AN: Greetings everyone! Your favorite cordial corvid is NOT dead! Yay!
Just a warning, a little bashing of a made-up religion. It's not any single one in particular, it's more of a caricature of religions I based off of Silent Hill, old-timey puritans, 'Doomsday' prophets, and a dash of 'Outlast' (I and II) so… any similarities to your own religion or any other religions isn't intentional.
It was the whispering he noticed first.
All around school, there were whispers from siblings of younger brothers or sisters, murmurs from teachers with kids of their own, teachers with friends teaching the elementary and kindergarten classes.
"The Static" that struck Amity last night.
Danny used the computers in the library to figure out the whole scoop.
Last night, for half-an-hour exactly, TV programs all across Amity shut off and put out dead air static. Cable companies and channel producers were stumped. From their end and beyond city limits, the TV stations aired their scheduled programs, but only in the city limits of Amity was the signal interrupted.
People called in to complain, sure, and more than a few grumbled about it on their social media accounts.
But then the children happened.
All across Amity, during those 30 minutes of dead air, kids as young as 3 to as old as 11 were suddenly watching the static intently. Some reported their kids humming an odd song under their breath. Some reported giggling. Some reported crying. Most reported blank-eyed stares the entire time.
Any kids in the vicinity of a working TV, even when off, suddenly stopped whatever they were doing and turned it on to watch the static.
Any parents, siblings, grandparents, or babysitters that tried turning it off were essentially attacked by the children until the static was back on. Hospitals reported things as minor as a few bruises or cuts to a couple concussions. Any attempts to move kids away from the TV was met with the same violent reaction.
Then, as soon as the half hour was up, normal television shows resumed. Whether in the middle of a commercial or the start of a new show, it just cut back in as thought it were never off to begin with. And the kids wouldn't remember a thing.
Parents were naturally terrified to their wits end. Countless sets were unplugged and hidden, fortunate kids with sets in their bedroom had them 'confiscated indefinitely', stores with screen displays unplugged after drawing a mob of zombie-like kids off the streets during the event.
And, naturally, ghosts were to blame for it all.
Danny sighed as he closed out of the school computer.
Glancing at the clock, he saw it was study hall, which meant another hour until he had to go to Mr. Vector's arithmetic class. Glancing about the library, he walked into the back area of tall bookshelves and ensured he was alone before phasing through the wall invisibly.
He found a pair of girls comforting a third in a stairwell.
"I-it was just… so scary," The third insisted, tearfully, "Connor's just… he's only 6, and he's a-a-a t-twerp, but… I thought… he just… *hic*… I-I couldn't-"
She dissolved to crying into her friend's shoulders. Danny could make out her brokenly saying she shouldn't've just called him a twerp under the other two cooing softly to comfort her, but clearly worried.
Phasing through a few more rooms, he found the teacher's lounge. Surprisingly, not as glamourous as you'd expect; a microwave, a cabinet set, a plastic table, a few chairs, and an old box TV hooked into the wall (now unplugged). There were only two occupants in there. He recognized Mrs. Robinson, an English teacher a grade above his, talking to someone he vaguely remembered teaching French 203.
"Carol, it was just… God, I thought I'd lose them," Mrs. Robinson shook as she brought a mug of coffee to her lips. Her friend put a comforting hand on hers and was quite as she continued, "W-when news broke out a-about that Wasser kid turning out possessed… I-I honestly went to Father Matthews and requested a literal gallon of Holy Water a-and Sister Margaret gave me a rosary, too. I h-hid it in Ryan's room. I just… I couldn't imagine him or Lydia getting possessed by something. And… now this!"
"I know, Mer, I know."
"No! You don't, Carol! They were just… sitting there like zombies stuck to the static. Then, they clawed at Ethan, clawed! Their own father! Like something from a horror flick!" She took another swig of coffee in a way that Danny felt hinted she wished it was something 'a little stronger' before she hunched over and anger clouded her features.
"It's all their fault. Those ghosts, those demons. They're the ones doing this."
Carol, the French teacher, frowned uneasily, "Mer, I know you're upset-"
"No! I knew they were bad news when they showed up. Even that Phantom," She spat the name, "I bet he's just waiting for something."
Danny winced from his place invisibly hovering above the pair. Carol sighed heavily as the silence dragged on.
…
…
"You might think I'm wrong. And I'm okay with that," Mrs. Robinson softly spoke, "But I swear… I'll die before I let my family get hurt…"
…
Danny silently phased out of the room.
Room after room, one huddled conversation after another, he went around school and heard the same conversations echoed a million different ways.
This was worse than he thought. The entire town was scared stiff. Fear had a nasty habit of feeding itself, until it bloated into something more grotesque; hatred, hostility, helplessness, prejudice. Half the population was in tatters over itself, fearing for their children, nieces, little brothers and sisters, while the other half were getting angry and restless like a hive of bees.
