A continuation of ImpudentMiscegenation's "Run," chapter 7 of "Bits and Pieces"
(put the titles together and get "Run Away and Back Again" eyyy)
I'm starting off with the last part of "Run," so people who've read it can kinda get back into the zone, but for those who haven't…
SPOILER ALERT BUT I MEAN IDK WHAT ELSE YOU EXPECTED
It's Angst Central. Guys in White did a thing and Danny unwillingly transforms in front of the entire population of Amity Park, and the GiW try to shoot him. He looks at everyone's faces to find fear (for him from his friends, of him from some others) and shock, and he flips out and flies back to Fentonworks long enough to grab a bag of stuff (clothes, fake ID, cash), leave a journal on his bed explaining everything, and take a photo of his family. He flies off into the distance, alters his appearance, and reintegrates with society as best he can. Flash forward half a decade and he's starving to death in London, England.
END OF SPOILERS BUT I MEAN IDK WHAT YOU PLAN ON DOING NOW
Point is, ＯＵＣＨ
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Away And Back Again
〜〜〜〜〜〜
A blonde boy was grinning ear-to-ear despite the pounding rain. His poncho took care of most of it anyway, keeping him warm and dry. His parents were a few paces ahead, discussing what they wanted to do for tomorrow, their last day before flying back to Michigan. The blonde nineteen year old went along his merry way until he heard a loud splash coming from an alleyway just to his left. Curious, he peered into the alley and, just against the red brick building laid a kid his age. He'd fallen to the side into a puddle. His ribs poked out dangerously from a much too pale chest. His messy mop of black hair clung to his pale, gaunt face with the muddy rain water. The teenager ventured closer with a look of puzzlement. He… He looked familiar. Almost like… But it couldn't be… He saw a crinkled, torn piece of paper in his hand. It was a… photograph? His eyes widened and he nearly choked on air as he realized the identity of the boy laying in the cold mud.
"Is that-? No… Fenton? Fenton?! O-Oh my god! I-I found-! Mom!"
〜〜〜〜〜〜
The blonde woman turned back at her son's frantic cry. "Dashiel?!"
Dash stood, transfixed, before a slumped-over young man, his hands slipping their hold on a scrap of paper. The paper fluttered up on the wind, where Dash's father plucked it fom the air before gasping. "Hope, look at this!"
Mrs. Baxter took the scrap from her husband's hands and gaped, her eyes flickering between the joyful boy in the photo and the broken one in front of her.
Dash turned back to his parents, his expression pleading as he took his fingers from the boy's neck. "We have to help him, he's still alive!"
Wordlessly, Hope took her jacket off, draping it around the boy's shoulders before pulling him up onto his feet, where he leaned against her like he was a piece of fine porcelain. Taking the hint, her husband picked him up, gasping as the boy flopped into him, while Dash took his umbrella and held it for them as they ran for the bus stop.
The frail young man in Mr. Baxter's arms had done so much for everyone back home, only for the government to hunt him like an animal and his classmates to treat him like dirt. It was about time someone paid him back for all the good things he'd done.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
He drifted in and out of consciousness.
Sometimes, he'd find himself back at home, as if the past however-many years had just been a terrible nightmare. Dad would still be happily going on about catching ghosts, Mom would be working on breakfast, and Jazz would be waiting for him outside so they could discreetly head to the Nasty Burger for an actual meal. Sam and Tucker would meet him at his locker, where they'd…they'd…
The thought drifted away.
Other times, he felt a torturous twist in his stomach, and there were muffled voices. He felt like he should know at least one of them, but at the same time…he didn't. He was a freak, after all, he should've been left to die in a natural way. Who thought prolonging his sorry excuse for a life would be productive? The Guys in White probably weren't the ones around him, otherwise there'd be pain elsewhere…probably.
He grimaced a little, and the voices acted up. Couldn't they tell he wanted to be left alone?
There was a mechanical whirring sound, accompanied by a faraway yelp, then something touched his lips. His mouth opened up the slightest bit, and something warm and slushy slid down his throat. If he could just remember what things tasted like, he'd know what it was he was being fed, but as it was, he was just thankful to be fed.
