A/N: My Secret Santa gift for Mooshi the Ghost on the DP Discord server! Merry Christmas! :)
also danny is trans in this lol
Speak of the Banshee
by TwilightWakerofTime
On his way to school, Danny's ghost sense went off.
Sam and Tucker, who were walking with him like they did everyday, looked at him expectantly. He heaved a sigh.
"Sorry, guys," he said. "Guess I'll meet up with you later?"
"Yeah, no problem, we get it," Sam said, waving off his apology with a small smile on her face. "You sure you won't need help?"
"Nah. I'm sure it's nothing." Glancing around to ensure there were no people, he transformed into his ghost form.
"You know where to find us if you need us!" Tucker said, offering a playful thumbs up. "See ya in first period, Danny."
Danny gave him a playful salute and then took off into the air.
.o.O.o.
The ghost was, of course, the Box Ghost. As usual, he was yelling at pedestrians to fear him. Danny had to give credit to the citizens of Amity Park; they were so used to this that they merely offered the blue-tinged spirit an unimpressed glare or eye roll before moving on.
The only novel thing about the scene, in fact, was the weird object that the Box Ghost was waving in his would-be victims' faces. It was a box, of course, but it was a weird one. It seemed to be made of old and weathered wood, intricate designs carved into the edges. It opened at the top, like a jewelry box, and it was painted in hues of green and brown like a forest.
Oh, and it was glowing. It said a lot about Danny's life that that wasn't the first thing he noticed.
As the Box Ghost moved on to terrorize an annoyed woman who clearly was just trying to find a way around him to continue her walk, Danny decided it was time to intervene. He popped into visibility right in front of the Box Ghost's current subject, making the spirit squeak in surprise and rapidly back away.
"Alright, Boxy," Danny said, crossing his arms. "Time to go back to the Ghost Zone."
The Box Ghost clutched his prize to his chest. "No!" he shouted dramatically. "You will not steal my wonderful new container of boxy goodness!"
"Is this gonna be like Pandora's Box again?" Danny asked flatly. "Because I'm really not looking forward to cleaning up your mess if it is."
"No!" the Box Ghost proclaimed. He paused as Danny raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't think it is…"
That was all Danny needed to hear. He fired an ecto-blast at the object in the Box Ghost's hand. It was flung out of his opponent's grasp with a yelp of surprise.
"Nooo!" yelled the Box Ghost. "No one steals the Box Ghost's box!"
"Except me, when you're going to make me late for class again," Danny grumbled as he withdrew the Fenton Thermos. He aimed it at the ghost before him, and the Box Ghost was sucked in with a dramatic screech of "BEWARE!"
"Now that that's over with…" Danny walked to the box on the ground, picking it up in his hands he turned it over, examining it curiously. In all honesty, it seemed relatively normal, aside from the glow.
Hesitating only for a moment, he tentatively opened it.
Inside was… a necklace?
The necklace—or maybe it was an amulet? He certainly didn't know the difference—was very unassuming. It had a simple, slightly rusted silver chain and a gem inlaid in some sort of bronze-colored metal, but was otherwise unremarkable. The gem was an exceptionally light red—not even vivid enough to be called ruby or sanguine anything else. It maybe glowed faintly from within, but even that was a dull, dreary gray blur like an unintended flare on a camera lens.
Overall, a very ugly necklace.
Unfortunately, it was a very ugly necklace from a ghost, which meant that Danny needed to figure out something to do with it. Dora had taught him that at least, thank you very much.
But he was stopped from doing anything more when he heard the whine of an ecto-gun behind him.
Thinking quickly, Danny phased into the ground. He heard the crash of a blast on the asphalt, and he reemerged a second after within a crater. He glared at the sky.
There the Red Huntress stood in all her glory, floating on her hoverboard above the field with a smoking weapon in her hands. She glowed right back at him.
"Should've known it would be you, Phantom!" she called. "You're always the one causing problems around here!"
"The only reason you think that is because I already captured the ghost before you got here," Danny argued. "You're just—" Another blast was fired and he gasped, throwing himself to the side. He scowled. "Hey, watch it!"
"Not until you get out of my town, ghost!" Valerie growled.
"I was hunting ghosts here before you," he said matter-of-factly. "If anything, it's my—"
"You better not finish that sentence."
He paused.
He might have a C average… but he still had enough intelligence to know that finishing that line was not in his best interests.
"Whatever," he said, trying to sound casual and not intimidated. "I don't have time for this. I gotta get rid of this thing."
"What thing?" she demanded. "Did you steal something?"
Danny rolled his eyes and held up the box placatingly. "It's just something the ghost dropped."
"So it's some kind of ghost artifact?" She clenched her fists. "You've lost your mind if you think I'll let you leave with that. I know all about how those work."
