This marks the last chapter of the 50,000-word original story. However, there will be more of this universe coming! I'm in the process of creating something more for your enjoyment. I don't know how long it will take... but it is coming.
Thanks to everyone who's been following along with this story. It's lots of fun. :) But especially thanks to Verdantia, MsFrizzle, KTrevo, YumeTakato, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, nycorrall, JaeB, DB-KT, a Mysterious Illusion, Aurora Marie Williams, Invader Johnny, and iloveyugiohGX93 for their reviews of the last chapter.
Phantom, Danny
The story you know from the very beginning.
…and from a slightly different point of view.
Chapter 14: The Hero
-Day 33-
At some point, the human mind started to poke at him. The poking turned into jabbing after a bit. Finally he uncurled and jabbed back. What?
"I need to talk to you."
The Danny was alone in its room, sitting at the computer. The screen was dark. Outside the window, the sun was starting to rise. About The Tucker again?
"No." It twirled the chair from side to side. "Although maybe you were right, you know. We should've taken the ghost more seriously. But that's not it."
Maybe I was right. He relaxed. And maybe you would have died had I not intervened. Maybe you would have gotten your human friend killed. Maybe I would be in my home tonight, with two pesky newly-dead accomplices to bother me for the rest of time.
It winced. "I get it."
He was quiet for a few moments, waiting for the human to talk. It didn't. I do not appreciate you continuing to call me 'Ghost'. I have informed you of my name.
It winced again. "Yeah, Daniel. I remember."
Why do you not call me by my name, after all the time you spent convincing me I required one?
"I forgot, okay? I was being chased by a ghost-"
On many occasions over the past several days, you have called me 'Ghost'. You have never once used my name. Even in the quiet of your own home.
It moved its mouth a little.
I think it is because you do not view me as a creature deserving of a name. I am simply the voice in your head that you use to get out of doing the things you do not want to do.
"That's not true," it protested, but it wasn't very powerful a protest.
As I have said in the past: I am not your pet. I have deigned to call you by your name. I have accepted that you are the one who understands this world we are in, and I will abide by many of your choices. But I am not your pet, to put in a cage and take out only when you wish to play with me.
"You still think of me as an 'it'," it muttered defensively.
I have always considered the creatures around me as thus.
"Sam's not an 'it'."
He sighed, dismissing the thought. I do not wish an existence where I am trapped in a form that does not view me as an equal. I have thought about it, Danny. Although there are many things in this world that intrigue me and there are many things I wish to experience, I do not wish to exist as a lesser being.
It twirled on its chair, swiveling around in circles. He could feel the human's guilt. "That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," it said.
About what?
"I…" it trailed off, spinning a few more times in nervous energy. "I think we should tell my parents about you. You know. And see if they can free you."
I thought you had many reasons as to why such an arrangement was impossible.
It shrugged. "I can't think of anything better. And you're right. I shouldn't keep you trapped in my head."
He hesitated, surprised. He hadn't thought the human would agree with him, much less have come up with a solution. When are you thinking of going through with this plan?
It shrugged again. "Now?"
He was startled by the quick answer. It was slightly depressing – that he would not get to see another night spent flying through the stars, really being able to feel the speed and height and tumbling acrobatics. But he had waited a month to be free of this. Very well.
The human pushed out of its chair and walked towards the basement lab with a slow, resigned step. It had the general feeling of walking to a funeral.
You do not wish this, he said.
"No, but I can't keep you trapped in my head forever," it muttered, walking down the stairs to the first floor.
That's when the cold struck again. The Danny shivered and rubbed at its arms.
It is following us!
"Why? What's it want with us?" Its teeth were starting to chatter, its breath fogging in the air.
I do not know. We should leave.
"But my parents…" It stood on the stairs, indecisive. "I need to warn them."
I- Memories suddenly cascaded through his mind. Birthdays, holidays, cooking classes, hugs, reading stories at night… it was a bombardment of feeling and emotion. He hissed and pushed at them, only barely stemming the tide. They were the human's memories. It was worried about its parents. Fine.
It let out a short breath and hopped down the rest of the stairs. "Mom? Dad?" it called, running through the living room. It skidded to a stop in the kitchen, eyes widening.
One of the ghost octopuses was floating there, its body half through the wall, several tentacles picking through the objects in the kitchen. The refrigerator was overturned. Cupboards had been emptied. But the door to the basement lab was still firmly shut.
