Danny crept as quietly as he could into the Fenton household, letting in a little chill from the winter air by accident. He couldn't afford either of his parents spotting him at the moment. He clutched something to his chest, hidden underneath his coat.
Looking around, it appeared that there was either nobody at home, everybody was sleeping, or his parents were still making adjustments to the portal. He hoped it wasn't the portal option. But with his luck it probably was. Just in case he was right he decided heading up the stairs to his room would be the best way to avoid them.
Danny made it to the top of the steps and to his room without incident and quickly locked his door behind himself. He kicked his shoes off, with a tiny bit of help from his intangibility powers, and sat on his bed. Opening his coat and holding what he'd been hiding so adamantly.
"Whelp! What is the meaning of this?! Why am I not being thrown into that infernal ghost portal?!" A tiny, yet enraged, and squeaky voice sounded from what looked like a glowing green blob with arms, legs, eyes, and a mouth.
"My parents are making 'upgrades' to the portal at the moment. It's turned off. So you're stuck with me." The half ghost was just as displeased by the situation overall, but there wasn't much he could do about it and he certainly wasn't going to let the tiny ghost go.
"Wonderful." The tiny ghost crossed his arms over his chest and gave Danny a sour look. "So what do you plan to do with me in the meantime, child?"
"I-I'm not sure. We definitely need to do something about you though. There's no way I'll let you go back out there." Danny made a humming sound as he thought of the best ways to keep Skulker here.
He remembered something suddenly and got up, moving towards his closet with Skulker still in his grasp. The mini ghost shouted at the sudden movement. Turning the light on with one hand, Danny scanned the back of his closet for something specific. Spotting it, he grabbed it quickly and went back into the main part of his room.
"What's that?"
Danny smiled smugly and replied. "Just a little something you can move around in without me having to worry about you leaving."
It was a round, blue, see-through, ball with what looked like air holes and a lid on it. The ball was only slightly bigger than Skulker himself. It was tricky but Danny managed to open the lid and hold onto the hunter ghost at the same time. He dropped Skulker into the ball and quickly put the lid back on.
Skulker looked a little dazed from being dropped into it without prior warning, but quickly regained himself and glared up at the half ghost. "What is the meaning of this, prey?!" His tiny hands pressed up to the sides of the inside of the ball as he yelled at Danny.
Laughing a little at the situation, the teen put the ball down on the floor in front of him. "It's called a hamster-ball. I used to have a pet gerbil and he loved moving around the house in it. Of course, my parents ghost-proofed it because that's how they are. So you can't get out of it."
The tiny ghost looked even more enraged than before if that were possible. "I am not your pet, ghost child! If anything you will be mine! Assuming I change my mind about having your pelt adorn my wall! I demand you let me out of this round cage!"
Danny just made another humming sound, although this was more amused sounding. Skulker began to insult him and make demands yet again. Instead of listening, Danny lightly tapped the ball with his foot and watched as it started to roll off in the opposite direction.
Skulker was caught off guard and managed to fall down onto his back inside the hamster-ball. The ball continued to spin as it rolled towards the wall. When it finally bumped the wall, the tiny ghost inside didn't move, and appeared to be quite dizzy.
Danny left the room, being sure to close the door, as Skulker gathered himself again. He made his way down to the kitchen in hopes of grabbing a snack since his earlier fight with Skulker had caused him to miss dinner. He opened the microwave once he got to the kitchen. Sometimes Jazz left a plate of whatever she made for dinner there for him.
And just as he thought, there was a plate of food there. Looked like she made some roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots. His empty stomach growled just looking at the food. He grabbed it and went back up to his room.
Closing the door yet again, he noticed that Skulker and the hamster-ball wasn't where he'd left them. Seemed like in his absence, the hunter ghost was looking around the room or maybe just getting used to moving around in the ball. Right now he was under his computer desk.
Danny moved his keyboard up and away to make room for his plate. He set the plate down and then bent over, grabbing the ball and Skulker in it.
"Are you hungry? I don't mind sharing some of my food with you. Considering, you know, we're pretending you're my pet right now." Danny laughed as he tore a tiny bit of chicken from the piece he had and dropped it into the ball without waiting for an answer.
He shut the ball tightly and set it back down before digging into his food. Skulker was glaring at him, but eventually his gaze turned to the bit of meat that was given to him. Danny didn't know if ghosts needed to eat or not, but Jazz' cooking was tasty. Skulker could at the very least enjoy that much.
Danny turned away to focus on his own food and soon his plate was empty. Once again he made a quick trip to the kitchen to clean it empty plate off and stick it in the dishwasher. When he returned to the room he was pleased to see that Skulker had eaten the food. The teen went back into his closet and came back out with an actual cage. He set it down on his dresser.
