And now, the originally unplanned second chapter


Her parents found her, finally, a week later. They'd heard voices coming from their sons room and initially thought he had his friends over. But they knew both Tucker and Sam were out of town and that Danny had no other friends he hung out with. So they walked upstairs as quietly as they could and paused outside his door, listening to his laughter.

"It's not funny, Danny! I didn't even know I could do that!" they heard a girl yell and Danny's laughter increased. The girl huffed. "It was never funny when these things happened to you," she muttered and Jack and Maddie heard her voice properly.

They almost busted the door off its hinges when they ran into the room.

Both of their children looked up, startled at their entrance. Danny was laying on his bed, propped up by his headboard. His blue eyes widened in shock, glancing worriedly at the girl before staring at his parents with a set jaw. And sitting in his desk chair, hands white as they gripped the arm rest, was Jasmine, teal eyes wide with... was that fear?

"Jazzy," Jack whispered brokenly and Maddie gasped out a sob.

"Jazz! You're alive!" she rushed forward, dragging her daughter into her arms. She felt Jazz stiffen. "We were so worried, we thought you–"

"Mom," she interrupted, her voice quiet and sad, "I'm not. Alive that is. I did die." She pulled herself out of her mothers hug, running a hand over her arm. She turned her teal eyes to her dad, watching as something flashed through his eyes. Maddie was shaking her head.

"But that... You're here, you can't be–"

"A ghost?" Jazz filled in, sad smile turning her lips. Danny moved so he was siting as close as he could, hand wrapped around hers. Maddie stared at their combined hands, finally noticing the contrast between Danny's pale skin and Jazz's fainting glowing body. She shook her head again.

"You know I died," Jazz continued, having grown used to that fact after a month (longer, because of Clockwork) and no longer minding. She ignored it when her parents flinched. "You may not have seen a body, but I didn't survive that explosion. Not physically, at least. My mind survived."

"How can we believe that?" Jack asked sharply, twitching in the doorway. Danny squeezed her hand and shifted so he was in front of her, one foot planted firmly on the ground. Jack glanced at him briefly then back at Jazz. "Ghosts don't have emotions. They don't remember their lives."

Jazz snorted, rolling her eyes. "Most don't, no. But how many ghosts do you think there are, dad?" She glared at him, "There are millions of ghosts. You've seen, what, twenty? At best? So the only ones who come to wreak havoc have a solid obsession, that means nothing. Have you ever been to the Far-Frozen? Or the Acropolis of Athens? There are entire societies of ghosts in the 'Zone, most of which want nothing to do with the Human World. You want to know why? Because of people like you, who think they know everything and don't even give them the chance to tell you different!"

Jazz stood up, Danny's hand falling through hers as she turned it intangible. Her long orange hair floated around her, barely noticeable. But her parents saw it and moved back slightly. The air seemed to swirl around her and her glow brightened. Her eyes flashed at them. Even if she hadn't been a ghost, they knew she was preparing to lecture them. She had often enough before.

"Ghosts are just like humans. If every person you ever met was a criminal, would you think every single person was bad? No! Because there are so many and not everyone can be bad! So what makes you think all ghosts are evil besides your own conceitedness?" she spat, eyes flaring. They didn't change from their normal color but they glowed and a few of the items laying around Danny's room rattled.

"Jazz, stop." Danny stood, walking over to pull her to the floor. She hadn't even noticed she was floating. She scowled at him but he just smiled, pulling on her until she was sitting in his desk chair again. Jazz huffed, folding her arms as her aura relaxed. Her hair settled down, her eyes dulling to their normal intensity. The room fell silent as everything stilled.

Maddie sat down heavily on her sons bed, blinking. Jack sighed and sank to the floor, leaning his back on the door. Danny settled back into his spot, keeping one hand on Jazz. She smiled wearily at him.

Jazz turned to her parents, sheepish. "Sorry," she said, referencing her rant. Maddie just shook her head, eyes downcast.

"No, you had every right. It's... we should be sorry. It must've been... hard, coming back."

