This thing just keeps getting longer and longer. I have vague ideas for future chapters (and a more defined plan for the next one) but the characters keep derailing my plans, so idk how long it'll be. As I've said before, this is just a story that I write whenever I feel like it, as opposed to Disinterred. That, and the chapters are longer than Disinterred's.

Also normally I stick to a specific POV per scene, but I kind of... switched from Jack to Maddie in the big scene? And idk how I feel about it, so I would appreciate hearing what you guys think.

Danny threw another glance at the clock. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl, even more so than what was normal for Lancer's English class. He shoved his leg against his backpack, which was resting on the floor next to his desk. The rounded shape of the Thermos met him in what should be a comforting feeling.

It wasn't. Not after the events of earlier that day, during lunch.

There had been a ghost attack. Of course there had been a ghost attack. Not a big one, nothing he couldn't handle himself.

But Cujo had mistaken the Thermos for a toy. He had lunged for it, and before Danny knew it, Cujo's teeth sunk into the metal of the Thermos.

He immediately distracted the ghost dog, but it had been too late. His fangs had punctured the metal of the Thermos, and an arch between the two punctures showed where the rest of his teeth had met the cylinder's surface as well.

There was nothing he could do to fix it. He had send off Cujo, thanking his luck that at least the dog would be easy to get rid of without any kind of catching technology. But if another ghost showed up… He would be nigh powerless. And while his parents had created different ghost catching devices, none of them were as easy to carry or hide as the Fenton Thermos.

He had already decided that he should pay his parents another visit as Phantom. They didn't know Fenton carried a Thermos, after all. Didn't know that he carried ghost-hunting equipment at all.

Besides… They had asked him to come by without injuries.

Danny just hoped that they had another Thermos. Or maybe they could fix this one, but he highly doubted it. And… This Thermos had been through a lot. Maybe he had just been tempting fate by not looking for a replacement earlier.

The bell rung, snapping Danny out of his thoughts. He swung his backpack on, the cylindrical shape of the Thermos pressing against his back. One of the sharp edges of the punctures dug into his flesh. A constant reminder of how badly it needed to be replaced.

Like he could've forgotten.

He quickly swept by his locker, glancing at the sticky note stuck on the inside of the door. The handwriting was neat and loopy, and anyone who knew him could tell it wasn't his. They usually thought it was Jazz'. Danny was fine with letting them think that.

'overheard mr. falluca mention a pop quiz tomorrow – check chapter 8' the note said. Danny grinned, gratefully. They might not have gotten along well at the start, but Sidney was a good friend to have.

Besides, who else could pass him notes for class by just leaving them in his locker? Someone had to make sure he could keep up with class, with how often he had to leave to fight ghosts. And while Sam and Tucker were fine with playing along at first…

Well, Danny was sure that he would've gotten tired of his secrecy if he had been them, too.

They were still his friends, of course. But he just didn't have much time to hang out with them anymore. And he couldn't tell them the truth. Besides the obvious concern of what they might think… The danger that it would put them in was simply too great. It would make them a target for his enemies.

Besides, Sam would never allow herself to stand by if he was going out to fight ghosts. She would insist on fighting by his side, never mind how dangerous the ghosts were. She would get torn apart.

And Danny couldn't allow that. So he let them think whatever it was that they thought about him. It was safer that way.

After making sure that his math textbook was in his bag, Danny made his way to an empty bathroom. It had been attacked a few time when ghosts first started showing up, leading to rumors of it being haunted. After some encouragement, Sidney had gladly taken to reinforcing those rumors. It had become a perfect spot for Danny to 'go ghost', since no one ever entered it.

Moments after Danny walked in, Sidney flickered into visibility. Danny quirked an eyebrow at him. Usually if Sidney left a note, he wasn't planning on showing up. "Hey Sid, what's up?"

"Found your dog," the boy said with a frown. He lifted up his leg to show Cujo hanging off of it, thankfully in his puppy form. The dog was wagging his tail like crazy.

