Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he'd been overshadowed but everything's back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn't his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul?

Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did.

Note: Hey guys! Welcome to my next multi chapter story! This is a continuation of my one shot where Danny tells his parents about his powers during Mystery Meat (based on danphanwritingprompts). The first chapter is that original one shot with SEVERAL IMPORTANT ADDICTIONS. SO PLEASE READ THIS EVEN IF YOU READ THE FIRST ONESHOT. I tried to use some dialog from Mystery Meat but it's been a while and I changed some lines to make more sense or to match my style and alterations to the story. Finally, a note about the title. It's from the song Face to Face by Wolves at the Gate. The chorus has a line: "Every seed must die before it can grow." which sums up the theme of life coming from death. I thought it was perfect for this story which is about Danny literally coming face to face with the ghostly part of himself and coming to accept and embrace that part of himself (and his death in the portal which changed him into a ghost in the first place).

Later, after all of this was over and Danny Fenton-Phantom finally had a chance to think about everything, he would say this moment right here was the one the lead to that fateful decision. Even after he wasn't sure if it was a good decision or a bad decision. But he did know, it changed the way he saw his friends, his parents, and most importantly himself.

It started as one hard day in a month of hard days. Starting high school was hard enough as it is but this...Well, Danny was way in over his head and not getting to eat his burger was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"That's it!" Danny Fenton yelled just as his burger fell out of his hands...scratch that.. through his hands. The boy frowned down at the condiments staining his shirt then looked around frantically. Luckily no one was in the section of the park except him and his friends, Sam and Tucker, so no one heard the outburst...or the display of weird ghostliness- the 5th one in the last half hour. Danny continued his rant, now gripping his hair. "I've had enough! It's been almost a month! A month! I still don't have any control over...whatever the heck this is! I'm telling Mom and Dad."

Sam and Tucker both glanced up from their meals, wide concerned eyes studying their friend who was clearly at his wits end. Sam bit her lip. "Are you sure…?"

But Tucker cut her off. "Yeah dude. I was wondering why you haven't already told them." Sam gaped at him, while Danny's mouth snapped shut as he stared at the other boy questioningly. Tucker just raised an eyebrow. "What? They're like experts on ghosts. If anyone can help you with your powers, it's them."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "I hadn't told them because I hoped that whatever the freakin' portal did to me would go away on its own." He spread his arms, then groaned as one flickered out of view. "But clearly that's not going to happen."

Tucker eyed the flickering arm. "Well hopefully they can help you get a handle on this."

"I don't want a handle on it." He put his head in his hands. "I want this freaky stuff that's happening to me gone."

Now it was Tucker's turn to gap. "But you have ghost powers!"

"They're not powers Tucker! Random parts of my body disappear. Stuff literally falls through my hands. I keep waking up halfway through my bed or floating above 're freaky symptoms that I can't control!" Danny glared.

"But just think about it! You can turn invisible and walk through walls!" Tucker's smile turned mischievous. "If you actually tried to control it, you could peak in the girls' locker room anytime you want!"

Just then, Sam elbowed him, earning a yelp from the barrett-wearing boy. "What Tucker means to say is think of all the good you could do if you actually used your powers."

Danny stared at his two friends, face turning increasingly red with anger. "I can't believe you two! I di…" He cut himself off. I died, part of him wanted to say. But that...that wasn't true, right? He took a deep breath. "I could have died. The portal ..." He closed his eyes as the memory of electricity tearing through his veins, of green light burning, and freezing, and tearing him apart, and pulling him back together, threatened to take over his mind. He shook his head. "The portal hurt me, really badly. And now weird stuff that I don't understand and can't control is happening to me. And it's not getting any better."

"But it's already gotten better." Sam stated. "You haven't...changed into that ghost version of yourself since right after the accident, right?"

Danny bit his lip, now nervous. "Yeah." He lied.

"And you've managed to not start floating or turn invisible in front of people." Danny nodded, then Sam continued. "So that means you can control this."

