**This is in no correlation to any of my previous stories.**
"Guys, do you know where I put my thermos?" Danny asked, the sleepy-eyed teen had dug under his bed, through his dresser, into his closet and even dumped out his hamper of dirty laundry. The container was nowhere to be found. His room was now twice the mess it was before and he was even beginning to trip over things.
"I couldn't tell you, Danny." Sam answered on the other line of the phone. She sat with Tucker at his place and held the missing thermos. "Shouldn't you be studying? Finals are tomorrow." She pointed out.
"You know I always go on a flight every night." Danny answered exhaustedly.
"That should be an exception when finals are tomorrow." Tucker said, "Besides, didn't you get like- no sleep last night?"
"Or the night before?" Sam added.
"Look- I haven't had any decent sleep in a little over a week- I'm exhausted." Danny replied, unsure that it was even a week.
"And aren't you grounded until tomorrow night anyways? Because of finals?"
"I get it!" Danny snapped, "Look- I'm just paranoid. Whenever I do try to relax, some ghost starts running amok and Mom and Dad can't catch the damn thing." He sighed. Then he paused, "Wait- you guys have my thermos, don't you?"
"No." Sam said defensively, "Why would we take your thermos?" she asked.
"Un-fucking-believable, why do you have my thermos? You guys don't think I can relax, do you?" Danny rolled his eyes and changed forms, his Bluetooth ear piece turning from red to green in the process.
"No, Danny, we know you can't relax- there's a difference. Don't worry about ghost-hunting tonight, your parents should be on patrol tonight anyway." Sam said. "Just study, okay? We called Jazz, she should be on her way over there to help you out."
"You did what?" Danny asked in shock, Jazz had moved out two weeks prior and had her own apartment across town. She worked at a child care center and helped teach children. "Why!?"
"We've finished our study guide, Danny. You haven't even finished page two." Sam said.
"How would you know that?" Danny asked.
"Because I helped you finish page one and you don't do your homework." Tucker argued.
"Yeah I do." Danny argued, changing back to his human half.
"Not all of it." Sam said.
Danny sighed, "Fine! Fine, I'll stay home." He scratched the back of his head. "I want my thermos back tomorrow though." He said agitatedly.
"That's fine. Just as long you walk with us." Sam said, "We're not leaving school without you." She smiled.
"No promises." Danny sighed, but also smiled. "If my final grade is failing or a D, I'm repeating senior year." He plopped down on his bed and grabbed his backpack.
"You won't repeat senior year, Danny." Sam sighed. "Just let Jazz help you with your study guide and you'll be fine." She said.
Danny sighed, "Fine. I'll talk to you guys when it's done, okay? We'll compare answers."
"Okay, sounds good." Sam said with a smile, "Talk to you later." She said.
"Talk to you later, guys." Danny said and hung up. He looked up as the doorbell rang. He got up to greet the visitor, knowing his parents had already gone out on their patrol. He answered the door, greeting his sister.
She hugged him, "Hi, how are you?"
"Grounded." Danny said, "By Mom and Dad, and by Sam and Tucker."
All Jazz could do was laugh, "How did Sam and Tucker ground you?" she asked.
"They stole my thermos." He said, "Then they called you."
"Ouch." Jazz said, stepping inside, "Are Mom and Dad home, by the way?"
"No, they went out on a patrol." Danny shook his head.
There was a clatter in the basement.
Jazz jolted, "What was that?"
"It's who…" Danny corrected her firmly. "Someone must've gotten out of the portal. Dad must've left it open." He sighed and started for the downstairs lab. Jazz followed close behind. As they reached the basement, Danny's eyes met the chubby ghost in overalls that- regardless of how long they've known each other- always announced himself. The ghost turned around, "I am the Box-"
"Dude, how many times to we have to go over this?" Danny cut him off.
"How dare you interrupt me?!" he asked dramatically.
"I've been kicking your ass for four years, I know who you are." Danny crossed his arms, "What are you doing out here?"
The Box Ghost paused and looked down, "I followed another ghost out here…" he said, "I was just going to bring her back." He twiddled with his hands.
"I'll get her later, if not, then my parents will. Don't worry about it." He said, "Just get back into the portal."
