Trust not those who walk in darkness.
Darkness
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria
Chapter 7: Trust
"You're asking a lot," she said into the blackness, not looking at the neon eyes that had just opened in the corner. A firm conviction had curled up in her chest as the ghost had slept. She curled her fingers tightly into fists and clenched her teeth.
"A lot?" he rasped softly.
"Trust." Water dripped into small puddles in the silence. She risked a glance in his direction. The eyes were staring at her, confusion brimming in the green orbs. "Why should I trust you?"
Ghost Hunting Rule 1: Never trust a ghost.
"Why not?" he countered with a cough.
"You kidnapped the mayor a week ago. You've stolen things from stores around Amity Park. You've destroyed buildings and parks…" Maddie fixed her eyes into the darkness where she thought the door was. She dredged up every memory of the ghost, what he had done, how much damage he had caused, and held it in her heart as she spoke. The hatred felt empty. The ghost had wormed its way further into her soul than she had expectd. "You attacked my family."
Phantom sighed. "I can explain…"
"I don't want to know," Maddie cut him off. "I don't want to listen to lies."
"I'm not going to lie to you."
The simple innocence in his voice nearly undid all the work to harden herself against the ghost's lies. Her heart quivered. She twisted her gaze back on him, hoping the glowing eyes would remind her of all her training.
Ghost Hunting Rule 4: Ghosts will attempt to trick you into believing they are not dangerous. They are.
"All ghosts lie," she said simply.
His eyes flared. "Why the sudden change in attitude?" he snapped. "You were being so nice and now you're suddenly back in 'I'm an evil ghost' mode."
"Because you're just a ghost!" she hissed. "You don't know what it's like…"
"Yes," he interrupted. "I do. I'm only half-ghost, remember?"
Maddie struggled to her feet. "There is no such thing!" she snapped. "You're deluding yourself!"
"No, I'm not!" he insisted, breaking down into a fit of coughing.
She stormed across the small room, her fingertips dragging against the stone walls, and dropped into a crouch, her eyes inches from his. She didn't flinch away from the hurt, sadness, and fatigue in his expressive eyes, although cracks appeared around her heart. In this close proximity, the slight glow of his gaze made her head spin and the chill from his body sent shivers up and down her arms. "Yes," she stated, "you are."
He was silent, staring into her eyes. "Why the sudden change of attitude?" he asked quietly, determinedly.
"It's impossible. I refuse to believe every theory, every experiment, every thing I've ever learned is wrong."
"Not everything," the ghost replied. She could hear the tentative smile in his voice. "You got a lot right. Just… me wrong."
She shook her head and settled back on her heels. "No," she whispered. "Not possible. Ghosts lie and trick and-"
"Yeah, they do."
Maddie glared at the interruption. "You are focused on one thing. Feeding. Trying to steal parts of my life in an endless attempt to relive your own. One you will never succeed at."
The ghost stared at her. "Why would I want to relive anything? And besides, how can this," he gestured around, the chains rattling loudly, "be part of some kind of master plan? Starving myself? Chaining myself up in a locked room? Oh yes, this is a great plan."
"Ghosts don't have good logic skills-"
"You got that right," Phantom muttered.
Sitting back, Maddie rubbed at her temples, then over the bridge of her nose. "Ghost-"
"Phantom." The interruption was sharp. "And yes, you're right, I do 'feed' off your emotions." For some reason the voice softened slightly.
There was the sound of chains moving, then a cold hand touched her knee. Maddie shifted uncomfortably, but didn't pull away. That touch undid all the hatred she had strung together. She closed her eyes, knowing she was falling into the ghost's trap and unable to find herself caring.
"Something's bothering you."
"You know? I've never hurt anything. Not even spiders and bugs. I pick them up and put them outside."
There was silence at that. "I don't follow," Phantom said after a long moment.
"Me neither," Maddie sighed, shaking the hand off her knee and getting to her feet.
"I've moved up the scale from glob of post conscious goo to creepy-crawly bug most people squish without a second thought?"
She couldn't help it. She chuckled. "You make my head hurt," she admitted. "Logic refuses to believe something like you can exist."
The ghost made a humming noise. "You and me both," he agreed. "You can run experiments on me later." The eyes narrowed. "With exceptions."
Maddie snorted. "It'd be easier to believe all this if there weren't just one of you."
"Oh, there's not."
The eyes were closed when Maddie's head jerked up. "What?"
One eye opened. "It's a long story." Then the voice seemed to grin conspiratorially. "Want to hear it?"
She slipped back across the room, dropping down right next to him. She could feel the chill emanating off of his body. Their shoulders brushed. "Yes," she murmured, "I would, actually."
Phantom's eyes slid to the side as he tipped his head, glancing in her direction with a curious glint to his eyes. "You're sitting awfully close to a lying, thieving ghost," he reminded her. "What about all your ghost hunting rules?"
"I'm working on revising some of them," she muttered. "Tell the story."
The eyes nodded. "His name is Plasmius. He…" silence fell for a second, "he was in an accident in college. From what I've heard, it was pretty horrible. He was in the hospital for a long time." Phantom closed his eyes and leaned, almost imperceptibly, into Maddie's arm. "He didn't have anybody," he whispered. "His family abandoned him. When he became depressed and lonely, he pushed his friends away and they didn't fight it. They just left. Left him alone."
Maddie shivered. After the past few days, she knew what it was like to be alone.
"After a few years, his mind… it broke." He pressed a little closer to Maddie and shuddered. "A human soul – full of needs and hopes – giving in to a ghost's obsessive desires. More than anything, he wanted everything he was pushing away. He wanted friends… a family." Phantom looked at her, his eyes glistening. "But by that point, his spirit had been corrupted. He didn't know how to have friends and a family anymore." Caught in a fit of coughing, he curled up around his stomach, and it was a few moments before he could continue.
"Plasmius became obsessive about it. More and more he plotted how to take what he wanted. He got everything he ever desired: money, power, fame… but no friends. You can't take friendship. You can't force family." The glowing eyes fixed down towards his feet. "Even though he tries. It's impossible to imagine. Years and years of failure and loneliness."
She wanted to put her arm around his shoulders. If he were any human teenager, she would have. But… he was a ghost…
"He's not a good person anymore," Phantom said, his raspy voice empty and broken. Maddie stiffened as Phantom suddenly leaned his head against her shoulder and sighed.
"Are you okay?"
"I just don't feel good," his voice was soft. "I haven't for awhile. It's probably a fever or something."
Raising an eyebrow, Maddie smiled. "Ghosts can't sick," she reminded him.
Phantom mumbled something under his breath. Slowly, his breathing evened out as he relaxed against her. Maddie shivered and sat there, more confused than ever.
To be continued…