The black-haired boy vigorously shook his head. "I...I don't want to have to. I just...just want this...this sickness, this infection gone. I can't eat or sleep. I always feel like I'm gonna throw up, I'm so..so worried. It's only a matter of time before everyone sees what a freak I am." He hatefully spit out the word freak as his eyes started to water.

Tucker and Sam remained silent for several moments. Then Sam gently put her hand on his. "You're not a freak, Danny. You're just ...different. Are you sure that's a bad thing?"

Danny shook his head again. "I just want to be normal."

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other for a second and then turned back to Danny but all three remained silent. Just then a tear leaked from Danny's eye. He quickly wiped his face trying to cover it up. Body flickering invisible, he scrambled up. "I have to go."

"Bye." "See ya." The pair uttered as Danny ran off without looking back.

Finally home, Danny slammed the door to his room, just as his body flickered intangible again. His shaking hand passed through the doorknob. With shaky breath, the boy slid down the door and onto the floor. He hated running out on his friends like that. But he'd felt his symptoms coming on and didn't want them to see what he feared would come next.

Suddenly, the ball of cold that had lodged itself in his chest since the accident lashed out. No! No! No! He tried to push it down, to suppress it but the cold grew, spread, and threatened to consume him. Danny bit back a shriek as the cold light manifested around his waist. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look. Seconds later, the light passed his eyes, stealing his breath. He stayed there, frozen, praying that what he just thought happened didn't. But there was no denying it- the arctic chill, the weightlessness, the subtle buzz of energy. It'd happened again; he turned into a…

Danny's eyes snapped open as the thought he couldn't ever bare to think cut off. He quickly surveyed the room, then flinched as he noticed reflected neon green light. Dread grew in his stomach at the sight. With little thought, the boy floated (floated!) to his feet. He made his way to the mirror hanging on his closet door. Biting his lip, Danny slowly met the eyes of the figure in the mirror. Glowing, other-wordly green eyes. The light swirled like his parent's ghost portal downstairs. Danny blinked and the figure copied the action. It was his reflection but those weren't his eyes. His eyes weren't inhumanly deep. They didn't glow with eerie, mesmerizing light. His eyes were icy blue, the same color as his father's. They were completely human, not ghostly...not the eyes of a monster.

But those were his eyes. He studied the rest of the reflection- spectral glow, snowy white hair, inhumanly pale skin, color-inverted black and white jumpsuit. Of all the weird things that had happened to him since the accident, this, this was the worst part, the absolute worst part, when he turned into a ghost. No, he shook his head; he didn't 'turn into a ghost' he just looked like one. There was no way he was a ghost, some inhuman creature that had parents hunted. No he was just...sick, diseased, contaminated.

He'd hoped and prayed that this sickness would go away but even when he was himself, Danny could still feel it under his skin, running through his veins, in his chest. The infection was always there, pulsing and waiting to overtake him. And the boy was terrified that one day it would. He already sometimes wanted to do things, not human things. He wanted to jump into the air and never come down. At night, he wanted to sneak out and invisibly stalk around town. And sometimes he wanted to use his powers, no no his symptoms to get back on his bullies at school. He was terrified that he would turn into an evil, soulless ghost like the ones his parents told him stories about as a kid. One who forgot about his human life and just single-mindedly pursued his twisted obsession (not that he had any idea what that would be).

The boy shook his head again, hating that his heart which should be racing with anxiety was barely beating. He glanced back at his eerie reflection. He hated that Sam and Tucker even saw this at all but he never wanted them to see it again. That's why he lied to them; he didn't want his friends to see the monster he was hiding just under his frail attempts at normalcy.

Taking a deep but thoroughly unsatisfying breath, Danny pushed those thoughts away. Mentally, he reached for the little warm spot in his chest. Coaxing it with gritted teeth, the boy finally sighed in relief as he felt the warmth spread. The white light sparked again and seconds later, Danny stood in front of the mirror, warm, heavy, and completely normal looking. The boy ran his hands through his hair, though his wrinkled his nose at the still lingering cold.

But that would be gone soon and all of this would be over after he told his parents. It was his parents' machine that poisoned him. But if his parents had done this to him, then they could find a way to fix him.

