Note: Another chapter! This one contains that flashback to the accident which I mentioned a few times on tumblr. It was a struggle to figure out but I'm happy with how it's turned out. Happy reading!
Right after lunch, Fenton got a strange feeling. There was a burst of happiness, contentment, amusement. Distantly, faintly, he could feel his parents' arms around him. They were hugging Phantom. Whatever had just happened with them was good. The past few days had been great in general. After the training on Saturday… the boy sighed. He felt the most loved and accepted he had in a long time. And Phantom was feeling the same right now.
Then… a whisper of sadness, of wistful longing. The human lifted a hand to his heart, rubbing the spot. 'I wish I was there too.' He thought quietly; there was no point in telling his ghost half what both of them already knew.
There was a pause, the feelings from Phantom ebbing away. But… Fenton winced, a sudden heavy sadness clenching his heart. It was grieved and guilty and… the boy shivered. Something else had happened.
On impulse, the human Danny reached with his mind but stopped. Phantom wasn't… afraid or even really anxious. There was pain but… whatever this was, it didn't feel like something caused by his parents. It was heavy and important but… also determined and resolute.
Still…. Fenton was tempted to poke. He could ask and Phantom would tell him. He'd instantly know everything that just happened but… he looked down at his paper. He needed to be here, to be present. They'd deal with this when he got home; Phantom would be okay until then.
With that, human Danny sent a small measure of understanding, comfort, and something that might have even been affection.
When Fenton opened the front door a few hours later, he gave his ghost the customary wave and smile in greeting. He sat down beside his counterpart on the couch.
The ghost gave him a sad look. "We need to talk about something later, uh… after dinner."
The human nodded sympathetically. He'd felt this coming. "Yeah. Okay. We will." He took Phantom's hand, giving it a squeeze. And… the accident, that was what they needed to talk about. The information was in his head, with the memory of that afternoon in the lab, every single detail. "So…" The corner of his lip turned up, teasing. "Snake boy."
Phantom rolled his eyes, purposely flopping onto his back. He turned his legs into a tail, making a fittingly snakey hiss. The appendage flicked playfully, hitting Fenton lightly in the face. The human laughed, pushing the coiled limb away. The ghost took off his glove and threw it at his other half.
"Oh look, we're shedding." Fenton chuckled.
Phantom took off the other glove and hit him with it. "Oh shut up." He quipped mildly.
Fenton grabbed the glove he was being battered with and pulled it out of Phantom's hand, grinning.
The ghost gave a faux offended gasp. "Oh no, you didn't."
Human Danny slipped on the gloves, with a grin. And of course this time, there was no sense of wrongness. The pieces of ectoplasmic clothing fit perfectly.
Fenton eventually gave the gloves back, but not before the pair decided to trade clothes, earning vaguely confused and amused looks from the rest of the family at dinner.
The human unzipped the top part of the suit while his ghost pulled off his t-shirt and threw it in the dirty laundry hamper. Fenton handed over the outfit before dressing himself in pajamas. At the same time, Phantom donned the familiar black and white.
Now dressed, the pair squeezed onto the bed, sitting hip to hip. "So…" Fenton hazarded, tentatively. "The accident?"
His ghost nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah…." A pause, a breath. "How much do you remember?"
"Everything." The human said quietly, looking down. The word weighed heavy on his heart.
Phantom put one arm around him and the human half did the same. Fenton closed his eyes and felt it out, everything that Phantom felt and remembered about the accident. He could see it, exactly the same as his recollection. Two copies of the same memory. Or rather… it was the same pool of memory, viewed from two, slightly different perspectives.
Fenton winced, his heart aching. It hurt, remembering what had happened to him. It hurt so much.
"We…we need to talk about it." Phantom whispered. "We need to say it out loud. Not just… keep it all in here." The ghost met his eyes, motioning vaguely to both of them, to their core and heart and their two heads.
Human Danny held the gaze for a long moment. His ghost half was right. Of course he was right. This, talking about the hard things had helped before. When they had that fight about re-fusing and Fenton realized how badly he'd hurt this new part of himself. When they went flying and promised to share the hurt and fear and try to forgive themself. After the ghost catcher blew up and they cried about what Mom had said, terrified that she still hated Phantom.
Fenton tightened the arm around his ghost slightly, turning the casual touch into a half-hug. "Yeah. Things have… things have been getting better. They're actually… really good now but…"
"We need to keep going." Phantom implored, green eyes softening.
