Chapter 2 ~ Something else...
I'm not sure where I am. It's completely dark. A comforting, quiet black void. I have no sensation. I seem to float here for what feels like an eternity. Then slowly there is a hum, a vibrating. I start to float towards it. Slowly but surely, I start to see a light. As I get closer I see a bright blue orb, which seems to be where the hum originates. Not too far right of the orb, there is a white flame, omitting weak crackles and embers. From the orb, I can feel cold energies radiating out. It's freezing but I don' t feel any discomfort. And the odd white flame is warm but not hot as would be expected from a flame. It was more of a heat akin to body heat. I reach to touch either one when suddenly they both fade away. And start to hear a distant sobbing. I feel a dull ache across my body, and it slowly increases. This soon gives way to an ear-splitting migraine. I realize that I' m waking up. I don' t want to wake up, I want to stay here in the senseless void. But, It' s unavoidable now. I groan softly and crack one eye open. And there's Jazz over me bawling her eyes out. This confuses me.
" J-J-Jaz z wha t' s wron g?" I sputtered out. Why does my throat feel like it has razors in it? She shoots up from laying on me, and looks at me with a look of joy, surprise, relief … fear, and doubt?
"Danny?" She asks almost if she's unsure it's me.
"W W Who el se wou ld I be?" I ask as I begin to sit up, struggling because my limbs feel heavy, tired, and very sore. She hugs me tight and sobs into my shoulder.
"I thought I'd lost you." Now I'm really confused.
"J-Jazz, wh a t happ ene d?" Her jaw drops a bit and then she gives me a very perplexed look.
"You don't ... remember?" She asks and I shake my head.
"You climbed into the portal,... and and must have hit something because it ... quickly roared to life ... Your screams they ... were ... awful. I ran over to try and unplug it but ... was knocked back. Th-There was nothing I could do but watch and … wait for the inevitable. But then I heard your screams stopped and I thought you were gone. A moment later you stumbled out of the portal and ... collapsed. I-I wasn't sure it was you at first as you look pretty ... different. I threw most of my doubt away and ran over to you. I turned you over and put my head to your chest. I couldn't hear your breathing or feel a pulse. I thought you were dead!" She tries to explain but is hiccuping from cry so hard.
It's starting to come back now. Mom and dad being really depressed over the portal not working. Me being stupid thinking I was able to find the issue. Jazz come back down forgetting her phone, finding me the portal. Her telling me to get out. Me tripping on the way out and accidentally hitting the on button. Why the fuck was that on the INSIDE of the portal?! … dad. And the horrible pain. Wait did she just say no pulse or heartbeat? I concentrate and to my own horror, I can't feel the steady beat of my heart or the rhythm of my breathing. A deep sense of dread sets. Am I really dead? Did the fucking portal kill me?! I fall to my knees shaking. Jazz comes down to my level and starts to hug me. When she does she looses her balance falls through me? We both look at each other really bewildered. Wait she said I look different.
"J-J-Jazz, Y ou sai d I loo ked diffe rent?" Damn these throat razors! She doesn't respond. She simply grabs my hand and pulls me to the mirror on the side of the lab. The boy in the mirror is not one I recognize. My hazmat colors are inverted. Where was once white fabric is now a deep black. Where was once black rubber is now white. My skin is now more tan as before it was pale. My usual messy raven black hair is now a snowy white. My whole body has an unearthly white glow around it. But what is most unnerving is my eyes they look empty, have no spark of life within them. They are an unnatural green and glowing brightly. Not like when I was human they were a deep sky blue. Because Now I don't think I am anymore. I'm something else. Something dead. I'm a ghost.
"Jazz, I think I'm a ghost." At least my throat feels better. Also now noticing I'm floating six inches off the ground.
