HEy! I'm here with another new fic in tow. This here was originally for my Secret-Slackta event and the person I wrote it for gave me permission to post it online! So here I am sharing it with you!
(I know, I know, I should be giving you all chapter 3 of Kinetic Potential and I will! By the end of the month, promise! If I don't, just, politely badger me about it?)
Something's Not Quite Right- Everything is right within this universe: Sam is your local halfa hero, Tucker is the cynical goth and Danny is the loveable space nerd. They believe that things all right with this universe that is until small things shift, leaving them with the worrying sentiment that something is not quite right.
Of course this goes without saying, I don't own DP, Butch Hartman does. But if I did, then 95% of season 3 wouldn't have happened!
If one wanted to dissect the cafeteria within Casper High, they would find that it would be highly polarized between the A-Listers and the rest of the school. Within the non A-Lister population, it was even more divided. Band geeks socialized with chess geeks and vice versa, hipsters only hung around with the punks and so on and so forth. Every group had their place within the jungle that was known as Casper High.
Unless, of course, you were the Trio. Then you didn't belong anywhere. It was the three of you and only the three of you. Three was the magic number, signifying completion.
All they ever needed was three.
Three became four. Or three and a half depending on who you asked. All that was known was that after Sam pressed the button on the Fenton Portal, her agonizing screams pierced Danny and Tucker's ears as they both tried to turn the portal off, Sam painfully crawling out the now activated portal, glowing green eyes staring at the other two teens, nothing was the same.
It was no longer three. Danny says three and a half, Tucker argues four, Sam states that it was still three.
"I'd say three and a half," Danny said absently, staring at the dark gray mush on his tray that was today's lunch. "I mean there's not an extra person who's sitting here with us."
"Four," Tucker ground out as he pulls out a random steak from the depths of his bookbag. Picking the tray up with one hand, Tucker swiftly held it over the ground and quickly turning it over and watching with a passive frown as the mush fell on the ground with a splurch. He repeats the same process with Danny and Sam's trays, the passive frown morphing into disgust as the mush coalesced into one gray, lumpy being. Turning around to look at Danny and Sam, he grabs several napkins from the napkin dispensary, apathetically wiping out the remaining mush from the corners of the trays. Ignoring the confused looks from his friends, the tech-goth passed their trays back to them. Tucker set his steak on his now clean tray and placed a burger with fries on Danny's, and a vegan sandwich on Sam's try "It's still another entity, another being attached to Sam. Dead? Yes. What else would you expect to come out of a ghost portal? However it experiences emotions, has a capacity for understanding and all that other shit. Therefore it's four, not three and a half like Danny thinks." He says nothing more as he eagerly grabs his fork and knife and began to cut into the steak.
Danny sighs as he adjusted his cap and fixed his glasses. "It's three and a half. Like I said, there isn't actually a fourth person sitting with us. Instead, that person is attached to Sam. If it had its own body, mind and soul it would be a fourth person. Is it though? Is there four of us?" He paused as he took his glasses off his face, rubbing the cloth of his shirt over them. "No, and in addition in order for this 'person' to be an actual person, it would have to have its own soul. Because even in cases where there are two souls sharing the same body, they are considered two different people. Does it? No it doesn't, rather it shares that soul with Sam, making it three and a half."
"Or maybe, you can stop talking about me as if I'm not sitting right in front of you," Sam ground out, her right eye twitching in irritation at the two boys. "It's three, always has been three and it will always be three. Nothing more, nothing less."
The lights around them flicker, a misty blue suddenly escapes Sam's mouth and the three sits there as the ghosts flies in. Students run away in fear.
"Why are you freaks sitting there like there isn't a ghost rampaging the school?!" Dash asked as he skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Why else would we be sitting here?" Tucker asked with a false smile showing all thirty-two teeth.
"I don't know!" Dash barked out. "That's why I'm asking you!"
"Because we want to be released from the hell that's called life," Tucker spat out, teal eyes coldly glaring at Dash.
The jock recoiled, thoroughly disturbed by Tucker's reply. "Hope you freaks have fun with that!" was all that he said before breaking into a run once again, the three teens laughing as he slipped, falling face first into the gray mush.
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS FENTON!" Dash screamed, getting up and angrily stalking towards him. A table next to him was suddenly blasted, the remains flying over his head. Dash narrowed his eyes at Danny. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS LATER!"