The next morning, Danny sat at the kitchen table with Jazz, silently stirring his cereal. He bit his lip, debating how to break the subject of his ghostly symptoms to his parents. While his dad was happily preparing his toast, the door to the lab opened and Danny's mom walked through holding some metallic gadget. Pulling her hood down and her goggles off, she proudly placed it on the table. "Two more days, and it's done."

At her proclamation, Dad turned around. "It's done!"

The man scooped up the device while the other adult frowned. "No Honey."

Her correction was cut off by an electronic voice from the machine. "Welcome to the Fenton Finder."

Dad beamed, showing off the device to the kids. "This baby uses radio waves to track ghosts!"

Danny paled. "It uses what to track what?" For some reason, he felt nervous but there was no reason to be right? (He wasn't a ghost, no. Nope, no way)

Instead of answering, Dad focused enraptured on the screen. The device beeped and the electronic voice declared. " There is a ghost in five feet."

A curious and excited look passed over Dad's face as he studied the display. With Mom following close behind, the father walked forward following the beeping from the machine. Danny tensed as his parents approached. Without thinking, the boy scrambled out of his chair until he backed up against the wall.

"That can't be right." His Dad muttered, still looking down as Danny's mom gave the Fenton Finder a questioning look.

Meanwhile Danny felt a surge of cold from his chest. No! Not now! Suddenly, the cold flowed through his veins as his body disappeared. Glancing down at himself, his eyes widened in fear. He held his breath, mentally begging his body to turn visible again. With a tingle, the cold receded as his body reappeared. Danny sighed in relief but then felt a surge of panic. His parents were right in front of him. What if they saw?! Sure, he was going to tell them but not like this!

Danny then glanced up to find his parents still staring at their invention. They...hadn't noticed? He didn't know whether he was relieved or disappointed. No, this was a good thing. This was his chance. He gulped, gathering his courage. "Actually...I need to tell you guys something."

His mother finally looked up at the statement, face turning serious noticing his tone. "What is it sweetie?"

Danny bit his lip. Deciding to approach this slowly, he answered. "I've been having some...symptoms since the accident in the basement. I thought the stuff would go away by itself eventually but it keeps happening and I don't know what to do."

His mom frowned. "Why didn't you tell us earlier? At the hospital, they said you might have issues with your heart from being electrocuted. Are you feeling fatigued, out of breath, having any irregular heartbeat?"

Danny shook his head, somewhat surprised at her assumption. But then again, why would she think he had ghost powers because of the portal? No, not powers, symptoms. "No, what's been happening with me has been...weirder."

"What is it, Danno?" His dad asked, smiling comfortingly. "Whatever's happening, you can tell us and we can take you to the doctor to figure out what's going on."

"No...uhhh." The boy rubbed the back of his neck and then exhaled. "What's happening to be has been...ghostly." He cringed at the word as his parent's eyebrows rose. "I...I keep turning invisible and things literally fall through my hands sometimes. And I keep waking up floating above or under my bed, like I fell through it."

His mom tilted her head, brows furrowed in concern. "Danny sweetie, that's…"

"Ridiculous!" Jazz who had been listening silently to the conversation before then interjected. "I can't believe this! Your ghost obsession has polluted his mind so much, he believes it."

Ignoring Jazz's statement, Jack interjected. "A ghost from the portal must be messing with you, son. Everyone knows people can't have ghost powers."

"But!" Danny tried to argue.

Then Jazz raised her hands. "Are you serious?! He's probably having hallucinations. Head trauma from the accident caused by your invention and the psychological damage of living with your ghost nonsense are making him see and feel things that aren't there!"

"No! The stuff that's happening to me is real!" The boy yelled.

"Nothing's happening to you sweet heart." His mother responded comfortingly. "These probably are hallucinations. Jack, have we ever tested if high ectoplasmic contamination can cause hallucinations?"

"But it's probably a ghost messing with our boy, Madds."

"I can't believe you too! Ghosts aren't real!" Jazz shook her head furiously.

"But!" Danny tried to interject again.

As the conversation dissolved into an argument, Danny's head started spinning. They...they weren't listening. They didn't believe him.

