Chapter 2: Revelations

Danny tried his best to prepare himself to not to act freaked out when he saw everyone. They were on their way. Mom, Dad, Jazz, and even Sam and Tucker who he'd been relieved to hear were perfectly fine. Still who could he possibly tell about his new phenomena? Who could he trust? Who would even believe him?

He couldn't tell his parents. They were ghost hunters. He wasn't sure they'd understand this particular case. Unconditional love might not quite save him if he was like a ghost now.

His friends were probably freaked out enough themselves by what happened. If the portal had worked and was opened, thanks to Danny, he hated to think what would come out. He and Sam and Tucker were now scarred for life with the knowledge that ghosts were real, but his friends could stay away from his house. No need to put them through any more trauma, right? Honestly Danny wasn't sure he could hold his predicament back from everyone. He was going to have to tell someone eventually or he would lose his mind.

"Danny! Oh thank goodness!" His teary eyed mom rushed over and hugged him and started giving him huge kisses all over his face.

Danny took a second to get over the shock then he protested, "Mom, I'm okay really! You don't have to put lipstick all over me!"

She stepped back and frowned. "Oh. Sorry. I'll get a tissue to wipe this off."

She turned away then back again. "Make that a lot of tissues."

Danny groaned, and gave everyone a helpless look and forced smile. "I have kiss marks all over my face don't I?"

No one could help it. They laughed, sounding strangely relieved. Danny found himself actually joining in. That was a nice moment until it was ruined by his dad's next question.

"So, Danny, you've seen the other side. Tell me, what does it look like?"

Danny's face fell instantly. "I well…I didn't see anything. It was too bright."

Jazz scowled at their father. "That was so insensitive, Dad! That stupid machine of yours is the reason Danny's in this mess. Besides, there's no proof it leads to some ghost dimension, which doesn't exist by the way because there are no such thing as ghosts!"

She was fuming and huffing at their Dad. All anyone could do was stare at her for the outburst. Danny however cut in, feeling defensive. He felt like he had to warn them at least slightly, just without revealing what had happened to him.

"You weren't there, Jazz. When I pushed the on button, I might not have seen anything, but I felt..." he trailed off weakly with fear in his voice. "It felt pure evil. I was terrified, I—" he trailed off again feeling embarrassed for showing so much emotion. He just hoped the red of his mom's lipstick hid the fact that his skin was probably turning pink.

Sam and Tucker looked at him sympathetically and worriedly, then Sam said something that both relieved and dismayed Danny. "Um, Danny, we didn't feel anything evil. We just saw the explosion and you screaming on the floor."

Great. So at least Sam and Tucker hadn't been affected like Danny, but now he probably sounded crazier than his parents for once. No one else could confirm the evil force that had been there. The evil force that still seemed to be inside Danny, maybe forever.

"What was I screaming about," Danny asked cautiously, hoping he hadn't given anything away about what had happened to his body.

"You just screamed. No words."

Sam smiled and said it almost too cheerfully, like she was lying. Danny could see an almost fearful look in here eyes though. Were she and Tucker covering for him? He felt really touched by that. He had to know for sure, though so he asked something he hoped wouldn't be as hurtful as it sounded in his head.

"Um, can I talk to Sam and Tucker alone?"

Danny winced as his family's faces fell, so he quickly added, "Just to talk about what happened in private so we can move on or something."

Jazz perked up. "Good thinking, Danny. You've been paying attention to all those good things I say about psychology. Get things off your chest."

Jazz looked satisfied with herself for leaving some kind of positive impression on her little brother, unlike the crazy negativity he got from their parents. Danny was having to force the smile on his face. He couldn't care less about psychology.

Once everyone was out of the room, Danny desperately asked, "Seriously guys, what aren't you telling me?"

Sam and Tucker exchanged a nervous glance. "Um, Danny," Sam said, not quite able to meet his eyes. "You might want to sit down for this."

Danny sighed irritably. "Sam, I'm laying down. I can't sit down!"

Sam blushed. "Oh right. I wasn't paying attention. I'm too nervous!"

Now Danny was getting even more nervous. "Seriously guys, what did I say? What happened?"

Sam looked haunted. "You said," she began. "It's taking me over! It's taking me over! And," she continued, "What the heck is happening to me?!"

Danny cringed. "I don't remember saying that first part out loud, but something was there. It was doing something to me, it was—"

"We know, Danny," Tucker cut it. "We saw it."

Danny winced. "You saw me go intangible and invisible? Oh gosh did I go through the basement floor at home too or—?"

Tucker looked shocked. "Wait, what do you mean intangible and invisible? What do you mean going through the floor at home too?" He put an emphasis on the word too.

Danny was cringing. "Um, well. When I first woke up, I was sort of uncontrollably going through objects. I think I'm getting a handle on it now."

"It does make sense," said Sam.

Danny was surprised. He'd been expecting more shock and even disbelief than this. "Guys," he asked nervously. "Seriously. What aren't you telling me?"

Again they exchanged anxious glances, then Tucker finally blurted, "We think you're something like a ghost now Danny. For about fifteen minutes there you didn't even look like you, then you changed back into a human, or at least we'd hoped so."

Danny grew several shades whiter. "What do you mean? What did I look like? Did I have a black cloak or a skull head or something?" He sounded shaken.

Sam actually laughed. "No way, but that would have been awesome."

Tucker glared. "Pretend you're not a goth for just a few more minutes, Sam."

She pouted then looked back at Danny who was as tense as a statue from suspense. "Danny," she said. "You did look like you mostly. Same hair. Same face body and skin. You just had well…" she trailed off. "You were glowing a bit and you had white hair."

Danny wasn't sure to be relieved that he hadn't looked like a freaky wraith for fifteen minutes of his life, or to be freaked out that he had temporarily gotten white hair decades too soon.

"Do you think it will happen again?" he asked shakily.

"Tucker shrugged. We don't know, maybe it's something you can get a handle on like this intangibility thing you told us about." He grinned a little. "Speaking of which, can we see it?"

Sam and Tucker actually looked excited. Nervous but excited. Danny found himself smiling a little, then his smile grew. He had people he could count on. Without a word he concentrated on his arm and willed it to become intangible. He was rewarded a moment later. His friends gasped.

"That is wicked cool," said Tucker. "I wish I could GIF this, but then people might come after—"

The moment was ruined as Danny suddenly lost concentration and started slipping through the bed and floor. Sam grabbed his one tangible hand just in time. He smiled at her gratefully, feeling relieved. She smiled too, then people began screaming. "There's a leg in the ceiling! There's a leg in the ceiling!"

Danny looked down at himself in shock, then he groaned. More surprises. He could also get stuck in solid objects if he didn't go through them completely. Great. Once again, he began to concentrate, willing this new power to work.

He didn't think too much of it at the time, but he was actually really enjoy it. The feeling of these powers was incredible. Almost intoxicating. A little voice in the back of his mind was trying to send warning bells that something was wrong with this feeling. Another louder voice sinisterly encouraged Danny on, fueling the new halfa with thoughts of what more amazing things could come.

Danny liked it, not realizing the thoughts weren't quite like his own. They weren't like anything his old self thought. He wasn't his old self though. He wasn't human anymore, and for the first time he actually thought that was pretty cool.

The malevolent force chuckled darkly at this. He was going to have so much fun corrupting Danny. Just like the force he came from had enjoyed corrupting Vlad Plasmius, the only other halfa to be created after thousands of years.

That was so much fun to write, and I couldn't resist posting it right away. Maybe that's a bad thing, maybe not? See you next time guys! ^_^