Sorry this chapter took so long, guys. I've been dealing with a loss of inspiration as well as some major college tuition issues. Add to that my first job (which I got to help pay off my tuition) and I've barely even got the ability to think with so much stress. But enough about me, let's talk shop. This chapter has taken me forever to finish and I'm still not satisfied with my writing, but I guess that's normal for writers. Anybody know how to help me slow down my fic? Because I feel as if the characters are moving far too quickly from one point in the plot to another with barely anything in-between. Does that simply improve gradually as I continue writing? If anyone has any tips for writing, brainstorming, or, hell, even a tasty recipe for me to try and cook, please let me know :) Now, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Danny Phantom franchise or any characters from it.
Danny closed the front door behind him as he entered FentonWorks. He was almost tired enough to fall asleep right then and there, but his dry throat was aching for a cup of water.
'Water first, then sleep,' Danny thought. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his parents at the table looking at the screen of a white laptop that had the name "Fenton" on it in green letters.
"Danny! You're just in time to check out our newest invention!" exclaimed Jack Fenton with glee.
Maddie smiled at the screen. "We've managed to make an optical lens that filters light through a paper-thin layer of ectoplasm."
Jack opened the fridge and took out a block of fudge. "This calls for celebratory fudge! Now that we have this new ecto-cam, there's not a single spook we can't see in our neighborhood. Those ghosts think they're so sneaky, what with their invisibility and possessions. But they've never had to deal with the likes of Jack Fenton!" he shouted.
Danny smiled at his father's enthusiasm. He took a look at the laptop screen and saw 8 different windows showing different parts of the neighborhood. One of those was the alley he had just transformed in a few minutes ago. He'd have to be more careful from now on and revert to his human form at least two blocks away to avoid detection. He looked to his mother, who was busy fiddling with a security camera with the name "Fenton" on it.
"So, mom, when does this system go online?" he asked.
Maddie looked at her son and smiled. "It's been online for about an hour, sweetie. We haven't seen any ghosts yet, but to be honest we haven't been watching the live footage because we were so busy setting up the software."
Danny's smile disappeared as he looked at the laptop. On the outside, he didn't seem to be distressed. On the inside, however, Danny was panicking over the thought that his parents would see his transformation and find out his secret. Now sounded like an excellent time to retreat to his bedroom and figure out how to get to those files when his parents weren't looking. Perhaps he could go ghost and go into the computer like that one time when he played "DOOM®" with Tuck and Sam. No, wait, the new cameras were likely scattered around the house too. Destroying the laptop where the video files were kept was always an option, but that would draw too much attention. There was also always the chance that they had it all backed up on their personal Fenton Server. Maybe he could convince them to let him look through the files and fiddle with the program so he could "get to know the ins and outs of the program in case of emergencies" and then accidentally delete the one that recorded his transformation.
Danny got up to begin walking to his room, contemplating how to fix this mess and keep his secret intact. He stopped, however, before exiting the kitchen through the door that led to the living room. A chill went up his spine as he heard the sound of the two white rings of ectoplasmic energy that always rearranged his molecules coming from the laptop on the kitchen table. His heart was a drum, pounding in his ears to a restless beat. He turned to his side and looked back at the horrified expressions on the faces of the two human beings that had raised him; the two human beings that gave him chicken soup with a side of fudge when he was sick and helped him get over his fear of the dark all those years ago with a night-light that had the name "Fenton" on it. He struggled to explain what the accident with the Fenton Ghost Portal had done to him all those years ago, but his body refused to respond.
Maddie was the first to react. She jumped back, took out an ecto-gun from somewhere (he never did learn how everyone in his family could do that) and pointed it right at his head. She screamed at him with a hatred that only a parent mourning a lost child could produce.
"What have you done to our baby boy, you foul manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness?!"
Jack was a little slow on the uptake, but the look of sheer unadulterated rage soon appeared on the man's face. A Jack o' Nine Tails now joined Maddie's ecto-gun on the list of weapons that were currently threatening Danny's life.
"Tell us where our son is, ghost, or face the wrath of Jack Fenton!"
There it was. Regardless of how much faith his sister, Jazz, had in their parents, there was the rejection that he knew would hit him one day. That day had now come, yet he still wasn't ready. Who would have thought, after all those years of carefully and meticulously guarding it, that his secret identity would be revealed by the most classic secret-exposing device that existed: a security camera. Somehow, Danny had thought it would have been after a very long explanation on his part or, worst-case scenario, being caught transforming as he faints after risking his life to save theirs. This, however, seemed so sudden and out-of-the-blue compared to all the possible scenarios that he had come up with over the years.