"Oh, uh. Oops?" Danny grimaced, grabbing Cujo. The dog immediately let go, tongue lolling from his mouth as he panted. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No," Sidney confirmed with a comforting tone. He brushed off his pant leg. "And he was so distracted by me that he didn't hurt anyone else either."

"That's good." Danny looked at the wriggling dog in his hands. He should bring Cujo back to the Ghost Zone. He was already going to FentonWorks as Phantom anyway. But… the dog had an awful tendency to cause trouble wherever he went, and Danny didn't need his feeble truce with his parents to be ruined.

He shot a doubtful look at Sidney. "Hey, Sid. Could you… keep an eye on Cujo for the rest of the day? I need to get a new Thermos from my parents, and I can't take him with me."

"I guess." Sidney sounded as uncertain as Danny felt. He crouched next to the dog, reaching out with his hand. Cujo squinted at the boy ghost, apparently trying to gauge if he was an enemy or not.

Danny set the dog on the ground, keeping a hand on Cujo's back. Then he grabbed Sidney by the wrist, gently putting his hand on Cujo's forehead. "Cujo, this is Sidney. He's a friend, okay?" Then he released Sidney again.

The dog looked unsure, glancing at Danny and then Sidney. Finally he started wagging his tail again, allowing Sidney to pet him.

Danny sighed in relief. That was one problem taken care of, at least.

Sidney grabbed the dog, cradling Cujo in his arms. "Well buster, I guess I'm taking care of you now." Then he stood up, nodding towards Danny. "See you tomorrow."

"Thanks Sid," Danny said as he started rifling through his backpack.

"Don't mention it." And then the ghosts were gone, leaving Danny alone in the bathroom. He was glad that Cujo had accepted Sidney. If the dog showed up again, he might be coaxed into playing with Sidney instead of him.

Besides, if Valerie saw those two hanging out, she might finally understand that Cujo wasn't his dog. Or she would think that Sidney was dog-sitting Cujo for him. Which he was, technically.

Danny's fingers met the sharp edge of the Thermos, and he pulled them away with a hiss. That's what I get for getting distracted, he reprimanded himself mentally.

He pulled out the Thermos, laying it on the floor next to him. Then he closed his backpack again, swinging it on his back. Once he shifted into Phantom, the backpack would be inaccessible. Would cease to exist until he became human again.

In a flash of light he morphed into his ghost form. Grabbed the Thermos, careful not to cut himself on it. And then he shot off towards FentonWorks, making sure to stay invisible.

The doorbell rang, and Jack automatically looked away from the experiment he and Maddie had been working on.

"Do you think that that's…?" he didn't finish his question, but he knew his wife would know anyway.

"Maybe," she said, pulling her goggles off. "It has been a few weeks since he last came by."

"I hope he hasn't gotten himself injured again." Jack frowned at the partially dismantled invention in front of him.

The two of them had been working on the Booo-merang, hoping to reassemble it to pick up on an actual ghost. In fact, they were hoping to tweak it into picking up Phantom specifically. The first time he had come to them for help, he had barely made it to their house. As much as they disliked it, there was a decent chance of Phantom getting hurt worse. And if he disappeared… There was no one who would look for him. No one who would miss him, not really.

Except them.

So they had to be ready to help. In any way they could. From tweaking their inventions to ignore Phantom's ecto-signature, to building ones specifically intended to help him… Whatever they could do, they would.

"He probably has," Maddie said with a sigh. "We better go check."

"Yeah." The Booo-merang could wait. If Phantom was injured, he was more urgent.

The two of them raced up the stairs, swinging open the front door. No one was there, but Jack stepped aside with a small grin on his face anyway.

"Thanks," said the empty space, voice surprisingly light and airy. He didn't sound like he was hurt, but he might be putting up a front.

They entered the living room, and Phantom became visible. His jumpsuit was shiny and pristine, hair disheveled but undirtied. His glow was bright and didn't flicker. He seemed… healthy. As much as a ghost could be, that is.

