Disclaimer: I own nothing. There, I said it. Can we continue now?

Note: I hope everyone is doing okay out there. It seems like everything east of Illinois and north of Virginia has gotten flooded with snow that keeps coming out of nowhere. Seriously! My area got hit with another storm that never even appeared on the radar until it hit! While rain storms are occasionally known to do that here, snow storms aren't. It sucks! And I did recently go down an hill backwards in my car… But Spring is coming!

Ignoring me… On to the story!

Eidolon

22. Foreboding

A cold gust of breath escaped Danny's lips as his core alerted him to the presence of a nearby ghost as he walked to school the next day. Glancing to his left, he saw the faint image of an ethereal older male looking down on him from the second story of a nearby apartment building. Danny shared a nod with him, reaffirming an unspoken agreement: as long as the man did not drastically bother the people currently living in the building, he would be left alone. Ever since they had first encountered each other a few months before, the two would greet each other in this way whenever Danny passed by.

To be honest, the halfa didn't mind the other ghost. He was a little cranky when bothered, but once he became certain he could trust someone, he became willing to talk and share his knowledge. He went by the name of Frank and stated he used to be something of a historian when he was alive. Danny had met with him several times for general advice and assistance with some of the other local hauntings.

It had never been intended, but after returning home, he somehow started interacting with the other local ghosts. According to Maddie, his strong presence had possibly awakened or strengthened the other ghosts allowing them to become more active. While he wasn't exactly sure if he believed her, he had noticed an increase in ghost sightings. The spike in activity allowed Maddie to openly work on her research of the paranormal, and the town took notice. She was frequently being called for extractions, and it was common for her to bring Danny along. Although he never openly protested, he had become very uncomfortable around her after finding out she was his biological mother.

During these investigations, Danny discovered most of the ghosts around town were tied to a place they inhabited or loved in life, and for the most part, did not have any ill will towards the living. Even if they were malevolent, they usually didn't have enough strength to do much harm. With his strange halfway existence, Danny was able to act as a mediator between the living and the dead or overpower them when necessary. This quickly earned him the respect of the other specters as well as some of the residents.

Through his interactions with the other ghosts, especially Frank, Danny was able to learn a lot more about ghosts than he ever could by himself. One of the first things he asked was why Amity Park's resident spirits seemed so much different than himself and the other ghosts he had encountered at Vlad's mansion. Vlad's servants were colorful and powerful. On top of that, many of them didn't have the most human-like appearances. Heck, Skulker looked like a robot! The ghosts of Amity Park tended to appear as a faded image of how they looked in life, and they usually had little power.

According to the other ghosts, this difference was due to the amount of time spent in the realm of ghosts, the Ghost Zone, as many put it. It was another dimension connected to the world through mysterious swirling portals which could pass through time as well as dimensions. Most portals were temporary, preventing too much traffic between the realms. This, according to the ghosts, was a good thing.

While it was theoretically possible to create permanent portals, a temporary one almost always appeared at the creation of a ghost. While the Zone certainly felt appealing due to its endless supply of ectoplasm and several other spectral energies, many of the ghosts around Amity Park tried to stay clear of it. They seemed to believe the longer they remained in the Zone, the more likely it would warp their being. Stories were whispered about some of the Zone's residents: ghosts who were powerful but had lost all semblance of what they once were. Rumors also stated the zone enhanced the devotion they had to their obsession, or the one thing that still tied the ghosts to the world.

None of them, however, could give Danny a good explanation of why he was so much stronger than regular ghosts. To his knowledge, he had never set foot inside the Ghost Zone. But, he hadn't technically died either, making his status as a ghost rather odd. During one of their many talks, Frank had simply stated that "There's a reason you have that strength. You might not know it yet, but something tells me something major's comin' your way. It might be tomorrow or years from now." While it wasn't the most comforting thing someone had said to him, it did make him feel more at ease. The other ghosts tended to share a similar view.

There were whispers something big was coming, yet none of the ghosts seemed to know exactly what that 'something' was. Normally, Danny wouldn't be too concerned with the unknown, but when it seemed to directly involve him, it was a different story. The only thing he knew with certainty was whatever was coming had the ability to change the face of the world.

The sight of the school in the distance gave him reason to try to push his concerns from his mind. Sam and Tucker were probably waiting for him near his locker, and if they noticed he was delving into dark thoughts again, they were going to do something about it. Most people wouldn't appreciate their meddling, but he did. With all the craziness in his life, it was nice to know he had someone who could pull him back into some semblance of normality.

