it's not a drill. Be safe.'
Danny texted back 'you too' before passing Jazz's message along to Sam and Tucker. If only he had this class with them, then they could joke about it being caused by another of his parents stupid mistakes as they rushed to fight some non-existent ghost…
Ow, okay, that thought hurt.
Danny looked over the other people in the classroom. Nearly everyone had their phones out, while Dash and Kwan seemed to be making ridiculous faces at each other, trying to see who could make the other laugh first. Valerie was whispering something to Star and Paulina. Nobody seemed particularly concerned about what had sent their school into lockdown. Danny wasn't either, but then again, he didn't really feel anything that much anymore.
The wind was whistling rather oddly for a previously bright and sunny day. Danny could faintly hear shouting outside, and once again there was something twisting in his gut. Something was wrong. There was something outside, with the shouting, and Danny could almost feel himself being pulled towards it. The classroom had gone quiet, aside from a few mutters between friends as they realized at last what their situation was. Danny licked his lips, looking nervously around. He wanted to stand up and rush to the window.
He didn't need to.
Some sort of large green blob with arms and a face was thrown through the window. The glass did not shatter, or give any signs it had been touched. The blinds did not shift despite the mass which had been thrown through them.
Lancer was on his feet within seconds, arms spread in an effort to protect the teenagers behind him. "What are you?"
The thing was floating now, and Danny could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Some students were whimpering or crying silently. This didn't seem real. There was no way there was actually some sort of floating green monster in the classroom- it was speaking now. Its mouth was moving and strange, garbled sounds came from it. It moved forward, grinning at the teacher who had started to move back. And then the green blob dove into the teacher.
It didn't come back out.
Lancer went rigid for a moment before he turned back. When he did Danny could clearly see that his teacher's eyes were a dark, solid red.
Danny wasn't sure exactly who it was, but someone screamed. That was all they needed for chaos to break loose.
Half the class ran for the door, a quarter for the windows, and the remaining few were left frozen where they'd been told to stay.
Lancer- but it didn't seem to be their teacher anymore- laughed and moved towards the panicking group trying to fix the door. Danny was frozen in place, barely even able to breathe. This couldn't be real. Lancer wasn't actually moving towards his students like that. He wasn't actually about to grab Paulina, no. No, this wasn't actually happening. It couldn't be. It couldn't be real.
The glass in the window shattered and the blinds swung in this time, as a man in a white suit found his way in. "Get back!" He shouted, both hands on a bright green pistol. He fired one shot and Not-Lancer was thrown back. A red stain grew on the side of his shirt, darker than the shade in his eyes.
"You shot him!" Star screamed, and within seconds the class was panicking again. Their screams died away when Not-Lancer stood back up.
"Tenacious little bugger, aren't you?" The man in white said, "You'll melt in him and you'll fade away outside. Your only option is to come with me."
Not-Lancer laughed and spread his arms wide. The man hesitated, looking at the teenagers around him.
It was that moment of hesitation which led to Valerie jumping off a chair and kicking him in the back of the head. He crashed to the ground and Valerie pointed out the window."Run!"
Through everyone running for their lives, Danny could see Dash and Kwan scoop up their semi-conscious teacher and help him out. The blobby thing separated himself from Lancer, form flickering, and locked eyes on the only student still frozen by fear.
The blob moved towards Danny, who moved back. The unconscious man had been nearly trampled, and was the only person besides Danny left in the room. The blob looked between the two and seemed to grin. He moved towards the man, placing a hand on his head. Danny's hand rested on the closet object to him- a chair- as his heart pounded in his chest.
A chair?
He could use that.
Danny whipped the chair at the blob. Its form flickered again as the chair sailed through it. "No," Danny muttered, backing away. "No no no no-" The blob's lips were dripping green slime as it lunged at him.
Danny was pushed away, thrown back. He tried to move forward and found that a strange world had opened up in front of him.
It was green, mostly. Bits were purple, blue, or red, but most of it was hundreds of versions of green. And it had rippled, twisted, as the thing which swallowed his home appeared- a portal, said a little voice in his mind. That's a portal. Danny wanted to scream, but no sounds would come from his mouth. The green shivered and twisted, taking the shape of something else. It was huge, it was twisted, it was… it was home.
A mutated version of FentonWorks took shape around the portal which had swallowed it. The door of the building moved slowly and- and-
"Time to switch," A too-sweet voice said. "They don't like me much. Time to switch, dear friend."
The first thing Danny was aware of was two voices, just loud enough for him to hear. "Amazing. And it hasn't dissolved?"
"I believe it has to do with the boy, Sir. We took samples and he seems to have something in his genetic structure that stabilizes ectoplasm."
"Fascinating. Do we have a name?"
"Student ID says Daniel Fenton."
"Hm. Are you certain he's a Fenton?"
"Yes, Sir. Aside from the obvious side effects of overshadowing he matches the ID perfectly. The trainee Duncan Stone also suffered additional injuries after the boy was contained; his sister arrived on the scene, demanding to know what was happening to her brother. Agent Q was forced to restrain her when it got violent."
"How badly is he hurt?"
"Wrist is broken, in addition to his nose. He's been seen to. However… he was awfully concerned about our latest person of interest."
Danny groaned loudly, proud of himself for at last making such a noise. He had to blink several times before his vision was even remotely clear, and he found it was coated with a green tinge. He was tied to something. There was some cold metal thing strapped around his wrists and ankles. He was held in an uncomfortable stretched out Y-like position, with his legs together and arms above his head. In the back of his mind, past the crushing fear and internal screaming, a quiet voice said well, at least I'm not naked.
"Makenzie, was it?"
"Yes Sir, Trainee Maria Makenzie. What do you need, Agent C?"
"It appears our person of interest, as you put it, has awoken. Fetch Agent W, and make sure Trainee Stone stays away."
"Yes sir!"
"I- I'm confused," Danny muttered, shifting as much as he could. "I- I don't- who are you and what am I doing here?!"
"Sorry friend…" Said the voice again, "They want me…"
"I'm not your friend." Danny muttered, looking around as much as he could. It hurt to move. "I'm not your friend so get- out- of me-"
"But friend… friiieeend… you wouldn't want to be a bad friend to me. Otherwise you'll never see your parents again… so be a good friend."
Danny could feel something pushing against his mind. It hurt. It hurt so much. "What do you know about my parents?"
"Be a good friend… and you'll see them again." A scene was forced before Danny's eyes; the blob-thing fit right in with the world of green. But his parents… his parents…
His parents were there, just as he remembered them from the day before it all went wrong. They were in the pajamas they'd worn that morning to breakfast, but they were there. They were okay. They were alive.
"Now… be a good friend… and get us out of here. Keep me safe… and they'll be fiiiiiiine."
Danny nodded. "Okay. Okay. I- I will." I'm coming Mom and Dad.
The voice in the back of his mind, once cautiously optimistic, was now replaced by a screaming of something being horribly wrong.
Making a deal with a ghost while being held captive with the Guys in White? What a good plan, Danny. Best one I've ever heard.
This story won't be too long, since I'm using my oneshot format for it. It'll be five chapters at the most to get through the arc I started writing it for. It's possible that I will go beyond that, depending on the reactions.
On that note, thoughts?