Once the slush stopped coming, he drifted away from the voices, feeling more content than he had in a long time.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Fenton's lips twitched up in a smile as Dash pulled the bowl of warm-cereal-and-milk-puree away.
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
Hope tried to smile reassuringly at her son's question. "Given time, and the proper resources to recover, he should be able to return to good health. He had to have had extraordinary healing to take on ghosts all night and walk into school the next morning without more than a few bruises, after all."
The tension in the room plummeted back down from the sky as Dash heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh man, you have no clue how glad I am to hear that."
"So…who wants to be deafened over the phone?" Mr. Baxter smiled warmly. "After the Incident…his family and friends were never quite the same. I wonder how they'll react."
"I'll do it, Dad." Dash volunteered without hesitating. "I think…I think it'd be best if they heard it from someone they knew, even if I wasn't always…"
Hope nodded in agreement. "Remember to be careful in how you word it, though. He's still 'wanted' by the government, and who knows how many bugs they planted in his family's house after you-know-what?" On the word 'wanted,' she clenched her fists, crumpling up the gallon of milk she'd emptied to make their hero's mush with.
Dash pulled out his phone and dialed Jazz. He'd never been able to bring himself to delete her contact info, and now he was glad he hadn't.
The phone rang for a while before someone picked up. A deep male voice answered, husky from disuse. "This is Jack Fenton. Jazz fell asleep downstairs again. Who's this?"
"Uh, this is Dash. Dash Baxter." He swallowed down his nerves and cut off Jack's reply. "Look, Mr. Fenton, I wouldn't be calling from London at this time of night if it wasn't important, heck, I wouldn't be calling at all."
"What is it, Dash?" Jack yawned.
"Well, it's…your house isn't bugged or anything, is it?" Dash started.
When Jack spoke next, it was with an intensity he hadn't had for years. "You have my attention. We clean the place of bugs with Tucker's tech savvy every week, just did it last night. They haven't had us bugged in years. Why, what happened?"
"Mr. Fenton." Dash started. "We found him. He was on the brink, but he's alive, and we've got him in our hotel room right now. He's not looking too hot, but…Mr. Fenton, he had an old photo of your family! We finally found him!"
There was silence on the other end before quiet sobbing came over the speaker. "Danny-boy, oh Danny-boy…"
Dash smiled as tears came to his own eyes.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
He came to.
As his memories started asserting themselves again, he frowned. Wasn't he supposed to be in the alley? The last thing he could remember was a faint sensastion of falling over in the rain, then everything became a muddy mess.
A thought occurred to him, his eyes shooting open in fear. If he was still here, wasn't he a full gh-
"Woah, dude, calm down, you're still weak from melnour…malnourik…lack of food!" A hand pushed down on his shoulder, forcing him back onto the cushion beneath him. He looked up and his breath caught.
Blond hair, blue eyes, large build…Dash Baxter, of all people, was sitting at his bedside.
"Mom, go get Dad, he's awake!"
Mrs. Baxter stuck her head in the room with a relieved look on her face. "Oh, thank heavens, I wasn't sure how long he could hold off the manager!"
Danny made to speak, only for his voice to crack from thirst mid-word. "Wh-"
"Dude, I found you in an alleyway when we were heading back from the Old Smoke!" Dash cut him off, running his hand through his hair. "Oh man, oh man oh man oh man, you have no idea how bad your parents got after you-know-what happened! Your mom hasn't picked up any of her ghost weapons, your dad-oh man, if he wore his old jumpsuit now 'it'd feel like a crime,' his words, oh man oh man…"
Danny blinked at those words, his face speaking louder than words ever could.
Dash noticed it, too. "Oh, yeah, we didn't believe it either! They kept looking for you for…gah, it must've been years before they finally dropped it, if you'd wanted to be found, you'd have let them, but…oh man…" Dash seemed just as overwhelmed as Danny felt.
He swallowed as much saliva as he could produce, then asked quietly, "…years?"
"Yeah, dude…it's been like, five years." Dash answered, a lump forming behind his Adam's apple. "You didn't know?"
A silent shake of his head, then… "Still…still love..?"
"They never stopped."
Dash watched as Danny's eyes widened, then the boy was leaning against him and crying. He awkwardly reached around and hugged his old punching bag as he shook with scratchy sobs.
