Danny's POV
I rushed home as soon as I could, deciding school was less important (for once in my life). If I froze everyone to death, I would be the monster that my mom always knew I would become. I exited the car, feeling more panicked as I noticed the frost building on the window. My mom immediately stopped eating her breakfast as she saw me enter the house, her face becoming worried and calculating.
"Daniel?" She asked.
"I'm making everything cold and I don't know how to stop it." I said, hyperventilating. She got up and felt the climate change. "Come down to the lab, hurry." She said. I asked no questions, and just followed her. Down to the place where I vowed I would never go willingly.
She pulled a level on the wall adjacent to the one I was standing by. Frost was steadily climbing my clothes and I started shivering. "Do you have any idea what would've happened if you had stayed in school? You could have killed everyone." She hissed, a clear box coming up from the floor. Inside was hollow, for keeping things inside.
"Unfortunately, until you can get this under control, you will need to stay in here while we figure out what to do. We don't want you freezing the town." My mother's eyes flickered to my own, and I walked slowly towards the prison. I knew I shouldn't have come home.
If you hadn't transformed, this wouldn't be happening. She's right. You are a monster.
I entered the cage as the thought echoed around my head, seeming to be bigger every time I thought about it. She closed the door behind me, gave me one more look of disgust, and left the lab with me in it. The box probably contained ghost energy, meaning I couldn't phase out even if I wanted to. The lab light above me flickered as I leaned against the wall, my breath coming in short gasps.
You are a monster.
In my mind, My mother's cold, clinical eyes searched me, and I could practically feel the hate and mistrust leaving them.
This wouldn't be happening if you were normal.
I closed my eyes and fisted my hands in my hair, sliding down the wall and pulling my knees to my chest. I felt my eyes burn and knew that I was going to cry. I tried to pull myself together, but a tear slipped through my lashes and a sob wracked my body. I didn't deserve this, to be locked in a box by my mother. Not when I came home so she could help me.
I continued to cry, and the glass box started to freeze over. It was freezing inside, but I wasn't uncomfortable. My tears continued, but I looked around me at the frost covering the walls of the cell, and watched as I couldn't see the lab anymore.
Normal people can't do this.
I nodded to myself, and the demonic voice inside my head. Normal people can't do this.
But even in my tender moment of fear and self-loathing, I couldn't deny how beautiful the frost was.
And that I had made something this beautiful.
/
Sam's POV
Tucker and I were camped in the library, and with the permission from our teachers, we poured over every botany and mythology book on campus. "I'm not finding anything." Tucker groaned. "Books are supposed to store ancient knowledge, why have you mislead me?"
"Tucker, these are more current…" I rolled my eyes. I looked over to Mrs. Chap, and walked over. "Hi, I was wondering if you knew anything about the plant, Blood Blossoms?" I asked. Mrs. Chap looked confused and flustered. "I demand to know why you need to know this information." She said.
"...We are doing a project and we thought we saw something in our mythology about it." Sam gulped, never having seen Mrs. Chap so emotional.
"I know a thing or two, but I know that the mythology part is a lie….have you been...talking to ghosts?" Mrs. Chap asked.
"...No." I said, confusion set over my features. Mrs. Chap sighed and got up, the first time I've seen her leave the chair since my freshman year. "Follow me." She said, and she went to the back room. I sighed and followed her anyway, almost running into her as she appeared suddenly with an old book in her hand. "My son told me to take this out of the library. I saw you get Daniel out of his shell, so I'm giving it to you. I'm worried about that boy. He's too hard on himself." Mrs. Chap sighed.
"I know, Mrs. Chap. He's really hard to read." I told her. "He could be an open book for the right person." She smiled. "I just hope that you continue to reach out to him." She patted my shoulder and shooed me out of the room.
I clutched the book to my chest and went back to Tucker, who sat looking at me with an eyebrow raised. "What?" I demanded. "The things you do for love." He winked.
"What do you mean?" I demanded, glaring harshly at him. "I'm just saying, I think you have a thing for Fenton." He smirked.
"...Maybe so what?" I grumbled and his face brightened even more. "I knew it!"
"He's just interesting….and kind, and sweet." I said, opening up to him, and he looked overjoyed. "I ship it so hard." He groaned.
"But this isn't about me. This is about the potential abuse that Danny could be facing at home. This would be easier if we knew what his 'condition' was." I groaned, placing the book in front of us.
"A History of the Ghost Zone? What the hell is the ghost zone?" I asked Tucker. "No idea…" Tucker said, confused, but he opened the book anyway.
"The Ghost Zone is a supernatural universe where the deceased, who are unable to move on, occupy." I read aloud. Tucker groaned. "I really didn't need a mythology lesson." He said.
"What do his parents do for a living anyway that they have a lab in their basement?" Tucker asked. I shrugged. "Scientists maybe?"
