Face to Face

by Dp-Marvel94

When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of his ghostliness, not to wake up to his parents saying he'd been overshadowed. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was 'possessing' Danny remember a life that wasn't his? Most of all, why do both feel that something vital is missing,in their very soul?

12. Chapter 12

Note: Hi! After two months, I'm finally back with a new chapter! I took April and May off from writing this story to write for the Phicc Phight and DannyMay, hence the break. If you're reading this, I hope you check out some of those stories and enjoyed them. But now, I'm back to focusing on Face to Face. Happy reading!

Danny Fenton sighed, enjoying the feeling of his mother's arm around him. With one hand, he gripped the back of Mom's jumpsuit. His other arm wrapped around his ghost, the comforting ghostly chill permeating and calming him as he shared his other self's incredible relief. The boy closed his eyes, happily; they got lucky. Their parents recognized Phantom as their Danny, their son. They would be okay.

After what felt like a small eternity, the parent's tears slowed. Mom pulled away first, wiping her face with the back of her hand. Dad released his grip a second later. The woman studied the human Danny. She blinked a few times, smiling before her gaze turned towards the other Danny. She blinked again and Fenton felt Phantom tense with him as her expression changed. Teary-eyed love turning into worried, almost fearful bewilderment. Her eyes widened, head turning quickly between the two boys. Out the corner of his eye, Fenton saw his dad's expression changing similarly. Both parent's mouths feel open.

"How are there two of you?" Dad blurted out.

Mom exclaimed at the same time. "How are you a ghost?"

A second later. "And how are you a ghost?" "And how are there two of you?"

The reactions would have been funny if not for the panicked confusion. Mom blinked again, a frown growing on her face while Dad gaped silently. "You're Danny." She pointed at the human. "And you're Danny." She motioned at the ghost, hand gently poking his shoulder as if to check that he was really there. "But you're a ghost."

Phantom tried not to flinch. "Uh...I'm...yeah." The ghost stuttered, biting his lip.

"But you're both Danny. But….how...what…" She waved between the two. "You can't be in two places at once. And you're a ghost."

At their normally steadfast mother's utterly perplexed reaction, anxiety rose. It trickled into the human from where Phantom's arm was still draped around Fenton's waist. The feeling silenced the human, choking any response while his ghost half stuttered. "Yes...well….we're… ummm… the portal …. and the ghost catcher… But…. we… ummm ….I don't…"

Dad's confusion laden words broken through the ramble. "What's happening, son? Or sons?" He glanced at his wife. "Do we have two sons now or…"

Another spike of anxiety, near panic. Two identical voices shouted. "No!"

The parents recoiled back, causing both Dannys to snap their mouth's shut.

After a moment, Mom put her hands in front of her, slightly stern voice barely covering her alarm. "Explain what's happening."

Fenton looked down, blushing in shame at the reaction. Mom and Dad were confused, of course they were. And that confusion was putting them on edge. He swallowed, looking at his still nervous ghost half, whose mouth was opening and closing, trying to form words but unable. Slowly, the human moved his arm from around Phantom's waist. He felt brief disappointment from the ghost before Fenton's hand found his gloved one. The human Danny squeezed and met his other half's eyes, silently saying he'd speak for them.

Fenton looked between his parents. "It's like I said earlier. The ghost catcher split me...us in half."

Somehow both parent's eyes widen more. "What does that mean?" Mom asked, brow raising in confusion.

Fenton motioned between himself and his ghost. "We're literally each half of the same person." This caused Mom and Dad to just blink at them confusedly. The human coughed and continued. "So Phantom's me. But a ghost." He waved up and down the ghost again. "He's my other half."

Dad looked between the two with wide eyes. He spoke, surprisingly quiet. "Like soul mates?"

Now it was Fenton's turn to sputter. "Umm...that's not….we're…"

Beside him, Phantom blushed green and shook his head. He swallowed, finding his voice. "No. More literal. We're….one soul, one consciousness but split in two."

Dad's brow furrowed. "But...there's two of you."

Fenton answered. "Not really. There's two….bodies." He frowned at the strangeness of the thought. "But we're just one person, one mind in two parts."

"That's...that's not possible." Mom put a hand on her head. "Someone cannot just be split in half."