It didn't seem to notice the human at first. Not, at least, until The Danny started to wave its arms. "Hey, ghost!"
The ghost turned its huge, dinner plate sized eye towards the human.
What are you doing? Are you insane? Did this thing not just try to kill us yesterday?
Not listening to him, the human ducked forwards under one of the tentacles and grabbed a knife that was sitting on a nearby kitchen counter. When the waving green appendage came back, it slammed the knife straight into it. Freezing cold green plasma squirted from the wound. A small picture clutched in one of its tentacles dropped to the ground.
The octopus howled – the windows rattled.
We need to run!
"Obviously," the human shot back, racing through the living room and out the front door. The concrete was warm on its bare feet. "But now it'll leave my parents alone."
You have a death wish!
It looked back over its shoulder, spotting the octopus appear through the wall of its home. The thing narrowed its eye, clacked its beak, and shot after The Danny.
"We need to fly."
You got it chasing us. You fly! he shot back, although fear made him want to take over the human's body and just do it himself.
"Crap," it hissed, stumbling slightly in the early morning shadows, but then managed to throw itself into the air. It wasn't nearly as fast as he could fly, and not nearly as nimble – but it felt like it was enough to keep ahead of the octopus.
It glanced over its shoulder. The octopus was still following. It howled again, that same eerie noise as before. The human shivered and turned back to the front.
And stopped dead.
Both the other octopuses were hanging in the air in front of it. "Triple crap," it whispered as the octopuses surrounded it. The wounded octopus slowly oozed plasma onto the ground, where it hissed and evaporated in a greenish mist. "Got any ideas?"
I will fly. Can you lose the heavy form?
The Danny swallowed heavily, glancing around before closing its eyes. "Ghost," it whispered, reaching for the energy inside of itself. It rose and surrounded it, swallowing its mind in a roar of green and white. "Going ghost."
The human quickly gave way, letting him control the now feather-light ghost form. He opened his eyes, shot a look at the octopuses, and then shot straight up. He glanced back in time to see the octopuses tangle their tentacles, then focused on speed.
They chased him upwards, faster and faster, weaving and bobbing in and out. The octopuses together were nearly as fast as he was. He had very nearly reached the clouds and their tentacles were still brushing past his feet.
"I cannot out run them," he panted. A glance back told him that the octopuses were using each other as climbing ladders to keep up. He scowled at them. "We need a new plan."
We'll have to fight them.
"No!" He shook his head, white hair whipping into his eyes and causing momentary tears. "Not a chance."
We were talking about it in biology. There's two choices: fight or flight. If flight's not going to work…
He glanced back again, frustrated and scared and quickly tiring from the furious pace the ghosts were setting. "We will be destroyed."
Haven't you ever fought a ghost before? The human mind was just as scared, but it also felt like there was an iron core inside of its mind that refused to bend under the intense pressure of the ghosts.
"No. I am not a powerful enough ghost to fight."
I'm not going to die. It felt like it was curling its fists.
"Then you fight them," he panted as he twisted into a dive, just barely missing their grasping, looping tentacles.
I don't-
He pushed against the human mind, forcing it back in control. It faltered at the sudden switch, the dive momentarily turning into a fall. "-want to!" It fell more than thirty feet, the ghost octopuses catching onto the change in direction and turning to follow before its fall was brought back under control.
What is your plan?
"I don't have one!" it shouted. It twisted out of the way of one tentacle, but got another wrapped around its foot. Its dive came to a sudden, abrupt halt. "Ow!"
The octopus dragged it upwards. The giant beak clacked near its head. Its huge eye peered at The Danny, who could see its own white hair and green eyes reflecting back at it in the huge pupil.
More on frightened instinct that any real thought, The Danny lashed out with its free foot and caught the octopus in its eye. It instantly let go.
The Danny fell again, free, and looked up at the ghosts. The one was howling in pain, rubbing at its eye. "That worked!" The Danny said. Its voice broke slightly.
Yes, but the other two are still following.
It bit its lip, breaking out of the dive. "Their eyes are the weak spots. I just gotta get them in their eyes."
You're going to attack them? Are you insane?
"They've been following us," it said as it skittered to the right to avoid a huge tentacle. "I don't think they'll leave us alone if we just ask."
The next tentacle didn't miss. It managed to catch both of The Danny's feet, dragging it up to dangle upside down, hundreds of feet above the ground. This octopus, however, kept The Danny far enough away from its eye that even the human's wild swings with its hands didn't come close. The ghost's beak clacked loudly, catching some of The Danny's hair with a painful tug.
