Note: Since I posted part of this for DannyMay Day1, I decided to post the rest of the chapter. This will be the last update for a while. I'm doing DannyMay this year so won't be working on Face to Face again until after that. But come June, I am totally dedicating myself to this story. I have a few plot lines and character arcs I want to explore with this story so there'll be several more chapters before the conclusion.
Phantom floated cross legged on the roof of Fentonworks. How did he always end up back here? He sighed and wiped his face with his sleeve. At least he wasn't crying like last night. His core clenched, swirling with emotions. He didn't know how to feel, what to think about everything that happened in the last three hours. But maybe he felt better, maybe.
He remembered earlier, right before Mom and Dad came home, when he and his other half had almost merged. He'd felt peace, finally for the first time since the accident. With his head and body growing fuzzy and insubstantial, his mind hummed in pure joy, harmonizing with its other half. He'd almost faded into mist, settling into his human body.
And then it all stopped. A spike of emotional pain from his human self and the boy had pulled away. Phantom couldn't help but whine sadly. He knew the other Danny wanted to merge, to be complete. He knew Fenton wanted him and all the ghostly weirdness that would accompany re-fusing into the person they were meant to be. But to come so close only to be ripped apart again, it was painful.
But Phantom understood not re-fusing now. Mom and Dad could pose a serious problem if they didn't tell them the truth. They would most likely still be a problem. The ghost shivered, remembering Mom and Dad yelling and shooting at him. A tear welled as he imagined them calling him a monster tomorrow and pulling him away from his human half. He quickly wiped the tears away. He wasn't going to cry again today, damn it! They hadn't even told Mom and Dad yet. There was no guarantee they would act like that. They loved their son and would listen to him….or to the human half at least. And hopefully that would be enough.
Phantom could only pout for so long. Not even an hour later, he silently phased back into his and Fenton's bedroom. He grabbed their now fully charged cell phone, desperately needing a distraction. But before he could consider flying back up to the roof, his eyes fell over his sleeping human self. The ghost smiled subtly.
If everything went well with Mom and Dad in the morning, hopefully he would be sleeping there tomorrow night, as truly one with his human half. And from there, Danny could finally put all of this behind him. Fenton was correct; figuring out how to be one person (and half-ghost at that) would be difficult but necessary. And finally feeling complete would be worth it.
With one last sigh, the ghost floated to the roof, right below the Ops Center again. He unlocked the phone, intent to watch some videos and browse social media until Fenton woke up.
The house stayed quiet long into the morning. Getting in at 3 am, Mom and Dad slept in for once and the human Danny did the same. After their parents woke up and went back to the lab around 11, Phantom phased back into the bedroom. He smiled at finding his human sitting on the bed and rubbing his eyes, having just woke up.
Fenton blinked up at him and then smiled. His eyes fell on the phone in the ghost's hand. "So you grabbed our phone, I was wondering."
Phantom shrugged. "Yeah, I was bored. Should probably plug it back in." He hovered beside the bed, bending down to grab the cord and charge the phone. He then turned to his human. "So we're telling Mom and Dad about….this." He motioned vaguely between himself and the other Danny. "You wanna talk about the plan?"
"Yeah, we can do that." Fenton said while absent mindedly running his fingers through his hair. Then his nose wrinkled. "I should probably get a shower though. And get something to eat." He put his hand down on the bed. "Are you cool to hangout here while I do that?"
Phantom wrung his hands, nervousness returning. "Ummm...sure, I guess."
Fenton frowned, clearly picking up on the source of that emotion. "Mom and Dad are in the basement. They're not going to find you." He stood up, expression softening. "I'll be quick. I promise."
With that, the human Danny left his ghost half floating in their bedroom and stewing in anxiety.
About 10 minutes later, Phantom flickered invisible as the door opened but he quickly returned to visibility. It was just his other half.
With a slight cough, the human titled his head at the ghost who turned his attention back to the piles of clothes in his hands. "I was just nervously cleaning."
Fenton chuckled. "Fine with me. Mom's always getting on us to put our clothes away."