Mrs. Baxter peeked in to find them like that, then with a warm smile, "Are you almost ready to go, Dash? We still have to figure out how we're going to get Danny home with us."
Dash looked up with a grin. "Don't worry, Mom. I made sure to pack before I came over here. I've got my phone on me with a power bank, everything else is in my bag."
"Alright." Mrs. Baxter picked up her son's duffle. "Your father's packing up the last of our things, then we'll stop for hot dogs and figure out what to do if we haven't by then." With that, she headed out of the room.
Danny pulled away, and tears of appreciation shone in his eyes.
Dash beamed. "Okay, so, you want some water before we get going?" At Danny's nod, he got up and snagged a waterbottle from the nearby table, handing it to him. "Don't drink it too fast, Dad says you need to give it time to absorb. Mom says it's kinda like a rainstorm in the desert."
Danny nodded, tipping the water back and letting it wash down the dryness in his mouth. After a few seconds, he reluctantly put the bottle down, swishing the mouthful around before swallowing it.
"Alright, come on, you, we're going for hot dogs." Dash reached an arm around Danny's back, pulling him up so he could lean on him as they walked. "I hear Herman ze German makes the best brats in the city, and those're like…hot dogs but better!"
Danny felt his mouth pull up into a grin, and for the first time in ages, he laughed.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Jazz stepped from the kitchen to find her parents hugging in the living room. She cleared her throat, then raised an eyebrow once she had their attention.
"Jazzy-pants…" Jack choked on his emotions.
Maddie sent him a teary look before turning back to their daughter. "…Jazz, Dash found him. They're gonna try and bring him back when they leave London today."
Jazz saw blackness, and when she came to again, her dad was stroking her hair on the couch. She grinned, tears rising as she stood up and threw her arms around him, laughing as a weight finally lifted from her shoulders.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
When the phone started ringing, Angela nearly dropped her book. After a few rings without her husband or son picking up, she sighed and lifted it to her ear. "Foley residence, Angela speaking."
"Mrs. Foley, you would not believe what just happened!"
Angela frowned. "Jasmine? What's going on over there? Is someone hurt? How on earth-"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Mrs. Foley, hang on!" Jazz's voice cut her off. "Is Tucker up? He'll definitely want to hear this!"
"I'm not sure…" Angela covered the microphone of the reciever before yelling down the hallway, "TUCKER, GET ON THE LINE! JAZZ WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" With a snicker, she dropped her hand. "And now I am."
There was a click in the line, then Tucker's voice filtered in. "Mooom, what's so important you gotta get me up at…uh…"
"Tucker, it's 11 in the morning, now hush." Angela laid back in her chair, reaching to take a sip of her coffee. "Jazz, what is it?"
"We found him."
Angela froze, and Tucker cautiously asked, "Like…we found him? We actually finally found him?! JAZZ, IF YOU'RE PULLING MY LEG HERE-"
"I promise, I'm not joking." Jazz explained. "I can't really say much right now, but he's finally coming home."
Angela found herself coughing as her drink scalded its way down her throat, barely noticing when Tucker sprinted from his room and out the door in nothing but his boxers and glasses, whooping all the while.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
"WHAT?!"
Sam's surprised screech drew her parents' attention. Not only was their daughter speaking above a mumble, she was yelling! Only one thing could have gotten her to raise her voice. They may not have known what to think of the boy, but if she cared that much about him, they would just deal with it.
"You're not kidding, are you? You're not kidding!"
Tucker shook his head, eyes wide and smiling. "We found him, Sam! We found him!"
And with that, she tackled him in a hug as they both cried in relief.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Valerie grunted as she answered the phone. "Valerie Gray, who are you?"
"Val…"
At the sound of Tucker's voice, she gulped. "Heya, Tuck. What's up?"
"We found him."
Her phone clattered to the floor as she finally crumbled, hugging her pillow to her chest as she sobbed into it.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Technus shot through the Ghost Zone at the speed of excitement, darting from lair to lair and spreading the news he'd overheard through his connection to technology. When social media accounts based in Amity Park started PMing each other with lightning-fast responses, he felt it necessary to check in on recent events.
