The world was dark. Any thought of warmth had seeped away to be replaced with a bitter cold. The ground had become flat, hard and uncomfortable at best. Ear piercing and brain damaging sounds scraped through the minimal silence. A creature screamed somewhere in the distance. Its agony filled voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard. He wanted to shy away from the sound but neither arm nor leg would budge. A gooey substance splattered onto the walls and pooled into a puddle on the floor. A drill spiraled into the creature eliciting another wail, one that soon faded out to nothing leaving only the sound of a faint joy filled laughter in its wake. Any and all pleads were happily ignored.
Danny's dull green eyes fluttered open. He squinted, a harsh light above shining directly into his pupils. He turned his head awkwardly, for some reason unable to move his neck very well. Wherever he was it looked vaguely familiar. Across the walls were panels covered with different buttons and flashing lights. Beneath them stood tables piled with test beakers, overflowing glasses and scattered pages from various notebooks spewed around the room.
He tried to sit up except neither of his arms would budge. A quick test for the rest of his body proved the same result. He could shift his legs but his ankles were locked in place. Unlike his upper body, arms bolted down in two places between his shoulders, elbows, and wrists. One last circular metal plate kept him rooted to the cold, unforgiving slab. It stretched tightly over his windpipe. It was constricting enough to prevent any air intake even though he didn't need it as a ghost but it also granted enough space to barely look around the room.
After getting past the blinding light the rest of the basement lab was dark, the examination lamp casting stark shadows along the spaces' equipment. From his minimal point of view it appeared he was at least alone. If there wasn't anyone around he could use the solitude to think up a plan of escape. Lord knows how long he was out. Daniel must be pacing back and forth in the apartment by now.
Danny strained to raise his head. He saw a large glass container on the other side of the lab poorly covered by a thin sheet before letting his head fall back onto the table with a thud. The ghost's expression turned sour as his head throbbed, the edges of his vision fading in and out. With a small breath of air he blew the tips of his bangs to the side, his mouth resting into a pout. "Taerg." Danny closed his eyes and gathered energy into his hands. He pushed and pulled, jerking his body to this side and that as he struggled to get free. It took an abnormal amount of effort to conjure up any solid energy let alone concentrate long enough to keep it stable. With a exasperated sigh Danny collapsed back onto the slab, having not made a single dent in the restraints. "Tcefrep gnikcuf …tsuj …citsatnaf."
A loud thud erupted into the room,. One that sounded like a body was thrown into a wall. Danny flinched, eyes darting around the room looking for the source. He didn't dare speak up again. For all he knew it was one of the Fentons and the longer he could avoid an interaction there the better. Unsure what to do he stayed motionless. A few quiet moments went by before the sound burst through the silence again. On the far edge of his vision the sheet over the glass container fell to the floor. Danny lifted his head as much as he could and came face to face with a horribly disfigured ghost. There were no clear features along what he supposed could still be counted as a body. It appeared to be more of a semi-held together pile of increasingly falling apart ectoplasm. Had the ghost sported any accessories they too had melted into the same combined pool. Whoever the spirit was before there was nothing left to determine their identity. Not even the sound of its voice. "Motnahp."
The ghost was pressed against the glass. Every second that ticked by deteriorated the ghost's form. Danny grit his teeth as he tried to pull himself up more to see the other spirit better it what seemed to quite possibly be its final moments. "Uoy era ohw?"
It was hard to understand the jumbled up words said on the other side of the glass. It didn't even sound native to the Ghost Zone. However it did sound vaguely familiar as an ancient long lost language. The confusion must have been plain on Danny's face for the ghost stopped moving its lopsided mouth. Instead it opted to place a big hand against the closest pane, wearing what he assumed was an expression of great sadness. "Dneirf."
Realization at who the trapped ghost was hit right as the door at the top of the stairs creaked open. A thin ray of light pierced the thick darkness. Danny craned his neck to see which of the hunters was on their way down. The lab door closed with a soft click. Not a single derogatory ghost comment was said. Rather, a young girl sneaked down the steps. She had long red hair pulled back in a blue headband, a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of off-blue jeans. Both captives looked at her unsure what to make of the young Fenton. She seemed only a few years older than Daniel. His sister?
