Author's note: sorry for the delay(again) but this chapter is a longer one and is pretty chill as far as angst goes. Kinda. Also we get to learn what Danny's third form looks like in more detail! Well, almost all of it. Anyway, I have drawn concept art of what Danny's third from looks like so if you want to see it, just message me on Tumblr or Twitter, my Username is SapphireClaw on both.

Chapter 3

Danny didn't go to school the next day. He told his mother that he wasn't feeling well, which wasn't completely a lie. He still felt sick to his stomach about what he learned and saw. He just needed a day to himself to come to terms with it, and to find out how in the world he was supposed to keep his body from exploding.

Once Jazz left for school and his parents left to patrol for ghosts, Danny got up and got dressed. He felt so heavy and almost weak that the task seemed monumental, but he got it done and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen. After staring at the fridge for a while, Danny decided to skip breakfast, he probably couldn't keep anything down for long anyway.

The boy turned away from the fridge and looked at the stairwell that led to the basement. There was a cold pit in his stomach and a weight on his chest as he watched the flickering green light against the metal flooring visible at the bottom. Danny knew what he had to do, but that didn't help him feel any better about doing it.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, Danny forced his legs to move and he sluggishly made his way down into the lab. The boy shivered as his gaze met the swirling green of the portal. That was where he died. That machine was what killed him. This was where it all started so many months ago.

Danny shook those thoughts away and steeled himself before taking those last damning steps toward the doorway to another dimension. His dimension. The one he was supposed to be living in. Danny was almost afraid that once he went in, he wouldn't come out, despite the fact that he'd been to the Zone many times before. He had to do this and no amount of paranoia would stop him now.

With one last deep breath, Danny stepped into the swirling ectoplasm of the portal and entered another world. The shocking cold of the ghost zone instantly took that breath from him, but he quickly warmed up once he was all the way through.

Danny surveyed the familiar area around the portal exit. He could see skulker's island a ways off, and of course the ever-present floating doors were there. There were a few new ones, like always, and they all looked interesting, but Danny quickly dismissed the idea of exploring them. He had a job and he was going to do it before he got cold feet.

So, with a rush of adrenaline and a flash of light, Danny was in his ghost form and pushing off the portal into the green expanse of the Zone. He floated for a little while, just to put some distance between himself and the only exit just in case he blew something up on accident.

After looking around to make sure no other ghosts were around, Danny closed his eyes tight and mentally reached for that vibrating ball of icy energy that had always been present within him.

The transformation wasn't nearly as violent as it was before, though it still hurt like hell, and Danny couldn't stop a few whimpers from escaping, it was smoother than the time in the bathroom. When Danny finally opened his eyes after a few moments of spastic movements and shocking pain, he realized that everything seemed a little brighter, a little clearer.

"Ok... So enhanced vision. I can add that to my notes." Danny said aloud, then startled at the sound of his own voice. It echoed more than it did in his second form, overlapping itself eerily.

"Well, note number two: my voice sounds like Bill Cipher's creepy cousin. Great."

Next Danny moved on to his appearance. Looking down, he saw that he was still wearing his trademark hazmat suit, though it did look strangely roughly sewn together compared to what it was usually like. At least he still had his trusty logo.

Another thing Danny noticed was that he could plainly see his ribs through the fabric. He seemed almost skeletal. Raising his arms, the boy confirmed it, as his arms were much thinner than before, with more sharp edges than round ones, tipped with long-fingered hands with wicked claws protruding from the ends.

"This doesn't make any sense." Danny mumbled. "If I'm supposedly overflowing with power, shouldn't I be buff as hell?"

Shaking off his disappointment, the boy moved on to the next part of himself: his legs. Or, what should be legs. They were currently a spectral tail, though it looked more like dark, billowing smoke than the regular misty snake-like one he was used to. Furrowing his brows in concentration, Danny tried to reform his legs, but to no avail. They stubbornly stayed in their smoky tail form.

"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Danny mused. Before lifting his gaze and searching for a place where he could view his face. He remembered seeing strange floating door that was just one big mirror somewhere near skulker's island, but Danny didn't know what would happen if he looked into it. It was a ghost zone artifact, it could suck him in and trap him for all he knew.