"Yeah." Fenton knew… he knew that he died in that portal. Phantom, the ghost he was staring at, was the part of him that had died. He was a representation of that death. The portal had changed him, made him into a halfa. And he was accepting that. But the specifics, the details, the…the fear, the pain….
Human Danny took in a deep, forceful breath. "Mom and Dad had finally finished their portal. They'd been talking about it for… months, I guess. And they were so excited to show me and Jazz…."
Danny sat on the bottom of the lab steps, a bored expression on his face. Jazz crossed her arms, frowning. In front of the teens, their parents buzzed excitedly around the room, shuffling through papers, fiddling with machinery.
The boy sighed loudly. "What did you just have to show us?"
The words were ignored, the parents too focused on their frantic work.
"What is it? I was working on my thesis, finally struck inspiration. But you just had to drag me down here." No response. Jazz raised her arms. "If you're not going to tell us, we're going back upstairs." She grabbed her brother's arm and started pulling him to his feet. "Come on, Danny."
"Jazzy-pants!" Dad exclaimed. "Danny-boy! Not yet! You've got to see this!" He waved them over.
The red-head still scowled while Danny shrugged, pulling himself to his feet and coming to stand beside his parents. Jazz followed, standing beside him.
"So, what's this about?" The boy asked mildly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He glanced up the stairs. Ugh, he hoped this would be done soon; he'd planned to meet Sam and Tucker in Doomed in twenty minutes.
"It's done!" His father shouted.
"What?" Danny's brow furrowed.
"The portal!" For once, Mom sounded almost as excited as Dad. "We finished the construction. We checked the calculations. It's ready to be activated."
The boy blinked, peering at the hole in the wall, the mess of wires and machinery. He frowned doubtfully. "It's done? Are you sure?"
"Of course, Danno!" Dad patted him heavily on the back. "Took years but we're finished! We're gonna punch a hole right inta the Ghost Zone!"
"Ghost Zone." Jazz rolled her eyes. "Ghosts aren't real, Dad."
"Jazz sweetie, I know you think that, but your father and I know what we're talking about." Mom said with total conviction. "The portal will open and you'll see."
"Everyone will see!" Dad held up his hands. "Everyone'll see and we'll finally have proof."
"Real, solid proof." The other adult vowed wistfully. "We'll finally have ghosts to study, real subjects to experiment on."
The teens looked at each other and Danny fought not to face palm. Oh, no, not again. He'd already heard this a million times and they were about to go off on another rant.
"We'll be able to learn so much. Oh, Jack. Can you even imagine?" The woman sighed.
"And all those naysayers will see! We were right!" The man clapped.
"Mom, Dad." Jazz interrupted. "You said it's ready. Are you going to show it to us or not?"
"That's the spirit!" Dad said proudly. "You ready to see history being made, kids?"
"Yeah…sure…" Danny said, placatingly. His eyes flickered to the stairs again. The sooner this was over with, the better.
"Put on your hazmat first." Mom instructed seriously.
"Do we have to?" The boy whined.
The woman gave him a serious look and he sighed, turning around. Rolling his eyes, he walked to the closet and pulled out his custom hazmat suit. Jazz followed, grabbing one of Mom's blue suits.
"It's not even going to work." The red-head muttered, hotly.
Danny said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He zipped up his suit, turning back to the parents.
"Put on your goggles too." Mom reminded and the boy did so. "Now come stand here."
Danny stopped beside his mother, Jazz at his other side. The four huddled against the wall opposite the hole in the wall, as far away from it as possible. Dad pressed a button and glass partitions slid out of the floor.
The black-haired teen blinked, suddenly worried. "Uh… when did you install this?"
"Just a few days ago." Dad placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's for just in case, son…. Not like anything's gonna blow up." He muttered the last part.
That…. was not comforting at all.
"Jack." Mom said, chastising but also a little worried. "It's going to be alright. Kids, are we ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Jazz crossed her arms.
Dad gave a thumbs up, turning to grab two electrical plugs. He grinned, ready to smash them together but paused. "I feel like we need to say something first."
Mom turned towards the machine, a thoughtful look on her face. "We're at a threshold, a monumental moment in human history. When this portal opens, it will open a doorway to a whole new dimension, a world of possibilities. Possibilities that few have even considered, much less tried to grasp. So…"
"Here's to new discoveries. New beginnings." Dad finished, wistful.
