Part 2 to Reverse Phantoms!

Legally, Danny Fenton is dead. In reality, he is hiding in Fenton works, only able to go out to fight ghosts with Vlad, Maddie and Jack. When Skulker invites him to go treasure hunting for the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, he can't resist the cure to his boredom.

Trigger warnings: Mild violence and blood, addiction.

Cravings

Vladdie Phantom crashed to the ground, denting the pavement. Dan Plasmius raced up behind him, his eyes shifting from red to blue. He sent a spray of ice towards the shadow of a ghost, trapping her flicking tail.

"May I?" Dan asked as Phantom got up from the ground.

"No," he snapped, instantly shutting down Dan's hopes. "We're trying to wean you off, remember?"

Dan groaned and rolled his eyes. "Just suck her in."

Vlad didn't even have the time to suck Spectra into his Fenton Thermos because another person did so first. Maddie and Jack were revealed to be standing behind the ghost. Maddie capped the Thermos as Jack wondered, "Are you two alright?"

Dan drifted the last few inches down to the ground. "We're fine," he said, straining to keep his voice cordial. He walked away back towards the Fenton RV, and all three adults watched after him.

Jack sighed, and his shoulders slumped as Maddie clipped the Thermos to her utility belt. "He still hates me, doesn't he?"

"In all honesty, I'm not sure," Vlad responded, walking up to him.

Maddie put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "There are so many things going on in his life right now. We only faked his death a few months ago. I think he misses Jerry and Marie," she explained.

"It took me a few years to forgive you, too," Vlad pointed out. "Just give him time."

Jack nodded, but it was clear by his lowered head and scrunched eyebrows that he was still upset.

Eventually, the group followed after Dan and joined him near the Fenton RV. "Do you two sense any more ghosts?" Maddie wondered.

Both Dan and Vlad shook their heads.

"Great, then we're done early!" Jack congratulated.

"That's good for me. Maybe I can catch a few minutes of sleep before I have to be at work," Vlad laughed.

The four of them piled into the RV, and once all the doors were closed, Jack started it up and pulled away. Dan and Vlad morphed back into human form in the back seat. Vlad took out his work phone, tapping on the screen as Dan stared at the Thermos clipped to his mother's belt. He could faintly sense the ghost inside. He wanted it. Spectra was an energy absorber like him, so her core could have the power of hundreds of other ghosts locked inside.

Vlad elbowed Dan gently in the side, getting his attention. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Dan nodded as they pulled into the driveway of Fenton Works. The group got out of the vehicle and headed into the house. Vlad dropped down onto the couch with a sigh and closed his eyes. "Hey, Son! Do you want a snack?" Jack asked, his voice enthusiastic.

Dan shook his head. "I'm tired."

Without another word, Dan floated off the floor and drifted up through the ceiling. Jack sighed again. "What can I do?" he muttered.

"I don't know," Maddie said. "I'm not sure if you should give him space or if you should try to get closer. I think we should ask Jazz."

"You're probably right."

Upstairs, Dan laid on his bed, his eyes closed in an attempt to sleep. He didn't know what to do. His desire for the power of other ghosts had grown detrimental, so it's good that he, Vlad, his mother, and Jack were weaning him off of it, but he had nothing to distract himself, now. He was legally dead, so he didn't have school, and no one trusted him to go into the Ghost Zone alone. Not even himself. He could escape by flying around for a few minutes, but it wasn't enough, and he couldn't sleep either. The nightmares that plagued him every time he closed his eyes kept him awake, and being awake wasn't any better. His chest was scarred in the shape of a Y starting at both shoulders and extending down through his stomach. Those agents tortured him for only a few days, but it felt like moths.

He automatically slipped his hand under his shirt, tracing the raised skin of the scar. It wasn't that his body was craving ghost energy, but his mind was. It was a distraction. His entire body would buzz for hours after he drained a ghost, and he didn't have to think about his father or how lonely he was. He just wanted a distraction from all the memories of scalpels and drills.

A knock rang on the door, and it opened a second later. "Hey, Dan," his mother whispered. She entered and looked down at him lying on his bed with his hand resting on his scar. "I'm sorry," she sighed.

"For what?" Dan wondered, his voice more harsh than he intended.

Maddie internally winced at her son's tone. "Just...in general. I'm sorry for everything you've been through."

Dan sighed and pulled his hand back out from under his shirt, pulling it down to cover his scar.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to join us for breakfast or lunch today," Maddie said, quickly changing the subject before the mood in this room dampened any further.

Dan shrugged. "I guess lunch. I'm not all that hungry right now," he sighed.

"Great! I'm making hot dogs." Maddie turned around and was about to walk out of the room when she stopped, remembering the real reason she came. She turned around to look at Dan, her hand on the doorknob. "Also, Jazz said that she wanted to call you today. She should call soon."

Dan nodded, and Maddie left the room, the door clicking closed behind her. It wasn't long after that Dan's phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket, and sure enough, it was Jazz. He swiped the screen to answer the call and put it to his ear. "Yeah, Jazz?"

"Hey, Dan," she said. "I was just wondering how you were doing?"

The conversation didn't last very long. Dan mostly gave one-word answers, hardly in the mood for talking. Eventually, Jazz seemed to give up on prying answers out of him and said, "I wish you could come to my graduation. I'm considering not even walking because you can't come."

"No, you should walk if you want to," Dan permissed. "And who says I can't come? I can always go invisibly."

"Yeah, but it's not the same," she sighed.

"Not to mention that you're the only one of us who can graduate college. Mom and Jack will be heartbroken if you didn't walk," Dan added.

"Why do you think you're still calling him 'Jack' instead of 'dad'?" she wondered.

Dan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. I still don't feel very close to him, I guess."

"I guess so," Jazz agreed. "Well, I should probably let you get some sleep since you were hunting ghosts all night."

"Thanks."

The line clicked, and Dan pulled the phone away from his ear, clicking the button on the side to deactivate the screen. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

Eventually, he naturally woke up and rubbed his eyes. Babbling voices reached his sensitive hearing, cluing him in on the fact that his mother was starting lunch.

Dan lazily made his way out of his room and ended up downstairs, finding Vlad, Jack, and his mother in the kitchen all gathered around the table with a panicked expression. His mother was holding something down on the table, her goggles on. "Keep holding it, Maddie!" Jack shouted. "I'll go get the Thermos!"

"What's going on?" Dan wondered, laughing slightly at the scene. It reminded him of Christmas dinners.

The thing Maddie was holding down managed to wriggle out of her grasp. "No!" she gasped.

The thing bounced forward and off of the table. Dan caught it before it hit the floor, sensing a faint ghostly power coming from it. The thing turned out to be a hot dog with angry red eyes and teeth. It was growling and biting at Dan's hand.

"Oh, good!" Jack exclaimed as he came back into the kitchen. "You caught it! Now give it here."

Dan glanced between the possessed hot dog and his father, a slight smirk developing on his lips.

Vlad pointed at him. "Dan. Don't," he ordered, though his voice was trembling with struggling laughter.

In one quick movement, Dan shoved the whole thing into his mouth and chewed it up, swallowing it. His core sparked like a dying fire that was blown on, but it didn't last long. His parents and Vlad all groaned. "Dan," they collectively berated, though smiles played on their lips.

Dan laughed lightly. "That was good. Got any more?"