"Let me go!" The Danny screamed. It reached up and started to tear at the thick tentacle that had attached itself to its feet. In a break of good luck, this octopus was the one that had had the run-in with the knife earlier. And this tentacle was the same one. The Danny reached up and clawed at the wound. The plasma stung its fingers.
The octopus screeched and howled and let go. The Danny caught itself within just a few feet, twirled, and slammed a fist directly into the thrashing octopus's eye. The howl kicked up a notch and it retreated, rubbing and twisting in on itself.
The other two octopuses stayed back a good distance, seeming to be guarding the wounded one. The eyes blinked at The Danny. Then they drifted away.
"And stay away!" The Danny screamed after them. It floated in the cool morning air, watching until the octopuses were out of sight. It was breathing hard as it started to slowly sink to the ground.
He was shuddering inside the human's mind, still reeling from the encounter. I cannot believe we survived that.
The Danny ran a shaking hand through its hair. When its feet touched the ground, its legs weren't strong enough to support it. It collapsed to lie on its back, staring up at the slowly brightening sky. "I don't want to do that again," it whispered.
Do you think they will stay away?
"I hope so."
After a few long minutes, it rolled to its feet. With a swirl of white and green, the ghost form dissipated and, very suddenly, all the aches and pains it hadn't noticed as a ghost made themselves very known. It hissed, sitting back down, and pulled up the leg of its pants. Thick rings of tentacle marks – neat little circles – were cut into its skin. "Ow." Then it examined its hands. The fingers that had dug into the cut on the octopus's tentacle were red and covered in small blisters.
Perhaps we should fly home. It is many blocks away.
"Yeah," it said softly, pulling the leg of its pants back down. "Why didn't it hurt very much when…?"
Ghosts do not feel the same way humans do. We do not experience pain, or touch, or the sensation of being damaged like you experience.
"The octopus felt it when I kicked him."
He pushed slightly, taking control of the human body. The pain in his leg grew and he wrinkled his nose. "Not in the same way." He pushed himself gently into the air, swirling invisible to keep from being seen. "It was not necessarily in pain. It was simply irritated. You disrupted its functions."
The human seemed to think about that. I made it mad.
"In essence." He made it above the tops of the buildings before heading towards the human's home. "When you hit its eye, it did not feel pain. It could not see. It felt the kick. It knew it could not see."
What about the other one? The one I got with the knife?
He could see the home in the distance. He made a beeline for it. "You made it lose part of itself. Part of the energy that allows it to exist. While it did not feel real pain from the knife, it felt… loss. Tired. Exhaustion. You were draining it of its ability to remain in a stable form." He shook his head. "So yes, on some level, it likely felt something akin to pain."
So if I just made it mad, it'll come back.
"Potentially." He dove through the air, phased through the wall of the human's home, and dropped onto the bed. He winced when his damaged leg touched the bed. "Now what?"
We gotta go clean up the kitchen, The Danny muttered. If my parents see that, they'll freak. It pushed against him, taking back over. "Ow…"
Can you not just tell them a ghost did it?
"Yeah, they'll believe that," it muttered. It limped out of its room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen to survey the damage. Almost the entire contents of the kitchen was scattered across the floor. "Yeah, there's no way they're not going to notice this."
I am surprised they did not hear it when it happened.
It sighed and started working its way into the room, scooping up things and stuffing them back into cupboards. "Start coming up with a really awesome excuse." It paused when it saw the knife stuck into the countertop. It was sunk at least a half-inch into the thick wood. The blade of the knife was corroded and pitted from the ghost's plasma. "Well, I can't explain that in a million years."
I would stick with the truth.
The Danny sighed. "You're probably right." It grabbed another armload, stuffed it into a waiting cupboard. On its next pass, however, it paused. Lying on the floor was a small picture, most of it eaten away by the ectoplasm the octopus had leaked.
The ghost was carrying that, he remembered. Why?
It reached over and picked it up, flipping it over. The image was mostly destroyed. Just enough remained to make out whom it had been a picture of. "Dad," The Danny whispered.
He was quiet, startled. Why would a ghost carry a picture of Dad around?
"They weren't after us," it breathed. Terror raced up through its body as its head swiveled. "Dad was out shopping that day at the movies. And the arcade is by the fudge store." It slowly stood up, the picture falling from numb fingers. "They're not after us. They're after my dad!"