"I'm telling you! There's a ghost messing with Danny!"

No there wasn't. It was only his own stupid body betraying him. The boy's hands started shaking.

"He's fallened for your stupid obession! Or he's using it to actually get your attention for once!"

"What's that supposed to mean young lady?"

The three started to argue furiously, ignoring the teenager as his panic quickly increased. They didn't believe him. They weren't going to help him and now they were mad.

"You two are always down there with that stupid portal thing! And won't pay any attention to us. No wonder Danny's doing this! Thinking you'll maybe pay attention if it has something to do with ghosts!"

Ghosts, ghosts. It was always about stupid ghosts. And now he was one. No, now he wasn't a ghost. He wasn't. Ironically he wanted to disappear, to sink through the floor, hide in the darkest corner, fly until he was miles away. Panting breath exited Danny's mouth. Was...was he falling?

With a startled yell, Danny found himself phased halfway into the floor.

And then, the eyes of his parents and sister fell on him, their jaws dropping as they took in the wavering transparency of his lower half and his legs phased into the floor.

Choking out a sob, Danny cried. "Help me! Please! Make it stop!"

Needless to say, seeing Danny phased through the floor quickly convinced everyone, even Jazz that what was happening to him was very much real. And after an initial freak out (and once Jack realized there was no ghost invisibility following his son and using its powers on him), both parents reacted fairly well.

"Can you guys figure out how to cure me?" Danny asked his parents after a lengthy discussion about what had been happening to him since the accident (that is minus one little, tiny, in no way significant detail).

The two parents looked between themselves, worriedly. Then Danny's mom took his hand. "I promise your father and I will try our hardest to figure out how this is happening to you and to make it stop."

"We'll figure this out Danny-boy." His father gave him a comforting smile.

The boy nodded. "Thanks Mom and Dad."

Glancing at the clock, Mom stated. "School's already started. Jazz, I'll write you a note explaining why you're late. And Danny, you're staying home so we can get some blood and hair samples from you and start figuring out how to get rid of your… symptoms." Seeing how Danny wrung his hands nervously at the thought of having his blood drawn, she continued gently. "I promise we'll be gentle Danny. We wouldn't do anything you aren't comfortable with."

So then Jazz headed to school while Danny stayed at home with his parents.

After a day of having samples taken and helping in the lab, Sam and Tucker knocked on the door to Fentonworks.

"Hey guys." Danny greeted them as they started up the stairs into his room.

While Tucker carefully avoided his eyes, Sam crossed her arms. "You weren't in school today."

"Yeah." Danny shrugged. "I told Mom and Dad this morning and I've been helping them find some way to cure me." He ended the statement with a small smile; he definitely felt better after coming clean to his parents.

Sam studied his face for a moment and then shook her head. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes." Danny answered, voice completely confident.

"I...I just don't want you to only be doing this because you're afraid." The sincerity and lack of confidence in his female friend's voice invoked a small ball of worry in Danny's gut.

"That's not what I'm doing." Danny replied, though his voice was unsure. It was true, right? He wasn't doing this just because he was scared. Yeah, he was scared but that wasn't just it.

Before he could think on it anymore, Tucker interjected. "We just wanted to say. Danny, no matter what you decide to do Sam and I will support you. We're your friends and will always have your back."

Danny smiled at his friend's kind words. "Thanks guys. I promise after this everything will be back to normal."

After two long days of waiting for his parents to finish their invention, Danny stood in the lab nervously studying a silver and neon green dream catcher.

"This is the Fenton Ghost Catcher." Dad proudly proclaimed.

Danny's frown deepened as his mom shook her head. "It's not designed to catch ghosts per say, though it could do that. It expunges ectoplasmic contamination." At Danny's confused and slightly nervous look, she clarified. "You have a lot of ectoplasm in your body, much higher than normal, even compared to your father and I who work with ectoplasm constantly. And that's what was causing your symptoms." She motioned to the device. "The 'mesh' is a grid of ectoplasm repellent material which normal matter passes through harmlessly. It will draw the ectoplasm out of you."