Needless to say, in some small way, he was relieved the halfa was as alive as he should be, and it seemed every other ghost in the zone felt the same.
He flew into the Realm of the Far Frozen, calling out to any nearby patrols, "I, Technus, come in peace! I bring a great message!"
One of the Far Frozen's patrols came over a hill, and he darted up to them with a grin. "Hello! Bring me, Technus, to your leader so I can tell him the message!"
They begrudgingly conceded to his demand, if only because the disappearance of the Great One had brought in yet another era of boredom to their lands.
The moment Technus saw Frostbite, he zipped in front of him with a wide smile. "I, Technus, bring good news of great joy!" Under his breath, he muttered, "I think that's how the phrase goes…"
"What is it, Master of Technology?" Frostbite crossed his arms, glaring slightly at the smaller ghost.
"The Ghost Child has been found!" Technus's voice echoed off the walls of the suddenly-silent caves. "He is just as alive as he should be, and he is currently being transported to Amity Park to be reunited with his family! I found out from the townspeople's trendy and hip social media accounts-they're planning a 'Welcome Back' party to last all week once he returns! This is true, or I am not Technus, Master of all things Electronic and Beeping!"
Frostbite searched the technology ghost's face for a lie, but found none. He smiled mischieviously. "The Guys in White would have a field day over this…unless there was sudden ghost activity elsewhere in the human realm…"
Technus caught on with a grin. "It would be a real shame if they were stretched too thin to deal with unsubstantiated rumors of Phantom's return, wouldn't it?"
Frostbite smiled wider.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
The town came alive again with hushed whispers.
"…found…"
"…London…"
"…Baxter…"
"…Guys in White…"
"…Danny…"
"…starving…"
"…homeless…"
"…wanted…"
"…photo of his family…"
Plans were made, calls were dispatched, and in a dusty room, a bed was cleaned off and a pillow was fluffed.
Decoys were set up, a trip was made through the portal, help was found, and somewhere across the world, an emancipated body was washed.
For the first time in centuries, ghosts and humans worked together.
Action was finally returning to the small town on the West Coast, and even if it meant fooling the very government itself to return the boy to his family, everyone was on board.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Danny walked beside Dash as they headed to the Baxters' rental after dinner. Already, he could feel the twisting in his gut lessen, and there was a familiar comforting chill in his chest yet again.
"So, how are we gonna do this?" Mr. Baxter asked.
Danny frowned, looking down to his shoes. "If only the Guys in White weren't still after me, I could just board as myself. As it is, I don't have any fake IDs I could use to get by anymore, and I doubt there's room in your luggage for me."
Dash quirked an eyebrow at that. "Why not just do your ghost thing and sneak onto the plane? If you stay invisible, nobody'll see you."
"Not gonna work. I haven't been able to go ghost since I started seeing my ribs in detail." Danny shook his head at that. "Though I might be able to do it long enough to get into the cargo hold and ride in there, now I have some food in me."
They got into the car and pulled away, heading for the airport.
Mrs. Baxter nodded her assent. "That should work. Stick by us until we know what plane we'll be on, then head on over once we start boarding. Is there anything you'll want while you're in there? Snacks, books..?"
"If I could get a bunch of footlongs, I wouldn't turn it down, but since I kinda don't wanna leave proof I was there…maybe a double cheeseburger and fries?" Danny grinned sheepishly, his demeanor returning to what Dash remembered from high school.
"One stop at Leon, coming up!" Mr. Baxter declared, signalling a turn.
Danny looked out the window at the streets, the evening sunshine giving the city a whole different mood from the night before.
He smiled out at the world.
He was going home.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
"They actually found the dipstick?!"
Ember slung her guitar back over her shoulder as she took in what the Box Ghost had told her.
"They have! He was found without even a cozy box to call home!" He exclaimed, and for once, she wasn't inclined to shut him up. "He's going to be on a flight back to Amity Park, or my name is not the Box Ghost!"
"You know what, Boxy? I'm not even gonna kick your butt for waking me up." Ember smirked. "You said there's a plan to distract those Guys in White wackos so Babypop can get back home?"
