Author's Note: This was going to be a full-fledged novel but I decided that I'm just going to leave it as a oneshot and, maybe, I'll continue it later. I'm also changing the title. I hope that you like it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. If I did then there would be more episodes. I am only saying this once so I won't repeat it in later chapters.
Shattered
By Above the Winter Moonlight
This is how it feels to be Jasmine Fenton.
You sit at the table, reading through your psychology book not paying much attention to your parents as they talked about their latest invention. You never really cared for your parents' obsession with ghosts because you never believed ghosts to be real. You know that your parents' are geniuses and yet you feel they should have put their intelligence into a better branch of science that didn't involve something that didn't exist.
You do look up when your parents mention something known as a Ghost Portal that is designed to break through the barrier between the human world and the "Ghost Zone" as your parents call it. You don't believe that it will work because you believe the Ghost Zone doesn't exist.
You look across the table at your younger brother Danny as your parents drone on and on about the Ghost Portal. You see that he looks mildly interested but mostly bored as he pokes at his breakfast only to perk up when your parents mention that they are going to try to turn on the ghost portal. You feel exasperated when your parents insist that you and Danny come down and watch but you put down your psychology book and follow your parents down into their lab.
You watch as they, eagerness shining on their faces, get ready to connect the last wires to the ghost portal. You watch without a single ounce of shock when the yawning tunnel does nothing but sparks. You didn't expect it to work anyway but you can see the disappointment on your parents' faces.
You hear them talk to each other and wonder why it didn't work even though the calculations were correct. You desire to tell them that it didn't work because the Ghost Zone didn't exist but you decide against it. Instead, you follow your brother as he leaves the lab and reenters the kitchen telling you that he is going to call his friends.
You watch him leave as you retake your seat at the kitchen table and pick up your book. You resume reading though you do glance up when your parents, still discussing what could have gone wrong, enter the kitchen. Your parents tell you that they will be upstairs looking over the designs for the portal to see if they missed something. You say nothing, simply nod and watch them walk away before you go back to reading.
You move from the kitchen table to the living room as it draws closer to noon. A knock sounds at the door and you watch as Danny announces he'll get it and he walks over to it to let his best friends Sam and Tucker into the house. You watch as the three friends disappear into the kitchen and you wonder if they are heading toward the lab.
You remember that you wanted to go to the library to check out a book that you need to read for a class but you, at the last minute, decide to go tomorrow. Instead, you decide to remain on the couch to finish reading the chapter you are on. Your parents walk downstairs and tell you that they are heading out to get some groceries and that you are in charge until they get back. You simply nod but do not take your eyes off your book.
Your parents leave. You hear the RV, or the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle as your parents like to call it, start up and drive away. The house goes silent, which suits you just fine. Silence allows you to read without interruption though you are wondering where Danny and his friends are. You know that they aren't allowed in the lab without their parents there but you also know that your brother doesn't know your parents left.
You decide to tell Danny and his friends. You save your spot in your book and get to your feet before you put your book down. You barely make it to the kitchen when a bloodcurdling scream of agony tears through the silence of the house. You stop; for a moment, you forget to breathe as you hear Sam and Tucker's voice cry out your brother's name at the same time.
You break from your trance and dash down the steps fearing the worst but hoping for the best. You see Sam and Tucker kneeling beside the unconscious form of your brother. He is dressed in the same hazmat suit as your parents but his is black with white gloves and white boots. What shocks you the most is that he doesn't look like your brother, at least not entirely; his hair is the color of freshly fallen snow, his eyes, blazing with agony and barely aware of anything around him, glows and is neon green and he is surrounded by a nimbus of white light.
You stand at the base of the stairs staring in utter shock. You watch as Sam tries to get Danny to sit up only to have him fall through her hands. You see her jerk back with shock plastered across her face while you are trying to wrap your mind around what you had just seen. You remember your parents telling you that ghosts can fly through objects and you realize that is exactly what your brother did.
You realize that your brother is a ghost.
But you also remind yourself that ghosts don't exist.