I flipped through the pages and stopped on a picture of a blood red rose with thorns. "Blood Blossom…" Tucker whispered.
"The Blood Blossom plant is a naturally grown Anti-Ghost remedy. Similar to Ectoranium, the Blood Blossom is harmful if it comes into contact with ectoplasm, the common makeup of ghosts. The difference between Ectoranium and Blood Blossoms is that Blossoms do not have to come in contact with the ghost to do harm." Tucker read for me. "You're completely sure that you heard him say liquified Blood Blossoms right?" Tucker asked.
I nodded. "But what does this mean? Why would liquified blood blossoms hurt him?"
"I guess we need to know exactly what the Fenton's do for a living." Tucker said, closing the books in front of him and going to put them away. I shoved A History into my bag and zipped it up. I got up out of my chair and followed Tucker to class.
"Did you find what you needed?" Mr. Lancer asked us, stopping his lecture. "Yes, sir." I said, sitting down.
"That's all the notes you will be taking today, students. Mr. Foley, Ms. Manson, could you come to my desk please?" He asked.
Tucker and I groaned and placed our bags down at our seats before going back to his desk. "I've noticed you two spending more time with Mr. Fenton. I would like to thank you for reaching out to aside, in class you missed that Principal Ishiyama wants the junior class to learn more about the town and the people that live here. A project you guys will be doing is to interview some citizens and ask what they do for a living." Lancer finished. "You may ask other questions as well, but try not to make it too personal."
Tucker and I looked at each other in awe. "Okay, any citizen?" I asked. Lancer nodded. "Yes. There is a list of people you may choose from, but if you already know who you would like to interview, try to make it so you don't know them. Try to avoid interviewing students and your own parents." Lancer said, and shooed us away.
"After this class, lets go bail and interview Danny's parents." Tucker said. I sighed. "That seems like it would be too easy. Danny is there and would probably get suspicious." I said.
"Not if he was acting weird. If what you are saying is right, he is either locked somewhere, or didn't go home." Tucker said. I nodded. "Okay."
/
We waited impatiently for the bell to ring, and eagerly got up and headed towards the door of the school. We headed towards the FentonWorks building, and I sighed to see the same basement window that I had snooped at the other day. "That's where I saw it. The window was unlocked so I was able to hear what was being said. Danny was also screaming his words, so I know that I heard what I heard." I told Tucker.
He looked troubled for a second before shaking his head and heading towards the front door. I knocked timidly and waited anxiously for one of them to open the door.
Mrs. Fenton quietly and slowly opened the door to size us up. "Can I help you two?" She asked, her gaze unwavering. "Hi, it's Sam and Tucker, Danny's friends-"
"Daniel is unable to hang out today, he's sick." She said, her face hardening when I mentioned her son. Weird. I thought.
"Yeah I know, we actually wanted to talk to you." Tucker finished for me. She seemed surprised and then she seemed fearful.
"What did he tell you?" She asked, as she dragged us through the door. "Nothing? We have a project for school that we have to interview citizens on what they do for a living, etc, and we were wondering if we could interview you." Tucker said, his voice confused.
Her mouth formed an O and she smiled awkwardly. "Thank you for choosing the Fenton's. I'm sure you guys are lovely friends for my son." She said, but I could tell she was hiding something.
"We were just wondering what you guys do for a living. The FentonWorks building is basically a mystery in Amity Park." Tucker started, already typing on his laptop. I got out the questions Tucker and I had hastily prepared so we would be able to leave school early to interview them (and get more information on what might be wrong with Danny).
"Well…" We all jumped when we heard a bang from the lap, followed by a hiss. Tucker and I looked at each other in worry.
"Sorry, that has to do with what Jack and I do. We are Ghost Hunters." Mrs. Fenton said. Tucker and I instantly looked at each other. "Ghost hunters, Mrs. Fenton?" Tucker asked.
"I know that you may not believe yet, but trust us when we say, that we have opened a portal into the Ghost Zone."
Suddenly, the book in my backpack seemed a lot more important than originally. "Wow, how cool. I'm a major lover of anything supernatural." I said, feigning excitement. I brought out my phone. "Would you mind if I took pictures of you and Mr. Fenton, possibly in your lab?"
I tried hard to look innocent, but by her flustered expression, I still looked suspicious. "...Let me go see if Jack has cleaned recently down there. Wouldn't want you guys exposed to Ecto-Radiation!" She smiled, and walked to the door, unlocked it, and disappeared down the stairs.
"Tucker, what the fuck." I whispered to him. He was paler than usual. "If...If Danny is-"
"Stop. Hold on a moment, Ghost Zone? There is no way any of these things exist." Tucker said.
"Tucker, this book is ancient, and they know everything in it." I hissed, and quieted down as soon as Mrs. Fenton came back up. "It's safe to come down here." She said, motioning us towards the door. Tucker and I stood and followed her down the metal staircase, and I was immediately overwhelmed by the size of their lab.