.
.14.
.
-Day 33-
"Daniel James Fenton."
The Danny froze, still standing in the middle of the messy kitchen. The Mom had appeared at the kitchen door, still dressed in pajamas, and had its hands on its hips.
"I can explain," The Danny started, holding up its hands.
"What's wrong with your hand?" The Mom picked its way across the kitchen and carefully snagged The Danny's red, blistered hand. "That looks like that hurts."
He felt The Danny poke at him, desperate for something to say. Stick with the truth.
"There was a ghost?"
Silence fell over the kitchen. "Danny…" The Mom said. "Let's go get your hand cleaned up."
"It looked like a giant green octopus. It was, like, as big as the RV. Its eye was bigger than my head!" The Danny had started to babble. "I stabbed it with the kitchen knife. " It gestured towards the knife, still stuck into the counter. "And it ran away."
The Mom pressed its lips together. "Let's get hand cleaned up first." It stood up, and towed The Danny up the stairs.
The Danny followed passively, its injured hand firmly within the Mom's grip. "I was trying to clean it up," it said when they reached the bathroom and was released. The Mom pointed quietly towards the edge of the bathtub. "Sorry."
The Mom sighed and pulled out a small kit. It picked through little tubs until it found a white cream and proceeded to smear it all over The Danny's hand. The pain started to fade almost instantly. "Try not to pop the blisters until they heal," it said softly as it wrapped the fingers in a thin layer of gauze. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" The Danny asked, apprehensive.
"Come on," it said again, this time with a twist of its head.
The Danny followed, down the steps, picked its way through the mess of a kitchen, and then into the basement. The Dad was sitting at one of the long tables, working on something that looked like a stick with string. "Mads! Dann-o!" it called with a smile on its face.
The mom sighed. "Jack, were you really up all night?"
It grinned back at her.
With a shake of its head, The Mom asked, "Can you call up the camera feed for the kitchen?"
The Danny froze. "C-camera?" it muttered.
What is a camera feed? Why are you afraid of it? He poked at the human.
The Mom placed a firm hand on The Danny's back and moved it across the room to a computer screen. On it, in black and white, was the image of the destroyed kitchen. "Rewind," The Mom said.
The Dad, who was frowning at The Danny, pushed the buttons on the computer and the image jumped backwards. The Danny appeared, cleaning in reverse, and then vanished again. And then the messy kitchen suddenly cleaned itself.
"Play that," The Mom said, stepping closer.
On the screen, the kitchen was throwing itself into a frenzy. Things were flying out of cupboards. The refrigerator toppled over. But there was nothing on the screen. Then, in the corner, a scared-looking The Danny appeared. After a second, it slipped into the kitchen and rammed a kitchen knife into the counter. The camera shook, like it had been hit by something, and The Danny disappeared back through the door.
"It was a giant green, floating octopus," The Danny said into the silence.
Strangely, both the faces of The Mom and The Dad had broken into smiles. "A ghost!" The Dad cheered happily. "We had a real ghost in our kitchen! Look at all that damage. We should go up and take some readings."
"It's only been twenty minutes. If we hurry we should still be able to get some spectral samples," The Mom added, grabbing a piece of equipment from a rather large, teetering pile. "You okay down here for a bit while we check this out, Sweetie?" It peered at The Danny closely.
The Danny smiled faintly. "Yeah."
A hand abruptly started to ruffle The Danny's hair. "My son, the ghost hunter," The Jack said proudly. "I bet you got that ectopus good."
"Octopus," The Danny corrected, but The Dad was bounding up the stairs. The Mom was only seconds behind it.
The Danny let out a noise and sank onto one of its parents' chairs. "That went well, I guess."
He laughed slightly. I thought Mom and Dad would be angry with you.
"I guess not." It shrugged, then turned to look at the slowly glowing portal.
Mist curled and swirled inside of it in an eerie, inhuman light. He felt the normal urge to walk up to it, but the heart-wrenching homesickness had faded.
The Danny seemed to be struggling with something. Like it wanted to say something, but it wouldn't. It twisted its lips finally and shook its head. "Gho… Daniel."
Yes?
"I know you want to go home. I know I can't keep you trapped here."
He knew the word that came next. But?
"But those things are after my dad."
The memories stirred again. Emotion flooded through his mind. He pushed it away. He already knew that the human loved The Dad very much. How does that involve me?
It opened its mouth. Closed it again. The opened it. "It… it… it doesn't. I guess. But…"
He poked its mind. Spit out the thought, human.