The Box Ghost nodded. "Indeed there is, and they will tremble before my cardboard creations! I have gotten better at reshaping my boxes into things other than the perfect cubes-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm in." Ember reached back for her guitar and played a few experimental notes. "I'll teach them to drive my enemy into hiding…"
The Box Ghost started cackling as he flew off, yelling, "BEWARE, GUYS IN WHITE! THE GHOST ZONE IS COMING, OR I AM NOT THE BOX GHOST!"
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Elle idly kicked at a stone on the beach, knocking it into the ocean.
She hadn't seen her cousin in years, and unwelcome thoughts were crowding her mind.
Sometimes she wondered if…no. She refused to go down that path.
There was honking from the street as Sam pulled up in her smart car. "Elle! We've got news!"
"Wha-Sam!" Elle smiled, not quite reaching her eyes. "You're speaking loudly again!"
"Guess what happened last night?" Sam beamed.
Elle blinked. Sam was happy? Talking above a whisper? That could only mean…
"NO WAY!" Elle started bouncing up and down excitedly.
"YES WAY!" Sam shouted back, smile wide. "He's coming back from London with the Baxters, of all people!"
Elle transformed in the blink of an eye, black hair turning white and blue eyes becoming green, and shot into the air, whooping and loop-de-looping throughout the sky.
The people of the town looked up at their heroine and felt something inside them jump. The rumors were one thing, but seeing people celebrate because of them just drove it home.
Danny Fenton was coming back to Amity Park after a 5-year-long self-imposed exile.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
"Hark! The Princess wishes to speak!"
Dorathea nodded in thanks to the crier before looking out at her people. "People of Draconia, I have been given a joyful message! Sir Phantom has been found!"
The ghosts in the crowd began murmuring to each other in shock as she continued. "He is currently being transported to his hometown in the human realm, where Sir Foley and Lady Manson have begun the arrangements to have him welcomed back as the hero he is!
"But we, too, can do something for the halfa who saved us all." Dorathea explained over the crowd. "The leader of the Far Frozen, Frostbite, has hatched a plan to keep him safe as he returns home. The human government still sees him as an enemy, but they feel all our kind fits that same label. So, we ghosts shall provide a smokescreen for Sir Phantom's return!"
There was a rousing cheer from her people, and Dorathea smiled.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Skulker paced in his lair, waiting for a reply on the Ghost Child's friend's device. He'd long ago figured out how the geek kept hacking into his suit, so now he was using that link to confirm the latest gossip.
In the notes of a new calendar event, Skulker had sent his message.
'Friend of the Whelp, is it true? Is he returning?'
The infernal device dinged cheerfully, alerting him to a reply.
'Y u askin?'
Skulker couldn't help a laugh at the boy's expense, but he responded.
'Because his return will draw out the government-sanctioned "hunters," who will be the perfect way for me to hone my skills while the Whelp regains his strength and becomes a worthy opponent once more.'
'…so ur basically saying u wanna kick the giw's butts for makin danny run"
'Yes, but tell anyone and you will be given the honor of having your head mounted above my fireplace.'
'joy -_-" well, yeah, dannys comin home.'
Skulker chuckled to himself. "Let these so-called 'hunters' become the hunted…"
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Danny reached for his ghost half, finding it easier than he had in weeks, months, even. With a grin, he vanished from view, taking his bag of fast food and running to the plane.
Well, to be more precise, he walked faster than his usual shuffle, but it exhausted him to do even that much, so if anyone asked, he ran.
He jumped up and into the baggage area, using his flight for the split second he could, then flickered into tangibility as he landed atop-he peeked into the bag-someone's yarn stash.
Danny grinned, reaching for his burger and unwrapping it as he sat on his impromptu cushion. As the plane's engines revved up, he leaned back against the curved wall. He let the plane's vibrations work their magic, slipping into a light doze, idly nibbling his burger every now and then.
Just yesterday, he was starving to death in an alley in London, and now he was heading home, to a loving family and a better future.
If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Maddie looked between her jumpsuit and a t-shirt and shorts.
There came a knock at the door, and Maddie smiled, putting both outfits down. "Come in, Ellie."
Her adoptive daughter stepped into the bedroom, returning the smile. "Are you ready for today, Mom?"