Fenton bit his lip. "Well, the ghost catcher-"

Mom interrupted. "It was supposed to get rid of your symptoms. Your ghostly symptoms." She turned, staring at Phantom with wide eyes. "It was supposed to get rid of the ectoplasm. You….You just should be a ball of ectoplasm. Not...not…" She waved up and down the ghost's body.

"An actual sentient ghost." Phantom looked down guilty.

Dad shook his head, expression hardening slightly. "How are you a ghost?"

Fenton's stomach churned with guilt. They hadn't told Mom and Dad about what really happened, what the accident really did. He swallowed, preparing to confess before Phantom pulled his hand out of Fenton's grip. His ghost half wrung his hands, swallowing. "Before the ghost catcher, We...didn't tell you everything."

Mom crossed her arms, quickly looking between the human and the ghost as if she couldn't decide who to address. "What didn't you tell us?"

"That...that...we could...we were.." Phantom stuttered, the confession choking him too.

"Wait a second, what do you mean by we?" Dad rubbed his chin.

Mom turned toward him sharply. "Jack!"

"What? I'm still not getting how they're one Danny." The man tilted his head. "How could they both have talked to us, if we only talked to one Danny?"

Fenton shook his head, slightly relieved to be off the topic of lying to his parents. For a few moments at least. "But that was both of us." He explained. "The Danny before the ghost catcher. He was Phantom and me."

Dad's brow furrowed. "So you were being overshadowed….by your own ghost?"

At the word, overshadowed, Phantom's eyes widen, fear overcoming the lingering guilt. The emotion prickled Fenton's mind distinctly. Mom's expression darkened and the human Danny put an arm in front of his ghost half to shield him. "No. Not overshadowed." The boy's lip turned down and the words came out more harsh than he intended. "You're still thinking of us as two separate people. We're not. We're just one person, just Danny."

"But...how?" Dad looked mystified, still not understanding.

"We're-" Fenton started.

"Never mind that." Narrowing her hard eyes, the woman glared at the ghost version of her son. "What didn't you tell us?"

Fenton bit his lip, guilt returning. "Well, after coming out of the portal,-"

"No." Mom interrupted. "I want to hear it from..." She paused for a second, as if trying to find the right word. "Phantom."

On her lips, the name was skeptical and foreign. And Fenton couldn't tell whether she was unsure about calling her son that or….. If she was addressing Phantom as an untrustworthy stranger. It made Fenton's heart pound with nervousness.

That unease rose as the ghost's shoulder's fell. As Mom had insisted, he explained. "It wasn't just randomly turning invisible and intangible. There was...more."

"More?" She motioned him to continue, expression carefully neutral.

"It wasn't actually random. We could control it, if we tried." He nervously picked at the heam of his glove. "I definitely can now. And there was the floating and feeling cold and glowing eyes and…"

"Son, get to the point." Dad said.

Fenton swallowed, though it hadn't been his mouth speaking. At least, he was still calling Phantom son but once they learned the whole truth, how would they react?

The ghost swallowed. "We could….change."

"Change?" Mom's voice rose skeptically, the tone grading Fenton's heart.

"Change…. Change forms from…..from a human." He waved, motioning to Fenton. "Into...into...a...a"

"A ghost." Fenton took the plunge, waving up and down Phantom's form. "We could become a ghost. We're….I'm half ghost." He swallowed at the end, taking in the weight of the words. The truth, even now, and for the first time he was saying it in front of his parents.

Dad stared, in unblinking shock, while Mom's mouth opened and closed. After a very long moment, she spoke. "That's…..that's impossible. No one can be half ghost."

Ghost Danny frowned, wringing his hands. "But….we're right in front of you. What other explanation is there?"

"You're….you're not….you can't be…" The wavering words, they sounded too close to rejection, denial.

A pang of pain went through the human Danny's heart and he could feel it reflected in his ghost, who was shaking slightly. In response, Fenton put a gentle hand on Phantom's arm.

"Someone can't be a human and a ghost at the same time." Dad was shaking his head, eyes distant and far away.

"So you can't both be..you're not…." Mom rambled. "You can't be Danny."