"Not injured for once?" Maddie queried, cocking an eyebrow at the ghost.

"You did ask for me to come by without needing stitches," Phantom quipped back. Then he deflated a little, nervously playing with something in his hand. It seemed metallic, reflecting the light of Phantom's glow. But Jack couldn't see it well enough to tell what it was. "I, uh. Could use your help, though."

"Of course!" he boomed. "What do you need us to do?"

Phantom hesitated for a moment. Then he held out his hand, showing the metal object he had been playing with.

It was a Fenton Thermos – or used to be one, at least. The cylinder had been badly dented and even punctured in two places. Jack couldn't even imagine the power needed to achieve such a thing.

More importantly, however… How did Phantom get a Fenton Thermos?

There had been stories, descriptions of Phantom using a tool which certainly sounded similar to their Thermoses… but this was the first time that Jack had seen it with his own eyes. And it was, without doubt, a Thermos just like theirs.

"How did you get that?" he asked, cautious. People had been describing Phantom with this tool for a long time. Way before they ever got a truce. Phantom couldn't have gotten it back then, not unless… "Did you steal that?"

"What? No!" The ghost seemed offended by the suggestion, pulling the Thermos against his chest again.

"Then how did you get it?" Maddie repeated the question, frowning at the ghost. She also seemed put-off by the suggestion that Phantom might not have been as good as they thought.

"I- Jack threw it at me!" the ghost exclaimed, throwing out his hands.

"I did?" He didn't remember doing so… but it also sounded strange enough that he couldn't imagine a ghost coming up with it as an excuse.

And apparently Maddie thought the same, because she now let up her frown to quirk an eyebrow at Phantom. "When? And why?"

The ghost huffed, crossing his arms in a somewhat disgruntled fashion. "How am I supposed to know why he threw it? As for when, it was during my first fight to protect Amity Park. Against the Lunch Lady ghost."

Phantom turned to look Jack straight in the eye. "He hit me right in the face, and he wasn't even aiming for me!"

That… did sound like something that he would do. But he couldn't imagine just throwing out one of his ghost hunting inventions, not while there were ghosts running rampant! Unless…

"Hey Mads… Wasn't that when Jazz convinced us to give up on ghost hunting?"

Phantom blinked, apparently surprised by this revelation. "You… almost gave up on ghost hunting? I… really can't imagine that. What changed your mind?"

"You, actually," Maddie added, now also remembering that day. "You phased by and showed us that ghosts really do exist."

"Huh," Phantom said, playing with the Thermos in his hands again. "That must've been right after I caught the Thermos."

"And that's what you were here for, then." Jack held out his hand.

"Uh, yeah." Phantom handed over the Thermos. "I was hoping you could fix it? Or, uh." He glanced over at the device with a grimace. "Or replace it, if you have something else I can use."

Jack shook his head at the state of the ghost-catching gadget and handed it over to his wife. There was no saving it. But maybe his wife could see something he didn't. "We got plenty of capture and containment devices."

"But something small, like the Thermos?" Phantom vaguely gestured at himself. "I can't exactly go about dragging a vacuum with me, can I?"

"Yeah," Jack agreed, before frowning. "Wait a minute, how do you know about the Fenton Weasel?"

"Honey, you caught Phantom in that. Remember?" Maddie looked up from the busted Thermos and also shook her head in the negative. "And there's no fixing this, you'll need something else. We'll have to check the Weapons Vault if we have another Thermos for you."

Jack, meanwhile, frowned in thought. He had captured the ghost kid before? "When was that?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the catching thing?" Phantom scratched his cheek, thinking for a minute. "That was… Oh, that was during that bounty thing. You let me go so we could work together to save your family. Remember?"

"Oh yeah." That was when all those other ghost hunters came to Amity, just to catch Phantom! And then the Wisconsin Ghost had tried to steal their Portal! That dastardly specter!

"You never told me you two worked together." Maddie's tone was accusing, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. She seemed… amused.

