When I post this, the chapters will have been written already. I'm still working on my marauders story, Before We Died, and that WILL be finished, not to worry. But, I do have a case of writer's block, and I'm hoping that after I finish writing this, it will be cured.
I do not own Danny Phantom or its characters. :p
It was pitch black, here. Maddie looked around the empty expanse of space, not questioning why she was there, how she got there, or where this even was. No, she knew, in her heart, where she was. But it was never so bleak.
Danny's childhood was never this dark, so why was it now?
A cry filled her ears, and instantly she began running forward. The sound, that noise, it was everywhere, coming at her in all sorts of directions.
"Danny!" Maddie yelled, his crying fueling her worry. Where was Danny?
"Mommy!" Her three year old toddler, Danny, was suddenly right behind her, sitting on pavement. The skies were no longer dark space, just regular skies. He was no longer crying, just whimpering as he gazed back and forth between the scrape on his knee and his mother. Maddie hurried over to him.
"Oh, Danny," She tutted, picking him up to save him from his distress. "You've got to be more careful. Are you okay?"
"Fell." Danny informed her gravely. "Stings." His eyes began to prick with tears at the thought.
"It'll be okay. It won't hurt for long." Maddie kissed his mess of pitch black hair, starting to carry him inside the house. They were at the front of the home, now.
Before she reached the door, though, Danny was gone; gone, like he had never been there in the first place.
"Danny?!" Maddie gasped, looking all around for her baby boy. He couldn't have just disappeared without a trace.
Suddenly, a familiar echo filled laughed right behind her. Maddie swung around, knowing who it was, who it had to be.
"Phantom!" Maddie growled, her eyes swelling with tears. "What did you do with Danny? Tell me, tell me now or I'll-"
"You'll what?" Phantom's neon green eyes glowed maliciously. "Kill me?"
Maddie sat up in bed, sweating coldness all over herself and the sheets. Her heart was pounding, racing from the odd, terrible dream she had just witnessed. Paranoia settled in her bones, but she knew that Danny, her seventeen year old son, was sleeping soundly in his room. She had just checked on him a few hours before.
A loud beep erupted from the Fenton Ghost Radar that she kept on her nightstand. Wiping her sleep filled eyes, she reached over to view the screen, and scowled as she recognized the extremely strong ecto-signature radiating off one ghost. No other ghost in Amity Park had an ecto-signature quite like Phantom.
Jack snored from his place in the bed, his pink pajamas gleaming from the moonlight that had slipped in through the window blinds. Maddie, not wanting to wake him up, crept out of bed smoothly, barely making a sound. Jack never even moved.
Since she sleeps in her hazmat suit, Maddie was quick out the door, hopping into the Fenton RV before speeding away into the night. Phantom wasn't far at all, only a mile or two away.
Phantom. Maddie liked to think of him as her greatest enemy. Countless times she had almost captured him, almost been able to finally experiment on him, almost gotten away with him in her clutches; but, Phantom always escaped.
The town of Amity Park loved the ghost boy. He (it, her mind corrected) had them convinced that he was a good ghost (which don't exist), that he was a hero, that he only wanted to help the people. But, Maddie was a scientist trained in the study of the paranormal. Ghosts are mere projections of their past life, incapable of feeling, emotions, or being good.
A neon green bolt of energy came racing from the other side of the street. Maddie narrowed her violet eyes, turning quickly onto the road that the bolt had come from.
A glowing form flew the air like a bullet, a ghostly tail following behind him closely. Maddie drew out her trust, regular ray gun, the only one she knew would work right. Not that she'd ever tell him, but as soon as Jack began to disassemble and reassemble all of their other weapons, she knew she had to hide it from him.
"I'll use your pelt as a rug, ghost boy!" The fierce looking, armored ghost threatened as it was sucked into a...Fenton Thermos?
Maddie stared in shock and anger. Phantom had stolen a gadget right from under their noses!
