Anyone want to join me in the Camp NaNoWriMo challenge for July? I'm looking for cabin mates!

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Phantom, Danny

The story you know from the very beginning.

…and from a slightly different point of view.

Chapter 4: The Understanding

-Day 9-

Do all humans have names? The question had been dinging around in his mind since he learned of The Dash, The Valerie, and The Paulina – who, for some reason, existed in italics in The Danny's mind. The Danny was sitting in The Library for something called Detention. It had apparently been late to School that morning. Although the human continued to blame him for walking around town, he just shrugged and couldn't understand why The Danny went every day to something it didn't enjoy.

"Yes, all humans have names," it muttered. It had its head buried in its arms at the moment, trying to take a nap – so it claimed.

Why?

It picked its head up for a second, -Annoyance- coloring its thoughts as it peering around, then sighed and let its head fall back down. "Because."

He didn't quite understand the concept. Most ghosts don't have names.

"Then how do you know who you're talking to?" it mumbled.

You are there. You are speaking to them. What is the point of a name? He waited for a reply, but the human seemed to be finished with the train of thought. It pushed him away slightly, curling its arms tighter around its head. I do not have a name and you do not seem to mind.

This caused it to pause. -Startled!- "You don't have a name?"

Why would I need one?

It shook its head after a moment. "There's something wrong with you."

He snorted and poked at it. I disagree. Now that you wish to talk – I wish to be free of this form.

"I heard," it said with a sigh. "I heard the first time, the tenth time, and the thousandth time. It doesn't change the problem that I don't know how to get you gone."

Yet you have done nothing to free me.

"You haven't done anything either!" it exclaimed, trying to keep its voice at a whisper.

I am trapped in this form. I cannot leave, and I cannot control this body without your permission. He scowled and prowled around, feeling annoyance start to curl into his thoughts. I am essentially your prisoner. I am dependent upon you to solve the problem.

It frowned in thought. "You're the ghost. Shouldn't you know what to do?"

He settled back in its mind, frustrated. I am not a ghost who normally could possess a human, he said. This is not something I know.

"Yeah, well its not something I know either," the human muttered darkly. "I'm not sure why you think I would."

He sighed and shook his head. I have no other option.

The timer sitting on the desk chose that moment to go off. The Danny jumped, then grinned. "Can I go?" it said, grabbing its backpack and getting to its feet.

The human at the desk eyed The Danny. Then the timer. Then back at The Danny. "Fine," it said gruffly. "Scram."

It was almost out of The Library before it spoke again, this time in a hushed whisper. "I'm meeting Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger. Can you stay quiet until we get home?"

He thought about it, agreed with the thought – the Nasty Burger was an eating establishment, apparently, and he wanted nothing to do with it – and curled up in a corner of its mind to think.

"Ghost?"

He smirked to himself and followed the request. He didn't answer.

.

.4.

.

-Day 9-

"Great," the human muttered as it dropped its backpack on the floor. -Frustrated- "Detention at school – for something that's not even my fault – and now I'm grounded because I got detention." It dropped onto its bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. "You hear that, Ghost? You're causing me nothing but problems."

My name is not Ghost, he told it blandly. I do not have a name.

"Yeah, well, I gotta call you something," it said darkly. "Until you're gone, anyways."

You have a plan? He drew closer to the human mind, interested.

"No." It threw its arm over its eyes, causing the world to go black.

He scowled at the lack of sight. The lights and colors were distracting and brilliant, but the pressure of the arm against his nose wasn't pleasant, and he sort of enjoyed making pictures out of the strange stains on its ceiling. Then I am trapped in this form forever.

"Forever is a long time," the human muttered. "I won't live that long."

I will.

The human took its arm away, blinking in surprise. "I… guess you will," it said slowly. "But what do you want me to do, anyways? Magically come up with a way to get you out of my head? I dunno how you got into my head!"

A strange twinge of the human's emotion came with that last statement. He leaned closer, poking at the human mind. Are you sure you do not? he asked slowly.

Its face warmed. It was a curious sensation that took him a moment to understand -Embarrassed.- "Well, maybe... I might kinda know."

He went very still. Maybe?

"See, I was down in the lab. And my parents told me not to, but Sam and Tucker wanted me to, and… and I did. And there was this hole in the wall that my parents had been working on. A Ghost Portal, or whatever."

He didn't understand what all the words meant. But he listened to what it said very carefully.

"And I kinda tripped on some wires, and pushed this button, and it turned on. There was this flash of light. And… and… um… then you were in my head."

He sat still, processing that. He remembered the flash of light. The rip in the world. You were the one who made the light.

"Yeah," it said softly.