You just notice that the ghost portal at the other end of the lab is on. You stare at the swirling green vortex as you realize that your brother had turned on the ghost portal and that was what caused your brother's current predicament. You turn your gaze back to your brother and you wonder how you're going to explain to your parents that your brother is dead.
You immediately feel guilty. You feel you should have kept an eye on your brother and his friends. You feel you shouldn't have let them enter the lab without telling your parents. You blame yourself for your brother's death. You suddenly feel tears streak down your face as you watch your brother collapse to the ground.
Suddenly, you frown when you see a white ring of light appear around your brother's waist. You watch as the ring separates into two rings and travel upward to your brother's head and downward to your brother's feet and, suddenly, you see your brother in a hazmat suit with the colors reversed from what they were previously. You also notice that the white nimbus and the snow-white hair are gone. You believe that the glowing green eyes are also gone.
You feel confused, staring, wondering what was happening. You know your brother is dead and yet you are puzzled by the sudden transformation. You start in surprise when Sam, shock evident in her voice, announces that she can feel a heartbeat. You start to move forward announcing your presence and Sam and Tucker look up sharply their worry-filled faces immediately flooding with guilt.
You need to know if what Sam felt was right. You have to know if what you saw earlier was a trick or not. You do not want to believe your brother is a ghost because you know that ghosts don't exist. You demand to know what happened and you hear Sam's tear-filled account of how she dared Danny to enter the portal. You listen in horror as you hear Sam's account of how Danny turned on the portal; you remember the bloodcurdling scream of agony from earlier and you realize that your earlier assumption was correct.
Your brother is dead.
But you know that does not explain the transformation nor does it explain why Sam said your brother has a heartbeat. You decide to confirm if what Sam says is correct and you kneel beside your brother's body. You stretch out a hand and you search for a pulse on your brother's neck; you start when you feel one. You repeat the process on your brother's wrist and also feel a heartbeat there.
You can only stare. You do not understand. You know that being inside the portal when it was turned on should have killed your brother, you remember your parents telling you that it was dangerous to get close to the portal because the amount of electricity generated could kill you, and yet he is alive. You look at Sam and Tucker and you see that they are just as confused as you are. They are also worried and guilty but they say nothing as they look at you.
You quickly realize they don't know what to do.
You look at your brother and you realize you don't know what to do either. You don't know what he is; is he a ghost or is he still alive? You don't know. You know that he should be dead and yet you felt his heartbeat so you know that he is still alive.
You decide to take your brother up to his room. You know that it would be better to discuss what happened in the lab. You do not want to try to explain to your parents what happened not until you've worked it out yourself. You also want to get Danny's side of the story if he ever woke up.
That thought is what makes you feel that surge of guilt again.
You and Sam and Tucker team up to get Danny back to his room. You pace in his room while you wait for your brother to wake up and you attempt to come up with a logical solution to what happened. Unfortunately, there are no logical solutions that can explain how your brother was electrocuted with enough electricity to kill someone and yet was still alive.
You notice that Sam and Tucker are in the same boat. You can see that they do not understand what happened either. You hear Tucker mention something about ghosts and you hear Sam mention that she remembered Danny telling her about his parents' telling him that ghosts can go through solid objects. You remember seeing Danny go through Sam's arms when she tried to get him up.
You hear Tucker suggest that Danny was a ghost but you quickly rebuff the idea reminding them that Danny still had a heartbeat. You tell them that ghosts were dead and did not have heartbeats nor could they breathe and you can see, by the rise and fall of your brother's chest, that he is breathing.
You see Tucker study your brother's body before you see him look up. You hear him state something you didn't consider earlier; what if your brother was only half-ghost?
You tell Tucker that your mom told you that it wasn't possible.
Tucker asks you to explain why Danny can go through solid objects, and should have been killed when the portal was turned on, and yet was alive and breathing with a beating heart. You realize that Tucker is right and it is possible his suggestion is correct.
You see your brother stir and you walk to the foot of his bed as you see him open his eyes. You see that they, though still riddled with pain, are back to the icy-blue you grew up with. You watch as he gazes around confused, disoriented and you watch as Sam gently touches his chest.