"Wasn't much working together," Jack said with a shrug. "He phased me out of the cage the Wisconsin Ghost trapped me in and he flew me most of the way to FentonWorks. And then the ghost hunters showed up so he left me to fight the Wisconsin Ghost alone."

Phantom rolled his eyes, crossing his arms again. "His name is Plasmius. And I did come to help you in the lab, but you didn't need it."

"You did?" Jack didn't remember seeing the ghost… Oh, duh. "You were invisible?"

"Yeah," Phantom confirmed with a nod. "And you kicked Plasmius' ass. It was fantastic." His grin was wide and clearly heart-felt.

"Language," Maddie chastised. Then she stopped and blinked, apparently surprised by her automatic reaction.

Phantom, in turn, stuck out his tongue. The incredibly childish gesture was ruined only by the fact that his tongue was as green as the rest of his ectoplasmic flesh.

Jack cleared his throat, catching the attention of both his wife and the specter. Then he stuck a thumb in the general direction of the Weapons Vault. "Let's go check the Vault, shall we?"

His wife nodded and got up. The two of them made it all the way to the hallway before they realized that Phantom wasn't following them.

Maddie turned to look over her shoulder at the ghost. "Are you coming too?"

Phantom blinked, apparently surprised by the question. "You're letting me, a ghost, look at your Vault of ghost hunting equipment?"

"We're letting a fellow ghost hunter look at our ghost hunting equipment, yes." Jack shrugged at him. "Unless you don't want to see it, of course."

"No, no, I would love to." The ghost drifted towards them, remaining roughly at eye level. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jack replied as he started moving towards the Vault again. "You won't be able to access it, since the lock runs off of DNA and you don't have any. But if you come to us we can open it for you, or grab you whatever you're looking for."

"I mean, it's not like I need ghost hunting equipment very often." Phantom floated by on his side, keeping pace with the two humans. "Besides something to catch them in, of course."

"We don't just make weapons, you know," Maddie added, looking over her shoulder at him. "I'm sure that a ghost scanner of sorts could come in handy." Then she frowned. "Although you seem to be perfectly capable of finding them already."

"Yeah." Phantom shrugged. "I kind of have one built in. One of my first abilities, and my first non-standard one, was the ability to sense other ghosts. I've honed it so I can sense direction and strength, too."

"Now that is a convenient power for a ghost hunter to have," Jack exclaimed with a grin. "Can you imagine, Mads? Not even needing a ghost scanner? Just knowing when a ghost is nearby?"

"I can even identify some ghosts by their ecto-signatures," Phantom proudly added, now also grinning. "Mostly the ones that show up a lot, though. And all my allies, of course."

They stopped in front of the large metal door that led to the Vault. While Maddie went to unlock it, Jack turned back to the ghost. "We're working on something similar for our gear, too. Getting it to exclude your ecto-signature."

"Really?" Phantom asked, smile brightening. "That's- That means so much to me."

The mechanism of the Vault unlocked with a beep and a metallic clunk. Maddie withdrew her hand and pulled her glove back on, simultaneously turning to look at Phantom. "Well, we said that we were going to help you. Making sure our equipment doesn't target you is a good start, no?"

Phantom huffed, blowing a few stray hairs out of his face as he did so. "You would think that, but Red never bothered to do so. Then again, we usually go for temporary truces, not… this."

"You've worked with the Red Huntress before?" Maddie questioned as she opened the Vault door. "Do you know who she is, then?"

"A couple times," Phantom admitted with a shrug, drifting towards the Vault as it opened. "And yeah, but I'm not telling anyone without her permission. She wears a mask for a reason, you know?"

"You're not worried that she's gonna get hurt?" Maddie stepped aside to let Jack enter first, quirking an eyebrow at the ghost.

"Of course I am!" he answered, sounding offended. "I worry every time I see her out there hunting ghosts! I worry about everyone in this damn city!" Then his shoulders slumped, a somewhat defeated look coming over him. "But she doesn't trust me to keep Amity safe. And I can't stop her from going out." He sighed heavily. "And she has someone looking out for her. If she ever gets in too deep… Gets hurt… He'll take care of her."

