Fenton and Phantom sat side by side on their bed, watching a movie. Wanting to follow Jazz's advice (she was worth listening too, sometimes), the ghost had first suggested playing video games. But they only had the one computer and the actual console with more than one controller was in the living room, where they could easily run into Mom and Dad. Phantom shivered, glancing at his frowning human half; neither of him were ready for that.
"How about we watch a movie instead?" Fenton said, trying to force a smile.
Phantom agreed and after grabbing some snacks, ("Man, we've barely eaten anything today." "Well, I don't eat so I didn't think to remind you...") they sat on the bed, watching a movie on their laptop. A silly cartoon they'd love as a kid which helped to release some tension like they'd hoped.
Phantom smiled, relaxing. "It's been so long since we watched this."
Fenton nodded and then grinned as a new scene started. He laughed. "I completely forgot that happened."
Laughs and sarcastic comments were exchanged. "How was that supposed to work?" "I don't know. That's cartoon logic for you."
Phantom blushed. "Dang. I actually got that joke now." Fenton shook his head. "I can't believe there's a joke that dirty in this."
More laughter. Yelling at the screen. "No! The blue one! You're supposed to take the blue one!"
Quoting lines. "Holy Guacamole!" "That's such a dumb catch phrase."
They laughed and talked and relaxed. Reminiscing and not thinking about Mom and Dad and all their other problems until it was well past the time they normally went to sleep on a school night.
Eventually, the human fell asleep, leaning against his ghost half. Phantom looked at his own sleeping face wistfully. He'd never get used to this. It was probably a good thing he wouldn't be able to; he wasn't supposed to. His expression fell as the movie ended and his attention turned more fully to his sleeping human self. They both felt a little better after talking to Jazz and the movie had distracted them but now….it was quiet and dark. And as Phantom's worries resurged, he wished he should sleep too. The ghost blew out a breath; he wasn't looking forward to another quiet, lonely night.
After a few moments, Phantom floated off the bed, gently lowering his human half onto the bed before putting away their laptop. With Fenton softly snoring comfortably on the bed, the ghost stared out the window, watching the handful of stars he could see. Maybe he could go for a flight. Or find a book. Or watch some Youtube videos. But none of that sounded interesting or like they would really distract him from everything that happened today, with Mom and Dad.
His parents. The ghost frowned, worrying. He hadn't heard them come upstairs, or watch tv in the living room, or blow anything up things in the basement. The house had been unusually, deathly quiet. His stomach churned with worry. What were they doing now? What were they thinking? Were they...talking about him and Fenton? They must have been earlier when Jazz came in and heard them talking. But what were they saying?
Phantom shook his head, rebuking himself. No, he didn't need to worry about that right now. He and his human half would talk to them tomorrow and everything would be okay. It would be, right?
A sound behind him distracted the ghost from his thoughts. The soft creaking of a mattress, Fenton whining in his sleep. Phantom turned around to find the human snuggling into his pillow, a frown on his face. His ghost half mirrored that frown; Fenton was almost definitely sharing his worries now, despite being asleep. Sighing, the ghost turned back to the window; maybe he should go for a flight, get out of the house to try and put his mind off of their parents. For both of their sakes.
Decision made, Phantom floated off the floor, intent on letting the stars and the feeling of the wind on his face sweep away his worries. He could have just phased through the window and been flying above the town moments later. But for some reason, he did something different and the ghost boy didn't know why.
He opened the bedroom door and floated down the hallway, towards the stairs to the first floor. The second floor was drowned in near darkness, except for his slight glow which just served to add to the eerie shadows...and a dim light coming from downstairs, probably from a lamp in the living room. Quiet voices drifted from downstairs and Phantom froze as he recognized who was speaking, his parents. He should go back to his room or just phase through the ceiling to fly like he planned. He shouldn't eavesdrop on them. But even as he thought that, the ghost crept forward and the words wavered into clarity.
"This is our fault, Jack."
No, he shouldn't listen in. He should…. Phantom stopped just before the stairs landing, the wall blocking his view of the living room...and anyone from seeing him.
"Maddie." His father started.