"Not really. Nothing seemed to change so it was actually harder to stay away," Jazz grinned. "The only thing that really changed is I glow now. And have telekinesis apparently."

Jack looked at her, confused. "How could nothing have changed?" he asked incredulously. "You're a ghost."

"But I still have my humanity. All of it, not just something to form an obsession." She shrugged, "It's rare but it can happen."

"So this... You're okay? With this?" Maddie asked cautiously. Jazz raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you?" she retorted, feeling something stir in her core. If they were, maybe Danny could finally say something. She sent him a glance and he frowned lightly. But he didn't shake his head. She looked back at her mom, "I can't change what happened and I'm not going to dwell on it."

Both her parents nodded with thoughtful looks. Jack stood and shared a concerned look with his wife and she sighed. Maddie tried to smile at her children but knew they saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"Just, give us some time. We need to think about... all this," she waved her hand through the air, probably indicating Jazz and something else the ghost couldn't see. Jazz sighed.

"Alright. But no weapons, okay? I want to be able to stick around, but if anything comes near me, I'll be gone so fast..." she left it hanging, giving her parents sad looks. She didn't want to have to leave them, even if she'd never give up trying. She'd just have to go through Danny then, and that was so much harder.

"No weapons," Jack agreed quickly, surprising her. He was the one she'd thought more likely to go for a gun, but if he was forgoing them, maybe they really were coming around.

"Thanks," Jazz whispered, watching their backs as they trudged out of Danny's room, closing the door behind him. Danny let out a long breath, falling backwards onto his pillows. Jazz chuckled weakly at him.

"That was exhausting," Danny groaned, rolling over to press his face in his pillow. "And what was that look about?" he mumbled, letting one eye peek at her. Jazz smiled mischievously.

"If they can accept a ghost as a daughter, don't you think they'd be okay with a half-ghost son?" she asked innocently and held back a laugh when Danny bristled.

"You're not going to tell–"

"I'm not going to. But you should. If they're okay with me, they'll be okay with you," she said and he relaxed slightly. She could see the tension in his shoulders, though. "Dad promised no weapons. Don't you think that's a good indication of them coming around?"

Danny sighed and flopped further in his bed. "I guess," he whispered. He tightened his hold on his pillow, pressing his face into it firmly. Jazz was surprised he hadn't phased through anything yet with how he was acting.

She leaned over to rub his back. "It'll work out, little brother. Everything will be fine," Jazz said, repeating Clockworks words. Danny shrugged but didn't disagree and his shoulders relaxed. Jazz supposed that would be good enough for now. Tomorrow was when things would get difficult.


The next day was awkward and Danny gave an excuse to get out of the house as soon as he could, texting Sam and Tucker to meet him at the park as he practically ran from his home. Jazz floated behind him, invisible as she had grown used to when she was outside. She knew Danny could feel her following him, even if he couldn't see her.

Twenty minutes later, all four of them were in a secluded part of the park, Jazz sitting on the ground beside Sam. They formed a circle with Danny across from her and Tucker facing Sam. Danny currently had his head in his hands, elbows digging into his knees. Sam reached out to pat his back and he leaned towards her with a sigh.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do," he muttered and Jazz scoffed.

"You don't have to be worried. I'm the one they're focused on," she reminded him. "They don't know anything about you. I'm the one who has to worry that I can't get home because they've put up the shield that you can still walk through." She hunched forward, rubbing her arm. "Even when they're chasing you, you only have to turn human for them to love you again. I don't have that option anymore."

"Jazz," Tucker started to say, then broke off. He didn't know what to say to her; didn't have anything to reassure her with. If the Fentons didn't accept that their daughter was as fine as a ghost could be, she would have to leave. And since she still felt the same, that was like being disowned for her. Only, now, she had nowhere else to go. At one point, she could have moved into a residence near whatever school she was going to; she could have moved into a friends house. Now, those weren't options. The closest she'd get to that would be living in the Ghost Zone and that would cut her off from everyone.

Instead of saying anything, Tucker put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. It was the only comfort he could think to give.

