Written in response to an ask game. The question: 21. What is the one fic that got away? My answer for a story I've never written anything for and probably never will-
The idea started after reading "Simulacrum" by bibliophilea with Danny Fenton dying in the portal and Danny Phantom being a ghost possessing his still living body. I was imagining the vibes are kinda like "Real Life" by cordria and "Mother Knows Best" by MayAnny, at least at first. Ghosts are not dead people. They're scary, inhuman monsters. Single-minded and selfish, only focused on feeding and defending their territory. Ghosts are attracted to human souls, feeding off of the emotions coming from them like mites eating dead skin.
A tiny wisp of a ghost drifts through the Zone, numbly reaching out and searching. For food, a place to call its own, a territory to defend. A flicker of energy brushes its senses. A human soul. The ghost darts forward.
A swirling green expanse floats in front of it, a screaming echoing from within. The ghost flies inside, hungry, curious. There's a body, a dying human soul inside. The creature effortlessly possesses the body and reaches for the soul. The soul, flickering green and smelling of fresh pine, needs to hold on; it can't feed off an emotionless dead body. Insubstantial claws wrap around, pulling hold tight. The soul slips out of the grasp. No. The ghost would hiss if it was capable of speech. Still, the human inside the rift dies as his heart stops.
But in this in-between place… a recoil. Something small, flickering, and warm within. Somewhere, distantly, a dead heart resumes its beating. Greedly lungs gasp for arm, a body stumbling out of the newly open portal into a sterile metal lab. The tiny ghost inside knows no more.
The being awakes with a gasp. Where is he? What happened? He looks down. Gloves hands, white instead of black. Pushing up to uncoordinated feet. A face in a mirror, familiar but… also not. And he? Something about that is wrong. This form is… is too large. His brain is swimming and… The being manages to stumble up to a bedroom, following memory within the muscles of this body.
After sleeping and waking, now warm and solid… human, the being manages to work out some things. He (not it, despite never before having any concept of gender, he is certainly a he) is a ghost possessing a human body. He remembers; the human is dead, his soul having left his body. And yet, the body is alive, heart beating, lungs pulling in air. The human, his name was Danny. The knowledge is there, within the brain. Others rise. This bedroom. Putting up the star stickers, assembling and painting the rocket. Two friends, Sam and Tucker. Two parents. A sister.
The ghost closes his eyes, shaking his head. He pushes down a feeling the brain tells him is nausea. This body's brain has vague memories, Danny's memories. But he is not Danny. He is…. Phantom. The name, the title sounds good enough.
The newly named Phantom hides out in Danny's room for a while, adjusting. Jack and Maddie, Mom and Dad, bumble around the house, loud and excited. The portal is working. But Phantom avoids them. They're ghost hunters, his brain helpfully supplies; they'll hurt him if they discover the ghost possessing their son's body. Jazz, the sister, is busy so he doesn't see much of her at first. But that doesn't bother him. Feeling so uncoordinated and vulnerable, avoiding contact with the humans is advantageous. Like this, they could destroy him, exorcize him with little effort. But once he's strong enough, more balanced, they'll be an excellent food source. His mouth waters at the thought. So many humans with their wide, varying vibrant emotions. It'll be a feast. He'll have restraint of course; he's an opportunist parasite, not a predator like only the strongest ghosts can be. He'll need to keep the humans he feeds off of alive. He really is lucky to have come through the portal, even if the heart constantly pounding in his ears, the body he can't seem to escape no matter how hard he tries, are annoying.
A few days after the accident, the friends, Sam and Tucker, come to check on him. Ravenous, he grabs onto Sam's arm, easier to feed on her emotions. He drinks too deeply, the dark purple of her soul, only visible to ghosts like him, flickering erratically. The goth's eyes blow wide, arm frantically pulling away as her emotions flare with sharp fear. Phantom lets go and... it hits him, as odd flickering inside. He doesn't want her to be afraid, not off him. There's... an odd warmth in his chest once Sam calms down. She and Tucker ask about what's going on, eyes wide with concern. And…. a heavy, churning sensation settles in the body's stomach; he doesn't want them to know what he actually is, that he isn't actually Danny.