"But-"
Danny's eyes began glowing green, as he lowered his hands, "Do it…" he warned, one of his hands lighting up with an ecto-charge.
The Box Ghost reluctantly backed into the portal. After he vanished into the portal, Danny shut it.
"Wow." Jazz chuckled, "You don't even have to fight him anymore." She smiled.
Danny's eyes went back to normal and the ecto-charge faded, "It gets old after four years…" he sighed. "Let's just get this study guide done so I can go catch whoever he was coming in after." He started upstairs.
"Are you okay?" Jazz finally asked, grabbing his shoulder so he would turn to look at her. He saw the dark rings under his eyes and the lack of emotion shown through them, "When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" she asked.
He thought for a moment, wobbling slightly. "Sometime last week?" he guessed.
"Danny…" Jazz sighed, "Know what- you're finishing that study guide and then you're going to bed. This isn't healthy." She said.
"But who's going to-"
"Mom and Dad. They're out right now, aren't they? Let them handle the ghosts, you worry about your finals tomorrow and then you can go hunt ghosts after you graduate." She said.
Danny sighed, "Alright, fine. But only because I don't have the energy to argue with you."
"Good." She smiled.
The following day, Danny sat down in class after downing his third can of a store brand energy drink. Sam sat down next to him and finally looked up at him, "Whoa, Danny, are you okay?" she asked.
He bounced his leg, "Jazz and I were up until about… two this morning." He said, tapping his pencil rapidly on the desk. Dark rings remained under his eyes, but they were wide open.
She rose her eyebrows, "Why?" she asked, considerably concerned.
"We were talking. In the end, I wasn't tired and not going to bed anytime soon, so we just talked." He said, his eyes were wide open and darting across the room, taking in just about every detail. In that class, and four of the following classes, Danny was first to finish each final.
In his final class, math, he struggled to keep his eyes open enough for the numbers to jumble in his head. He blinked back into focus. He took a deep breath and multiplied the 13. Completely unsure of his answer, but he stuck with it. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, his forehead almost touching the desk.
The calculus teacher watched the class and took note of Danny's slouch. "Mr. Fenton?" he called, receiving no response from the unconscious student.
Sam glanced over and saw that Danny had truly fallen asleep. "Uh- he was up all night finishing his study guide." She said.
The teacher glanced over at her, then looked down at the one packet without a name on his desk, "Would it be the only study guide that isn't labeled with a name?" he asked.
The other students were now watching the conversation and their eyes followed the teacher across the room. The teacher stood next to Danny's desk and carefully slipped the test out from under the sleeping eighteen-year-old. He studied the packet for a moment then took it back to his desk and began grading it.
Sam and Tucker exchanged nervous looks before going back to their own tests. The teacher smiled after a while and set Danny's test aside.
Sam grew tense. She was concerned that Danny's falling asleep in class was going to dock him for his grade. She took a deep breath and was seventh to pass in her test, Tucker followed third after her. Once all the tests were handed back, the class was given freedom to talk quietly and enjoy the remainder of the class. Sam and Tucker sat quietly and nervously. Glancing over at Danny, who still slept with his upper body slumped over the desk. He took a deep breath and stirred. He then sat straight up, "Where's my test?!" he gasped and checked the floor.
Sam put a hand on his shoulder, "Whitman already took it." She said, "You fell asleep and he took it back to his desk."
Danny sunk, "I wasn't done…" he rubbed his eyes.
"He looked pretty impressed." Tucker said.
"Daniel, can you come up here, please?" he asked.
Danny jolted and looked up at Whitman, who looked at him expectantly. He quickly made his way up to the desk, "I'm sorry Mr.-"
"Don't be." The math instructor interrupted Danny, "I'm sorry I scared you by taking your test away." He said, "I just wanted to tell you that I am very impressed and I saw an amazing improvement in your performance. Not only did you get a hundred on your study guide, but the one problem you didn't finish on your final, you had the math right- so far." Whitman shrugged, "You didn't finish the problem, so I couldn't say for sure." He smiled, "Regardless- if you had finished the problem correctly, you would've passed this final with flying colors. But instead, you finish this this final with a ninety-eight." He held out his hand to shake Danny's congratulations, Daniel." He smiled, "I look forward to seeing you at the ceremony."