"Yeah. She is." remarked Phantom placing the t-shirts into the drawer.
"Can you toss me some clothes please?"
At that, Phantom finally noticed his human self was in just a towel. Much like the previous day, he blushed green, and after throwing some clothes in Fenton's general direction, hid in the closet.
Fenton gave a part amused, part disbelieving chuckle but made no comment. Soon he finished dressing in jeans and a t-shirt. After a quick trip downstairs for food, both Dannys took a seat on the bed.
The human spooned some yogurt into his mouth while Phantom texted Sam and Tucker. "I'm telling our friends that we're telling Mom and Dad today and want some back up."
Mouth full, Fenton nodded. Then Phantom's eyebrow raised as he noticed something on his human half's hands. He pointed. "What's that on your hand?" Swallowing, the other Danny held the appendage out. Before he could respond, his ghost half grabbed the hand with wide eyes. "Show me your other one." Phantom demanded.
After putting the cup down, Fenton showed the ghost the other hand. "It's fine-" He started.
Then Phantom cursed. "Damnit! I burned you last night, didn't I? Why didn't you say anything?!"
The human bit his lip. "Well...it healed before I came back and apologized last night so I didn't think anything of it."
"You didn't think anything of it?!" The ghost strained not to yell. "I hurt you." The other boy opened his mouth to reply. "And don't tell me it doesn't matter!" Phantom cut him off, the human's mouth snapping shut.
Fenton huffed. "I wasn't going to say that. It's just..." He ran a hand through his still damp hair. "It happened, yeah. But it healed in like an hour with no permanent damage. So there's no point in being upset. Or scared that my own ghost half is going to hurt me."
Something in the wording gave the ghost pause. "Ghost half?"
"Yeah." Human Danny shrugged. "You're my ghost half and I guess….I'm your human half."
Phantom half-smiled. "I like that." He'd thought that before, as he knew the other Danny had but actually hearing it out loud was nice. "And you have a point. You don't have to be scared of me."
The human's face fell but just then their phone buzzed, distracting the ghost from dwelling on his other half's reaction. Phantom picked up the device.
He frowned. "Well Sam's parents drug her into an impromptu shopping day and she can't get out of it."
Fenton grimaced. "We have Tucker at least, right?"
The phone buzzed again and the ghost's eyes widened in panic. "And Tucker's out. Apparently he woke up sick."
The human furiously shook his head. "But...but he was fine yesterday."
"I don't know, man. But he's sick now" Phantom gripped his hair.
The human took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. We'll have to wait then..."
"No" The ghost suddenly cut him off. "I don't want to keep hiding from them, afraid of how they might or might not react. We need to tell them. Today."
Fenton's eyes widened as he studied the other boy's face. His mouth opened and closed like he wanted to argue. Instead he quietly asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." The ghost nodded. "I have to believe that we can make them understand. And….I still trust you. You won't let them hurt me."
"Yes I won't. And if they still don't believe us and capture you, we can get Sam and Tucker to come over and vouch for us tomorrow. I'll stay in the lab with you overnight if I have to."
The ghost shivered at the thought of being locked in a cage. But the thought of his human self being there for him in this gave him comfort. Phantom gave a half- smile. "Can you talk to Mom and Dad first, try and warm them up to the idea?"
"Yeah. What exactly am I supposed to say?" Fenton furrowed his brow.
"Just start with how the ghost catcher didn't work like everyone had wanted…and tell them that you didn't tell them everything when we told them about our powers earlier."
The human frowned. "Yeah I can do that. Then at some point you turn visible and we tell them everything."
Sighing, Phantom nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "And hope for the best I guess."
Fenton's own nervous expression left, morphing into a soft concern. He reached forward and hugged Phantom. "You're so brave."
Though he still felt Fenton's and his own nervousness, the ghost calmed at the assurance the human sent him. He returned the hug. "We're the same person so we're both brave."
"Ehhh, I think you got all the courage though." Fenton said with a hint of fondness.
