"We still haven't finished the portal and it's supposed to be done by now." Mom sighed bags under her eyes. I winced at the sight.
"We should be done after school if you want to check it out Danny boy." Dad said trying to smile but obviously sad it hadn't been completed, I half wondered if that was the only thing bothering them... I debated what to say briefly.
"Uh I guess." I shrugged. I was skeptical I admit, i had been hearing about ghosts all my life with no proof they ever existed, except for what my parents tried to pass of as proof. Most of said proof consisted of some odd glowing substance and weird noises. I grabbed my bag, "I'll see you after school then." I nodded. Mom stirred her coffee.
"Have a nice day." Mom smiled weakly. I nodded, I was sure it wouldn't be, id probably be shoved into my locker and beaten by Dash leaving a nice big bruise somewhere, but I wasn't about to tell mom that, or dad either for that matter.
(line breakage.)
"Danny." I looked up to see my two best friends. I smiled even with all my and my parents weirdness they stuck with me. Sam came over obviously mad. Tucker looked scared, I rolled my eyes, Tucker had obviously done something to piss Sam off... Again.
"Ooo-k what happened?" I asked concerned i wasn't quite ready to attend my best friend's funeral. Tucker started to speak but Sam cut him off rather abruptly.
"Tucker thought it would be funny to give Mikey a love letter from me now he's following me around like a sick puppy." Sam grumbled. Tucker snickered I managed to keep a wide grin from splitting my face, I kept it down to an amused smile.
"Can you guys try not to kill each other for once?" I asked, this happened almost every day, Tucker would piss Sam off, I'd mediate the situation. They were my best friends, but let's face it, they had issues. I was half willing to bet my head to the devil that they'd fall apart without me.
"Come on Danny, it was funny." Tucker smiled. I kept it to a grin this time trying not to laugh.
"Well I guess it is pretty funny to see you being stalked by a nerd Sam." I looked at Sam she gave me a death glare. Crud, I was going to die.
"You're supposed to be on my side Danny." Sam said angrily. I rolled my eyes, thank god she was joking or I'd have an angry goth on my hands.
"Come on Sam, he'll get over it in a few days." I shrugged, Sam glared, "And if he doesn't then you can beat up Tuck." I amended.
"You're a lousy negotiator dude." Tucker complained, I shrugged, most likely Sam wouldn't beat him up... Just most.
"Take it up with my parents." I said, the first bell rang. I groaned.
"Well we should get going, Lancer is brutal man, and it's still the beginning of school." Tucker sighed. I nodded in agreement.
"I hate English." I sighed, my head couldn't quite process the words coming out of Lancer's mouth. How could one balding middle aged English major be so enthusiastic about words... Oh wait, balding, middle aged, and English major, mystery solved.
"You are at least passing." Tucker complained. I smiled sheepishly no matter what I didn't get in English Tucker didn't get more, his world was tech and computers, English did not agree with him... At all.
"That's because I have nothing better to do Tuck." I was passing because if I wasn't with my friends or sleeping I was doing homework. Life was dull, maybe someone would die to shake things up. I instantly hated myself for thinking such a thing... Still...
"If this is all life has to offer, I want out." Tucker said throwing his hands out in front of him to demonstrate the point.
"School work, homework, chores, and games not bad if you ask me." Sam folded her arms Tucker and I looked at her incredulous.
"Meaning?" we both asked. Being a teen seemed so hard.
"Meaning you just wait till you have to pay bills, that's not going to be fun." Sam said. Tuck and I exchanged a look, she did have a point.
"I guess we should take what we get while we still got it." Tucker said, I nodded.
"Agreed." I said opening the door as we reached Lancer's.
(Sorry it's kinda slow, but it has to start of a little slow.)
"So you guys want to go to the arcade and play that new rainforest demolition!" Tucker asked. Sam rolled her eyes I brightened for the briefest of moments before my face fell.
"Pass, even the virtual thing is gruesome." Sam said with a tone of disgust Tucker and I shrugged before Tucker turned to me.
"I kinda promised my parents I'd watch them and their new invention. Sorry guys." I sighed. Tucker looked at me with a seriously-dude face.