….

"For someone who can fly, you sure spend a lot of time walking," Sam stated as a form of a greeting.

Danny gave her a wry smile as he inconspicuously stuck his hand through his locker to get his books. "If Maddie found out that I flew to school, I don't think I'd be allowed out of my house for a year."

"But, you're allowed to do that?"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Right…."

"Lighten up a little, Sam," Tucker told the girl as he tried to stifle a yawn. Apparently, it was one of the mornings he had a harder time getting out of bed. "Danny should be allowed to have a little fun with his abilities."

"Just as long as he doesn't blow his cover…"

"Jeez… would you little up a little? I'm not going to blow anything…"

"That's what she said!" Tucker shouted, interrupting Danny's sentence.

"Was that really necessary?" the halfa asked dryly as he glared at his friend. "Anyways, I think I do a pretty good job at keeping a low profile with these abilities."

"Save for dropping things…"

"I'm getting better! I'll have you know I haven't broken anything I've dropped in over a month." Danny protested as he shot a glare at the goth. "But with the constant threat of being pulled out of school if I make one little slip looming over my head, I try to be extremely careful. I honestly don't know what I'd do if they decided to keep me locked at home after everything that's happened." A shiver ran over him as he thought about it. Staying home meant more tests and experiments.

Sam thought about it for a moment as the three of them started to walk towards their homerooms. "I can understand that. You've basically been kept away from the public for years. I'd probably have gone crazy if they did that to me." She shook her head. "I really don't know how you did it."

"At least people have stopped looking at me like some sort of rare animal. That's made hiding a little easier."

"Come on man!" Tucker almost whined as he put his arm around Danny's shoulders. "Didn't you notice how those girls used to fawn all over you when you first came? And when you continued to be shy and elusive, they started coming to me for information. It was perfect!"

"Ugh, is that all you ever thing about?" Sam's question openly voiced her disgust. "Those girls were only using you to get to Danny. Besides, what if any of them had found something out? With their loose lips, it would only have taken a day, if that, to have it spread all over town."

"Come on, Sam! It wouldn't have been that bad!"

"Tucker, have you met the same girls I have? Cuz, I know for a fact that if one of those girls has some extracurricular fun with one of their boyfriends, my mother will have heard about it by noon the next day. They can't keep their mouths shut!"

"Ms. Manson, while I know you don't have the best opinions of your peers, could you please lower your voice while you express your frustrations?" their homeroom teacher, Mr. Lancer asked as they entered the room.

After Sam gave him a quick response, the three friends sat down in their normal seats. Since they still had some time before the bell rung, Sam continued to try to convince Tucker of the evils of other girls. This allowed Danny some time to let his mind wonder for a few moments.

In general, he tended to side with Sam on matters relating to the other students. They had a need to categorize themselves, and if something didn't fit into their category, it was ousted. Furthermore, the more popular groups seemed convinced they had to act a certain way. If someone was caught doing something outside the norm, they were punished. While Danny understood their need to feel belonging, the destruction of one's personal identity seemed dehumanizing. It probably bothered him so much due to Vlad's attempted brain washing and that he was still trying to figure out parts of his own identity.

A frigid cold coursed through him as the lights began to flicker. Danny sighed as he glanced at his friends who hadn't noticed yet. An unknown entity tended to mess with the lights most days around this time. It was hardly anything to get worried about since no one, including him, had ever seen the ghost, and it didn't seem to be malicious. Most of the students and staff seemed to figure it was an electrical problem as it usually stopped after a minute or two.

However, this time, the lights did not return to normal. They just continued to flicker, and the students were starting to take notice. There was a frantic feel to it which was starting to put Danny on edge. Could it be a warning?

Yep, definitely are warning, he thought grimly as what appeared to be a giant glowing cobra slithered through the wall, effectively scaring everyone in the room. "Guys, call Maddie," he told his friends as he tossed Tucker his cell phone while the rest of the class ran.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Tucker asked as started to follow his classmates.

"I'm going to try to try to get it out of here."

"But you can't!" Sam almost yelled. "What about you're cover? You can't be exposed because of something like this!"

"I'm not going to let this thing hurt anyone."

"But, Danny…!"