He tilted his head to the side, raising a skeptical eyebrow. He pointedly gazed at her hand, which he distinctly recalled bearing the Ring of Rage not long ago. "Do you?"
She scowled. "Enough to know they're bad news. What are you really going to do with it?"
Danny shrugged. "Gee, I dunno, maybe use its evil power to take over the town or something?"
In hindsight, using sarcasm on Valerie was probably a bad idea. Upon hearing that, she did what she thought was best:
She shot it.
Valerie had great aim when she wanted to. Danny knew that. The only reason he'd kept his afterlife for so long was because he was very very good at dodging (and had very high pain tolerance). But, well… it was hard to avoid a blast at point-blank range that wasn't even aimed for you.
The box was shot straight out of his hand. He pulled away with a hiss.
The amulet within was flung from the container– and hit the ground, gem-first, shattering.
The gem may have looked normal, yes, but it was far from it, as proven when it released an enormous blast of energy. The red aura flared out and knocked Danny and Valerie to the ground.
Danny stood with a grunt. That aura had felt like a physical blow to his stomach—a feeling that Dash ensured he was well acquainted with. After shaking his head to ward off the remaining pain, he glanced up.
And, well—there was a ghost.
She was very odd looking: a woman whose age was oddly impossible to determine. One second he looked at her and was convinced she had wrinkles like an old woman; the next she seemed to glow with youth. Either way, her hair was matted, though maybe it had once been a beautiful vibrant red like Jazz's, it was now impossible to tell. Most of it was covered in the black hooded cloak she wore from head to toe, though what he could see of her face and hands was completely gray and ashen. The most striking part of her body, however, was her eyes: a brilliant, terrifying red, burning with a disconcerting amalgamation of fury and sorrow.
She turned the full power of that gaze on him. He tensed. Usually when ghosts were released, they were… unhappy.
But, she merely offered him a smirk. The corners of her mouth turned up just a bit too far, giving her the appearance of a doll whose mouth had been stitched too wide.
…And then she was gone.
He blinked. He was… very confused. But he had no time to think about it, as a feminine groan sounded from next to him. He quickly looked over and found Valerie, still passed out on the ground.
"Val!" he gasped, hurrying to her side. "Are you okay?"
He was too worried to be thinking about it, but… something sounded… wrong with his voice. He shook off that concern as he helped Valerie reach a sitting position.
She slowly came to, blinking her eyes open. He stared at her with a concerned frown. Was she okay? Did she have any injuries? Should he—
A fist suddenly made its way into his gut and he gasped, stumbling backward.
"G-Get away from me, Phantom," she snarled. "I can take care of myself!"
"Geez, sorry for trying to help you," he wheezed, clutching his stomach in pain. And… he frowned. Again, his words had sounded... wrong. A bit too ethereal, like his echo was more prominent than ever. Devoiced, like he was whispering the whole thing. The consonants were just slightly too sharp, the sound slightly too harsh. But… he couldn't exactly put his finger on what was causing that. He wasn't trying to do anything weird with his voice, like when he tried to speak deeper, and it wasn't a voice crack, like when he started T. This… was something different.
Valerie frowned at him for a second—almost as though she, too, had noticed something weird—but she had no time to consider it further as her watch beeped.
"Crap!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet. "I'm late for first period again! Lancer's going to kill me!"
And with that, her hoverboard formed beneath her, and she was gone.
Danny frowned. He stood there for a moment longer, wondering if he should be more worried about what was going on with his voice, or who that ghost had been, or what kind of terrible evil he had undoubtedly unleashed upon the world by breaking that gem.
…But then he remembered that he was also late for first period.
"I'll come back later," he mumbled, sparing a glance at the crater.
.o.O.o.
He rushed through the hall. He got eye rolls from any faculty or students he saw, as usual. But what maybe was a bit more unusual was when he crashed straight into the queen of Casper High herself, Paulina Sanchez. They both tumbled to the ground.
"Watch it, loser!" she snapped, brushing imaginary dirt off her shirt.
He opened his mouth to apologize, but she stopped him by continuing. "Look, you've made me angry! My mood ring even says so!" She held up the piece of jewelry, which had turned into a shade of red.
"S-Sorry," he said, quickly jumping to his feet. "But I have to get going!"
Her face briefly morphed into an expression of utter confusion, but he had no time to watch further. As he dashed away, he wondered what she had seemed so perplexed about.
.o.O.o.
Lancer had zero mercy when Danny entered the room.
Lancer gave him a long, public lecture about responsibility (which, honestly, Lancer should have known would make zero difference—he must have been particularly annoyed today thanks to Valerie). Danny couldn't even get a single word in. He finally managed to escape to his seat with another week of detention. Oh, well. It wasn't like he had anything better to do after school.
Tucker sent him a sympathetic glance as Danny slid into the seat next to him. "Ghost fight?" Tucker whispered.