Jazz walked straight over to the spirit currently strapped to the metal dissection table in the middle of the lab. She looked him over left and right. It no… he stared back at her as she tiptoed around the slab occasionally poking him on the leg or arm. She gingerly held the end of the ghost's boot and rotated his foot keeping in mind the metal plate over the ankle. There were a few hmmms as well as some ahhs with each curious inspection. Eventually she stopped at the top of the table, standing just out of the ghost's vision. He'd have to crane his head up and that wasn't an option.
It wasn't as if there was much he could do. Scaring her away would be a little difficult seeing as he was completely immobile. Surely the girl wouldn't have snuck down if there wasn't something that enticed her to. "Tnaw uoy od tahw?" Danny asked with a sigh. He could feel the girl's nervous hesitation. What was the point in even trying? Other than Daniel no human could understand anything he said.
"Uhh… well you see…." Jazz exhaled with a breath she'd been holding since the ghost first spoke. She cautiously rested her hand by the ghost's shoulder, leaning over and brushing a few stray strands of white from the spirit's eyes. "I'm sorry you're here. I mean I'm glad since I now have a chance to talk to you but I'm afraid Mom and Dad will-" She shook her head. "I guess I should get to my point." The ghost rolled his eyes and she ruffled his hair in retaliation. "Your name was.. is… Danny right?"
The captive winced at the mention of his name. So she did remember correctly. Then again it would take a lot longer than a few simple months to forget that name, one that was already so dear in her heart. Without warning Danny tried to pry himself away, twisting his limbs until they reached odd angles that sent shivers up the young Fenton's spine. "Woah, please! Just calm down a minute!" Jazz bounded to the side of the table, her back to the stairs. "Shh! The more noise you make the sooner they'll come down." It wasn't meant to be a threat but it was true. "If you answer me honestly I'll… uh.." Only one offer came to her mind. The one thing this ghost probably wanted the most at the time. But could she do it? After what ghosts did to the brother she never even had the chance to see? "I'll unlock the restraints and you can get out of here."
Danny stared at the Fenton daughter with bewilderment. Whatever she wanted to know had to be incredibly important to her to offer that kind of deal. No telling how pissed the parents would be if they realized their beloved daughter let a ghost back into the world. Why bother with questions she couldn't understand the answers to. They spoke different languages. Ugh the whole proposal was stupid and pointless. One glance at what was left of Wulf solidified Danny's decision. "Laed ,enif!" Two words he couldn't say fast enough. "Yas I drow a dnatsrednu t'nac uoy nehw em emalb t'nod." What a dumb human. For a Fenton she didn't have much of a brain. He could say gibberish for all she knew and he'd still be let free.
To his surprise the girl pulled out an electronic box from her back pocket. A dull red light flickered on after she flipped a switch on the side. "I'll take that as a yes. Do know, with this," she waved the recorder in the air, "I can translate what you say here later. If you don't answer to my satisfaction or go off on some random tangent just to pretend to answer me I'll know. Then next time you're in trouble I won't lift a finger but to help my parents. Ready?" Danny blinked, taken off guard. Scratch that no brains thing. He gave a small nod. As he waited he watched as the daughter carefully hid the recorder beneath the table. She stepped back to the side of the room to retrieve a pen and piece of paper, laying the sheet on the flat space beside Danny's arm. "Who was that other ghost with you when you first invaded our home?"
Danny glared at her and Jazz scribbled down the reaction onto the paper. The deal was the questions had to be answered honestly. That didn't mean the whole truth. The only issue was how much information had to be forked over to satisfy her. Giving Daniel's name was off limits. Sure the girl may have offered to prolong his demise by the ghost hunters but there wasn't any telling whether or not she'd actually have the guts to go through with her side. The chance was still small but no way in hell was he going to risk Daniel's future for his. No the human came first way ahead of him in priority. Besides for all he knew, the girl was planning on using the information gathered to cause them trouble down the line. "Enoz Tsohg eht evael yllanif ot dedeen ohw enoemos."