Jazz rolled her eyes, visibly biting her lip. And Danny was tempted to do that same. The words sounded grandiose, even pompous. He should have scoffed at the empty phrases. Like Jazz said, ghosts weren't real. No portal was about to open. But…
For some reason, the words feel heavy on Danny's heart. "To new beginnings." He echoed softly.
With that, Dad connected the two plugs. "Bonzi!"
Eyes shining, both adults looked at the machine expectantly. There was an electric hum, the whirl of machinery. Lightning sparked, leaping within the frame. "Yes! Yes!" "That's it!" The adults cheered. For just a second, there was a chill, something… neon green. Then…
The electricity flickered out. The lab fell silent, gears grinding to a stop. The family just stared for one minute, two.
Dad looked down, eyes wide. "That should have worked…" He pulled the plugs apart. "Another go, Mads. Let's…" He shoved the plugs together. "Bonzi." He shouted, less enthusiastic.
Again, lightning danced in the frame before going out. Another pause. Dad pulled the plug apart and then back together. "The third try…."
"Jack…"
"Come on. Come on." The man muttered.
More electricity sparked. "Jack, honey. Let me try."
Mom took the wire, plugging and unplugging it. The crackle of lightning. Then… it fizzled out. "This was… This was supposed to work."
"It's gonna work. Anytime now. It's gonna work." Dad pleaded.
Frantic plugging and unplugging. Electricity flaring before going out. The parents' expressions slowly fell.
"Jack, it's not… it's not working…."
"No. It's gotta work. It's gotta."
"Honey, it's not… let me see." Mom roughly grabbed the plug. "It's grounded. The plugs look fine. There's no damage to the wires. It's connecting." She shook her head. "I don't… I don't understand. Everything's perfect."
"We must be missing something." Dad insisted, yanking the plug back. "We'll…we'll double check and we'll figure it out."
The two teens looked between each other, a hint of worry on both their faces. Jazz huffed, exacerbated but didn't say anything.
Danny sighed, looking at the stairs. "Well, that was… interesting. Can we go upstairs now?"
The adults didn't register the words, engaged in frantic conversation.
His sister glared. "Danny and I are going upstairs." She fiddled with the buttons on the control panel until the glass safety screen lowered. The kids walked to the closet. Danny pulled off the gloves and boots. He shimmed out of the body of the suit, roughly shoving it to the ground. Jazz did the same, grabbing the hazmat off the floor and shoving it onto the hanger. It fell off but she turned away, not caring. Danny frowned at the action, hanging up his own suit as well as her neglected suit.
His sister practically stomped up the stairs, without a look back. The boy followed. "I told them it wouldn't work." Jazz growled, once she was at the top of the stairs. "This obsession with ghosts. Of course, it didn't work. And they pulled me away from my thesis for this? I was finally making progress but no, they just had to distract me. They know I only have another YEAR to finish this." She went to her room, leaving Danny standing alone in the kitchen.
The boy frowned to himself, the hair on the back of his neck suddenly rising. A distant buzz hummed in his head. For just a moment, he looked back through the open lab door. In the tunnel of the portal, was there… He blinked, the strange feeling evaporating.
Frantic, desperate words drifted up the stairs. "There's nothing wrong with these calculations. This is the twentieth time I've checked them. Jack, check the wiring."
"It's perfect! Everything's connected. No loose wires! It's plugged in! It should be working!"
"But it's not working!" A hint of annoyance leaked into Mom's voice
"I can see that, Maddie!" Dad yelled, just as annoyed. "Something's gotta be wrong. Maybe the math…"
"I just checked it. Again. It's not my calculations." Mom cut in, more heated. "Maybe the engineering…."
"I know what I'm doing. There isn't a problem with my engineering." The man bit back.
And… they were starting to argue. Danny turned away from the lab door, towards his room. No, nope. He wasn't staying here and listening to them fight. He had a session with his friends to join. Besides, Mom and Dad would figure it out. They'd look through everything, find out what went wrong and fix it. Or they'd throw it out to work on something else; by the end of the day, they'd be rambling about their next embarrassing scheme. Back to normal, except…
Danny shivered. There was… something. A buzzing. Distant whispers. He shook his head.
"Years! We've been working on this for years, Maddie. It can't… it can't just not work." Dad's voice trembled slightly.
"I don't know Jack!" Mom sounded almost… dejected. "I'm looking at the same data you are. It's just… I don't know…"
The boy went up the stairs, the sounds of voices quieting as he got closer to his room. He entered and closed the door. Turning away, Danny logged onto his computer, opening Doomed.