"Yeah," said Danny. "Some new guy. Val was there too."
Tucker blinked. "Um, what?"
Danny rolled his eyes. "I said Valerie was there," he repeats. "Get your ears checked, Tucker."
Tucker's face did something… very weird. Danny watched with fascination as his friend's mouth dropped open, eyes widening. He looked, for a second, like he was trying not to choke on air.
"What?" Danny asked. "What's the matter?"
Tucker scrunched up his eyes in confusion and concern. Tucker opened his mouth to reply—
"The class is up here, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Foley," Lancer drawled from the front.
Tucker's face seemed almost terrified. Danny turned back to the front, because he really didn't want even more punishment—but he saw his friend out of the corner of his eye frequently making strange gestures. He kept pointing toward his throat and mouth in jerking, increasingly panicked motions.
Weird, Danny thought. Maybe Tucker had a sore throat or something?
"Mr. Fenton?"
His head jerked up. He stared at Lancer wide eyed.
"Can you please tell us what happens next in Hamlet?"
Danny grimaced. He barely even knew what they were reading, let alone what happened in it.
"Um… I, uh… I really don't know."
A round of snickers passed over the class.
"Very funny, Mr. Fenton," Lancer said flatly. "Now answer the question. In English, please."
Danny glanced around the room, desperate for some kind of help. His eyes landed on Tucker, who now looks like he's trying to strangle the air itself. Danny still had no idea what his problem was. He then looked at Valerie. She was giving him a sympathetic smile.
He relaxed a bit. At least she was on his side.
"D-Do they… meet Hamlet's dad?" he asked hesitantly. He remembered a ghost or something in it.
The laughs sounded again—although this time, there were a few strange, confused whispers among them. Mr. Lancer's features turned into a scowl.
"I can assure you I do not find this humorous, Mr. Fenton!" Lancer said angrily.
Danny was getting worried now. Something was off. Sure, he didn't know the answer, but, like… that was par for the course these days. Lancer had never gotten this angry. "I-I'm sorry. I… I had a busy night, and I didn't read the chapter. B-But I promise I'll read it tomorrow—"
"If you are going to say some… some kind of nonsense, Mr. Fenton, you can do it in Principal Ishiyama's room instead. Now tell me the answer or I will be forced to send you!"
…Oh no.
Tucker's motions were starting to make sense.
"…You can't understand me, can you," he said flatly. Except, now that he's really listening, he realized he didn't say that. Instead, he said, "Hlhph s sx sts lhss xktsh kh ths."
Shit.
"Fine," Lancer said tightly. He slammed the book he was holding on his desk angrily. "Then you can go to the principal and think about your answers there!"
Shit. Shit.
Now panicking about as much as Tucker, he stumbled to his feet, opening his mouth to try and explain. He knew that it was stupid and pointless, because apparently no one understood him, not even his best friend, and he was speaking in… in tongues or something… and…!
"Mr. Lancer, that's not fair! Just because he didn't read one time, he shouldn't have to go to the principal!"
…what.
The voice came from none other than Valerie Gray, who was scowling defiantly at her teacher. "What is wrong with you guys? Give him a break, he's doing his best."
He remembered, suddenly, after their fight. He'd thought his speech was weird immediately after meeting that ghost, but… but Val had been there.
"Oh my God, Val, please tell me you understand me," he begged.
She scoffed. "Of course I can understand you, you dork. What kind of question is that?"
Whispers were rampant in the class. Everyone seemed just as confused as Danny himself by this situation. Lancer was the most taken aback. "Ms. Gray… are you saying you know what he's saying?"
"Yeah," she said bluntly. She turned to him and tilted her head to the side, her face morphing from annoyance to confusion.
"…Are you telling me you can't?"
.o.O.o.
Lancer ultimately decided the nurse was perhaps a better place to go than the principal. And, as the only person who could possibly translate, Valerie was in charge of taking him there.
"Thanks for standing up for me," Danny said quietly. "I, uh… probably would have been screwed if you hadn't said something."
"Yeah," she replied. "No problem."
Silence. Danny tried to ignore the awkwardness that stretched between them.
"So, any idea what this is?" Valerie said finally. "Is it some ghost thing?"
"Oh it's definitely some ghost thing," Danny muttered under his breath. "It's always some ghost thing."
"How'd it happen then?" An idea flashed behind her eyes and they widened in horror. "Don't tell me your parents—"
"No, no, my parents would never do anything to me," Danny said quickly. Except shoot me with ghost weapons and threaten to tear me apart molecule by molecule. But you do that too, so…
They reached the nurse's office. They both stopped and stared at the door for a moment. "I'm gonna be honest, Danny," Valerie began. "I don't think the nurse isn't gonna do anything for you."
"Yeah," he said miserably. "I know."