The light that took me from my world and trapped me here, in this form.

"That I don't know," it muttered, "but probably."

He had never felt anger quite like this. It raced through his entire being, making him feel like he was on fire. It was YOU that trapped me in this world! YOU who stole me from my home and made me captive here! He pushed against the human mind, furiously stealing control of the body. He sat up before the human could take it back. There was a sharp sting of pain in his mind, but he ignored it.

"It wasn't my plan-" it started.

You have lied to me, he interrupted furiously. I had begun to believe you, human. But humans are not to be trusted. Humans cannot be trusted. Humans are too short-lived and heavy to understand the meaning and power of truth.

"I didn't!" it argued back, his voice rising. "I didn't lie to you. And besides, it was an accident-"

The door to the bedroom opened. A red-haired human stuck its head through the door. "Danny… are you okay?" It sounded concerned.

"I'm fine," The Danny answered hotly. "Go away, Jazz."

"You don't sound okay," the other human said, pushing the door open further.

The Danny got up and pushed the door closed, firmly locking the other human in the hallway. "None of your beeswax," it said, sliding down the door to rest on the ground with its back against the door.

He waited a beat for the human to leave, his fury abated slightly by the desire to not let the other humans know he was there. I wish to be free of you. Especially now that I know you are like the rest of your disgusting kind: not to be trusted.

"No shit."

An idea struck him. The other humans of this house created the device that trapped me.

"Yeah," it said, arms across its chest, still angry.

Then they should be able to free me.

The Danny blinked, startled. "What? No-"

I will be free, he said, reaching for control of the body. Anger fueled his movements and gave him energy to ignore the pain that suddenly echoed through his mind, sharp and blinding.

It yelped in agony. "Stop that!" it yelled, pushing him back.

I wish to leave. Let me, he demanded.

-Fear!- "You can't tell them," it said desperately, rubbing at its head and scrambling to its feet. "Nothing they build really works. Well, except the Portal, and I think that was more me than them… or maybe you…"

He paced back and forth in its mind, desperately seeking a way to lose the pent up energy in his mind. Do you have another idea, human?

There was a long period of silence before the human's shoulders drooped. "No," it whispered.

Then you will tell them. He waited, eying the human's mind. He could almost hear its thoughts churning. It was somehow -Angry!-, and -Sad-, and -Frustrated!-, and -Afraid- all at the same time.

Eventually, it said, "I can't. You have no idea what you're asking."

I know what I am asking. I am asking to be freed of this torture. He reached out for a hand and, surprisingly, the human gave way. He clenched the fingers into a fist a few times, then rubbed the tips of the fingers together. I will tell them.

The human didn't answer, just slowly shook its head, then retreated when he reached forwards to control more of the body. It took only a moment for him to be in complete control. He waited a beat, getting used to the sensation, and then walked towards the door. The human didn't argue.

He hesitated, surprised that after all the arguing it had done it was simply giving up, but he grabbed the doorknob and pushed open the door. He strode down the hallway and into the kitchen, finding one of the adult humans sitting at the kitchen table. It was large - and eating. He wrinkled his nose at the sight. "Which is this?" he whispered as he hovered in the doorway.

The Danny didn't answer.

"Fine," he said darkly, storming across the kitchen to stand near the table, his arms crossed over his chest.

The adult human paused from its eating and looked up at him. This one was orange and larger than the others, its lips smeared with a thick brown substance. "Dann-o," it greeted happily. "Fudge?"

He flicked a glance at the hand holding out a piece of gooey brown. He was about to shake his head and explain the situation – demand to be freed – when something odd happened. He remembered.

He remembered sitting in a boat with this creature. They'd both been holding some sort of pole with line on it. He'd just caught a slimy thing and this human had picked him up and set him on its shoulders. On the drive home, it had gotten him a cup that read, 'World's Best Fisherman'.

It was not a memory that belonged to him. This was not something he'd ever experienced. It was something from the human mind, The Danny.

There was an emotion with it he couldn't explain. Couldn't understand. It made him hesitate and lose track of his thoughts.

It put the piece of sticky fudge in its mouth and chewed loudly. Brownish drool oozed from a corner of its mouth. Thoroughly distracted from his goal, he shuddered and turned and walked away.

You aren't going to tell him? it whispered in his mind.

He didn't answer. He stepped out onto the front steps and stared up at the evening sky. It would be night soon. The last bit of sunshine was warm on his skin.

There was a reason the human mind didn't want the other humans aware of him. There was that emotion he didn't understand. And there was an eternity stretched before him – what was a few more days of waiting to make sure he understood what was going on?

"Not yet," he breathed.