"If you have to leave, I'm going with you," Danny said decidedly, his eyes hard. Jazz gave him a shocked look, then smiled sadly.

"I know you will. You don't have to," she said, but knew any attempts she made to change his mind would fail. If she had to leave, she could always go to Clockwork; he couldn't change anything for her, but she liked being near him. She had a place to stay if things went south with her parents. Jazz didn't want Danny to have to live in the Ghost Zone with her, not with two years of school still ahead of him.

"I want to," he told her firmly, reaching out to grab her hand. This was his sister and he'd be damned if he let his parents run her out of his life. Danny knew she knew this; she couldn't stop him if that was what happened.

He just hoped it wasn't.


They flew home slowly, the street lamps spreading light that mixed with their ghostly glows. Many times over the short fly home, Danny had stopped, laying on his back to watch the stars, feeling his sister drift next to him. She knew he was purposely extending the time it took to get home; nevertheless, she let him continue. She was dreading what they'd find just as much as he was.

Jazz didn't want to admit it, but she was scared that when they went through the door, her parents would be waiting for them both, guns ready. Even if they didn't know their son was half-ghost, if they hated ghosts enough, they'd target him because he was friendly with one. Never mind that she was their daughter and of course her brother would side with her.

Jazz didn't want to be the reason her brother had to run from his own family. That would break her more than her own death had.


Danny landed on the front step and Jazz took a moment to hide him behind a green shield as he shifted into human form, even though there was no one around to see him. He gave her a smile when she dropped the shield, then hesitantly entered their house. Jazz followed him, walking on the floor as opposed to floating. Acting more ghostly than she needed didn't seem right under the circumstances.

Their parents were sitting on the couch on the living room, Jack rubbing circles on Maddie's back as she sat with her head in her hands. Danny coughed quietly in the archway, rubbing the back of his neck and constantly looking at Jazz, as if he needed to reassure himself she was still with him.

"Kids!" Jack called when he saw them, head snapping up with his typical carefree grin. Maddie gave them a tired smile as they sat themselves nervously on the remaining seats. Jazz could feel her core vibrating painfully and twitched slightly. The feeling was still odd.

"So," Danny hemmed, his hands wringing together.

"So," his mother replied and took comfort in her husbands hand on her shoulder.

"What was that when you lectured us?" Jack launched and both teens flinched, thrown off by the question. "All the stuff in Danny-boy's room started floating and rotating. That was so cool! If I hadn't been scared out of my wits, I mean; man, can you lecture, eh Jazzy?"

Jazz stared at him, stunned into gaping. Her core settled slowly and she blinked. "What?"

Jack moved his hands in front of him and wriggled his fingers. "The glowing and floating stuff around you? So cool."

"Uh..." she stuttered, sneaking a glance at Danny. He shrugged, just as bewildered as her. "That was... I think it was, telekinesis. I think it's my specialization."

"You have a specialization, but no obsession?" Maddie questioned, leaning forward. Her eyes were curious and Jazz couldn't see anything malicious in them. Still, she was going to stay out of her arms reach just in case she hinted towards the lab.

"I suppose. Every ghost has a special talent of some sort, even if they don't have an obsession. The ones with an obsession usually have a corresponding talent," Jazz groused and a wry grin appeared on Danny's face.

"Like Technus. And Ghostwriter."

Maddie spun narrowed eyes on him and he gulped, looking at the floor. "How do you know those ghosts? We haven't heard of them," she indicated Jack and her both. Danny fidgeted.

"I've seen them around town. And Ghostwriter targeted me at Christmas two years ago. You remember, with all the turkeys?"

"Why would a ghost target you?" she pressed. Jazz looked frantically between them but saw no way to escape without lying and she didn't want Danny to have to do that anymore. When the truth came out, all his lies would only hurt him.

"Because I, uh..." he let out a sigh and refused to look at anyone. "You two were arguing all the time and I needed to... go somewhere else. So, I took the SS into the Ghost Zone and tried to forget what time of year it was. Only, I found a Christmas story floating around and I... in a fit of anger, I destroyed it. The Ghostwriter was angry that I did and trapped me in the new story he was writing. That's his talent, making whatever he writes real.