Jazz jotted down how Danny's eyes drifted off elsewhere when he spoke, Already she couldn't wait to translate the mere sentence he uttered. "Does he have a name?" She leaned closer, hoping that despite the language barrier she may still hear the one name she hoped for.
All she received for an answer was a glare and a kind of stubborn silence. Did she have to mention the sections of the deal again? "Snoitseuq diputs yllaer ksa uoy." The ghost looked away as if remembering something. She wrote that on the page too, with a brief note of curiosity in the margin. "Esle enoyna naht erom eman a devresed eh. Seod eh esruoc fo." Danny quietly mumbled. Jazz instinctively reached down and turned up the receiver's volume. She could wind up missing important tidbits if he kept speaking that quietly.
"Alright… um…" The way he was acting once that black haired ghost came up was much different than before. "Who is he to you?"
That got the spirit's attention. He stared at her with a blank expression before his features softened. The ghost looked away, opting to watch the unmoving ceiling instead. A sad smile crept across his lips briefly before it faded. "Dlrow ym…"
Translation or not, Jazz could feel the weight of that answer. It was short and sounded so caring. Yet something still continued to bug her. The young Fenton leaned in closer, temporarily leaving pen and paper behind. "Why do you look so guilty?" Danny titled his head to the side to meet her gaze. He sighed and opened his mouth to respond. This was it. This had to be the trail she was searching for. The answer she was really looking for. Jazz leaned closer until her ear was inches away from the ghost's mouth. Sure, it would appear on the recorder but she wanted to make sure she heard it for herself.
"-reven uoy"
The entrance to the basement flew open again, cutting the ghost off much to Jazz' dismay. Danny turned away from the bright rays while the other ghost whined, retreating to the farthest corner of its cage. Jazz bolted upright. If her parents saw her so close to a ghost with such relaxed posture… She hastily stuffed the paper into her pocket before whipping around to face them. Maddie was already at the bottom of the stairs with Jack not far behind. "Jazz? Sweetie, why are you down here? We told you we captured one from that pair. You know how dangerous these ghosts can be."
"I'm sorry. I was just…" She glanced at her father. Despite his personality, even he was serious in the presence of Danny. "Interested and curious." A tingling sensation crawled up her spine. Danny was watching her. He had handed over his side of the deal and she hadn't. It felt like there were small drill bits being hammered into her back. If her parents hadn't come down Danny wouldn't be feeling utterly betrayed and unintentionally manipulated. Jazz was almost certain if their paths crossed again, a big if relying on whether or not the spirit still managed to escape without her help, she would be running for her life. No number of apologizes dimming the fury of revenge and payback.
Maddie walked over to the glass container. She pulled her jumpsuit goggles up over her head raising her hand to a button on the wall. Danny strained to see what she was going to do to Wulf. In his peripherals Jack was inspecting his daughter for any visible clothing tear or cuts. "I'm fine Dad, really." She stole a peek back at Danny. Guilt was so obvious it almost calmed his murderous rage. Jazz pushed against her father. "Hey… you two aren't really going to.. kill him are you?"
"Well of course sweetie. It is a ghost." One simple click of a button. Danny's eyes widened in horror a scream of denial in his throat. Animalistic screams erupted from the ghost within the airtight chamber as green gas was injected into the space. Jazz glanced over at the white haired spirit. She gulped upon seeing the terror filled look on his face. It was heavy, modified and horrific. The ghost boy pulled, twisted and jerked his body in a vain attempt to get free. Most likely hoping to rescue the ghost whose screams turned guttural.