"And no ectoplasm means no symptoms?" Danny asked tentatively.

"Yes, son. You'll be right as rain in no time." His dad replied confidently.

"And you're sure it will work?" Danny asked, wringing his hands.

Dad answered proudly. "Of course. It will."

His mom smiled at him. "We tested it on the samples you gave us. Between that, what you told us, and the other data we collected, your father and I are sure it will work and with no side effects. So there's nothing to worry about. We thought of everything."

The boy focused on the device again, the worry still worming through his gut. Part of him still doubted this would work. It couldn't be that easy, right? Just go through the Ghost Catcher, and bam, back to normal like nothing ever happened. Could it really purge him of the ghostliness haunting him with no other effects? Especially when he hadn't told them everything.

Guilt knotted in the boy's gut. He hadn't told his parents about his...other appearance, about how he could turn into a ghost. Like with Sam and Tucker, he didn't want them to see him like that, to really see the monster, the freak he was. They would never look at him the same, even if the invention worked and that other appearance was gone. Plus they didn't need to see it, right? They had managed to figure out how to fix him anyway. And his freaky other form would be gone soon so they would never have to know.

Danny shook his head, trying to clear the thought. But he still didn't really feel confident."It's not going to hurt, right?"

"Of course not!...Probably." Dad answered unhelpfully.

The teenager paled. "Probably?!"

"Jack!" At the same time, the woman rebuked the other scientist and then put her arm around her son. "Sweetie, everything is going to be fine. It's not going to hurt and everything will be back to normal before you know it." Mom then stepped away. "Are you ready, sweetie?"

Walking forward, Danny held his arm in front of him until his palm sat inches from the mess. As he approached, he felt the cold flitter in his chest, the energy swirling through his veins. It almost felt like it was..trying to get away? Like it was repulsed by the mesh. The feeling sent dread through his chest. It felt...wrong. He froze, part of him wanting to get as far away from the device as possible. Did...did he still want to do this? The thought that something would go wrong if he did trickled through his mind.

"Are you alright, son?"

Was he...was he alright? Danny turned to his now worried looking parents, his own brow furrowed in confusion. What had he just been doing? Of course, he wanted to do this!

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

With a nod, his Dad picked up the Ghost Catcher. "I'm just going to pass this over you and that will be it."

Danny braced himself. One last thought- of how he'd finally be normal again, like he wanted-pass through his mind before burn, splitting pain and everything went black.

The boy's eyes blinked open as he heard something hit the floor.

"Ghost!" The large, orange clad man bellowed. The smaller, blue clad woman heaved a large silver and green device, pointing it at the figure as her shocked expression turned to anger.

Danger! The boy's mind screamed at the action. Without another thought, he fled hearing one of the adults yell something, a name, before he passed up through the ceiling. Flying without thought of where he was going, the boy suddenly stopped, finding himself floating above what looked like a park, the playground and nearby woods abandoned and barely lit.

Wait! Floating! How was he floating?! He looked down at himself, his eyes focusing on his white gloves. He hadn't been wearing gloves earlier, had he? Yeah, he'd been wearing his favorite shirt and jeans, but now he was in a black and white suit...like the ones the two adults from earlier had been wearing.

Mom and Dad, the information drifted across his mind. His parents! How had he forgotten that? But they'd yelled at him. Mom had pointed a gun at him as he left. Why...why would they do that? And….they'd shouted a name as he flew away. Danny, that's what they had said. That was his name, Danny! And he'd forgotten that too!

But…. Mom and Dad hadn't been directing the name at him but at something behind him. He hadn't seen it before he flew away. Danny quickly spun around, mouth falling open. He was still floating, still flying. How was he doing this?!

And then he remembered, earlier. Before the pain, before he ran. He remembered seeing himself in the bathroom mirror after...the accident, glowing with a black and white suit on…. And floating like he was now. A few strands of white hair entered his peripheral vision. White, like in the mirror before. He had thought he was a ghost back then, earlier, but he'd turned back into himself. All he needed to do was find the spark of warmth in his chest, near where his heart beat.