Danny smiled, "Thank you so much." He said and sat down beside Sam and Tucker.
"What happened?" Sam asked, confused with his ear-to-ear grin.
"I passed." He laughed, almost hysterical and leaning on his desk.
Sam chuckled, "Danny, when did you wake up?" she asked.
Danny paused for a moment, "I never went to bed." He said.
Tucker gave him a strange look, "But you said you went to bed at 2?" he said
Danny furrowed his eyebrows, "No wait- Jazz went to bed at 2. I didn't get any sleep…" he explained, then rested his head on his desk, "I couldn't sleep…" he took a deep breath.
The following night, after Danny had gotten enough sleep and was declared no longer grounded, he went out on a flight to scope the school area for ghosts, trying to keep the area under control and ghost-attack free. "See anything down there?" he asked into his headset.
"We're picking something up in the lab. Be careful." Sam replied.
Danny flipped and dove in through the roof, narrowly missing a thrown beaker. Danny froze up in response to this. He looked over at the one throwing the beaker, "C'mon, Poindexter." He sighed, "Look, I know you're pissed because you died before graduating, but-"
"Just leave me alone, Fenton!" the ghost snapped, turning back around and leaning on the counter in frustration. His hands firmly on the countertop, his head lowered and his shoulders raised.
"What's going on?" Tucker asked in the headset.
"It's Poindexter." Danny explained quietly, "I got this. Just- keep scanning the school grounds for more ghosts." He said, approaching the trembling figure in front of him. "Dude, you know I can't just leave you in here."
"Why- because it's your job?" he asked, barely turning his head to speak to him, his tone was bitter and almost insulted. Danny noticed that Poindexter tended to act up every year this way. He discovered that it was almost finals when Poindexter died.
Danny sighed, "Sort of… I'm not even getting paid to do this." He said, "I'm graduating tomorrow night and I'm trying to keep it… safe for everyone." He thought for a while, "I'm trying to keep everyone from getting attacked by ghosts in this… once-in-a-lifetime event." He explained.
The former student grew visibly tense, his hands beginning to glow.
"I really am sorry." Danny said, "And unfortunately… there's nothing I can do but to apologize." He thought for a moment, "Think of it this way- who the bully? The ones graduating? Or the one ruining the ceremony?" he asked.
Poindexter sighed, "Good point," he looked down and closed his eyes. "I understand." He turned to him and looked at him sullenly, "I wouldn't want someone destroying the ceremony dedicated to my hard work either anyway…" he said, then he shrugged with a slight smile, "You know I believe in karma."
Danny found himself flying outside of the building and closing the lid to the thermos, "That gets harder every year." He commented into his headset.
"What, Poindexter getting stronger?" Sam asked.
"No… getting more understanding. He just surrendered." Danny sighed.
"Whoa- behind you!" Sam and Tucker both barked, causing Danny to flinch and hold his ear.
A shot fired just beside Danny and barely missed him, only enough for him to feel the heat of the plasma, "Whoa, guys, that was a little too close to me." He strayed from his path slightly and looked above and behind him.
"That wasn't us!" Sam cried defensively.
Danny looked down at the ground instead, barely dodging another shot fired by his parents down below. He spun and vanished into a flurry of ice crystals, avoiding another blast, as he reappeared, he flew straight and started getting away from the school, "Guys, I need you to get them off my tail." He said. He wasn't even aware that his parents were even on patrol that night. He thought they were just going to spend time in their lab. Their radars must've gone off while he was hunting.
"On it." Sam said, watching Danny trying to avoid getting shot by his parents. "What should we do?" she asked.
"I don't care- anything." Danny flipped and barely dodged another shot. "But quick."
"Lure them to us." Tucker commanded, holding the Fenton thermos that he and Sam shared.
Danny took a deep breath before coming to a screaming halt, gently planting his feet against a brick wall of a tall building and kicking himself in the other direction, leaving cracks in the bricks from the force of his rebound.
Jack and Maddie tripped in trying to keep him in their sight. Why the Ghost Boy didn't just phase through the wall intrigued them. He was acting strangely lately. Maddie was easily a few feet ahead of Jack, keeping the Phantom in view, "I got him, Jack!" she barked before firing at him again.