"M-mom, dad…it's still me. I'm still Danny. I'm just half ghost. I swear I'm still your son! The portal changed me!" Danny explained with as much conviction as he could muster.
His battle instincts, unfortunately, told him that he would have to dodge, and dodge he did. Blasts of hot ectoplasm and the crack of a nine-tailed whip became the only sounds in the kitchen as it became a battle ground that Danny now had to survive. Four blasts from his mother would have ended his life had Danny not ducked and rolled to his left. As he sprang up he yelled out, "Wait!" only to scream in agony as one of the tails on Jack's whip electrocuted his right leg.
"Where's Danny, you creep?!" questioned Jack.
Danny turned intangible for a second to avoid an ecto-shot from his mother before responding. "I am your son! I was in the portal when it turned on for the first time and it made me half ghost!"
Maddie would hear none of his pleas. She bolted over the table and engaged Danny in physical combat. Suddenly, those martial arts lessons that she had taught Danny since he could walk began to pay off as he blocked every blow he couldn't dodge.
"My son isn't a freak like you, InvisoBill!" Maddie roared.
Tears blurred his vision as he conjured an ecto-shield and used it to push his mother back a few feet. Without a word, Danny transformed into his ghost form and flew through the floor of the kitchen. Arriving at the basement, he stopped before the doors of the Fenton Ghost Portal. For some reason, it had never seemed as menacing as it did this very moment. Its black and yellow striped doors looked strange and unforgiving. Is this what his enemies felt like when he ejected the contents of the Fenton Thermos into the portal? Well, at least they'd be happy that he wouldn't be around to do that anymore. He was going to miss just about everything from his now old life. He'd miss hanging out with Sam and Tucker in his room and being forced to listen to his parents explain their new ghost-related invention with the name "Fenton" on it. He'd miss laying in his bed at night, looking at his posters of NASA and his model rocket while thinking about what it would be like to ride a space shuttle to the moon. Most of all, he'd miss his mom and dad.
The door to the basement slammed open and Maddie jumped in, now wielding the Fenton Grappler.
"I'm going to tear you apart molecule by molecule until you tell us what you've done with our son, ghost!"
Maddie then shot the Grappler's net at Danny, which he phased through with minimal effort. His eyes were a whirlpool of negative emotions and his flushed cheeks were painted porcelain white by the streaks of his tears, but Danny forced himself to keep his emotions in check. With a cold and stony face, he looked back at his mother and whispered one last sentence to her.
"He's dead."
Danny then flew through the portal at top speed in order to get as far away from there as possible. He didn't see the woman who gave him life drop to her knees in grief as he sped through the Ghost Zone in search of a certain someone's lair. Tears fell freely from Danny's eyes, but he paid them no mind. He felt far too numb to care that he was being stared at by every ghost that he flew past at his max speed. What he had told Maddie was true in his eyes. Danny Fenton was dead.
-Clockwork's Clock Tower-
The ghost of time gazed at one of the many screens in his tower. This one showed young Daniel Fenton in his ghost form speeding through the Ghost Zone, an aura of misery keeping other ghosts at bay. Clockwork sighed as he turned from his baby form into his adult form. He knew where Danny was headed. How could he not? He could always see everything that was, is, and will be. Every timeline that could possibly exist was his to analyze and manipulate so that they end up exactly as they should. Usually, all he had to do was put someone in the right place at the right time to make things go smoothly. Any small event could drastically alter the current timeline and completely change the future. Large events, of course, had a tendency to do just that with near absolute certainty. It seemed that one of those small events had just taken place without any of his interference. He certainly wouldn't complain about one less thing to take care of.
Clockwork glanced to his left, where he knew the room with Dark Dan existed. Looking back at the screen in front of him, Clockwork smiled as he saw Danny turn right at the at the giant floating rock that looked like an orangutan hugging a boulder (or so he was told), headed right towards his lair rather than Vlad Masters's portal. It would seem that the young halfa had learned from his encounter with Dan. Clockwork knew that he had to help Danny get his bearings and find a new place to live. Well, Danny was technically a ghost and therefore did have his own doorway in the Ghost Zone. It was simply important that he live with his parents until they found out about his secret so that the timeline would flow smoothly. His body shifted into its eldest form as he mumbled to himself.
"Everything is as it should be."
He knew the Observers would have a fit over what he was about to do. But then again, he knew everything.