The trio waits for Dash to run away, ("Like the pathetic coward he is," Tucker muttered.) Sam transforms into her other half, while Tucker whips out his PDA and Danny grabs a broken chair leg, impulsively throwing it at the ghost. The ghost dodges the broken object, turning it's attention to the trio.
"What do we do now?" Danny asked, nervously pulling on his sleeves.
Tucker tsked in irritation. "Whatever we do, we better come up with our plan of action very quickly because it doesn't look like that thing is on gonna wait for us to come up with a damn plan."
Sam slowly floats up to eye-level of the ghost in front of them. Still staring at the ghost, a semi-confident smile appears. "We're gonna do what we've always done. Take this stupid idiot on head first, just the three of us."
The three had soon settled into a steady yet turbulent rhythm concerning ghost attacks. Sam would, of course fight the ghosts, Danny handled any and all Fenton weaponry while Tucker gave technical advice through the Fenton Phones.
"Well that's the last one." said Sam as she floated down towards Danny and Tucker, tightly closing the lid on the Fenton Thermos. "I don't know about you all but I am beat."
Tucker rolled his eyes, snatched the Thermos from Sam, stuffed it in is bag and hopped on his scooter. "I am always beat. Beaten by life and society." He said cynically, looking at Danny, "Get on your scooter space nerd, we're going home."
"What about Sam?" Danny asked shyly as he hopped on his scooter.
"What about her?"
"How is she gonna get home?" He spluttered out, revving the scooter as he rode it.
"Danny, my poor smol space nerd," Tucker began in a mock mournful tone, causing Danny to let a small giggle. "She has ghost powers, she can fly herself home dammit."
"Or you know, I can ride with you Tucker," Sam said suddenly, her sleepy voice vibrating against the nape of his neck and it took every fiber in Tucker's being to not swear at her or accidentally veer the scooter off the road. She hugged his waist tightly, holding onto him for li-half-life. He bit back a growl, not wanting to upset his friend. She knew he didn't like being touched so intimately but he knew she was exhausted. From how he saw her float down towards them, droopy green eyes, sagging shoulders and her whole body seemed to slant, like a wilted black rose. He isn't sure if she's been sleeping lately, yet if she kept this up Sam would definitely burn herself out. Tucker removes one of his hands and with his eyes still focused on the road, he positions Sam's head so that her face was buried in the crook of his neck; making sure she was still hugging his waist, he hummed when he was reassured that she still was.
Danny watched the scene with awe at how gentle and tender Tuck was when it came to Sam. It's not a surprise that the techno-goth has a soft side, at least to Danny that is. "Tucker you forgot something," he whispered softly.
He withheld a smile seeing the trademarked Foley scowl. "What is it this time?" He muttered.
"Sam's is still in her ghost form."
Tucker's scowl deepened. "Damn." He snuck a glance at the sleeping Sam. "How the hell am I going to get her to transform back?"
Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Wake her up? I don't know!"
"Thanks for the helpful advice Danny."
Tucker slowed the scooter to a stop, Danny following soon after. The techno-goth slowly patted Sam's cheek in a gentle steady rhythm to wake her up. "Hey Black Rose, come on wake up," he mumbled gently.
Sam lifted her head, still half-asleep. "Whazzit? 'M tired."
"I know Black Rose, I just need you to do one small thing for me."
"What is it?"
"I need you to transform back into your human half, Black Rose." Tucker's voice rumbled against Sam's eardrums.
"'Mkay." Sam closed her eyes in concentration, a bright white light formed at her hips breaking off into twin rings, traveling in opposite directions only to fizzle out and disappear. "Sorry, I'm tired." She mumbled into the crook of his neck.
Tucker waved her off, repositioning her so that she was comfortable once again. "It's fine Black Rose, just go to sleep." He hears her softly breathing and he revs up the scooter once again, Danny merely a few feet behind him.
"Nerd, tell me about the moon," said Tucker laying on grass with Sam on his left and Danny on his right. "Why does it look so much bigger?"
Danny gave a weak smile, nervously wringing his sleeves. "Well tonight, we have a supermoon, which is when the moon is closest to the earth at around 214,00 miles. I don't remember the exact number but normally it's about 238,000 miles away. The supermoon also causes it to look fourteen percent bigger and twenty three percent brighter than usual." He stopped, taking in the illumination of the moon, amazed by the beauty of it. "Man I thought the moon was beautiful before but wow it's so much-"
"Danny, please contain any and all wet dreams you have about the moon," teased Tucker.
