I know that the last several chapters had a pretty strong focus of "Beetlejuice" due to the extended flashback showing off the origin of a certain poltergeist. But the good news is that there is going to be a bit more focus on the "Danny Phantom" part of the crossover soon. That should help even things out a little.
Worked on the Specter Speeder today. Don't know why it keeps acting up. It isn't like we ever get to take it on a test drive in the Ghost Zone. Unfortunately.
Maddie made some fudge and a new cookie recipe. They were delicious.
Danny's been acting secretive lately. And twitchy. He doesn't even want to listen to me about the proper way to dissect a ghost. Probably has to do with puberty. Maybe I should have the Talk with him again. Just in case.
Or I should get some more fudge.
-Excerpt from "Jack Fenton's 'Fenton Diary'"
Lydia knew that in the near future, she would have to figure out a way to separate Aunt Melinda from her necklace. Not only would it make everyone safer, but it would also make Juno happy. Lydia wasn't as devious and conniving as Betelgeuse, but even she could understand the benefits of the caseworker owing them a favor. He was bound to get into trouble again. A favor might keep him from the worst of it.
But for the most part, her thoughts weren't focused on the challenges of stealing the Gem of Osiris, of how it would make things better, or anything to do with the gem, Aunt Melinda, or Juno. Instead, she was enjoying the cool embrace of semi-insubstantial arms. She was home, safe with Adam and Barbara. She was with her family. And her best friend was back, snoring upstairs and safe. For the first time in about a week, everything was all right.
She sat on the couch with the Maitlands, their arms wrapped around her. Their protective anger simmered down at some point, but they weren't letting go of her just yet. After everything that happened recently, Lydia appreciated the contact. She needed this. She needed to feel like at least something in the world was right again. So she sat there, listening as Sam and Tucker explained everything to Danny about what happened. Tucker especially enjoyed describing how he broke into a safe. Lydia just listened to them while her ghostly family comforted her with their presence.
"Okay, I can understand why you didn't tell me. I would have probably charged in without thinking. It would have been nice to have known about the presence of another ghost hunter in town, but I understand why you kept quiet," said Danny. "Anything else I should know about?"
"Yeah," Tucker said, flipping through the book the Maitlands loaned him temporarily after Juno left. "Apparently these ghosts have about a million strangely-specific rules, restrictions, and requirements for a variety of circumstances. I mean, seriously… This reads like old stereo instructions."
"Stereo? Really?" smirked Sam. "That's what you're going with? Not instructions for laptops, PDAs, or something?"
"No. The instructions for those are simpler for me to understand," he said with a glare. "Not to mention the newer technologies on the market are supposed to be user-friendly and fairly intuitive. A stereo is old enough that the instructions are complicated and boring. This is practically lawyer-speak."
"Don't worry. We've had the book for a couple of years and we still can't completely understand it," admitted Barbara.
Lydia shrugged and said, "They mostly just ask me when they have questions. I spent about three months reading 'The Handbook for the Recently Deceased' and I have a pretty good understanding on how it works."
"Juno wasn't happy with us back then about leaving it where someone alive could find it," added Adam. "But everything worked out."
"Great," Tucker said, slamming the book closed. "As long as you know this stuff, I won't have to read it."
Danny laughed, "Too bad we can't use that logic for homework."
"Hold on," said Adam, peering over his glasses at her. "All of this hasn't affected your grades, right Lydia? Even with everything you aunt was doing, have you still been studying?"
Even as Barbara gave him a stern look for his timing, Lydia assured, "My grades are fine. From what I heard, my grades are better than yours ever were."
Barbara tried to hide the way she chuckled while Adam coughed and looked mildly embarrassed. Lydia wrapped him in a hug to ensure that he knew there was no insult meant and that she was only teasing. The cool and semi-insubstantial ghost returned the embrace. The chill actually felt nice against her aching head.
"So any ideas on how to separate Lydia's aunt from the necklace?" asked Sam, reluctantly bringing them back to the more important topic. "Because I'm going to guess it'll be tougher than getting the books and ring back. Especially if she checks the safe and figures out someone is working against her."
"It would probably be too much to hope I can just turn invisible and grab it off her," Danny said.
"Probably," said Tucker dryly.
Looking a little uncertain, Barbara asked, "Danny, I don't mean to be rude, but I was wondering…"
"About the both a ghost and alive thing?" he smiled sympathetically. "My parents are scientists and ghost hunters. I poked around the 'non-working' portal they built and accidentally activated it from the inside. One zap later and I have ghost powers. But I'm not actually dead. I'm half human and half ghost at the same time."
"How is that even possible?" Adam asked.