"But there's a truce between the ghosts during Christmas and the rest of them got mad at him for attacking me and managed to get me out of it. Only I ended it by saying 'orange' and Ghostwriter couldn't rhyme anything with orange. So I had to finish the story myself and that was how the night ended."

Maddie looked at him closer and Jazz twitched, trying to cover him from her gaze. "Why would the ghosts protect you if it was a ghost truce?" their mother wondered suspiciously.

Danny flinched even worse at that and Jazz saw him start to tremble. A strange, low hum filled the air and her core ached at the sound. Suddenly, she realized his core was vibrating with the force of his fear.

He'd backed himself into a corner.

"He'll tell you later," Jazz interrupted loudly, her eyes darting between the boy and their mother. Jack watched her quietly and she was struck by how mature he was acting. He was the one who had promised a weaponless talk; he was the one who tried to ease her out of her fright with his enthusiasm. As much as she was happy he was acting his age, Jazz hated that it took her death to do it.

"He better," Maddie grumbled with one last suspicious stare. Then she sighed and slumped against Jack, her eyes closed. "This is just so much. I never thought..."

"In your vendetta against ghosts, you forgot that when your own family died, they would become ghosts," Jazz concluded and watched coolly as her mother flinched. Danny grabbed her arm and squeezed warningly. She shot him a small glare and he let go.

"I just hope I managed to get through to you yesterday. It's not possible for every ghost to be evil; there are too many for that to be possible," Jazz sent her mother a firm stare and Maddie pursed her lips.

"How can you be so sure about that? There is the possibility that those ghosts are pretending to be nice and good just to trick you," the woman declared and Jazz let out a long, frustrated sigh.

"Mom, I'm a ghost. I'm not trying to trick you; they're not trying to trick me. Frostbite wouldn't be mean to anyone. There are a few who would even go out of their way to help someone. And there are as many ghosts as humans, if not more. You can't base a whole world on the few you've seen."

Maddie let out a soft scoff and Jazz saw Jack press her shoulder. Was that a warning? Or encouragement? She couldn't tell anymore.

"I suppose you think Phantom is one of those good ghosts too," their mother groused and Danny flinched, flicking his eyes to the floor before focusing back on Maddie's ear. But, however quick the movement was, she saw it and pounced. "You do? Danny? Even after all he's done?"

Danny looked up angrily, locking his eyes with Maddie's. "What has he done? He's only ever protected the town!"

"He stole and he kidnapped–"

"He did not!" Danny cut her off loudly, jumping to his feet. Jazz made a wild grab at him and caught his hand for all of a second before he turned it intangible, letting her hand fall away. He stalked forward, jabbing his finger at Maddie and she pressed back into the couch with wide eyes. "The mayor was overshadowed; Phantom was being held hostage by him, threatened that Walker would hurt the townspeople. Didn't you notice the mayor's eyes were red? So were Phantom's when he was forced to steal things for that crazy Freakshow! And the only time he'd ever hurt somebody would be accidentally. The only times he's caused damage is when a ghost throws him around!"

"How would you know?" Maddie snapped and Danny's eyes flared. He retorted before he could think, caught up in his anger.

"Because I am him!"

The living room fell very silent and Jazz felt her core lurch as she watched Danny pant, his eyes hardened as he stared down their parents. Neither of whom seemed to be breathing. Jack was opening and closing his mouth, trying to find some way to respond to that and coming up empty. Maddie was still leaning backwards, away from the angry onslaught and only just seemed to have heard him. She pulled in a breath and Danny turned away, falling back into his chair where he pressed his hands to his face, breath quickening. Jazz looped an arm over his shoulder and, this time, he let her.

She turned wary eyes to her parents, watching as Maddie gaped and Jack slowly settled. "That wasn't how it was supposed to come out," she ventured and felt Danny flinch under her arm. She squeezed him to her, eyes never leaving the adults.

