After a day full of school and ghost attacks, Danny was dead on his feet as he trudged up the steps to his front door. Between running from Dash and defending himself from Skulker, the half-ghost was so exhausted that he was barely able to twist the knob instead of just leaning against the very comfortable looking wood. With thoughts of his welcoming bed upstairs, Danny opened the door and was immediately enveloped in a smell that was a mixture of sugar and lime wafting from the direction of the kitchen. Danny stood a little straighter, the scent was like drinking a cup of coffee and had Danny walking towards it instead of his room.
"Mom?," he called out, dropping his backpack on the kitchen table. He raised his nose to find the source of the wonderful aroma as he waited for an answer. Danny heard movement from the lab and, with the lack of blue mist escaping his mouth, he knew it was probably his parents. Stepping to the doorway to call down to them he noticed the air getting sweeter, a bad feeling curled in the pit of his stomach.
Danny descended the stairs, each step slow and cautious. No telling WHAT they're doing down there, the teen thought, slowing even more as he reached the bottom. I hope whatever it is it's not gonna blow up in my face. Peeking around the corner Danny was met with the sight of his parents fussing over what looked like a taffy machine.
"Mads this might be the best idea we've had," Danny's dad exclaimed, stepping away from the mechanical arms that were pulling the green, gooey candy. His orange suit was splattered with something Danny had become very familiar with in the last couple years, ectoplasm.
"You're right, Jack," Maddie replied cheerfully. "And we have an obligation to protect the children of Amity Park from ghosts tonight."
Tonight? Danny thought. What's happening- Oh! It's Halloween. He crouched lower in his hiding spot at the corner to listen in on the rest of his parents' plans.
"Candy that weakens ghosts, fantastic!" Jack said as he turned and picked up a piece of candy that was already wrapped and ready, the paper stamped with the well-known Fenton symbol. Well, at least it's not gonna explode at me. "And adding ectoplasm makes sure they eat it, brilliant!" Aaand that explains why I'm attracted to it. Even after learning what the candy does Danny still felt the urge to snatch up a couple of the finished products.
Wanting to get as far away from his parents' dangerous concoction, Danny stood and quietly made his way back upstairs. He grabbed his backpack on his way through the kitchen then headed to his room, his exhaustion overtaking him as he climbed another set of stairs. Just gonna take a nap before calling Sam and Tuck, he thought, his knees hitting the edge of the bed. And make sure Jazz hides that candy from Mom and Dad….and me. The springs groaned under his weight when he collapsed onto the mattress, shoes still on and everything.
It was a blustery, snowy day when Danny and his friends ran inside Fentonworks. They threw their bags in a pile next to the front door, already forgotten until the end of winter break. Growling stomachs automatically led them to the kitchen. Danny rummaged through the fridge while Sam and Tucker made short work of the cabinets. Their food search succeeded when Sam pulled a large Trick-or-Treating pumpkin from the top shelf.
"Dude, you have leftover Halloween candy?," Tucker asked excitedly, digging a hand into the bucket before Sam was even all the way off the counter she had used to see the back of the cabinet. He brought out a handful and held it in the light.
"And all made by your parents," Sam noted, pointing to the Fenton symbol stamped on the side of every candy in Tucker's hand.
Neither of his friends noticed Danny's eyes widen or his nostrils flare, as though he was an animal that had caught the scent of something appealing. He took a stuttered step towards the trove his friend just found and was about to reach into the bucket but was snapped out his trance when his dad's exuberant "Vladdy!" came from the living room. Danny jerked his hand up to the handle and grabbed the bucket instead, hiding it behind his back as two sets of footsteps made their way to the kitchen. Goddammit why does he have to be here?
All three teenagers were facing the doorway as an obviously happy Jack and a barely passing as amicable Vlad walked into the kitchen. Jack had his arm thrown over Vlad's shoulders, grinning like mad while Vlad was trying to put as much distance between them as possible. "Hey, Danny, look who's visiting!" Jack said, shaking the arm around Vlad as a gesture towards the increasingly disheveled looking billionaire.
"I'm sorry to say it's only for a day," Vlad said when he was finally able to escape Jack's grasp, paying no mind to the three glares pointed in his direction. Jack visibly deflated at the comment. Vlad smirked at Danny before turning back to his old "friend". "Wasn't there something you wanted to show me Jack?"
Jack perked up immediately, any sadness forgotten as thoughts of his new invention took over his mind. "Right! I've redesigned the Fenton Ghost Gloves. Now they pack even more of a punch against the ectoplasmic scum!" Jack yelled as he ran down the stairs to the lab.
"Whatever you're planning, stop it," Danny said after a moment of staring at the basement door. Vlad just shook his head and tsked.
"That hurts, Daniel. Can't I visit without being accused of scheming?" Vlad stepped closer to the teenagers and took a seat at the table. It was obvious that the candy behind Danny's back was affecting the man when his nose flared just as Danny's had earlier. With a wicked grin he continued, "I honestly wanted to check up on you, see how your grades are doing and whatnot. Still managing a C average, right?"
Danny's eyes narrowed at the other halfa before an idea came to mind. "Yeah, your cat still shedding everywhere, Vladdie?" he said, all but slamming the bucket of candy on the table. He looked back at his friends, "Let's go to my room guys." They filed out of the room but Danny stopped his friends after they passed the doorway.
"Danny, wha-" Sam started but Danny hushed her and pointed into the kitchen.
"The candy you found is something my parents made. It's supposed to attract ghosts and hurt them when they eat it," he whispered, watching as Vlad plucked a single candy out of the pumpkin. The man must've been completely oblivious to everything besides the sweet smell of ectoplasm and sugar since he didn't even pause at the Fenton logo on the wrapper.
"If it hurts ghosts, what does it do to half-ghosts?" Tucker asked, staring at the candy still in his hand. Danny looked back at his friends and smiled.
"Nothing much," he said, grinning as he watched Vlad pop the taffy into his mouth. "Just gives us one hell of a stomach ache." As soon as he was sure that Vlad was going to go home and be rolling in pain for the rest of the night, Danny turned and laughed his way up the stairs, Sam and Tucker chuckling as they followed.
A/N: Depending on how y'all like this one I might add a short chapter on Danny's experience with Fenton Ghost Taffy.