"It is Jack. It is. Don't try to deny it." Mom's voice, though quiet, was sharp.
No, he shouldn't eavesdrop. He didn't need to hear how guilty they felt. He... Ghost Danny froze, unable to move away, back toward the dark hallway or forward, to show himself in the light coming from the first floor.
"We...we hurt Danny." Mom continued. "We hurt him so badly. I just….The portal... I still can't believe it did...that." The ghost imagined her shaking her head.
"But we already knew Danny got hurt because of the portal, Madds." The man swallowed. "You found him, unconscious after his accident. And…" His voice turned ever quieter. "You heard what the doctors said. He was lucky to be alive after being electrocuted by that many volts."
"I already knew it was bad." Her voice wavered, the sadness sending a pang through Phantom's core. "But not this serious. He got hurt, bad enough to…to…"
"Form a ghost." Dad finished for her while the ghost stiffened at the statement.
"Exactly. We knew Danny got hurt and because of...of us. But I thought...I thought he got lucky and the ghostly symptoms were just extreme ectocontamination but this…." She trailed off and Phantom could picture her putting her head in her hands. He bit his lip; she still sounded so upset about his accident. But was she upset that he got hurt worse than they told her at first or because he was half ghost or….?
"What are we going to do about him?" Mom's question cut off his thoughts.
"About Danny?" Dad asked.
"About the ghost. Phantom." She said the last word, his chosen name with uncertainty again. What did she-?
"Maybe...we shouldn't do anything. We can't do anything, really." Similar uncertainty rose in Dad's voice.
"You're right." Mom sighed sadly. "We can't very well unmake a ghost."
Unmake? Confusion and anxiety warred; what was that supposed to mean?
"Technically we could. We've...you know what we've talked about doing to a ghost once we caught one." Phantom's eyes popped; he trembled, the familiar threats ringing in his head. Experiment. Dissect. Tear apart molecule by molecule. He would have fled in panic if not for the guilt in Dad's voice.
"No." Mom stressed the word. "I...I couldn't do that. Not to him. Not after….." A pause. "You saw the way he acted. The way he spoke. I couldn't hurt him, not with him looking at me like Danny does. He...he thinks we're his parents." Like Danny? His parents? His brow furrowed in confusion.
"Aren't we though?" Dad asked. "He's Danny's imprint. And even if not, our portal….it created him, Maddie." Imprint? That word sounded familiar; Mom and Dad used it when talking about ghosts. But…. A subtle dread raised the hair on the back of Phantom's neck.
"It did." Sadness weighed down the answer. "We're responsible for him." Another sigh. "But still what should we do? He's still a ghost. Couldn't he be dangerous?" Dangerous? A spike of fear cut through Phantom's core. No, no, he wasn't dangerous.
"No. He's not dangerous." Dad sounded surprisingly confident, almost chuckling. Phantom let out a sigh; Dad at least doesn't think he's a danger but his relief quickly turned to startled confusion. "I don't understand how but I think he's somehow got Danny's big heart." He has his own big heart? "You saw. We yelled at him, threatened him. We...we even shot at him." The ghost's core fell at the memory. "But he didn't fight back or even get angry. He just cried and begged for us to look at him."
Mom gave a thoughtful hum. "You're right. I think...he just wants to be acknowledged as our son. And we can do that." Something in that statement made the ghost tense anxiously. Something was off; Yes, he did want to be seen as Jack and Maddie Fenton's son. He was their son. But...
"Yeah. And Danny was very protective of him. They seem very attached." Danny….they meant his other half? Phantom stiffened. Of course the other Danny was protective and attached to him.
"They seemed a little too attached." Phantom could hear the frown in her voice and his subtle dread started blooming into fear.. How could he be too attached to himself? Unless….
"Can you blame them? Just imagine what this is like for Danno. Phantom looks like him, has a similar personality. They probably share interests, maybe even some memories. It must feel like...he met a twin he hadn't known about." Well….yes. They have the same personality, interests, and memories. But they're not twins...
"But Danny seems to think Phantom is another version of him." Another pang of fear rose. Why did Mom sound so disapproving of that? Phantom wasn't really another version of Danny but just a part of her son so….