Danny also remembered a suspended river of some sort somewhere behind the floating portal. Though the river was also home to a huge sea monster, Danny decided to risk it. Compared to the strange mirror, it seemed safer. If he went back now to just use a mirror in the real world he wouldn't be likely to return here out of fear.

The ghost prepared to zoom away toward where he remembered seeing the river last, but was interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice.

"Ghost child! You have made a fatal mistake coming here! I shall have your pelt for sure!" Came Skulker's grating voice from behind him.

Danny groaned, shoulders sagging. "Skulker, I don't have time for this, leave me alone!" He said, turning around to face the metal ghost.

What greeted him was not what he expected. He expected to see a battle-ready Skulker showing off some sharp new blade ready to slice the poor ghost boy's head off, or a shiny new gun that did who knows what. What he saw, however was the complete opposite.

Skulker was trembling, audibly rattling his metal armor as he stared wide-eyed at Danny. If a steel face could be pale, Skulker would be white as snow. The ghost shakily raised an arm and pointed at his prey. "Y-You're not the ghost child!" He stammered in a shaky, high-pitched voice uncharacteristic of the metal hunter.

Danny cocked his head in confusion. "You okay Skulks? Do you need a glass of water or something?" He then frowned when Skulker only continued to watch him with wide eyes. "Stop that. Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to stare?"

Skulker immediately looked away and floated backward several feet, bowing his head so quickly it banged against his chest with a lout metallic clang. "I-I apologize!" He gasped. "I did not mean to disturb you or insult you in any way! I mistook you for someone else. Please forgive me." The mechanical ghost pleaded.

Danny stared at him with wide eyes. "S-Skulker, stop that! You're freaking me out!" He squeaked, deeply disturbed by the usually confident and violent ghost acting so submissive. "You've never acted this way around me!"

Skulker raised his head and hesitantly looked Danny in the eyes, as if he was afraid of the repercussions of doing so. He seemed confused as he searched Danny's face, before recognition lit up his eyes.

"Ghost child! That really is you, isn't it?" He gasped in shock. The ghost raked his gaze over Danny once again. "But how? Last time I checked you were... Well..." He trailed off.

"Alive?" Danny's scoffed, lips stretching into a wry smile. He noted with some interest that the action seemed to disturb Skulker immensely. "You're right. Just yesterday morning I thought that too. Until a certain ghost of time told me otherwise."

Skulker's confused and nervous expression turned into one shock. "You know the great Clockwork?"

"Yes, I know Clockwork. Now will you please answer my question?" Danny demanded. He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration at the lack of information he was getting out of the ghost, though he quickly pulled his hand back with a hiss of pain. Ectoplasm tipped two of his new claws from where he had cut his scalp. It was oddly dark colored, unlike the neon green of what he was used to. Danny filed that information away before wiping his glove-covered claws on his suit before turning back to Skulker.

The ghost was shaking once again, staring at where Danny had wiped away the ectoplasm. "Oh... So you are that kind of ghost." He murmured cryptically, inching further away from Danny.

Danny's interest piqued. "You know what I am? Could you tell me more? Clockwork didn't mention very much about my species." He pleaded, immensely happy he could learn more, despite his source being one of his enemies.

"Your kind has no name, and I've only ever heard stories of one other ghost like you." Skulker said haltingly, but picked up his pace at the interested look on Danny's face. "It was said that she could walk among the living, defeat even the strongest of ghosts, and devour the souls of her enemies. She was a horrible beast that laid waste to the infinite realms many centuries ago before the ancients banded together to send her to oblivion." Skulker looked away for a moment, thinking hard. "I always thought it was just a myth, a tale told to scare ghosts into obeying the ancients. But I guess she must've existed... For you to be here." He murmured, looking back up at Danny's stunned face.

"This thing ate other ghosts?!" The boy cried, looking sick. "I don't want to do that! Clockwork never said anything about eating ghosts! In fact, he never said anything about another ghost like me!" He shrieked, gesturing wildly.

Skulker looked both alarmed and relieved at Danny's reaction. "Calm down ghost child! Nobody is telling you to go devour anyone! I don't know the whole story, but you could go to someone who does. Maybe the Ghost Writer?"

