Danny Phantom
Unseeing
Author's Notes: I'm so sorry for taking this long to update... a whole year, actually. I've been so distracted with my other stories that I completely forgot to finish this one. Well, here's another chapter of "Unseeing."
Chapter Two
The Woman in the Graveyard
Tuesday, October 3, 2013
The Fenton Residence, the Lab
3:32 PM
Danny was perplexed, to say the least. With a sigh he shut the great metal doors and phased through the ceiling. Had it just stayed open after the box ghost? Or had something else gotten out while he'd been chasing around the box ghost? He didn't know how long it'd been open...
For the remainder of the night, Danny stayed in his room. He wasn't really in the mood to do much else. This house did haunt him, and he half wished his mother would come around, but he knew she wouldn't. He knew she'd moved on. If she hadn't, he'd have already known about it. Even if he desperately wished for the company, there really wasn't much he could do about it.
The phone rang. He grumbled, getting to his feet and phasing through the door. He slid down the banister and snatched the phone off the hook. "Fenton Works Ghost research and extermination, how can I help you?" he said, plopping down onto the couch.
"Hello, Daniel."
Danny stared at the receiver. "Er... who am I speaking to?" he asked cautiously.
"It's been three, little boy." And with that, the line went dead. Danny tensed, looking at the caller I.D. and raising an eyebrow. It was blank.
"What in the hell is going on?" he whispered, hanging up the phone and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
"Hey, Sam? Yeah... awesome, see you in ten minutes."
Tuesday, October 3, 2013
The Nasty Burger
3:46 PM
"So tell me what happened. What did this guy say?" asked the raven-haired goth girl. Danny couldn't help but stare at her for a few moments. "Danny?"
"Right. Well, he knew my name. My name isn't in the ad. That, and he said, 'It's been three, little boy.' That's pretty weird."
Tucker nodded. He was slurping down a milkshake, only to pause and the icy beverage caused his brain to go numb. "Ah!" he moaned, drawing a snort of laughter from the teen in the dark glasses. "Hey!"
Sam rolled her lavender eyes. "Guys!" she said, and the two froze. "Look, this is serious. Danny, do you remember anyone else saying that? Ever?"
Danny thought a moment. Had he heard those words? He couldn't recall...
"See you in three, little boy..."
Danny's heart stopped for a second. "No... there's no way."
Sam stared at him. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing." The look in the goth beauty's eyes told him she saw right through his lie. Her lavender eyes tore down his defenses and locked on his crystal orbs through his dark glasses. How was it that she did this to him every time? He grumbled. "Okay..." he whispered, leaning in so only his fellow ghost hunters could hear. "HE said it... three years ago."
"Dude, it's probably just a prank. Or maybe he's haunting the phone."
Danny nodded. "Tuck, I really hope that's all it is."
Tuesday, October 3, 2013
The Fenton Residence
5:34 PM
Danny closed the door behind him. Well, he did feel a little better, and that was all that counted. The cell phone in his pocket rang loudly, causing him to jump, though he'd felt it long before it went off. He snatched it out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" he said, masking the adrenaline coursing through him from the shock.
"Hey there, Danny!" came the voice of his father on the other line in what sounded like a poor attempt at enthusiasm. Danny didn't comment on this.
"Hey Dad. How's the convention going?" he asked, flopping down onto the couch.
"Great, great... so, any news from Jazz?"
"Yeah, she'll be home Friday."
"Excellent! It'll be like old times... kind of. I'll be home Thursday night. Everything else going okay?"
"Yeah, as okay as things ever are around here."
"Ghosts?"
"Always."
"Well, just keep up your grades. I'll be home in a few days. Take care, son."
"You too, Dad."