"The thing they've been working on for months downstairs?" Tuck asked thinking about it curious yet just wanting to play games, and trust me I did too.
"That's the one." I said, bored.
"Maybe we finally will get to see what it is." Sam said slightly intrigued, "So far all we know is that it's a portal, we don't even know what it looks like." Sam looked to me.
"I do, but I live there." I pointed out Sam nodded in classic 'duh' form.
"Well tell us how it goes Danny." Sam asked I nodded she smiled.
"Yeah I will." I looked over at Tucker who shrugged and held his hands up.
"Dude, I could care less. Sam's all interested in that freaky stuff not me. You are alright man, you're parents however are swimming in the crazy side of science." Tucker said. I felt bad about this, but it was true.
"Yeah, they're convinced this thing will open up into the Ghost Zone they call it." I sighed, "They are obsessed with ghosts I swear." sometimes I wondered if they cared about ghosts more than me, they had rather done experiments about ghosts than be with me or Jazz on memories occasions. Though to be fair if it was anything non ghost related they would immediately stop what they were doing.
"They still threatening to tear ghosts apart molecule by molecule?" Tucker asked amused I rolled my eyes.
"Have they stopped since you met them?" I answered with another question, an eyebrow raised.
"No." Tucker laughed I smiled then shook my head.
"I don't think they ever will." I sighed. Sam frowned I could hear the wheels turning.
"Isn't that a bit inhumane?" Sam asked, I sighed holding my hands out.
"When you think about it Sam, ghosts aren't human. Plus my parents say they have no emotions, no feelings, so they can't feel pain." I informed never having talked so much about my parents crazy habits. Sam gave me a look.
"I don't even want to know why you know that." Tucker said I rolled my eyes toward him.
"Well seeing how my dad blathers on about ghosts to anyone who will listen, I know more than one would expect." I admitted, then I looked away, more of my freakiness. Sam sighed.
"You only know it from a scientific perspective, you need to take a look at it from the occult side." Sam lectured. I was taken aback.
"And you would know this how?" I asked confused. Occult wasn't my area of expertise.
"Duh, Goth, creepy weird stuff is standard issue remember?" Sam said obviously ticked. I supposed that made sense.
"Right." I sighed, "all I know is that I've never seen a ghost and never hope to be one." I looked over at Tucker.
"Agreed dude." Tucker smiled.
"Boy's, aren't you even a little curious?" Sam asked. Actually I was, but I wasn't going to tell her that.
"No."
"Not even a teensy little bit."
"No."
"Oh come on Danny."
(The irony enjoy.)
"Mom, Dad, I'm home." I said dropping my backpack in the door way too lazy to take it upstairs to my room.
"We're down stairs sweetie!" mom called I headed down to the lab bored running my fingers along the walls till I arrived at the bottom of the stairs my parents messing with stuff in the cavernous hole in our basement wall.
"Just a few minor adjustments." Mom said messing with a computer. I watched sitting on a box in the room. Dad smiled eagerly holding two ends of an electric chord as he stepped away from the portal. I sighed, how anyone could be THIS enthusiastic about ghosts I'd never know.
"Come here Danny, we want you to get a good view of it when it lights up." Mom smiled as she stepped away. I sighed getting up and walking over, standing behind them a ways as Dad took the two ends and put them together dramatically.
I waited. The portal started whirring, my eyes grew as it sparked once, twice and then died. It didn't work after all. I had to admit I was getting a little excited only to be let down.
"Awww " Dad seemed to whither a little like paper at the edge of a flame, mom even looked droopy akin to a flower that had seen many better days. I looked at the portal as my parents moved off mom grabbing her papers and going over her calculations muttering to herself as she went upstairs. I walked up to the huge thing. The metal frame and wires inside leading back a ways like I giant tunnel. I could smell a faint trace of ectoplasmic electricity, I HAD been around the stuff my entire life after all. I looked along the walls it getting dark only a few feet in and hard to see, I wasn't sure if I could even see the back clearly without actually going into it. I hesitated only a moment before I put my foot on the lip fully intending to investigate further, I heaved my body up the small step leaning in a bit before taking a step forward nearly tripping over the wires.