The cage was made out of the same clear-blue material and was ghost proof. Danny grabbed an old blanket from his closet and folded it, putting it in the bottom of the cage. He hadn't had any wood chips in a long while so this would have to do.
The teen picked up the hamster-ball and opened it, dumping Skulker out into the cage. Of course Skulker was fuming at the idea of being stuck in a cage. But Danny couldn't bring himself to care. After all this is what Skulker had originally wanted to do to him.
Danny set the hamster-ball to the side and laid on his bed, thinking to himself. If Skulker hadn't damaged his only working thermos in their fight earlier, he doubted he'd have to keep the tiny ghost like he was now. That sort of made this predicament that the hunter ghost was in, his own fault in the first place.
The squeaky shouts from his dresser got quieter and soon Danny found himself drifting off to sleep.
When Danny awoke next, he heard shouts in a different, yet familiar, voice coming from the direction of the dresser. He groggily sat up on his bed and opened his eyes.
There was his father, Jack Fenton, with an ecto-weapon pointed at a cage on his dresser, shouting about ghosts. When the events of last night caught up to him, Danny jumped up from his bed and got between the ecto-weapon and the hamster cage.
"Wait, no, Dad stop!" He put his hands up in a sort of defense.
he watched his dad's expression change from anger to confusion. "But, it's a ghost!"
The teen kept his stance, "I-it's… the ghost of my old pet gerbil, don't hurt it!"
The weapon lowered slightly and Jack brought his right hand to his chin in thought. "It don't look like a gerbil ghost…."
"Ghosts come in many different shapes, didn't you and mom tell me that before?"
There was a long pause as Jack appeared to think about it before he put the weapon away entirely. "Alright, son. I'll go tell you're mother so she doesn't try to dissect her." And with that, he left the room.
Danny let out a heavy sigh of relief and relaxed now that he was sure his dad at the very least wouldn't hurt Skulker.
Suddenly a quiet squeaky voice sounded from behind him. "Why did you protect me from the larger human? We're enemies are we not?"
The teen turned around to face Skulker, bending over to get more on his level. "I saved you because I know what he would do to you. Despite how much we fight and how much I shove you back into the ghost zone… I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
Skulker looked a little surprised at his words. "Oh… I see…"
Danny stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well now that my parents know about you I guess I can put you in the hamster-ball and let you roam the whole house instead of just my room."
"Just one thing, ghost child…What did the larger one mean by 'her'."
Danny laughed at the tiny green ghost. "My gerbil was a girl. So get used to people in the house referring to you as one. Oh and her name was Phantasma, my mom named her."
If looks could kill Danny was sure he'd be all ghost right about now.
A short while later Danny and Skulker found themselves downstairs. Danny was eating breakfast as he watched his mom examine Skulker while he was inside the hamster ball.
"It's fascinating that Phantasma found her way back to you after all this time. I wonder what her ghost obsession is." She was rotating the ball around slowly, observing the way the 'gerbil ghost' looked and behaved while inside of it.
So much for letting him roam the house. Danny opted to ignore the rest of what his mother was saying in favor of finishing his eggs and bacon. At least Jazz had gotten up extra early today and gone off to some college interview. He knew Jazz would see right through this charade.
He finished his food and cleaned his plate in the same manner he did last night and sat near his mother. "So uh, mom. When do you think the portal will be up and running again? I was thinking of letting Phantasma go in the ghost zone, where ghosts belong."
Maddie clutched the hamster-ball to her chest protectively, the sudden action causing Skulker to fall on his face inside of it.
"What? No, she just got here. She was your first pet. You and I went to pick her out together. Besides, this is a good chance to study a ghost in a non-harmful way that's safe for all participants. I mean whoever heard of a ghost gerbil attacking anybody?"
Danny frowned. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. His mom was objecting to his idea for two different reasons. One was the science driven side of her. The other was her wanting to keep a piece of his childhood intact.
"Look, mom. How about we meet half-way here? Putting her in the ghost zone is theright thing to do. But while we wait for the portal to be finished with upgrades you can examine and observe her all you want. Take pictures, video recordings, and notes so you'll have them for later?"
His mother sighed and looked a little saddened. But she smiled nonetheless and set the ball on the floor. "You're right. She does belong there with the other ghosts."
Danny smiled back and hugged his mother, glancing at Skulker who was rolling away and into the living room as he distracted her. "You know, we could always go pick out a livi-"
"Don't push your luck, sweetie. You need to show me more responsibility before you can have another pet."