"As ready as I can be." Maddie's smile quivered. "Oh, Elle, he must hate us for-"
"Nuh-uh, that's enough of that." Elle shushed her mother as she strode to the edge of the bed, sitting beside her. "Look, Mom, he never once held it against you. Heck, he thought you were gonna hold it against him! But now you both know…well, he always wanted you to accept him, and you just want to have him back, so I think we're in a win-win situation right now."
"I…I just…" Maddie choked back a sob. "…my poor baby's been out on the streets out of fear we wouldn't love him! My baby boy thought!"
"Oh, Mom…"
Elle wrapped her arms around her mom as they both started crying.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
He woke to the sound of baby chatter and the sensation of a cold breath of air.
Danny frowned as the sounds of the plane filtered into his ears.
"Yes, sweetheart, that's Danny Phantom, I told you he was still around! Can you say Danny for me?"
Danny knew that voice.
He blinked his eyes open, fighting sleep to see two ghosts sharing the storage compartment with him.
The first was an older woman with green skin and a pink hairnet, while the second was a blue baby in her arms.
Well then.
"Oh, are you awake, dearie?" The Lunch Lady smiled sweetly. "I was just bringing my little bundle of joy to see you, since we're all more-or-less under a truce right now. Say 'hi,' Box Lunch!"
The baby in her arms giggled, reaching for Danny.
Danny blinked, stuffing his fast food garbage into the bag without breaking eye contact with the ghosts. "Wait, so…there's a truce? It's not Christmas, is it?"
The Lunch Lady laughed. "Oh, gracious, no! It's just that, what with you having been found after so long, there's been a sort of ceasefire between ghosts and humans, besides those no-good Guys in White, anyway."
Danny looked from her, to her baby, to the fast food in his hand, then back to her. "I…don't know what to say…"
"Then don't say anything, sweetie. Care for some fish sticks?" The Lunch Lady shifted baby Box Lunch to one hip, using her freed-up hand to summon a box of steaming-hot fish sticks.
Danny mulled it over before figuring he couldn't get any worse. "Can I have some tater tots, too?"
At the Lunch Lady's lifted eyebrow, he sighed. "May I have some tater tots, too…please?"
"There we go!" She chuckled, leaving the fish sticks to float in the air as she created the tater tots.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Spectra caught sight of Kitty as she darted around their Girls' Meeting Rock, so she alighted behind her. "Mind telling me what's got you so excited? Johnny didn't propose, did he?"
Kitty turned around at that. "Psh, I wish! No, someone found Phantom!"
"He's still around?!" Spectra gaped. "No way!"
"No joke!" Kitty exclaimed. "Somebody found him starving the rest of the way to death in London, England, and now they're smuggling him back to Amity Park!"
Spectra's shadowy mouth turned up in a sly smirk. "I suppose there will be those government nutjobs looking for him…What do you say, Kitty? You up to distract a few agents with me?"
"If it'll get Phantom back where he belongs so he can get back to fighting us, you bet I am!" Kitty snickered. "I wanna beat him, but a starved boy isn't much of a challenge, you know."
"Oh, tell me about it." Spectra scoffed. "Anybody who goes after him before he's back to full capacity is…what is it he calls Plasmius? 'A seriously crazed-up fruit loop'? Oh, whatever."
"Wanna go scope out the Amity airport to see how many Guys in White we can screw over?" Kitty asked, straightening her jacket.
"Yes, let's." Spectra leapt from the rock, Kitty right behind her.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Vlad stroked his old cat as he leaned back in his mayoral chair. There was one more flight coming in from London tonight, and it would likely land sometime around 1:30 tomorrow morning.
That would have to be the flight Daniel was coming in on.
Vlad knew he wasn't privy to the finer details of Daniel's condition, and he found himself at peace with that. The boy was alive, and Vlad couldn't find it in himself to squash the rising fatherly affection in him.
As the duly-elected mayor of Amity Park, wasn't it his duty to keep his town his top priority?
If the Guys in White came to his office, well, they weren't exactly friends of his constituents, now were they?
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Danny looked up from playing with Box Lunch's pudgy baby fingers and beamed at the Lunch Lady. "Look…thanks, Lunch Lady. I haven't eaten anything that good in years."