The lying starts, pretending to be human. The strange memories help as Phantom learns quickly. Eating, sleeping, showering. These are normal parts of life now; he does need to care for this body if he's to maintain the falsehood. He goes to school, even does the homework. Learning about the world will help him blend in and soon, a month after the portal, the other ghosts come and he protects his food source, his humans. His friends and family, a deeper part of him whispers.
The longer this goes on, the more strange Phantom feels. Odd feelings bubble below the surface, odd drives he doesn't understand. He wants to protect Sam and Tucker. When they get upset seeing his injuries from ghost fights, he wants to comfort them, make them feel better. They hang out, joke with each other and... Phantom's mouth stretches wide, shoulder shaking with laughter.
The there's the Fenton parents. Living in the same house, encounters are unavoidable. They're not nearly as bad as he'd thought at first. They're loud, boisterous, excitable. In public, they call him and Jazz embarrassingly sweet pet names and insist on goodbye kisses. And... Phantom blushes, like any other teenager. But secretly, somewhere deep inside, that warm feeling returns. When he says, "I love you too" like the good son he's pretending to be, it doesn't feel completely fake.
And then there's Jazz. The red-head watches him with furrowed brow, always worried. Something in him churns, almost... uneasy with the looks. But she also ruffles his hair. She asks him what's wrong, why he's been so tense since the accident. Something in him flickers, something that tastes like guilt. But... that warm feeling, the damned warm feeling... He leans into the touch, shrugging and saying he just hasn't been sleeping well.
Phantom can see human souls, as odd mixtures of color and smell. And sometimes, when he looks in the mirror, he sees a glimpse of something, swirling pine green, in his own blue eyes. Something that shouldn't be there, not if the soul this body belonged to is dead.
Things come to a head when Spectra shows up. Jazz confronts him, an ectogun in hand, tears in her eyes.
"You're not my brother. Where is he?"
Despite himself, Phantom finds himself explaining. The accident, being called through the portal, the possession.
"Your brother's dead. He has been since the portal."
Jazz screams. She cries. She tries to shoot him. And Phantom's heart aches, the feelings almost bring him to his knees. It's so strong, a tidal wave crashing over him.
"I didn't mean for this to happen. I was so weak at first. I didn't know what to do. And I was pretending but.. But… something's different. Something's been changing."
Spectra, the shadowy predator that she is, pounces, feeding off of him. Somehow, impossibly, he's giving off emotions, human emotions, she can feed one. It doesn't make sense. It feels like he's being ripped apart. It hurts so much. But.. he knows. He's known for a while. Phantom is not really a ghost any more. He's... something else now. Something... almost human. Over the months, he's become more human as he's built on Danny's soul fragment.
That's the flickering green, the shape of a soul he catches a glimpse of in his own eyes. That's the mysterious smoky scent that he's smelt in Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and the Fenton parents' souls. It's the mark that his freaky, unnatural twisted soul-thing leaves when it touches his loved ones. His Loved Ones. Somehow, he loves them.
The thought is enough to get up and fight. Jazz intercedes, helping him stop Spectra. But she turns away without saying anything.
Jazz won't talk to him after, not for months. For some reason, she doesn't tell anyone. Maybe she feels some pity. Maybe she doesn't want Danny's friends and their parents to have to face the knowledge that their friend and son is gone, that a monster is masquerading in his skin.
A monster... that word rings in Phantom's head for the next few months. That guilt is there now, so much stronger now that he recognizes and acknowledges he feels it. It's horrible but also... it's almost good. He can feel. Now that knows his human side there, that the borrowed soul inside of him is real, he can almost feel it growing. And he lets it. He embraces it. It hurts. It hurts so much. But he can feel. He can love. And it's so much better than ghostly numbness. His previous existence really was cursed. And maybe this is why ghosts feed on human emotions. Maybe it's all a futile attempt to fill that ache, an ache he hadn't even been aware of before.