Danny mentally searched ...and there was nothing. There was nothing!? No warmth, no heartbeat, and...and he wasn't breathing. When had he stopped breathing?! He felt from the warm again, mentally prodding his chest. No! No NO! Where was it?!

A white ring of light formed around his waist. Yes! Earlier, that had happened before he turned back into himself. But ...the light fizzled out. He tried again but it fizzled out. A third time, and nothing!

No! No NO! This was not happening! It couldn't...he wasn't...No.

I'm a ghost. The thought passed through his mind softly, slowly, quietly. Danny shook his head, denying it. But he knew it was true. Like how he knew his name was Danny, it was just...there.

He was a ghost, a real, proper, actually ghost. Meaning….he was dead. He'd died. His..his parent's machine, it had killed him, completely this time. He was dead, a freak. His own parents hadn't recognized him. They hated him and now he couldn't go home.

At the thought, the ghost (because there was no denying what he was, not any more) wept.

"Danny!"

The boy's eyes blinked open. Why...was he on the floor of the lab? He squinted at the bright lights. And why did his head hurt?

"Danny! Can you hear me?! Say something sweetie!"

His eyes finally focused on the figure in front of him. Red hair, a blue jumpsuit, his mom. The boy reached out hand up to rub his head. "Ow"

At the muttered word, his mom's eyes lit up as she threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry baby! Are you okay?"

Danny hugged her back, nose wrinkled in confusion. "What happened? I remember walking down into the lab and then…" He trailed off.

His mom's own brow furrowed in confusion but she remained silent. Danny's eyes then focused on his dad, whose mouth was pinched shut in anger. "That ghost tricked us!"

Danny paled. What...how? Did they find out? "What...what ghost?"

Obviously gauging his reaction as fear of the 'ghost' and not nervousness of his parent's discovery, his mom rubbed his back. "It's okay, Danny. We wouldn't let it get you again."

Danny gapped. "What?"

"You were being overshadowed the whole time!" His father exclaimed. "The stupid ghost was using you as a meat puppet! Probably since the accident!"

"Uhhh...overshadowing? Meat puppet?...what...what are you talking about?" Danny stuttered.

His mom frowned and then her eyes widened in realization. "Of course you don't remember. Overshadowing is when a ghost...takes over someone's body. The victim can't control what they do and doesn't remember what happened to them." She then paled. "Oh, Danny. That ghost, it had you for a month. A month and we didn't notice! And you probably don't remember much since the accident, do you?"

Danny stared at her. Did he remember? His mind swirled with the onslaught of information. The boy shook his head. At the same time, his dad kneeled down beside his mom. "We are so proud of you son." He smiled gently. "You managed to break free long enough to tell us what was happening. Said you were having weird, ghostly symptoms but I guess the ghost wouldn't let you tell us the truth, huhhh?"

That...didn't sound right. "I don't ...uhhh….that's...I don't remember."

His mom put her hand on his arm. "It's alright baby. You don't have to talk. You've been through a lot. Let's make sure you're not hurt and get you to bed, okay?"

Danny nodded again as his parents gently helped him up. They quickly checked him for injuries while Danny furiously tried to remember what happened. He remembered telling his parents about his symptoms and getting them to cure him. He remembered staring at the Ghost Catcher, horrible pain. And then he woke up on the floor. Huh, so much for it not hurting.

"Come on, sweetie." His mom led him up the stairs. "Get some sleep. We will talk about everything in the morning."

Robotically, Danny laid down on his bed. As the door closed, he heard his parents urgently chatting behind the door, a few words drifting through the door.

"Capture...ghosts ...pay...that monster…" "How...Jack...danger...protect...kids?"

He stared at the ceiling, mind spinning. Mom and Dad said he shouldn't remember what happened while he was overshadowed...but he did for some reason. And he hadn't felt like someone else was controlling his actions. So then why did his parents think they saw a ghost? What did this all mean?