"Or maybe you're braver than you think." Phantom suggested seriously, though he smiled at Fenton's emotion, offering the same fondness himself.
The ghost pulled away and studied his human again. As much as he wanted to get back to being just one person, there was something special about seeing his humanity like this, directly. Almost like a last glimpse at who they were before the accident, though that wasn't really true. Fenton wasn't the boy who walked into the portal. That Danny didn't exist anymore and the two of them would never be him again….and Fenton seemed to be okay with that, or was getting there at least.
Phantom picked up the yogurt container from the bed and handled it to Fenton. "You should go ahead and finish eating. Then we can talk to Mom and Dad."
With a nod, the human took a bite and swallowed, giving Phantom his attempt at an encouraging smile.
Twenty minutes later, Phantom invisibly floated down the stairs trailing his human counterpart. His ghostly tail twitched nervously. With a silent groan, he tried to push down the tremor. It was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. The ghost looked forward, noticing the tension in the other Danny's shoulders.
They were going to be okay; he had to believe it.
Coming to the door to the lab, Fenton stopped and his ghost's eyes brow rose. The human took a deep breath, vigorously shaking his hands as if to dislodge the nervousness. He then turned around, fixing eyes on the invisible ghost. He put his hand forward and miraculously found Phantom's.
Though his hand still gently shook, Fenton rubbed his thumb across the back of Phantom's hand. He whispered. "No matter what, we stick together. Okay?"
The ghost nodded. Then quickly glancing around he saw they were alone. He wavered into visibility. "Yeah." Hand in hand, he felt the human's anxiety much more clearly. Phantom gave his attempt at a comforting smile. "Just remember Mom and Dad love you. They'll listen."
"They love you too." Fenton then looked down. "Even if they haven't realized it yet."
The ghost's expression fell, feeling a spike of hurt. Then Fenton obviously sensed the emotion as his eyes widened. "I'm sorry...I didn't..It's just." He sighed. "They'll love all of us. We just have to show them who you are."
Phantom nodded, understanding what his human self was trying to say despite his fear. Both their fear, really. "Thank you." He squeezed Fenton's hand and then let go. "Now let's stop stalling and talk to our parents."
Phantom wavered out of visibility again as Fenton turned around again. "Alright, Fenton. You've got this."
The ghost gave a light chuckle at his human's little self-encouragement but quited as the door to the lab opened. Fenton stepped through and walked down the stairs. Mom and Dad were both tinkering with a large, slightly glowing cage. Peering over his human's shoulder, the ghost swallowed.
Noticing the sound of footsteps, Dad put down his welding iron. He moved his goggles on to his forehead. "Danny boy!" He called excitedly. "Do you want to help your mom and I out, son?"
"No, thanks Dad." Fenton swallowed. "I...uhh….actually want to talk to you and Mom about something."
Mom put her goggles down. "What is it sweetie?"
Taking a deep breath, the human Danny walked forward until he was an arm's length from his parents with his ghost hovering right behind him. "It's about…. the ghost catcher."
Mom's eyes widened in concern. "Are you still showing the symptoms you told us about earlier?"
Phantom raised an eyebrow at that; what exactly had his human self told their parents?, he wondered. But he abandoned that thought as Fenton continued.
"Yes. And I know why I've been feeling off." The human said.
"You do, son?" Dad asked, brow furrowed in confused worry.
The boy wrung his hands. "Yeah. I think….no I know, the ghost catcher didn't work the way we thought it would."
"What do you mean?" Mom asked, worry on her face.
Fenton took another breath. Phantom couldn't see his face but from the set of his shoulders and his steadier voice, the ghost could imagine his determined look. "The ghost catcher was supposed to get rid of my ghost powers and….it kinda did that but not how we thought it would, at all."
Confusion appeared on Mom's face. "The ghost catcher got rid of your 'powers' because it got rid of that ghost overshadowing you."
"Yes son. That scum is gone and won't be bothering you again." Dad added.
Phantom tensed, the word, scum, pricking his heart. In front of him, Fenton also tensed, his shoulders falling. "That's not what happened."