He donned the head set. "Hey Sam. Hey Tuck."
The friends played for the next few hours. It was business as usual, taking down enemies and gathering loot while joking and laughing with each other.
Danny enjoyed himself, having forgotten about what happened in the lab earlier. "Oh. You guys! Did you see the new trailer for the Femalien movie?! It looked so awesome. There was this…" The boy trailed off at the sound of a door slamming downstairs and a familiar voice shouting.
"Maddie, you can't be serious!" Dad yelled. "That is insane! We can't just-"
"Are you listening to a word I said?!" Mom argued "I didn't suggest that. I just think-"
"That we should just give up?!"
"I didn't say that! We need to rethink our framework. Put this away and work on something else."
"Put this… Put this away?! We've been working on it for years! We are so close to succeeding. This has been our dream, our life's work since we were in college. Earlier in the lab, you said-"
"Maybe I was wrong!" Mom cut in. "Maybe-"
Danny didn't hear the rest, distracted by his friends in his ears. "-anny? I think we lost him, Sam."
"No, he's still logged in. Maybe-"
"I'm still here." Danny shook his head, turning his attention back to his friends. "Sorry. Got… distracted."
"Oh? What was it?" Tucker asked.
Danny huffed. "Mom and Dad are fighting." His brow furrowed when the volume below him increased.
"What?! Jack! I can not believe-"
The boy groaned, putting his head down on his desk. "They're so loud."
"That is it!" There was a bang, Mom's words cutting off as Jazz threw her door open. "I've had writers' block for the last four hours! Because you two interrupted me when I was finally making progress. And now you're yelling?! About that stupid hole in the wall?!"
"Jazz. Sweetie." Mom ground out, her gritted teeth audible.
"No! I'm not listening to this!" Jazz stomped down stairs. There was the sound of keys jingling. "I'm going to the library." The front door slammed.
"And… Jazz just left." Danny grumbled, annoyed.
"Man, I'm sorry. Parents fighting sucks." Tucker said, sympathetically.
"Well…" Danny's nose wrinkled as he tried to listen. "At least, they're not yelling anymore." True enough, the volume had lowered after Jazz stormed off. His parents' voice still faintly buzzed up the stairs, though he couldn't make out the words anymore. "I think there's still arguing about their ghost portal downstairs though."
"Portal?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, Mom and Dad wanted to show me and Jazz their portal." The boy explained. The hole in the wall, the wires. His parents' excitement. Mom's speech about breaching the gap into the Ghost Zone, a whole new world. "It was supposed to be ready. Dad plugged it in and… nothing happened." He sighed. "I mean… it's supposed to be a portal to the 'Ghost Zone'." The air quotes were audible in his voice. "I figured it wasn't gonna work. It's not like ghosts are real but.. They were so excited." The boy trailed off, just a hit of worry breaking through the annoyance.
"That sucks. I'm sorry, Danny." Tucker comforted.
"It'll be okay. Maybe they'll still get it to work" Sam added.
"Get it to work… Yeah right." Danny mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, no offense Sam. But… how are they going to get it to work?" The technogeek asked skeptically. "It's supposed to be a portal to the ghost dimension… and ghosts don't exist."
The boy could almost hear her eye-roll. "You don't know that. Maybe ghosts actually are real."
"Oh, don't start with that occult BS." Tucker complained. "Ghosts aren't real. Any rational person knows that. It's impossible."
"It's not impossible." Sam huffed. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
There was a pause. Danny blinked, eyebrows wrinkling. Then…
"Did you just call me Horatio?" Tucker asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Something in the tone lifted the boy's grouchy mood. He chuckled. "Sam, did you just quote Shakespeare? Gross."
"Yes. And don't give me that. Hamlet's actually a really good play." The goth snapped.
"But… Shakespeare's so boring." Tucker whined.
"Well, if they didn't make us read it in class in a monotone voice…" Sam sassed back. "They're plays and better yet, Tragedies. And not those stupid fatalistic greek tragedies. They're supposed to be acted. You wouldn't just quote Hamilton in a monotone voice."
"Hamilton is a musical." Tucker argued.
"It's the same concept!" Sam grumbled, exacerbated. "They're both supposed to be performed with actual emotion and-"
"Sam." Danny interrupted. "What does this have to do with anything? And… why were you quoting Shakespeare at us?"