"Danny!" mom called, I jumped scrambling out as if I d been caught looking at porn. I paused a moment looking at the portal before I turned away from the failed invention and back up the stairs casting one final look over my shoulder. No matter what I said before I was curious, and this curiosity would be the death of me... So to speak.
(La cucaracha la cucaracha, enchilada blah blah blah, la cucaracha, la cucaracha, el burrito blah blah blah.)
"So it doesn't work?" Tucker asked as school came to a close on Friday, I nodded.
"No, mom says all her calculations are correct, but she and Dad are flying to meet a colleague of theirs to go over their data this weekend. Jazz and I are home alone." I sighed. Jazz she was so bossy, with a holier than thou attitude at times. I was planning on getting even this weekend, a slightly evil smile brushed my lips.
"Maybe we can check it out." Sam smiled. I looked at her, my plan for putting Nair in Jazz's shampoo bottle momentarily forgotten.
"Or we could play video games all weekend." Tucker smiled. I grinned, that sounded much better than checking out the ominous portal. I got a foreboding feeling from it, it wasn't right no matter how much I wanted to check it out. Besides, portals between dimensions did seem a little strange, especially when the other dimension held evil ectoplasmic manifestations of post human consciousness, my parents' words not mine.
"I like that idea." I smiled at Tucker whose smile widened in return.
"Come on Danny." Sam said, "Just one little peek?" she begged, of course Sam wanted to confront the evil spirits.
"Maybe, but my parents don't want anyone down there, stuff like brining unauthorized personnel to the lab." I evaded, Sam rolled her eyes at me.
"Well we've known you forever; I don't think they'd mind." Sam argued, "Plus it's not like we're gonna play with anything. What's the worst that could happen?" She asked reasonably.
"I don't know someone could get hit by something or electrocute themselves and die." I folded my arms stubbornly, Sam pouted, why did that always work on me? "Ok, if we do check it out, you can't touch anything." Sam smiled like it was Christmas, or Halloween in her case.
"Thank you Danny." Sam beamed acting way to happy for a goth, and quite frankly creeping me out more than the time she started laughing maniacally while trying to feed me some wheat germ garbage.
"I said if, and I said maybe." I said Sam was excited nonetheless and wasn't going to let me rain on her dreams.
"I know, but I think you're curiosity will get the better of you." Sam waved as I stopped at my house having not realized the long walk that had just taken place, my mind else where.
"I'll see you guys later." I waved going up the steps and almost running into my dad as he drug his bag down the stairs to the waiting Taxi.
"You're leaving already?" I asked adjusting my bag a little as my mom came down the steps.
"Your father gets queasy on flights, so it's best to go at night where he can sleep through it." Mom said patting Dad on the shoulder. Dad poured like a kid till mom pulled out a cookie causing him to brighten 'like a kid.'
"Oh I didn't know that." I said lamely, Mom nodded.
"Will you bring my bag out, I have to go down to the lab and get our notes." Mom smiled at me ruffling my hair, I cringed from her touch, she knew I hated when she did that.
"Ok." I said fixing my hair again. Mom smiled walking in I walked in after her grabbing her bag, which was conveniently by the door, and taking it out. As I dropped it on the curb by Dad's dad took me aside one of his massive hands clasping my shoulder.
"Now Danny, no bringing unauthorized personnel down to the lab while we're gone." Dad said his eyes narrowing as if he already expected what I was going to do. I nodded pretending I wasn't going to do just that.
"Ok." I said, "Anything else." he might as well start lecturing me now, don't eat my fudge, don't let ghosts in, don't use the emergency op center to start a radio station therefore causing the entire student body to show up at my house, the usual.
"Have a fun weekend, and call us if there are any ghosts." Dad said. I sighed nodding some what incredulous that he didn't lecture more than that, and I headed back inside. I went upstairs dropping my backpack on the ground and collapsing on my bed face up starting to search for patterns in the ceiling, I already found an astronaut, a dragon, and a panda selling pickles. A new pattern was in the corner of my room, it looked like the portal with a person inside it, there was a large blast around it. Maybe I was being overly paranoid but I was starting to think that showing Sam the portal wasn't such a great idea. I flopped over onto my bell looking down at the bluish purple bedspread that had been Jazz's previously. Maybe
(Maru kaite chickurru I suck at romijis.)
