Another tumblr prompt, this one from annakreis42.

.

.

.

"Um," said Danny, surprised to find many of the ghosts he knew ('knew' meaning anything from 'fought occasionally' to 'had an actual friendship with') camped out in the main hallway of Casper High. Wearing suits and black dresses and... whatever that was. Along with various refreshments. "What's going on?"

The humans present (a few students and teachers) looked, if possibly, even more bewildered than Danny. And at least a little freaked out.

"Phantom! You're here!" said Skulker, gleefully.

Danny tightened his grip on his backpack, his glove squeaking against the strap. He probably should have left it outside, but he'd been distracted by the unusually large reaction of his ghost sense and barreled in, prepared to fight to protect his fellow students.

"Yes," said Danny, slowly.

"Great!" said Skulker. He gestured to a large, open, extremely gothic black and white coffin. "Get in."

"No," said Danny, immediately.

"But you're the guest of honor!" objected Poindexter.

"When we heard you hadn't ever had a funeral," said Dora, tearfully, holding an extravagantly embroidered handkerchief to her eye, "we just had to come and properly mourn you! What kind of friends would we be, otherwise?"

"Well," said Danny, now feeling like an ungrateful lug. "Thanks. But I'm not getting into a coffin." He'd defeated a guy by pushing him into a coffin, once. Well, a sarcophagus.

The ghosts stared at him.

"But," said Technus, "it's your funeral, ghost child!"

"Yeah... I'm just. Not sure what the point of throwing a party for me is, if I'm just going to lay in a coffin the whole time."

"It's a casket, actually," said Poindexter.

"Okay," said Danny. "I'm not- That doesn't really change anything?" Now that the general shock was wearing off, he was beginning to feel rather upset about all of this.

"Phantom," said Dash, softly, "you didn't have a funeral?" He sounded like he was about to cry.

"No memorial at all," confirmed- Wait, no, that was Amorpho. He'd gotten better, but seeing him as Spectra was a trip.

(He was, however, quite glad that the real Spectra was absent.)

"I don't- That doesn't particularly bother me," said Danny. "I mean, this is really nice of you guys, I mean it, but... You really, really didn't have to. And I'm not getting in a casket."

"But it's your funeral! The casket is an important part"

Danny threw up his hands. "Are you planning to bury me, too? That's usually an important part of a funeral."

There was an uncomfortable silence. None of the ghosts would meet his eyes. Except Skulker, who grinned very widely.

Walker stepped forward, his grim outline ruined by the small clear plastic cup full of fizzing punch. "Phantom," he intoned, grimly, "it's part of the rules."

"No," said Danny, "absolutely not."

"We knew you'd say that," said Walker, nodding gravely.

Danny squinted at Walker. "Are you drunk? At my funeral?"

Walker pointed at him. "Catch this varmint, folks," he said.

Danny was good at fighting. Really good at fighting. Even so, he couldn't fight almost all the ghosts he knew at once.

At least, Danny mused, as he glared at the horrible, pocked-tile school hallway ceiling, the casket was comfortable, even if he was wrapped in some of Skulker's rope. Oh. And school was canceled, on account of the slightly drunk ghosts, so he wouldn't get in trouble for missing class.

(They'd untie him before burying him, so he could phase out. Probably.)

(He'd figure something out if they didn't.)