The guilt in her throat dropped to the pit of her stomach. Jazz had her theories about the odd pair, Danny and the unnamed one. There had to be some sort of connection or truth behind the two. The way each acted during their arrival. Ghosts didn't have much weight from what her parents' research said. Yet the smaller one didn't have the strength to hold himself up let alone stand up or so she observed. The number of times she studied the surveillance footage from that day had grown to such a huge count she had soon lost track. Her brother, she was told, had been stolen from Maddie's arms hours after his birth. There had to be a reason. If it had been mindless ghost's outrage then the culprit would have just killed Daniel immediately. He had to be out there somewhere. Judging by the police report of the incident, the hospital was put on lock down with nothing to show. There was a chance her little brother was taken to the Ghost Zone. Spirits had appeared before out of nowhere. Maddie and Jack even hypothesized natural portals. Whatever really happened, Jazz was willing to risk freeing Danny to find the answers. She was so sure one of those two ghosts, if both really were ghosts, knew something. One of them had to be a key. The recording she made and would continue after she was ushered out had to shine some light on the mystery. Yet, she was afraid. Not quite at what the truth may be but more so that she was getting her hopes too high.
Jack moved to his wife's side, her finger still pressing the button. "That's right. After we tear it apart molecule by molecule we'll rid this world of its existence once and for all. Then all we'll have to do to clean up is find the other one." As her father talked he made numerous hand gestures to go along. All the while a grin on his face, one of childish excitement after getting a new toy to play with. By then the screams had died down, the contained ghost falling silent and dissolving into the air leaving nothing but empty space left behind the glass. Meanwhile Danny kept his head up, eyes frantically searching for any sign Wulf was still there, still alive somehow. Any sign that told him the spirit hadn't been disintegrated into his original atoms. Jack's words went unheard in the boy's fright.
Completely ignoring the panic attack their next experiment was having, the Fenton couple exchanged a quick kiss. To them, another vile beast had been eradicated from their plane. It wasn't a new concept to them and it certainly wouldn't be the last time they rid the world of a ghost. But to Danny, a friend had been murdered. "Your father and I have thought about what you said too. You may be right that something's wrong with that black haired spirit." The white haired spirit visibly tensed. A mixture of anger and worry spreading over him.
Jazz had stepped forward at that point. A sinking feeling in her gut. She held her arms out defensively between her parents and her own patient. The words were on the tip of her tongue when her father's voice drowned hers out. "Ripping into that one's structure and finding out how the abnormalities formed will be fascinating!" Frustrated by Jack's outburst she clenched her fists, determined to protect her key to the truth and attempt to keep her promise towards him. Unbeknownst to her an ominous aura of pure rage began to form around the ghost so close behind her.
Maddie quickly moved in front of her husband and placed her hands over Jazz's shoulders. "Come on, Sweetie. No need for you to stay down here." Jack maneuvered around his girls and began fooling with a few pieces of equipment on a table parallel to Danny. "Why don't you head to your room and go back to sleep? We'll be done in a few hours." Without waiting for her daughter's response Maddie ushered her up the stairs and closed the door as soon as Jazz was on the other side of the frame. No matter how much she hated ghosts for what they did, as a mother she couldn't torture one with her child watching.
Now that it was just the two of them both of their demeanors changed. Neither had any tolerance for the crap ghosts had the tendency to spit out of their filthy plague ridden mouths. The Fenton pair each raised a hand to the side of their heads, flipping on a switch on their jumpsuits just behind the ear. "Where's your other half ghost?" They eyed the ghost waiting for some sort of response. When none came they tried again. "Don't want to talk about the other putrid ball of ectoplasm you brought with you into our world? Alright." Maddie's hand drifted to a switch that hand above the lower end of the table.
The spirit's head creaked the one hundred eighty degrees to glare at them with piercing red eyes. Its body shook, expression eerily blank yet menacing all the same. A voice almost demonic in origin echoed in the basement lab, "Noitaroced sa desu dna esproc ruoy morf denrub eb nac hself gnitsugsid ruoy nehw si evah serutaerc citehtap uoy fo yna esu ylno eht! Sseltniop si snamuh uoy no ygrene gnitsaw!" The ghost broke into a grin. Slowly a soft sound eased its way into existence. It took but a moment to realize the ghost boy was laughing. It started low, an uncanny giggle morphing into an unnatural and sinister cackling before it finally eased into a fit of diabolical hysteria.