"I am so winning." Tucker gloated as I took another hit to the face.
"Dude that is so unfair." I growled punching his character back. Tucker laughed insanely, causing me to get distracted giving him a weird look and my character to take another hit.
"All's fair in love and video games." He announced. I groaned as the screen declared Tucker the winner tossing my controller aside. I pulled out five bucks and handed it over glaring.
"Cheater." I accused, Tucker shook his head vehemently.
"Cheater or not I still kicked your butt, wanna play another round?" Tuck asked eagerly, I shook my head.
"Danny?" Jazz poked her head in the room. I looked up, I still hadn't wreaked my revenge.
"What Jazz?" I asked impatiently Jazz had already tried to sit me down for five therapy sessions.
"I'm going down to the airport to pick up mom and dad." Jazz said as if talking to a child, "Don't destroy anything while I'm gone." I glared.
"Whatever, I'm not five you know." I folded my arms and stuck out my tongue. Jazz looked bored and gave me the look.
"You sure act like it." Jazz said before closing the door abruptly and leaving.
"Hey!" I said scrambling up not getting to the door in time to give her a wet willy or something equally guaranteed to gross her out.
"Well isn't this perfect timing." Sam spoke up she'd been watching us play for the last two hours and was getting bored. I looked over sensing the excitement rolling off the usually gloomy girl.
"What are you talking about?" I asked dreading the answer.
"We can sneak down to the lab right now uninterrupted while your parents and Jazz are at the airport." Sam smiled like it was the simplest thing in the world I picked up my controller and fiddled with it.
"Sam " I started about to protest.
"Unless you want to stay here and get beaten by Tucker again." Sam said with a smile. I frowned I looked over at Tucker who was currently making out with the five dollar bill. In retrospect, Sam did have a point.
"Fine lets go down stairs." I said opening the door and looking out the controller falling from my lap and startling Tucker who looked at me questionally, Sam smiled and shoved off the bed. I crept out into the hall glancing around, once I was sure it was clear I walked down the stairs, "Jazz?" I called, no answer, "Jazz are you still here?" I asked opening the door and looking out. Her car was gone the red convertible absent next to the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle, I mean the RV. I sighed in relief as I saw this, Sam poked her head out beside me a grin splitting her face.
"Sweet." Sam smiled turning on her combat booted heel and heading for the basement already. I ran to catch up Tucker caught halfway between looking from where we came to where we'd gone then reluctantly following. We arrived at the basement Sam tapping her toe, I tried the door, it was locked.
"Oh well I'll guess we'll come back later." Tucker shrugged, then a smile split his face, "Now, let me win another five dollars." Tucker gloated, I shot him a glare going to the fridge and opening it.
"Uh Danny now is not the time to be getting a snack; we need to find out how to get down there." Sam said. I uuhhh hummed her and lifted up the fudge. Yep, there it was, the small silver key glinting in the pale light from the fridge. Good old predictable Dad. I held the key up triumphantly.
"Nice, you know you're parents better than you let on." Sam smiled. I frowned, I was nothing like my parents.
"Ok do you want to go into the basement or not?" I asked annoyed, Sam nodded unsure where I was going with this, "Then I suggest not pestering they guy with the key." I stuck my tongue out walking over to the door. Tucker sighed shifting back and forth, foot to foot.
"This is a bad idea." Tucker frowned glancing around the kitchen. Sam shook her head and flashed him a smile.
"Lighten up Tuck, what's the worst than can happen?" Sam asked confidently.
"Famous last words." Tucker sighed dramatically. I rolled my eyes putting the key in the lock and opening the door switching on the lights as I went downstairs. The dark portal loomed in the wall like a mine shaft. A small shiver passed over my spine.