"Ectoplasm ghosts are weird," said Lydia.
"Come on, that's not fair," grumbled Tucker, crossing his arms as he jokingly sulked.
Danny, however, laughed at her words. He didn't seem eager to argue against her statement. His friends gave him a questioning look.
"Dude, there's a Box Ghost. She's completely right."
"I swear all poltergeists exist to make my afterlife more difficult," grumbled Juno, abruptly appearing out of nowhere and startling everyone. "Sanduleak works faster than I expected. He's already escaped from Saturn and vanished. Now he'll need to be tracked down before he can be dealt with."
With a mixture of worry and fury, Barbara stood up and asked, "Is he going to come after Lydia again?"
"The wisest move would be for him to lay low and stay away. But I have very low hope that Sanduleak would suddenly gain any common sense," said Juno. "I wouldn't put it past him to try something foolish."
"I'll be fine," assured Lydia, glancing between her ghostly godparents. "He caught me by surprise the first time. That won't happen again."
"She can stay at my house," Danny said. "Jazz wouldn't mind the roommate, especially if I tell her what's going on. Between me and my ghost-hunting parents, it should deter him at least a little."
Juno nodded approvingly, "You'll be safe during the day. Sunlight doesn't really agree with Sanduleak. All poltergeists have their limits."
"Great. Now we just need to get from Winter River to Amity Park," Sam said. "Any ideas or should we start looking for a bus?"
Lydia gave the caseworker a hopeful look. Juno rolled her eyes and blew out another cloud of smoke.
"You people are going to drive me back into the grave. Fine, I'll arrange something."
"Thanks," the girl said. Then she turned towards the Maitlands and asked carefully, "Would it be all right if I leave Beej here for a little while? I don't want to try waking him right now and I really don't think he should be moving yet anyway."
There was some hesitation at her request. They weren't fond of the poltergeist. First impressions were hard to forget and he always left a strong impression. But they knew he tried to protect her. Even if no one had explained the entire sequence of events of Sanduleak's attack to Adam and Barbara, they'd heard enough to figure out most of it. So Lydia knew what their answer would be. She knew her ghostly godparents well.
"The moment he tries to make a comment or feel me up, we're kicking him out," Barbara promised.
"Completely fair," said Lydia with a nod.
Tucker stood up and pulled out yet another technological device from his infinite supply of them. She wasn't even sure where they all came from. He seemed to practically sprout technology, like a plant would flowers or fruit. The ease with which he pulled them out reminded Lydia far too much of the bottomless pockets of Betelgeuse's jacket.
"I don't know how good you are with tech and I know your types of ghosts have weird issues," he said, handing Adam the device and the Handbook. "But I set everything up for you already. Whenever your guest wakes up, you can text us and let us know."
Turning it back and forth with a dubious expression on his face, he said, "Thanks. I hope it'll work for us."
"It should," said Lydia, standing up. "Mirrors, photographs, and such might not work, but this is just physically pushing buttons. It should work."
Barbara and Adam stood up from the couch and gave her a final tight hug. They knew it might be a while before they saw her again. They couldn't let her go without a final embrace. All she could hope was that they remained safe until the problems with Aunt Melinda were solved.
"Be careful," said Barbara quietly.
"Stay safe," her husband whispered.
Reluctant to let go, Lydia softly reassured, "I will. And once he gets his strength back, I'll have Beej with me. I know you don't like him, but he'll help me. He's my friend."
"I… I know," said Barbara as the hug ended.
"Everyone with a pulse stand together," Juno ordered, interrupting the good-byes. "This is hard enough without having the four of you scattered around." As the teenagers moved to obey her instructions, she continued, "Unlike the over-powered and rule-breaking poltergeist, I can't and won't move so many living people to the Netherworld just to serve as a shortcut. Using the zone between the two, however, is far less of a problem. Easier to get in and far less paperwork for me to deal with. And from what I know, you have an easy way out."
As Sam and Tucker exchanged looks, Juno took another breath from her cigarette. Then she released a cloud of smoke that swirled around them, engulfing them until Lydia couldn't see a thing except the thick smoke. The girl wasn't even slightly surprised that her surroundings were different by the time it dissipated.
They were standing on a tiny chunk of land floating in midair, though there was something about it that made Lydia think she could pass right through the stone beneath her feet with a little effort. It wasn't quite the same as hugging the semi-insubstantial Maitlands, but it was similar enough that she had her doubts about how solid the ground was. The sky and the endless void below seemed to be a chaotic mixture of darkness and glowing green something. Ectoplasm, she realized. Lydia could spot floating doors throughout the strange and interesting place, completely without rhyme or reason for their existence. She was extremely curious how everything would look in photographs. Light, shadows, shape… Her fingers were itching for her camera.