No ghost who knowingly stared at their second and permanent demise ever laughed. More often than not the pointless ball of existences begged for a mercy never bestowed upon them. Yet all this one did so far was burst into laughter. Its arrogance didn't even let the impending doom on its being realize the situation it was in. Irritated and eager to change the specter's tune, Jack reached over his wife and pressed her finger down, flipping one of many kill switches. Blue bolts of high powered electricity stemmed out of the restraints. A soothing agony induced shriek replaced the creepy sound coming from the spirit's throat earlier. The ghost writhed in pain on the table, hands closed tightly to fists and teeth clenched shut. The pair waited. Watching the entity struggle beneath the metal, voice a harsh groan that grew louder the longer the couple held the switch. In the blink of an eye the intense shadows cast across the room faded to the previous darkness, one only lit by the captive ghost's glow and the examination lamp above.
The ghost laid motionless on the dissection table pretending it was out of breath. Its fingers twitched every few seconds from the shock, likely still charged. From Danny's perspective Maddie teleported around him to the other side of the room. On her way back she rolled over a surgical tray. Atop, resting elegantly on the thin green sheet were numerous scalpels, clamps and scissors. To his right Jack pulled over another one, positioning it next to the table within view. The second one had fewer tools and instead housed a bedpan and kidney tray, most surely not used anymore for their original purpose.
"You enjoying our anti-ghost equipment, Creep? We've made some modifications since you filthy creatures stole our boy." Jack slipped his fingers through the scissor handles. "You certainly seemed to enjoy our improved Ectoranium laced ghost shield back at the plaza you were snooping around in." As his wife held the fabric away from the ghost's skin he began to cut straight up to the tip of the collar. The fact that they had to cut through clothes was slightly irritating. Just another way for ghosts to try and act like beings they were not anymore. "Leaving you dead beasts to roam in your world allows for too much freedom. Why lock you up only to deal with you ghosts again in a few months time?" The two ripped the shirt apart and stretched it to the side, pinning it down. So far the spirit was barely coherent. If one looked hard enough they could see the tips of its fingers shake with sudden lingering jolts of electricity.
"Elimination is the only sure fire way to make you putrid creatures stay gone." Maddie picked up a scalpel between her delicate fingers holding it with the skill of a pro. Years of practice under her belt. "Our home? Pumped of human-safe air enriched with traces ectoranium." She raised the surgical tool over to the specter's chest, letting it reflect an attention grapping beam of light into the ghost's eyes. Her skin brushed against the ghost's, merely hovering over. A cold, thin metal tool rested gently over the spirit's sternum. "Can you feel it?" Maddie slanted her arm, driving the very tip down piercing the ectoplasm formed skin. "Attacking your very cells as we speak?"
Danny screamed. "Tell us what your kind did with our son!" He groped the air, threw his head back and yanked his ankles back without prevail. The volume in his voice multiplied as the sadistic woman sliced her way down the front of his ribcage and over his abdominals. He could feel the green slimy substance ooze out of the gash and run down his sides. Breath erratic again he rolled his head to the side, not wanting to see his own dissection. There had been a small hope he could somehow make it out. The chance was still there, it had to be.
The cold metal left his skin much to Danny's relief. Although reluctant he faced the woman again. He eyed the subtle smile on her lips. Danny's blood dripped from her utensil over her hand and down her wrist. Despite the soreness in his throat he managed a weak snicker, one interrupted by desperate breaths for air. "Su dnatsrednu neve nac snamuh uoy fi sa. Tahw uoy llet dna… ah?"
"On the contrary," Maddie brought the scalpel back, this time making a diagonal V-shaped incision from the infraclavicular fossa down to the initial cut and up to the other side. "We can." With clamps in hand, Jack tore the skin back to better reveal the inside torso cavity. Millimeter by slow millimeter Danny's structure was forced painstakingly apart.