"No buts, Sam. I have to do this." If Sam said anything else, he never caught it. After glancing around to make sure no other human was in the room, he quickly transformed. When the other ghost caught sight of him, it didn't immediately attack. Instead, it eyed him carefully as it hissed menacingly.

This type of ghost was completely new to Danny, and he honestly wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it. Until this exact moment, he didn't even think it was possible for an animal to become a ghost, let alone a monster-sized one. He also had the initial impression this thing was a lot stronger than most of the ghosts he had recently seen.

Before he could decide what to do, the other ghost lunged forward. Initially expecting an attack, Danny was surprised that the ghost had made an escape attempt. Knowing it would bring mass chaos if the rest of the school caught sight of it, he managed to catch it by the tail. It was a decision he immediately regretted.

The snake immediately retaliated by trying to bite him. Thank goodness for intangibility or he might have lost part of his arm to the snake's large fangs. He quickly let go and backed away as the snake lunged at him again. There was no way he could effectively fight the thing again in the classroom without causing a lot of collateral damage, and if he tried grabbing it again… well, that probably wouldn't be that smart of a move either. Worried, he quickly ran through his mental list of his abilities before coming up with the best option: blasting the thing out the window.

After allowing the ghost to think it had him pinned against the wall, he waited until it started to attack again before he moved out of the way. A quick ectoblast to its head caused it to collide with the nearest window, but not before it managed to hit him with its tail, slamming him into the floor.

For a moment, the only thing the halfa could see was stars. After a quick shake of his head, he found himself alone in the classroom. He quickly moved to the window to see if he could find any trace of his opponent. There were no immediate signs of it outside, but he could hear faint movement behind him. Turning around and taking a defensive stance, he was shocked to see the faces of several students trying to catch a glance of the classroom. Buzzing whispers were quickly filling his ears, and he was starting to panic.

His mother had made it very clear that people were not supposed to see him in ghost form no matter what. She was going to kill him… or re-kill… or something (it was hard to tell exactly how a half-ghost should phrase that saying). That thought brought him back to his senses, and he quickly faded out of the visible spectrum in response. He then dived through the now open window to look for the ghost snake. It was so going to pay for the mess it caused.

…..

A couple minutes later, Danny found the monstrosity sitting rather conspicuously near some of the students' vehicles in the parking lot. He was about to go after it when a strange bluish-white light engulfed it. When the light disappeared, so did the ghost. Puzzled, Danny flew down to investigate only to find his mother nearby holding some sort of container.

"It's the 'Fenton Thermos – patent pending'," she told him as he touched down near her and reverted back to his human form.

"Do I want to know?" he asked hesitantly, unsure how the conversation was going to proceed.

"It's a temporary holding container for ghosts… But, I'm not certain how it would affect a half-ghost."

"Hopefully, we won't have to find out, right?"

Maddie didn't immediately answer. Instead she opted for giving him a rather meaningful agitated look. "Right now, no, but that doesn't mean I won't consider it in the future if you do something like this again. What possessed you to transform in broad daylight in a public place? What if someone saw you?"

"That thing came through the wall, everyone scattered, and I wanted to make sure no one got hurt before you could come…"

His mother's eyes softened for just a moment. "Noble as your actions were, you shouldn't have taken the risk. We don't know what anyone would do if they found out about you. You could be sold to a lab or abducted by Vlad again. Until I find a way to cure you…"

"Cure me? Cure me?" he repeated in an offended manner. "How do you 'cure' a curse? Face it. You don't know how this happened to me any more than I do! Let's face it. I'm probably going to be stuck this way for the rest of my life, so we might as well both deal with it."

*smack*

Danny just stared at the woman in front of him as he held his hand up to his stinging cheek. "How dare you!" she hissed. "Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for you? And Jack… your father lost his life!" Uncertain how to respond, Danny said nothing for a moment as he tried to recover from the blow as his mother continued to yell about what it was like being trapped in Vlad's basement for so long.

"How do you know that's safe?" he snapped as she brought the conversation back towards making him normal again. "Hate to break it to you, but being like this feels normal now. It's getting hard to remember what it was like before having these powers. Besides, I still don't know how this," he turned one of his hands invisible to emphasize his point, "even happened. I wasn't in some lab accident. You and dad apparently didn't do anything questionable. It doesn't make sense. Vlad's curse theory sounds best, even if it is nothing but a crazed-up fruitloop's delusion. How can you even begin to fix something when you don't even understand how it happened?"