Can't be….Oh no. Fear prickled through the pair. No Mom can't be in denial after...after…. Fenton's breath threatened to quicken but he clasped it down. They can't do this, couldn't panic now. Mom and Dad needed to see, to understand. The human glanced at his ghost who swallowed. An unspoken conversation passed in an instant, words unnecessary between two who were the same person, and a decision was made.

Stealing his courage, Phantom deliberately focused eyes on his mom. "You said I'm Danny. That I'm your son."

"But…." The woman's lip trembled.

"I'm your son. Your Danny." He pointed at his other self. "I'm just as much your Danny as he is and I always have been, since the accident."

Mom and Dad stared for a moment, expressions falling, before Fenton added. "It's true. I know this is new and strange but Phantom's just me, my ghost half."

Still silent, Mom's lips turn down sadly. Dad looked uncharacteristically somber.

Another spike of anxiety. Phantom's lip trembled. "Please. I'm your son."

The parents glanced at each other. Mom's expression softened and one of her hands reached for Phantom's. "Yes you are. Of course you are." She closed her eyes. "But...I still don't understand how this happened."

"Like we said, the ghost catcher-" Phantom started.

"No son." Dad put a hand on the ghost's shoulder. "The accident….You said, you could change back and forth before?"

"Yes." The ghost looked down, shoulders falling.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mom's voice trembled.

Fenton tensed, dreading the question he'd known was coming. But Phantom spoke before he summoned his courage. "We...we….were...ummm." He bit his lip, the words dying in his throat at the sight of his mom's watery eyes.

The human Danny also bit his lip. He needed to say it. To confess. And it needed to be him, the human half. It was the human part that had been afraid, had wanted to hide the truth. He squeezed Phantom's hand, silently communicating that he'd confess, putting the pressure on him.

"We….I was scared. Ashamed. I didn't...didn't want you to see me like that." Fenton looked down, avoiding his parent's eyes.

"Danny." Dad whispered, probably trying to comfort them.

But the boy ignored it. He needed to finish. "I didn't want you to see me differently. You already thought I was….contaminated." Phantom flinched beside him. "I didn't want you to know what I'd become. That I was a-" A surge of panicked fear poured from his ghost, causing Human Danny to cut himself off. Monster, abomination, scum. He...he didn't think those things anymore. He didn't. But Mom and Dad? He shivered; he didn't need to remind them what they thought of ghosts. He took a breath. "I didn't want you to worry more than you already were. And if you saw how serious it was, what the portal really did?" He stopped, letting them fill in the blanks.

Mom's eyes narrowed, though her lip still trembled. "How are we supposed to help you, to cure you if we don't know the whole picture?"

Cure. More fear as Phantom flickered invisible. "You...you can't…"

"We can't fix this if you don't tell us everything!" Mom trembled.

"You can't fix us period." Fenton clenched his fist. No please. He shook his head, hoping and praying Mom wasn't thinking of ways to make them fully human.

"I'm sure we could-" Dad started.

"No. I don't want you to fix us." Fenton interrupted, a false anger barely covering his fear.

"But-"

"You can't fix death." As soon as the words left Fenton's mouth, the parent's eyes widened tearfully. Mom's lip trembled and Dad's shoulder's fell, heartbroken. Maybe he shouldn't say it, shouldn't be so direct. But the time for secrets was over. They needed to see. ""I...I died, in the portal."

"No. It couldn't…" A tear leaked from Mom's eyes.

The human could hardly believe he was forcing the words from his mouth. "It did. It killed me. And that's….that's why ghost me exists. You have to die to become a ghost. And Phantom's that part of me."

A hand covered Mom's mouth. "No. No. The portal. It couldn't."

The woman looked heartbroken but human Danny could not find the strength to respond. His heart felt heavy.

"I'm sorry." But an echoing voice answered for him. "I'm sorry I died."

The human looked down, feeling the statement keenly. He was sorry that he'd disobeyed his parents and put himself in danger by going into the portal. He was sorry that his parents had to find out what the accident actually did, like this.

"No." Mom shook her head, a tear breaking free from her eye.

Dad was shaking. "No. Danny. No. We...we did this. We did this to you. Our portal it...it...And then the ghost catcher."

"We...we….Danny." Mom almost sobbed. "We messed up. Oh god. We….we killed you."

