The melody the kid sang sounded vaguely familiar, a warm shoulder leaning against his side more comforting than he'd like to admit.

Danny breathed carefully, deliberately, keeping pace with the boy's breathing as he pondered over the barrier ability. A Lair within a Lair. He wouldn't have believed it possible, but he supposed this place might function more like a ghost's kingdom… like Dora's, or the Far Frozen. A little world unto itself.

That meant he was actually dealing with a ghost, and the half-rotted creatures that hunted them weren't necessarily what had created it. After all, whatever had created the barriers should have been able to break through an inexperienced human's claim in its own domain.

Danny tapped his thumb on his knee, flicking a finger at a little spore that floated too close. It tumbled away on the tiny eddy he'd created, and drifted slowly up toward the ceiling. He couldn't hear any rustling of monsters outside, and the faint whispers that slid through public places laid silent in here.

The quiet felt peaceful, for once.

Or, it would have, if not for the prickle along the back of his neck whenever the girl - Barb, was it? - looked at him. Something about her expression just unnerved him. He wasn't entirely sure why, and she certainly acted too skittish to be a danger, but the little red flag still fluttered whenever their eyes met.

She'd been able to push him out, after all. It took some pretty incredible strength of willpower to be able to realize and reject a possession. He wished he could admire her for it, instead of biting back a defensive bristle.

But- that wasn't fair, was it? She'd been half eaten, dragged into this place, and flown around on her deathbed before being possessed. It was no surprise she'd be irate. No surpise that she'd find him unsettling, inhuman. It had taken a while for the boy to warm up to him. He'd have to be patient.

Danny perked up when the boy pushed off him, and he watched tentative footsteps wander back toward the kitchen, pausing for a moment.

"I'm going to make some food, do you want any?"

Barb lifted her head from the wall and nodded, starting to turn like she wanted to stand up. The boy continued into the kitchen, started to bang around to find something useful to eat.

Danny… didn't actually realize he should help until she was already up on her knees, braced awkwardly on the wall and shivering. He glided up to his feet and into her range of view, trying not to flinch when she did.

"Need any help?" He offered, and she stared past his palm with a clearly suspicious frown. However, she still took his hand, so he'd count that as a win.

He slung his shoulder under her armpit, arm wrapping around her waist and carefully grabbing high on her ribs. He remembered the gouge that had been taken out, lower down. He didn't want to test that.

Barb hissed a curse into his hair, nails ripping a bit of curling wallpaper as she struggled to get her legs under her. He floated them up to an appropriate height, but her choked breaths and twitching muscles weren't coordinated so much as just happening with determination. Hoping he wasn't overstepping any boundaries, Danny hooked his ankle around her shin, helping to straighten the knee and held very still when her breath hitched. How many muscles had been torn out? How many had he replaced? He wasn't a doctor, he didn't…

"Alright?" He murmured, guilt curling like a snake. Her shoulders tensed into an angry knot, and "Fine." was growled out behind clenched teeth

Her other leg finally dragged into place, and Danny tried lowering just a little, only for the joints to buckle. Barb flinched into a curved spine and clawing hands, and Danny quickly -carefully! - brought her back to the ground.

"Sorry! Sorry."

He obeyed the quick way she pulled away from his hold, letting her go and drifting back a bit. She grabbed her own legs through the sweatpants, pulling them into a comfortable position. He wondered if her skin was supposed to be quite that bloodless.

"You're floating."

"Hm?" Danny looked down, blinked in surprise. So he was. Now that his energy was starting to come back, it felt a bit more natural.

"I can stop if you want."

Barb just frowned at him, and didn't answer.

The boy cried from across the house; "I found some hairspray!" A quick spitting hiss followed it, and a small cheer. Danny continued to watch Barb rearrange her limbs into a sitting position, tension slowly relaxing from his arms again. For a moment - just a split second, he felt a jolt of alarm from touching her. It was gone now, faded back to just a general unease, but hard to ignore regardless. Brown eyes flicked up to meet his, and glanced away.

He opened his mouth to say something - he wasn't sure what - but the boy's quick footsteps bounced into the room, and he held an aerosol can aloft with triumph.

"Home-Made fireball!"

Danny let himself be distracted, smiling indulgently and congratulating on the find. Barb was quick to slip on a more pleasant expression, pretending she was fine.

Were they all pretending?

"How'd you find hairspray in the kitchen?" Barb asked hollowly.

"Oh, I got a bit distracted, sorry. If you're hungry we can make something-"

"Ah, no, it's fine." She quickly looked down at her lap, and the empty expression eased away.

The boy paused, tilted his head. Was he noticing the same thing? It would be impossible to ask, but-

"As long as you're alright, I wanna show you what fire does, here. It's really cleansing!" He huffed like it was an inside joke, but brought out a small candle and lighter regardless.

Danny settled down to sit.

He watched the boy lay down a little tealight on his knee, flicking his thumb over the lighter's wheel a few times before the sparks finally caught. The pale spores jerked away quite suddenly, and none of them missed the way Barb flinched, tilting her head away and closing her eyes.
She seemed to feel their stare, and peeked her eyes open, hunching defensively.

"Sorry, it was just bright."
She rubbed at a scrape on her forehead, leaning in again to watch the candle.

The boy gave a wane, apologetic smile, settling the candle down on the floor near his feet.

"Yeah, it's really different.

Danny watched the spores flee the room, flying with little jellyfish twitches. His eyes trailed down the sagging ceiling, to the front door. Oh! That's right - the reason they'd come here in the first place was to grab the gun that might have made it to this world.

He listened carefully - still no noise outside.

"You said you dropped it outside your house?"