The ghost just rolled his eyes at the failed attempt to scare him, and tucked the thermos away at his side. Maddie finally jumped out from the RV, aiming her weapon at the flying form before he could get away.
"Not this time, Phantom!"
Her voice rang through the empty streets like an air horn, making the ghost jump. Slowly, he turned around, facing her.
"What'd I do this time?" He ran a hand through his shock of white hair, ruffling it up even more. Green eyes stared right into her core, making her shiver.
"What haven't you done?" She kept him in her sights, finger carefully resting on the trigger. "Float down. Now. Slowly."
Phantom did so, albeit hesitantly. He kept his arms up where she could see them, even though she hadn't asked him to do so.
Maddie narrowed her eyes even more, if that was possible. She'd never hated anyone (anything) more than Phantom. "What are you doing with my thermos?"
Realization flicked in Phantom's expression. His mouth formed the shape of an oh. "Well, uh," He paused, not meeting her eyes, instead keeping his head down. "I needed to use it. It's very useful, you know-"
"Shut up! That doesn't answer my question. How did you get it, ghost?" Maddie spat out. Phantom sat still, not daring to move.
"I," Phantom reached to scratch the back of his neck, but at the sudden movement Maddie pulled down hard on the trigger.
Click.
"What?" Maddie asked no one in disbelief. "No!" She threw the gun in anger, knowing it was stupid but did it anyway.
Phantom was now suddenly overjoyed. Ha, he thought to himself. A misfire!
Before Maddie had time to react, Phantom took off, turning invisible as he did so. The woman screamed into the empty street, gripping her hair while the gun now lay on the cold, hard ground.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She yelled, kicking her feet on the ground. "This is not the end, Phantom! I will get my hands on you if it's the last thing I do!" With that, she took off running to the Fenton RV, forgetting her gun to lay on the street.
...
...
"This is not the end, Phantom! I will get my hands on you if it's the last thing I do!"
Danny watched from behind a building, completely hidden from sight.
(She doesn't know, she doesn't know, she doesn't know.)
There was no way he could tell her. She hates him. Danny didn't even know his mother could hate something so much. Sure, she had always freaked out when it came to ghosts, but she's never made personal grudges against them. They were just everybody's problem. But, him? Phantom was Maddie's worst enemy, it seemed.
Danny sighed as the wind whipped his hair in his face. He didn't bother to get it out. It was cold, he could tell, but it didn't affect him; not like it used to. Danny smiled at the memories of childhood, when it would be a snow day and his parents would help him gather up all of his warm clothes, Maddie kissing him all over once he and Jazz returned to drink hot chocolate.
It was normal, then.
He wondered distantly if it would ever be normal again, even if they did know his secret. Danny tried to picture Maddie still being his loving mother while loving his other side, too; it was almost laughable to think about.
And now she knows he has the Fenton Thermos. Great, Danny rolled his eyes. Just great.
That would be nearly impossible to explain without making him sound evil. Oh, I stole it from your own lab! Nice portal, by the way, it killed me when I saw it! Literally!
Danny laughed at his own joke though he didn't find it very funny. Suddenly, an odd wetness rolled down his cheek, making him stop moving for a second.
Quickly, he looked up at the skies, checking to see if it was starting to rain, but, no, it wasn't. It wasn't cloudy at all that night. Danny moved to bring his hand up to touch his face, and when he pulled back, it was wet, too.
Another drip rolled down his cheek, and with it came a shaky breath and a hiccup. Danny sniffed, realizing what it was. A tear.
Was he...crying? He hadn't cried in, well, he didn't remember. Danny coughed, quickly wiping away the rest of the tears and breathed in deeply. No, he wouldn't cry. Not now.
Danny flew away from his hiding spot. It was safe now, anyway, and he had to get home before his mother realized that Danny Fenton was not there.