You hear Sam explain what happened and apologize for daring him to go in there. You hear Danny insist that he was curious and so the blame wasn't entirely hers. You hear him ask what happened; he tells you that he remembers going into the portal, he remembers the agony when the portal was turned on, he remembers seeing a white nimbus around his hand but he doesn't remember anything else. You hear Tucker tell him about how he fell through Sam's arms when she tried to help him.
You hear Danny ask if he was dead.
You feel your heart break and you walk over to join him. You place a hand on his arm and, when he looks at you, you tell him that he is still alive. He looks at you like you just told him the sky was pink and asks how it was possible, that the amount of electricity the portal was generating should have killed him. You raise your eyebrows and your brother admits that he paid attention to his parents lecture enough to learn that much.
You tell him Tucker's theory. You say that Tucker suggested that he was only half-dead; you say that Tucker's theory would explain everything. You see him take in your words and you see that he is thinking them over. You wait until he looks at you.
He asks a simple question. He asks what he should tell Mom and Dad.
You shake your head. You don't know. You tell him that it is his secret. You tell him that he may tell Mom and Dad or he may not, that it is his choice. You look at Sam and Tucker and you see that they agree. You know they understand that what happened to Danny was his to share. It is up to him whether he wants his parents to know the entire truth, including Tucker's theory or not.
You see Danny think it over.
You hear the RV pull up and you walk to the window in time to see your parents, carrying bags of groceries, leave the RV and head toward the house. You tell Danny that and he looks at you. He also looks at Sam and Tucker and he decides that it is too soon after the accident. He decides to keep it a secret for the time being.
You ask if he will ever tell Mom and Dad.
He says that maybe he will when he comes to terms with what happened.
You decide that is best. You know that your brother needs time to adjust to what happened. You are barely adjusting as it is now that your preconceived notion in the nonexistence of ghosts is shattered.
You hear your parents call up to you to help them and you look at Danny, Sam and Tucker. You ask what to tell your parents as you know they are bound to wonder how the portal suddenly started working.
Sam makes a suggestion. You tell your parents that Danny turned on the portal but was too close to it and got shocked. She suggests you give them part of the truth so as to not arouse their suspicions.
You and Danny exchange glances and you wonder if your parents will buy it.
You realize that you can't come up with an alternate plan so you agree.
You realize this will be the first time you have willingly lied to your parents but you know your brother will be safer without your parents knowing the truth at least not yet.
You hear your parents call to you again, you hear the surprise and excitement in their voices and you realize they discovered the functional portal. You look at Danny. You tell him that you will be back to check up on him and you leave the room.
You join your excited parents and you are immediately bombarded with questions over what happened in the lab. You give them the lie Sam constructed and they believe it. You watch as your father eagerly asks how Danny turned the portal on while your mother asks you if Danny is all right.
You lie again and tell them Danny is fine but needs rest. You watch as your mother goes upstairs to check on your brother. You hear your father ask you again how Danny turned on the portal and you tell him you do not know before you head back upstairs.
You know that you will be coming to terms with what happened for a while now that your belief has been shattered. You don't know of what the future will bring but you know that you will be at your brother's side. You will help him no matter what.
You are his big sister and that is what big sister's are for.
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: wow, I've never written in second person point of view before. It was an interesting experience
Darth: I liked it
Blaze: you always like it
Freakshow: it sucked!
Clockwork: what are you doing here? No one likes you (bashes Freakshow upside head with staff and tosses him into Vlad)
Vlad and Freakshow: (fly into Far Frozen)
Vlad: what did I do?
Clockwork: you were there
Frostbite: (freezes Freakshow) Come near the Infi-Map, Plasmius, and I'll freeze you too
Vlad: (eyes Darth who pulls out flamethrower with grin, gulps and flies as fast as possible away from the Far Frozen)
Darth: dang! I wanted to use this on him again
Clockwork: you'll get another chance
Darth: how do you know?
Clockwork: I know everything
Blaze: (chuckles) so I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. It was going to be a story but I decided to just leave it a oneshot. I hope that you liked it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.