"Well….from what we've theorized about how ghosts form, that's kind of true." How ghosts form. What are Mom and Dad's theories…..? Oh no.
"No Jack. Danny thinks he and Phantom are the same person." But they are that same person! "And Phantom agrees. I don't think he just believes he's an imprint of Danny. Phantom thinks he is Danny." Phantom paled. No.
"You really think…." Dad started skeptically.
"You heard both of them. Phantom clearly knows he's a ghost but somehow he doesn't realize that he's an ectoplasmic imprint." No. No. No. He's….he's not... "He thinks he's….part of Danny. And Phantom must have convinced Danny to agree." Of course Fenton agreed! He's Fenton's ghost half not...not...
"But… it's like you said Maddie. Danny agrees. He even said that the ghost catcher split him in half." There was a pause and when Dad continued, it was a soft question. "Couldn't they be right?"
Phantom relaxed ever so slightly; Dad might believe them at least. But then his growing hope shattered. "Someone can't be a human and a ghost at the same time. And definitely not in two bodies at once." The sharp denial cut into the ghost boy's core. "Phantom is just confused." Confused. No. No. No. He's not confused...He's not just a confused ectoplasmic imprint. "And we need to correct both of them before things get out of hand. We don't need Phantom overshadowing Danny again thinking he's 'fixing' them."
Ghost Danny leaned over, feeling sick. No. There wasn't any overshadowing. He wasn't overshadowing Danny because he was Danny. He is Danny. He's always been Danny. Damn it! He's already been through this. He's not an impostor. He's….
"You're right, honey." Dad said sadly. "We'll talk to them in the morning and help them see the truth."
The truth! The truth! Phantom already knew the truth. He knew who and what he was. He did! He had fought with it and against it. He's not a copy. Hands on his knees, the ghost's breath quickened. But he didn't need to breathe because he's a ghost. And he had thought there was no way Danny Fenton could be a ghost. Maybe…
"No." Ghost Danny hissed the word before he realized he was speaking. Emotions running high, he failed to notice the surge of his powers; a wave of cold wafted off of him and the downstairs lights flicker. "No. I'm Danny. I'm…."
The conversation downstairs cut off. "It sounds like someone's been listening." Mom sounded annoyed, mildly angry. She was mad at him. But did she think he was her son, up past bedtime and eavesdropping on Mom and Dad? Or confused ghost scum listening in on ghost hunters?
The stairs creaked as two sets of feet approached him. The heavy steps of his father and the light steps of his mother. But the boy looked down. He didn't want to look at them. He can't. Not if they think he's just… He leaned against the walls, knees buckling and he lowered himself.
Mom and Dad stopped in front of him, in the lite landing while Phantom cowered against the wall in the dark. He shivered; this felt too much like being in the lab this morning.
"You heard what we were talking about." Dad said. "We were going to talk to you in the morning but-"
"No." The ghost interrupted. He didn't want to hear it, how he's just an imprint.
"Phantom." Mom frowned, a hint of rebuke on her tongue.
"No. I'm Danny. My name's Danny." But was that true? Or was Danny the half ghost, half human he's supposed to be? He was just Phantom, just the incomplete ghost half. So he's not really… But no, they needed to see.
"Danny." Mom said with the same rebuke and doubt in her voice. She'd never said his name like she wasn't sure it belonged to him. That hurt.
"Son." Dad's voice was kinder. "Why don't we talk about this downstairs? I can see that you're upset."
Upset! Upset! Of course he was upset. "I don't want to talk if you're gonna just tell me I'm an impostor."
Mom's expression softened. "I wouldn't say impostor."
Dad nodded. "You're Danny's ghost and I understand why you think you are him."
"No. I am Danny. I am." Phantom argued, not noticing how his eyes flashed brighter.
"Phantom. I know it feels that way. But-" Mom put her hands in front of her, placatingly.
"I know who I am. I do. I'm Danny." The boy shook his head, hands shaking as another wave of cold surged off of him.
Mom's eyes widened and she glanced uncertainly at her husband. "Sweetie. I know it's hard but you're an imprint."
