The deepest dark is locked inside each one of us.

Darkness
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

Chapter 3: Reality

What was probably a few hours later, Maddie found herself sitting in a corner, rubbing her temples. Her head was still pounding. For the fifth time in the past while, she carefully reached one hand up to an extremely tender spot on the side of her head. Her stiff hair felt like it was coated in dried blood. She hissed softly as she prodded the area with a fingertip. From what she could tell, nothing appeared to be broken or currently bleeding.

Despite the complete darkness of the room, she had mapped the entire "cell" she was in. She closed her eyes and pictured the dank confines. The room measured no more than eight feet by eight feet and the ceiling was easily within reach of her questing fingers when she was standing. The walls were made up of thick, roughly hewn stones with no windows. The only opening was a large wooden door with no handle. Every stone, bit of mortar, and sliver of wood was slimy with condensing moisture. It seemed very medieval-style movie dungeon.

Then there were the chains. Each corner of the cell boasted two sets of thick, cold chains with manacles on the ends. One corner's chains were used by the ghost-boy; the other sets dangled free. Maddie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Why aren't I chained up?

Probably because there's no way for me to get out, she smiled slightly as she answered her own question, shaking her head.

She skimmed over her mental picture of the room, once more searching for a possible exit. None of the stones were loose, the door was solid and unmoving, and there were no holes anywhere. In such a tiny room, it hadn't taken long to carefully search every nook and cranny. Rubbing her eyes, her mind desperately scrambled for an escape. Maybe…

What was that?

Her head jerked up, eyes flicking open at the harsh, echoing sound. The ghost was coughing. She winced in sympathy at the painful sound, then rolled her eyes. The ghost wasn't in any real pain – the thing lacked the nerves necessary for pain to exist. Maddie watched the eyes open, listening to the icy chains rattle in the black. "Sorry," the ghost rasped. "I have been falling asleep a lot. No energy, I guess."

Maddie bit her lip, studying the dimly glowing eyes. That made little sense – the ghost had undoubtedly been feeding from her for several hours. She opened her mouth, then clamped it shut again.

Ghost Hunting Rule 7: Do not speak to ghosts.

The silence pressed on her mind. Her legs twitched and ached. Her head burned from the wound on the back of her skull. Then her lips moved, almost of their own accord. "Why?"

The eyes blinked a few times, focusing on her. "What?" it asked.

She sighed and repeated herself. Even a half-conversation with a ghost had to be better than absolute silence. Perhaps she could even worm some information out of the spirit. She wouldn't be able to trust most of what it said, but it would at least give her something to do until she could find a way to escape. "Why are you so low on energy?"

After a few seconds of silence, the ghost muttered, "Why do you care?"

Shrugging, she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Got anything better to do?" The eyes slowly shook from side to side. "You collect energy from the ambient atmosphere," she arched an eyebrow, "from me, in this case. Why are you so low on energy?"

The ghost's response was a few moments of silence, then a drawn-out, "I haven't eaten in a long time."

Maddie gazed at the thing in astonishment. "Eat? Why in the world would a ghost want to eat?" Did the ghost really think she was that stupid?

"I'm not an ordinary ghost."

Ghost Hunting Rule 4: Ghosts will attempt to trick you into believing they are not dangerous. They are.

"This is where you try and convince me you're different? Not evil like all of your dead brethren?" she drawled with a grin.

The eyes widened. "I'm not evil," the ghost insisted, "and I don't think most ghosts are."

"Right…" Maddie rolled her eyes and was silent for a few beats. Her fingers tapped against the crook of her arm. "So actually explain it to me. Why do you need to eat?"

The green eyes contemplated her before the ghost let out a sigh. "You won't believe me."

"Try me."

The ghost's turn to snort in derision. "Ghost hunting rule number five," he mocked sourly, "don't believe a word a ghost says."

"How…" she trailed off, sitting up straight. Surprise flooded through her mind, making her stumble over the next few words. "How do you know…"

"They're a secret?" The phantom laughed slightly. "They're posted on the refrigerator."

