January 9, 2005: Da-da! Da da da da daaaa! :D Hear that? That was the "Ellen's got a new chapter of DSC up for her fans to read" theme song. And I know I'm, like, a week late, but what the crap. I typed it up on my Palm Pilot, and then it wouldn't get to my computer, and.... well, I'm sure that you get the picture. This is a very slow chapter- mainly, it's me testing out my theories on the ghosts and stuff in DP.
Last chapter's reference: I pulled Kathleen's dying words directly from The Sixth Sense. No references this chapter- giving the litigious folks out there a break.
This chapter's OFtR is "Ghost's Best Friend" by Axion-Pup. It's about a dog who is half-ghost thanks to an ectoplasmic sandwich. -nods- Go forth and read, my minions! Right after you finish this chapter, of course.
Note: Before anyone asks, I have placed Jack, Maddie, Eric, and Katrina in a plothole. I got myself backed into a corner, and just rewrote the laws of physics to deal with it. When DSC undergoes the rewrite, I will have the adults somewhere where they contribute. For now.... just pretend that they're in a movie. Or at the carnival. Or climbing Ayer's Rock. Yeah.
Danny in Star City
Chapter Eleven: Talk of Ghosts
The door swung open and Danny looked up, anticipating Eliza's return. Instead of the girl, it was Hal that made his way into the room.
"I wondered where you went," the doctor said mildly. "I should have guessed you'd be in here, though." He set a duffle bag in the vacant chair and took a look at Todd. "Any change with the boy?"
"He hasn't moved or woken up since we got here," said Danny.
"Hm. But he is breathing easier, I notice."
"And that's good, right?"
Hal smiled. "Yes. It's a very good sign, Danny. It means that his body is becoming stabilized all on its own."
"So, does that mean that he'll live?"
"Don't want to jinx it, so I'll say nothing." He put a finger on Todd's wrist. "Pulse is completely normal for someone his age while sedentary."
"You know someone's pulse after a few seconds?"
"Comes from going to medical school," Hal said modestly. "Now, listen, there's a hypodermic and a small vial in the duffle. Get them for me, there's a good lad."
Danny made a face as he rooted through the bag. Underneath a small collection of normal medical gear he found the requested items and brought them up to the older man.
"You sounded British when you said that," he said, taking a closer look at the vial. It was tinted, making it impossible to discern what exactly it contained.
"Thank you. That would come from being married to an Englishwoman for ten years."
"What's in that, anyway?" Danny asked as Hal uncapped the vial.
"What, in here? Take a look and tell me."
It was halfway filled with a green substance a bit thicker than pancake syrup. A bubble floated to the surface and popped, and it reminded Danny of-
"Ectoplasm? You're going to inject him with ectoplasm? He's not a ghost!" At least, not yet, he added silently.
"Thank you for that keen observation. Being a ghost has nothing to do with it. Calm down. You're starting to hyperventilate." Holding the needle up to the light, Hal filled it with the green liquid.
"I don't see how it would help," Danny said in exasperation.
"I don't doubt it," Hal said, rolling up Todd's sleeve. "I mean, I'm one of maybe, like, five people in the country who actually gets this stuff."
Danny was annoyed that Hal was taking him so lightly. "But since ghosts are made out of ectoplasm and humans are made out of.... uh, matter, I guess, then ectoplasm couldn't help."
"Oh, you are so wrong there. People and ghosts both have matter and ectoplasm, just in different amounts. It makes sense when you think about it. If ghosts didn't have some type of matter, they couldn't keep a shape on this side of the 'spiritual plane', or whatever that hippie calls it-"
"Who?"
"Um.... that'd be Jereni, but do me a favor and don't tell her I called her that. Anyway," he said, sticking Todd's shoulder, "ghosts couldn't keep a form over here if they don't have any matter, see?"
"So..... would ectoplasm let a human have form in the Ghost Zone? What?" Danny said defensively as Hal started to chuckle. "It's what they call it!"
"Nothing. Sounds like something in a B-rated sci-horror movie, that's all. No, but good guess. It'd be nice if things could work out logically like that. The ectoplasm in human beings is inside them, but you wouldn't find it if you cut one up. You know that matter exists in three forms- solid, liquid, and gas, right?"