"Yes it is sweetie." Mom's expression then softened as she seemed to realize something. "Are you still scared of the ghost, Danny? Is that why you wanted to talk to us?"
"No. I'm not….I'm not scared." Despite his words, his voice shook.
Mom put a gloved hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to be scared Danny. I promise, your father and I won't let that monster get you. It will never hurt you again."
At the words, Phantom's core clenched and he trembled.
Fenton's fists balled, ever so slightly. "He's not a monster."
"What?" Mom's mouth fell open slightly in surprise while behind her, Dad also looked confused.
"Phantom's not a monster. I'm not scared of him and he'd never, ever hurt me." Fenton spit out. Then he paled, realizing what he said.
"Phantom?" Dad asked, confusion morphing into something else that Phantom couldn't quite read (or maybe he didn't want to.)
"Uhhhh…..Ummm" The human Danny stuttered as Phantom, still invisible, floated back and away from the parents.
Dad's expression hardened as Mom's eyes widened in panic. "Danny. That ghost. Did you see it again? Did it come after you?"
No, no, no this is bad. Phantom mentally panicked.
"Ummmm….ummm...What?" Fenton opened and closed his mouth, eyes rooming anywhere but his parents' face.
Mom grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Danny. Did that ghost come after you again? You have to tell us if it did."
"No?" He glanced at Dad who was balling his fist.
"We won't let that ghostly scum ever touch you again son. I'll tear it apart if it tries." The man growled.
Ghost Danny floated back farther, unnecessary breath hitching in his throat. Images of Mom and Dad shooting him and strapping him to a table welled in his mind without his permission.
Growling deeply, Fenton shook himself out of his mother's grip. "No. That's….that's not what's happening here."
"But something is happening!" Mom admonished.
"You can tell us, son." Dad bent over, voice earnest. "We'll protect you. If we catch that abomination, we'll make it pay. We'll lock it up and destroy it so it never hurts you again."
Every word stung like a thousand needles, the sickly protective anger making Phantom tremble. His chest heaved with panicked breath. This….this wasn't going to work. His eyes fixed on the cage. They would find him and lock him up. They would destroy a part of their son, thinking they were saving him. Phantom's core pulsed, the temperature dropping with his influence. No No No.
Something in the lab beeped. "There is a ghost in five feet."
Shit
Everyone's eyes fixed on the Finder. Dad wiped it off the counter, bringing it in front of him and closer to Fenton. The beeping intensified.
His eyes narrowed. "There's a ghost in here." He took a step forward as human Danny stumbled back. More beeps. "And it's right behind you."
Mom grabbed his arm. "Get behind me. Now!"
The boy ripped his arm out of her grasp. "Shit. Shit." He stumbled, back towards Phantom.
"Danny! Come towards me." Mom shouted, voice wavering with panic. She grabbed an ectogun off the table as Dad did the same.
Shit, shit shit. The ghost mentally cursed. His invisibility flickered, momentarily forcing him into the visible spectrum.
"It's the scum that possessed Danny!" Dad shouted, hefting the gun higher.
"Danny, Get away from the ghost!" Mom waved with her free hand.
"No No No." Fenton joined his ghost in mentally panicking. "This isn't how this was supposed to happen."
"Just get away from the ghost, son, and everything will be fine." Dad said surprisingly calmy.
Phantom floated back farther until he hit the wall. With a yelp of surprise, he turned visible with his back pressed against the wall. Fenton backed up, towards his ghost as his parents advanced, faces tight with anger.
"Don't hurt him. Please!" The boy cried.
"Danny! It's a ghost!" Mom yelled.
"It deserves to be locked up, where it can't hurt anyone." Dad growled.
It. It. It. The words pounded into Phantom head. His eyes started watering.
"Mom! Dad! Just put the weapons down!" Fenton held up his hands.
"The weapons won't hurt you. But you need to get away from that monster." Mom hissed
"Just stop. Just listen. This is what we came down here to talk to you about." The boy begged.
