Time for another update to the story. It is time for a potentially-awkward conversation. The Fentons and the kids need to pool their knowledge together and that means they need to talk about ghosts, Aunt Melinda, and everything.
Earth, the Ghost Zone, the Netherworld, and Saturn all exist simultaneously in the same location.
Like how all those different wavelengths of light can occupy the same spot, but you can only see the visible spectrum. If you imagine the different dimensions as different wavelengths of light, the human world would be like the visible light spectrum, the Ghost Zone would be the ultraviolet rays, and the Netherworld would be like the X-rays. In the opposite direction, Saturn would be infrared waves.
Moving between two or more of the different dimensions is the tricky part. Portals and doors are the easiest way to do it, though ghosts can move a little easier between the Ghost Zone and the Netherworld than they can between any other. And when they leave their physical haunting perimeters, they slip from the land of the living to Saturn. Essentially moving from the visible light spectrum to the infrared waves.
-Excerpt from "A Simpler Guide on the Basics for Death, the Netherworld, and Everything: The Handbook is Complicated, So I Summarized Things for the Maitlands and Anyone Else in This Notebook" by Lydia Deetz
"So there are two types of ghosts?" asked Jack.
Lydia nodded, taking care not to jostle her aching head too much. She'd decided to handle this particular part of the explanations as much as possible. Danny looked a little overwhelmed by recent events and seemed particularly content to just stand with his friends off to the side, no longer the center of focus. He deserved a break.
"Yes," she said. "The Ghost Zone ones and the Netherworld ones. Only half of ghosts are made of ectoplasm and are easy to see. Those are the ones you've been facing. The hole you tore in reality makes a handy way in and out. Those ghosts are a weird mixture of lost or misplaced spirits, random personifications of ideas and emotions, and anything else that might spontaneously form from the ectoplasm. They're strong and vary a lot. The Netherworld ghosts are all spirits of the dead who haven't moved on."
Maddie actually chuckled slightly as she said, "We already told you. Ghosts aren't actually dead people. That's just a myth."
"No, not all ghosts are dead people," corrected Sam. "Some definitely are. We've met them."
"The Lunch Lady used to work at Casper High. Now she shows up occasionally to complain violently about any change to the menu," Tucker said. "Not to mention we ran into Jack the Ripper tonight."
"And everyone at our school knows about Sidney Poindexter," added Jazz, looking very curious about the mentioned misadventure.
"You're scientists, right?" Lydia said, closing her eyes briefly. "You know about those different laws of the universe? Conservation of Matter? Conservation of Energy? They say matter or energy can't be created or destroyed, but it can be changed. It can change forms. It can be transferred somewhere else. Why is it so hard to believe that something like that happens with people? That part of them could become something different or move on to somewhere else? Not all people become ghosts and not all ghosts were originally alive. But don't dismiss something as a myth or impossible just because it seems silly to you." Opening her eyes again and staring at the adults, she added, "After all, you just learned quite effectively that you don't know as much about ghosts as you think you do. Your son is half ghost. So maybe you could try trusting me when I tell you about the Netherworld and the ghosts that come from there, please?"
The spouses exchanged looks, but hesitantly nodded with apologetic smiles. They certainly seemed overwhelmed by everything they were learning, but were accepting it as best as possible. Lydia was mildly impressed. Their entire world-view gets destroyed abruptly and instead of denial, they were trying to adapt. Dad and Delia weren't as accepting initially when faced with something strange and unusual, not listening to her until almost too late…
No, she wasn't going to think about them. She wasn't going to think about the days her father and step-mother didn't even try to understand her. She wasn't going to think about the better days of the last couple of years when they finally made an effort to accept and support her. And she wasn't going to think about how she would never see Dad or Delia again. She was happy to still have the Maitlands and she loved them, but it still hurt to know her father and even her step-mother were gone. Just like her mother. Lydia knew following that train of thought about loss wouldn't help her. It would only lead to heartache, withdrawing from the world, and thinking about bridges in a way that was far from healthy and could result in a future of bureaucracy. Right now it was important to focus on more immediate problems. She could mourn her losses later, when she had time and support to handle it. Until then, all those thoughts could wait.
Shaking her head gently to clear it, Lydia said, "I've dealt with Netherworld ghosts more than the ones from the Ghost Zone. They were all once alive. They have rules, bureaucracy, and even caseworkers to give advice and assistance when necessary. I shared a home with Barbara and Adam Maitland, who've been practically second parents to me for the last few years. They died in a car crash before we met and can't leave their house in Connecticut. I also know a poltergeist who lived through the Black Death. And tonight, another poltergeist named Sanduleak tried to kill me."