More whispering led him to a corner area by a drinking fountain. He was surprised to see Dash, of all people, looking… sympathetic to his friend, Kwan.
The halfa had to double-take the Asian athlete. His left arm was in a sling for bandages Danny could see just at the shoulder. His face was splotched with bruises and lined with bandaids while his exposed arms had similar bandages wrapping to his elbow. But most noticeable was a crown of bandages tucked under his bangs, circling his head and binding a pad of gauze at the base of his skull.
Dash looked confused, "Dude, run it by me again."
Kwan sighed, "My kid brother, Juwon, was watching a show on TV. I was in the kitchen making cookies. I go over to ask if he wanted to go to the store with me for milk and he's just… gone. I don't mean he's not there, but he was just completely out-of-it. Then, I turn off the TV and he goes crazy on me. I didn't even know he knew how to tackle someone like that."
"Well, he is the brother of our best Tackle on the team," Dash offered to try to lighten the mood.
"Please, Dash, this is serious!" Kwan rebuked, "Kids all over were possessed or hypnotized or tranced or whatever and no one has any answers! Who knows what this means, if it's a one-off or if it's going to happen again. And if it happens again, whose to say if it'll stop next time. I don't want to lose my brother, Dash… He's just a kid…" Kwan choked slightly.
"Well… I haven't heard of Pirate Whoever or whatsit. Sorry, man. But… you know, I swear it sounds familiar." Dash offered. Danny's eyebrows invisibly perked up in interest.
"I know! I feel like I've heard that name before." Kwan frowned angrily.
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg*
The warning bell sounded, signaling the end of class as the hallways flooded with students exiting their class.
"Well… I gotta get to Bradstaff's. I can't get another detention. Hang in there, man." Dash offered his friend before heading towards his next class.
Kwan hung back, leaning against the wall as the flow of students streamed past him. He'd been kind of numb since the event. And not just from painkillers. Every time a ghost showed up on TV, it was like 'aw, cool!' or 'aw, man, that was freaky!'.
But to have it happen to himself…
He couldn't get it in his head that this had actually happened to him and his family. His brother was a possession victim and he'd seen, heard, and felt the effects.
It scared him.
A 6' 8" football jock weighing in at almost 200 lbs of muscle mass, was scared witless of his shrimpy kid brother.
No… scared for him.
…Kwan…
He jumped as a voice echoed in his ear. He whirled around trying to determine the source but only found a wall in his face.
He turned away.
Kwan.
He turned back to the wall, apprehensively. Quietly, looking like he was just lost in thought, he glanced around. Everybody knew who had brothers and sisters affected by the Static, especially himself given that he was currently wrapped up like a mummy. They filed by without much more than a pitying glance his way and an awkward shuffle around him.
He took a quiet breath, 'Who is this?' He whispered almost imperceptibly, even by himself.
My name is Phantom.
Kwan stiffened. Was this really Phantom? Dash and Paulina were spreading rumors of a Phantom look-alike for a week after Halloween, but no one else believed them or saw the figure again. But, given recent events-
'How can I know that?'
… Come to the stairwell.
Kwan shuddered as he 'felt' a presence leave. It was like a sixth sense was triggered or something where he 'knew' something was around, but that it had just walked… no, 'drifted' away.
…
This could be a trap.
Or it could be an opportunity.
…
'Leap of faith' He thought to himself, stepping towards the stairwell where he felt the 'presence' again signaling the entity did want to meet here.
A gust of cold air breezed by him and Phantom, himself, appeared. It was way more impressive to see him up close. It was unnatural how his simple, black hoodie could shadow his face like that. He couldn't see a thing above the tip of his nose save for two, large, green eyes literally glowing in the void-black shadow.
He swallowed nervously, "Y-you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah, but let's make it quick, okay? I can't stick around for long." Phantom whispered back urgently, glancing at the clock. "I've been hanging around town, getting a feel for what happened."
"So, it is from a ghost?" Kwan interrupted.
The specter held up his hands defensively, "I can't confirm or deny that. Sorry. But it does look that way, yeah. Anyways, I've been listening around the school, too. I overheard your conversation with Dash just now."
Kwan fidgeted, "Umm… dude, I'm gonna say it. That's creepy and stalkerish."
Phantom huffed, "Yes, I get that, and I really do feel bad for doing it, but I just did it to learn more about this thing. I want whatever happened stopped, too."
"Alright," The jock acquiesced.
"Moving on," Phantom pressed, "You said something about Pirates in your story. Now that's new; from what I've heard no one else brought it up. Plus, you said it 'felt familiar'. I got a strong vibe that it's important."