Tucker looked around curious about all the technology. Sam went over to the ghost portal looking inside. I just stood there awkwardly, un sure what to do. Tucker started digging in one of the closets, I was about to tell him not to touch anything when suddenly he burst out laughing and emerged holding a white and black hazmat suit with my Dad's face on the chest. The suit was mostly white with black gloves, boots and a belt. Dad's face was just under the high black collar.
"Check it out." Tucker laughed walking over to where I was awkwardly standing in front of the portal. Tucker held up the jumpsuit, "It comes in your size." I snatched the suit away from him annoyed.
"Give me that and stop causing trouble, and make sure not to touch anything."
"Whatever dude." Tucker shrugged. I handed the suit to Sam who turned it over in her hands carefully. They continued to poke around the Lab, Sam walking up to the portal and inspecting it the suit slung over her shoulder.
Tucker was over by my parents blue prints looking at them and muttering before moving on. I watched the two of them before joining Sam in observing the crossing of wires across the bottom of the portal.
There was a sudden whirring and whine as an ecto weapon charged up. I grabbed Sam and we hit the floor just as a blast shot across to the wall to the ring of where we were standing. I glared to my left.
"Didn t I say NOT to touch anything!" I growled marching over and taking the ecto gun away from Tucker.
"Dude you have great reflexes!" Tucker observed, I rolled my eyes.
"Happens when you've been dodging exploding experiments and rampant undead poultry all your life." I said putting the gun back on the table.
"Which makes me wonder how you get beat up by Dash so often." Tucker said walking over to he chemistry experiment mom had set up.
"I'd stay away from there if I were you." I warned. Of course not listening Tucker dropped a vial which proceeded to smoke. I quickly grabbed him and shoved him away from the bluish smoke as it grew. I grabbed the prototype Fenton Weasel and began sucking the stuff in. I turned it off once it was done, if it was on more than four seconds it tended to explode.
I glared over at Tucker.
"Dude you really need to start listening." I stated. Tucker smiled and shrugged. I rolled my eyes.
"What I'm a curious soul." Tucker smiled I rolled my eyes. Sam handed me back the suit I held it oddly in front of me before wondering what the heck she was doing.
"Smile!" Sam said snapping a picture. I stood there dazed by the flash before blinking.
"Ok, I showed you the portal can we get out of here now, my parents could be back here any minute." I said worried, who knew how long we'd actually been down here, time flies when you're snooping. Plus my nerves were on end and I was worried Tucker was going to kill someone. I looked back at the portal then to Sam, "Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway." I sighed having already explained this. Sam strolled up the portal and continued looking at it.
"Come on Danny, a Ghost Zone, aren't you curious, you gotta check it out." Sam smiled looking at me I walked over still holding that suit. I thought about her words, it had been nagging me, all day, all week, something was off about it but... At the same time, all the things I had heard about all my life could be proven true if it worked, maybe I could even help.
"You know what you're right." I said looking at the portal again then back to Sam, "Who knows what kind of awesome super cool things exist on the other side of that portal." I looked at the suit a minute before pulling it on. Hopefully it would keep me from any radiation still in the thing. It molded perfectly over my street clothes, my shoes too. It was skin tight but I found it didn't bulge awkwardly in anyway, and besides being a huge 'fashion don't' it wasn't that bad, roomy and easy to move in. I zipped it up and faced the portal determined. Slightly scared but determined. I half wished someone would stop me.
"Hang on " Sam said, I turned, someone was stopping me, "You can't go walking around with that on your chest." She said pulling the image of my Dad's face off and pointing to it. I guess she was right. I almost wished she had just stopped me to tell me this was a bad idea. Tucker gave me a thumbs up and didn't seem to notice the fear. Sam smiled, I couldn't very well let them down now could I? Slowly I looked back at the portal worried. Walking in thinking. Here it goes. I looked around curious all sorts of wires. Even the floor was covered in wires that looked hostile. I pressed my hand against the wall to keep my balance in case I fell already having stumbled a few times. I heard a beep beneath my hand. My eyes widened as a green glow started to fill the portal growing brighter and brighter, closer and closer. I looked at the glow coming towards me in slow motion turning to a lime green then pure white as the intensity grew. But I couldn't move I was like a deer in the head lights, my feet glued to the spot as inevitable death came for me. As I heard the electric fizz and smelled the familiar acidic smell of ectoplasm all I could think was Damn, this is gonna hurt.