The line went dead as Jack hung up the phone. Danny sighed loudly. That was really the most he and his father had spoken in the last three months. The memory of the bonds he used to have with his family and the reality of how severed they had become made his insides boil with resentment, mostly towards himself. But then, what was he to do? Jazz was gone, his father was now a mostly respected paranormal expert, and he was... well, he had plenty on his own plate, what with being Danny Phantom and training his ghost powers to compensate for the loss of his eyesight. It had to be perfect if he planned to really be an astronaut.
But that was all minor to what was threatening to overwhelm him in the back of his mind. Who had been the caller? Could it have possibly been that bastard? He didn't know, and that was the fact that scared him the most.
The phone rang again, and Danny jumped. He snatched it up and said, "Fenton Works Ghost Extermination and Research, can I help you? ...yes... yes... okay, could I have a description of the ghost? ...alright, can I have your address? ... okay, I'll send someone over."
Tuesday, October 3, 2013
The Cassas Residence, the Graveyard
6:17 PM
As always, for such missions, Danny Phantom was the one who responded to the calls, with his two companions, each wearing the regular Fenton uniform of all black, with the Fenton logo sprawled across their shirts, black caps, and dark sunglasses. Sam usually removed her purple lipstick, so she'd be less recognizable.
Danny himself wore a long black trench-coat over top of his jumpsuit. It helped with the illusion. He rang the doorbell with a gloved hand. An elderly woman cracked the door and peered out before opening the door completely. "You... are you here to get rid of her?"
Danny nodded and gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll take care of your ghost problem. Can you show me to the graveyard?"
"Oh, yes," she said, her voice timid, and she stepped out the door. The poor old woman was using a cane to walk and hobbled, rather than stepped. Danny would have offered her assistance, but he knew she'd refuse. People like her always did.
The graveyard was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. Dark, ominous clouds covered the sky, typical of haunted places like this. He jerked his head to the other two, and they followed him in, each with their own ecto-weapons. The old woman closed the gate behind him and hurried back to the safety of her porch, where she watched.
Danny looked around. These graves dated back to the early 1800's, and most of the their owners had died rather young. The most recent grave was the grave of a young woman, around his mother's age (a thought that made him swallow hard), and she had died only four years ago. Danny knelt down to read the script: Lyra, a beloved daughter, wife, and mother. You were taken from us too soon, but you will not be forgotten. He sighed and bowed his head for an instant and moved away from the grave, turning to the others.
"I'm not seeing..." he started, noticing that his breath had gone frigid. Sam was clutching her ecto-blaster and Tucker had a firm grip on the thermos. Danny turned slowly.
Hovering about the grave was a woman. She might have been rather pretty, in life. Her hair was deep red and her eyes were a deep turquoise. Danny stiffened as she rose just about the headstone of her grave. There were marks in each of her hands and in her feet, like knife-marks. A deep red stain circled the area around her heart. Her face... she looked so sad, so haunted. Like the pain of a thousand weeping mothers had pooled in her eyes. But Danny's eyes fell on something that made his stomach jolt.
Around her neck was draped a rosary.
She moved towards him, wailing. His two companions covered their ears, but Danny was transfixed. She stumbled and he caught her as she wept, sobbing into his coat. He did his best to comfort her. They sank to the ground, and Danny pulled her up.
"It's alright, Lyra," he whispered. She gasped and looked up to him.
"Why?" she moaned. "Why did I have to leave them? My babies..."
"They're alright. You did nothing wrong. It wasn't your fault."
"R-really?"
He nodded. "I would know. He killed my mother, too."
"He's back," she shuddered, sobbing again. "He's back, and he wants revenge! My husband... my children... my mother..."
"They'll be alright. I promise."
"You... so much anger..." she whispered, her eyes becoming wide. She buried her face into his chest and wept for a long time. "Please, I don't want to see them yet. Don't let him hurt my babies."
Danny nodded. "I promise."
A grateful smile flitted across her sad features. "Thank you, ghost child. Thank you..." she whispered. "I... I want to help." Danny raised an eyebrow. She went on. "Please, let me help. I want to make sure he never hurts another. I want to make sure you can make him go away... forever."