Kwan sighed uneasily, "Okay, so… just setting the record straight, I tried turning off the TV, so my little brother, Juwon, went nuts on me. I… I had to pin him down to keep him from hurting me or himself. I swear I wouldn't hurt him on purpose!"
"Okay, I believe you."
"Right… so, when he was down, he kept screaming at me. He told me to 'turn it back on' and he mentioned someone named 'Pirate Percy'. He gets the TV back on and is quiet until the Static was over. Then, my parents come home and we talked. I brought up the Pirate guy, but I said the wrong name. Juwon automatically corrected me. That's how he remembered the show."
"Wait, show?" Phantom interrupted.
Kwan grimaced slightly before nodding, "Yeah, look, I haven't told anyone aside from Dash about this. Juwon remembered an actual TV show during the Static. No other kids remember it, so I don't know exactly how or why Juwon remembered. Maybe it was me bringing up the Pirate guy. But either way, Juwon said that there was an actual cartoon playing. He couldn't remember the plotline or characters outside of Pirate Percy, though."
"And the name?"
Kwan shuddered, "He called it 'Candle Cove'."
Danny blinked. Oddly enough, that name stirred something in the dusty cogs of his hazy memory, "And you said it sounded familiar?" Phantom asked.
"Yeah! Like… like I swear I remember hearing that somewhere, but it's fuzzy, like a memory in playschool? I dunno. Even Dash said he thought it was familiar."
"Hmm… I can't really help you," The ghost thought aloud, "TV shows you grew up with were kind of after my time."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot you're... Sorry." Kwan rubbed the back of his head.
*ring-ring*
The warning bell sounded twice, indicating one minute left to get to class.
"Listen, I need to go," Kwan said.
"It's fine. Thanks a lot for the info. It'll really help this go along." Phantom smiled.
"So, you know how to stop this?"
"I think I have a lead." The secret halfa murmured, phasing through the wall, leaving the stunned jock to gather his wits and hurry down the hall to his next class.
Needless to say, Danny Fenton was mysteriously a few seconds late to his next class.
Ben Wasser felt like a celebrity these days.
And not in the good way.
He pulled the hoodie tighter around his head and scrunched up the scarf around his neck to hide his mouth (and most of his face). In the November breeze it didn't look terribly out of place. But the sunglasses might be a bit much.
He needed it these days, since the BEN deal. Reporters were hounding around the city, trying to get coverage of the hauntings, trying to get in on the ground-breaking 'ecto-politics' in the elections, or trying to get to him as the 'first scientifically proven possession victim'.
Well, he was not going to let some freaky doctor slice him open, thank-you-very-much.
They did plenty of that after Halloween when he was taken to the ER. He never wanted to see another IV needle or eat another ounce of bland, 'nutrient-rich' mush the hospital served or take another MRI, psyche test, eye exam, or 'Paranormal Psychology test' again.
He was 'cleared' by Danny that BEN was gone and done-for and that was good enough for him. No matter how many 'follow-ups' the hospital requested (and his parents, thankfully, denied).
He wandered about town, relishing the feeling of not being hounded by his parents. Admittedly, yeah, he really missed them and was glad to be with them again, but… it was just so smothering sometimes! He practically had to put his foot down just so his mom wouldn't set up a cot in his own room!
He loved her and his dad! Of course, he did! But he was a kid, too! He needed space. But his mom was so scared. And it was all his fault after all for being possessed like that. He should've known better.
And he felt like a jerk for wanting to be away.
But he told her he was going out.
But she still worried and told him to text, like, every 10 minutes!
But he still wanted his freedom!
…
…
He sighed.
This whole thing was just so messed up.
"VOTE FOR ME!"
His inner monologue was shattered abruptly by the blaring megaphones and amplifiers hooked onto the stage. He didn't realize as he accidentally meandered into this afternoon's press rally.
The guy on stage was the town's pretty boy that everyone knew had the best shot of winning. His name was Vlad Masters and he came out of nowhere to run for the position. Up close, Ben could see why he was so charismatic.
He was a younger man with grayed hair, but a strong, convincing presence. He had to be only in his mid-40s at absolute most, given how his face looked and how he held himself, but he was just graying early. His entire schtick screamed WEALTH at the top of its lungs, but also a feeling of command.
He made some small campaign promises about public schooling, crime rates, and environmental concerns, but that was honestly small potatoes compared to his main platform; ghosts. This guy was seriously banking off of the BEN incident. Public safety, billionaire-funded research into ghost containment or management, merchandise and TV specials, you name it.
And what's more, everyone was lapping it up.
"A VOTE FOR VLAD MASTERS IS A VOTE FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILDREN!" Vlad's voice boomed, "A VOTE FOR ME IS A VOTE TO END THIS SPECTRAL MENACE, TO PROTECT OUR YOUTH FROM NEFARIOUS NECROMANCERS, TO BRING PEACE TO THIS TOWN!"