Hal moved the duffle from the chair and sat down. Danny nodded and sat beside him, wondering what the heck he was getting at.
"Well, let's start by assuming that ectoplasm follows the same rule. You've got the kind that looks like green goop, the kind that gives ghosts their forms, and the kind inside humans."
"But you can't see it...."
"Exactly."
Danny gave a snort. "That doesn't sound very scientific. Something you can't see would be pretty hard to convince to other doctors."
"No one doubts the existence of loneliness, or love."
"Yeah, but that's.... that's.... different," the boy said weakly. "Oh, whatever. So what is this 'ectoplasm' in people?" He paused as something occurred to him. "Is it the soul?"
Hal grimaced. "Talk about not very scientific.... okay, look, Danny, I don't even want to get into that. We can see what effects the soul has, and I can diagnose Todd's problem, but as for what it is.... man, that's getting into spiritualism, and there, no one's sure about anything. You're on the right track, though. There are tons of parts to a human besides the physical body. " He started to tick the list off with his fingers. "Mind. Heart. Spirit. Soul. Essence. Will. Self. Granted, most of these are just different names for the same thing, but you get the gist of it."
"So, besides the body and the soul, there's something else that makes up a human?" When Hal nodded, Danny gave an aggravated sigh. "Why can't you just say it already instead of telling me all this stuff?"
"Two reasons: one, you wouldn't understand if I didn't give you all this background info, and two, I want to see how close your guesses get."
Closing his eyes, Danny rubbed his temple. He didn't particularly feel like playing guessing games at the moment, though he did appreciate Hal's attempt at distracting him from being separated from his ghost. All this paranormal talk was a little interesting, even though it sounded like something his parents might spout at him. It sounded just like their ghost-related jargon-
Wait a second...
"Ghosts. The third part to a human is their ghost."
Hal gave a satisfied smile. "Nail on the head. That's where the ectoplasm is. It's usually dormant until the person dies, but in some- ah, unusual cases, the ectoplasm becomes active."
"Halfas."
"Geez, who comes up with these names? I mean, Ghost Zone, halfa? Come on."
Secretly, Danny agreed with him- in retrospect, just about everything connected to the whole ghost deal seemed a little ridiculous.
"So everyone has a Phantom?"
Hal grinned. "You named it?"
"It- he named himself, I think."
The doctor leaned forward curiously. "Is- er, Phantom his own person?"
Danny shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean, it's only been these past few days that I've really started to notice.... It's like, sometimes a thought will go through my head, but I'm not really the one thinking it. And especially with my powers- he kinda taught me how to fly and phase. It's weird, I can't really explain it.... sorry."
Hal shook his head. "No, don't be. I wouldn't have a clue if you could. There are very few people who would."
"Like who?" Danny tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. This, along with what Gale had said earlier, more than hinted at the existence of other halfas- of other people like him.
Hal shrugged and said vaguely, "Just some people."
Danny decided to take a chance. "Like.... Vlad Masters?"
A blank look crossed Hal's face. "Who?"
"But I thought- oh, crap, there's a third halfa?"
"Apparently. I mean, I haven't heard of this Vlad guy, and the person I was referring to- well, I haven't seen them for a while. Still, I would never have guessed...." The doctor shook his head in amazement. "There might even be more. There's no way of knowing- well, except for those little watch doo-hickeys that Jereni made, but it's not like you can scan every person in the country-"
"I thought that the ectoplasm becoming active was rare," Danny interrupted. "You're making it sound like halfas are everywhere."
"Well.... not everyone with active ectoplasm, it seems, becomes a halfa."
"What else could happen to them?"
"Uh, well, you know, the human body isn't really designed to deal with anything but dormant ecto, and they can't handle it turning active, so their bodies..... shut down. "
"You mean they die?" Danny looked horrified.
"Not all of them," Hal said quickly. "A few of them get separated from their ghosts. It's not really as rare as you might think. About one person in a hundred goes through their life without a ghost, and they don't even know anything is wrong. And then there are people like you-" he gestured to Danny, "-who, somehow, can survive with active ectoplasm."