Phantom pressed himself farther into the wall, knees shaking. They collapsed under him and he slid onto the floor.
"We? We?!" Mom asked.
Dad barreled forward. "Why have you been coming near my son, ghost?" He pointed the gun at Phantom's head. "You think it's funny to mess with my boy?!" Farther curling in on himself, Phantom whimpered in fear.
"Dad! Stop!" Fenton dashed in front, blocking the ghost with his body.
"Why are you defending it?!" The man hissed.
The word, it, pricked Phantom's heart again as tears started falling down his face. His human also cringed as the dehumanizing words burned.
"Stop calling me an it!" The human boy practically hissed in response. His eyes burned as Phantom saw a flash of what the human was seeing.
Mom's face flushed with fear. "Danny. Your eyes?!"
The green faded and Phantom's gaze was back on the floor. Fenton swallowed. "Please. Just listen. Phantom….Phantom's me."
"What?" Both parents' faces lit up with disbelief, their aim falling away in shock.
"Phantom, the ghost behind me, is literally me. We're the same person."
"Danny. That's…." Mom started.
"The ghost catcher literally ripped me in half." Fenton spit out.
"That's impossible. I don't know what this ghost's told you but…."
"Don't you think I know what happened to me?" Human Danny's eyes hardened.
"Son, you were overshadowed." Dad said, patiently still eyeing Phantom warrily.
"By a ghost that looks exactly like me? Really?" Fenton raised an eyebrow.
"It looks like a ghost, nothing like you. And even if it did, it could be a shapeshifter." Mom argued.
"Mom! Phantom looks just like me!" Fenton turned to Dad pleading. "Dad Please just look."
"Son-" He started, eyes filling with something like pity.
Phantom's core fell (Or maybe his-Fenton's- heart. Or was it both?). They didn't believe them. They didn't believe them. They thought Phantom had tricked his human half and was out to hurt him. Why couldn't they see? Why didn't they see? Why wouldn't they just look?
Tears fell down Phantom's face and Fenton's tears soon followed. The human sniffled, his eyes flickering green again as both human and ghost stared at their parents through Fenton's eyes. "Please. Just look at me." The two identical voices begged, Phantom whispering with his face directed towards the floor.
Mom and Dad fell silent, mouths open in shock. The image faded from Phantom's vision as the ghostly light left Fenton again. Feeling hopeless, the ghost curled in on himself, his knees and arms blocking his view of his parents. He couldn't bear to look anymore. If they were going to reject him, hate him, lock him up, and hurt him, he didn't want to see it. He just hoped they would stop before they accidentally hurt his human half so they could at least have their human son.
The silence lingered. Then he heard Dad's voice hitch in a gasp. Fabric shifted as something large and metal was placed on the floor. Heavy footsteps advanced towards him and he tensed. It was coming any second now.
"Danny." His father spoke right above him. "You can step aside."
"No." Phantom imagined his human self shook his head. "You'll...you'll..."
"Danny." Dad's voice came surprisingly soft. "I won't hurt you I promise."
Of course, of course. Dad would never hurt Fenton, the human Danny. Because he was human, their real son. But Phantom was a ghost, just scum to be shot and thrown away. Mom and Dad could never love a ghost.
"I promise Danny. I won't hurt you." Dad spoke again, even softer.
There was a pause and he heard Fenton's breath catch. Then Phantom heard footsteps echo as his human self moved away. If Phantom had a heart right then, it would have stopped. His human half abandoned him. Fenton said he wouldn't let Mom and Dad hurt him so why had he lied?
The ghost was tempted to look up but he couldn't, frozen in fear. Dad's heavy footsteps came closer and clothing rustled as the large man lowered himself to his knees. Phantom felt the heat radiating from him, so close.
"Look at me." The man said, voice flat.
Phantom shook, further burying his head in his arms.
"Come on. Look at me." Dad repeated.