There was a pause. The girl took a breath. "I guess the point is, just because something seems impossible, it doesn't mean it is. I mean… your parents have been passionate about ghosts since they were in college. There must be a reason for that."
Earlier, Danny might have scoffed. He might have even said it was because they were crazy, the town crackpots. But… they'd both been so excited and so sure. "Yeah." He agreed mildly.
"And just imagine if they're right and there actually is a whole dimension of ghosts." Sam continued, a measure of awe entering her voice. "What if someone actually could open up a portal to it? Just think about what that would mean."
Danny's brow furrowed, considering the question. Just think… well, he had. He used to believe in ghosts like his parents. He'd listened to the stories growing up. And ghosts were inhuman, dangerous, unpredictable. They were scary but… they were mysterious and intriguing too. Mom and Dad had talked about the Ghost Zone too. And he'd tried to imagine it. What did it look like? A dark and spooky forest? An overgrown and lonely graveyard? An old abandoned house? Or something else, something he couldn't even imagine? Like his mom had said, there were so many possibilities. And… what if it was real?
The boy sighed, letting his shoulders relax. "Yeah, you're right. Who knows what amazing things are on the other side of that portal? I mean…" He coughed, slightly embarrassed. "If portals or the Ghost Zone are real, that is."
Across the line, Tucker chuckled. "Sam's got a point. Man, if your parents could actually open a portal to another dimension, how awesome would that be? And the tech involved…." He gave a whistle. "You have to let me check it out some time."
"Yeah. Later, once things quiet down." Danny agreed.
His friends both gave affirming hums and the boy opened his mouth, about to suggest they keep playing the game. Then Sam let out a groan. "My mom's calling me. I have to go."
Danny frowned, disappointed. "Oh, okay. Bye S-"
"I'm coming! I'm coming." Sam yelled, apparently to her mom off screen. "Bye, Tucker. Bye, Danny." She logged off.
There was a pause. "And then there were two." Danny quipped.
His friend gave him a laugh. "Come on. Let's see if we can get past this gate without Sam."
The boys tried but made little progress, despite the valiant effort.
"Shoot." Danny hissed as one of the guards stabbed his character.
Tucker's avatar swung, before being stabbed as well. "And we're dead." He sighed. "Well, that was fun. I've gotta go though. It's my turn to help Mom with dinner."
"Alright." Danny frowned. "See ya, Tuck."
"I'll try to call you later. Bye, Danny." With that, the technogeek logged off.
Danny exhaled loudly, pulling off his head set. Instantly, the sound of yelling grew louder. The boy rubbed his head. They must have gotten back at it while he'd been distracted with the game. Did they have to be so loud?! The boy grit his teeth. He didn't want to have to listen to them yelling! Curse his sister; she had a car, she could just drive off and not have to deal with the head-ache inducing noise.
The anger flickered in him. He moved for his headphones, stuffing the buds in his ears and drowning out the sound. But….
Suddenly there was a crash, the sound of a door slamming. Danny sat up with a groan, throwing out his ear buds.
"Jack. Jack!" Mom called. "Let's talk about this! I… Jack!" The sound of a vehicle starting and speeding away.
Danny's eyes widened and he stood, quickly walking to the stairs. He peered down into the living room.
"He took the GAV. Seriously?!" Mom seethed. "He just drove off?! Why would he listen to me? Why?" Her voice rang out with sarcasm. "I just said we need to take a break, re-think things but no!" She shouted.
Danny walked down the stairs. "Mom?" He asked, tentatively.
The woman didn't reply to him, glaring in the direction of the lab door. "Years of work for nothing!" She held up her hands. "We don't have enough money to try again." A humorless laugh. " And try again?! What would be the point?" She stomped to one of the end tables, gapping her purse. "Unlike what some people think, not everything can be solved with enough ingenuity and positive thinking!" Mom shoved a pair of slip-on tennis shoes onto her feet.
The teen stopped, now five feet from her. "Where are you going?"
Her head whipped up, glaring eyes fixing on him. "Out."
"But…." Danny's eyes flickered to the clock. 5:30. "Dinner?" He whined.
"Pizza. In the freezer." She turned away, grabbing her keys.
"But-" The boy started.
"Just follow the directions on the box." The woman grouched, opening the door. "I'm sure you can handle that."
Danny narrowed his eyes. "I'm not stupid! And that's not-" The front door slammed and the boy ran forward to open it. "Where are you going?!"