"Jack the Ripper," Tucker added. "We tackled Jack the Ripper. Literally."
"Right," said Lydia, turning towards him and his friends briefly. "And have I said thanks yet? Because I'm very thankful. Without your help, Sanduleak would have killed me before Beej could stop him. And even if he never says it properly, Beej is certainly thankful too."
"All of you seem rather calm about someone trying to kill Lydia," Jack said awkwardly.
"It was a few hours ago. And we fight ghosts pretty regularly," Tucker said with a shrug.
With a small wry smile, Danny said, "Skulker repeatedly tells me that he's going to kill me and keep my hide at the foot of his bed. As long as everyone survived, we can handle anything that happens."
"And I just visited my ghostly godparents, courtesy of Beej," said Lydia as she tried to sound calm while simultaneously banishing memories of Sanduleak pressing so close to her, a knife to her throat and a predatory look in his eye. She added honestly, "Seeing Barbara and Adam helped a lot."
"Exactly who is Beej?" Maddie asked, curious and confused in equal measures.
"Lydia's protective, scary, and powerful not-boyfriend poltergeist," described Tucker. "His name is—"
"No names," Lydia interrupted quickly. "I don't want to risk waking him up, let alone calling him here. Let him sleep. He's earned it."
"His name is a summons," Sam clarified for the confused parties. "Using it three times calls and banishes him. Apparently poltergeists have personalized rules and more power than other Netherworld ghosts."
Tucker added, "And weird names. Between him and Sanduleak, they are rather freaky."
"Well, if one is from about six hundred years ago and the other from at a century ago, it makes sense they might have names that aren't as common now," said Jazz.
Lydia nodded carefully as she struggled against a yawn. She was tired and her head still hurt. Honestly, she wanted to go find a bed or a couch she could claim for the night. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to rest finally. Lydia did wonder briefly if it was a good idea; weren't you supposed to stay awake after a head injury in case of a concussion? Should she be concerned? After a moment, she decided she wasn't too worried. Regardless of anything else, she was tired.
"Oh dear, what time is it?' asked Maddie, noticing the half-smothered yawn. "We should either send all of you home or at least call your parents. They must be worried sick."
"No, we already made up excuses," Tucker said cheerfully, adjusting his glasses. "We're good at them by now."
Ignoring the reactions Tucker's confession produced from the Fentons, Lydia said, "And I'm not going back to my aunt's house."
Her venomous tone was apparently enough to catch the attention of the parents and older sister. They stared at her, confused and deeply concerned. Danny, Sam, and Tucker gave her more sympathetic expressions, understanding her behavior a little better.
"I'm sensing some hostility," Jazz said cautiously.
"You think?" muttered Sam.
"Could you explain why your relationship with your aunt is so tense?" she continued.
"Aunt Melinda and Uncle Roger became my guardians recently after my parents died. I've known them for less than two weeks. Let's count the ways they've tried to destroy everything I care about, shall we?" said Lydia, sounding tired and numb rather than properly furious. She couldn't muster anymore energy. "They decide to drag me several states away from anything and anyone familiar. They bound and banished my best friend after almost destroying him with an exorcism. They made it clear they'd be perfectly happy to finish exorcising him or the Maitlands, my family, if I gave them a reason. She messed with my head, locking away memories."
"And she stole your journal," added Tucker.
"Furthermore, I almost got killed or worse because I couldn't call Beej, which was their fault. And now I found out that Aunt Melinda owns a powerful necklace that could control, banish, or destroy untold numbers of ghosts." Lydia looked straight towards the Fentons with a stubbornness that would have seemed foreign to her a few years ago. "Not all ghosts are nice. Sanduleak proves that. But not all of them are monsters either and I won't let my aunt attempt cold-blooded murder or destruction of whatever poor souls she catches. Even if Juno didn't already ask, I would certainly get the Gem of Osiris away from her anyway. She's already caused enough damage." Fighting back another yawn, Lydia continued, "As I said, I'm not going back to her house."
"Right," said Jack awkwardly. "Would you like to spend the night then? You could certainly stay on our couch."
"Or you could stay with me in my room," Jazz said. "It wouldn't be any trouble."
Trying to hide how relieved she felt by the offer, Lydia smiled and said, "That would be perfect. Thanks."
"Wait a moment," said Maddie, frowning in thought. "Would your aunt and uncle's names be Melinda and Roger Livingston?"
