AN: Good day to all, my wonderful readers! Thank you all for continuing to read this story, and another big thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited. This is a rather long chapter, just warning you. On with the story, and enjoy!


I opened my eyes, but I might as well not have bothered because my surroundings were bathed in pitch black.

As far as I could tell, I was strapped by my arms and legs to a metal table of some sort. When I sat up and tried to phase through the straps, I found out the hard way that they were ecto-proof.

I tried to focus on remembering how I got to where I was. So far I recalled ditching school and being attacked by Spectra, and then...oh. This was not good. My parents must have shot me with an ecto-tranquilizer dart and strapped me to the examination table in the Fenton Works lab. With a start, I realized I didn't know how long I'd been out and I frantically searched the darkness for the digital clock we kept by the staircase. Bright green block numbers read 3:03. Good, I thought, school was letting out in seven minutes. They wouldn't be missing Danny Fenton for another half-hour, which would hopefully give me enough time to-

Out of nowhere, white light flooded my vision, temporarily blinding me and making me lose my train of thought. Once I regained my vision, my mother and father came into focus. They were standing together by the stairs, grinning like they'd just won the lottery. In their case, this was better. They'd just captured the infamous ghost boy.

"Sleep well, Phantom?"

My mother had been the one to address me. Hearing her talk to me in such a foreign way was uncomfortable, like losing a tooth and having to get used to what feels like a gaping hole in your mouth.

They inched closer, their eyes full of savage-like curiosity. I could see now why everyone in Amity Park though of them as insane mad scientists. Once they neared me, they began to poke and prod me, conversing in scientific terms that I couldn't hope to understand. I sat, helpless and rigid with trepidation, until my mother reprimanded me.

"Will you relax, ghost? I'm trying to figure out where I should put this needle!"

"How about trying a vein?" I retorted. Even though she was the smarter of my two parents, she still had her moments.

"You...you have...veins? But you're a ghost! Ghosts don't need veins!" she shouted, awestruck. Then she addressed my father. "Jack, go get that formula on the table and bring it to me. I know we said we weren't going to use it until later, but I want to know more about this ghost."

My dad stumbled over various piles of junk and old equipment trying to bring my mother the questionable fluid she was planning to inject into me. It was a sickly yellow color, and it smelled of moldy cheese.

"Uhhh, Mo-I mean, Mrs. Fenton, what exactly is that?" I questioned. If it was going into my system, I had a right to know what it would do to me.

"Oh, this?" she answered, sounding innocent as she prepared the needle. "This is a formula that will infiltrate every single molecule in your miserable little manifestation of post-human consciousness," she paused for effect, "and slowly poison you until you melt into ectoplasm. Unless, of course, you answer our questions, and then there is an antidote readily available that will cure you completely."

Her cold smile sent shivers up and down my spine. The way I saw it, I now had three options. I could either hope for a chance to phase out of the lab as soon as possible, let them inject me with the liquid that could end my existence, or skip the deadly stuff and tell them my secret up front. The former's chances weren't looking so great, and decided I'd rather tell them what they were bound to find out anyways. They were already suspicious, and besides, they'd be missing Danny Fenton if he didn't show up for dinner and it was likely that they'd blame yours truly.

"Hold still, Phantom, I have to put the needle in!" my mom exclaimed, patience wearing thin. I had to tell her.

"Mrs...Mrs. Fenton? Before you inject me with that, there's something you should-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the lab door burst open and my sister came flying down the stairs. Her eyes widened at the sight of me in ghost form strapped to the examination table.

"Jazzy-pants, we're trying to experiment right now. Can you pleeeeease leave us alone for a few minutes?" my dad asked.

"Uhhhh, yeah," she said absentmindedly, eyes still wide and fixated on me. "I was just...ahh...coming down here to say...I'm home from school!"

"Well that's great, honey! And where's Danny?" my mom inquired.

Jazz visibly tensed at the question, and it took her a couple of seconds before she stammered, "Uhhh, he's...upstairs. He...he asked me to ask you if...if he could go to Tucker's and study for the afternoon. Is that okay?"

"Sure, Jazz, tell him it's okay as long as it's just to study. I was harsh on him last night, and I think he deserves a bit of freedom," my dad told her.

I took a moment to appreciate my luck at having a sister who would cover for me so readily. Jazz turned to go back up the steps, but not before mouthing "I'll get you out of this" when our parents weren't looking.

It was a nice gesture on her part, but I needed to get out of here now.

"As I was saying, Mrs. Fenton, I-"

"Oh, shut it, ghost kid!" my dad snapped.

"You have to listen to me!" I sounded too panicky for my own good. "I'm not who you think I am!"

This got their attention, and they both stopped their miscellaneous activities and stared straight at me. Now that they were finally listening, it was unnerving.

"I'm not just a ghost." My voice was shaking, and I had to force myself to breathe. "I'm...I'm half-human. Half-human, half-ghost."

The shock took a moment to wear off, but as soon as it did I was bombarded with questions and accusations.

"...how? That would be like being alive and dead at the same time...that's scientifically impossible!"

"You're lying! Prove it!"

"Who's your human half, then?"

I'd made them angry, and they wanted answers. "Th-there was an accident," I stuttered, "and yes, I-I guess you could say I'm half-dead and...and half-alive. I don't know how it happened."

"Yeah?" my mom raised her eyebrows, "Prove it. Tell us who you really are."

I took one last deep breath before finally saying, "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton...Mom and Dad...I'm...I'm your son. Danny Fenton."

"How dare you even associate yourself with our son!" my dad shouted, outraged.

"No, you have to listen to me, please! I'm-"

I was cut off with a slap to the face, courtesy of my mother.

"You can either tell us now, ghost," my mom whispered threateningly, "or we can do this the difficult way. Now, would you like to tell us who you really are?"

They were in denial. They didn't want to believe their son could be the very thing they'd always hunted. I saw no other way but to stick with my story.

"I'm Danny Fenton! Here, I'll prove it!" I yelled, forgetting I was strapped to dangerous equipment. When I tried to change back to human form, it shocked me and I couldn't complete the transformation. As if the equipment shocking me weren't enough, as soon as it ended my dad pointed an ecto-gun at my stomach and fired.

I groaned in pain and doubled over. Even in ghost form, that was going to take a while to heal. My worst fears were coming true, they weren't accepting me, they didn't love me. Not caring about looking weak, I let the tears that were forming in my eyes spill over and splatter on the sterile metallic surface of the table.

"If you think that hurt, just wait." my dad said coldly. He had no idea.


I felt my self-inflicted scars reopen when my mother grabbed my arms and demanded, "Tell us who you are!" for the tenth time.

"I've told you already," I answered her through tears, "but you won't listen."

My dad hit me on the head with the ecto-gun, causing the head wound Dash had inflicted earlier that day to open up. They could have just used the formula, but they liked this method better.

There was so much blood, it was dripping down my face and seeping through my black HAZMAT suit. I was a disgusting mess of tears, human blood and ectoplasm. I was starting to feel dizzy, but I knew my wounds would heal within a day or so. The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain. They really didn't accept me, they didn't love me anymore. I knew this would happen. How could I have been so foolish? I deserved this, all of it, for hiding so much for so long.

Just as my mom opened her mouth to ask me once again who I was, my ghost sense went off.

I couldn't turn around, but my dad gasped and exclaimed, "Maddie, look! It's the Wisconsin Ghost!


AN: Poor Danny! Will he ever get out of this? Will his parents ever believe him? And why is Vlad Plasmius in the Fenton Works Lab? Find out next time!