"Mom. It's okay." Fenton tried mildly.

"No it's not! Our portal. And Oh god. We killed you. What have we done?" Tears fell down Mom's cheeks.

"No Mom. We're okay." Phantom's eyes widened. "I mean, I'm a ghost. But we're still half human. And…"

"No." Fenton blinked and Mom was pushing herself to her feet, backing away. "You died Danny! You died and we...we didn't notice."

Phantom floated to his feet. "No, Mom. It's….we didn't realize either. Not until days after the split."

"The split?" She trembled, eyes widening. "Oh god. We split you in half." Her gaze flickered between the two Dannys. "We...we were trying to help you but...but...Oh god…..we screwed up. We screwed up. We…" The woman was panicked, uncharacteristically near hysterical.

Fenton frowned, hopping to his feet and holding his hands out placatingly. "Mom. I asked for this, for you and Dad to cure me. No one could have guessed this would happen."

His ghost half agreed. "You didn't mean for this to happen." He glanced at Fenton. "We didn't either. But it's going to be okay."

"No it's not." Mom cried, her gaze fixing on Phantom. "I...I shot you. I could have destroyed you. And the ghost catcher….the portal. What have I done? What have I done?"

The woman looked like she was breaking and it honestly terrified Fenton, watching her cry. He stepped forward at the same time as his ghost self. Instincts screamed to calm the reaction, to comfort her.

Mom stumbled back before either Danny could hug her. Fenton's expression fell. "Mom?"

"I...I can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Danny." She stepped back again before practically running up the stairs.

"Mom!" Fenton stepped forward, meaning to go after her but Phantom's arm appeared around his shoulder. Instantly fearful dread entered him, clashing with the drive to make sure Mom was okay. Both boys stilled, unable to move.

Seconds later, the sound of footsteps sounded from behind them. Oh, of course. Dad. All the while, he'd been uncharacteristically silent. Why was he not saying anything?

The man stood in front of both versions of his son, eyes watering. He glanced at Phantom's abdomen. "Are you….where you were shot…..is it okay?"

The ghost nodded. "Yeah Dad. It wasn't that bad."

Fenton agreed. "We checked it yesterday, already almost healed." Though they'd forgotten about it this morning, that was almost certainly true as the burn on his own abdomen had stopped hurting.

Dad fixed his eyes on the floor, guilty. "That's good." He looked towards the stairs, where his wife had fled, before glancing back at Fenton and Phantom. "I….I'm sorry, son. Your mother…."

The man glanced back again, deep worry maring his face. Fenton's eyebrow rose and he could practically see the decision warring in the man's mind- comfort his son or comfort his wife. In response, Fenton's mind wared too (Though beside his other half, the ghost's emotions perforated him; was he alone debating? Was Phantom having the same debate? Were they debating as one? What would the whole Danny do?). Part of him wanted to be comforted, like he was a still little child in need of his parent's approval. Part wanted to be left to worry alone.

The ghosts fixed eyes on his other half and the two came to a decision. Fenton swallowed. "It's okay, Dad. We'll….we'll be okay."

Dad's expression softened and he walked forward, putting one arm around each Danny. He squeezed. "I love you, Danny. Human or ghost, you're my son."

Fenton enjoyed the hug, heart sinking as he buried his face in his father's shoulder and tried not to cry. "I love you too Dad." Two voices -the same voice twice- said at the same time.

After a moment, Dad stepped back, smiling sadly. "I'll talk to your mother about….all of this."

Still teary eyes, looking unbalanced, Dad walked up the stairs, leaving Fenton and Phantom alone together.

---

Both Dannys remained frozen staring at the stairs where their parents left. Fenton's hands clenched and unclenched uselessly. He felt numb, his mind running in circles. What...what just happened? Why...why did he say that? Why did he tell them everything so directly, at once? He'd just directly told Mom and Dad he'd died, when he'd been almost unable to think about that last night. How could he do that?

After some time, the air beside him shifted, the cold wafting over him comfortingly. "We didn't even tell them about refusing." Phantom whispered, forlorn.

Yes, merging into the Danny they were supposed to be, that was why they agreed to talk to their parents in the first place. Guilt, the same guilt from last night reappeared, breaking the human's heart. And Fenton was the reason they were in this situation, split, in the first place.