She glared across the dark room, silent as she thought over the implications of that sentence. When she spoke, her voice was dark and accusatory. "How do you know that?"

It blinked. "Uh…"

"You've been in my house?" She got to her feet, a feeling of pure fury settling into her chest. "You've been in my home?"

"No," the ghost instantly retorted, it's glowing eyes wide. "I… I just…" It blinked several times, looking around the room like it was searching for some sort of salvation. "I mean…"

Maddie took a step forwards, watching the eyes cringe backwards. The chains rattled loudly in the tiny room. Her breathing was harsh in her ears, mostly masking the quick breaths of the ghost. "Explain. Now."

With a shake of its head, the ghost looked down at its lap. "I can't," he whispered.

"Why not?" It wasn't a question. Maddie walked closer, stooping down so that she was on its level. This close to the ghost, there was a noticeable temperature drop. Tiny goosebumps crawled up her arms.

The ghost seemed to flinch backwards again. "I… you wouldn't believe me even if I tried." His words were a whispery rasp.

"You will," she said darkly, "never enter my home again."

The eyes nodded, wide with apprehension. Fake apprehension, Maddie firmly reminded herself. "Yes, ma'am," the ghost breathed.

Nodding slowly, Maddie backed up a few feet and settled back down on the ground. The ghost never took its eyes off her progress. She let the silence fill the room for a few long minutes, assuming her point was now made. "Are you going to answer my question now?" she asked, trying for pleasant.

"What?" the ghost whispered, looking caught off guard by the sudden change of attitude.

Maddie fought down her smile, watching the wide eyes blink rapidly. "Why is it you feel the need to eat?"

The eyes narrowed, studying her closely. "I… it's… a secret," the ghost stammered. It sounded a bit petulant – like a child that had been scolded for stealing a cookie.

"Fine," she said shortly, shaking her head and looking away, leaning back against the cold stone wall. She brought her fingers up to rub at the top of her nose. "If that's how you want to act-"

"It's-" The word tumbled from the ghost's mouth, suddenly cut off as the ghost looked sharply away.

Maddie let there be a beat of silence. "It's what?" she asked gently.

"Nothing," the phantom muttered.

"I'm trying to understand-" Maddie started.

"No, you're not," came the frustrated, quiet interruption. "You're just a bigoted ghost hunter who wouldn't see the truth if it bit her on the nose."

Her shoulders tensed. How dare this ghost… I'm one of the most equality-based women I know! Her mouth opened, but she shut it again with an audible click of her teeth. It's doing this on purpose, Maddie. Calm down. Don't let it rattle you.

"I'm not an evil, world-dominating ghost," the phantom was muttering to itself. "I'm not and nobody will open their eyes long enough to see it."

What if… Maddie studied what she could see of the pathetic-sounding spirit. The vaguest outline of its body, the broken glowing eyes.

"Of course all the ghosts you meet are evil. They're trying to take over the flipping world. The smart ones stay home." The ghost sulked in the corner, staring at his feet.

It doesn't have a complicated psyche. It's just a simple electromagnetic pattern imposed on a stabilized plasma matrix. A small smile drifted onto her lips. I wonder if I can get it talking again. She glanced up, noting that the ghost was gazing in her direction again. "You know what conversation does. It helps bigoted people fix their misunderstandings."

The ghost snorted. "You'd have to actually listen. Hear what I'm saying."

Maddie paused, surprised at the small spark of logic, but nodded. "You believe you're not evil. You believe you need to eat."

"I believe," the ghost repeated questioningly, accenting the 'I'.

"Belief means a lot when you're nothing but a psychological imprint," Maddie said with an indifferent shrug. "I know that to be a fact."

"So there's a chance I'm not evil, just because I believe I'm not?" The ghost's eyes were wide, eyeing her like she was some sort of gross biology experiment.

Maddie nodded.

"And so," the ghost continued with an odd, tired twist to its voice, "everything I've said might be true simply because I believe it?"

