Part VII

Thursday 26th October

Danny held his head as he leaned over the math homework Sam had dropped off, grabbing his hair as he struggled to figure out what he as even looking at. This was the first day he felt like getting dressed and moving around, but had quickly gotten told to catch up on his school work if he was feeling this good. He sat back and dropped his pencil to the desk to wipe a hand through his black bangs. He looked down at the hand as he dropped it to his lap and gripped it in a fist, searching for the cold core that should be in his chest. He watched as his hand disappeared, fading up towards his elbow. He swallowed as the simple action started wearing him out, letting go the feelings.

A cold breath escaped his lips, getting his attention down towards the kitchen. He gave a look at his phone, about to call Sam or Tucker, when he noticed it was still only ten o'clock. He instead pocketed his phone and rose to his feet. He grabbed hold of the edge of the desk as his balance took a moment to catch up with him before calling the lights to transform him. Once the lights passed over his head he closed his eyes and made himself invisible and intangible, dropping himself down into the dining room below his room. He opened his eyes, careful to keep himself invisible, as he looked for the ghost that had appeared in his home. He glanced up at one of the ecto-sensors, seeing it flashing red to signify it was on but it wasn't reacting to either himself or the other ghost. He carefully made his way into the kitchen, wondering where his parents where to miss a ghost in their own house, and saw what looked like Johnny's shadow standing on its own two feet as it looked around.

"What'd you do, lose your owner?" Danny asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he dropped the power.

Shadow turned towards Danny, as if it was startled, only to fly towards him.

Danny only had time to turn intangible again, surprised to see Shadow go right through him. He turned around to follow the ghost, surprised once again, to see the black partner dive into the wall and leave. He took a breath, debating on following the ghost. He really didn't feel up to chasing a ghost around town, but he knew his friends were still in class. Giving in, he flew through the wall and followed the ghost out of the house. He caught sight of the ghost keeping to the shadows of the buildings it passed. Keeping invisible himself, Danny floated after the ghost as he tried to figure out what it was trying to do.

Shadow stopped in the shadow of a bench by the bus stop, standing hunched behind the back of the bench as it looked around. Danny stopped a few feet away, dropping down on his feet as exhaustion hit him.

Danny pulled out his phone, admitting this was too much for himself right now, and started typing up a text to Tucker as Shadow moved to the front of the bench. Danny paused in typing as Shadow dived into the road only to pop up on the sidewalk on the other side. Danny jumped back up in the air so he could float over the street, dropping back to his feet as he followed at a walking speed. He sent his message and looked around, trying to figure out where Shadow was leading him. They were heading to the edge of the residential area, the repaired or replaced Halloween blowups peaking over short trees as they closed in on the pumpkin patch.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, getting him to answer it without being able to see who was calling. "Yeah?" Danny said.

"We're on our way," Tucker said, sounding like he was running. "Where are you now?"

"Almost at the Pumpkin Patch," Danny admitted, watching Shadow head over to the bouncy house he remembered landing in after his powers short circuited. It stopped in the shadow of the house before going through the mesh protecting kids from falling out as children screams sounded from within. "Oh crud," Danny mumbled, dropping the invisibility so he could fly faster. "Get here as fast as you can. It's starting to go after the kids!" Danny ordered before closing the phone and shoving it back in his pocket. He closed the gap between himself and the bouncy house as children under school age escaped through the small opening to parents who were desperately trying to get in.

Danny flew through the same side Shadow had gone through, stopping above the floor to cross his arms. Before him was the black ghost, once again standing on two legs as it floated in the air looking at the ceiling. "Excuse me, Shadow," Danny tried, mock politeness in his voice as he could already feel sweat running down the side of his head. "Aren't you a little old to be playing in the kid's bouncy castle?"

Shadow turned towards Danny, something in its hand as its features showed to be hard to read.

"Where'd the ghost go?" Tucker asked, his voice coming from outside the walls of the bouncy house.

"In here," Danny called out, keeping his eye on Shadow as it stared back at him. He heard Sam climb her way inside, stepping aside to let Tucker pull himself in.

"That doesn't look like Johnny's Shadow," Sam said, coming to stand closer to Danny with a Fenton Thermos in hand.

"At first I thought it was," Danny admitted.

Shadow turned and flew through the wall in front of itself, getting a sign out of Danny.

"Come on, man, I just wanna go back," Danny grumbled, flying towards the mesh wall only to run head first into the side.

"Danny!" Sam exclaimed as Danny fell to the ground. He felt them move as he tried to push himself up, Sam ordering, "Tucker, chase it down!"

"I can't, the opening's stuck!" Tucker called back.

Danny looked up at Sam, finding her trying to pull him up with worry on her face. He opened his mouth, about to say something, only to be cut off by an unfamiliar voice commanding something in an unfamiliar language. He looked towards the mesh wall, seeing the shadow outside, watching it poke at the device in its hands. Blue light took over his sight, blocking out everything around him, before darkness took over. The last thing he remembered was wishing he had never gotten out of bed this morning.