He let the question hang in the air for a moment as he turned away slightly as he tried to get his emotions back under control. No doubt his eyes would have turned green by now, and Maddie really hated when that happened. "The local ghosts," he started hesitantly when he realized Maddie wasn't going to answer just yet, "seem to think something big is coming, and they're worried. Even though they aren't even sure why I'm a halfa, they think my powers will come in handy when this event happens."

"So, what you're trying to say is that you don't even think I should be worried about making you human again until after this event happens?" Maddie summarized as she narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe…?"

She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "This conversation is far from finished, but we need to get you back to class." She then shooed him back towards the school building before following him.

"Uh, so how did that snake-thing get here?" Danny asked hesitantly after a few moments of silence. He could tell his mother was still rather angry, but he'd rather deal with some sort of conversation than the awkward silence brought on by an argument.

"Honestly, I'm not exactly sure. My equipment detected a large ectoplasmic energy surge not too long ago which could have been a natural portal, but it was several blocks away from here. That ghost was fairly fast, so it could have gotten here within that time frame, but something isn't sitting right."

"Meaning… you thought it might have been sent here somehow?"

"Possibly…" Maddie paused as they entered the school building. "Now, where is the school office again?"

A couple minutes later, Maddie had successfully explained why Danny had disappeared from class to the principal. In other cities, the excuse the boy had disappeared to contact his mother who is a paranormal investigator probably wouldn't have worked. However, the principal had several eyewitness reports from the other students and had called upon Maddie for her own paranormal woes a few weeks ago. In this case, it was perfectly reasonable. The principal also stated she looked forward to Maddie's assistance in the future if similar situations occurred.

Somewhat pleased by the prospect of future business, Maddie gave Danny a quick hug before telling him to get back to class. He gave her a strange look before exiting the school office and heading back to class. If he remembered correctly, it was the first time she had really shown him affection. It was probably a rouse since they were in public. Although she never openly voiced it, he knew she was terrified of him somehow turning evil. There was no convincing her otherwise either.

"Ah, Mr. Fenton, we were starting to wonder where you had gone," Mr. Lancer stated dryly after Danny had politely knocked on the door once he arrived. After handing the teacher his pass, he hesitantly sat down near his friends. "I see," the teacher said as he gave the boy an appraising look once he finished reading the pass. "If something like this happens again, please try to stay in the building next time." He nodded as the other kids started to snicker causing him to blush. Lancer's statements lent more to the idea of him running from the ghost in fear than the official excuse of contacting his mother, which wasn't entirely wrong.

"So, what happened?" Sam asked urgently when Lancer went back to looking at his notes. Thankfully, it was still homeroom period, so there was time to catch up before the bell.

"Maddie caught the thing," he said somewhat miserably.

"Anything else?"

"She isn't sure if it came out of a natural portal or if it was sent here. Oh, and we got in another fight."

"Let me guess: it was about trying to get you back to normal?"

"Yep. She even hit me."

There was an awkward pause as his friends shared a look in an attempt to figure out what to say. Tucker recovered first. "Cheer up, man," he stated cheerfully as he looked around. "Looks like you've got a fan club."

"What?" Out of all the things that could have been said, that was the last thing Danny was expecting.

"Yep, several of our classmates had caught a glimpse of you before you disappeared. Apparently, that was enough to make you somewhat of a celebrity."

"But that's terrible! What if Maddie finds out?"

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. I don't think this will spread outside of the school."

"Tucker, need I once again remind you that the girls here can't keep their mouths shut?" Sam mentioned as she gave him a skeptical look.

"You're thinking into this too much, Sam," Tucker stated as he waved her off. He then leaned closer to Danny. "I promise, this isn't as bad as it sounds." In response, Danny just banged his head off of his desk. There was no way he was going to be able to face Maddie if she heard about this.

And done! This chapter didn't want to be written!

Another big thank you to my beta, shadowxdragon, who makes my works readable!

Nothing much to report other than life is sucky and stressful right now. Graduation is coming up. I lost my job, so I have to try to look for a new one, which isn't going well. Anime convention, which I am part of the staff, is rapidly approaching. And, my cosplay (I'm being Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening), is evil and I don't know if it'll get done in time for said convention. And, I'm a panelist this year too. :bangs head off of desk: Why do I do this to myself?

Oh, and another snow storm. Yay.

That's it for now,
Goshi