She hesitated, then tightened her lips and nodded. "Yes."

"Huh." There was the sound of a yawn, then a rustling of chains as the ghost shifted position. It fell quiet, the eyes vanishing.

"So tell me. Why do you need to eat?" She put a cajoling tone to her voice, hoping the ghost hadn't 'fallen asleep'. Her eyes rolled at the thought.

The eyes were dim as they stared at her. "Because I have to."

Maddie scowled. This is going in circles. "I just want-"

"No," the ghost interrupted. Its voice was empty. "I've wanted to talk to you for months. I wanted to explain things to you. But all you see when you look at me is an evil, world-dominating ghost. Why should I tell you anything?"

Just for a moment, Maddie felt her perspective move just a touch. What if it's right? What if I'm missing something… She shook her head sharply to clear the idea. It's trying to trick you. Knock it off. Staring down at where her fingers should be, she tried to find them, taking a moment to center herself before speaking. "If you don't talk to me, how am I ever going to know what to look for?"

The logic was weak, but this was a ghost. The dead were not well known for their extensive use of logic.

"What if," the ghost muttered, "there were something that wasn't really a ghost? Like a half-ghost?"

"A what?" Maddie looked up at the eyes sharply.

"Half ghost," the phantom repeated.

She forced down a scornful laugh. "Then what's the rest of you?"

The eyes suddenly closed. "You don't believe me," it said sadly.

"Yes, I do," she cajoled. "I believe-"

"Don't lie to me," the ghost snapped angrily, eyes flaring back into existence. Maddie lurched to her feet at the harsh tone, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Water froze instantly to ice. She shivered in her corner, trapped in the darkness with a ghost.

Slowly the air temperature came up, the ice melting. The ghost's eyes sagged back against the wall, vanishing into the darkness. "Sorry," the ghost whispered.

Her heart slowing back down, Maddie slid down the damp wall and dropped back into her corner, eyes fixed on the location of the ghost-boy. Her breath was loud in her ears.

Silence stretched between them for the longest time. "How can you be only half ghost?"

"Why do you care?" the ghost muttered darkly.

She smiled as she imagined the lean, white-haired figure sulking in the corner. Opening her mouth to respond, she froze. It's acting so human. Sshe gazed at the half-opened, sullen eyes. Much more human than any ghost I've ever met. Almost painfully, her mind started to churn. Could there be something to its claim after all?

A hand flew up to her mouth to stifle the sharp intake of breath at that thought. No. I do not believe this gob of ectoplasmic energy. The ghost's eyes swiveled up at the half-sound. The green gaze glowered at her for a moment through the dark air. Do I?

"You can't be only half ghost," she finally said. "It's not possible."

The green eyes just stared at her. "If you say so."

Maddie wrinkled her forehead. It sounded so sad when it said that. She shook her head sharply. Ghosts do not have emotions.

"So." She clicked her teeth together as she tried to decide what to say next. "Why do you need to eat?"

To her surprise, the ghost burst out laughing. The noise echoed oddly in the small room. "Because," was its sole answer.

"Speaking of eating," she said, "when do we get fed?"

The ghost's laugh turned into a morose chuckle. "Never." Its eyes closed.

"What?"

The ghost didn't open its eyes. "I highly doubt our survival is part of the ghost's plan." It snorted, ever so softly. "I was investigating this when I got caught. I do know that something needs to be sacrificed on the full moon." The eyes appeared for a moment. "Does that help?" There was a note of exhausted derision in its voice.

Maddie was quiet, staring at the ghost. Can I believe what it says?

Its voice sounded weak and tired. "By that point I won't be strong enough to do anything but be dragged along for the ride. I'll die… and you'll probably be right behind me." It sighed, the chains rattling as it shifted its weight, its voice was little more than a whisper. "I'm going to pass out again." Its voice was barely there. The eyes vanished and the ghost's breathing, which had become labored during their talk, fell back into the simple rhythm of sleep.

To be continued…