This was written for Ecto-implosion in 2023!

Besides being written based off the awesome art by MysteryHat21art , this was also heavily inspired by Mirrond's When Reason Fails with the eldritch nature and humor part, and Aniura's Just Fourteen. Mirrond's fic is amazing, and Aniura going deep into the period between the accident and the first episode made me want to go deeper into some aspects of DP as well.

There wasn't much light down here. The only source of lumination came from up above the stairs beaming down into the dark room. The beam of light only gave a narrow glimpse into the room, leaving more questions than answers. Desks and bookshelves were spread out all across the room, each of them were totally covered in books and tomes that left very little room for the papers that were crammed between them. Footsteps echoed as bodies cast long shadows that grew shorter as their owners creeped down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, a voice called out, "I told you guys, there's not much down here."

A light switch was flipped, turning on several fluorescent lights and revealing everything. It also temporarily blinded two of the people down there. "Danny, dude! A little warning!"

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Tucker," he said meekly.

Their other companion reached over and smacked him on the arm. "I deserve an apology too!" she half-shouted. "I was just fine with the light off."

"Sorry, Sam," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure you were able to get a good look at the nothing down here with no lights on."

Sam scoffed and stepped around Danny. "I wouldn't call this nothing. This is all really cool. How old are some of these books?"

"Old, like…. really old," Danny said, shrugging. "Like, some of the books are supposedly in English, but I can't understand them at all."

"There's no way. Your parents have books in Old English in here?" Sam said, just shy of running over to the bookshelves. "And they're all about ghosts and spirits?"

"I mean… in theory?" Danny said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's not like I understand them."

Tucker ruffled Danny's hair as he passed by before his hand ran down to Danny's face and he pushed him back towards the stairs. "Dude, this lab is like… I dunno, some kind of modern wizard's tower, like from DOOMED. It is pretty cool."

Danny hummed as he looked over the lab. "I mean… Huh, I guess that's actually pretty accurate…" Tucker turned to look back at Danny with a raised eyebrow as Danny continued, "That is kinda cool."

Sam gently pulled a book from a shelf. "This is all so cool, it's too bad it's not real." Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. But the air was still down here. Her voice carried over the lab clearly.

Danny looked at her strangely. "But it is?" His two friends turned toward him with skeptical looks, but Danny continued confidently. "Like, I don't know about all of it, but there's definitely something to what they've been researching."

Sam hummed. "Well, I mean, we do know that a little bit. Silver is a natural antimicrobial which is why it got its reputation." She turned to face Danny, keeping the book close to her chest.

Danny waved his hand around the air, the motion disturbing the dust on the nearby shelves. "No, no, I mean, they've got something strange." Sam raised her eyebrows again, and Danny turned toward Tucker. "Like, dude, you know my parents are inventors right? They have something like 200 patents?"

Tucker's brow furrowed as his lips pursed. "Well, yeah, I know that part."

Danny held his arms out, indicating the entirety of the room. "Where do you think they get their ideas?"

The room was silent at his declaration. Slowly, his hands dropped to his side as he took in the astonished and incredulous faces of his friends.

Then Tucker uttered, "What the fuck? Are you messing with us?"

Danny folded his arms and scoffed looking away. "No, I'm serious. They have a whole system. They try spells and whatnot, then once they figure out how to do it arcanely, they try to replicate it with science." Danny shrugged as he walked over to one of the desks. He shuffled the papers around before finding a small silver device. He held it out and an image of a bed sheet ghost floated above it. "They say magic is frustrating and inaccurate, science is understandable and repeatable."

"Okay, so they made a cool hologram," Tucker said, taking the device out of Danny's hands. He pointed it at Danny, making the ghost hover in front of his face. "I still don't believe in magic." Tucker fiddled with the device. "This is pretty cool though, I don't see how it's supposed to be charged but-"

Sam reached over and pulled on Tucker's sleeve. "Tucker…" she whispered.

"Hm?" Tucker tore his attention away from the device to look up at Sam. He followed her gaze back toward Danny, who was looking quite smug as he held a candle up. The candle appeared to be unlit, but that was because the flame was floating an inch above the wick in the shape of a bedsheet ghost.