Danny blushed. "Sh-shut up."
Sam looked over at the two boys. "Boys please, can't we enjoy gazing at the stars without you two bickering?"
"Sorry Sam." "Sorry Sam."
Sam rolled her eyes, mumbling out she accepted their apology then resumed her star gazing. "I think I can see Big Dipper."
"Not really Sam. Big Dipper is consistent of Merak, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Dubhe and Alkaid. They aren't out," stated Danny, raising a finger to the sky and began to out where the stars would be. "You see: Merak, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez and Phecda are part of a single star grouping. Scientists theorize that they were born together from a single cloud of gas and dust, and are still moving together as a family. However, this is now the case with the The other two stars in the Dipper– Dubhe and Alkaid –aren't related to each other and to the other five I previously mention. Dub and Alka are moving in an entirely different direction. Millions of years from now the Big Dipper will have lost its familiar dipper-like shape."
"Wow." It's all that Sam can say.
"I know right?" Danny breathed out. "Space is AMAZING."
"I ain't a space nerd like Danny," began Tucker, "If you think about it, Big Dipper is part of the Big Bear constellation, right?"
Danny sat up, straightened his glasses, flipped his hat off. "Technically, it's part of the Ursa Major constellation but you are right."
Tucker gritted his teeth as he smiled, pretending to be annoyed. "Well we can't all be space nerds like you. But anyways, if like you say, Big Dipper loses its shape, won't it affect the rest of the Big Bear? Like it has to know that something is off about its shape? How would the constellation be formed if Dipper lost its shape? How-Just even if the stars just shift, would anyone even notice those small shifts or would they not notice until the Big Bear can't be formed?"
Sam laid her head on Tucker's stomach, snickering when he humphed discontentedly and buried herself in the warmth of his shirt. "What if the loss of formation is right in this universe? Like it's supposed to happen? Then in another universe, Big Dipper never loses its shape?" She lifted her head from Tucker's shirt to look at the star filled sky. "Do you ever think that the same happens to people? That they're in the wrong universe or the whole universe is just so wrong that things just subtly shift around until it's obvious something is wrong?"
"Well we aren't those people," Danny abruptly stated. "This universe is right and all the things within this universe is correct. Even the bad things that's within it are correct. You are correct and so am I. That's all there is to it."
Danny hadn't know it then but he lied. Nothing about them were correct, every particle that formed the Trio, Danny, Sam and Tucker was wrong.
Tucker thumbs through his music, picking out the right album to tune out the low-level traffic of Amity, sniggering in delight when he picks out his favorite album, pressing his thumb to play the music. The discordant chords were simply heavenly to him, humming along with the lead singer. His enthused faded, a small frown coming about.
Suddenly, it doesn't sound right to him and as the album continued playing, the frown lingered, the discordant cacophony growing sour. Tucker suddenly grows nauseous, rushing off his bed into the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet.
He sits there for several minutes before slowly standing up, weakly walking back into his room, falling back into his bed. Curling into a tiny ball, Tucker's fingers ghost over the blanket to grab his phone, quickly thumbing over all his music, unsure if it would cause him to throw up again. His teal eyes look over his Dad's video game and eight-bit music. Subconsciously he presses the button, the instrumentals blissfully easing his nausena.
He can't explain it but somehow it felt right.
"Mom?" Sam called out, her hands gently holding the black outfit on the rack.
"Yes Sammy?"
Sam narrowed her eyes. "I'm not Sammy." she snapped out harshly, wincing when her mother frowned. "Sorry I don't know what's gotten into me. Can you not call me that for now?"
Pamela's eyes softened, holding Sam's tightly while sporting a bright smile. "Of course honey." She looks back at the outfit on the rack, nodding her head in silent understanding. "Go try the outfit on Samm-Sam, see how it fits."
Sam eagerly snatches the outfit off the racket and runs into the dressing room. She shuts the door with such enthusiasm that she feared she was going to rip the door off its hinges. Quickly, she tried on the outfit, her hands gliding down her hips feeling the soft knitted fabric. 'It feels amazing.' she thinks to herself, 'I have to have this.'