"So this is the infamous Ghost Zone," she remarked as she turned around.
She saw Danny, Tucker, and Sam looking around in confusion at the abrupt shift in location, but Lydia's attention was drawn towards the swirling circle of weirdness right next to them. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was looking at the other side of the portal to the land of the living.
"Huh," said Danny slowly. "The floating island things aren't usually this close to the portal."
"Just be grateful. Otherwise you'd have to carry all of us while flying," said Tucker.
"I can't imagine that going well," Sam said. "Anyone have a clue what time it is? We keep jumping across time zones."
Danny shrugged, "Not sure, but I think it's pretty late. Let's just get out of here before someone shows up looking for a fight. I'm not exactly popular in the Ghost Zone."
"That's the best idea I've heard all day," said Tucker before straightening his beret. Then he turned towards the portal, got a short running start, and jumped through while shouting, "Geronimo!"
Shaking her head slightly at his antics, Sam proceeded to do the same without the shout. Danny turned towards Lydia and offered a hand. Though her head still ached and she was tired, she smiled and silently declined the assistance. There was no way she'd miss out on the chance to jump through a portal like that. Even though she still thought the Fentons were crazy to keep the thing in the basement.
Lydia dove through the swirling portal, Danny following right behind. She was almost disappointed it didn't feel stranger to cross the barrier between life and (ectoplasm-based) death (and other assorted entities). But she didn't get to reflect on those feelings for long before she landed roughly on the concrete floor of the basement lab.
"Ow," Sam complained. "Not the smoothest method of travel if you can't float."
"Haven't I earned enough bruises today?" groaned Tucker dramatically.
"You'll be fine,' Danny assured as he landed gently beside them. "Though I'm exhausted. Today's been way too long. I wonder if I can sleep for a week?" A ring of light appeared around him and spread, the ghost boy taking on his more alive appearance. "Let's see if we can sneak up to—"
"Danny?" a non-teenager voice interrupted from across the room, making all four of them freeze. "Is that you?"
The black-haired boy looking impossibly pale and stunned, Danny rapidly searched for the source as he whispered nervously, "Dad?"
They'd been in the lab later than usual, still trying to see if they could keep any of their data and simultaneously trying to devise a new set of experiments to establish a more accurate baseline. They needed to start over with their work. Maddie and Jack knew that. But they hoped to salvage at least something. In their past examinations of their work, they'd already eliminated plenty of their past data. But there had to be something.
So Maddie was with her husband in the far corner of the basement when something tumbled out of the portal. Pure surprise and astonishment at the occurrence kept the pair silent and unmoving as Tucker landed on the concrete floor. And they remained silent as Sam quickly followed out of the portal. And then Lydia.
Maddie tried to find her voice, to say something about the sheer mind-boggling strangeness of the children diving out of the Ghost Zone, but that effort collapsed as a fourth figure came through. White hair, black jumpsuit, and floating above the ground before easily landing beside them, she recognized the ghost. Warring instincts paralyzed her and Jack for a split second: a long-established habit of attack ghosts on sight and the new revelations about not understanding ghosts nearly as much as they always believed. And with that hesitation, he had time to talk casually with Tucker in a manner that indicated familiarity and trust. Then, while Maddie tried to wrap her head around this newest shock, Phantom was briefly engulfed in light and she felt her heart stop as Jack stiffened beside her.
Black hair replaced white, blue eyes replaced glowing green, t-shirt and jeans replaced a jumpsuit, and human replaced ghost. Maddie could scarcely believe it was possible, something that went against everything they'd ever assumed about the way humans, ghosts, and ectoplasm worked. Could her eyes be deceiving her this badly? Did a ghost turn into an actual human?
Did Phantom turn into her son?
Jack, her dear and wonderful husband, managed to finally shake off their stunned paralysis first. And he asked what Maddie was desperately wanting to know.
"Danny? Is that you?"
All the teenagers froze at his voice, clearly unaware they weren't alone. But it was the pale and nervous face that frantically looked around the lab for them that really made her heart clench. He then spotted the pair in the corner and his expression got worse.
"Dad?" he whispered nervously.
Jack nodded, "Yeah. Your mom and I were working on something down here."
"Any chance you didn't see anything?" asked Tucker as he and Sam edged closer to their best friend.