Their disguised son dove to avoid getting hit. "Guys, what's the plan?" he asked, picking up a little speed.
"Just get them over here." Tucker said.
"I'm going to assume you guys haven't moved since we started." Danny said.
"First word of 'assume' is 'ass', Danny, don't assume. Yes, we're still here, we haven't moved anything around." Sam said sarcastically.
"I got it, I got it." Danny rolled his eyes and dove into the alley that Sam and Tucker hid in, "Incoming!" he barked.
Tucker gripped the thermos and the lid tightly. The second Danny flew passed them and as soon as Tucker felt the wind that followed, he opened the thermos and hit the release switch, releasing every ghost that Tucker and Sam had captured that night.
Danny turned around to see what Tucker had done, astonished and somewhat outraged, "Come on, dude! That took us all night!"
Tucker and Sam had hid, hoping to avoid being found by Maddie, "You said to do anything, Danny. Don't be picky." Sam whispered.
Maddie gasped and paused at all of the ghosts that Danny appeared to kick up. She growled and tapped into her headset that she used to communicate with Jack, "Honey- the Ghost Boy kicked up a bunch of other ghosts. You run after him, I'll clean up his mess." She growled in frustration, "You'd think the boy's mother would've taught him to clean up after himself."
Sam and Tucker glanced at each other out of the irony in the comment.
"You going to be alright, Maddie?" Jack asked, 'Taking all those ghosts on your own?"
"Just go after the Ghost Kid." She said, "I've seen these other ghosts before, they're definitely weaker than Phantom. I'll be fine."
Jack kept his eyes to the sky and followed the silver streak flying ahead of him. He picked up the pace and hurried behind Danny, aiming to shoot. He fired a blazing ecto-ray, hitting Danny's side hard enough to hit him off track.
Danny caught himself before he hit a building. He gripped his side and turned around to see Jack, "Uh… guys? Where's my mom?" he asked.
"She's cleaning up the ghosts I released." Tucker said. "We don't know where your dad is." He watched Maddie and kept his voice low. She had already recaptured two ghosts and was now trying to capture a third.
"I know where my dad is, I'm worried about my mom." Danny said. "She's the one who normally has the better aim."
"Right- wait, are you okay?" Sam asked.
Danny pulled his white-gloved hand away from his side to see it dyed partially with red and green. He took a deep breath, knowing he'd had worse. "Dad managed to hit me. His aim is getting better." He said.
Sam and Tucker looked at each other in concern and looked around for Maddie, who had appeared . Once they were sure the coast was clear, they jumped out of hiding and ran to look for Danny. However, when they turned the corner, they ran full force into Maddie, knocking all three of them to the ground. The two young adults froze, then scrambled to their feet as Maddie picked herself up off the ground, "Sam, Tucker? What are you doing out here?" she asked.
"Looking for Danny." Tucker blurted out in a panic. Sam did everything in her power to keep from slapping him.
"Looking for-" Maddie grew concerned, "Is he okay? What's wrong?"
"Y-yeah." Sam nodded, trying to keep her tone even, "He was supposed to meet us at the bowling alley and he might've gotten lost or sidetracked. We decided to meet him halfway just in case." She said.
Maddie took a moment to analyze the difference in Sam's tone and in Tucker's tone. She knew she was lying. She looked over at the equipment that was sloppily thrown into a bag and poorly stashed behind a trash can. "Uh-huh…" she nodded, "What's that over there?" she asked.
Danny dodged another shot and cursed Jack's determination and surprising stamina. "Guys, I could use a little help here!" he said.
Maddie picked up an opened Fenton thermos, "What is this doing here?" she asked. She paused, "Are you kids…?"
Sam and Tucker grew cold, trying hard to resist answering Danny's panicked calls. They knew he was in trouble, but if Maddie knew why they were looking for Danny, it'd give him away.
"You two are ghost hunting…" she said, "Or is…" she shook her head, "Where's Danny?" she commanded.
"Guys, I seriously need-" the headset cut off after a loud crackle of ear-piercing static, Tucker threw his headset out of his ear and Sam flinched. Maddie jumped after seeing this.
Sam focused on the headset, "Danny?" she called. "Danny, you alright?"
Danny groaned and held the side of his head where his ear rang loudly. He forced his vision back into focus and picked himself up, dropping back to his hands and knees.