Danny floated back and forth worriedly, raising his hand up to his mouth to bite his nails, a nervous habit of his, but quickly pulled them away as he remembered that both his teeth and his nails were currently very sharp. "I can't go to Writer! I was such a jerk the first time I met him and even though I didn't press charges for attacking me during the truce, he's sure to hold a grudge." The boy suddenly stopped pacing and stared off into the darkness of the Zone beyond Skulker's island. "No... I have to go to Clockwork. He would know the most about this. Besides, he's the one who told me about me being... well, whatever I am." He decided, nodding to himself.

Skulker fidgeted where he was floating in front of Danny. "So... You've actually spoken to the Master of Time?" He asked hesitantly.

Danny's gaze moved back to Skulker. "Yeah. He was supposed to destroy me to prevent a disaster in the future, but instead helped me avoid causing it." The ghostly boy smiled a little, a fond gleam in his eyes. "Clocky's alright. He's pretty nice when he isn't trying to kill you."

Danny's smile dropped when he noticed Skulker's nervousness seemed to escalate and his gaze darted around worriedly. "You okay, Skulks?" The ghostly teen asked, concerned.

Skulker seemed to snap out of whatever thought he was lost in and nodded jerkily. "I-I'm fine, child. Thank you for your concern."

Danny gave a genuine smile, though that seemed to only make Skulker even more nervous. "Any time, Skulker. Honestly, it's been nice chatting with you. Usually you're trying to gut me with some new weapon." Danny turned away from Skulker, missing the alarmed look on the ghost's face. "Well, I should probably be off if I'm going to make it to Clockwork's on time. See ya!"

Before the boy could soar off, Skulker called his name again. He turned back to the hunter and gave him a questioning look. The ghost fidgeted once before saying, "Y-You don't suppose you could forget all that, could you? About me hunting you, that is."

Danny stared at the mechanical ghost in shock. "You're not going to hunt me anymore?" He asked. Skulker shook his head no in reply and Danny grinned. "Really? Water under the bridge, then." He gave the startled ghost a wave before flying off. "Lately fights with you have mostly just been good practice anyway!" He called out as he sped away.

As the boy sped through the ghost zone, feeling a little lighter and a little more at ease, he let himself forget for just a while that he was dead and all the complications that came with it. That didn't last long, though.

Sam and Tucker were both concerned and relieved that Danny didn't come to school that day. Concerned because he must be getting worse if he actually skipped a day, and relived because they could talk with who they needed to without Danny getting suspicious.

Once the last bell rang the two met with Jazz near the main entrance to put their plans into motion. Together they walked through the halls toward the vice principal's office, during which Jazz told them that the reason Danny didn't come was because he said he was sick.

"Was he?" Sam asked.

Jazz shrugged. "He looked pale and shaky, so maybe he was. Who knows." She replied. Sam frowned worriedly but didn't pester the older girl for more details.

Tucker then piped up. "So, all that aside, why are we going to talk to Mr Lancer again?" He asked.

"Because he's a trustworthy adult and a counsellor, which is exactly what Danny needs." Jazz answered plainly.

Tucker sighed in frustration. "Yeah I get that part, but how could he possibly help Danny? We can't tell him the big secret, and that's exactly what's bringing Danny down, so how can Lancer help with that situation?"

It was Jazz's turn to be frustrated. "I don't know! I just have a feeling that Mr Lancer would know what to do. Danny needs an adult to rely on, and I know he wouldn't want mom and dad anywhere near his secret, plus, Lancer has proven time and time again that he is trustworthy and will do whatever he can to help his students." She stated, determined.

Sam nodded. "I agree with Jazz. We aren't going to tell Lancer Danny's secret. All he needs is to realize that he isn't alone in this. That should help a little. I know Danny loves us and appreciates us being there for him, but he needs more support."

Tucker sighed again. "Alright, I get it. I'm just worried that Danny might not see it that way..." He mumbled.

