An: I'm BAAAAAAAACK!

That didn't take too long, did it? Its kinda short… I'm aware half of the link to my Instagram apparently vanished. Like I said, I don't know how this site works. Just search "Sapherer" for my main art account. Anything for this will be on my second account, which is linked somewhere in my photos. It's the only picture of another account there.

Little note: this fic is mildly based on the song Monster by Imagine Dragons. So if you wanna kinda get in my mindset, go listen to that.

I need you guys to vote on a song!

Walk Away by Five Finger Death Punch

Or

Walk Away From The Sun by Seether

If no one comments with a preference, I'll go with the Seether song for what I need it for. But I also really like the FFDP, so I'm kinda conflicted… XD

Questions in Comments~!

Garfield2013: Not entirely~ :3

Thanks to Rock-Solid-Fantasies, Stillwatch,corazonoscuro2016 and Sonicrockergirl for commenting too :) Really got me excited too see some just a few hours after posting the first chapter

Chapter 2: Return to Amity

Danny rode through Amity at a leisurely speed, not giving a damn about anyone trying to pass him. There weren't many others on the road anyways. The city had grown in the years he'd been gone and -much to his surprise- there weren't any ghost alarms or tech that he could spot. The sensors wouldn't be able to detect him anyways. He'd learned long ago that they could no longer pick up his ecto signature. Not even the GIW had tech that could see him. But he didn't come back here for the ghost tech- well, not exactly. No, he came back to do the one thing he never wanted to do again.

Talk to his parents.

He groaned to himself at the mere thought of it. He didn't plan on telling them who he was, and he doubt they'd recognize him, but well… he didn't exactly have a choice. They were the only ones capable of doing something he needed help with. As much as he hated admitted needing help with something.

He revved the engine as he prepared for a light to turn green- but a purple dress caught his attention. Walking parallel with him on the sidewalk was a woman with long black hair and a dark purple dress on. It barely reached her knees and was accented with multiple black accessories, as well as combat boots. He chuckled quietly under his breath. That girl never changed…

"Sam." He said simply. Sam turned her head to see who called, but he immediately hit the gas and sped off, leaving her to wonder who it was. He didn't once look back and continued to navigate his way through new parts of the city.

It took nearly an hour for him to find his way to the familiar looming building. A large "FENTONWORKS" sign blinked up above, though a few of the letters were dead. Danny ended up circling the surrounding blocks a few times, mentally psyching himself up. He parked across the street and groaned under his breath. "28 years old and I can't put up a poker face to talk to my parents… C'mon, Phantom. They're just people…" he sighed and pocketed his keys before getting up.

Danny put on an impassive face and crossed the street. 'I can do this… they won't recognize me… it's fine…' Before he could wimp out, Danny knocked on the front door. It only took a few minutes before he heard locks turning and it opened up. Danny's breath caught for a moment at seeing his father. Despite being ten years older and having more grey than black hair, he didn't look too different. "Hello?"

"J-Jack Fenton? I've heard you're an expert ghost hunter and inventor, right?"

Jack grinned at the stranger, showing no ounce of recognition. "You're a fan of our work? Great! Madds will love to meet you! What can we do for you?"

"Name's Daniel. I need your help with something." Danny answer, immediately regretting using his real name.

Jack's expression flattered for a moment. "Daniel? I had a son named Daniel… He went missing a few years ago. Why don't you come in?"

Danny went inside as Jack stepped aside to let him pass. "I'm sorry to hear that." He and his father shared hair and eye color, as well as imposing height, but Danny looking nothing like the scrawny kid he used to be.

"Jack, who was at the door?" Maddie Fenton called from the basement as she headed up.

"Someone who says we can help him with a ghost problem." Jack grinned. Maddie paused in the doorway when she spotted Danny, her eyes widening. Danny fidgeted nervously, hoping she didn't recognize him. "So, what can we help you with?"

"Right…" Danny began. "I'm friends with an old colleague of yours- Vlad Masters?" At their nod, he continued. "Are you aware of his… condition?"

"Condition?" Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"As… Plasmius." Danny said hesitantly.

Maddie and Jack shared a concerned class before she answered. "Yes… we know about that."

"Well, I…" 'Holy shit, I can't believe I'm doing this…' "I'm like him. The only other one in existence."

Maddie didn't look too convinced, but Jack's expression immediately beamed with excitement. "You're a half ghost! We've wanted to study one for years but Vladdy never let-" he was cut off when Maddie put a hand on his arm.

"Our alarms haven't gone off, and they detect even class one ghosts, plus Vlad has set them off before."

Danny shrugged. "I heard there hasn't been a ghost in Amity for years. Maybe they're just too old?"

Her eyes slit lightly. "Then prove it."

"Only if you promise to help me- and not attack."

"Would it involve anyone getting hurt?"

Danny shook his head. "The opposite, actually. If you two can fix the problem- something Vlad can't even solve- then it might save a few lives."

"Why would we attack you?" Jack asked. "We only fight evil ghosts- unless you are evil!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Not quite… You two used to hunt me all the time." He closed his eyes for a moment and let the white rings appear at his waist. They split and spread across his body, leaving the two Fentons gaping at him. His skin turned incredibly pale, his hair burst into white flames, and his sunglasses vanished to reveal crimson red eyes. His clothes were replaced with a familiar black and white HAZMAT suit- though it had more white than they recalled- and had a white cloak tied at the hollow of his throat. The unmistakable DP symbol stood out boldly against his chest. (An: basically slightly less buff Dan, with pale (not blue) skin and a white cloak)

"Phantom!" They exclaimed, Maddie's hand immediately dropping to the ecto-pistol attached to her hip.