Just as quickly she slipped the outfit on, she slipped out of it, running towards her mother, fighting the urge to jump up and down in joy when she carefully laid in the shopping cart. Around five minutes later-was it five minutes later? Sam doesn't know, doesn't care, she's too damn excited. Her mother stands at the checkout, hands on hips, causally waiting as the clerk rings up the clothes.
Sam's overwhelming joy fades as she stares at her mother. Why wasn't she screeching how unnatural for a young girl to wear all this black, instead that she should be preppy and wear bright colors all the time? It's confusing the hell out of Sam; the ever growing urge to question everything is being squashed and she fumbles with the pockets of her skirt so that the questions don't spill out of her.
Why was her mother so...so compliant with all of this?
The trio eats their lunch, ignoring the odd looks of their classmates, their cruel muttering going in one ear and flowed out the other.
Danny rolls his eyes as he picked up his sandwich, hearing his bully throw another jeer at him and the A-Listers taunting laughter directed at him. Throwing a baleful look at the halfa, who only raises a fork in salute before shoving the forkful of salad into her mouth.
"Why did we agree to do this?" he moaned out, pointing to his black sleeves. "I didn't think that this would happen."
Tucker raised his index finger, a solemn smile taking over. "We're doing it to feel right, remember?" Tucker explained, fiddling around with the sleeves of his shirt.
"Doesn't feel right." Sam blankly stated as she chewed on the salad slowly. The two boys nodded earnestly, thankful that somebody voiced their thoughts aloud. "What should we wear tomorrow?"
"I have a red beret, yellow shirt and green cargo pants."
Sam stabbed her fork in the salad, eyeing Tucker strangely. "I am trying to picture that in my head and all I can see is a walking traffic light techno-goth-geek. Whether it's funny or not is the question."
Danny smirked as he leaned in towards Sam and Tucker. "Hey traffic control called, they want their walking traffic light back." He nodded at Tucker. "Go on traffic light, go be with your fellow traffic lights."
Tucker sent a murderous glare at Danny. "Shut up you underweight permanent marker." Seeing Danny grow flustered, the smirk that was there gone, Tucker smiled evilly. "What's wrong? Are your points not fine enough?"
Sam glanced between the two, a growl of frustration escaping her. "Keep it up and you'll both be dead permanent markers and traffic lights."
"Sorry Sam." "Sorry Sam."
She frowns, repeatedly stabbing her fork into the salad. "It's cool, just I, don't know anymore, if this still feels wrong, will it matter about the clothes we wear?"
Danny hadn't felt right in ages, not since Sam came out of the portal. It started small, with him feeling empty, like he was hungry. But no matter how much food he ate, he couldn't fill the void in his chest. Eventually, he started wondering if he'd missed a monumental turning point in his life, like he missed out meeting someone important or doing something life-changing. He wracked his brain, but couldn't come up with anything specific other than the portal accident. But that was ridiculous. Sam_died in that accident. He didn't wish it was him_who'd gone in the portal...
"I feel like I'm incomplete," Danny suddenly states as the trio are cleaning up his parents lab. He stops sweeping, leaning against the broom in his hands, staring at the tightly shut Fenton Portal.
Sam picks up a box, slowly walking to the bottom of the stairs before setting it down. She's a bit lost and she knows Tucker is too when she threw him a 'What does he mean' glance, receiving a half assed shrug in return. The halfa turns to Danny. "What you mean incomplete? All of you is, well, here." She sounds dumb for saying it but that's really the only thing she can say.
Tucker leans against a table, casually slinking a slinky back and forth between his hands. He doesn't understand nor does he really care, deciding it's best to tune the two of them out. Getting up he walks to the Specter Speeder, gets in and grabs the Fenton Coat, pulling it over his head, puts his earphones in his ears and lays down, allowing heavy metal and punk rock to consume him.
"How does he-just-what, Tucker!" spluttered Danny as he furiously sweeps his way to the Specter Speeder. He's inches away from banging on the windows, screeching for him to wake up when Sam pulls him away.
"No Danny." she said firmly, not even waiting for him to began his rant.
"But-"
"No."
"I don't care!" whispered-shouted Danny, waving around the broom he held in his hand like a drunk person who was in a sugar high. Sam had to duck down from the fury that was known was Danny's broom. "Tucker can't stand it when I do the same exact thing to him so why should he get to do whatever the hell he wants?!"