"So how about you go see your parents instead? They might have some idea on what's going on, if you're so sure it's a ghost thing."
He paused, considering. That was true. But what if this was some ghost thing that only affected ghosts? After all, he had a terrible feeling that this was related to the ghost he'd unintentionally freed from that necklace, and Valerie had been there too. Everyone could still understand Valerie.
"Maybe you're right…"
.o.O.o.
"Mom, I feel fine."
"Mom, I feel fine. I am a ghost. Fear me."
Valerie watched as Maddie Fenton fretted over her obviously disgruntled son who was sitting in a chair in their lab. "Are you sure, Danny?" Maddie said worriedly. "There's no precedent for this! We have no idea what caused this, or if there are any lasting effects! Maybe the more you talk the worse it will get!"
After receiving a call that her son was speaking in inhuman hisses, Maddie had rushed to the school to pick him up. And… well somehow Valerie had gotten roped into coming along with them as a translator.
She had no idea why. As soon as they'd arrived, the older Fentons had gotten out this old machine that they'd called the "Ghost Gabber". To their credit, it did seem to work. Although as far as she was concerned, it was just repeating every single word Danny said.
"Not to worry, Mads!" Jack Fenton boomed from the other room. Shortly after he bounded down the stairs, a vacuum-like machine in hand. "I have a great idea! We can make a new nozzle to attach to the Fenton Ghost Weasel! And then we should be able to suck anything ghostly right out of Danny boy!"
Valerie was surprised by how pale Danny's face suddenly became. "Um," he said, "that sounds like a terrible idea."
"That sounds like a terrible idea. Fear me."
"We have to try something, Danny," she said firmly. "Maybe we can separate the ecto energy with the Fenton Ghost Catcher?"
Danny vehemently shook his head. "Uh, no. No thanks."
"No thanks. Fear me."
As Maddie, Jack, and Danny continued to discuss methods—with the Ghost Gabber interjecting with a translation every so often—Valerie began to get lost in her own thoughts. She was worried. Danny had apparently gotten some kind of ghostly disease or something similar. And that was awful, but… his parents were ghost hunters. There was a good chance that ghosts would target him, or that something in the lab could have inadvertently infected him.
She watched Danny's terrified face as Maddie talked about their inventions and frowned. With how scared Danny seemed to be of them, she couldn't help the horrifying thought that maybe it wasn't inadvertent.
She sighed, closing her eyes and listening again as the Ghost Gabber repeated another of Danny's protests. If she listened very carefully, she could hear it—underneath the instinctive understanding of language she had, she could hear the hissing, supernatural sounds that Danny was actually making. And that… well… that was the scariest part of all. Her heart felt drenched in icy fear.
Sure, Danny could be infected by ghost stuff. But why could she understand it too? And why was she somehow the only one?
"I just don't get it," Maddie said, shaking her head in frustration. "This is… utterly impossible. A scientific anomaly! It shouldn't even be possible for a human to speak ghost. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were being overshadowed!"
"I'm not!"
"I'm not. Fear me."
"That's just stupid."
"That's just stupid. Fear me."
"Can't we find a solution without sucking energy out of—"
"Can't we find a solution without sucking energy out of. Fear me."
Danny glared at the object. His eyes looked slightly green in the lighting. "Let me finish my sentence!"
"Let me finish my sentence. Fear me."
"Sorry, sweetie," Maddie said apologetically. "It wasn't made for long-term conversation." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But I think I know what you're trying to say. It's possible that if we try forcefully removing whatever ghostly energy has contaminated you, it could do more harm than good." She turned to Jack, who was still eagerly fiddling with the contraption he'd brought down earlier. "I think we'll need to study this a bit more before doing that."
Jack deflated, pouting. "Aww…"
"How about we run some tests instead?" she offered Danny.
Valerie watched with interest as he tensed. "What kind of tests?"
"What kind of tests. Fear me."
"Just standard things to start," she assured him. "Scanning for ecto-radiation, checking your reflexes and heart rate, maybe a blood test or two…"
As Maddie's list went on, Valerie noted that Danny's expression became increasingly concerned. Eventually, he jumped to his feet, cutting her. "Actually, I just remembered I have to meet Sam and Tucker for lunch—"
"I just remembered I have to meet Sam and Tucker for lunch. Fear—"
Danny angrily grabbed the Ghost Gabber and threw it at the wall. The final word died out with a mechanical moan.
Maddie crossed her arms. "And how exactly do you plan on having them understand you, young man?" she asked.
Danny shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We're just gonna hang out."
This time, the Ghost Gabber was silent. Danny grinned.
He waved at her. "Bye, Mom!"
Before she could say anything more, he was up the stairs and out of sight.
"…He, uh, said they were going to hang out," Valerie said helpfully.
The two Fenton adults turned toward her, examining her with squinted eyes.