"That doesn't do me much help," Danny said quietly. "It doesn't change the fact that Phantom's gone."
Hal sighed. "No, it doesn't, and I can only imagine what you must be going through. I honestly don't know what's going to happen. I don't think that someone like- a halfa has ever lost their ghost before. It didn't kill you, and you seem to be okay- well, physically speaking, at any rate. By the way-"
The door flew open on its hinges, effectively interrupting the doctor. Jereni stood in the doorway, looking terribly upset.
"Jereni, what's the matter?" Hal asked, standing up.
"It's- it's Gale," she said frantically. "I can't find him, or Eliza either. They're gone."
Ha! I didn't tell y'all what was up with Conley and them! -laughs at fans- That will be next week. This fic looks like it's going to be a lot longer than I originally thought. I'm thinking maybe twenty chapters. I want it over by the end of February so I can start on the sequel before I leave on my trip to England. (That would be for eleven days over spring break.) If you want more info, check out my writing blog, folks! Link's in either chapter nine or ten, or in my bio.
My fans haven't forgotten about me! I feel so loved. :D 100 reviews! I am so cool! -does the "I'm a cool bean" dance- Since we spent lots of money at Wal-Mart today on groceries, I shall be dispersing various food-related items to my reviewers. Feel the lurve, you guys!
fubukis-wraph: Dude, I do not even want to know where that name came from. Oh, I'm not about to stop writing. You can have some low-fat turkey pepperoni slices.
Cheerin4danny: Did you just get an account on FFnet? Sweet, dude! Yeah, I'm sure that Jack-Jack can be a pain in the butt- but he's a cute pain in the butt! You can have some pea-flavored baby food to keep the little dickens occupied.
G.I.R.'s shadow: Love your name, by the way- matches with the fic that I've just started on the side of DSC. I want that Nick game, yo. Play as Danny.... -drools- You can have some Cherry Poop.
Jazzeh: Own? I own? -blinks- Why, yes, I do! Boo-yah, baby, all the way! And if you think that these last few chapters have owned, wait until the next one! Mwahahaha. You can have a chocolate bar imprinted with the visage of that certain person you have certain feelings towards. -winkwinknudgenudgehinthint-
Snow Owl 2: No worries, I don't think I got back to your email, either. Sorry. Thanks for the praise! You can have some nice, pre-sliced mandarin oranges.
mcrystal: Thank you for the praise, my dear. For your time, you get seven slightly-green bananas.
Me: I know! Geez! I am getting to the point where I won't read a fic if it's got D/S in it. -sticks out tongue- I'm all for Danny/Valerie and Tucker/Sam, myself. You get a vegetarian egg roll- MSG-free!
Anomaly25: I can't wait either! In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't written, I'd post the twelfth chapter of DSC right now! -nods sagely- You can have a bag of shredded fat-free cheddar cheese.
Axion-Pup: Don't hurt Conley! I need him for the sequels! Hope you liked your gift- this chapter, you get Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries, part of this complete breakfast for rubber duckies everywhere.
Blossoming Orange Rose: That's a beautiful name- it'd make a nice avatar. Is that your name for your FFnet account? I'd like to read one of your stories. Your gift is an almost-full package of flour tortillas.
Lateraina Wolf: Man, everyone has a better penname than me! -pouts- I laugh out loud at stories, too. I have to stuff my fist in my mouth to keep the 'rents from hearing, elsewise they look at me funny. Yes.... more shall be revealed about Conley and his boss as the fic progresses. Most of it will be kept in the shadows until one of the sequels, though.
Cat o'theWind: Who told you that you need to say something interesting in a review? The fact that you reviewed is enough for me. You get a box of Wheat Thins as a present.
This chapter is dedicated to my friend Chevy, who's going through a bit of a rough spot right now. School isn't treating her right, the poor dear. That just goes to show you how much suckage is in the American Public Schooling System! Bah, I say!
....anywho, there shouldn't be that much of a wait for chapter twelve, in which we get back to Phantom and Eliza. Toodles.