Questions fluttered around her head, but she could barely think. Coincidences, random events, odd comments and behaviors, and a million other things she'd hardly noticed began to… not necessary make complete sense, but at least have a connection she'd missed before. This wasn't something new. She wasn't completely certain what exactly it was, but it was something. Phantom had been flying around for a while. And if Phantom turned into her son…
"They saw," said Lydia, drawing Maddie's attention briefly to the fact that three of them were bandaged to varying degrees. "And they're smart enough to understand. I might not approve of their methods, but they aren't complete idiots."
"I think we need to talk," said Maddie. "No more secrets, Danny. No more lies."
She could accept the guilt and discomfort that crossed his face in response. He'd clearly been hiding something for a while, after all. What truly broke her heart was the hint of fear. Their son was afraid of them. And the worst part was Maddie knew why. Whatever was happening to Danny was related to ghosts and he tried to hide it. They made him afraid to be honest because of everything they'd ever said about ghosts.
Did he truly believe they would want to rip him apart molecule by molecule in the name of science?
…Maybe he did.
Danny tried to fight back the panic threatening to overwhelm him. This was not how he imagined his day ending. His parents saw him change from Phantom to Fenton. There would be no talking his way out of this one. And there was almost no chance that time or reality would reset itself and he wouldn't be able to erase their memories. They were going to continue to know and remember what they saw. His secret was exposed.
He tried to reassure himself that it wasn't too bad. They'd found out before and handled it pretty well. They'd loved him, accepted him, and supported him when they learned the truth right before resetting reality. Hopefully this would be the same sort of thing. But it didn't stop him from feeling a little scared and very uneasy about being exposed like this. Even with Tucker and Sam edging next to him as if they intended to protect him from harm didn't completely ease his muddled emotions.
Jack looked at him with an unreadable expression and asked, "How?"
"How what?" he said quietly. "How long? How it happened? How I kept this a secret? How it works?"
"Well, I mostly meant the last one, but any of those questions would be good."
Trying to shove all the doubts and fears out of his mind, Danny said, "Remember us telling you about the 'accident' the day the portal properly activated for the first time? We might have left out a few details."
"Like the fact Danny was inside when it activated," said Sam, her hand resting on his arm. "One zap and lots of ectoplasm from standing in the middle of tearing a hole between dimensions later… and his DNA was altered with stuff not native to our dimension."
"We know. We borrowed your equipment to look," Tucker added, slinging his arm across his friend's shoulder. "Though we might want to discuss some of your safety features later. Buttons shouldn't be inside machines. You put them on the outside to avoid accidents."
Danny watched his parents grow pale and horrified at their explanation. And guilt. He saw lots of guilt.
"He didn't die from it, obviously," said Lydia, walking over to claim a chair from next to the desk. "The experts all agree he's alive. He's just considered a ghost because of all the ectoplasm in his system that lets him use his powers. He's alive and a ghost at the same time."
"A halfa. Those from the Ghost Zone call me a halfa," Danny said. "And it wasn't your fault. It was an accident."
Looking far too sad for his comfort, his mother asked, "Sweetie, why didn't you tell us? We could have done something. Helped you or fixed this or reversed it or… anything other than try to hunt down Phantom." Her hand went to her mouth in horror. "Oh my… We attacked you. We tried to hurt you. What kind of parents can't recognize their own son?"
"To be fair, the living tend to ignore the strange and unusual," said Lydia. "Almost no one around here made the connection."
"And I don't blame you," Danny assured. "You didn't know. I didn't tell you at the beginning because it was just too strange, confusing, and new. I didn't know how you'd react because I was still trying to figure out how to react myself." Now came the hard part. Danny took a deep breath and plowed ahead. "And now, I don't think I'd want to turn back even if I could."
He didn't wait to see how they would react to that statement. He had to keep going. And with his best friends beside him, he was certain he could do it.
"I like my ghost half. I like flying, turning invisible, and moving through solid objects. I like being able to help people and make a difference. I like knowing that I can handle things. And someone has to protect Amity Park. I have the power, so that makes it my responsibility. I'm Danny Fenton, the average teenager, but I'm also Danny Phantom, the ghost who protects this city. I'm half a ghost and half a normal human. All I can hope is that you can accept me, all of me, for who I truly am."
With his miniature speech complete, Danny braced himself. This could end really well or really badly. And even if he knew his parents and trusted them, the stakes involved left at least some doubt.
His concerns were immediately addressed by his parents engulfing him in a group hug. And when his father hugged someone, it was always at least partially a bear hug. It was the only possibility for a man his size. But even if it made breathing a little difficult, Danny didn't mind.
"Of course we accept you," said Jack. "You're our son. Human, ghost, neither, or both, we still love you."
"And we're sorry we ever made you think otherwise," added Maddie.
Feeling like an incredible weight had lifted, Danny smiled and said quietly, "Thanks."