"Well," Maddie said thoughtfully, "I guess a human understanding ghost language is almost as interesting as a human speaking it."
"Does this mean I get to use the Ghost Weasel?" Jack asked excitedly.
Valerie cringed. She wondered if this was why Danny seemed so scared of his parents.
.o.O.o.
Tucker had eagerly explained what happened to Sam. As they walked out to their usual lunch table outside, they found Danny waiting for them.
"Yhk Slhf. Yhk Txk," he greeted.
Sam's hand froze in the air mid-wave. "Oh," she said. "So that's what you meant."
"Right?" Tucker exclaimed. "It's so weird! He sounds like a staticky radio or something!"
Danny crossed his arms. "Kh s sts lhss xktsh lhphsp ths," he said glumly.
"Wow," she said, ignoring him. "That's really creepy." A smile slowly spread on her face. "You know, I bet if you turned invisible, and said something to Paulina—"
"Kh s sx txf ssh ths lhs hkspsp!" Danny interjected.
"Yeah, we still don't know what you're saying," Tucker said bluntly.
"Oh, I have an idea!" Sam exclaimed. She reached into her spider backpack and pulled out a small notepad. "Here! You can write down whatever you want to say!"
Danny blinked and took the notepad. He began scribbling furiously. When he held it up… all they saw were a bunch of unfamiliar symbols.
Tucker and Sam exchanged glances.
"Um, yeah. We can't read that," Sam said.
His face fell. A moment later, an expression of determination formed on his face, and he began drawing it again. This time, when he held it up, they saw more of a picture than words. It was some kind of circle.
"What is that? A hula hoop?" Sam guessed.
Danny shook his head.
"No, a… a ball? A snake? Oh, a frisbee!"
Danny shook his head more vigorously, gritting his teeth. He pointed to his neck.
"A… a necklace?"
His face lit up and he nodded. He flipped to a clean sheet and began drawing a small stick figure.
Tucker peered over his shoulder. "Is that you?"
Danny shook his head. He drew a gun in the person's hand.
"Um… a soldier?"
Danny smacked his face. He pointed at himself and pantomimed being shot, dramatically acting out falling dead.
"Oh! VALERIE!" they both shouted.
He grinned and nodded again.
"Okay, so, a necklace, and Valerie… I'm not seeing the connection," Sam murmured.
Danny sighed, picking up the pencil again and flipping to a new page. But before he could draw anything, a shiver racked his body, his breath coming out in a blue mist.
"GHOST CHILD!"
The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter materialized in front of the trio, gun aimed and at the ready.
Danny sighed. "Kxf Sklhk ksth, phx sx sthsh phts t."
"Hah! The thrill of the hunt waits for no one, whelp!" Skulker crowed. "Get ready, for your pelt will soon be mine!"
Danny rolled his eyes, shifting into ghost form. "Khp s xxk p'sf ths xsh, Sklhk ksth. Ssh s shthsh lhss lhf? Sx. Xhtf chks ch phts ths sht khp."
"Today is different, ghost child," he said. "For I—"
"Hold on," Tucker cut in. "You can understand him?"
A beat. Skulker glanced at Tucker, a confused look on his face. "…Yes?"
"Woah," Tucker said, voice awed. "…Danny, say something again!"
"Khp s sx fp'f sh txklhp tsk lhphsp sts lhss—"
"What'd he say?" Tucker asked eagerly.
Skulker appeared very at a loss. "He… he… Why are you asking that, boy?!"
"Oh my God," Tucker said, turning to Danny. "Ghosts can understand you! It's like… like some ghost language or something!"
"Khp s xktsh, xssh khp s fp'f sh f fshp!"
Skulker hoisted his gun up on his shoulder, expression bewildered. "Actually," Skulker said, "I would prefer to hunt you only at your best, ghost child. I'm not interested in dealing with… whatever this is." The wings on his suit popped out. "We will meet again!"
Skulker flew off into the sky.
Danny buried his face in his hands and let out a long, frustrated moan.
"Hey, it's okay," Sam said, patting his back in mock sympathy. "At least now you know ghosts understand you."
Danny perked up. "Lhph s k'xlh lhss…" He shot up into the air. "Khp s s's shh sh Klhkhk!"
He vanished from sight.
Sam and Tucker exchanged looks. "Uh… was it something I said?" Sam asked.
Tucker shrugged.
.o.O.o.
Ghosts could understand him—even those that usually spoke English like Skulker. So it stood to reason that someone in the Ghost Zone would be able to understand and help him.
That was how he ended up in Clockwork's Tower after a quick flight through the portal.
"It was a Banshee," Clockwork said.
"A what?" Danny repeated skeptically.
"A Banshee. The ghost of a woman who is known as a harbinger of death with her wails. She was trapped in that jewel, but Valerie freed her by breaking it."