"And you have us." Maddie gripped his shoulder comfortingly, before she started guiding him towards the Vault. "And we'll take care of her too, if you want."

"Thanks." Phantom floated into the Vault, then glanced around at the shelves of equipment. "Wow, this is a lot of stuff."

"And you haven't even seen the stuff in the lab and the shed yet!" Jack exclaimed, appearing from deeper in the Vault. In his arms were several pieces of ghost hunting equipment – none of them weapons. "Here, I gathered some of the things that might be helpful to you."

Phantom opened his mouth to reply, but then Jack dumped all of the gear into the arms of the ghost. He struggled to keep a hold of all of it, and Maddie watched as a glass contained of Ecto-Dejecto toppled off-

and stopped right before it hit the floor. A green aura lit around it, and it slowly floated back to the stack of things Phantom was holding.

She cocked a questioning eyebrow at the ghost. "Since when do you have telekinesis?"

"A couple of months," the ghost admitted, attempting to shift the stuff he was holding to get a better grip on it. "But I don't use it much in combat. Takes too much focus." The vial settled on the stack, this time without falling off. "I'm still working on it. I don't know how useful it would be in a fight, but it could be useful to keep the citizens safe from debris and such."

"It could be useful to grab projectiles before they hit you," Maddie offered, glancing over to figure out where her husband had gone. "Things like nets and such."

Phantom blinked, then groaned. He looked like he would've slapped himself in the face if his hands weren't already occupied. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

Maddie laughed at his forlorn expression. "Glad that I was able to help." Then she eyed the teetering heap of equipment the ghost was holding. "You can bring that downstairs if you want, see if there's anything that catches your attention. I'll check for a Thermos or something similar in the meantime."

"Uh, alright." Phantom nodded before turning transparent. The items he was holding followed soon after.

"See you downstairs," he said with a grin before falling through the floor. Maddie blinked for a moment at the display of his ghostly abilities. She hadn't had much opportunity to observe him using his powers yet, so seeing him use them so casually… It was a little startling.

Not bad. Just… unexpected.

Maddie came down not much later to find Phantom in the kitchen. The stack of gear that Jack had handed him laid on the table, the ghost already picking through it. Most of the gadgets were put to the side, clearly discarded.

She cleared her throat to catch his attention. "Sorry Phantom, I'm afraid that we don't have a Thermos for you."

"Oh," he said, disappointed. "Nothing else I could use, either?"

"No, sorry." She sat down on one of the free chairs, looking over the pile of inventions. "We can build you a new one, though. If you come back this weekend we should have it done for you."

"Really?" He perked up, eyes bright. "I'll be sure to drop in, then."

Maddie smiled at him, then gestured over to the gadgets he had been sorting through. "No interest in most of these?"

"Nah." He shrugged. "Most of em I have no need for, or they're things I can already do on my own. These three could be useful, though." He picked up three items he had put aside, showing them to her.

One was the vial of Ecto-Dejecto he had almost dropped earlier. The others were a broken Fenton Ghost Fisher and some Fenton Phones.

Maddie took the snapped fishing rod from his hands. "Why do you want this? It's broken."

"I'm more interested in the line," he confessed. "It could be useful to tie up enemy ghosts, if I can't quite catch them in my Thermos, or if I need to talk with them."

She hummed, handing him the fishing rod back. "That's fair. What about the Ecto-Dejecto and the Fenton Phones? You are aware of what the Ecto-Dejecto is supposed to do, right?"

"Well, yeah." He grinned, a little cockily. "But its current iteration strengthens ghosts, right? It could be useful if I ever get in a really tight spot."

How did he know that? He was right, of course, but how did a ghost know about this recent invention?

"Yes it does… But Phantom, how do you know about that?"

His eyes widened, like he realized that he had accidentally told her something she wasn't supposed to know. The bright green irises cast shaky light all over the kitchen.