Jack stood in horror at the child in front of him, blinking and even squinting to make sure what he was seeing wasn't a trick. "Jack? Jack!" Maddie cried in his headset, "Something's wrong with Danny, Sam and Tucker can't connect with him!"
Jack remained silent, his eyes didn't blink as he stared at what he had believed was the Ghost Boy. He took a deep breath and carefully approached his son. He knew what was wrong with Danny… he shot him out of the sky.
"Jack? Baby, can you hear me?" Maddie asked in a panic.
"H-Hold on, Maddie…" Jack breathed and muted his headset. "Danny?"
Danny jolted and looked up at him with half-blurry vision. His sky-blue eyes widened in fear, his black hair messy from the fall. His breaths heavy and uneven and his body shaking as though he'd been thrown in cold water. The left side of his head bled and even dripped down the side of his neck, seeping slightly into his white shirt. He inched away with every step that Jack took.
Jack stopped trying to approach him, afraid that if he got too close, Danny would run off or even fight back out of rage or fear. At this point, he deemed his son unpredictable. "Danny, wh- why didn't you-?" he breathed, "Why didn't you say anything? H-how did this happen?"
Danny only looked at him in fear. His heart pounding harder than he felt that he could handle, one or two beats faster he'd have a heart attack. His breaths had grown quick and shallow, almost to the point of hyperventilation. The blood in his ears clouded his hearing. His vision could only cloud everything but Jack.
"Jack!" Maddie called and from around the corner. Danny snapped his attention to her, everything coming back into focus. He changed forms, got to his feet, and jumped up to fly off all in one motion just as Maddie came into view. He flew faster than anyone was able to see him. Maddie watched him fly off and aimed at him. Jack ran over and threw his weight into the ectoplasmic cannon, throwing off her aim and being sure that she would miss Danny.
"Jack, what happened? You had him! You were just going to-" she shrieked at him.
Jack gripped Maddie's arms and held her tightly, "That was Danny!" he shouted.
"What?" Maddie looked at him strangely. "Baby, what are you talking about?"
Jack glanced behind Maddie and noticed that Sam and Tucker were watching Danny fly off. Tucker was even picking up the shattered and slightly bloody headset that Danny had worn before. Jack let go of Maddie and approached the two, "Where is he going?" he asked.
Sam shook her head, "I don't know…" Sam sighed, knowing that Jack had figured it out.
"What do you mean, you don't know!?" Jack growled, "He tells you two everything, doesn't he?"
"It's not like he can tell us now." Tucker said and showed him the destroyed headset, "This was his. And I don't think he'll answer his phone after this…"
Jack grew cold, seeing the blood on the small electronic. He cupped his hands over his face and walked in a small circle.
"Jack, what is going on?" Maddie asked.
"Danny is the Ghost Boy." Jack turned to her. "Danny must be… half-ghost. Or… something." He paused, "Wait- did you two know about this?"
The Fenton couple looked down at Sam and Tucker.
Sam and Tucker looked down, "Yeah…" Tucker nodded. "We were there when it happened." Sam continued, then she pulled out her phone, "Maybe he'll answer…" she dialed him, waiting a long time before she heard his voice. However, she didn't listen, "Danny! Are you okay? Where are you-" she paused.
"…Leave a message and I'll get back to you…" the voicemail finished before leaving Sam with a dial tone.
Sam shook her head and dialed again, however this time, the ring back tone trilled twice before sending her to voicemail again. She sighed in frustration, "He hung up on me."
Maddie grabbed her head and began pacing, "I don't understand… why didn't he tell us?"
This aggravated Sam, "Why didn't he?" she asked, "Have you two listened to yourselves?" she asked, "With you two obsessing over capturing the Ghost Boy and discussing dissecting him? With him watching you test out your new weapons and gadgets that would hurt a ghost as much as possible?" Sam reminded them, "Even teaching him how to use them?" she asked. "Why should he tell you?" she snapped.
Jack and Maddie flinched at the venom in the goth's tone. Maddie sighed and shook her head, pacing back and forth again, "Let me try calling him." She said and dialed him through her phone. She held the phone up to her ear and listened.
