Hello my dear, dear, dear, dear dear deardeardear readers.

I, first of all, would like to apologize for both how long it has taken me to posting this new chapter, and length of said chapter. I had a pre-determined plot all set out for this, but suddenly had new inspiration and decided to re-plot the entire thing. What does this mean for you? Actually, virtually nothing. The only place the story has changed is in my own mind. The previous chapter are still perfectly fine with the new story as the old. It does mean that the description for this story will change, though.

I've been blubbering on for far too long here, so I'll just let you read.

Previously: (A short summery)

Danny was out late one night, fighting ghosts. The Fentons capture him, and vivisect him. Quite gruesome stuff. Jazz eventually comes to his rescue, putting her somewhat at odds with Maddie and Jack. Said parents test some ecto-samples taken from their ghostly enemy and deduce it's a bit too, well, human. Maddie remembers seeing something on Danny's shirt, and suspicions are hinted at. Danny stays home from school, feigning the flu, and Sam pops in for a visit. There's a bit of mental trauma on Danny's part. That's basically it...

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Maddie tried to talk me into coming downstairs for dinner.

Early that evening, I had woken to Jazz rapping at my door. I managed to haul myself out of bed, and unlocked it for her. The embarrassing part was when she had to help me back to bed.

"Danny, you really shouldn't be pushing yourself." She said gently.

"I seem to remember that someone was banging on my door, wanting to come in. And the only was said person could come in was if I unlocked the door. So person shouldn't be lecturing me about taking it easy." I grumbled.

She let out a small laugh. "I guess someone's a little grumpy from his nap."

And it was true, I was feeling moody. My whole body ached, all the way down into my bones. And my chest felt tight, it was a little harder to breath than usual. I crawled into bed and curled up into a ball, or, at least, I tried to.

"Well, good thing I come bearing gifts." Jazz announced. She produced a bottle of water and those super-extra strength pain pills. I snatched them from her and downed practically half the pack.

The thing about being not-quite-human was that I ended up with a faster metabolism. E.g., things kicked in faster, but they also stopped working quickly and I had to take a lot of, in this case, Advil.

"My next gift you won't thank me so much for. I ran into Mr. Lancer in the hall today, and he was kind enough to give me tonight's homework of yours." I ignored her, simply feeling the drugs kick in and my agony lessening.

Jazz just stood there for a while, looking at me. I didn't meet her eyes, but there was a tension in the room that almost echoed the one in my chest.

"How are you doing?" She finally said, sitting down on the bed. I didn't answer and silence filled the room, or, as silent as it could be with Maddie and Jack preparing dinner downstairs.

"Thank you."

Jazz looked surprised. "For what?" She asked.

"Everything." I whispered. "For bringing me medicine, for sending Sam, for taking care of me this morning-…" I paused. "For protecting me from them last night." I could feel the tears coming on again. Green, ectoplasm splashed everywhere, reflected, glinting in their goggles.

"Oh Danny." She said, scooping me up in a big hug. We just sat there for a moment, the softness on her long black shirt against my face, the comfort of her arms sheltering me. I wiped the tears from my eyes and squeezed back.

"This is so sweet! I should have brought my camera!" Came a voice from the door.

Every muscle in my body stiffened. I heard it, echoing through my mind, razor sharp, quickening my breath. The saw next, Jack. I want to cut through its rib cage.

Jazz shifted, putting me behind her subtly.

"Maddie." Her voice was firm and cold. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check and see how Danny was doing. His door was locked when I came up earlier." Her face was like stone when she addressed Jazz, but softening on the second part of the statement. She tried to peer around my sister to see me, and Jazz's grip on me tightened a little. "Are you going to be down for dinner?" She asked me. A light appeared in her eyes, care and… suspicion? I knew that look anywhere. It was the same look she got when I gave her the regular excuse for getting home past curfew.

I tried to open my mouth, to say something, but the tightness in my chest constricted, making it even hard to breath. I felt like I was going to throw up again. It seemed like Jazz was shaking in front of me, but I realized I was the one trembling.

"He's still too sick. I think some more rest will do him good. I'll bring his food up after dinner." Her statements were short and crisp, clearly dismissing both the matter and Maddie.

Maddie folded her arms, her lips pursing, eyes glinting. "I want to hear it from Danny."

Dread filled my heart. I was going to need more of those pain killers. "I-… I'm g-g-good." I managed to choke out.

She frowned, a concerned look on her face. She was… studying me. "You really don't sound good, sweetie. Maybe you should stay home again tomorrow."