So Phantom... Danny, a part of him whispers... lets himself become more human. He fights for his town. He protects. He hangs out with Sam and Tucker. He... thinks about telling them the truth, about confronting his sister. Except... no, Jazz isn't his sister. She's Danny's. He's just the creature that stole her brother's body.
The guilt starts eating him alive now. For a while, the emotions were a bliss but they've grown. He's grown. Within weeks... he's a fake. An imposter. This isn't his life, his body. It's not even his soul. This gift, this humanity is stolen. It doesn't belong to him. He doesn't deserve it.
Maybe Spectra was right, maybe he's just a ghost pretending to be human.
The Ghost King comes and Phantom fights. He takes the suit and reseals Pariah. He doesn't care if he dies (if he can even die). He doesn't care if this destroys him. As long as his loved ones are safe. As long as they're okay, this will be worth it. And maybe... maybe his destruction will make up for the life he's stolen.
The suit does almost destroy him. As the percentage ticks down, Phantom has peace. He succeeded. They're safe. Everything fades to black.
Phantom blinks awake darkness, speckled with stars surrounding him. In the distance, a figure approaches. Closer... it's a boy. Black hair, blue eyes.
A wave. "There you are. I've been waiting."
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"Well, there's no easy way to put this but... you're in limbo."
"Limbo..." Dread. Fear. "Like..."
The boy, the familiar boy, shakes his head. "You're not actually dead. Just having a near death experience."
That hits Phantom like a truck. A near death experience... the dread deepens because... "Who are you?" The question is painfully quiet.
The boy smiles teasingly. "Come on, you know the answer to that."
"Danny." His mouth is dry. "You're... you're the real Danny."
The boy, Danny, frowns. "I wouldn't say the real Danny. It's not like I'm any more real than you are."
"Why are you here?"
Danny shrugs, still frowning. "It's customary for a family member to meet you on the way to the afterlife. Grandma Fenton wanted to come but I begged for it to be me."
"Why?" Phantom trembles, dread and disbelief an ugly, paralyzing mess.
"Why?" Danny holds up his hands. "I wanted to meet you."
The ghost feels like crying. "But.. but why? Why would you... would you want to meet me? I... I took everything from you."
"No, you didn't. I was already dead" Danny shakes his head. "Besides, why wouldn't I want to meet my baby brother?"
Phantom actually does cry as Danny reassures him. "I've been watching and... and I'm so proud of you, of what you've been doing with your life."
"But... but it's your life. I... I took it. I'm just... just a ghost possessing your corpse."
"No, you're not." A wave of a hand and mirror appears. "You're not really a ghost at all." Phantom and Danny side by side. "Don't you see? You're not in your body. You're just your soul right now. And this is what you look like."
In the mirror is Danny Fenton's face. Blue eyes, black hair, freckles, the familiar scar by his ear.
"And look deeper." Danny, the original, says.
Phantom does. Two swirling masses of glittering green.
"We're twin souls." Danny motioned. "See." The wispy clouds of soul ripple. The colors, the movement... so similar, so familiar. "We're not completely the same." And Phantom catches the whiff of smell. Smoke and pine. Flowers and fudge and books. Apples and steak. The trace of all his... their loved ones mix together, in different combinations. "But we're made of the same parts, the same structure. The same love, the same drive to make up for our mistakes, the same desire to do good."
Phantom can see it. He can feel it. Something in him loosens.
"So you didn't take anything you weren't allowed to have. Really, I'm happy you were there. If you hadn't been, well... Danny Fenton would just be gone. But he's not."
"But... you're Danny Fenton." Phantom's brow furrows.
"I was." A shrug. "But now you are. It's your life now."
The two talk for what felt like hours. There are reassurances, stories, hugs.
They laugh, they smile. And... it feels like they'd known each other forever. Like they're old friends. Phantom's heart swells with love, with brotherly affection. He has so many thoughts, so many questions.
There are so many stories. So many jokes. So many promises: to tell Sam and Tucker the truth, to tell Jazz her brother loves her.
Slowly, light seeps in.
"You'll be waking up soon."