The device clattered to the floor.

Sam was the one who recovered first. "You're telling me, magic is real?"

Danny blew out the candle and put it back on the desk. "I mean, some of it. Certainly not much, but there's some that is. That's what my parents spend their time trying to find out." He shoved the papers to one side of the desk and then sat down on it. He put his elbows on his knees, before leaning forward. "I don't think there's anything out there that lets you… I dunno? Shoot a fireball? Walk through walls? Disappear? Fly? Yeah, there's probably nothing like that - actually wait, I think my parents have a patent for a hovercraft, so… maybe?"

"Holy shit…" Sam laughed at the same time as Tucker. "Do you think they'd take me as an intern? I hate capitalism, but I might be willing to compromise for learning actual magic." She looked about the room in wonder before turning toward a part of the room. "What's that?" she asked as she walked over.

"Oh, that. It's their pride and joy project," Danny said, walking over to stand by Sam. "It's… I'm honestly not sure? Like, they did tell me about it, but you know what scrying is? Where you look into a crystal ball and then you can see far away? I think it's like that." Danny shrugged and continued on to stand by the project.

It was like a cavernous maw gaping out of the wall. Several large bolts of metal larger than a man's torso were stamped into the wall almost like they were holding it open. Its diameter was taller than Danny by more than half of him. His whole person was swallowed up compared to it. He patted the edges of the opening, the sound of his flesh hitting metal echoed in the room. "They've been trying to get this work for like… twenty years? I think?"

Sam walked over, but kept a distance between herself and the gaping hole in the wall. "So this is like the ultimate spying device?" she asked, apprehensive. Her lips were pulled into an expression of clear distaste, but there was also a shine of curiosity in her eyes.

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "I… actually don't think so? They start talking a LOT about quantum mechanics and the many worlds theory." Danny looked her in the eyes. "I think it's meant to see other dimensions."

Tucker took a step forward. "Dude… look, okay, I understand what you're saying, magic is real and all, but you're telling me other dimensions are too?"

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh… yeah? Sorry, I know it's a lot to take in. There's a reason why I haven't brought you guys down here before."

Tucker held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I mean, I'm gonna need a lot more proof before I start believing in magic, but I'm not dismissing you out right." His hands dropped to his side and he chuckled. "I know you're a terrible liar, and you've always been cagey about what your parents do as a job."

Danny sighed. "I know, I know. Honestly… I'd never have taken you guys down here if you guys weren't being so insistent on it."

Sam laughed and squeezed the book tightly to her chest. "I mean, now I'm just mad I didn't do this sooner. This is so cool?" She hummed looking at Danny and then back up to the top of the gaping maw. "Just how big is this thing anyways?"

Danny took a step deeper into the opening. "Well, if it helps, it's not that deep. They're using some paint to make the back solid black. See?" he said, slamming his hand against the wall.

Clack.

"Ow!" Danny gasped. A metal plate out of place scraped against more metal as he accidentally slammed it into place. He pulled his hand away, some blood dripping down from the metal that had pinched the palm of his hand. "Jeez, am I bleeding?"

The air in the room suddenly began to change. Not only was it no longer still, but there was a tinge of something in it. Tucker thought it vaguely smelled of ozone, and Sam believed it was something like incense. Then the edges of the portal began to glow, casting Danny in a strange ethereal light. It seemed like the rest of the room grew darker as the area around Danny grew brighter with a greenish tinge washing over him.

"What the-?" Danny started, just before all his senses were overwhelmed with pain. He was only able to scream for about a second, before he knew no more.

Sam walked across the hallway of her school. She reached up to touch Danny, but even before her hand got anywhere near him, he whirled on her. She jumped back, feeling like something passed through her. A chill sensation that tickled her flesh and left her feeling empty inside. Danny put a hand to his chest. "Sorry about that, you startled me."

Sam was mirroring his stance, trying to get her heart to calm down. "You startled me!"