A glint of light caught his eye from the ground, making him stop midair. He flew around, eyebrows furrowing as he inspected the odd gleam. Slowly, he flew back down close to where his mother had previously had him held up, and soon he realized what the gleam was.
The gun.
Moonlight was reflecting off its metal surface, at least that's what Danny assumed. A coldness settled into his chest. His mom was going to shoot him with that, and probably more.
(She doesn't know, she doesn't know, she doesn't know.)
Danny reached down to inspect the loathed object, turning it around in his hands. It was cold, the handle no longer warm from Maddie's hands. The trigger, thankfully, had not triggered anything. But, he still hated it.
Knowing he couldn't very well return it, Danny chose the only reasonable option; to destroy it. Without hesitation, Danny disintegrated the weapon while it was in his hands, and threw the dust off into the pavement. The wind blew the remains away.
Danny glared at the ground before taking off into the sky. Flying, flying helps. Most of the time. From even here, he could see the large "Fenton Works" sign just a distance ahead. It was good thing he was close to home, Danny reasoned.
As he got closer, he could see his bedroom through the large window. No one was in there, his door was shut, and the bed still looked like someone was sleeping in it, thanks to the pillows and blankets. Danny sighed. It was safe.
Almost as soon as he was about to fly through the window, his bedroom door opened. By instinct, he went invisible yet again.
Maddie stood in the doorway, a troubled expression on her face. A stab of guilt hit Danny in the chest. He kept watching her, begging her silently not to look closer at the bed.
The woman stayed placed, just watching the "sleeping" form lay perfectly still in the bed. Danny bit his lip. There was no way she would buy this, not when she was looking so closely- oh, she's looked away.
Danny then realized she was staring straight at him. A gasp escaped his lips, but he soon realized that he was still invisible. Maddie turned her gaze somewhere else as soon as it had landed on him, anyway.
With Danny still watching, Maddie placed her face in her hands, and another gasp escaped his lips when he saw her shaking shoulders.
Was he really hurting her this badly?
Finally, Maddie looked back at the bed, a sad smile on her face. Danny saw her lips form the words I love you before she shut his door, leaving him alone at last. He quickly phased through the window, settling on his bed quietly before switching back to his human self.
Without really meaning to, Danny wondered if she'd still be able to tell him that if she knew everything.
...
...
After exiting Danny's room, Maddie returned to her own, Jack still sound asleep from when she left him.
Danny.
Maddie felt more tears well up in her eyes. Her son, her baby boy, or, at least, he was supposed to be. For a long time, though, he hasn't been much of either. The mother knew it couldn't just be her, it had to be something else, something that was keeping him from being all he could be. Terrible grades, not near enough sleep, just so, so different than who he used to be.
Danny used to trust her, used to tell her anything and believe she wouldn't tell. Now, she's lucky if she can even get him to speak without a lie.
Is it drugs, Danny?
Do you need help?
Did we do something wrong?
Did I do something wrong?
No, mom. I'm fine, mom. You didn't do anything wrong.
None of it makes sense. There is something else. She can see it, hiding right behind his eyes. Hear it, right in the mix of his excuses.
He's lying to her. He's always lying.
Maddie cried into her hand.
...
...
"Have a good day at school, sweetie." Maddie smiled as Danny walked out the door. Immediately as it was shut, the smile fell off her face. Danny didn't even try this morning, Maddie thought angrily. The least he could do was try to reassure her that everything was well.
Maddie let her thoughts carry her away.
He's not trying, today. Maybe-maybe that's not a bad thing.
He's as tired of this as you are. Don't be hard on him.
If he's tired he'll tell me. He'll finally tell me.
"Honey?" Maddie asked Jack, who was still eating breakfast at the dinner table.
"Yeah?" Jack shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. The side of Maddie's mouth quirked as she wondered whether she should be finding this funny or annoying.
"Have you," Maddie sat down before continuing. "I know we've talked about it before, but, have you noticed anything else? I just can't put my finger on it."