The boy twisted to look at him, a look of utter confusion on his face. Danny stared back for a moment before realizing he'd completely jumped topics.

"Oh! Sorry, I mean, the gun you said you brought here. Did you leave it outside your house?"

"Um, I think so." The kid stood up, leaving the tealight as it was and trailing toward the back door. Danny followed, glancing back to consider the way Barb was glaring daggers at the thiny candle.

Understandably, the kid hesitated at his back door, hand on the doorknob.

"It's alright, kid" Danny murmured, a little gesture getting him to step aside. "Just direct me where, you don't have to go out."

"It should be right in front of the shed out back. And…. Will."

"Huh?"

"My name." Will fidgeted with the edge of his shirt, eyes darting around the kitchen before finally rising up to meet Danny's green glow. "My name is Will. Sorry for.. Not telling you, for this long."

Danny smiled, offering his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Will." He was pleased, when they shook hands, to find Will's skin no longer seemed so clammy and cold. Being home had been good for him. "As you know, My name's Danny. I'll be right back."

x-x-x-x-x-x

[line break]

x-x-x-x-x-x

It was understandable, Will thought, that he should want to stand by the door and watch his sort-of-friend hunt around for a glint of gunmetal in the piles of autumn leaves. A chance to watch his back.

The sky was still dark, landscape still misty, but it was starting to feel normal. Too many days in a row dealing with something scary made it...maybe a bit less scary.

"Try to your left!" He called out, and Danny waved a thumbs-up, hunched over to fling leaves to the side, kicking and shuffling through them hopefully. Will leaned on the doorframe, crossing his arms and wondering at the thick black vines looping back and forth over the shed's roof.

At first he thought it was a trick of the light - everything looked menacing through the fog. A half-beat later, Will was certain, and the hair across his body stood on end.

"DANNY-!" At the shout, and the rush of darkness, Danny lept up like a startled cat, flailing a bit as a lash of black vine clawed up where he had just been standing. Adrenaline jolted through him, and he held the door open to let the teen bolt through, the two of them quick to slam it shut and lock it. Will hopped back when a low thump vibrated the wood, taking a few more steps when lines of shadow grew up across the little window. Slow slithering and creaking started to rise up around the house, and Danny bristled fiercely when a low growl sounded outside the kitchen window.

The monsters were back.

Will exhaled breathlessly, closing his eyes and trying to find that feeling of home that had let him keep the barrier strong last time. It tickled the edges of his senses, and he yelped when Danny suddenly hauled him up by his armpits, dragging him back toward the living room.

"Guys!" Barb shouted, and her next words were drowned out by Will's own yelp and the shatter of glass as a vine broke through the kitchen window. A humanoid creature screamed through the gap, and Will saw it clawing as if the glass was still there, even as the black vine spread branches and sank itsself into the sink, spreading across the wall and countertops.

"-Wall, The wall!"

Will finally listened, and Danny let him go in favor of a sharp gesture and a wall of shimmering green obscuring the doorway to the kitchen.

Will scrambled to pick up the can of hairspray, flinching as a crunching twang lashed outside of the front door.

His thumb struck the lighter's wheel once, twice- He flinched as the corner of his nail bent backwards, and tried again. Where was the tealight? Smoking - probably blown out when they rushed in.

Barb stood near the edge of the glowing, breathing spot of wall, eyeing it with something akin to wonder. Danny growled behind him, another green barrier snapping up in front of the living room window, just as a mass of black vines slammed against it. The glass shattered, falling into the tiny gap between shield and wall.

The wheel turned, flint striking, spark snapping up into the air and catching gas alight in a barely-audible whoosh~

Will raised the can of hairspray, pressed down. He would have been gleeful at the bright rush of flame if the situation hadn't been so terrifying. He could hear a faint scream, and saw Barb twitch away as the walls peeled backward, curling and crawling and thinning the glowing spot.

"Will!" An echoing voice, from the shivering veil of flesh and from all around them.

His mom! His mom was on the other side!

"MOM!" He shouted, "We're trying to break the wall! Help!"

He stepped closer to the barrier , concentrating the flame on one spot, hoping it would be enough. Black spread, and the skin twitched and writhed like a living thing, smelling of charred meat and rotting things.

Without so much as a warning, the blade of an axe came through the other side.

Will yelped, falling back onto his butt, flame cutting off as the lighter skittered across the floor.

The axe pulled back, then hacked through it again, widening the slit enough to see his mom's wild eyes, wilder hair. She reached through, spreading her fingers in a desperate plea, and Danny grabbed him up, pushing him toward the opening.

He could smell cigarette smoke, the faint rich tang of brewing coffee. His mom's perfume. Could feel the slime of the barrier's edges as they dragged across his face, neck, arms, leaving sticky trails and a sensation like it was trying to pull him back. His mom grabbed his forearm, his shoulder, and pulled.

Will felt himself crying before he even hit the ground, a hitched "Danny-" making its way into the air before Barb's slimy red hair crowned past the torn barrier. She gasped, struggling, brown eyes wide as the wall's edges started to creep back toward her, trying to seal up again.

His mom grabbed her as well, pulling hard despite the teen's strangled scream, and cushioning her collapse as her feet slid free, and the drywall healed shut behind her.

Will gasped in the smell of his home. His real home. The carpet was warm, the air was warm, everything was warm and dry and whole and his mom was pulling his sticky torso into her arms, sobbing into his hair and ignoring the otherworldly filth that must have covered him. He clutched her sweater, buried his face in her shoulder as she choked out murmured words of comfort.

"Oh baby, you're alive. I'm here, I'm here, shhh-"

He held her tightly, desperately.

And cried.