Danny crossed his arms. "What happened to not attacking?"

She hesitantly removed her hand from the weapon, eyes slit in suspicion. Jack's own eyes were wide. "Phantom… You… You were a half ghost the whole time…?" He asked, to which Danny nodded. The older man had to sit down, his gaze on the floor. "We were hunting a child…"

Danny paused, caught a little off guard by that. "Well, technically ye-" He cut off when his breath stopped short and he let out a yell, dropping down to one knee. Danny's teeth and eyes clenched shut as his entire body started to flicker in and out of sight- almost looking like static. For a short moment, they caught sight of a bright blue sphere within the center of his chest, slowly twirling as its light dimmed. It only lasted a few seconds, but the sphere brightened again and Danny's body regained full form. He quickly changed back human, panting softly.

No one said anything for a while as Danny remained on one knee, his eyes closed.

"Wh… what was that….?" Maddie asked.

"That… that's what I need help with…" Danny answered as he tried to regain his breath. "It's… only affecting Vlad and I… but we don't- don't know what it is. He's got it worse though. Can't even leave his home."

Maddie nodded after a moment. "Why don't you come down to lab so we can do a few tests and figure out what this is?" Danny nodded back, and Jack went help him stand up, since his legs were wobbling. Maddie went down first, the two men following shortly after.

"Did you go to school with our Danny? You looked about his age back then." Jack asked.

Danny shook his head. "I didn't know any other Daniels, sorry." It wasn't technically a lie… He'd never met another person named Daniel before.

Jack nodded lightly, a somber look on his face. He had Danny sit up on a metal table so they could take blood and ectoplasm samples.

He sat in his ghost form while Jack took a small sample of his ectoplasm. Meanwhile, Maddie grabbed one of their power radars and pointed it at him. The little meter buzzed straight to 10 before going back down to 0, as if the battery died. She frowned and tapped the side a few times, before checking the battery. Danny rolled his eyes. "That's not going to work on me. They haven't for years."

Before she had a chance to question him, Jack asked, "So, Phantom. These samples will take about a day for results to come in- do you have a place to stay?"

Danny shook his head and reverted back human. "No. I was just going to get a hotel room."

Jack laughed. "Good luck with that! The hotels are packed full since there's a class reunion is tomorrow."

Danny frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow. "A class reunion…?"

Maddie nodded. "Would've been our son's, though he has a few friends going. They like to visit us sometimes…"

"Madds! Couldn't he stay in the guest room?" Jack grinned, clearly excited just to be near the Halfa.

She wasn't paying much attention though, lost in her own thoughts. "They sent us an invitation for him, even though he didn't graduate…"

'I did too… just homeschooled with Vlad.' Danny mentally huffed.

Jack shrugged. "He was a good kid."

Danny shifted nervously and tried to change the subject. "So… about that guest room?"

Maddie sighed and nodded. "Yes, that would be fine… It would be safer for you to stay here anyways, in case anything pops up."

"Fudge is off limits!" Jack announced, to which Danny rolled his eyes. 'Some people never change…'

After making sure they had enough samples to do a few basic tests, they showed Danny to the guest room. It was actually Jazz's old room- repainted and redesigned for anyone to use since she moved out. Danny made sure to thank them plenty of times before they left him alone for a bit. Since it was still early in the day, he decided to go out.

Danny transformed into Phantom, turned invisible and intangible, then flew outside. He drifted high up into the air before exploring around the city. Of course it had changed over the past few years- he hadn't expected any different. The layout was basically the same, but there were a ton of new buildings and streets. He didn't see any evidence that ghosts even existed there. Curious about the reunion party, he headed over to Casper. The old building still stood high, though looked completely rundown. It could seriously do with a new coat of paint and some remodeling.

But it looked like what Jack said was true. There were banners everywhere announcing the party of Danny's high school class. A few people wandered about as they put up decorations in preparation.

"Guess I have to pay them a little visit…" Danny chuckled to himself as he floated a good distance above the workers. He then absently shrugged and went wander around some more.

Soaring high above the city, Danny grinned as he got a little idea. "It's not like I'm ganna be here for long… Why not have a little fun?" He pulled up his hood and let his invisibility drop. His cloak fluttered in the wind behind him, but barely made a sound.

It only took a few minutes for someone to notice and shout "Phantom!"

Danny laughed when he saw nearly every person within hearing distance turn their head to stare. They were soon cheering as he passed by overhead, many holding cameras out. It wasn't hard to spot the ones who never trusted him- as they scowled and looked away; some blatantly ignoring him. He gave a little wave to the crowd before going invisible again, vanishing from their sights.

'And now to spy on Sam…' He flew back to where he'd seen her before, unsure of where to start. The sun was beginning to set behind him, so it wasn't all that guaranteed she'd even be outside.

...It happened suddenly. Everything was calm, then horrid pain flared up in his chest. He flashed back into visibility, his entire body spasming as it started to flicker.

Danny screamed as he fell out of the sky- his blue core slowly dimming.

AN: Yay cliffhanger!

I honestly hate cliffhangers, so I'm very sorry.

...I'm really bad at building plot

Anywho… next chapter should be much longer. Meaning it'll probably take much longer to come out. xD

But for now…

There were a hell of a lot of people he didn't recognize there. He could easily blend in with them. It's not like he wanted to stay long, anyways. He was basically just curious to see who's still alive and who's not. And Dash. It bugged him to know if the jock was successful or a total bum. He snorted as he headed to the bleachers to take a seat and watch from above.

"...Danny?"

'….shit.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Another teaser!

"J-Jack…? The blood sample we took from Phantom has a match…"