The nausea wouldn't stop. One moment, Danny had been standing in his parents' portal, pain searing up his arm and his world flooded with green. The next, he was laying on the floor in the empty tunnel, head throbbing and insides full of a jiggly unease. And the nausea would not go away.

It followed him up the stairs and into his room. With shaking hands, he clawed off the slightly singed hazmat and collapsed onto his bed. His stomach twisted, the unease growing into a chill sick feeling.

He groaned. "What… what's happening? "

His insides lurched, the taste of bile rising on his tongue. Unfamiliar coldness seemed to quiver in his belly. The feeling radiated up…. Like he was going to hurl.

"No. No." He pinched his eyes closed, shivering at the thought of throwing up. "Stop."

The boy panted, trying to force the nausea down. A few breaths through his nose. He rubbed his aching, bloated middle, as if he could coax his stomach to behave. Miraculously, the nausea settled.

Body, at least temporarily, no longer betraying him, Danny stumbled up. He wobbled to the bathroom and clambered through drawers for the Pepto.

"Come on, where… There." Hissed through his teeth.

He grabbed the bottle, twisted the cap, and poured a generous dose-cup full. The chalky medicine went down thick and viscous, coating his throat.

There. Maybe that would stave the sickness off. Another flip below his ribs and he shivered violently. Please, let it help. Please.

Danny made his way back to his room. And the nausea followed him back to bed. There, under the surface, it lingered. But… slowly, it ebbed.

He was so tired. His eyes drooped, his mind fuzzy. Really, he should be more worried…. Maybe he should tell Jazz… or his parents…

The nausea followed him into his dreams. Dark and murky. Icy coldness twisting, branching fingers invading his veins. Neon green behind his eyes. Rotten limes and pennies on his tongue.

His insides in revolt, at the edge of retching, had Danny jolting out of bed. He ran for the bathroom.

Below his ribs, the cold writhed violently. Tendrils stabbed to his lungs, his intestines, up his throat.

A surge of panic. What was-

Another wave and Danny heaved, bent over. Arms scrambling for stability. The toilet… his hands brace on the back.

His knees wobbled, waves of sickness, of wrongness clawing from his stomach, up his throat. He panted, trying to keep whatever was inside him in.

This was… something was wrong.

A feeling like choking, his breath caught. His mouth opened without his permission and he was vomiting.

Wet, slimy chunks poured out, filling his mouth, his nose. The taste-smell of acid, pennies, rotten citrus, all consuming

Another retch. Something cold and thick… too thick dribbled past his lips. Long lines trailed into the toilet. Despite his revulsion, Danny couldn't help but look.

His eyes widened with fear. In the bowl… his throw-up was a sick, neon green. And it was glowing.

His stomach spasmed again and the green slithered up. It ran down his chin, dripped his nose. It coated the inside of his throat, thick and clogging.

He doubled over, curling in on himself. The coldness swirled, deeper, larger, more intense. Another great heave. There was growing pressure in his stomach. Not just sickening green surging to exit but… something else. Something far too big for his esophagus.

The ice stabbed, claws in his stomach. Green light sparked behind his eyes.

"Ah-" Danny tried to scream but the sound choked.

Something… something was in his throat. Not disgusting green goo. But-

He wheezed, the terrible, impossible thing clawing farther. This couldn't be happening. But… His lungs spasmed uselessly. He couldn't… couldn't breathe.

Green light, so like the portal, swelled, a sickening film coating his eyes. Thick, cold gel dripped from his mouth. Another jolt. Something big, too big for his throat, pushed up. His heart pounded, the fluttering wing beats of a trapped bird.

Something was in his throat. And… His mind swam, light headed and panicked. Something was in his throat, inching forward. He couldn't breathe…

The terrible nausea lashed out again. Icy pain seared his neck, his head, his jaw. It was inching forward, cutting off his airway. And too much. Too much. Too big. This was impossible-

The hateful green floor blurred. Danny's knees collapsed.

His mind clawing for sense…. The thing was too big. It couldn't… but it was. And His jaw would crack. His neck would break. His head would shatter. He was going to die.

The green light blinded. And Danny knew no more.

"Mrow."

A sound perforating Danny's darkness. Far away, he couldn't make sense….

"Mrow." A pathetic mewling. A quiet rumble, somewhere close? Where…?

Groaning, Danny fought his way back to consciousness. Where was he?... His head pressed against something cold and hard. Acid and moldy lemons assaulted his nostrils.

He flinched, jolting away and blinking.

For several long seconds, his mind spun, eyes trailing over the scene. The bathroom… he was in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet. A sour smell filled his nose. Throw-up…. Did he get that stomach bug that was going around school? But….

