Fun fact; I've had this part written for the last week, but I really didn't want to edit it. And this is why you can't trust me with anything.

Also, fair warning, the 'implied character death' thing is very relevant in this part.

Onwards!


Part 2;

A bald man with light brown skin and eyes came into Danny's view. Danny let loose a scream and tried desperately to pull himself loose, much to the man's apparent amusement.

"Comfortable, ghost?" What had he been called? Agent C? To be honest, Danny wasn't entirely sure and didn't quite care.

"I- I'm not-"

"Your lies will get you nowhere," Agent C said, "Now, the law says I must first separate you from any humanity before continuing my experiments. However… seeing as this human is the only thing keeping you stable, I believe we can make an exception."

"P-please!" Danny said, "Let- if you let me go, and- and people ask where I was- I'll lie! They'll never know! Please!"

"Oh no, friend, you'll have to do so much better… if you want your family to live…"

Agent C reached a hand towards Danny's face, resting his palm on the teen's forehead. Using two fingers he pulled back Danny's eye lids. "Why would he give you control?"

Danny shook his head, trying to dislodge the man's fingers. "Get off of me!"

"Of course," He stepped back. "Agent W, wonderful to see you. I trust you've already been briefed?"

"Of course," A woman with dark brown hair pulled into a bun entered Danny's view. "So that portal finally spit something out. I'll admit, when Q insisted we guard it, I was skeptical. But now we've got an excellent case of possession!" She took a few more steps towards Danny, who was trying not to start screaming again. "Aw, he's so small. What class of ghost do we have controlling him?"

"Nobody's controlling me!" Danny shouted, trying desperately to pull his wrists free. "Please, let me go!"

Agent W raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Now this is a surprise. Why would it willingly give up control?"

Agent C had moved out of Danny's sight, despite how the teen strained his neck in an effort to watch. "If you want to study the human, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Danny stretched out a hand as Agent W moved towards her co-worker. His fingers could nearly reach her arm. Maybe, if he could touch her, she'd realize that he was human and they should not be doing this to a human- "Oh, no, please; go ahead."

"No," Danny muttered, "No no no- help!" Danny didn't know who he was calling too. He didn't care. "Help me! Someone, please! Please!"

"You're not very good at this, are you?"

"Shut up!" Danny snapped, "Just- just shut up! Help!"

"He's got a set of lungs," Agent C said as Agent W stepped back into Danny's view.

"This will hurt less," She said, "If you stop struggling. Nobody is coming to help you. Nobody would, not while you're harboring that thing. So be a dear and be quiet, hmm?"

Danny narrowed his eyes and spit in her face.

"I suppose I'll have to lend a hand… I'm disappointed, friend. So very disappointed… I don't have much power to waste helping you fill your end of our deal…"

Agent W reeled back and backhanded Danny's cheek. "Agent C, are these cuffs electrified?"

It was only moments after she finished speaking that the air seemed to get thicker and the green tinge disappeared.

"W, guard the door." Agent C was still eerily calm as his partner walked away, "It's going to trying something."

"Oh?" Danny's eyes were burning and it felt horrible to hear that too-sweet tone come from his own mouth. "Now that was terribly rude," Danny heard his voice say and he felt his jaw move. "I'm afraid you'll both have to pay for it."

"I'm terrified," Agent C said, tone unchanged.

"As you should be. Oh, my friend, sit back and enjoy the show."

Give it back. Danny's voice was barely worthy of being called a thought, give… it… back!

Something exploded and Danny heard Agent W scream. Green smoke filled the room for a few moments when Agent C raised his gun and fired a shot. A moment later, the limp body of Agent W was thrown at his feet. The room stunk, and Danny wanted to hurl.

Agent C fired another shot, but there was no hint that it hit anything. "Show yourself!"

A man rushed from the smoke and stabbed Agent C in the chest.

Blood stained his shirt as Agent C collapsed, and Danny wanted to scream. He recognized that man; his jacket was torn from when he'd burst through the classroom's window. He'd seemed like some sort of superhero in that moment, but now, covered in human blood and with that blank look in his eyes…

If Danny had any control over himself he would have had a terrified, sobbing breakdown right then and there. Sensing- or perhaps feeling- Danny's fear, the teen was soon cast back into the swirling world of green.

"…Mom?" He called, "Dad?" He was much calmer now, surrounded by this shifting place. It was very soothing. "Are you here?"

The world offered no reply. Danny frowned, trying to look around. There was nothing in any direction but more green.

"I- I want out," Danny said, "Please, let me out."

Around him, the world spun. Danny reached out a hand to touch it, and watched as the world shivered. In front of him, a scene twisted itself into place. There was a young woman dressed in one of those white suits with her blonde hair pulled back and tears making her makeup run.

"Duncan," She whispered, and the scene pulled back. That man- Duncan- had pinned her to a fence with a knife to her throat. "Duncan, please… please come back… Duncan-"

"Enough," Said not-Danny with that too-sweet voice, "Kill her."