"Okay," Danny said slowly. "But what does that have to do with how no one can understand me?"
"When the magic of the gem was released, so too was the Banshee's power. It went into the closest sources: yourself and your friend, Valerie. I imagine if you used your Ghostly Wail now, it would have some… unexpected side effects." Clockwork morphed from an old man into a child. "This Banshee was a very ancient ghost, and thus she only spoke in k'shkst, a language among ancient ghosts. With her power, you also gained what is essentially her voice. And now you can only speak in her language. She is mostly likely speaking in English, as you were."
"I… what?" Danny shrieked. "But… what about Valerie? She was hit with the blasts too!"
"Only ghosts can speak k'shkst," Clockwork said, shaking their head. "In fact, they have an intrinsic understanding of it. You may have heard some speak it without even realizing it. Valerie, on the other hand, is only human. As a result, she only gained the ability to comprehend the language."
"But then... what do I do to fix this?" he asked desperately.
"First, you need to find the girl, Valerie. She was there when the blast hit. If you want your voice back, she, too, must use the energy she absorbed in order to imprison the Banshee."
Great. Just great. "And then what?"
"You'll need to trap the Banshee."
"And how do I do that?"
"A jewel." They raised their staff, and an image of the amulet before it was broken appeared on the screen before them. "Any sort of gemstone will do."
"A jewel? How am I supposed to get a jewel?" Danny threw his hands in the air in frustration. "This is hopeless!"
Clockwork's lips twitched. "Well… I never said it had to be a real jewel."
.o.O.o.
Next thing he knew, Danny was exiting the dollar store, plastic bag with his prize in tow.
Hey, he was a teenager with no job or money. If this ghost had wanted to be trapped in something more fancy for all of eternity, she shouldn't have left her old prison. His only other option had been to potentially raid his old jewelry collection and, well… that wasn't going to happen. He would've thrown it out with all his frilly clothes last year too, if his Mom hadn't complained that they were too valuable.
"Now I have to figure out how to get Valerie," he muttered.
And once he got there, he had to answer an important question: should he arrive as Phantom or Fenton?
On one hand, she'd been with him when the ghost escaped earlier. She knew Phantom was probably looking for it. Unfortunately, she hated Phantom and was more likely to try and murder him (or re-murder?) if he appeared in ghost form.
But also… Fenton was the one with the speaking problem, not Phantom.
Danny groaned.
.o.O.o.
He knocked on the door of Valerie's apartment and waited.
She opened the door. One look at the infamous ghost boy standing sheepishly in her doorway… and she slammed the door in his face.
"Hey, no, wait!" he called out desperately. "Please, I seriously need your help! I wouldn't be knocking on your door like a normal person if I didn't!"
He pounded on the door again. This time, it reopened with an ecto-gun aimed directly at his face.
"You have two seconds to explain why the hell you are at my home before you get an ecto-blast to the face," she growled.
He took a deep breath. "I, uh… really really really need your help to recapture an ancient ghost inside of a gem because you were the only other person there to get hit by the blast?"
Valerie blinked. Her expression suggested she was seriously considering slamming the door again.
"Please," he said. "I know you hate me, but I'll do anything to fix this."
Valerie put her hands on her hips, considering. "…Anything? So if I asked you to leave the town…"
"Anything within reason!" he quickly amended.
She shook her head in disappointment. "Fine. Then here's what I want." She jabbed an accusatory finger at his chest. "You are going to tell me what happened to Danny Fenton."
He froze.
"I… uh… w-why?" He chuckled nervously. "D-Did something happen... to him?"
"He's talking in some kind of, like, static sound," she said, frustrated. "No one knows why. Not even his parents, last I heard. They're pretty sure it's some ghost thing, though, so I figured you'd know what it is." She narrowed her eyes. "Assuming you aren't the cause to begin with."
"R-Right…" Danny thought quickly, trying to come up with the best response. He wasn't very successful. "Okay, um… if we capture this ghost, I can do some… ghost magic and your friend will be back to normal. Sound good?"
Valerie lifted her chin, looking down at him like a queen surveying her subject. She nodded shortly. "Fine. You had better not be lying. Now… turn invisible or something so that people don't see Public Enemy #1 at my freaking door. I'll be back out with my gear in a minute."
Valerie turned to shut the door again, hesitating for a moment with a thoughtful look on her face. As quickly as the expression appeared, she dismissed it with a shake of her head and slammed the door in his face. Danny released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Great. This was fine. Now all he had to do was not speak to anyone else in Valerie's vicinity so that she didn't realize he had the same condition Danny Fenton did.
Easy, right?
.o.O.o.
Danny and Valerie tracked down the ghost at Casper High. Because of course it had to be there.
When they arrived, they found the Banshee harassing a group of students who, judging by their school uniforms, had been in P.E. at the time. The Banshee was clawing and screeching at the top of her lungs, trying to grab or harm the teenagers that were running about the field in terror.