"Out!" Mom climbed into her car, slammed the door, and drove off, leaving the boy standing in the doorway, mouth gaping.
She just.. Drove off. Both of his parents and his sister really just drove off?! Without telling him anything?! Danny turned around, slamming the door.
"Seriously?! They just left me?!" He stomped across the living room, into the kitchen. He threw open the freezer, pulling out the pizza box and slamming it onto the counter. "Just follow the directions on the box." Danny mocked, waving his hands. "I'm sure you can handle that." He flipped the box over. "350 for 23 to 25 minutes."
The boy turned the oven onto the right temperature. After taking the pizza out of the box and the plastic wrapping, he put it on the round metal pan. "I'm putting it in the oven now!" Danny shouted, as if his mom could hear him from so far away. "You sure I can handle this?!"
He shut the oven door and set the timer. "Look! I'm operating the oven! I hope I don't burn the house down!"
With a huff, the boy sat down at the kitchen to stew in his anger. Stupid sister who left him here alone to eat crummy grocery store pizza. Stupid parents who stormed off, didn't even bother to say where they were going or when they'd be back. And stupid portal! Stupid hole in the wall that didn't even work because ghosts weren't real. Except…
He frowned, Sam's words ringing in his head. What if they were real?
"Stupid Fenton. Stop that." Danny growled, pushing the thought away. He pulled out his phone. He'd just scroll on it until the pizza was done. Maybe he'd watch a movie after.
The boy started down at the screen, chuckling at the occasional meme here, reblogging a post there. That was a cool idea. Oh! A neat picture! And… he face palmed. Not horse plinko again. This hell site….
Suddenly, Danny shivered, a feeling of cold washing over him. Something buzzed in the back of his head. What was… He looked up, eyes fixing on… the lab door. He scowled. Stupid lab.
After twenty-five minutes, the boy turned off the oven, pulled out the pizza and cut it. He grabbed half of the pizza- cut into two big slices-, squirted some ranch into his plate, and started towards his room. But… the hairs on the back of his neck rose. There was… something. The feeling of eyes watching him, whispers behind his head, a swirl of green. He pushed the strange sensations away.
Danny ate and after that watched a movie on his laptop. It was 6:00, 6:30, 7:00. None of his family had come back yet and he hadn't heard anything. 7:30 and… his phone buzzed.
The boy picked up the device and glared. A text from Mom: I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just needed some time to cool off. I'll be back late. Please check that the door to the lab is locked and the lights are off before you go to bed. Love you sweetie.
Danny huffed, annoyance flickering. At least she told him something. No such kindness from his dad or sister though. Well… at least this meant he had the house to himself for now.
Movie over, the boy went back downstairs for a soda and some cookies. A chill ran through him, the buzz in his head echoing stronger. His eyes went to the lab door before ripping them away. He practically ran back up the stairs with his treats.
8:00. He texted his friends. Both were busy with family stuff. Youtube it was then.
8:30. And… why was he watching a video about a movie he'd never watched? He rubbed his temples. Why was his head buzzing?
9:00. Ugh. This was boring. Danny flopped back in his chair. And he still hadn't heard anything from his family. Wasn't everything closed by now?
9:30. He texted Jazz, only to get left on read. The boy scowled, annoyed. But worry still flickered. Where were they? Danny rubbed his arms, feeling the hairs stand on end.
10:00. The sound of a car approaching. Danny stood, eyes widening eagerly. He shuffled to his window before his face fell. It was just one of the neighbors. His parents and sister weren't home. Why not? Why weren't they back yet? Worry wormed its way into his gut. Were they okay? Had.. had something happened?
The boy chastised himself. No, it was fine. They'd be back soon. Jazz probably went to the college library. The librarian there liked her and let her work and check out books, despite not being a student. It closed at 11 on the weekends and if Jazz got really absorbed, well… she'd stay until she got kicked out.
And Mom and Dad… they both needed time to cool off. Danny didn't really know where either of them would have gone but after that fight, they needed time, like Mom said. They both were really upset because the portal didn't work. Or maybe… didn't work was the wrong phrasing, maybe…
Another flash of a car's headlights pulled Danny out of his thoughts. He frowned. Not his parents or sister. Still weren't home. But they'd be back soon. It would be fine, right? But still…. Danny fought to push down the worry.