"Yeah," she said slowly. "They're my maternal aunt and uncle. They have a different last name than me."
Danny, looking rather suspicious, asked firmly, "Mom? Dad? What did you do?"
His parents exchanged looks again. Then, with an expression that somehow managed to grow even guiltier than the one they'd been wearing through most of the conversation, his mother rubbed her arm and turned towards her son.
"We gave them a Ghost Shield."
"What? Why?" he asked.
"Because they asked and because they talked about protecting their recently-orphaned niece. They sounded like they were really concerned. It convinced us to share."
Tucker rubbed the back of his head and asked, "Why would they want the Ghost Shield? I mean, it would be useful for protection, but I got the feeling the woman preferred a more aggressive approach. And what about their stop at Axion Labs this evening? Remember, Lydia? You followed them there when we were getting your journal and the ring? Could they be connected?"
They were all good questions. Plus, she should really ask what a Ghost Shield was (though the name did sound pretty self-explanatory). But Lydia couldn't bring herself to think about it. She might not have been the one who tore out of the Ghost Zone and nearly unraveled by fighting the rules to a dangerous degree, but Lydia needed sleep almost as much as Betelgeuse did. It had been a long day and she was tired. Anything that might have to do with her aunt, the necklace, the Ghost Shield, or whatever Aunt Melinda's plan might be could wait until morning.
"We can try to figure it out tomorrow. For now, I'd honestly like to sleep and pretend there isn't a lot of chaos on the horizon," said Lydia, standing up finally. "We've all had a rough night with some tough revelations. How about we sleep on it? Everything will be easier to handle in the morning."
Nodding, Jazz said, "Sure thing. I'll show you to my room."
"And speaking of Ghost Shields," said Sam as the other girls headed towards the stairs, "we might want to put the one around the house up. Sanduleak is still free and he might try attacking again."
So far, his escape from Saturn and back to the human world was going relatively well. He'd slipped back to Amity Park, keeping out of sight of the living and dead. Sanduleak knew someone would come looking eventually. Betelgeuse wasn't one to let things go and the caseworkers would at least be upset about their co-worker being tossed to the sandworms. Stealth would be important if he wanted to stay ahead of them.
He wasn't sure if the Mortal Bride survived, but he suspected she did. And if she did survive, she would come back to the city and her house. And due to checking her records earlier, Sanduleak knew where she lived. He just needed to watch and wait. He would watch the house and her relatives closely. If she lived, she would show up eventually. And he would have her.
The thought made him grin. She was younger and scrawnier than he preferred, but she would still be fun to play with. Just the knowledge that she was innocent and untouched added a little enticement to the idea. And the fact that harming her would pain the older poltergeist made it so much sweeter. It would definitely be fun to toy with the pretty thing for as long as he wanted. And once Sanduleak was finished using the inexperienced and helpless girl however he desired, he would rip her body apart until it was just barely recognizable and leave it for Betelgeuse.
It would be beautiful, almost like his glory days in London. Who would have thought the infamous Ghost With The Most would be foolish enough to actually care about such a fragile and vulnerable girl. All Betelgeuse had done was create a weakness far more painful and tempting than his name issue. And Sanduleak would be happy to exploit it to the fullest extent of his abilities. Revenge could be so fun.
Glancing at the sky briefly, he knew dawn would arrive in a few hours. Then sunlight would be an issue. All poltergeists had their limits and daylight was his. He'd find a way to avoid it while still keeping a close watch on everything. It would be tricky, but Sanduleak felt confident.
Maddie nursed her cup of coffee in silence. She was the only one in the household awake so far. Or rather, she was still awake from the night before. The woman honestly tried to sleep. She'd lain in bed for hours, trying to get some rest. For a while her husband shared her state of insomnia, but he eventually slipped into an uneasy doze not long before she gave up entirely. Sleep just wasn't an option for her. Not after everything that happened the night before.
It was just too much to absorb. She was trying and failing to understand so many shocking revelations in such a short span of time. She and Jack barely managed to adjust to the idea that their assumptions about ghosts might be wrong and that it was coloring their observations. Now she had to face several far more difficult discoveries.
Taking a short sip from the mug, she stared numbly at her kitchen and tried to organize her chaotic thoughts. The easiest to accept was the idea of a second type of ghosts from a different reality than the Ghost Zone. If it was possible to have on alternate dimension filled with ghosts, another one wasn't too farfetched. And since the Ghost Zone and the inhabitants were strictly composed of ectoplasm, then a different reality with a different composition would logically have ghosts that exhibit different traits. It was all very logical and easy to accept.