It let out a dark snort and crossed its arms over its chest, fixing its gaze on the swirling portal. "I can't imagine my life if he got hurt or killed by one of those things. And I know they're going to come back."
I do not wish you to lose Dad either.
"I don't think they're going to be able to protect themselves. But I can. Protect them. Because of you."
Oh. He thought that through, quiet and unsure of what he thought about that.
"I- I don't want to keep you here. Trapped. That's not what I want. But I don't think I can protect them without your help…" It trailed off, with a desperate little shrug.
He remembered the disappointment he'd felt when the human had agreed to ask its parents to free him. He reached for the human's good hand, gently rubbing the tips of his fingers together. The skin of the fingers was both smooth and rough.
"Can… Would it be possible… Would you…"
I will stay for a while longer.
He felt the boy sag with relief. "Just until the ghosts are gone. And then, that day-" it started to babble.
On several conditions.
It froze, but it didn't feel against the idea. "Like…?"
You will refer to me by my name.
It nodded, almost instantly.
And I will not be a pet. I wish to be a partner. An equal.
It hesitated, but nodded again.
I realize you have more knowledge of this world. I will defer to your judgment about human matters. However, I wish my voice to be heard as well. I am not here to stand in line for you and exist during the classes you wish to sleep through.
"Yeah. I understand," it whispered.
He nodded and relaxed, allowing the human to close its eyes and smile a little. In return, I will attempt to refer to you in the pronoun you prefer.
The Danny snorted faintly, its normal pleasant mood returning. "How about losing the 'The' before everyone's name?"
He frowned. I will try. It is not something that will be easy for me.
"Awesome," it – he whispered, fighting back a yawn. "I just wanna go to bed."
You did not sleep last night?
The Danny shook his head, then slowly made his way up the stairs. When he pushed open the door to the kitchen and peered at his parents, the two were taking pictures of nearly everything. "Look at the pattern the flour made when it spilled. Definitely a ghost!" The Dad called, snapping a half-dozen pictures of the spilled flour.
Did you not spill the flour when you were trying to clean earlier?
The Danny nodded, a little smile on his face, and crept into the kitchen. "Well, he's only half wrong, I guess," he muttered.
"Sweetie, don't disrupt anything. We haven't finished cataloging," The Mom said. It had changed into a blue jumpsuit. "Especially the flour!"
The Danny carefully walked around the flour, didn't step on the spilled garbage, and then worked his way up to his room. "My parents are insane," he said.
.
14
.
-Day 35-
Two days later – Sunday, exactly five weeks since the accident – Danny was sitting in the basement with Sam and The Tucker. Dad was wandering around in front of the portal, waving its arms. It had already spent almost an hour telling them all about the kitchen ghost. Now, however, it was starting in on something new.
"You and your little friends want to hunt ghosts."
"Um…" Danny muttered, glancing at his friends. "Ac-ac-actually, Dad? I… want to be an astronaut."
Sam frowned and elbowed Danny. "Sorry, Mr. Fenton. I was into ghosts, but they're so mainstream now. They're like cellphones."
"Waste these looks and all this charisma hunting ghosts?" The Tucker said, also elbowing Danny in the side.
Dad frowned. "Well… if you do want to hunt ghosts, there are a few things you need to learn." It turned around and started to sort through the objects on the table behind him.
Danny sighed and glanced at his friends, then poked at Daniel. He poked back lazily. I am resting, he muttered, curling up tighter in Danny's mind. You can listen to Dad blather on for all eternity for all I care.
Danny sank down into his chair just as a horrible cold feeling raced down his spine. "This isn't good," he breathed, his breath fogging in the air. "They're back."
"What's back?" Sam whispered.
Danny pointed towards the portal, where three thick tentacles were sneaking through and attaching to the walls. "Ghost octopuses."
"Octopi," The Tucker corrected with a shrug. "And I'm still not completely convinced they can hurt-" Its voice was cut off as a thick tentacle wrapped around it and lifted it into the air. Another snaked over and grabbed Sam. The octopus's eye appeared through the portal, along with its clacking beak.
"While it's true I've never seen a ghost-" Dad was saying, completely ignorant of the ghost octopus.
"Daniel?" Danny whispered.
I still vote for running, he put in, but with no real emphasis behind it. Danny would protect his family. And, as it seemed they would be Daniel's family for the next while as well…
He didn't really have a problem with it.