Danny heard Valerie snort next to him.
"WHERE IS MY VOICE?" the ghost cried. Danny winced and nearly clenched his hands in his ears; for a woman screaming that she'd lost her voice, she had powerful lungs. It was like sandpaper in his ears.
"Hey! Look!" one of the girls gasped, pointing up in their direction. "Phantom is here to save us!"
"And the Huntress," Valerie added indignantly.
"Who?"
The Banshee turned toward them. If Danny had thought her eyes were haunting before, they were worse now. Tears streamed from them, appearing red in the sanguine glow of her eyes, making them look like streams of blood. They only blazed brighter upon seeing him. "YOU!"
Danny waved half-heartedly. "Hi. Yes. Me."
"YOU STOLE MY VOICE!"
He had no time to react as she charged at him, tackling him to the ground. He released an oof as his back hit the grass.
He desperately tried to hold her back as she slashed at him, fingernails bared like claws. "Hey, hey, woah! Look I want my voice back too, please stop trying to kill me—"
"Why is Phantom making those noises?" someone whispered nearby. Danny grimaced even more. He had to get this done soon, or people would start to talk. Valerie would definitely figure it out then.
Speaking of, the Huntress finally decided to live up to her end of the deal as she blasted the Banshee. The creature was struck in the side, tumbling to the bleachers nearby. Danny was finally able to stand. He nodded appreciatively at Valerie. "Thanks!"
"Don't get used to it," she grumbled, charging up another shot, eyes locked on their foe.
The Banshee floated off the ground, robe and long hair billowing out behind her in a supernatural wind. "GIVE… ME… MY…"
"Your voice, I know! We get it!" Danny called. "But in order to do that, you have to go back into this gem." He pulled out the gem that he had purchased from the dollar store:
A Ring Pop.
As he started pulling off the wrapper, Valerie did a double take. "Hang on… is that…"
"I know what it looks like," Danny began, finally withdrawing the candy from the wrapper.
"Are you kidding me?" she growled. "You brought me all the way here and you don't even have a real gem! There's no way that will work!"
"It will! The master of time told me so!"
"Excuse me, the what—?"
The Banshee took advantage of their bickering, charging forward with inhuman speed and swiping at Danny. He felt the wind scratch against his chest, making him gasp and stumble backward.
The Ring Pop went flying from his hand. Unfortunately, it was merely made out of candy, so when it flew through the air and hit the ground… it instantly snapped into shards.
Danny's heart sank.
Valerie shot at the Banshee, but the creature had learned her tricks. This time it faded out of existence, reappearing behind the ghost hunter and slashing her hand straight through the weapon. The gun exploded in her hands, causing Valerie to swear vigorously as shrapnel pelted against her suit.
Trusting that she could handle herself, Danny tried to head toward the broken ring pop, but the Banshee was suddenly before him. She screamed in his face and grappled with him, forcing him back and away from the ring's remains. "Over there," he shouted to Valerie. "Maybe we can use the pieces—"
"NO."
He felt ghostly hands grab him once again. Before he could react, he was tossed unceremoniously to the side. The Banshee was shockingly strong. He went sailing through the air—and crashed straight through a window to the school. Several shrieks or gasps accompanied his arrival.
"Ghost boy! Are you okay?"
With a groan, he sat up, shaking his head to ward off dizziness. As his vision straightened, he managed to take in his surroundings.
He was in a classroom. Standing over him, gazing in concern, was none other than Paulina Sanchez herself. As he glanced around, he realized he'd managed to fly straight into Mr. Falluca's math class, where several of his peers had been learning, including Sam, Dash, Kwan, and Star.
As he phased through the glass shards that were still on top of him and tried getting to his feet, Paulina immediately rushed over to him. "I can help you, ghost boy!" she said excitedly. "You know me, right? I'm your biggest fan!"
"Now's really not the time," he mumbled. He could hear the noises of Valerie's ecto-gun firing outside. "I've got a ghost to deal with."
He watched as Paulina's eyebrows furrowed, and a frown formed on her face. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and he wondered what he could have possibly said that was so strange.
"Hey," said Dash, "how come he sounds like Fenton did?"
And that's when Danny remembered he was still speaking in ghost.
"He, uh, sounds completely different, Dash!" Sam said quickly, trying to intervene. "Like, didn't you hear the echo?"
The jock rubbed his chin, clearly considering. Danny did not have time for his brain to try and come to whatever conclusion it was going to, so he started floating in the air, prepared to leave.
"No, wait, ghost boy!" Paulina whined, clutching his arm. "I don't care if you sound terrifying! I love you!" He sighed and shook her hand off gently and started floating away. Paulina glanced down at her hand and her face lit up. She held her fingers up for him to see. "Look! My mood ring is pink, which means I'm in love!"