The crowd roared in approval as he soaked up the attention, "HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, BROTHERS, SISTERS, NIECES, NEPHEWS, GRANDCHILDREN, WHO WERE TAKEN BY THE STATIC THAT PLAGUED US EALIER THIS WEEK!? HOW MANY WERE FORCED TO WATCH HELPLESSLY!? HOW MANY WISHED THEY COULD JUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?!"
The crowd was deafening around him. Vlad smiled self-confidently as he delivered the punch, "THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! VOTE FOR VLAD MASTERS!"
Ben slipped away quietly as the crowd chanted 'Vote for Vlad' over and over again.
He walked down the street towards the old video game arcade (not even BEN could take his love for video games away) and was stopped dead in his tracks by the glass windows plastered over with yellow 'CAUTION' tape and a bright orange printout of paper slapped on the inside of the door reading;
"Due to The Static event, and emergency measures taken by Amity Park City Council, all Televisions and TV-like machines held by public venues are hereby disabled. In the event of locations that pose a larger risk, the entire venue may be temporarily shut down. Until further notice, all children under the age of 16 are to adhere to a mandatory sunset curfew. Any individuals outside their homesteads at that time will be apprehended and escorted to their guardians immediately.
"Please stay safe and if you see something, say something.
-Amity Park Council"
Below the sign-off were xeroxed images of the city's original signatures. A particularly large, loopy signature read 'Pamela Manson' that took up nearly a quarter of the signing room.
Ben huffed and looked down the street. Restaurants, bars, and shops had the same notice plastered on their doors and he could see from the windows that the TVs inside were blank or, in some cases, physically ripped off their mounts.
He could feel his ears drooping inside the confining hood.
This was truly a dark day for the gamers of Amity Park.
"There he is!"
His heart leapt to his throat as he saw a man with outrageously stylish hair and a microphone in his hand point directly at him. Behind the man was a young woman with a boom mike and another guy with a camera.
"Oh, sh-" He turned to run and came face-to-face with another man holding a camera and notepad looking down at him wide-eyed. Ben frantically glanced about him and saw the original newsman's announcement brought a lot of attention to the one shady-looking kid, which lead to a lot of stunned reporters and anti-ghost fanatics.
Who were quickly wearing off the 'stunned' affect.
He bolted between two people and started sprinting down the street, cries for attention or 'just one quote' were rushing behind him as the mob of reporters gathered at the Master's rally started moving.
He felt the scarf's tail-ends flap behind him wildly and was dismayed when his hood finally nudged itself off his head, causing his ears to unfurl and stick out like a beacon.
If the reporters following had any shadowy doubts, they were gone immediately upon seeing that defining feature.
They redoubled their efforts to catch up and ask for an 'exclusive'.
Ben redoubled his pace.
Up ahead, he saw a figure lean out from behind a wall to an ally and for a terrifying second he thought it might be another reporter trying to trip him or catch him or something.
He smiled when he saw one of the figure's familiar glowing, green eyes wink and a slight gesture to turn into the alleyway.
The chased-down boy pulled a sharp-90 turn, skidding slightly on some wet, November leaves and barreled into the alley.
His gut dropped when he was faced with a dead-end chain-link fence.
A whimper caught his throat as the thundering sound of approaching footsteps came closer and closer.
He shrieked when a hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up to see Danny in his Phantom form making the 'shh' gesture with his finger to his lips. Then, he felt a slight tingling work his way through his body and saw Danny vanish into thin air. Eyes wide in thought he glanced down. Yep! He was completely invisible, too!
Danny held his shoulder to guide him backwards towards the edge of the alley out of the way of the main area just as the mob of reporters rounded the corner and hungrily scanned the area. The looks on their face were priceless! Most of them were completely agog and stared around wildly as though he had vanished into thin air (he snickered behind a hand). A few were furious at losing their lead. A couple ventured into the ally to search behind dumpsters and trash cans up to the chain fence, even looking up as if he'd pulled a Spider-Man on the walls. He smiled invisibly at the spot Danny chose; a blank stretch of wall, completely devoid of any hide-behind-able objects and completely impossible to even consider their target sticking around.
Most started grumbling and walking away. A few more persistent ones kept searching, barking orders at the interns to keep looking.
Ben looked uncomfortably at a small group of people who didn't fit that mold. They just… stood there at the entrance of the alley, frowning in stern disapproval, fear, and disgust.
Eventually, the news-types wandered away from the area, and the weirdos started following.
"Figures," One figure mumbled loudly. "You can't completely remove the Devil's touch."
A stern-faced woman grimaced, "I'd bet he was Influenced somehow! Going right through that fence like a ghost. Or those walls."