By a quarter to eleven, the teen was losing the battle. Danny yawned, stretching in his seat. Man. Ositating between being bored and being anxious for the past hour was really tiring. He'd been planning on staying up until someone got home but maybe he'd just go to bed. He stood, grabbing his bed clothes and-
Wait. The boy froze. He should do one thing first. Danny walked out of his room and started towards the stairs. Mom had told him to check the lab door and the lights. He should probably make sure everything was locked anyway. Danny did so, checking that the front and the side doors were locked. He turned off the lights downstairs, until he came to… the lab door.
Danny paused, staring down into the basement. True enough, the lights were all on. He started down the stairs, to turn off the floodlights at the far side of the room and the bathroom light. A flip of a few switches and…
His eyes flickered to the frame in the wall. So much drama caused by this thing. Still… now that the annoyance had ebbed away, he actually admired it. Like Tucker said, it was a cool piece of tech. The corner of Danny's mouth turned up. It was a bit of a mess, kinda chaotic but… it looked like something from a sci-fi movie. If he saw this on the big screen, he'd think it was a wormhole generator, a gateway to another planet. But… here it was, in his basement. The boy sighed. Too bad it didn't work. Except…
Danny frowned, remembering something. That afternoon, it had kinda started to work. There was lightning, mechanical grinding sounds, and… something… green. The boy's brow wrinkled, frown deepening. There'd been… something… neon green. In the tunnel. Something swirled. It had gotten colder. But…
The teen shook his head. No, that wasn't right. Yeah, they'd been electricity because his dad had plugged the thing in. And the machines had tried to start, because well, his parents might have been eccentric but they were world class engineers. The generators and turbines should have worked individually. But together? Nothing else could have happened. A portal didn't open because as tempting as it was to think, ghosts and the Ghost Zone weren't real. They didn't exist. He'd stopped believing in ghosts when he was eight and Dash made fun of him on the playground for believing in fairy tales. He knew none of that was real but…
What if it was? His mind flashed back to the conversation with Sam and Tuck. Just because something seemed impossible, it didn't mean that it was. And what if it wasn't impossible? What if ghosts, portals were real?
Something in Danny stirred at the thought, a buzzing itch in the back of his mind. Oh, it would be so cool. Who knew what kind of amazing things would be on the other side of that portal? Like his parents said, a world of possibilities, of new beginnings.
The boy didn't notice himself moving, nor the subtle chill. So many incredible things were on the other side of that portal. He could almost see it. Swirling green clouds, floating islands, abandoned buildings, neon vivid plants. Soft whispers wafted around him, raising the hair on the back of his neck.
Danny blinked, suddenly aware, staring at his outstretched hand. He was… at the opening of the tunnel. The boy stumbled back, heart rate increasing. When had he gotten so close? He turned away, intending to leave. But…
The boy found himself standing in front of the closet, halfway into his hazmat suit. What was he doing? This was weird but… something was itching in his brain. He glanced at the frame. For just a second, a flash of green. He had to… he had to take a look. He just had to. He paused, looking down at the white and black material. It's not like it could hurt, right? He'd just take a quick look inside and go up to bed before his parents got home. His weird curiosity would be sated and they'd never need to know.
Danny stuffed the hazmat over his clothes, nose wrinkling. Ugh. This thing was so clunky. He hated how it felt on his exposed neck. But… he looked in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. White with black accents… It reminded him of a space suit. He could almost picture himself as an astronaut about to take humanity's first steps into a new world.
Danny turned away from the mirror and towards the open tunnel. He walked. Just a few steps and he was over the threshold. He shivered, a chill running through him. Had it just gotten colder? And… it was so dark. He should have brought a flashlight; even his phone would do. Or… he shouldn't have turned most of the lights off yet. The boy shrugged. Oh well.
He carefully stepped over the wires, running one hand along the wall for stability. He approached, closer and closer to the dark end of the tunnel. The humming, the buzzing around him, through him, in him was growing louder. The cold bit at his nose.
Danny stopped, reaching out to touch the smooth back wall. His fingers blushed the metal and static leapt from the wall to his hand, visible in the low light. He let out a surprised gasp at the electricity, the green electricity.
The boy jerked his hand away, rubbing it with the other. It hadn't hurt, just static electricity, but his eyes still widened, fearfully. "Is this thing still plugged in?"
Danny whipped around. Yeah, no. He was getting out of here in a hurry if there was still live electricity running through this thing. The boy stumbled forward, still running one hand along the wall. Then… his foot caught on something. He tipped forward, arms pinwheeling to stay upright before both slammed onto the wall, steading him. Something depressed under his left hand with a click.