"I, uh." He started fidgeting with the vial in his hand. "Um. I might've… occasionally spied on you two in the lab. Because it was easier to avoid getting hurt if I knew what kind of inventions you had."

Maddie eyed him suspiciously. She wasn't sure if he was telling the truth, but if he was… Well, as much as she hated the idea of a ghost spying on her, his reasoning was understandable.

She sighed. "I suppose that that's fair. We did target you with experimental inventions a lot."

"Heheh, yeah." He smiled somewhat sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in a motion that reminded her of her son.

She wondered, suddenly, what her kids thought of Phantom. Because while she and Jack were now on his side, they hadn't talked about their truce with their children. And while most teenagers seemed to side with Phantom… Her kids were also raised by strongly anti-ghost parents.

They might hate Phantom, not knowing that their parents supported the ghost.

Phantom's face fell, and he dropped his hand too. He looked vaguely worried. "Is something… wrong?"

Maddie realized that she must've been frowning at him. She waved off his concerns. "Oh no, sorry Phantom. I was just thinking…" She eyed the ghost speculatively. "Are you… familiar with my kids?"

"Depends on your definition of 'familiar'." He shrugged. "I know a lot of kids that go to Casper High by name, especially those that get caught up in ghost attacks. But I don't really know any of them."

Then he grimaced suddenly. "Except Paulina Sanchez. I'm a little too familiar with her."

Maddie quirked an eyebrow at him. "How so?"

"Well, I'm sure that she doesn't think so, but, uh." He flushed bright green. "She kind of… has a shrine dedicated to me in her locker. I saved her a couple times and now she's got a huge crush on me."

She snorted at his confession. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it wasn't this. "Reminding you of those worshiping ghosts of yours?" she teased Phantom.

"At least they don't have a crush on me," he replied, rolling his eyes. "And even if they did, at least they're also ghosts. There's something weird about a living girl having a crush on a ghost."

And he did look very uncomfortable. Maddie felt for him. It couldn't be easy, to be a ghost and so aware of the difference between you and the living. Especially since he was still so similar to them.

"Well, if she ever gets a little too persistent," she laid her hand on his shoulder, "just tell us. Jack and I will play the role of overprotective parents if need be."

Phantom huffed out a laugh, his glow brightening in joy. "Thanks, I'll… keep that in mind. But, uh. If you can not give her ghost hunting equipment if she asks for it, I would appreciate that. Last thing I need is for her to be able to trap me." His eyes sparkled with joy, making it clear that he was just joking around.

"I'll make sure," Maddie promised him, lifting her hand off of his shoulder to ruffle his hair instead.

She was about to say more, but Phantom shivered suddenly. His aura flickered brighter for a moment, and a puff of blue vapor trailed out of his mouth.

The ghost groaned, floating out of his chair. "Well, duty calls."

"Was that your ghost sense, then?" She pushed herself out of the chair as well, reaching for one of the ecto-guns stored in the kitchen.

"Yup," he confirmed, stuffing the Ecto-Dejecto and the fishing line into bags on his belt. He eyed the Fenton Phones for a moment, stuffing two in another pocket but leaving the rest.

Maddie holstered a gun and reached for one of the other pairs of Fenton Phones. Phantom caught her hand, however.

"You don't have to help," he said with a shrug. "It's just the Box Ghost, no one threatening."

"Oh, that one." Maddie relaxed her posture a little, pulling her hand away from the earphones again. "Yes, I'm sure you can handle him alone."

Phantom nodded, floating further towards the door. "Yeah. It'll be a little harder without a Thermos, but it should be doable enough. I'll see you and Jack this weekend, then."

"Yeah. Bye Phantom, good luck." She smiled and waved him goodbye.

"Thanks!" he called back as he left.

And yes despite this being set in S3, Dani doesn't exist. I've gone through the canon stuff to figure out how it was different for this AU (especially things like Control Freaks) and I've decided that Vlad hasn't gone that crazy. He's more hopeful about his ability to recruit Danny in this AU, since Danny has NO friends/family in the know.