"Maybe he flew," A younger man offered, eyes tracing the skies.
"Hmph, well God have mercy on him anyways," A larger man grumbled, starting to waddle away. The others muttered a 'here, here' or 'amen' under their breaths as they followed behind.
The last one hanging back was a thin, reedy man with greasy black-and-white hair and a beaky nose hunched into a scowl as he sent a beady look over the alleyway once again before stalking back after the others.
…
…
Danny held up the invisibility for a while longer before he leaned over and whispered, "Hey, Ben? Brace yourself, 'kay? I'm gonna fly us up for a little bit, just in case someone's still around."
"Okay," Ben whispered back, feeling Danny wrap an arm around his waist and another securing his arm as they were lifted off the ground and flew across the street invisibly to the rooftop of a two-story storefront.
Danny lifted the invisibility and kept whispering, "Stay down. I'm gonna fly around and see if anyone's still here."
Ben nodded keeping himself huddled behind an AC unit as the Ghostly hero vanished again and a quiet rush of air signaled he took to the sky.
He returned shortly after, appearing semi-translucent, "Ben, sorry, but we gotta move somewhere else. People are scoping out the alleyway and streets for you. Ready to fly again?"
Ben nodded and felt the invisibility wash over them again as they lifted into the sky.
They flew above the streets of major downtown and drifted around the neighborhoods. From high up, it was exhilarating to the human boy. During the BEN debacle, he heard he flew around (or maybe levitated, Danny wasn't really clear on the difference when he explained), but he couldn't remember anything clearly enough after the arson to before waking up in his mom's arms.
"Hey, you okay?" Danny called over the wind.
"Yeah," He replied, squinting against the drying effect on his eyes. "I guess so."
Danny bit his lip, unseen by the other, "You don't have to answer, but who were those people? The reporters, I get. They're as annoying as mosquitos in Summer, but who were those other guys?"
"They're part of some church," Ben answered, "The creeper who was sticking around after is Johnathan McNair. Their leader. He's a total dipwad."
"Careful, kiddo, what have I told you about throwing those 'dipwad's around," Danny mock chastised.
"It's true," Ben asserted seriously, "He's a complete freak about their little cult! I mean, I get some people are into their religion and really value it, but this guy is off-his-rocker and his 'followers' or 'disciples' or whatever are in the same boat!"
"What do you mean?"
"He was one of the first guys to call for exorcisms and 'purification' sacraments when the ghosts came through. He was always petitioning everyone any time of day. Mom slammed the door in his face a couple times since we moved here because he'll go door-to-door and never go away." Ben huffed, "And his religion is way outdated! I mean, mandatory dresses and girdles on girls, mandatory behavior lessons for guys, no eating garlic or onions or processed foods, pretty much shunning a lot of other religions, and he got in huge trouble for this anti-gay rally this one time that didn't go well. And worst of all; no video games!" He shuddered a little.
"Sounds like a piece of work," Danny commented, "So why are they hounding you?"
Ben grimaced, "T-they think that since I was possessed, I'm 'unclean'. The whole ears thing," He gave them a slight wiggle for emphasis, "kind of convinces them I'm still 'harboring the devil' or something. They went to my mom to basically order her to give me to them for some freaky 'exorcism'. My mom was so badass, though! She took a frying pan and bludgeoned one guy's nose in! Best of all, she didn't get in trouble because technically they were 'harassing her on her property'!"
Danny grinned at the younger boy's enthusiasm as he awkwardly pantomimed swinging a heavy pan through the air while still held in-flight, though Ben frowned again before continuing, "Then they tried petitioning the City Council, and then Amity Park in general. Of course, nobody signed or agreed. They don't like the whole Possession thing, but I think they don't like the idea of those creeps' 'exorcism' more. Eventually, the police stepped in and got a restraining order slapped on them in, like, a day.
"They kind of just shout things at me if they find me on the street, but can't get closer than, like, 20 feet. That's probably what they were doing chasing me, looking for attention with the media and a chance to 'out me' as the devil or something on TV. They really like that Vlad Masters guy, I think, so they go to all his rallies. Like I said, they're nuts." He shrugged helplessly.
Danny frowned, dejectedly.
…
Then, brightened a little.
He smirked invisibly, "Hey, Ben? Watch this."
Ben whooped as they turned a series of loop d' loops mid-air, stomach-plunging dips and waves, and a sheer drop that Sixty-Six Flags couldn't hold a candle to! By the end, he was laughing as the anxiety-inducing chase and depressing conversation drained away for a brief respite. From how Danny was laughing, too, he'd bet that was the intention.
They eventually touched-down in Ben's own back yard, from their vantage point Ben could see his mom bustling in the kitchen to make dinner for the evening. He could see her glancing out a window connecting to the front yard.
His adrenaline high slowed down as the laughter and halting giggles drained away.