Phantom's shoulders fall, eyes downcast. "Oh. I guess this is goodbye then." His eyes are watering. "I'll miss you."
"You'll see me again." Danny puts an arm around him.
Phantom's eyes widen. "Really?"
The other boy nods. "Yep. It'll be sooner than you think. Just a blink really, when you're looking at forever. But," He turns, placing his hands on his counterpart's shoulder. "You are going to live a long and happy life. You'll graduate, go to college, travel, live your dreams. You'll do so much good. And when it's your time, when you're done... I'll be here, waiting. And you can tell me all about it."
"O... okay. I will." Crying, Phantom practically crushes Danny in a hug. "I'll see you again."
"Yes. You will. Bye, Danny. Have a good life."
With that, Danny fades away.
And Danny wakes up.
There are tears on his face. Beeping near his head, an oxygen mask over his mouth.
He blinks, fumbling to move it.
"Danny!" "You're awake."
Mom and Dad. They hover in his vision, hugging each other and crying.
"Doctor! Get the doctor!" "Our boy's awake!"
In a flurry of action, doctors and nurses check him. Lights are shone in his eyes, vitals checked. A battery of tests.
"He's completely fine." "It's a miraculous recovery!"
The parents hover over him. So many worried, loving words. But Jazz hangs back, quiet but... face just as wet.
The two trade knowing looks. Eventually... "You two should get food. You haven't eaten all day." Jazz insists. "I'll stay with him."
The parents left, leaving the two siblings alone.
There's awkward silence for a long moment. Then...
Jazz practically rushes forward, throwing her arms around him. "We were so worried! You just disappeared with the suit. And Mom and Dad... they found you outside the shield. You were... you were almost dead. We thought..." She hiccups on a sob. "We thought you wouldn't make it. You looked... so pale and I thought... I kept thinking. I couldn't... I couldn't lose you again. I... I can't. I can't lose you again."
Phantom, Danny, froze, mind spinning. What was she... she saying? She couldn't be... The thoughts crash in his head and before he can really process... "I saw him, the... the real Danny."
Jazz steps back, eyes wide. "What?"
"I saw him, when I was... was unconscious. Your... your real brother." Real... the word isn't quite right, not anymore. His, Phantom, is Danny Fenton. He is Jazz's brother. But in her mind, that's not true, is it?
The girl's brow furrows, confusion deepening. "How?"
Danny explains. His near death experience, his conversation with his passed-on counterpart. "He wanted me to tell you he loves and misses you."
Jazz's eyes well with tears. "He did?"
"Yeah. He really loves you." The boy shrugs, looking down guiltily. "I... I'm sorry that I'm here and he's not."
There's silence for a long time. Then... Jazz's hand on his arm. "That's not your fault." She whips her face. "I'm happy... I'm so happy you're okay."
Phantom looks up, blinking, disbelieving. She... she'd hugged him earlier. She... she'd said she didn't want to lose him. His lip trembles. "Do you... do you mean that?"
Jazz nods, whispering. "I thought I was going to lose you."
The words speak volumes and her eyes... round and wet, shining with... with something Danny can't hope is really there. But...
Phantom stiffens, catching a whiff. She's touching him and her emotions flicker at the edge of his awareness. But that can't... that can't be what he's sensing. That can't be...
"I... I'm so sorry. I'd been so mad, so angry at you for so long. But... but none of this is your fault. The accident wasn't your fault. It's not your fault he's... he's gone."
The boy looks down, guilt flaring. But Jazz continues.
"It's not your fault. But I was blaming you and pushing you away. And... and I could have lost you. I could have lost you without telling you..." Danny gasps, the weight of her emotion washing over him. "I love you. I love you so much little brother."
The half ghost shakes, cries, trembles. She... she loves him.
"You're not the Danny I grew up with but you are my brother. I love you. I love you so much."
He hugs her tighter. Jazz loves him. She loves him. And it's all he can think.
(XD And you got me to write it as a fic... kinda? I wrote this instead of working on Face to Face, so I hope ya'll are happy. 😂😅)