"No! I'm not!" The words came out louder than the ghost intended as his eyes flashed again and ectoenergy ignited in his hands. "I know who I am!"
Mom and Dad both stiffened, eyes widening as their mouth's snapped shut. It was then Phantom finally noticed the tension of their stances, Mom's hand hovering over the empty holster on her belt. Phantom lowered his hands, the neon green light instantly snuffing out. They looked afraid of him.
The boy's lip trembled and he looked down, unable to meet their eyes. "I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean to…" He didn't mean to scare them. He never wanted to scare anyone. He was a good ghost. He was good.
After a moment, Dad swallowed. "It's alright kiddo. How about we go downstairs now?"
With a nod, Phantom let Mom and Dad lead him downstairs. Still avoiding their eyes, he took a seat on the armchair while his parents took the couch.
He wrung his hands and words were pouring out before he realized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It..it just happened and the powers….sometime I can't control them like I want to. But...but I'm good, I promise. I...I don't want to be a bad ghost. I'm good."
Ever as he said the words, guilt collected in his chest. He'd scared that little girl right after the ghost catcher, he'd hurt his human half last night, he'd made Jazz faint, and now he'd scared Mom and Dad.
The adults looked between each other, guilt marring their expressions. Mom's shoulders feel. "All...all those horrible things we've said about ghosts. We made you think you were evil." She paused, looking down shamefully.
Dad continued. "You definitely aren't. We know you're good."
"We should be apologizing. We both messed up. We made assumptions and mistakes." The woman looked at her husband who took her hand, squeezing it. "But we're seeing that we're wrong about ghosts in some respects."
"We know you can feel and think. You reason and learn. So ghosts aren't…." He blushed in shame. "All ghosts aren't mindless and obsessive like we thought."
"And we know you're not a monster, Phantom….Danny. I'm sorry I ever called you that." Mom apologized, sending complex feelings through the ghost. He appreciated the authentic words as they sent comforting warmth through him. But…
"But you still don't think I'm real." Ghost Danny wrapped his arms around himself.
Dad's frown deepened. "You are real, son."
"You guys still think I'm an imprint." He sighed sadly.
"That doesn't mean you're not real. You still think and feel, don't cha?" Dad raised a brow.
"Just because you weren't born in the way a human is, that doesn't mean you're not real." Mom added.
Phantom shook his head, finally looking up at them. "It's...uhhh… nice that you'd still care about me if I was an imprint. But I'm not. I'm literally your Danny. My human self and me just kinda got...split."
Mom and Dad both looked skeptical. The woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "It might feel that way, but that's simply not possible."
"And why not?" The ghost boy crossed his arms.
Mom sighed. "Someone cannot be a human and ghost at the same time, some kind of hybrid. You must realize how ludicrous that sounds."
Phantom ran a hand through his hair. "I know it sounds crazy. But…"
"Sweetie, it is crazy." Her tone was almost pitying. "Just...think about it this way. You know that if an unovershadowed human went through the ghost catcher, nothing would happen, right?."
Phantom tilted his head, confused at the sudden change of topic. "What?"
"If our son had gone through the ghost catcher before his accident nothing would have happened."
The ghost blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I mean, the ghost catcher removes ectoplasmic residue by passing matter through a particle field that forcibly repeals ectoplasm from real world matter. Even the lingering residue of this field will work on an overshadowing ghost as well, hence why the ghost catcher removed you from his body." The woman explained.
"Okay. I know that." Phantom raised a brow.
"But it would not have worked before the accident, which gave Danny what we thought was ectoplasmic contamination. But what we were really measuring must have been...well...you."
Phantom's eyes popped open as he paled. She..she had a point; he hadn't even thought about how they'd been able to split. But if they'd been able to measure the ectoplasm in his blood and his current body was made of that ectoplasm…. "Well that's…"
"That means the portal created you." Mom frowned pointedly.
"I know that portal made me like...this." Phantom motioned up and down his body, uncertainly. "But…"
"You...and Danny...said you died in the portal. So Danny's….near death experience is what caused you to form."