Mood ring—
Danny's eyes widened and snapped to Paulina immediately.
"Hey, let me borrow that!" he said, pointing furiously at the piece of jewelry.
"I still don't know what you're saying," Paulina sighed dramatically. She frowned down at the ring on her finger. "Are you confused about the color? Look, I have the color chart in my backpack—"
"No, I need your ring to lock up a homicidal Banshee now please pass it quickly—"
He heard Valerie cry out outside, and he knew there was no time. He grabbed Paulina's hand, ignoring her slightly offended shout of dismay, and took off the ring.
Scrambling to his feet, he lifted off the ground, flying straight out the window toward the Banshee, gem held face out.
When it connected with the creature, she screamed.
The sound was undoubtedly only rivaled by his Ghostly Wail. Everyone around the field clutched at their ears, squeezing their eyes shut as though it would help block out the piercing cry. "Valerie," he tried to yell over the volume, "you have to grab the ring too!"
Whether it was just chance or she actually heard him by some miracle, her hand grasped the other side of the ring that was being pressed into the Banshee's side. Her shriek began to transform into some less pained and more scared as her body started dematerializing.
Moments later... it stopped.
With a sound like a bird taking flight, the Banshee's body was completely sucked into the gemstone. It clattered to the ground, somehow escaping both his and Valerie's grasp. The abrupt lack of spectral energy caused both of them to collapse onto the ground.
As Danny looked down at the jewel, he noticed it now had that same dull gray glow.
"We… we did it," Danny gasped out. "We locked her up!"
The students around the field slowly began to emerge from their hiding places, surveying the damage and whispering amongst themselves.
"Great," Valerie said, hoisting herself up to her feet. She stretched. "Ugh. That ghost sure was an annoying one." She eyed the ring skeptically. "Now what do we do with that?"
Danny wasn't listening. "I have to know… am I back to normal?" He turned to the closest person, which just so happened to be a bewildered Mikey. "Hey! Can you understand me?"
"I, u-um, yeah!" Mikey stammered, clearly taken aback from being assaulted by a notorious ghost superhero.
"YES!" Danny twirled in the air in joy. "I'm back to normal!"
"Normal?" Valerie repeated. Danny jumped; he'd forgotten she was still there. "What are you talking about?"
More students began stepping forward. Murmurs of excitement and relief were emanating from the crowd.
"Is my ring okay?" a feminine voice gasped. Paulina broke through the crowd and rushed to the piece of jewelry that was still laying on the ground. He wondered if she'd jumped through the window.
"Huh, you sound the same as always now," Dash said, walking up behind her. "I just don't get it. Manson's dumb if she didn't hear it. You sounded exactly like Fenton!"
Danny froze.
Valerie blinked. Slowly, deliberately, she turned to Dash. "…What?"
"Yeah, he was, like, making weird noises!" Dash continued, oblivious to Danny who was furiously shaking his head, eyes wide and terrified. "This loser in our class was doing the same thing earlier today!"
Valerie's gaze fell upon Danny, her expression hard. He grimaced.
He had a feeling he had a lot of explaining to do.
A/N: I probably would not have written something like this on my own lol, but I took a shot at it for Mooshi! Hope I did okay with what you wanted - sorry it wasn't really a class reveal. But hey, you can imagine it probably happens pretty shortly after this fic lol.
Hope I did okay with trans Danny, I'm cis af but did ask trans friends how to write it haha. Not super happy with the few references I made but eh, they're there! The Banshee is here because my Irish friend helped me come up with the plot looool
Thanks as always to Hazama_d20 and aniura for betaing! Please check out their fics. :)
this ghost language is an actual conlang btw and i spent waaaaay too long translating everything :/
Translations for Danny's speech in the Tucker and Sam scene:
"Yhk Slhf. Yhk Txk." = Hi Sam, hi Tuck.
"Kh s sts lhss xktsh lhphsp ths." = I can still understand you, you know.
"Kh s sx txf ssh ths lhs hkspsp!" = I'm not using it to scare people!
"Kxf Sklhk ksth, phx sx sthsh phts t." = Come on Skulker, this is really not a great time.
"Khp s xxk p'sf ths xsh, Sklhk ksth. Ssh s shthsh lhss lhf? Sx. Xhtf chks ch phts ths sht khp." = We do this all the time, Skulker. And has it ever worked out for you? No. Stop wasting our time.
"Khp s sx fp'f sh txklhp tsk lhphsp sts lhss-" = I'm not just saying things so that you can-
"Khp s xktsh, xssh khp s fp'f sh f fshp!" = I know, I already talked with my parents!
"Lhph s k'xlh lhss... Khp s s's shh sh Klhkhk!" = You're right... I need to see Clockwork!
Published: December 24th, 2020
Words: 7,152