"Danny, ghosts aren't real. I think you've been listening to mom and dad way too much." I blink. Really? I love my sister. But man is stubborn, and she does not like to be wrong. Even when the proof' s right in front of her. I have no breath, no heartbeat, floating 6 inches off the ground. I' m dead, what more proof does she need. Well, when the denial breaks and it does finally set in she' ll probably go into that loop that she usually does. Where she' ll start second-guessing about every single thing. Then the front door opens and it breaks my thoughts. Fuck mom and dad are home! I turn to my sister with widened eyes. She returns the same oh-we' re-soo-fucked look.
"Shit! What I'm I gonna do Jazz?! I can't let them see me like this!" The lights start flickering and I see Jazz shiver.
"We've gotta tell them." Is she fucking crazy?!
"Are you fucking crazy?! Jazz, you know how they are about ghosts! It won' t matter if I'm their son or not. Mom' s gonna want to know how I work and figure it out in the most inhumane ways possible! And dad' s just gonna want to just straight out obliterate me! I'm a ghost Jazz that' s what they do!" I exclaim in a hushed shout, while a nearby pot light shatters.
"Danny, first off, you're not a ghost. And don' t you think you' re overreacting?" She is trying to calm me down but is only amping up my frustration and panic.
"Jazz! I. AM. DEAD. And no, I don' t. Their careers are their whole damn life!" Man, I wish I were still human and didn't go through that fucking portal. Jazz is about to rebuttal but stops and looks at my waist, I look down too. There is a blinding bright neon blue spark growing from within it. The spark quickly grows into a halo and from there splits in two. One scans down to my feet. Whereas, the other travels up to my head, and they both vanish.
"Looks like it was temporary." She sighs with relief then blushes. Wait! I can feel my heartbeat and breath again! Does that mean … ? I quickly turn to the mirror and am met with a very human looking Danny Fenton. I smile and laugh. I'm so relieved. Then my face turns red as a beet when I realize why my sister blushed. I was in nothing but my boxers. I ran into the washroom and got changed into my usual clothes I had left in there prior to changing into my hazmat suit which was now missing.
"Hey Jazz, I found your phone!" told her running out and hand it to her. She and I both thought we had enough of the lab for one day and proceed to head up the stairs. I'm still a little shaky, but I manage ok. Jazz heads upstairs to her room and I head into the kitchen to see how my parents are doing.
Mom is sitting next to my Dad who is eating fudge, while mom is rubbing his shoulder both mooping. There is no way in hell that I' m telling them what actually happened. But I still kinda want to cheer them up.
"Jack, I' m sure it's something small that we missed." Mom comforts dad. Yeah! like the fucking ON button being on the inside of the portal rather than the outside. I approach and start rubbing the back of my neck. My nervous habit.
"Hey mom?" Mom is lost in thought, and dad is too engrossed in his fudge. I walk over to dad to tap his shoulder a bit hard. He doesn't notice either. I'm getting annoyed now. I just want to give them some good news. The kitchen lights flicker. Dad shoots up. Really he notices that?!
"Ghost!" he shouts. This catches mom's attention too. They both look around the room for the ghost for a good long few seconds; when they take notice of me.
"Hey dad about the portal…" I start but trail off thinking of how to word it.
"Don't you worry Danno, we'll get the Fenton Ghost Portal working in no time. Fentons never give up!" I roll my eyes. Wow, his mood changed real quick. I start rubbing the back of my neck again.
"I think … it was a delayed reaction?" I kinda said as a question I'm unsure why.
"What delayed reaction?" My mom inquires.
"The portal… it roared to life about for like about … fifteenish minutes after you guys left." I wince a bit remembering the pain and my parents grab a shit-eating-grin on each other's faces and both sprint full tilt down to the lab. I hear the door lock and know I won't be seeing them for days at least. I smile and head upstairs to bed. Do my evening routine and pass out before I hit the pillow.
AN: Not too sure if anyone was too OOC especially Jazz. I was also trying to prove Danny' s point to Jazz in the kitchen scene. I really need to focus on other things but I'm enjoying writing this too much.
~SkarlettSkwrl