Danny also absently noted that the cold that had lodged itself in his chest for the past month was gone. He mentally prodded the area, but nothing. He even tried to trigger the weird symptoms but nothing happened. If fact, he hadn't turned invisible or intangible since he woke up in the lab. And instead of feeling happy or relieved, he felt...sad. A tiny ball of dread lodged itself in his gut. He...he missed whatever he had felt before. It was like...something was missing. Suddenly, a sob escaped his lips. He...he was crying. Why? Another sob passed and tears started streaming. Why...why did he suddenly feel devastated, like his life fell apart? He wanted to go home. But…. he was home. What?

Trying to quiet the sobs, Danny cried himself to sleep.

At some point, Danny the ghost cried himself dry. He focused on his shaking hands. How did this happen to him? Why….why did he go in that stupid portal?! Why didn't his parent's stupid ghost catcher not work? It was supposed to cure him! Not turn him into a ghost permanently! He was supposed to be a normal human boy, not this...this freak, this monster. He wasn't supposed to be a ghost! He was supposed to be normal. He wasn't supposed to be dead!

Danny shook his head. Dead, he was dead. And...somewhere at home was his body. Were his parents crying over it right now, thinking he was gone? Were they mourning him? Would his sister find out after she got back from the library, his friends tomorrow? Oh god, his life was over. He'd never get to say goodbye, never get to go on his first date or have his first kiss. He'd never graduate. Never get a job, or get married. Or have kids. He'd never get to grow up.

But...but he didn't feel dead. No he couldn't be dead. He didn't feel all that different from normal. He...he needed to see it, his body. If he saw himself, laying at home dead, then maybe he could figure this out, figure out what to do next. Maybe he could move on.

So the ghost flew across town until he came to Fentonworks, his home. He bit his lip, terrified of what he would find and how his parents might react if they saw him. His whole body shook as he approached.

Then he paused, outside his window. He sensed ...something, coming from his room. Danny phased through the window and froze, eyes widening. There in his bed was...himself, his body. Had...had Mom and Dad just left his….his corpse up here, in his room? He frowned. He...it looked so peaceful like he...it was asleep. Danny floated forwards until he was a foot away. He heard something. Was...was that breath? He focused on the body's chest. It was rising and falling, like breathing in sleep. The ghost leaned closer. And he could hear a steady heartbeat in the chest.

He...he was alive. How?! How was his body alive? Was he in a coma or something? And this was some kind of out of body experience? Yeah, yes! That was it. Incredible joy flowed through Danny. He wasn't too late! He had a chance, he could grow up, be human, normal. The ghost floated directly over his body. But how did he get back in...there, where he belonged?

And then the body's eyes opened and it shot up into a sitting position. Startled, the ghost turned invisible and intangible, backing away. Then joy turned to horror.

"Hello? Is someone there?" It, the body, spoke. The head turned from side to side, intelligent eyes searching the room. "Hello?" Came a last whisper before the body laid back down and fell instantly asleep.

Danny the ghost shook in fear as he fled again. Oh, god. There was someone in his body. And it wasn't him! There was someone in his bed, his house! How...how. Terror surged through the ghost. His chest heaved though he didn't need to breathe. No! No! NO! What the hell was that? What the freaking, hell, oh god! His mind spilled every curse he knew and then some.

He stopped in the park again, crashing into a tree. Doubling over, the ghost felt like he was going to throw up but nothing came up. He...he couldn't even feel his stomach heaving.

Impostor! There was an impostor in his bed! His mind raced and then crashed to a halt.

Wait...wait...wait...wait...wait.

How...how was someone, not him in his body? It...it wasn't a ghost. He knew that instinctively. So what...who?

Then a horrible, awefull, terrifying, horrifying thought entered his mind.

Danny...Danny Fenton was in his bed at home. That...that wasn't his body. He...he was the impostor. The ghost was the impostor, not the boy in bed. Mom and Dad ...the Fentons said ghosts were evil. They were tricky, sneaky, selfish. They only looked out for themselves, confusing and distressing the living. And could even trick and confuse themselves.

And Danny...no...the ghost…the phantom...he was an impostor, he...wasn't real, a confused post human consciousness imprinted in ectoplasm (that's what Mom...Maddie always said, right?)

If Danny Fenton was asleep in his bed, then who (or what) was Phantom?