Movement at the edge of his vision broke through Fenton's thoughts. He glanced over in time to see Phantom turning around and landing on the floor. The ghost sighed and at the same time, Fenton turned. He watched Phantom slowly walk towards the end of the room, soft neon green light falling on his face. It was then Fenton finally noticed the portal. It hummed almost imperceptibly, the sound vibrating through the floor, through his body. The sound flowed through the air, swirling and pulsing. Goosebumps rose on Fenton's skin. That sound, it was almost….

Phantom stopped, a foot from the tunnel. Sighing, he studied the swirling ectoplasm with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he spoke. "So, this...this is what did it."

Fenton swallowed, walking forward before he realized what he was doing. He stopped across from Phantom, the ghost holding his hand out towards the green mist. It curled around his fingers, almost caressing them as if the portal sensed him.

Phantom looked up, meeting his human self's eyes. "This is what made us like this, half ghost."

Fenton said nothing, just humming in response. Looking towards the portal, he moved his hand, mirroring his ghost's posture. The mist weakly reached towards his fingers. The human shivered.

"Do you regret it?" Fenton looked back up, finding Phantom frowning at him. "Do you regret going into the portal?"

The portal. Memories of pain flashed through his mind. The portal, it killed him, made him half ghost. Just days ago he would have said yes but now….Fenton closed his eyes feeling the humming again. Contradictory, it scared him, his pounding heart screaming to get away. But it also...called to part of him, something small and new but immensely important. It was almost comforting like….a song.

Sighing, he looked at Phantom. "I don't know." The ghost's thoughtful expression fell even so slightly. "Do you regret going into the portal?"

Phantom's eyes widened slightly. "I...I don't know either. On one hand." He shivered. "It hurt a lot, dying. But….I can fly now."

Yes, flying. The human Danny's eyes widened, a mixture of nervousness and excitement bubbling in his gut. An image flashed through his mind. Before the ghost catcher. Suddenly turning into a ghost. The uncontrollable weightless. The lack of control. Rapidly hitting the ceiling before crashing onto the floor. Feeling like a freak. He'd been too afraid to actually try to control the floating, much less fly. But now, he'd dreamed of flying, through his ghost's eyes. He'd felt the freedom, the carefreeness, the bliss that came with flying.

He looked at Phantom, who was floating again and tilted his head. With how often the ghost was floating, flying must just be something natural to his ghost self. But he himself right now was frightened by the idea. It really didn't make any sense. But….maybe he could get over that fear like he was working past the fear of being a ghost.

"You know, I've never actually flown." Fenton remarked. "We were too scared before the ghost catcher….or maybe that was just me, the human part."

"Not just you." Phantom shook his head. "Flying scares me too but...the freedom makes it worth it." The statement lifted the human's spirits; the cowardice wasn't just him. He hummed in agreement and the ghost's lips turned up in a smile. "And technically, since I flew you home yesterday…."

"Oh yeah. I dreamed that happened." He pointed somewhat sassily. "It doesn't count if I was unconscious."

"I'll wake you up next time then." Phantom grinned almost wickedly.

The human shivered, as he imagined waking up dozens of feet above the ground. "I'll take a rain check on that. But…" He smiled kindly. "Once this is all over, I look forward to trying the flying thing again."

Phantom smiled before his face fell again. He glanced towards the stairs. "Mom and Dad know now. About….everything."

Fenton tensed. That had started to slip his mind in their conversation. But Mom and Dad did know, about his ghost half, about how he died in the accident, how he lied and hid the truth, how they chased and shot Phantom. What would they do now? What would happen?

His stomach churned nervously. "Mom...didn't react well."

Mom had run off. She was guilty, panicking. She never panicked. Even when he woke up in the hospital after the accident, she'd been relieved but strong, put together. But now….

Phantom wrung his hands. "We should….just give her some time to think about stuff." The words brought neither Danny much comfort. "She'll..she'll come around. She has to."

"Yeah, It'll….it'll be okay. They...they'll accept us, all of us. They have to." Fear prickled but it was true, right? Mom and Dad loved their son, human or ghost. And they'd understand. They had too.