Danny looked back and forth, as if they had any privacy in this god forsaken place. Seeing as people were nearby, but focused on their own endeavors, he just spoke quietly. "Ever since… ya know… It's like…" He frowned and chewed on his lip. He looked back and forth again, then spoke even lower. "I sometimes don't feel like I'm in my own skin. Like I'm just outside of it, looking over me." He looked her in the eyes and said, "That's why you startled me, I felt you touch me."

Sam wetted her lips and tore her eyes away from Danny's. It was hard to think when he focused so intently on her like that. His eyes had always been striking, but now it seemed like they were such an icy blue.

She squeezed her hands at the side. She didn't want to be thinking of that right now. Especially not after…

Sam chewed on her lip as she processed what he was saying. The device that Danny had inadvertently turned on was meant to see other dimensions, and she saw exactly what it had done to him. She met his eyes and matched his tone, "The multiple worlds thing?"

Danny pursed his lips and frowned. "Maybe," he muttered, though he sounded very unconvinced. The warning bell cut through their conversation like a sharp knife, and the two of them winced at the volume. Danny turned and reached for his lock, missing by a foot. He muttered a curse before throwing his hand the rest of the distance and quickly undoing it. He began to unload his backpack in the locker, but he dropped it far from the hook.

Danny growled, and Sam felt a shiver run up her spine. She shook it off as he got his backpack where it was supposed to be before turning towards her. "Sorry, that's part of what I've been talking about. It feels like I'm always just a bit behind me, or a bit in front of me."

"Have you told your parents?"

Danny shook his head. "Not yet, they've got so much on their plate right now."

"Danny, this sounds serious!"

"They can't turn the device off, Sam," Danny said, looking at her as they walked. "They've cut the power. There's no electricity running to it, but it's still spinning." Danny let out a breath. "They think this portal thing is self-sustaining. I'm not gonna interrupt them right now."

"Danny…"

"Sam, I really want that thing closed. It's… creepy." Danny huffed. "Like, the house is colder now. It's not really, like our heater is on, and the air itself is warm, but the walls? The floors? They all feel 10 degrees colder. And when I'm lying in bed? I think I can feel the house shaking a little."

Sam frowned. "If it's that bad, why are you guys still there?"

"Sam, it's been a couple months. We can't just live in a hotel while it takes them who knows how long to fix this." Danny sighed. "Jazz is trying to convince Mom and Dad that she should leave us with my aunt Alicia all the way out in the middle of nowhere Arkansas, but I've been telling them I don't want to miss school."

Sam grabbed Danny's elbow and turned him towards her. "But, why? Danny, you shouldn't be near that thing!" She tried not to hiss, she really did, but she was worried. That thing, it had-

"Because I want to be with you?" Danny stated. Sam felt her throat close up as she processed that statement. It felt like the world had stopped entirely. Then Danny continued, "And Tucker too, obviously."

Sam let out a small breath. That's what he had meant. She thought he had-

"Uh, Sam?" Danny said, looking down at her hand. "We need to get to class?"

Sam pulled her hand away like she had been shocked. "Oh, right, sorry." She ran her hand through her hair, pulling it behind her ear. "I'll see you at lunch?"

Danny waved as he walked backwards away from her. "See you at lunch!"

Waiting for lunch to come wasn't a simple task. Each class period seemed to go longer and longer, and Sam lost more and more of her ability to focus. By the last period before lunch, Sam's brain was already fried. She stared at the blackboard with unseeing eyes. Her mind was a good eighteen miles away, stuck in Danny's basement. Their teacher's voice was a constant drone that went in one ear and out another. It did nothing to hold Sam's attention and pull her into the present.

What did was when a paper was handed back to her. "Wha-?" She got out before realizing what was happening. Mechanically, she took the stack of papers and handed them to the student behind them. One she kept for herself and she looked at it. It was a project assignment, titled, "What can I do to make my community better?"

Sam let out a slow breath as she read the rubric. She was required to do a presentation by the end of this week, and there was an extra credit option if it was a good enough idea to share with all the faculty, and an additional extra credit if the school implemented the change.

She let out a breath. That, that was easy. She could do that. She could easily come up with several ideas off the top of her head. The fact that she knew what to do already eased the weight on her shoulders. It was like she could feel some dread slip off her like sludge. The relief, that she didn't even know she needed, made tears prickle in her eyes, and she had to close them to get her breathing under control, lest she start sobbing in the middle of class.