Sam knelt down beside Danny, a gentle smile on her face. "Okay, come with us."
Tucker nodded, not moving from his position. Danny got to his feet, pulling the older ghost to her feet. She reminded him of his mother, somehow.
"Hold on to me until we leave the graveyard. Or else, you'll get trapped in the gate."
She nodded and did as she was told. Danny took her to the car, while Sam rushed to explain to the old woman what they were doing. She didn't seem to mind, so it didn't take long before the small group was once again on the road to the Fenton house.
Thursday, October 12, 2013
Casper High, room 36
10:34 AM
"So, in conclusion, early stories of Europe..."
Mr. Lancer had been lecturing them all morning, and Danny was, as usual, dozing off. Sam poked him in the side and he jumped, his knee hitting the desk hard. He bit his tongue.
"Mr. Fenton, is there a problem?"
Danny shook his head and shot a playful glare at Sam through the glasses. She gave him her customary smirk. Tucker was snickering in the seat in front of them, trying to look like he was paying attention.
The glorious ringing of the bell signaled the end of class and the students rushed into the hall. Danny stretched and yawned.
"You know, you ought to pay attention at least once a week," Sam said, her hand on her hip. "You're lucky we have most of the same classes."
He shrugged. "I'm lucky you're my best friend." She gave him a smile as they reached his locker.
"So, your dad coming home tonight?"
"Yeah."
The last ten days had gone by in an unbelievable blur. Hardly any ghosts, less homework, and he actually had company at night. Lyra had proven to be more of a blessing than a curse, though on occasion she did break down and begin wailing like a banshee. Danny didn't mind, though, because more often than not, she was more maternal than upset. She kept the house fairly clean, had taken up cooking, and she'd spend the nights listening to Danny rant about how much he hated the Box Ghost, or whatever happened to be irritating him at the time.
All in all, it had been a fairly good two weeks. But why did it feel to him like these two weeks weren't going to last?
He phased his arm through the locker door and snatched the book for his next class. No Dash again today. It really had shaped up to be a good week. For awhile, anyways.
"So, you guys coming over tonight? I think Lyra's going to cook again."
Tucker, at the mention of food, nodded eagerly, while Sam rolled her eyes at the two. "Yes, we'll be there."
Thursday, October 12, 2013
The Fenton Residence
6:47 PM
"Okay, so let me make sure he knows you're here before you come in, otherwise he might-"
The door crashed open. "Danny! I'm home!" Jack shouted, smiling. His eyes, however, revealed that he wasn't as happy to be home as his face said he was. The smile vanished the instant he saw Lyra hovering behind his son. "Danny! Look out, a ghost!"
Danny spread his arms as a gesture of protection. "Dad! She's alright! I brought her here. She's not a bad ghost."
Jack eyed her for a moment. Lyra was crouched behind Danny, waiting for the shouting to end. At last, Jack's posture returned to normal, and he put a hand on the back of his neck as a gesture of embarrassment. "Er... well, this is unexpected. Um... I'm Jack." He extended his hand to shake, only to withdraw it again when he realized she didn't have real hands. She smiled.
"I'm Lyra," she replied, standing up. Danny dropped his arms and sighed in relief.
"Jazz is bringing Jason, by the way," he said, moving to sit on the couch.
"Jason?"
"Her boyfriend, remember?"
Jack's face went blank. Danny pointed a finger at the picture on the wall, at which point Danny could almost see the light bulb flick on in his father's head. "Oh! Well, the more the merrier!"
Danny nodded. Sam and Tucker emerged from the kitchen. "Dinner!" Sam called, and the four of them sat around the table. Lyra looked on sadly from the kitchen, but didn't say anything. Danny wanted to help, but there was really nothing he could do. After all, ghosts didn't eat.
"So, any activity with the portal?"
Danny shot a look at Sam and Tucker before replying. "Um... well... I'm not sure. Something got out last night, but I haven't seen anything. It's probably nothing."