Jazz frowned, looking conflicted. "You're right. He might get mad, he might feel a little betrayed, but he needs this. I've been contemplating getting him outside help for a while now, and with how he's been acting lately, I think now is when he needs it most." The oldest Fenton sibling looked up from her musing and smiled a little. "Besides, we're already here, so there's no going back."

The trio now stood in front of a door labeled with a small plaque that read "vice principal's office" and underneath that were vinyl letter stickers spelling out "counselor". After the spectra fiasco, Lancer had taken it upon himself to become the next counselor. After a while the school hired another person who wasn't already a teacher, or vice principal, or a ghost, but Mr Lancer stayed as a second counselor because he liked helping the students and he found that he was good at it. So now the man was not just the vice principal and teacher, but also a school counselor. Jazz smiled a bit and shook her head. She didn't know how he did it all.

Sam and Tucker seemed nervous and after a while of staring, Jazz sighed and finally knocked on the door. It opened after a few moments and as expected, there stood their English teacher. He looked somewhat surprised to see the three there, but his expression soon changed to one of realization.

"This is about Daniel, isn't it?" Lancer asked, concerned.

The trio of teenagers exchanged glances and after a beat of silence, Jazz took the lead and nodded. "He needs help. Something's happened to him but we don't know what. He's distant and withdrawn, which isn't normal for him, at least around us it isn't. We're afraid that he's starting to break under pressure and we can't help him. He needs an adult." Jazz looked up at the man pleadingly. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but Danny actually respects you. Of any adult, he'd be most likely to share what's wrong with you."

Mr Lancer looked contemplative for a few moments, before his brows furrowed in confusion. "You said out of all the adults you know I'd be the best bet. But what about your parents? Why haven't you gone to them?" His confusion turned to worry. "Is there a problem at home, Jazmine?"

Jazz shook her head and waved her hands frantically. "No! It's not like that!" She calmed herself and blushed in embarrassment at her outburst. "It's just... Danny's been going through something serious, and our parents would most likely only make the situation worse, and we can't risk that. We want to help Danny, not give him more to worry about." Jazz winced at the suspicious look her words caused the teacher to give her, she quickly elaborated, "I'm not saying that our parents would do anything bad on purpose, so please don't push the matter further, I just feel that Danny needs someone less attached to the situation. That'd be you." At lancer's continued suspicious and doubtful look, Jazz added, "You're actually his favorite teacher, you know."

That seemed to do the trick. Lancer hesitantly nodded. "Fine. I won't ask any more from you, and I will speak with Daniel, but if I can't get through to him, I'd like you to at least try to consult your parents. I've noticed Daniel's odd behavior yesterday as well, and I'm glad you two are trying to help him. That is very thoughtful of you." The man said, smiling at his students.

Jazz heard Sam and Tucker sigh in relief at the teacher's lack of questions concerning Danny's secret. Before Jazz could begin talking again and reveal something, Tucker darted forward and covered Jazz's mouth with his hand. "Alright then!" He said a bit loudly. "Thank you so much Mr Lancer, we appreciate it. Now we should be going! Bye!" With that, Sam and Tucker grabbed Jazz and pulled her back down the hall from where they came.

"That went better than I expected." Sam commented as they walked toward the school entrance.

"Yeah. I'm surprised he didn't pester us for answers." Tucker replied.

Jazz sighed and shook her head. "You guys don't know Mr Lancer like I do, he's an exceptional teacher, and actually cares for his students. If anyone but us can help Danny, it's him." She stated firmly.

Tucker held up his hands placatingly. "I get it. I'm not saying he's a bad teacher. I just don't have all the extracurricular classes you have with him so I don't know him that well. I'll take your word for it." He looked away and frowned worriedly. "I just hope he can help Danny."

"So do I." Added Sam, giving Tucker a reassuring smile. "If this doesn't work we'll find something else. Danny's a tough boy, he'll be just fine."

Jazz nodded in agreement just as the three reached the doors leading out of the school, and as the three left, they all had the same thought: 'At least I hope so...'

End notes:

Yay plot development! Also this other ghost of Danny's species isn't really an Oc. She's only mentioned in the fic and will not be making an appearance. Also I loved writing the bit with Skulker. Poor guy knows he's in deep shit for hunting something that could kill him with one finger for so long without even knowing it.