His mother frowned as she seemed to grapple with an internal argument with herself and seemed to be looking away from the kitchen telephone. He knew she wanted to call him.
He could tell she didn't like him going out, but knew she couldn't keep him locked up there.
She never let him see it, at least not face-to-face, but he knew she was hurting and afraid.
He could see her worry clearly right now, invisible in his own back yard when she didn't even know he was watching.
She was scared of him not coming back.
…
…
"Danny?" He choked out, "I-I wish I never picked up that c-car-cartridge."
The halfa sighed sadly, "… Ben…"
"It's so stupid! T-the reporters… McNair… th-the school… the Halloween party! I-It's not fair!" He wiped his nose heavily, "A-and my mom's always s-so scared all… all the time! And she's w-wasting so much time on me and my problems and- *sniff* and-" He scrubbed furiously at the wet tracks against his cheek. "Stupid, stupid!"
"Hey-"
"Don't look!" He growled testily. "I'm not crying!"
"First off, we're still invisible," Danny said a touch dryly, "Second off, it's okay to cry, I mean, you met me after I had a seriously bad day. Like, the worst in my afterlife. Third off, yeah it's unfair. This whole thing sucks. It's stupid and I wish I could help. I really, really do."
He let go of Ben's shoulder and they both reappeared in the backyard, "But right now, all you can do is be there for your dad and mom. She wants to help you and I think she could use some of your help, too. Don'tcha think?"
Ben sniffed again and glanced back at the woman in the kitchen, who was wide-eyed as she noticed her son in the backyard. She started putting down the pans she had in-hand and making her way to the back door.
Danny smiled before rising into the air, "Stay safe, okay? It'll get better. You'll see." And he flew off.
Ben's mother ran out into the backyard, "Ben! Ben, are you okay? Why did Phantom drop you off? Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Was it that McNair again!?" She growled low threats of violence under her breath.
"Mom! Mom, no, it's fine!" Ben insisted, "I- I went downtown. I didn't know the arcade was shut down." Mary Wasser frowned sadly, remembering the notices that appeared in mailboxes. "Some reporters caught me and started chasing me down the street-"
"That's it! We're suing!" She growled, getting up, but Ben held her wrist.
"Wait! Then, Phantom helped me out. He helped me duck into an alley and turned us both invisible! The reporters looked so stupid just standing there!" She gave a small smile at the thought, "Then, he flew us around and it was awesome! I'm serious! No roller coaster is ever gonna top that!"
"I guess we'll just cancel the Sixty-Six Flags trip next summer, then," She said loftily.
"Wait? Where?"
Mary just grinned and kept walking towards the back door. "H-hey mom?"
She looked back to see her son scratching the back of his head awkwardly, elongated ears drooping like a cat's, "Uh, did you need any help cooking? We don't really cook together anymore, so, I thought you might like me to… y'know… help…?"
She beamed, bending down to scoop him in a hug, "Thank you, sweetie. How about a rain check, though? I just finished putting dinner in the oven half-an-hour ago."
"Sure mom! What is it?"
"It's a new recipe! I figured I'd try it out. First-"
*beepbeepbeepbeepbeep*
Their eyebrows raised to their hairlines as they both simultaneously ran back to the kitchen in time to see soft gray tendrils of smoke curling from the oven. Mary rushed over towards the oven while Ben grabbed a magazine and began fanning the smoke detector ardently. The mother coughed as she pulled out a charred-black mess-in-a-pan that was, in theory, some kind of Mediterranean chicken and veggie dish.
"Mmm! Sounds like dinner's ready!" They looked up to see Stan Wasser smirking in the entryway, still in his business causal.
"Oh- *cough cough* shut up," Mary protested weakly, fanning the smoke away from the oven's chamber.
Stan walked over to the burnt brick-in-a-pan and smiled.
"Soooo… take-out Thai?"
Mary and Ben glanced at each other and laughed.
"Take-out Thai," They agreed simultaneously.
As his dad went upstairs to change into comfy clothes and his mom pulled out the Thai food takeout menu from the drawer (even though they always got the exact same order verbatim), he couldn't help but smile and remember Danny's advice.
He couldn't change what happened.
It sucked and it was unfair.
But he could do something now.
And right now, that included a ridiculous amount of 'Larb' jokes.
"Hey, Ben, sweetie! I larb you!"
He smiled. "I larb you, too, mom!"
They'd get through this.
Eventually.
Sally bounded up the steps to her and her daddy's small townhouse at the edge of downtown Amity Park. Her classmate Billy Robinson followed behind her, curious about why she went up to him at recess and asked him to come play tomorrow afternoon. He was sort-of her friend, but she tended to talk more about her cousin and this little girl in the kindergarten classes.
And someone named 'Danny' that he noticed she never really elaborate about.