"Yeah. Our…..death made us half ghost. But...but that doesn't mean me and Fenton are separate people." Phantom argued, doubt growing.
"Madds, maybe he's not getting how ghosts form." Dad interjected.
"That's a good point honey." She addressed Dad before turning attention back to the ghost. "We had figured this was something ghosts instinctively know but I suppose you don't."
Numbly Phantom shook his head. Yep, they should definitely tell him how ghosts form and add to his growing panic.
Mom continued. "Well, ghosts are formed from the strong emotions of a living being's death….or near death apparently, since the actual cessation of bodily functions is not required. Those emotions imprint into ectoplasm, twisting and form it into a ghost bearing a resemblance to the organic being the emotions came from." She rubbed her chin. "We had thought the resulting ghost was only able to experience and display the emotions it was imprinted from- anger, sorrow, and maybe fear- but you suggest that isn't the case." The woman then shook her head. "Anyway, the important point is a person's ghost is not the same being as said deceased person but a new entity 'born' from their death."
The longer Mom talked, the paler Phantom grew. "But...I don't…" The boy bit his lip, unable to verbalize a response.
Both parent's expressions fell, looking troubled. Dad's brow furrowed as he asked. "Do you understand now?"
Phantom shook his head. No, he didn't understand. The theories….they made sense. Mom and Dad were the experts; they should know what they're talking about. But….he's Danny. He knew he was, right? Mom and Dad couldn't be right about him. No.
The boy wrung his hands. "But...what about the overshadowing?"
Mom raised a brow. "What about it?"
Phantom bit his lip, looking down. "Before the ghost catcher, when I was….with Fenton. It didn't feel like overshadowing. I don't remember it like a ghost controlling a human. I remember just being a scared human with powers I didn't understand." Head turning up, he met his parents' questioning gazes. "If me and Fenton are separate people, wouldn't it have felt like sharing a body with someone else? But it didn't. There was just….one. Just one voice, one mind. Just one person."
Mom tilted her head, studying him for several moments in thought. She wrinkled her brow. "But how do you know your human counterpart experienced what you did? Maybe you were not aware of his presence but he was of yours."
The boy shook his head. "But we talked about it and Fenton and I remember that time exactly the same way."
The woman cupped her chin. "Perhaps neither one of you was aware of the other."
"No. I know we were one person. We are one person." He emphasized, almost desperately.
Mom sighed, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Honey, you know that sounds ludicrous. It is not possible."
Ghost Danny frowned, getting agitated. "Yes it is! I know what happened to me."
"But we are talking to you right here, right now and your counterpart is asleep in his room. You can't be one person. Your father and I saw you, side by side."
"I know we're split now but we're still-" The ghost argued.
Dad speaking cut the boy off. "You said you didn't understand your powers before the ghost catcher. And Maddie, when Danny told us about his symptoms, he said he couldn't control them. We even saw that, him turning invisible and intangible without trying to."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Phantom balled his fists.
"Phantom, that was you, the random powers." The statement made his hands shake, anger turning into fear. Yes, he was the ghost powers. But… "You're a young ghost, barely a month old. And we don't know how long it takes for a ghost to become self aware."
Mom's eyes widened. "You're right Jack. If he wasn't self aware, not overshadowing but inhabiting Danny's body, passively."
"But..I am self aware." Ghost Danny's eyes widened.
But the parents ignored him as Dad continued."And not just anyone's body but his living counterpart. So Danny's emotions, thoughts, and memories were similar to the ones making him up."
Mom rubbed her chin. "And that inhabitation almost certainly wasn't intentional. Danny was in the portal as it started, right where Phantom formed. So it happened moments after Phantom formed."
Dad pointed out. "Or the ghost formed in the same space as Danny's body. That would explain the high concentration of tangible ectoplasm in Danny's blood stream."
"Right. And if as a newly formed ghost, he wasn't self aware but still taking in stimuli. Seeing through Danny's eyes, experiencing his emotions and thoughts, feeling when Danny willed his body to move." Mom's eyes widened in realization. "All those stimuli would feel like his, even though Danny was the one thinking and feeling."