"No!" Enough people had died. Enough people had suffered. Danny burst through the illusion, screaming as it shattered and dug into his skin. He was still scared- oh, he was so scared- but he could save her. And Danny had to save her. "Let. Me. Out!"

Danny stumbled as he was thrown back into his body. They were no longer in the building, and there were several bloody handprints on his shirt. Right in front of him, Duncan had pinned the woman to the wall. His hands were shaking, but he hadn't hurt her.

I'm not too late! Danny rushed forwards, attempting to push Duncan away from the woman. The man dropped his weapon the second Danny shoved him, falling to the ground and clutching his head.

"Duncan…?" The woman said softly, taking a step towards him.

"It's okay!" Danny held up his hands, "I've got this, it's under control. Please, go!"

The woman gave him a terrified look and ran.

"What are you doing?!" The sweet tone was dropped and Danny sighed with relief. He'd hated it.

"You're not going to hurt them," He said, moving towards the man. He wasn't really moving anymore. "I won't let you."

"I was helping you, friend, and this is how you repay me? You've already failed to keep your end of the deal… and forced it on me… you should consider yourself lucky, friend, that I'm still willing to reunite your family…"

"You were helping yourself, not me," Danny said, kicking the knife away from the man. "You did something to him. Let him go."

"If you wish for your parents to survive… and all those other innocent people… you will let me use this one."

A siren rang through the air. Danny threw his hands over his ears, but Duncan did not move.

"Ah, she alerted them to our escape… you shouldn't have reacted like that, friend… now they'll never let us go willingly…"

"They weren't going to before," Danny pointed out.

"Ah, that is true, friend. But you seem to have forgotten someone… if you were to die here, because of what we have done… than your dear sister would be all alone. She'd never even know what happened to you." Danny flinched, and the ghost continued. "She fought so hard to stop them from taking us away… you wouldn't want that to be for nothing, would you? In fact, they may be so angry at us… that she will be their next target…"

Danny stared at Duncan, still caught up in whatever that monster had done to him. I'm sorry… "Fine," Danny whispered, "Fine, you can- you can use him or whatever. Just get me out of here." I'm so sorry.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Danny played with the seatbelt of his passenger seat, looking everywhere but at the man beside him. The ghost had somehow managed to get Duncan to drive them away without taking control of Danny again, but that didn't make it okay. That didn't make any of this okay.

Danny yanked on his seatbelt before letting it go, watching the slack fall into his lap. He ran his hands through his hair, taking a shaking breath in. He couldn't do this. He didn't want to. But Jazz, and his parents… he could bring them back…

But he also had a murderous slime monster in his head that had killed at least two people.

"Um, hey," Danny said, staring out the window. They were by a lake, and he could see a couple people in boats out on it. "Can you hear me?" The voice in his head didn't reply, "Um… I was thinking… maybe you could tell me your name? Or I could give you a nickname? Like, um… I don't know. Sam and Tucker are better at these things. I- I was thinking I could call you, um, Phantom or something? Would that be-"

"If you wish to continue your existence you will never refer to me by the name of that disgrace."

"Jeez, sorry," Danny held up his hands in surrender, remembered the ghost couldn't see them, and awkwardly lowered them. "So, do- do you have a name or- I could think another one up or something. Uhhh… Switcheroo?"

"I will pretend you never suggested that, my friend. My name is Elijah."

"Oh, cool. I'm Danny- which you already knew." He cleared his throat. He had to focus. Maybe if he did this right, Elijah would like him and let him keep control. Then nobody else had to die. "What makes Phantom so disgraceful?"

"If that brat had never attacked me- unprovoked, I will add- I never would be in this situation in the first place. He isn't nearly as kind as you are, friend. You've been so kind… I shudder to think of what would have happened if I had not moved for you. Both your parents and I would be in a much worse place. They will be so happy to see you…"

Danny didn't reply to that, catching Duncan's face reflected in the window. "And… what about him? Who is he?"

"Ah… well… I believe… you should ask him that yourself…"

Elijah sounded exhausted. "Are you okay?" Danny asked, and then the car screeched to a halt.

Danny yelped, hitting the back of his head against the seat. He turned to look at Duncan and saw that all the blood had drained from the man's face. His knuckles were white, and he gripped the steering wheel as if his life depended on it.

"Who are you and where am I?" He spoke quickly, not quite looking over at Danny.

"I'm Danny, and uh… I don't actually know." Danny put one hand on his seatbelt buckle and the other on the door handle. "You were the one driving. What do you remember?"

Duncan stared at him. "Is that blood?"

Danny undid his seatbelt. "I'm not really hurt, and uh… neither are you." If you ignore my mind-buddy, Elijah the slime man, I'm technically fine. Oh god I hope he can't hear my thoughts.

Duncan's eyes widen as he looked down at his jacket, "Jesus Christ." He ripped it off and threw it in the backseat, shaking as he ran a hand through his hair. "I… I… what happened?"

"What do you remember?" Danny asked again, right hand still resting on the door.

Duncan took a deep breath in and fixed Danny with a glare, "That is official government business."