She could wait till she got into bed tonight.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Her teacher called something out, probably about the project, but Sam didn't care right now. She swept her hand across her desk, dumping the contents into her bag before jumping out of her desk and out the door.

It didn't take her long to power walk to her locker, but she hesitated before opening it. It took her much longer to open her locker when she kept stopping to look up to see if Danny was coming around the corner. But despite her hesitation, he didn't show up before she got her lock off. She grabbed a lunch box out of her locker before jogging over to the cafeteria. Maybe he had just gone straight to the cafeteria.

No such luck.

Sighing, Sam sat down at a table, and started unpacking her lunch box. She did so slowly, watching the entrances to see if Danny had come in yet. It was ten minutes into the next period that Danny eventually meandered in, Tucker following close by.

Sam waved at them, and Tucker waved back. Before pushing Danny in her direction. Sam frowned as she realized that Tucker wasn't just following Danny, but guiding him with gentle adjustments to his back.

"Is… everything okay?" she asked as they sat down.

Danny groaned and placed his head against the table. Sam felt her throat close up as he laid there, face down into the ground, like when he fell out of the portal. He turned his head to the side to look at her, and Sam let go of the breath she was holding. "You remember what I was talking about this morning? About like… being outside my skin?" Sam nodded while he continued, "Well, we had chemistry today, and we were handling glass."

Tucker reached over and rubbed the back of Danny's head. "Danny here dropped eight beakers before the teacher cut him off. Danny's gotta take it over again after school today." Tucker patted Danny a couple times before opening his own lunch.

It was ribs.

Tucker laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Oh, baby, I've been waiting for this."

Sam looked at the flesh in front of her for only a second, before she looked away. "Tucker…"

Tucker looked up. "What?" he asked, even as he reached for the body part.

"Can you… can you please not eat that?" Sam squeaked out, it felt like if she opened her mouth any further she'd vomit. Her stomach churned as she pictured the animal being led into the building, not knowing what was about to happen to it.

"Wha- WHY?" Tucker half-shouted, leaning back before leaning forward again. "Seriously, I've been waiting for this all this morning! My mom was making this in the stock pot yesterday, and this morning when I came back down into the kitchen I could still smell it all cooking-"

"I'm going vegan!" Sam shouted, interrupting him. "I'm… I'm going vegan," she said, this time much quieter. "And… it's bothering me right now. I'm sorry."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Is this another social justice thing?" he said, carefully wrapping his food up. "Alright, alright. I don't mind taking this somewhere more… intimate."

"Gross, Tucker." Danny said, though his shoulders were shaking with concealed laughter.

"You're just jealous," Tucker said, picking up his food. "I'll be back in five minutes. But if I'm not, don't open the door if my beret's still on the door handle."

"We get it, Tucker, you love your food," Danny said, rolling his eyes. Danny sat up as Tucker left. He opened his lunchbox and grimaced. "Uh… Sam? I got a ham and cheese, you want me to-"

"No," Sam said, shaking her head emphatically. Danny raised an eyebrow at that, before glancing at Tucker's retreating back. Sam swallowed before turning and facing him. "Danny… you fell out of that thing, and you weren't breathing. I can deal with a ham and cheese sandwich but not…"

"Tucker and his meat eating?"

"Right."

"Completely understood." Danny pulled out an apple. Sam was thankful as he took a bite of it, even if he did continue to talk with his mouth full. "He's… uh… he's intense with his meat eating."

Sam looked down at her lunch. "Don't I know it." And she slowly began to pick at it. She tried to focus on the meal, what she was eating, but it all tasted like ash in her mouth. So instead she tried to focus on tasks, what she needed to do. When something popped into her mind.

This vegan thing wasn't because of a social justice issue, it was all just an excuse. But, that didn't mean there weren't benefits. Benefits she already could list.

Solving the question of her homework once again gave her that feeling of sludge leaving her body, and she closed her eyes to keep herself from crying again.

She could wait till she got into bed tonight.