"Your welcome, sweetie. When you're feeling better, we can BATTLE TO THE DEATH, but for now you need to get some muscle back on your bones!" The elder ghost smiled warmly at him, completely at odds with her sudden outburst in the middle of her sentence.
"Ah…well, thanks." Danny chuckled as Box Lunch grabbed his nose. "Hey, now, that's not for eating, you silly goose!"
Box Lunch giggled, babbling happily at him and waving her other hand in the air. She found his mouth and stuck her hand inside with a laugh. Danny snickered and pretended to eat it, with many exaggerated "om-nom-noms" between the baby's gleeful giggles.
The Lunch Lady perked up at something, then floated forward to take her baby back. "I believe the plane is just about here, dearie. We'll see you later on, and you'd best have some meat on your bones when we do!" She lifted Box Lunch from Danny before vanishing with a warm smile.
"Already there?" Danny gulped. He reached for his bag of fast food garbage, only to find it gone. He looked around the whole compartment, using a controlled ectoblast to light it, only to find all the food waste from the Lunch Lady gone as well. He dismissed the light with minimal struggle, internally thanking the chef ghost for whatever her food had been infused with.
Once the plane came to a complete stop, he turned invisible and intangible again, flying up through the plane and coming to rest on its top.
The lights of the airfield shimmered in a light fog, drowning out all but the brightest stars as the plane taxi-ed into position beside the boarding gate.
The skyline was only a bit different from what he could remember, but there in the distance, he saw the green and orange lights of Fentonworks, flickering ever so slightly.
He was back.
Danny took a shuddering breath before floating into the airport, where the Baxters were just walking in from the plane.
There was a man in a white suit overlooking the incoming travellers, and Danny felt something in his chest freeze up, but then a red-haired woman sauntered up to the agent. As she spoke to him, she looked straight at the invisible Danny with piercing green eyes and winked conspiratorially.
Danny gaped at Spectra. When the Lunch Lady had mentioned a truce, he just thought it was a mutual leave-me-alone, not a let's-help-the-halfa-kid! Apparently, he'd been wrong!
He grinned at her before swooping back and following behind the Baxters as they hurried out of the airport, with the Guy in White none the wiser.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Spectra watched the Halfa go with a mild smirk, then turned back to the agent she'd cornered. "Now, I bet you feel simply awful about not finding the ghost boy in nearly five years, don't you? Because let me tell you, you reek of frustration and misery. You're no teen, but you'll do."
She pressed a manicured finger to the man's forehead, drawing out his negativity and siphoning it into herself as he passed out beneath her.
The perks of making a Guy in White faint in Amity Park certainly included nice things. She could do it anywhere, and as long as she didn't drain a non-agent afterwards, nobody would care to help the man.
A tired little boy in his father's arms blew a raspberry at the white-suited man as they passed, drawing a cold chuckle from Spectra.
Kitty floated up beside her. "I call dibs on the next one, alright?"
Maybe she should do this more often.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Danny turned visible again once they got to the Baxters' car. "Look, Dash, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter, I can't thank you enough-"
Dash held up a finger to shush him. "Nuh-uh, Fenton. Scratch that, reverse it. We can't thank you enough. You saved our thankless butts for months only for the government to chase you away like a rabid dog. Getting you back home is the least we can do."
"My boy's got a point, Danny." Mr. Baxter nodded in agreement. "That journal you left behind cleared your name in everyone's eyes but those crazy Guys in White. We don't all know the details, like how you came to be, well, you, but everything pinned on you was proven wrong. You're a good kid, and it's about time you were treated like it."
Mrs. Baxter cupped Danny's face in her hands, making sure he kept eye contact with her when she spoke. "If your parents feel for you even a fraction of what I feel for my Dashy, you'd best be prepared to be hugged, cared for, and loved to kingdom come and back, and I'm telling you now, be very, very prepared."
Danny swallowed down a lump in his throat and nodded, overcome in emotion.
"Now you go back home, got it?" Mr. Baxter wagged a finger scoldingly, though the image was lost when he snickered. "It's after your bedtime!"
Danny laughingly saluted him before shooting up into the air, arcing over his hometown once more.
"We done good, Baxters." Hope smiled up at the receding flash of light. "We done good."