It wasn't the first time they had a ghost on their table. Not by a long shot. The first seven years after their son's disappearance was mostly focused on building their portal. They couldn't do anything else but. Aside from natural portals, the existence of which could never be predicted no matter how hard they tried to find connections, there were not ample opportunities to find a ghost. A few unfortunate ones had attempted to travel through Amity Park once or twice. Not once did they forego the chance to intersect the specters.
Once the portal had been completed the Fenton's activities grew harsher and more known throughout the town. Ghosts were aware of the free portal, always open and always waiting to be snuck through. No ghost ever came back to warn others away. From the moment they phased past the dimensional wall Jack and Maddie Fenton were waiting for them. Armed and ready. Within the first month alone they had captured, interrogated and killed 42 spirits in their lab. Each one was asked the same questions. In the beginning asking them anything was pointless. No matter how much the Fenton's tore them apart they refused to speak any human tongue when it was obvious they were able to understand it. It had taken years of research and about a dozen subjects to test it on but they soon were able to develop a type of translator. It wasn't the same as their later, Ghost Gabber but it worked on a quicker but smaller scale. It was still too complex for humans to learn but they utilized technology to take them that extra needed step. Within the Fenton's jumpsuits were small chips hooked to one side of the head near the ear. One flip of a switch and the presumed 'main' ghost language could be translated to the wearer in real time.
"Now tell us what we want to know or else," While Maddie cleaned the surgical tool Jack snapped on an extra set of gloves. The man leaned over the table and hooked his hands under the anterior inferior opening of the ribs and wrenched. The bones cracked from the force. An ear piercing wail violently clawed its way out from the back of Danny's throat. Lights flickered, sparking along with the ghost's glimmering aura. Beakers crashed to the floor and notebooks fell, scattering unclipped pages over the tiles. Electronic equipment buzzed. Jack tugged harder until Danny's sternum cracked in two in a jagged line.
A traumatizing split Danny never wanted to experience or hear again. The sound was deafening to his own ears. Both arms popped out of their sockets as his spine arched away from the table in excruciating anguish. Jack withdrew, both Fentons stepping back awaiting the ghost to conclude its act of feeling pain so they could get back to work. The ghost portal surged, humming to life from the excessive energy emitted. The doors opened without either human's consent, the eerie green glow of the Ghost Zone casting dense shadows throughout the basement. The power surged once more before the specter's convulsing finally ceased its chest rising and falling rapidly. Its head rolled to the side, a trail of green streaked from its eyes down its cheek, mixing with the no longer pearl white hair stuck to its forehead.
A fake gasp caught in its throat, voice hardly audible. "Latrop eht…!" Unbeknownst to the Fentons a very real fear carved its way into Danny's senses. The ghost shuddered, recoiling away from the dimensional door. There was no telling what ghost if any was watching from the other side. Observing. Waiting for him to slip up and reveal the location of the long lost human or perhaps Danny's own demise. With him gone, getting to Daniel would prove effortless. He couldn't let either happen. "Ti yortsed tey retteb- ti esolc!" Danny begged in a raspy voice.
Maddie stabbed the scalpel into Danny's palm eliciting a yelp from the ghost. "Why! Why would you want the portal closed?" The sharpened edge dug into Danny's tendons.
"Tuo teg t'nac yeht os-" Her laugh was light hearted. The same kind of sound one would expect to hear if the context was baking cookies in the kitchen. He grit his teeth through the pain. "Teg t'nod uoy esaelp-p suoires m'I-"
"No we don't. I don't 'get' why you keep insisting on acting like a human, you putrid ball of post human consciousness!" Maddie backed off, leaving the utensil embedded in the ghost's palm. There wasn't even a single exchange between the two Fentons. As soon as his wife was clear of the table Jack flipped on the electricity. Bolts burst out into the room once more dragging out unsuspecting screams from their captive. Both had no problem doing what they were, not in the slightest. Not even after hearing the pained cries of the still awake and sort of alive subject. Losing their son all those years ago really did turn them cold as ice…. Ice….