The idea of ghosts, even if not all ghosts, actually being dead people was harder. It wasn't that she was so scientifically-minded that she couldn't believe in the idea of a soul. Logic and reason wasn't mutually exclusive towards faith. No one had proven the existence of a soul yet with science, but they hadn't disproven it either. So she figured it was only a matter of time.
No, that wasn't her problem. Maddie just didn't know how to adapt to the idea that at least some of those people stayed around in the forms of ghosts rather than reaching paradise, punishment, purgatory, reincarnation, oblivion, or whatever the true final fate of the dead was intended to be. It sounded too much like a fairy tale; someone who died didn't actually have to leave and might remain in some fashion. It was like Jack's continued belief in Santa Claus; it could only lead to dashed hopes and heartache. That sort of thinking would undoubtedly prolong the grieving process.
And it raised even more uncomfortable questions about their treatment of ghosts. Rather than dangerous, non-sentient monsters from another dimension, they could have been experimenting on people who died and ended up in the Ghost Zone. No wonder Lydia reacted badly to the lab and the ghost-hunting discussion.
Maddie drank a little more of the cooling coffee. The bitter flavor reminded her yet again that she'd neglected to add the sugar and milk to the cup. And just like earlier, she didn't bother to get up and correct it.
She was avoiding the biggest shock of the night. She knew it. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about it since everyone went to bed. Her insomnia proved she was failing badly. Maddie knew it would be better to go ahead and face the tangle of issues. She wasn't a coward; she could face her failures and regrettable actions.
Danny was a ghost. Or at least half-ghost. That was the crux of the matter.
There was nothing fundamentally wrong with him being part ghost. She wasn't so shallow, hateful, or cruel as to condemn her son for being who and what he was. Besides, it was quickly becoming clear to her that humans and ghosts were far more similar than she could have ever imagined. This did not change her feelings towards Danny in the slightest.
But it certainly changed her feelings towards herself. Maddie Fenton, the supposed ghost expert and ghost-hunter, couldn't even recognize the truth right in front of her. She didn't see that something was going on with Danny and didn't realize that Phantom wasn't just an ordinary ghost. How could she not recognize her son? He said he didn't blame them for their actions or their ignorance, but Maddie just couldn't forgive herself. They attacked Phantom repeatedly, threatened him, discussed how they intended to dissect him in earshot of their son, and performed other various acts that no parent should attempt against their child. How could Danny have spent so much time under the same roof as ghost-hunters without fearing and hating them? It horrified her to revisit those memories with her new knowledge.
What if they'd actually succeed in one of their attempts to attack Phantom? What if they'd hurt him during a fight? What if they'd captured Phantom and actually tried some of their experiments on him? It could have been so easy and that scared her. She despised how she and Jack could have harmed their son out of ignorance and only luck prevented such a thing.
And then there was the fact Danny's current status as part ghost, a halfa, was their fault. Yes, he seemed perfectly comfortable with ectoplasm combined with his body, but that didn't change the fact he didn't originally chose it. The drastic change happened because of his parents. They created the Ghost Portal, the source of their son's powers. They inadvertently turned Danny part ghost because of their obsession. No matter how much they were intrigued by ghosts, Maddie and Jack never intended for it to harm their children.
And even if Danny seemed relatively fine, it would have so easy for the accident to seriously injure or kill him instead of transforming him. Maddie knew the damage it could have caused. This wasn't even the first time a problem with creating a Ghost Portal affected someone. In college, Vlad Masters was exposed to an intense dose of ectoplasm from the prototype. He was stuck in a hospital for quite some time afterwards with a condition the doctors unoriginally named "ecto-acne." That should have warned them to be more careful the next time they tried, but they didn't and Danny ended up suffering an involuntary transformation for their actions.
Maddie frowned briefly in thought. Danny was saturated with ectoplasm by standing in the middle of an activating portal and ended up half ghost. So when Vlad was struck with concentrated (albeit impure) ectoplasm to the face from an imperfect portal, it was theoretically possible that…
"Couldn't sleep either?" asked Danny quietly as he stepped into the kitchen, interrupting her thoughts.
Shrugging slightly, she said, "I'm afraid not. There's a lot on our minds. Even your father had trouble falling asleep and usually he's out before his head hits the pillow."
"Tucker's still camped out in my room, dead to the world. And Sam's still napping on the couch," he said, gesturing back the way he came. "No idea about Jazz and Lydia, though."
"Judging from how tired she looked, I'd guess Lydia is still asleep," said Maddie.