The boy looked up and-. "F-ck."
The on button. He scrambled away. Around him, the machine whirled. Mist wafted out of his mouth and the buzzing crescendoed into a deafening static. Shit. Shit. He needed to get out of here. His parents put the on button on the inside. Green crowded the edge of his vision. One step. Two. He had to get awa-
Pain suddenly hit him. Pain! Lightning. His muscles locked up. Air froze in his lungs. Couldn't breathe. Green. Green. Too much green. Old Penies. And lime and… Burning, Freezing, Tearing. And… his heart… his heart spasmed. Was it… was it beating? Couldn't beat. Couldn't breathe. Was he dying? He was dying. Danny bit his tongue, mouth filling with copper.
Green. Green. It was all green. And it hurt. Hurt. hurt. He's… he was torn apart. Couldn't feel his arms, his legs, his head. Where was he? What- He…he was dying. But… but he didn't… didn't want to die. He was sewn back together. Torn apart. Sewn back together. He… He couldn't die like this.
Danny stumbled out of the tunnel, head swimming. It was dark, the only light coming from the portal. The portal? And… His gloves? The boy looked down, brow furrowing in confusion. His gloves were… glowing? Glowing and white? That wasn't… that wasn't right. Blurrily, he pulled off the material. Underneath... His fingers… his fingers were almost green and… and glowing. Danny blinked, waving his hand. The light… the light around it trailed, blurring the image. That wasn't… this wasn't right.
The boy stumbled forward. Stumbled? No. That's not… he couldn't…. Couldn't feel his legs moving. But…. He looked down. He was too high. He was floating? Danny blinked again, some clarity entering his thoughts. He… he must be seeing things. He was hallucinating. Or, or he's dreaming. But…
The boy pinched himself. "Ow!"
Okay. Not dreaming. But… something else. Something else was happening. Something…. Mounting dread. Something was… something was wrong.
Danny's gaze flickered to something. Oh. Shiny metal lab tables. There was something weird, reflected off the surface. Green and white and black. He approached, hovering over the table. He recoiled, gasping fearfully. What was… what was that thing?
Danny whipped around. There's… there was nothing there. Just him and the swirling green light and… He turned back around, reaching towards the surface. The thing, the image moved as well, in sync. And….
It hit Danny like a brick wall. And… he was shaking. That… that was his reflection. Green eyes. White hair. Sickly green skin. That was his reflection but… but that was not his face.
Terror flowed through him. "Shit. Shit. F-ck. What…what happened to me?"
Danny's eyes widened. That…that wasn't his voice. It… it was echoing. Why was his voice echoing? And… he was glowing and floating and his face looked all wrong and…
"This… this is wrong. Something… something's wrong." He muttered, hands shaking.
Of course, of course something was wrong. He felt off. Too light. Too cold. He sucked in a breath. Oh god, had he not been breathing?! He hadn't been breathing. And…. Danny's hand slammed onto his chest. There was… there was no heartbeat. His heart wasn't beating.
The boy's chest heaved, eyes starting to water. His… his heart wasn't beating. And he was glowing. And his eyes and hair were the wrong color. And… he sucked in another breath. But… but it felt wrong. Like he… he didn't actually have to breathe. But…
That wasn't right. It wasn't right. He… he went in his parents' stupid portal and accidently hit the on button. And…. his eyes wiped to the machine. Green, neon green light hung in the frame. It swirled, just like… just like a portal. A portal. To the Ghost Zone. A portal. The portal opened. It actually opened and now this weird shit was happening to him so-
It hit Danny like a train, like a million volts burning and freezing and tearing through him. His world turned inside out, on its head. The tears brimming in his eyes overflowed.
"I'm… I'm a ghost. A ghost!" Just like… just like his parents said. Ghosts… ghosts were real. And he was one. And…. Danny blinked, hiccuping on a sob. "I'm dead. I died. I'm… I'm dead. I'm not… I can't be dead! I'm not supposed to be dead. No. I can't… I can't be." Tears streamed down his face. "I can't… I can't be a ghost. I can't… I can't be. I'm not… I'm not dead. No. I'm… I'm… not a ghost. I'm… I'm a human. I'm alive. I'm…"
Danny gasped, a warm feeling stirring in his chest. A painful beat wracked his torso. The glow coming off of him brightened and.. "Wha…."
A white ring of light passed over his head. Exhaustion and pain suddenly crashed into him. Danny's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.