Jack sent them both a grin that quickly faltered, his eyes haunted. "Was it my fault?" he asked Danny quietly and the boy jerked forward, hands falling down as he stared at his dad incredulously.

"What? No! Dad, don't–" he shook his head rapidly, letting loose a horrible sounding laugh. "It was my own fault, I never should have been down there. You guys told me not to, I just didn't listen."

"What happened?" Jack continued in that same soft tone, not looking reassured in the least. Danny looked at the floor.

"The portal. I... I thought I could fix it, get it running," he started.

Jack nodded. "You did. We don't know what you did, but it started up one day."

Danny laughed again and it sounded pained. "Yeah. Yeah, I fixed it. I wish I hadn't. I should've... I did it wrong," his voice faded and he winced with remembered pain. He looked up just enough to see his dad giving him a questioning look. He ignored Maddie entirely. "I forgot to unplug it before I looked around. I was inside, trying to find any mixed wires or whatever made it quit." He quirked a hollow grin then, eyes dulling just a touch. "Did you know you made a power switch panel?" he asked and Jack blanched.

"But... no," he clenched his hands and looked sick. "It was my fault. I was the one that put those there; I forgot about them; I didn't–"

"Stop," Danny pleaded, eyes closed. "I was the one who pushed it. You didn't do anything." He sucked in a few more breaths and leaned on his sister before he spoke again, his voice horribly flat.

"Sam and Tucker told you guys I was shocked; only a little bit, just enough to shake me up. But I didn't get out of the tunnel fast enough to avoid the start up."

Maddie leaned forward suddenly, hands over her face and she shook. Danny aborted a lurch towards her, watching as Jack wrapped her up in his arms. He was oddly calm, Jazz thought.

"So... what?" Maddie choked out, "you died and you just didn't tell us? For two years, you've been dead?" She sounded hysterical. She had every right, Jazz thought. First, her daughter shows up as a ghost and the next day she finds out her son's been one for years? There was only so much, so soon, someone could take.

"I didn't die," Danny corrected her quietly. She gave his a flat look, and he corrected, "I mean, I might have, partially. Or something. Tucker thought I just got a massive amount of ectoplasmic radiation, and the electricity bound it to my DNA, making me like a ghost, but not actually turning me into a ghost.

"I can do anything a ghost can, though. And I have a core, which is elemental, but I don't think I have a specialty," he turned questionably to Jazz, both to ask her about it and to avoid their parents eyes. Jazz shrugged.

"You might get one later. It might also be because you're still human, you won't develop one until you die fully. I don't know. Clockwork doesn't tell me anything."

Danny nodded, though he gave her a questioning look. Probably for bringing up the time ghost. She'd tell him later. The two turned back to their parents, who both looked drained.

"I'm what the other ghosts call a Halfa," he continued explaining, trying to fill the air that was threatening to send him into a nervous wreck. "Half ghost, half human. It's about as accurate as they can get and there really isn't any other word for it. Halfas are very rare too; usually, before people started researching ghosts, they only came about when a ghost and a human got together. But, then people started inventing things and, well, accidents happen," he shrugged. He fidgeted as a heavy silence threatened to fall over them again.

Then, in a sudden movement, Maddie reached forward and grabbed him, wrapping him up in her arms. Still tense from the accusations and having his secret out, Danny yelped, automatically phasing out of her grip. Maddie blinked at the air in front of her, looking up to see Danny partially behind Jazz, who was trying to hide a laugh. He blushed under her gaze.

In the background, Jack boomed out a laugh.

The living room was suddenly filled with laughter, some of it pained as the day washed away from them. Danny barely noticed when he started crying, the tears somewhere between fear and relief. Maddie reached for him again, slower this time, and he let her hug him, smiling wearily when he felt Jazz's coldness wrap around him from behind. The hug squeezed tighter and he knew Jack had joined. The family became a huddle in the middle of the living room, everyone sitting on the floor.

Jazz grinned, insanely proud of them all.

This was her family. And nothing would tear it apart.