Outside of the city, sitting on a small dock along Lake Erie, Danny stared at his reflection in fear, having difficulty seeing out of his left eye and making out any sounds in his left ear. He closed his eyes and silently took in the quiet scenery. The full moon reflected off the lake, the tall trees tracing a dark halo around the water. The cool water seeped through the teen's boots and soaked his feet. He wiped blood off the side of his head again, stinging the raw, burned skin that covered an elliptic area from his jaw bone to his temple, and from his cheek bone to the backside of his ear. Blood was already crusting in the folds of his ear. His side throbbed with the burn from the initial hit from Jack. That particular injury didn't bother him as much as the one on his head did, considering it wasn't bleeding as much.
He sighed, with everything that he did, his parents discovering his ghost powers seemed to scare him more than anything. At times, he appeared to be scarier than a few of the lesser, weaker ghosts that he encountered. He didn't even have to fight the Box Ghost anymore, just intimidate him back into the portal. Poindexter didn't even fight this year, he was just coaxed into the thermos.
The thermos…
Danny reached to his side where he still had the thermos attached. He looked at the can for a long time before taking the cap off and aiming the open end away from him, hitting the release switch. He braced himself for the recoil as every ghost he captured that night all burst out of the thermos. Without looking back, they all few off, except for Poindexter. He turned around and gave Danny a somewhat concerned look. He hovered in front of him, "Why?" he asked.
"I'm not going home… there's no point." He said, "Just go, get out of here." He waved him away.
Poindexter sunk and flew off, leaving Danny alone once more. The Ghost Boy tossed the thermos into the lake after everything had grown quiet. He looked up at the sky, seeing the streaks of each of the ghosts he had just released. Someone was sure to see that; a sudden burst of ghost lights coming from the woods near the lake. The sight was more peaceful than it seemed. They just looked like larger stars. Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to jump in surprise. He quickly fished his phone from his pocket and checked the caller ID. After reading that it was from his mother, he rejected the call and looked out to the lake. He looked back at his phone for a moment and stood up, his boots sopping wet and pouring excess water all over the deck. He brought back his arm and launched the cell phone into the lake, much farther than he threw the thermos. He took a deep breath and flew off again, even farther away from home than he already was before.
There were three dial notes, "We're sorry, the number you are trying to reach is not in service. Please check the number or try your call again."
Maddie froze, then looked at Sam and Tucker, "Would he smash his phone?"
Jack began shaking, "W-we need to find him." He said and started toward the van. Maddie followed close behind. They sat in the van, Jack cursing and slamming his fist on the steering wheel, "I'm such an idiot!" he growled at himself.
"Jack, calm down." Maddie tried soothing the large man.
"I can't calm down, Maddie, I shot him. Don't you understand? We were both shooting at our own son." He snapped, "I hit him twice." He breathed heavily, "Our son is hurt because of our stupid obsession of ghosts!" he started the van and started driving.
"Jack stop!" Maddie shrieked, catching a glimpse of Sam jumping in front of the van.
Jack slammed on the brakes and growled, "Fine, you and Tucker get in the back. We'll all find him." Jack harshly.
"It's not that!" Sam ran to Jacks window. "There's no point in driving after him, he's probably long gone by now." She panted in fear and exhaustion. "He can fly faster than a hundred miles an hour, and considering he doesn't have to take any twists or turns, he might even be out of town."
"Damn it!" Jack barked and slammed his fists on the steering wheel, "Do you know of anything in that direction that he'd go to?"
Sam shook her head, Tucker finally catching up to her after having a small heart attack. If Danny ever did come back, it probably won't be for long if he hears that Sam was hit and killed by his parents' van.
"My best bet would be at Vlad Masters'. But he and Danny don't exactly get along. I'd be amazed if he goes there. Anyplace else would be the Ghost Zone." Sam finished.
Maddie immediately retrieved her phone again, dialing Vlad.
"Maddie! What makes you call at this late hour?" Vlad answered somewhat cheerfully.
"Cut the crap, Vlad. We have a problem."
Vlad had completely changed his tone, "Well, that was quite bitter. What's the problem?" he asked, sitting in his living room with his cat curled up against his leg.
"We found out that Danny is half-ghost. Now he's flown off and we have no idea where he's gone. Is he with you?"