He was beyond his 'cootie' phase (he was already 9 and two months, thank you very much; waaay beyond that kid's stuff), so… if a girl asks you to come over to her house for a playdate… did that mean she liked him? Like, as a girlfriend? He'd scrunch his nose at the thought of all that grown-up stuff like kissing and holding hands he'd see in movies. Maybe a girlfriend without all that stuff? Ugh, this was complicated and he hoped it didn't get more-so.
"Hi, daddy!" Sally sang through the house as she walked in. A muffled reply came from a room further back as Sally started hanging up her cold-weather clothes on their hooks. Billy was a little intimidated by the foyer. It was very grand in the way you don't touch things in your grandma's house; expensive, elegant, dainty, and oh-so-shatterable. He edged away pre-emptively from a very-nice-looking grandfather clock ticking away against the far wall as Sally's dad came into view.
He felt like if he bent to look up at the man, he'd bend backwards completely and fall smack on his backside trying to follow the incredibly tall man's height. The red eyes and white hair kinda made him a lot scarier, but he had a warm, caring feeling to him as he came over.
"Hello, Billy. I understand Sally invited you for the afternoon?"
The boy nodded as his hostess added, "I wanted to show him the Attic!"
The man smiled indulgently, "Alright, Sally, now I know you'll be safe up there, okay? You know the things in the other room are locked away for a good reason, right?"
"I know, daddy," She replied obediently.
"Alright, I have some snacks ready when you two want them. Have fun, my little 'zombie princess'," He said, smiling.
Sally threw in a weird mix of a demented moan, a 'princess-y' pose, and the charming posture of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' before giggling up the stairs with a confused Billy in tow.
"U-Umm," He began.
"It's a joke, silly," She interrupted, "I'm not really a zombie."
He huffed, cheeks slightly red, "Yeah, o-obviously! I mean, you're not all… bloody and creepy and… stuff…"
She giggled, "It was my Halloween costume. I was a zombie princess. I was a different one last year, though. That one I had fake guts and one of those headbands with an arrow."
"… you're weird…"
Glare.
"N-not that that's a b-bad thing!" He quickly covered up. She 'hmphed' and continued up the stairs to a door at the very top of the townhouse.
Opening it led to an attic-space lined floor-to-ceiling with various vintage things, antiques, chests, furniture, and more all strewn somewhat haphazardly around the space with a large open area by a window. The room that was surprisingly clean, but still had the strong smell of musky, old things and mothballs.
"What is all this?" He asked, staring at his own reflection in a silver-tarnished mirror. It was like a treasure trove and the Goonies all rolled into one.
"It's the Attic," Sally explained, "Daddy likes collecting old stuff. Sometimes he just keeps it, sometimes he fixes it, but stuff in here is safe for me to play with if I want to. All the dangerous stuff daddy doesn't like me around is in the room next door." She pointed to another door in the corner. "He showed me inside once so I don't get curious and go on my own, but it's filled with swords and machines and stuff."
"Swords?" Billy gasped, looking at the door with new curiosity.
"Nope!" Sally was quick to grab his arm and he stifled a yelp as she pulled him along, "Daddy said not to, and that's that. Besides, I wanted to show you something else. It's way cooler!"
She pulled up a small boxy thing with a funny-looking crank on the side.
"Uh… Sally?"
"It's a TV!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"What?!" He gaped at the enormous thing. It was seriously fricking huge! Like the size of an entire microwave! "But all the grown-ups took them away! How'd you find this?"
"Daddy forgot it was here," She answered simply.
Billy's next comment was stopped as the handle on the TV slowly started turning on its own. "Uh… Sally, is it supposed to do that?"
The girl just shrugged and watched the convex glass screen embedded in the large boxy appliance. Slowly, like a flickering bulb, a staticky image came on.
"Sally, I really don't like this!" Billy said, starting to back away.
But the pink-loving girl either didn't hear or didn't care as the handle gained more momentum, filling the stuffy attic-space with the clickity sound as the built-in generator whirred to life.
The boy's heart grew more frantic. This didn't seem right! Something was wrong!
He had to go to Mr. Lindermann!
He turned abruptly and made a dash for the door when he felt something suddenly wrap around his ankles. Taking a tumble, he jammed his chin against the floor and twisted to see what caught him.
Sally, herself, had an iron grip on his calves, grinning emptily up at him while tightening her grip until his shins hurt.
"What's wrong?" She asked serenely, "Don't you want to stay?"
He started struggling more as the TV's static started becoming louder and more distinct.
"Play with me."
Pardon his language, but holy crap! This wasn't normal! Whatever this was, he had to get away! He read way too many Goosebumps books to know something freaky and supernatural was happening!
He needed an adult!