When the hug ended, they were all blinking a little faster. But they didn't actually have tears on their faces, so Danny managed to keep some dignity.
Nodding in approval, Sam said, "I'm glad that went so smoothly. This should make things simpler."
"Or more complicated," Tucker added.
"So," Maddie said, rubbing her arm awkwardly, "who else exactly knows about you being… Danny Phantom?"
"Tucker and Sam know, obviously. They were there when it happened," said Danny. "They've known from the start and helped more than I could have possibly imagined. I don't know what I would have done without them."
"I figured it out the first time I saw Phantom, more or less," Lydia added from her spot by the desk. "Sam had to clarify a few details, but I knew Phantom was also Danny. But I'm used to strange stuff, so I'm better at this sort of thing."
With a thoughtful expression overtaking her face, Maddie asked, "Is that why you were upset with us about ghost hunting and our experiments, Lydia? Because you knew about Danny?"
"It was partially that, partially because I have other ghosts I care about, and partially because I was having a really bad week and taking it out on you," she admitted, looking mildly regretful for her past outburst. Spotting their confusion, she explained, "Not all ghosts are like the ones you've seen and the Ghost Zone is not the only place they come from. But I'll talk about it more later. This is a family-and-best-friends moment. This is more important."
"Uh… All right," said Jack slowly. "I think we were discussing who else knew about this."
Danny nodded, "Right. That… Um… Well, all the ghosts I fight know. More or less. At least the Ghost Zone ones do. I don't know if all of them know the name 'Danny Fenton,' but they seem to figure out I'm a halfa pretty quickly."
He considered mentioning Vlad. He knew Danny's secret. But that would involve a lot explanations that would not be fun. He'd have to explain he wasn't the first halfa and that they accidentally created one in college. He'd have to explain that Vlad Masters was also Vlad Plasmius. He'd have to explain that Vlad was in love with Mom and that he wanted to kill Dad for "stealing her away." He'd have to explain that even if Dad thought Vlad was his best friend, it was all a lie. He'd have to explain that Vlad kept trying to convince Danny to join him as a pseudo-son and only their mutual secrets kept them in a semi-stalemate. He'd have to destroy Mom and Dad's view of the man complete and reveal Vlad to be a hateful, manipulative, and dangerous individual.
Danny ultimately decided to wait. His parents were already dealing with the fact their son was part ghost and that they'd tried to attack him multiple times. He didn't want to make things more difficult yet. It would be better to let them wrap their minds around the current situation and address the issue of Vlad another day.
"I think that covers most of the people who know about my ghost half," he said slowly. "The only one left would be—"
"Hello? Is anyone still down here?" a cautious voice asked as someone came down the stairs.
Everyone in the basement spun around towards the stairs, giving the red-haired teenager quite an audience. Jazz blinked in confusion at the gathering. Danny couldn't help chuckling and waving his sister closer.
"Welcome, Jazz. I was just about to mention you," he said. "Mom? Dad? Yeah, Jazz figured it out a while back. She didn't say anything, so I didn't even know she knew. But she managed to find out all on her own."
"Find what out?" asked Jazz uneasily, glancing around at the crowd and noticing the bandages on some of them. "What's going on down here?"
"Mom and Dad were curious who else knew I'm Danny Phantom," he said simply.
"…Oh," said Jazz quietly, looking very startled. "Okay. They're handling it all right?"
"So far, so good."
"Should I ask why you decided to tell them in the middle of the night?"
"Because we just came through the Ghost Portal after an impromptu trip to Connecticut, which was after a fight with the ghost of Jack the Ripper, and they saw me transform back. There wasn't much else I could do except tell them the truth or beg Clockwork to reverse time. And I don't think he'd agree to that."
"What?" asked Jazz and their parents in unison.
"It's a bit of a long story," said Tucker.
I know that there have probably been a million variations on the scene where Danny's parents learn the truth. There were a few occasions on the show (before the final one that actually stuck) and countless fanfiction versions that could end good, bad, or weird. I have plenty of confidence that someone out there has done a much better job than me at this. But that doesn't mean I'm not happy with how I dealt with the issue in my story. Jack and Maddie know the truth now about their son and they love him anyway. That's the way it's going to be.
Once again, go and buy my book. There's a link on my profile, but it is currently not working for some reason. So just go to Amazon and look up "Dead Man Walking" by A.R. Jones. You can't miss it. You can buy it for the Kindle or download the Kindle app thing for your smartphone. You can probably even download it on your iPad or other computer things. Just go out and support my original piece of fiction, please.
Remember, reviews are nice and I always appreciate them. I love hearing feedback on this and all stories I write. Thanks.