I managed a nod, not trusting myself to try to speak again. She shot me one last curious glance before turning and going downstairs again.

My relief came in the form of huge gasps in an attempt to get air into my lungs again. Jazz simply rested a hand on my shoulder, giving me my own time to bring myself together again. I managed to calm down, steadying my shaking.

"Everything will get better, Danny." Jazz said, running fingers through my hair. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right."

When I pulled myself together, I looked at my sister. "Jazz, did she seem… suspicious at all to you? Like-… like she was, well, examining me?"

Jazz shot me a curious look before mumbling to herself. "I don't think so, Danny. You shouldn't think too much into it, alright? Try to get some rest." She ruffled my hair.

She left after that, and went downstairs, most likely to get into another argument with Jack and Maddie. I tried to do my homework, I really did, but my mind kept flashing back to last night, the smiles on their faces, the… gore… it's hard to think about, but that didn't stop my stupid subconscious from blasting images at me.

Deciding work was too mind-numbing, I figured that sleep was my only option for relief from the waking nightmare. Unfortunately, (the other half bottle of Advil later,) I found myself trapped in a real nightmare I had no hopes from escaping.

Shapes were twisted around each other, the table I was strapped to turning and curling. Jack's face stared down at me, lines of blood streaming from his goggles, ectoplasm sloshing around inside. His smile seemed impossibly wide, cutting through his square face to spill into the background.

Maddie's face was similar to the one I had seen earlier in my… panic attack. Her mouth was open particularly wide, and her teeth were jagged, as though someone had broken them off. I could see red eyes burning through the goggles, flames licking across her red hair.

They cackled, and I tried to thrash against the straps, but each attempted struggle caused pain to rip through my entire body, causing me to convulse more. It was a vicious circle.

Their hands were draped in green, and they pulled out my organs, one by one, showing them to me.

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(A/N: Another momentary perspective change… Apologizes…)

Has Danny always been so… jumpy? Maddie asked herself, mindlessly pulling out a salad bowl. She attempted to push the guilt at upsetting her daughter out of her mind, focusing on her son.

He seemed a bit shaken up. She pulled the salad out of the fridge, pretending to listen to Jack rambling on about ghosts again, nodding at appropriate times. Her mind flickered over the ectoplasm samples they had collected, with the odd findings.

And what was with-… what I thought I saw this morning? Green on his shirt… And then he locked his door? Her mind jumped back and forth from the two things troubling her, making connections….

Phantom's human DNA contained within ectoplasm… Danny, looking afraid… Phantom, such an odd ghost, so… human like… Danny, with some sort of green substance on the front of his shirt…

Two problems merged into one.

"Jack," The giant man looked up at his wife, who had paused from tossing the salad.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember Danny coming home last night? He said he was going to go out with his friends, right?" Maddie asked.

Jack scratched his head, eyebrows furled in concentration. "No, not really." He beamed. "He probably came home while we were down in the lab, dissecting the ghost boy! It's too bad, he should have come down, seen his father, the great Jack Fenton, finally riding this town of the ghost menace!"

Maddie looked back down at the salad, which was ready minutes ago. She grabbed the tongs and continued tossing, lost again inside her mind.

Did Danny come home last night, or…?

Is there a connection between my son, and-…?

"Jack, honey." Maddie interrupted the ramble that he had started back up again. She glanced towards the stairs, looking for any sign of her daughter coming down. "Do you think… it would be possible…"

"Yes?" Jack asked, already starting to get distracted.

"If a ghost was overshadowing a human, do you think that the human's DNA could show up in the ghost's ectoplasm?" Was it possible that that's what it is? Somehow, Phantom managed to keep his appearance while overshadowing-… a human, and that's why his form was so odd for a ghosts?

"Are you talking about the ghost kid?" Jack asked. "I still can't believe that we finally caught him!" His rant started back up.

If we vivisected Phantom, and my theory is correct, does that mean… does that mean we vivisected Danny as well?

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Haha, I had to go back and make sure this story was rated T. I also felt very gratuitous with the "..."'s... hmm...

I REALLY apologize for not replying to reviews. I'm a bit... socially awkward, especially when it comes to compliments! BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WANT YOU TO STOP REVIEWING! I take your happy compliments and turn them into fuel to continue writing!

Again, don't expect another chapter for a while, I'm off to color guard camp!

God, life got stressful. I'm still glad you took the time to read this even though this chapter is a pitiful excuse for one.

As always, you could check out some of my other stories... if you feel the need...

And for God's sake, leave a review!

Later Gator,

NerdyWriterGirl