Danny raised an eyebrow, pointing over his shoulder. "Is being by a random lake with a fourteen-year-old boy also official government business?"

"Lake?" He shook his head, staring out the window. "Yes… yes I- that town was by Lake Erie. We were stationed there, guarding that thing…"

Danny ran his teeth over his lip and hoped he was wrong. "Are you talking about Amity Park?" Duncan's silence was answer enough, "What thing were you guarding?"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a clouded memory made itself known. After the portal had stolen his home, two men had pulled him and Jazz away from it… he'd thought they were police. But hadn't they been wearing white?

"Is it a portal?" Danny asked, breaking the silence Duncan was apparently enforcing. "The portal to um- um-" Where had his parents said it went?

"The Ghost Zone," Duncan finished. Right, that was it. "How do you know all this?"

I have a dead person living in my skull. "My last name's Fenton," Danny said, "Is that good enough?"

Duncan blinked, shaking his head as he started up the car again. He pulled a U-turn which was probably very illegal and started back in the direction they'd come from. "We need to get help."

"Why do we need to get help this way?!" Danny said, reaching for his seatbelt.

"That way is a gravel road," Duncan said. "We need civilization- a phone. I have reason to believe that a ghost may have affected us both in some way. My co-workers will be able to help us, we deal with this sort of thing all the time-" Danny felt as if he'd been thrown back, and Duncan's voice was suddenly very far away. He couldn't quite make out any of the words being said, and then his eyes started to burn.

His hand moved out of Danny's control, grabbing a knife from a glovebox. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Elijah said, and everything in Danny's view turned green.

.-.-.-.-.-.

He was in a forest when he came back. It was cold, wet, and there was a lot more blood on him than before.

Danny shook and it was hard for him to keep breathing. He knew he should be terrified; screaming for help and having a breakdown as long as this monster was in his head. He wanted it out. He wanted this to be over. Everyone he went near died! Was it really worth all this, just to bring his family back? How many families had he ruined already? How many moms, dads, brothers, or sisters wouldn't be coming home because of him? Because he hadn't been strong enough to fight back and protect the people who were only doing their jobs.

Danny's twisted ankle had ended up in a patch of weird flowers; they were red with purple stems. They looked like something Sam would like.

Sam. Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry. He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. It didn't work, but at least the numbness was gone.

Danny pulled his leg out of the weird flowers, wincing as their thorns scratched him. He curled up into something similar to the fetal position, forehead touching the ground. "I'm sorry," His voice broke and grew louder, "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry Dad… Jazz, Tucker, Sam… I'm sorry I'm such a screw up, I'm sorry I can't help you, I'm so sorry-!" His words died off as his tears rushed out, bringing with them the emotions Danny had been holding back all day. I can't do this, his mouth moved but the words remained thoughts. I want to go home.

If Danny had been aware of his surroundings, he would have noticed that he wasn't alone much sooner than he had. Danny's head jerked up as he became aware of someone to his right. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice pointed out how pitiful he must look. He was coated in a mixture of blood, sweat, mud, snot, and tears.

Vlad Masters simply pocketed his cell phone and looked at him curiously.

Danny pulled himself back, trying to stop his still-flowing tears. "Get- get away!"

Vlad looked at the patch of flowers uneasily before shifting his attention back to Danny. "What are you doing out here?"

"I said get away!" Danny shuffled back, "I- I- go away!"

"And why would I do that?" Vlad had some sort of pink flashlight, though Danny didn't pay much attention to it. He was too busy trying to force himself up before Elijah came back and killed his parents' old friend, too.

"I'm dangerous!" Danny snapped, "I'm dangerous, okay?! So get away! Please!"

"I highly doubt a child like you could be remotely dangerous." Vlad took another step forwards, and Danny shuffled a little farther back. "I would appreciate it if you would cease your attempts to flatten those blood blossoms."

"Blood- what?!" Danny yanked his ankle out of the flower patch, taking a shaking breath in.

"And if you're going to have a mental breakdown," Vlad continued, "In the future please refrain from doing so near my hotel room. You're awfully distracting."

"H-hotel?" No. No. Elijah had brought them to where there were more people he could hurt. Danny failed to hold his tears back this time, a held his knees close to his chest as he broke down again. "N-no, no I- I'm so sorry." I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad. "I'm sorry, Jazz…"

"Jazz?" Vlad took a step forwards, shining the light on Danny. "Daniel Fenton?"

"Get away," Danny whispered, "Get away, please. Please you were my parents' friend I don't want to hurt you, too."

Vlad closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds and pulled Danny to his feet. "Come along," He said, half-carrying Danny forwards.

"What?" Danny attempted to pull away from the man he barely knew, "No- no, let me go! He's going to hurt you! He's going to come back!"

"We're going to get you cleaned up," Vlad said, "And then you're going to tell me exactly who this 'he' is."

Elijah picked that moment to return, causing Danny to suck in a terrified breath. "If you tell that abomination anything about me I can guarantee your sister will not live to see her next birthday."


You see Elijah this is why nobody likes you. I don't even like you, and I'm the one writing you.

So, thoughts?