"But I am Danny!" The ghost begged.
"And the powers would be random without an active ghostly mind to control them." Dad continued, enthusiastically.
Phantom paled. They were talking about him like he wasn't there, bouncing ideas off of each other like he was one of their experiments. He sputtered, stomach churning. "But...but that doesn't make sense. I am self aware."
"Right now you are." Mom pointed. "The ghost catcher would have forced you into your own ectoplasmic body and your mind was quickly forced to make sense of everything you'd experienced." She frowned, her expression sickly kind. "No wonder you were so confused."
Confused. No he wasn't confused. He was… "But you can't know that's what happened and I'm not right."
"You can't either." Mom crossed her arms. "And doesn't this make more sense than you and Danny somehow being one person, a half ghost?"
"No." The boy shook his head. He knew the truth, he knew. But… His powers, his powers had been uncontrollable before, dictated by some unknowable force or drive. Could that have been…. "I am Danny. I'm half ghost."
Half ghost. That didn't make much sense though, not really. Mom and Dad had never ever thought some kind of hybrid was possible. But he'd know if he's actually been overshadowing Fenton? No, he knew who he was. But...did he know? He'd thought he was a confused impostor for days. He'd been sure because Danny Fenton couldn't be a ghost. But he was Danny Fenton...or a part of him...or he should be, united with his human self. He wasn't a formerly unaware, nearly mindless ghost. But...could he tell? If that was the truth, he wouldn't be able to tell. He wouldn't be able to tell. He knew he was Danny's ghost. But…..was he separate? Just some ectoplasm imprinted on by Danny's death in the portal. Not part of Danny's soul, one half of a whole.
His chest was heaving, though he didn't need to breathe. "No, I'm not an impostor."
The boy blinked and Mom and Dad were kneeling in front of him. When had they moved?
"It's okay, son." Dad was holding his hand. "We'll help you figure this out."
Mom's hand wavered over his arm, as if she was unsure whether or not she should touch him. "I know this is hard. But you need to accept this. I know that you can."
"No." A tear collected in his eye. "I know who I am." But did he? Did he or was he just in denial?
Dad's lips turned down, expression softening. "Maybe you're not who you thought you were. And that's okay."
The ghost just shook his head. "No." He was Danny, like he thought. Except, he's been sure that wasn't true after the ghost catcher. And before he'd….they'd been sure, they weren't a ghost but just contaminated. His powers...he was a curse, a disease, a monster, scum. He'd been wrong about that (He had been wrong, right? He was a ghost but he wasn't a monster). Could he be wrong about this?
His eyes flashed a bright green, anxious panic spiking. A brief flash of the ceiling of his bedroom, the feeling of the soft bed under him. The green receded and he was looking at the living room carpet again. Fenton. Phantom could feel him, his other half, his human self. He was looking through Phantom's eyes, keenly feeling this panic too. The ghost looked up at his parents and when he spoke, Danny felt both Phantom and Fenton deciding to address their parents. "No, we're the same person. We...we just need to re-fuse. Merge back into one Danny and you'll see."
Mom paled. "You can't go back to overshadowing Danny."
He balled his fists. "I can't overshadow myself!"
"But you're not Danny!" The woman argued.
"Yes I am! You never listen to me!" He gritted his teeth.
"I am listening but this doesn't make any sense!" Mom was shaking, maybe with anger, maybe with...some other emotion the ghost wasn't registering.
"Maddie." Face pale, Dad put a hand on his wife's arm. "Maybe we should consider-"
"Mom?! Dad?!" A young male voice barked out from a human throat and the ghostly head turned.
A double image. Himself, black haired and standing at the foot of the stairs. Himself, white haired and sitting on the arm chair.A pair of blue eyes and a pair of green eyes met. Both blinked and the spell was broken.
The ghost was just Phantom again, only seeing his human half staring at him with wide, hurt eyes over the back of his parents' heads. He floated off the armchair and in the blink of an eye, phased through the parents and flew at his human. "Fenton!"
A thousand emotions bombarding his core, the ghost wrapped his arms around his other self. He turned them invisible and both figures disappeared.