"Woah." Tucker gasped. "This is incredible. Is that the portal?" He asked, pointing to the large, circular object on the far wall. "Yes, this is the Fenton Portal!" A large, booming voice said from behind us. Danny's father was behind us, tinkering with a device. Next to him were jars of a red substance, almost like blood, but darker.
"Hi, Mr. Fenton, we were just learning about your guy's profession!" I smiled, my eyes shifting towards the box in the middle of the room. It looked to be frosted over, and was unable to be seen through. Something in my gut told me something was wrong.
"Splendid!" Mr. Fenton smiled, pulling my eyes back to his face. He was about to continue speaking when the phone rang. "I'll get it hun." He told his wife, and raced up the stairs. Tucker went to ask Mrs. Fenton another question, but Mr. Fenton's voice cut him off.
"Honey, they want to talk to both of us!"
Mrs. Fenton excused herself, reminding us not to touch anything without them present and raced up the stairs behind him.
"Okay, we have five minutes to find anything we need." I whispered, quietly walking around on the tile floor. My eyes kept shifting towards the large box in the center of the room, the one that seemed to emit cold when close.
"I really don't want to know what is in there." Tucker said, flipping through their files. "Hey, there is a file on Danny in here." He whispered, pulling it out. As Tucker said, was scrawled on the front in hasty looking writing. Green and red stains covered the front of the file, making Tucker and I wonder what could be on it.
I slipped the file in my bag with little protest from Tucker, taking a few pictures, and finishing the interviews with Mr. and Mrs. Fenton.
They answered enthusiastically about their profession, but when we ever mentioned their family, hell if we ever mentioned Danny, they would become cold and off putting. I ended the interview short.
"Thank you, that's all we needed. Tell Danny we said to Get Well Soon." I enunciated the Get Well Soon, watching as Mr. Fenton's face contorted into guilt, and Mrs. Fenton refused to show any emotions.
Tucker and I left the house, Danny's file still secure in my backpack, and rushed to my home. "Did you have a good day Samantha?" My mother called out to me. "Yes! Thank you! See you at dinner!" I called out, and rushed up the stairs with Tucker in tow.
"We stole from Danny's house, that is THEFT!" Tucker panicked. He had barely been able to pull it together during the rest of the interview, preferring to go ahead and write down the answers rather than ask the questions. I pulled out the book and Danny's file and placed it on my desk.
"Everything we haven't thought of being wrong with him is in this." Tucker sighed, lightly ghosting a finger down the file. I placed my hands on the desk and went to open the folder.
/
Danny's POV
I waited patiently in my cell, playing with my breath because I could see it. My parents hadn't checked on me in a while, and I had thought I had heard other voices in the lab at one point. Especially after my parents left the room.
I had willed the curiosity away, playing the frost on the walls instead of investigating. If it was someone unfriendly, I wouldn't want them to see me in a cell that was coated in frost.
My core wasn't slowing down the cold process, and I was starting to give up hope when my mother, bundled up in a coat and scarf over her jumpsuit, entered the cell.
"...You can come out now." She mumbled. "The only thing for you to do is to release some of your ice powers, and hope for the best." She sighed. She put on her goggles and stood in the corner. "Just aim away from me. The best way to conduct research now is to watch how you use your powers."
"Mom, I haven't used them! I don't know how!" I slightly lied. I knew how to use them in the ghost form that my parents didn't know that I had. I didn't know how to use them as a human.
"Just try to expel all the cold out, I guess." She shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you." She said, disgust plain in her eyes. She was trying to hide it, but was doing a bad job of it.
"Mom…" I sighed, feeling my breath escape my lips and float upwards. Her eyes watched it, looking sad as it reached the top.
"Use them." She suddenly snapped. I jumped back in surprise. "I just told you I don't know how!" I glared.
She rolled her eyes. "Use them. You say that they are apart of you, so use them!" She yelled at me. I started to get upset, feeling the temperature drop even more. I wasn't mad, I was sad.
"DANNY USE THEM!" She shouted, wiping out a gun and pointing it at me. I froze in my place, staring at the gun pointed at my chest.
She energized it, and continued to point it at me. I raised my hands. "Mom, please stop!" I cried, tears starting to roll down my face out of fear.
She fired and I suddenly brought ice up in front of me to catch the blast. A piece of the ice broke off and struck me across the face. I cried out, feeling blood start to flow down my face.
My mom sighed. "There you go...You should be fine now." She said, and left the lab. I sat on the ground of the cell behind the ice wall and covered my face in my hands, feeling blood continue to well out of the cut on my face.
I got up and raced to my room, ignoring my sister's protests and my dad's confused questions. I locked myself in my room and vowed that I would never, ever, come to my mother for help again.
That if I had to, I would defend myself in every I knew how.
/
Lol cliffy on the sam and tuck thing but you'll find out eventually.