Jack turned the energy dial higher until it surpassed the caution zone and pointed toward the far end of the red. By then the only sounds in the lab were the screeches of passing electricity and the shrieks of a ghost.
In Danny's mind everything burned. Muscle, skin, his exposed insides. They all felt vulnerable, close to melting point. He couldn't move his arms or legs nor any part of his body. It was all rigid from the high voltage shocks. There seemed to be no end to the surges being pumped unwilling into him. He cracked open an eye, bending back just enough to see Jack Fenton's hand still firmly around the dial. An end nowhere in sight. All attempts at a ghost wail earlier had failed. He didn't have enough energy to spare to unleash powerful enough shockwaves to disarm the lab equipment.
A soothing light blue eased its way to the outer ring of Danny's aura. From within his open chest cavity his core shined, flashing once before solidifying. The temperature dropped a significant 40 degrees. The Fentons exchanged glances both surprised to see their breaths. During the time of a heartbeat they dropped their arms, wrapping them around their bodies as the cold seeped in. They felt it in their bones. Each passing second the lab grew colder. The tips of their fingers numbed. Their eyes darted back to their captive. The one who had allowed them to prove their theory of elemental cores at last.
The specter's surgical incision had filled with ice. Without the intensive electric shocks he was able to concentrate. Relaxing onto the table Danny closed his eyes for a split second allowing the extreme cold sensation to fill his body before releasing it in a single instance. If he didn't somehow make it out Daniel would truly be alone in the world. Unable to sleep, eat or obtain food in the first place. Danny had held onto Daniel's hands guiding him from one end of the apartment to the other in case the boy fell but walking was still troublesome. In addition to being incredibly tiring for the human's under exercised legs. Miniscule ice particles shot out from Danny's position to encompass the entirety of the basement lab. Of his cage. Milliseconds behind the initial cold a thicker frost followed. The ice crawled the Fenton's ankles freezing them in place, unable to reach for any of their more powerful ranged weapons.
Verglas layered up and around the restraints now dead from the lack of power connected to them. With a quick and powerful tug Danny broke his right arm and legs free. Exhausted, he rolled over and heard the pop of his arms snapping back into place. In the current level of torment flooding his mind the relocating of his structure barely registered. Danny dug his fingers into his own skin to get under the metal bar on his upper arm. A smooth yank broke the material into tiny pieces, allowing the ghost to get enough freedom to simply get up on his knees and get the rest of his limbs free. He ignored the scalpel even as it tore through his hand, splitting his fingers down the webbing.
No. No. No! The ghost hunting pair wrestled within their new icy entrapment. In his flailing, Jack had fallen backwards onto the slippery floor. His knees bent at what could only be an unnatural angle with no hopes of getting upright. Determination merely refueled by the recent development of their newest specimen, Maddie patted herself down in search of any miniature weapon on her person. There was a background doubt that she'd be able to wield one properly in the intense bone chilling cold infiltrating their bodies like a plague up from their legs.
She glared at the spirit hunched over on the slab clutching its hand to its chest. That putrid thing was going to die permanently on their examination table. Nothing ever escaped their grasp in the past. An alien feeling of defeat washed over her even when the ghost slipped off the table in what she presumed was a temporary moment of believed weakness. The ghost lifted its head and stumbled back away from the portal. On shaking legs it stood, raising its hands and blasting the door until it too was encased in ice. She watched frustrated as their test subject kicked lightly off the ground and took to the air.
With their most important scientific capture ever escaped and gone, Maddie turned back to check on her husband. He was in one of his normal enthusiastic speeches of payback and vengeance. Jack was right, next time they caught that ghost boy they'd make sure it won't taste freedom ever again. As of now, they could only hope the ice melted quickly. Without any data on elemental cores, especially ice, there was no telling when they'd be able to move again. The only positive side was the mass amount of samples they now had to test and experiment on.