Half an hour later, Danny arrived at Clockwork's clock tower and opened the door. He honestly didn't know who else to go to for help. He knew that he should under no circumstances attempt to get help from Vlad. They weren't exactly on the best terms and he still had vivid nightmares about the evil version of him from that other future. Sam and Tucker would have their own parents to deal with if he dragged them into this mess, so he decided to seek help from the one being that was somewhat of a mentor to him: Clockwork.
He entered the tower and made his way to the main room. Screens of all shapes and sizes floated just about everywhere showing different timelines and possible futures. Once Danny reached the room where Clockwork usually roamed, he looked around and found caught a glimpse of the ghost's purple cloak floating near the top of the room. He flew towards Clockwork as said ghost turned to face him and shifted into his baby form.
"Hello, Danny," greeted Clockwork.
Danny waved at him. "Hi, Clockwork. I assume you know why I'm here."
"Indeed I do. You are here because you ran away from home on account of the fact that your parents did not take the news about your secret identity very well. Now you seek my help in finding somewhere to live as well as advice on what to do now that you've lost your normal lifestyle. Am I correct?"
"You know you are," replied Danny. "You know everything. Ever thought about maybe getting a girl? You have way too much spare time." A small smile weaseled its way onto Danny's face after that joke.
"I do recall telling you once that I'm the Ghost of Time, not the Ghost of Miracle Cures." Danny looked apologetic and began to doubt his judgment to come here.
"I know, but I was hoping you might have at least one miracle cure." At this point, Danny was beginning to formulate a new plan to get help before Clockwork interrupted his thoughts.
"As a matter of fact, I actually do have a solution to your housing problem. You see, Danny, all ghosts have their own door in the Ghost Zone. Each door leads to a ghost's own personal pocket dimension within the Ghost Zone. You are no exception. Your door is actually not too far from Pandora's realm. I can send you there directly through one of my portals. As to what to do with your afterlife, I recommend you find a hobby to occupy your time."
Danny was surprised that Clockwork actually had a quick and easy fix for his issue. Usually, he had to fly through metaphorical hoops just to get anything done and find out afterward that Clockwork did all that just to teach him a lesson. It was kind of annoying, to be honest, but he'd come to expect it from his mentor after all this time. Hell, the very reason why he thought Clockwork as his guiding figure is because he did more to teach him necessary lessons than anyone sans his parents. Jazz did her best, but she just didn't have Clockwork's wisdom and let-him-learn mentality. She wanted to teach him life lessons whenever she found an opportunity.
"A hobby? How's that gonna help?"
The Ghost of Time shifted to his adult form. "All ghosts have some sort of obsession. It is part of what binds a person's spirit to this dimension post-mortem rather than let them fully die. While protecting Amity Park from daily ghost attacks takes up much of your time, it's not exactly relaxing. I suggest you take up a hobby that makes you happy. Too much stress can, after all, have some unfavorable effects on a being's mind."
Danny was glad that he was actually getting some news that weren't absolutely horrible. 'Finally, something goes right.' But something just didn't add up.
"Hey, Clockwork, I have a question. If I've had a door here in the Ghost Zone all this time, then how come you didn't tell me that in the alternate timeline where I turned evil so that I didn't have to go to Vlad?"
"You did not know me at the time and had no reason to trust me. Therefore, you would have gone to Plasmius anyway in search of comfort." Clockwork changed into his eldest form. "Furthermore, you would not have learned how important it is that you hold on to your humanity. It's your lack of humanity that turned you evil in that timeline to begin with. Additionally, I was trying to make sure that the timeline flows as smoothly as possible. Having you acquire your ability to produce a sonic attack by imbuing your vocal chords with ectoplasm while screaming will make things much easier for both of us in the years to come."
Danny glared at Clockwork. "Thank you, Clockwork, for that very educational lesson. Maybe next time you can hide your secret problem solver directly behind me." 'Oh, sarcasm, my sweet delight.'
The elder ghost smiled at Danny and snapped his fingers. Like a servant heeding its master's call, one of the floating, round screens flew toward the two ghosts and stopped next to the ghost of time.
"Let's get you to your new home, Danny. I think you'll find it to your liking."
The screen became foggy before clearing up to show a wooden door floating in the vast green emptiness that was the Ghost Zone. It was painted a light-blue with a round top and a small window near the top. Danny smiled bitterly as he saw a replica of the door that he had, for all his life, associated with the concept of "home."
"Thanks, Clockwork."
With that brief expression of gratitude said, Danny flew through the screen and towards his new home.