Unleash your nightmares upon those you love.

The Nightmare
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

Chapter 3 – Trapped

The next time he woke up, his head was pounding quite a bit less. He was still in the ghost-shield, still in the lab… but the lab was dark and apparently empty. The portal was closed. The only light came from the dimly glowing dome surrounding him. He sighed, and tried to figure out what was going on.

That he wasn't in a normal nightmare was obvious. What wasn't so obvious was whether he was in some ghost's weird version of a nightmare or if he was in real life. Some ghosts, he knew, could mess with your mind. Make you see things and think things. It wasn't much of a stretch to imagine one could trap you in a nightmare. But he couldn't remember any new ghosts lately – and the fight with Skulker had been a normal fight. He hadn't been hit with anything weird.

So he was probably in real life. Which meant he was in big trouble. He needed to find a way out of here.

Flexing his fingers, he focused on that vague warm, heavy feeling in his mind again. He relaxed, trying to let the feeling wash over him… but nothing happened. It was a similar failure when he tried to phase through the floor. Two options down. Green, flowing ecto-energy swirled around his fingers as he tensed his arm. Pointing towards the dome, he fired off a shot with a flicker of thought. The energy ball exploded against the shield, sending green sparks raining down over him. Shaking the energized ectoplasm out of his hair, he glanced at the power reading on the shield generator. Not even a flicker. Not worth it. Another option down.

"What have you done to my son?" came an agonized voice from behind him. He twisted around, swiveling into a fighting stance before he even registered who it was. Standing over a sleeping bag, hair matted and sleep-deprived, his mother looked even worse than he did.

"Me?" he asked, relaxing slightly. She held something in her hands, but it looked harmless. Maybe a picture frame.

"You!" her voice was raising to a scream. "My son has been missing for four days and then you show up in his room! You! What have YOU done to MY SON?" She seemed to be quivering with pent up anger. But her hands were gentle on the object in her fingers.

He stared at her, watching her standing there, seemingly ready to fight the world to get her son back. To get him back. "Four days?" was all he could think of to say. That can't be right. He fought Skulker last night. He had supper with her just before that. A couple of hours – tops. Not four days.

"Yes," she whispered, dissolving into tears. She sank to the floor, cradling the object in her hands. "I want my son back."

He sat on the floor, his world spinning – but not from his headache this time. He wanted to say something, say anything, but what? He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wanted to tell her. He needed to tell her now. But where to start?

"Start at the beginning," he heard her whisper. He blinked, startled. She couldn't read his mind. She continued, not waiting for his answer. "What were you doing in my son's room?" Her head came up, red-rimmed eyes staring straight into his glowing green ones.

"We are…" he hesitated. He couldn't tell her now. She wouldn't believe him. She'd think he was torturing her. He couldn't hurt her. "We are friends, kind of." He tried to give her a small smile, but she continued to stare at him.

"Friends?" she wondered. "Why would my son be friends with a ghost?"

"We have lots in common." He wondered how much she knew about him. The silence pressed on him to talk some more. "I was in his room looking for him. I… I had something of his I needed to return." His stomach twisted as he lied to her. She didn't deserve this.

She stared at him for a few moments more. He started to doubt that she believed him when she spoke again. "Where is my son?" All the fire was draining out of her body. Her voice was even becoming laden with lack of sleep and too much fear.

He hesitated. What could he tell her? "He's trapped, I think." Wonderful, he thought, now she's going to ask where. "He can't get out."

A faint smile crossed her face. "If he's trapped and you know it, why were you looking for him in his room?" she asked softly. He was caught in his own lie.

He stiffened, looking up. He opened his mouth to try and answer when she suddenly stood up. "Look at this, ghost," she moved across the space between them, stopping just before the ghost-shield. She held up the picture that she had been cradling. "This is my son." He looked at a picture of himself – one from quite a few years before, when the two of them has been working on some science experiment together. His dad had snapped the picture, he remembered. She had kept that picture, framed it, and put it on the bookshelf in the living room. He had seen her smiling sometimes, just staring that that picture for the longest time. He had never wondered why before this moment. "I want my son back. Where is he? You know, ghost. I know it." She paused and whispered, "Please."

He stared into her eyes. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. What could he say? Should he tell her the truth? Finally? Would she believe him?

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at him. He had never seen her cry so much before. She was always the strong one in the family – ready to fight to protect those she loved. Here she was, standing in front of her, broken and begging. Begging for a ghost to help her. Ghosts, which she hated more than anything. Begging him for answers. What should he say?

"Please."

"I…." he whispered, uncertain. Suddenly, he knew. He knew he needed to say this. Yet, still, he hesitated, torn. "I'm…"

To be continued...

Ouch – I promised never to do the "tell his mom" thing. AHH! I can't decide what he's going to say! Help… Review for me…

Okay, yeah, the chapters are a bit shorter than I first wanted them to be. They are getting longer though.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Danny Phantom. Please enjoy the story.