My brain barely began to work and in slow mo I turned back toward Sam and Tucker reaching a hand out like it would save me, they were slowly coming to realize what happened. Slowly their mouths opened, eyes widened and they started yelling. By then I was turning around my pupils turning to pinpricks as they tried to filter out the light that flooded them.
Then the pain started an all over burning that ripped at the seams of my very existence, tearing me apart molecule by molecule, rearranging me then putting me back together, re-encoding my DNA, splicing my genes. Just about anything that seemed near impossible and entirely too painful.
For a split second I couldn't tell what happened and then I began to scream. A rigid scream forcing it's way out of my lungs then gathering speed like a freeing train, faster and faster and faster and louder and louder and louder. Everything intensified till it came to a crashing halt as my lungs scraped the side of the air for oxygen only to be met with plasma. The charge of the electrical current running through the air carried by plasma... The same plasma that now attacked my lungs prompting and even more violent reaction shaking my core suffocating me as the edges of my vision blurred and threatened to go dark.
Another breath, the fizzle of ions making my hair stand on end, the charge though my very core as my heart skipped a beat in it's erratic pounding like the feet of a thousand horses, or a horde of women in high heels... Or was that the football team. Some where in that breath was oxygen which hit my blood stream and traveled into my brain bringing sharp new clarity to the torrent ripping though the fiber of my being.
Arms splayed outward, back arching as thousands upon thousands of volts used my spine as their personal lightning rod. The color green pooling in my irises, like pouring a cup of color into clear water. Clouding and taking over, leaving no remnant of the previous.
My hair blew outward as a wave of cold submerged me, I fought for the surface as the pigment freed itself from my hair. My chest racing toward an unforeseeable finish, my mind begging for life while I was fully prepared to die.
Another breath, my back arching further as I swear I saw a ghost with white hair and green eyes staring back at me with so much pain. The scream finally freeing itself from the place it had lodged in my throat like a selfish kid on a slide. Each breath coming down till there was no choice but to release it in a furry expulsion of raw primordial pain.
A cold feeling took hold in my chest and as suddenly as it started, it stopped. My body collapsing under the torment that had taken place In the past few... What was it decades? I trembled on the ground occasionally convulsing as the glowing wires beneath me shocked my body.
I laid there for a long time it seemed, my vision blurry, the shocks the only thing keeping me awake. In the distance I could hear the roaring of a train and a faint high pitched humming, some muffled garbles, like when a child tries to talk underwater. As the garbles grew louder I began to understand more what they were saying.
"danny Danny DANNY!" they were saying. Who was Danny? I thought.
"DANNY!" the voice was filled with so much pain I had to tell them it was alright. I had to. But my body was heavy, it wouldn't respond. I tried again, giving out a half moan as I forced my limbs to respond.
"DANNY!" they called again I could see shapes moving outside a wall of green.
I groaned pushing myself up my body not yet attached to my brain as I shakily got to my knees.
"Danny! you're alive!" the voice called happily. I held my head a glimpse of a white glove.
"Danny?" the voice asked... Danny... Danny DANNY! I was Danny! I gasped backing up and hitting the wall it shocked my I stumbled forward catching a glimpse of my hands. White gloves covered them, but that's not what disturbed me, I was GLOWING. my eyes widened as I watched my hands, the flickered and suddenly I could see all my bones.
"ugnnh " was all I could say looking away from them. I stumbled to the wall of green my hand passing through it like water through a membrane. My hands came out first followed by my head. I hung it staring at the floor as I stepped the rest of the way out. I clutched to the edge of the portal as I emerged. I looked up and I saw Sam and Tucker looking at me eyes wide with horror. I took a step toward them reaching my hand out only to end up falling down, Sam and Tucker didn't even bother to check as I landed on the ground, the world going black. Yeah, I never should have gone down here I added just before all conscience thought ceased.