Silence settled briefly upon them. There was definitely awkwardness present, a tension between mother and child that she wished was gone. They needed to talk, but it was hard to start the conversation when they were both so cautious about broaching the uncomfortable topics.
Looking down at the mug in her hands, Maddie said carefully, "She's had a rough time recently, in more ways than one. That bandage on her head doesn't hide all the damage."
"Yeah, Sanduleak managed to land a hit on her before Beej got rid of him temporarily," Danny said. "Tucker and Sam were a little scratched up too, but Lydia was his main target. It was some type of revenge-by-proxy thing."
"They ended up hurt, but not you?" said Maddie, trying to prompt him gently.
Glancing down at the kitchen table as he sat across from her, he said, "Well, I'm a lot stronger and tougher when I'm in my ghost form. Some of that durability sticks around even when I'm human, but it is more noticeable when I'm a ghost. And I heal faster now. That's part of the reason you never noticed before. Bruises, scratches, and cuts heal in a few hours. A day at most. Otherwise all those fights with ghosts would have definitely caught your attention sooner."
"That's good," she said with a slow nod. Turning the mug gently in her hands, Maddie asked, "Danny, did you… did you ever… Were you ever afraid of me or your father at any point? Of what we might do?"
Maddie forced herself to look up as soon as she choked out the question. She wasn't certain she wanted to know the answer, but she needed to ask. It was important.
He looked a little surprised at her question, but he didn't instantly start denying the very idea of such a thing. Instead, he looked thoughtful and considerate of the question. She appreciated Danny taking her concerns seriously. But she had to admit it also made her guts knot up to know that her son had to actually think about whether or not he'd ever been afraid of his parents.
"In general, I was fairly confident that I could avoid you and Dad when it came to ghost-hunting. Half your inventions don't work and you're not exactly subtle when it comes to your fighting. And you were usually willing to go after all ghosts in the area, so sometimes your attacks on other ghosts were even helpful to me. The biggest danger would me getting caught in the crossfire or catching your attention abruptly. As long as I wasn't completely ignoring you, I didn't worry too much about the two of you," he said slowly. "But that's not exactly what you meant, right? You're wondering if I was afraid of what you and Dad would do to me. If I was afraid of how you would react if you found out the truth?"
She didn't trust her voice at the moment, so Maddie just nodded. Danny gave her a slight smile in return.
"I won't lie, I did have a few nightmares of you catching me and not knowing who I was. Not a lot, but a few at the beginning. And since this was a pretty big secret, there were definitely some doubts and concerns I couldn't completely banish about how it would turn out. But…" He rubbed the back of his head and said, "The idea of you and Dad knowing who and what I am and still attacking me anyway? No, I was never afraid of that. Getting mad, freaking out, thinking I'm possessed, or going into denial, I could imagine that. But I know you. You and Dad wouldn't hurt me knowingly. I wasn't afraid of you, Mom."
She released a breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding at his reply. Danny reached across the table and patted her arm reassuringly.
"Believe it or not, I've seen you and Dad handle this news before. Once was in an alternate timeline and the other was just before reality was rewritten," he said with far more casualness than those explanations deserved. Smiling slightly, he continued, "Both times, the world was reset so that you didn't remember. But I do. And I saw that you and Dad didn't hate me for what I am, didn't want to harm me, and still saw me as your son. I've known for a little while you could deal with the knowledge that I'm part ghost. It was just hard and overwhelming to consider sharing such a huge and complicated part of my life."
She couldn't help chuckling as she nodded and said, "It is pretty complicated, Danny. But I know we can adapt. We love each other too much not to. And I'm glad that you weren't afraid of us. You're our son and I'd rather die than hurt you. And I am sorry if we ever gave you even the slightest reason to doubt it."
"I know, Mom."
Dropping her eyes briefly as she sipped on the nearly-cold coffee, Maddie felt intensely relieved. The conversation might not have been the most comfortable one, but it certainly helped. She felt lighter than before.
Hoping to find a less intense topic, Maddie asked, "So what can you tell me about some of the ghosts you've encountered? You must have some interesting stories."
"Well," he said slowly, a grin starting to overtake his face, "have you ever heard of someone called the Box Ghost?"
Yes, there was a continuation of Danny's parents adapting to all the new information. It is a lot to take in at once. Awkward and important conversation needed to be dealt with. Not to mention all that guilt that was bound to affect the Fentons when they actually stop and consider everything.
Remember, reviews are nice and I always appreciate them. I love hearing feedback on this and all stories I write. Thanks.