Jack pushed away his cereal. Usually, Jack's happy go lucky personality was always visible. But, when serious talks about Danny came up, or any of his kids, for that matter, Jack was just as worried as any other parent.
"I don't know. He doesn't really talk to me anymore, so I wouldn't be able to tell." He stared at Maddie's eye's with his own blue ones; they matched their kids' own.
"You never told me that." Maddie reached to hold his hand. "I wish I knew something. Just, anything would be welcome at this point."
"He's a teenager. He'll grow out of it." But even as he said it, neither of them were convinced.
...
...
"Hey, Danny," Tucker welcomed him as he plopped his bag down on the lunch table. "Woah, what's wrong?"
"Uh," Danny ran a hand through his hair. "My mom almost shot me last night. Would have, but it misfired."
"What's going on?" Sam questioned as she finally showed up. She could tell by the boys' faces that it was serious.
"My mom almost caught me last night, really, it's nothing." Danny waved it off, but Tucker and Sam shared a look.
"Danny, this is kind of a big deal. What if the gun hadn't misfired?" Tucker asked, not unkindly.
"I don't know." Danny muttered. "I would've gotten shot, I guess."
Sam blinked. "Are you okay?"
"I've been better." Danny smarted off, though he immediately regretted it at her hurt expression. "Sorry. I'm not okay right now, but I will be."
They nodded slowly, wondering if what he was saying was true. "Well, what's the plan?" Tucker asked.
"What plan?"
"What are you gonna do?"
"Keep doing what I've been doing."
"Danny, one day that gun will go off. I," Sam coughed. "We don't want you to get hurt. Or worse."
"Have you ever thought about just telling them?" Tucker added. "It's been, what, three years since the accident?"
"No." Danny said immediately. "No, you guys don't understand. My mom might hate ghosts, but she hates Phantom. As in, she wants him completely gone." Danny shuddered.
"Let's change the subject," Sam spoke up. "What do you guys want to do after school?"
Tucker lit up, though Danny cringed.
"What is it now?" Sam asked him.
"I can't, Sam," Danny rubbed his eyes. "I'm about to pass out. I was out all night, and even when I was home I didn't get much sleep."
Sam was quiet for a second. "It's okay. We can do it some other time. Get some sleep."
Danny smiled at his friends. He would always be eternally grateful for them.
"Thanks."
...
...
As soon as Danny was home, he climbed up the stairs to get to his bed. It wasn't dark out yet, but he was just so tired. Danny still felt guilty about not being able to go to the movies with Sam and Tucker, but it was just getting too much. His personal life and his ghost life were getting too involved with each other, and lately he hasn't been able to spend much time (other than school) with them at all. Not like they used to.
Sam and Tucker don't help him hunt ghosts like they used to, not with their own responsibilities getting in the way. The final exams were coming up shortly, and they all needed time and space to study.
Danny collapsed into his mattress, sleep engulfing him almost immediately. Thankfully, he had no dreams.
...
...
The feeling of cold settled into his chest and throat. Quickly, Danny opened his eyes just in time to see his breath.
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
Danny groaned into his pillow, wanting to punch it, the wall, his door, himself. His eyes flicked out the window, trying to guess what time it was. It was dark already, meaning he had slept for a few hours. That was more than he got last night, so Danny figured he could at least be grateful for that.
Changing into Phantom quickly, Danny slipped quietly through the window and flew away into the night sky, trying to find the ghost that was nearby. Very quickly, he saw it.
It was an ectopus.
Danny wanted to scream.
These stupid, stupid things are what's keeping him from sleep?
Danny fired bolt after bolt at the weaker ghost, taking all of his aggression out on the creature. Screaming, Danny thought about all that was going wrong, and suddenly all he could see was red. Just a moment later, his world was turned black.
...
First chapter is complete. Please let me know what you think! -Lexi