"Mr. L-" His brain became foggier as the crackling static started blurring into his ears, "Mr. Lind-"
The crackling gave way to jaunty tunes.
"Mr… Linderman…"
He called out, didn't he?
Was it loud enough?
Sally's dad would come.
Eventually.
In the meantime…
Pirate Percy stood beside Skin-Taker, the puppets dangling in a cheap set.
Skin-Taker's skull grinned at the audience beneath bulbous, unblinking eyes. His tattered, patchwork cloak clung around his neck.
"Why does your mouth move like that?" Pirate Percy asked the skeletal companion
Skin-Taker stared right through the screen.
He 'watched' his captive audience from the confines of the tiny television set. It was a relic from the 80s, but it still functioned and with it, he still had a foothold in Amity Park.
Oh, he'd been worried after his initial break-out production debut. So many eager viewers and the ratings went through the roof! He hadn't anticipated such a major overhaul! But then, parents had to get involved. Every. Time.
Cutting into his viewers.
Getting his shows cut from the air!
Interfering in his programs!
But he wasn't off the air, just yet! And he had quite the line-up planned.
"Sally," He whispered from inside the static. During his initial 'debut', he was so stretched out from mesmerizing so many kids, he could barely latch onto this one. Thank his luck this one had a TV set squirreled away somewhere. The girl in question scooted closer, not blocking the direct view the boy had with the screen. "You did good, kiddo. Really going places with this biz. And I gotta say, coming from me, that's some seriously high praise!"
The little girl preened slightly before he continued, "But I'm gonna need more, here. Ratings are everything, doll, and you gotta make it big if you wanna make it in showbiz, you know?"
She nodded, though he knew she didn't understand, he grinned, "That's my girl! I knew I had a smart one here! I told Larry the other day, 'this one's a keeper. This one's got a head on her shoulders. Ain't no fooling her'." He didn't talk to 'Larry', of course, but nobody ever seemed to ask who this 'Larry' guy was whenever he pulled that prior to his… unplanned hiatus from the air.
"Now comes the fun part. You ready? 'Cause I got a Series Premiere the likes of which showbiz has never seen before! One-Night-Only; Every-Night! Starring the magnificent Me, produced by the marvelous Me, and brought to you… humbly, of course… by the miraculous Me."
She giggled brainlessly as he grinned falsely. Piece of cake. "Now, here's what you're going to do…"
Samuel Lindermann walked up to the Attic space and poked his head in. "Hey, pumpkin, just checking in."
He smiled as he saw his daughter in her fairy princess costume she stowed away in her room sitting on a chair at the center of the open space while the boy she brought with had found a dusty pirate hat with a fake eyepatch and seemed to be preoccupied sailing the S.S. Luggage-Trunk through pirate-infested waters. Or was he the pirate?
Either way, both seemed happy and safe.
His daughter turned to him with a grin matched by the boy as well.
"Daddy! Can we invite more next time?!"
AN: Wow. I swear, these kids at the beginning were just supposed to be a one-off thing! A cool creepypasta cameo to have fun with. I have no idea why they evolved into major characters like this… and why do I enjoy putting them through situations like this!?
Still, kinda patting myself on the back for getting Sally's catchphrase in there.
And FYI, it's not variations on a theme. This isn't really 'possession' like BEN, more hypnosis and manipulation, I guess.
Sorry for the kind-of emotional roller-coaster with Ben, there. I wanted to write a little from his perspective and touch a little more on the aftermath of BEN and it spiraled out into this whole deal, but I couldn't take anything out. I liked how it turned up. I even felt it kind of came full-circle from the beginning to the end.
AN: fire safety when cooking! Never leave the oven unattended!
Yes, that was an MCU Spiderman reference… *holding in manly tears* Be strong, Crow… the sequels… j-just think of the sequels… *sniff*
Gonna be honest, I've kind of been on an MCU fanfiction binger this last few months after seeing… that movie. It's a little sad and depressing to reflect on… but I just can't stop myself… On the plus side, they did inspire me to get creative again and to get going with this chapter!
But I swear if I read one more not-so-subtle 'not feeling so good' quote snuck into an MCU fanfic, I will scream… and probably cry a little…
Also, major kudos to anyone who knows what SkinTaker says next!
DELETED SCENE OPPORTUNITY! I had this scene that I really liked but I can't figure a way to re-integrate it into the story anymore. It was originally set in the previous chapter with Danny, Ben, Sally, and Anna, but I decided against putting it in and now I feel like I accidentally wrote around it too much and now it's basically obsolete… but I just really liked how it turned out and thought it'd be a shame to leave in a folder forever to collect digital dust. Maybe in the future, I'll find a way to stick it back in and I'll delete this snippet of the AN, but odds are it'll remain a deleted scene. So… send a PM or comment with a review anytime if you want to read it!