A few hours later Danny was up in his room watching Skulker eat a little bit of his lunch that he shared with him. "Hey, do you even need to eat? I mean, you're a ghost so…"
Skulker swallowed the bit of grilled cheese that he'd been chewing. "This food? No. I will get a lot more sluggish and a little more instinctually driven if I don't have enough ectoplasmic energy in my system though."
Danny made a slightly disgusted face. "So… You eat other ghosts?"
The tiny green ghost rolled his way over to the teen. "It's not always that simple. Most of the time I can get enough ecto-energy from just being in the ghost zone. But the ghosts that I do consume are weak ones. It's no different from you eating ham or fish and other such meats."
The halfa picked the ball up and rolled over onto his back. His expression softened, Skulker's explanation making him feel slightly better about the idea.
"So…How does it feel to be caged up like your 'prey'?"
Skulker appeared unimpressed with Danny's question. "I don't like it, naturally."
"Does that mean you'll let your 'collection' go now that you know how it feels?" The teen frowned and knew not to expect as much, even though he asked.
"No. I am a hunter, which is why I am unsuited for such confinement. We all have our roles to play. My collection's part is to be caged. My own is to hunt."
Danny huffed and clutched the hamster-ball to his chest, rolling over onto his side. Indeed there was no getting through to the tiny green ghost. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep again. Not so much as a 'peep' was heard from Skulker.
The halfa woke about an hour later to the sound of his father's voice yet again. He couldn't feel himself holding the hamster-ball any more, which was a tiny bit alarming. Danny stretched, yawning loudly, and then flung his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up. Over at the cage on his dresser was his father. He could see the larger man had a plate of fudge next to the cage and was holding a small notebook and a pen.
"What're you doin' in here, Dad?" Danny rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he waited for an answer.
His dad turned around and put his notepad and pen away in one of his suit's pockets. "Oh, just experimenting. I was seeing if your gerbil's ghost could eat fudge! As it turns out, she can and she likes it!"
Danny watched his father happily tear a chunk of fudge off the corner of a large piece. He stuck his hand in the cage and gently offered the chocolaty treat to the tiny ghost. Jack smiled brightly when the fudge was accepted. The teen observed him and grinned a little to himself as his dad retracted his hand and closed the cage.
"That's nice and all dad, but could I ask you something else if you're done with your experiment?"
Jack picked the plate up and turned to Danny. "Sure son! I'm all finished, what do you need to know?"
"Er, well. How long will it be before the upgrades on the portal are finished?"
"Actually, the Fenton Portal should be back up and running later tonight! Now, if that's all you needed, I'm going to share my results with your mother."
Without another word, Jack left the room.
Danny approached the cage and saw Skulker still munching on the chunk of fudge, although not much was left. "Hear that? I can put you back in the ghost zone tonight." The teen opened the cage, reaching in and picking up the green ghost. He pulled Skulker and the tiny bit of chocolate out and set him on the dresser.
Skulker swallowed what he was chewing and held firmly onto what was left, giving Danny a confused look. "Why are you not putting me back in the round container? Not that I mind or anything, child."
"Because, obviously you won't try to leave or cause trouble. I realized that you probably need to go to the ghost zone to build a new suit anyway. So why would you even bother?"
Much later that night, Danny found himself still in his bedroom with the tiny hunting ghost. They were both listening for his parents to go to bed. During the few hours that Skulker was out of the cage and hamster-ball, Maddie had examined him more closely and did some harmless check ups on him that a vet might do to a pet.
He and Danny had also enjoyed some pizza and the teen had shown Skulker a video game that involved hunting. Skulker sat on Danny's lap on top of his hands, with Danny's back to the door so that if anybody came in the room, they wouldn't know Skulker was the one actually playing the game.
And now here they both were, playing the waiting game instead.
They heard his parents going upstairs and passed his room, but still waited a good half hour before Danny changed into his ghost form and took Skulker down to the lab the fast way. Intangibility was always so handy in situations like this.
Tiny hunting ghost in hand, Danny floated towards the metal portal with the green swirls of ectoplasmic energy at the center. It looked like it was indeed working properly. Danny held out his hand, laying it flat so that Skulker was standing on his gloved palm.
"Well, child… It's been…uncomfortable, not entirely unpleasant, being your 'pet' all day." Skulker floated a few feet above Danny, slowly moving backwards towards the portal. "And perhaps, I'll reconsider having you in a cage of your own." With that the ghost zone's greatest hunter fled into the the ghost portal.
Danny smiled to himself. "Well, I guess it's better than my head on his wall or my pelt at the foot of his bed."