It had been the beginning of the night when Danny left promising a short trip. Now the sun was just rising over the horizon. Daniel checked the clock for what must have been the millionth time. Danny still wasn't back yet and it was already light outside. Even during his typical excursions Daniel would feel a twinge in his heart. The ghost never had to be gone long before the loneliness crept in. Just knowing there was so much space between them, another wall separating them. But it always subsided and disappeared when he returned. Being alone never did a bit of good for him. Merely an hour by himself caused a revert back to his life in the Ghost Zone.
Whether it were minutes, or seconds after his ghost initially left Daniel wasn't sure and definitely didn't care. He had locked all the windows, drawn the shades, barricaded the all visible doors and covered himself in every blanket in the apartment. To him each wall that lead to the outside was dangerous. Every door, whether it merely lead to one of the bedrooms or to the hallway was hazardous. Whatever was taking the spirit so long this time made Daniel's worries grow the more prolonged Danny's return became. Half an hour after the ghost's original estimated time of arrival Daniel knew something was seriously wrong.
The boy had laid awake through the entire night both unable to sleep and with a bizarre ache in his chest. Still unacquainted with most bodily feelings or sensations he skimmed through a dictionary for all of five seconds before deciding to use it as a projectile if the need came.
Without warning a harsh chill slithered up the human's spine. Curling up deeper into the mass of blankets his initial reaction was to prepare himself for a ghost attack. It could be literally any one of them who visited back in the Ghost Zone. Muscles tensed, nerves anxious and mind racing he waited… until nothing came. No matter how many layers he pulled over himself the cold stayed. As if it was coming from inside him. The feeling never passed. After a short while the chill dulled, sitting in the background of his awareness.
As soon as Daniel allowed himself to relax the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. The human frantically looked around utterly panic stricken. A few books weren't going to stop any number of ghosts determined to take him out of the human plane.
Relief washed over him as he watched a particular white haired ghost phase through the window. However any feeling of happiness replaced itself with dismay. Much of Danny's body was frozen from the spirit's own ice. A gooey green substance dripped onto the floor. Daniel's eyes followed it back to the owner, frightened to see the ghost covered in it. Face, hands, chest, torso, arms it was everywhere. The last time he remembered Danny bleeding was when he had come to free him of his life sentence.
He didn't hesitate to extract himself and hurry to Danny's side. He managed to catch the ghost just as he crashed towards the ground. The extra weight on Daniel's weak legs caused the two to fall to the floor anyway. "What h-happened?" The boy whispered, carefully turning the ghost in his arms so he was more comfortable. Trembling fingers brushed lightly over the ice encased hole in Danny's chest. Black mixed with white, green staining both colors as the human leaned his forehead against the spirit's. Never before had he seen Danny's aura so dim. A jolt of fear sprung up his spine. His ghost was fine. He had to be. He always was.
Danny's body was tense as if he was still geared up to fight for his life. "What do I do? I don't know what to do…" There was no telling if it was the drying ectoplasm or some other thing entirely but the ghost collapsed across his lap smelled of death. Daniel went rigid at the thought. Tears collected in his eyes and his vision became blurry. He watched as a single drop fell from his chin and instantly froze on the ghost's cheek. Keeping one arm gently cradling Danny's form with his other hand Daniel delicately held the ghost's left. Green spread over the human's skin as he caressed the wound with a tender touch.
"Danny… Please don't leave me. I don't want to live without you….." Nothing moved in his arms. Daniel could feel his own heart stop. He gazed at the deteriorated spirit. This couldn't be happening. There were still so many things they hadn't done together yet… No groan of pain, no smile of reassurance, no explanation, not even a twitch of a facial muscle. Fear overruled all common sense. How does one even check if a ghost is still 'alive' or not? Any attempts at speaking died on his trembling lips. His throat felt tight and breathing became more difficult with each sobbing inhale. Daniel held onto his ghost tighter, afraid any second Danny would fade into the void forever. "I-I love you."
A/N Happy New Year
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