Vlad leaned forward, "N-no, he isn't. Is there anywhere down there where he'd go?"
"Not that we can think of, except for the Ghost Zone, or so Samantha says. Can you just- keep an eye out for him, please? He's hurt and we're really worried about him."
Vlad nodded, "Y-yes…" he said, "If he does come here, I'll take care of him and let you know."
"Thank you so much…" Maddie sighed in relief.
"If he doesn't turn up within the next few hours, I'll search for him, alright?"
"That sounds good, thank you." She said and hung up. "Vlad said he'll keep an eye out for him."
"Vlad's a ghost too." Tucker blurted out, "Honestly, I don't really know how well that'll play out for us." He explained.
Maddie took a deep breath, "Would he come back for his graduation tomorrow?" she asked.
"I wouldn't count on it." Sam shook her head, "He's… I've never seen him take off like this…"
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence until Jack spoke, "You two said you were there when it happened… you mean when Danny became half -ghost? When? What happened?"
Sam and Tucker looked at each other, unsure how to put the fact that it was their own equipment that could have killed Danny, but only gave him powers.
"Jack, let's not talk about this out here. Let's at least go home and sit them down." Maddie said.
Jack took this into consideration, but she was right. He sighed, "Get in the van." He said quietly. With a short, quiet, and tense drive, they all found themselves sitting in the large living room. Jack repeated his question, "What happened?" he asked.
Sam took a deep breath, "Danny wanted to show us your lab." She started, "After showing us all of the weapons and equipment, he finally got to the ghost portal and told us that it wasn't working." She said, "He… he was really interested in it and thought maybe he could figure out why it wasn't running. So he put on the jumpsuit you guys had made for him and went into the portal."
"He found a switch and saw that it was off. After telling us that he figured it out, he hit the switch and the entire thing just lit up. We heard him screaming. We wanted to go in after him, but it was going to electrocute us too. We found a way to turn it off from the outside and pulled him out… but…" Tucker looked down, "It- it didn't look like him anymore. His hair turned white, his eyes turned green, his skin was… paler than it was before, and the jumpsuit completely inverted its color." He explained.
"We thought he was dead." Sam continued, "We waited for a while for him to wake up, we even tried waking him up ourselves. But…" she shook her head, "His skin was cold, he was barely breathing, but his heart was pounding." She said, "He woke up screaming. Freaking out that he thought he was going to die. He was almost crying when he realized that he was still alive. He didn't even know what he looked like now." She explained, "We had to take him to a mirror, and then he was having a panic attack. We didn't know how to explain it to you guys. Suddenly he had white hair and green eyes and was… a ghost. He decided not to tell you guys out of fear. He didn't want you guys treating him like every other ghost you've met. But then he found a way to change back to his human form and tried playing it off."
"That's why he spent the night at my place on a school night…" Tucker confessed. "We were still trying to calm him down."
"We got him to figure out how to control changing back and forth between ghost and human forms." Sam said, "We helped him learn how to control his powers. And we helped him hunt ghosts." She managed a brief smile, "Which was why we were out tonight." She sighed, "Danny didn't want there to be any ghost attacks during graduation. He's been trying to protect Amity Park for four years. We've been helping him train, too."
"Danny's a hero." Tucker said. "If it weren't for him, the city would be destroyed. Or even overrun by Pariah Dark." He continued, "The city needs him." He looked down, then looked at Sam. "And who knows if he's coming back…"
Further down Danny's flight path, Danny found himself sinking lower to the ground out of exhaustion. He planted his feet on the ground before changing forms, more tired than he had realized. He took a deep breath and continued walking. He shut his left eye to avoid any blood leading into it. Despite how much he wiped it away, it still bled. His focus shifted to the injury above his left hip. He took a deep breath and tripped, accidentally kicking his own heel. After crashing onto the ground, he laid silently, actually finding the rocky ground comfortable. A wave of fatigue washed over him and allowed him to close his eyes and rest there.
**So, this is the first installment, chapter thingy for this story. I know it's long, but I hope everyone enjoyed this. It took me a couple weeks to write down, but this past week and the week before was very interrupted. I won't have consistent updates, I will honest. Some may be just a few days within each other, others might even be a week or two apart. But let me know, leave a review telling me what you think, okay? Stay awesome folks!**