Sam sighed, ducking down again from the broom "I don't-You know what? Give me that. I will not be going home with a knot on my head because of you. I don't care about you and Tucker and your incessant bickering right now. I just wanna clean and try and hone these powers. That's it. That's all I am asking for today. Just sweep, vent, do whatever you need to do but let Tucker sleep."
She pretends to look down at her nails. "Now what was this you were saying about you feeling incomplete?"
"I dunno, just I feel like I'm missing something. Like," Danny uselessly flailed his arms. "How do I word? Um, it's like I've should done something. Something big."
"Sounds...weird, do you know when you started feeling like this?" Sam asked.
Danny remains silent, should he tell her that he's been feeling like this ever since the accident? She had died, he has to remind himself, yet he had the feeling that she was the cause of this incompleteness he was feeling. It'd be selfish, he berates himself, telling Sam that she was to blame for his sense of incompleteness. "I don't really know," he lied, taking off his cap and wringing it in his hands nervously, "Just I was fine one day and then things shifted over and now I feel incomplete."
He notices her staring at him and he fears that if she stares at him any longer, the truth was going to come out. "We should finish cleaning my parent's lab. I sweep and you move boxes?"
She laughs, "So just like before? I think I can do that."
It had been a particularly grueling ghost fight, leaving the trio utterly exhausted. Tucker leaned against a dumpster, tossing his gadgets in his bag, eyeing Sam and Danny apathetically. Sam stood in the middle of the empty street, screwing the top on the Fenton Thermos; Danny hungrily stared at Sam as she screwed the top on the thermos and his blue eyes widen in realization.
He doesn't know how she did it, but she somehow stole his other half.
"I know where my other half is." Danny murmured, clutching his hat close to his chest. "It was right here the entire time, can't believe I was so stupid."
Tucker lowered his weapon, raising an eyebrow at Danny. "You okay dude?"
"No," Danny shook, his treasured hat fell on the concrete. Blue eyes narrowed dangerously as he stalked towards Sam. "I'm not okay. She stole my half, it's supposed to be with me not her." He continued to stalk towards her, twitching as she took several steps back in fear. "There's no running away from me, thief."
"Danny what are you talking about? I haven't stolen anything from you!" She breathed out, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong with her best friend.
"Liar." he snarled out, "You goddamn liar, you stole him away, attached him to you. You knew you stole him from me and you fucking pranced around while I was still looking for him."
"Who is h-" Sam's suddenly knocked off her feet, her head meeting the concrete. She looks up to see Danny sitting on her waist, repeatedly jabbing his fingers in her chest and yells out for Tucker who is already running towards her. He yanks Danny off her waist, struggling for several seconds before successfully restraining him.
Sam slowly stood up, resting her hand on the brick wall for support. "I haven't stolen a damn thing from you, you idiot."
Danny bucked under Tucker's grip, an animalistic growl came out. Tucker tightened his grip, shuffling himself and Danny so that they can be as far away from Sam as possible. "She hasn't stolen anything from you, Danny," he hissed out, "Now if you would please quit your yammering, your shrillness is killing my eardrums."
"Who gives a flying fuck about your damn eardrums?" Danny hissed out dangerously, pointing a finger at Sam, "She stole my half. Sam went in the portal, turned it on and she STOLE MY HALF!"
Sam lowered her hand from the brick wall, her face hardening in hatred. "Is that what this is about? Fucking powers?! In case you hadn't noticed I died in there, you goddamn idiot," she hissed out slowly, hurt that Danny was jealous of her because of her ghost half.
"You know maybe that's what you get for stealing my half," Danny hissed back. "Granted it was only half-way, but still it's what you get."
"I can't believe you, Danny!"
"YOU STOLE MY HALF! THAT SHOULD BE ME DOING ALL OF THAT STUFF YOU'RE DOING! ME! NOT YOU."
"IF YOU WANTED TO BE LIKE THIS, THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO DIE IN THE DAMN PORTAL!" Sam shouted.
"BELIEVE ME I WISH I HAD DIED!"
My, my, that was intense! This fic was mostly unbeta'ed so, if there's any errors please let me know! I do have plans on continuing this, but I'll probably do so only if that's what you want!
Please read and review! Feedback greatly appreciated!