Trembling, Phantom slowly lifted his head. This was it. This was it. Dad wanted to look in his eyes before he shot him, to see the eyes of the monster that had violated his son. One eye met the man's blue eyes, the same color as his human half's. Dad's expression remained neutral. Then both green eyes meet the father's.
The man's lips turned up. "There's my boy."
The ghost stared, not understanding. Then the man leaned forward. Strong arms wrapped around the ghost. Phantom's breath hitched and tensed. The pain would come any second now. The man would squeeze him, crush him with his large size. Only something so physical, so personal would be appropriate for the scum that infected his son. The arms tightened and Phantom closed his eyes.
No pain came. The arms rubbed his back and one came up to ruffle his hair as the boy let out a sob. The man let out a shushing noise. "It's okay. It's okay."
Why wasn't the hunter hurting him?
"It's okay. Daddy's here." The man whispered.
Phantom gaped, brow wrinkling in confusion. The man said...he said. A memory wavered into view.
Four years old. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed across the sky. Danny whimpered under the table.
"What are you doing there, buddy?" Dad bent down, head ducking under the table.
Another crash and the little boy bit back a cry of fear.
His father gently pulled him out from under the furniture and picked him up. The man held him close to his chest. "It's okay. Daddy is here."
Phantom - Danny - whimpered, tears running down his cheeks. His voice wavered between hope and fear. "Dad?"
Dad's voice trembled with a mix of emotions. "Yes. Yes, Danny."
The corner of the ghost's mouth turned up as his arms wrapped around his Dad. That was his name. Dad said his name and it was one of the most wonderful things he'd heard in days.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry son." The man slightly tightened his hold before pulling away. Phantom's eyes fell on his Dad's face again, who studied him back. Dad's eyes widened in kind curiosity, taking in the ghostly form of his son.
The sound of feet shifting broke the pair's gaze. Phantom's eyes met his human half's. After a pause, the boy nervously side-eyed the other adult in the room. Mom still held her ectogun, eyes wide with uncertainty.
She glanced at her husband. "Jack?" She questioned.
"Mads. It's him." Dad's voice faltered for a second, under the gravity of the statement. "They're telling the truth."
Despite the eyebrow still raised in disbelief, Mom slowly put down her gun. A few steps forward and she knelt beside Dad in front of Phantom. Her lips drew closed, in contemplation as the ghost silently begged for recognition and acceptance.
One hand slowly reached forward to gently cup Phantom's chin. Slowly her eyes widened, recognition dawning. Her voice quivered with disbelief. "Danny?"
The boy nodded. "Yes, Mom."
"Danny." She said again, with more certainty.
Mom leaned forward and soon Phantom was enveloped into another parental hug.
"Baby. You're...you're….I'm so sorry." She ruffled his hair as she sniffled, clearly getting upset.
As she started crying, Dad also joined the hug, his eyes glistening with tears. Phantom closed his eyes, crying himself. Despite the previous fear, he relaxed in the security and closeness. Maybe he should question their sincerity. But for now, they were hugging him gently but tightly. Like he was made of smoke and would disappear if they didn't hang on. Even if they didn't really understand what he was and how he was here, they called him Danny and believed he was. They held and comforted him, whispered and cried over him like there was no doubt he was their son. Like they actually could love a ghost like him.
After a few moments, the ghost opened his eyes. Looking over his parent's heads, he noticed his human half still shuffling awkwardly. He looked relieved but left out, like he wanted to join the hug but wasn't sure if he was allowed.
That was ridiculous. Raising an eyebrow, he silently asked Fenton to join. After a second, the human nodded, smiling at the acceptance. Walking around Mom's side, he went to his knees beside his ghost self.
Mom briefly opened her eyes and without missing a beat, shifted so her left arm was around Fenton and her right around Phantom. Dad remained at the side, blocked by the wall. His long arm just reached Fenton's shoulder.
Side by side with his human, Phantom shared his relief with his other half. Despite the still lingering questions and emotional hurt, love permeated the group. Both Dannys smiled through their tears. It was a strange, awkward embrace but it felt wonderful, fitting perfectly with the extraordinary situation.