〜〜〜〜〜〜
Danny alighted on the front stair and took a deep breath to quell his nerves.
On the other side of this door were the two people he'd loved and feared in equal measure for over half a decade, and likely his sister and best friends, given the cars out front.
No big, right?
All he had to do was knock.
He lifted his fist, only to stop and shudder.
No! No backing out now! It's been five years since he'd seen them, he fell unconscious expecting death and made sure to be thinking of them when he did, he's not gonna come all this way to chicken out!
Before his momentary courage could fade, he knocked.
There were shuffling footsteps from the other side before someone opened the door.
Elle blinked sleepily at the man standing in front of her. His hair seemed like it'd been grown out, and his ribs could be seen through his jacket. He stood at a surprising 6 feet, and his eyes-
Elle saw those eyes whenever she caught her own reflection.
"DANNY!"
She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him before dragging him to the couch. "Mom, Dad, Jazz, Sam, Tuck, Val, WAKE UP!"
Sam groaned and rolled over, only to fall off the couch entirely. She pushed herself to her hands and knees before sending Elle a short-lived glare and standing up. "I'm not a morning person, Elle, what could…possibly…" Her eyes widened as she took in the disheveled young man in front of her. "…Danny? Is that really you?"
Danny waved with a sheepish grin. "Heheh…hey, Sam."
She bolted from the floor and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly even as his ribs poked her.
The commotion woke up Jazz, who sat up, bleary-eyed, and blinked slowly at the sight before her. "Little Brother?"
Danny just smiled over Sam's shoulder at her.
"Oh my gosh, DANNY!" With that, she threw off her blanket and ran to where Jack and Maddie were sleeping, shaking their shoulders. "Mom, Dad, WAKE UP ALREADY! HE'S HERE!"
Tucker and Valerie both snapped awake as Jazz clambered over them. Tuck stood first, grinning at the bony man in the middle of the room. "Long time no see, dude!"
Danny chuckled. "Hey, Tuck. I'd hug ya but…" He looked down to where Sam was still holding him tightly, as if once she let him go he'd disappear.
"Understandable." Tucker snickered.
Val bit her lip. Here he was, in all his homeless glory, and she couldn't help thinking it was partially her fault. Why couldn't she just say what she'd been practicing in her head ever since the news came?
"Oh, uh…hi, Val." Danny fidgeted as Sam finally let go. "Haven't…haven't seen you in-"
"I'm sorry."
"-a while…wait, what?" Danny blinked.
Val gulped and repeated herself. "Danny, I'm sorry. For going after you, for being yet another person to be afraid of…I'm sorry!" Her voice cracked on the last word as she screwed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.
There were a few slow footsteps before a nearly-skeletal pair of arms wrapped around her. "Val, I never held it against you. Heck, the only people I actually held it against were the Guys in White, and last I checked, you are neither a guy nor someone in white."
Val sniffled and leaned into him.
"Danny-boy…is it really you?"
The teens all turned to where the Fenton parents were sitting up, eyes wide.
Danny barely held in a gasp. While he knew he was underfed, his mom didn't seem to be faring much better underneath her nightgown, and his dad really wasn't in his old jumpsuit. Dash must've been right, but he'd neglected to mention how his father's face had become covered in a disheveled beard and mustache. Danny knew it took forever for him to grow it long enough to shave, but for it to be this big…
He swallowed his nerves and said those long-awaited words. "Hi Mom. Hi Dad."
There was silence for a moment, then Maddie teared up and made her way to Danny, hugging him to her chest as she bawled incomprehensibly. If she'd been intelligible, they would have heard her repeat "my baby boy" in an emotional daze.
Jack followed after, scooping both of them up in one of his infamous bear hugs as his chest shook with repressed sobs.
Danny's emotional state couldn't take any more, and so he started crying, too, hugging his mom and leaning into his dad, and for the first time in what felt like forever…
…he was home.
〜〜〜〜〜〜
i got angsted and tragedied so bad i had to write a happy conclusion or i was gonna scream, and then i kinda let it sit on my phone for a while
now, i know Christmas isn't the only winter holiday people celebrate, but i celebrate it so it's going up today. merry Christmas, happy holidays, and have a wonderful new year! :D