He blinked, staring at the bowl's contents. Instead of the expected watery yellow-green chunks… it was thick and green and glowing. He didn't understand. This was impossible. But…

Glowing green… like the ectoplasm in his parents' lab. His stomach twisted, not with a sick feeling but cold dread.

In the tunnel, his world overcome with green light. That same light… blurring the floor, filling the bathroom.

He'd… he'd thrown up ectoplasm. And not just that…

"Meow." An insistent noise cut through his thoughts.

His head snapped to the source. His eyes widened.

A fluffy animal, long tailed and four pawed, sat at his side. It rumbled softly. The sound that had cut through the blackness….

"A… cat?"

The cat blinked up at him, ears as perked and eyes as wide as any other he'd seen but…

"You're green… and glowing?"

The animal let out another mrow. It lowered its head, bumbling furry noggin against Danny's thigh. Chill radiated from the contact, sinking into his skin.

Slowly, suspiciously, his eyes trailed back to the toilet. To the thick, luminous contents. Ectoplasm, which he'd just throw up.

The cat head-butted his leg again, before sitting down crossly. "Meow!"

"No way."

A green paw batted at his legs, the same shade of green as the ectoplasm…Something cold clawing at his insides, something too big his throat struggling to escape. "No way." It was impossible. But….

The cat looked innocently up at him, as if his world wasn't shattering.

"Did I just… throw up a cat?"

Chapter 2

For a long moment, Danny stared at the cat.

"There's a cat in the bathroom…." The animal, just as glowing as it had been since it …appeared…., blinked up at him in kind. "A green cat." Like the ectoplasm, like in his parents' lab, like in the defunct portal, like…"A ghost. You're a ghost."

Said ghost yawned, flashing needle sharp teeth. The inside of its mouth was completely green too.

"A ghost cat… that I threw up." He shook his head, wide eyes drifting away in disbelief. "This can't be happening." It had to be a dream, some kind of sickness induced hallucination.

Again, he furiously shook his head. Nose wrinkling, he turned back to the toilet. The sour-smelling vomit floated menacingly in the bowl. Eyeing the content suspiciously, he flushed. The disgusting biohazard swirled down the drain and disappeared.

Danny let out a breath, his stomach churning in an oddly cold dread. Tensing, he turned his head back to the floor and… blinked. The ghost cat was gone.

Shakedly, the boy pulled himself to his feet. He rinsed his mouth out, washed his face, and took a long drink of water. All the while, his eyes flickered, on alert for the bathroom's other recent resident. But there was no sign. No fluffy tail, no quivering whiskers, no sharp toe beans.

Maybe it really was a hallucination.

Danny mindlessly scrolled through his phone. He'd gone downstairs, picked at a sandwich, and sipped a cup of water. Now, he was sat on his bed, trying to distract himself.

His stomach churned, icy unease growing…. No. Nope. He wasn't going to think about it.

Oh, that's cool. They were making another Nightmarica Movie. Maybe he could-

He burped and an acidic taste welled in his mouth. "Oh no." Danny swallowed painfully, sticking out his tongue at the taste. "Not go-"

A popping noise startled him. "Ah!"

"Meow!"

The boy's head jerked to the side. He blinked, then scowled. The cat, the green ghost cat, sat on the floor beside his bed, tail swishing gently.

"Great." Danny rolled his eyes. "You ag-"

A gag cut off his words and the boy lunged for the trash can. He scrambled, reaching for the plastic bin and bringing it up to his mouth just in time.

Ectoplasm surged up his throat, thick and slimy as a slug. Something inside squirmed and Danny shivered violently.

He coughed, pounding at his clogged chest. Something wet plotted into the trash can.

Instantly, the nausea ebbed. Danny just sat, panting for a while. His eyes closed, he felt the bed shift with the movement of tiny feet. A fuzzy head brushed his arm. Then the thump of a paw batting at the trash can.

Nose wrinkling, Danny opened his eyes and peered inside. A green blob-shaped mass sat there and the boy let out a breath of relief. At least it was just ectoplasm this time.

Then the ectoplasm blinked. The cat sprang, batting at it.

Danny blinked, stomach churning with dread, while the ghost cat grabbed the blob in its mouth, darted literally through the trash can, and then under his bed.

"What did Mom and Dad's portal do to me?"

Eventually, Danny managed to stir himself out of his existential dread. Still eyeing the trash can suspiciously, he placed it on the ground. There was no sign of the blob now, no stain of green. But it had been there, just like the throw up in the toilet earlier. Just like the cat. Thinking of the cat…

The boy lowered himself to the floor, kneeling to look under the bed. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see but…

Rapid movement. The cat laid on its side, the blob held between its paws. The animal flailed wildly, back legs kicking at its prey. Then the ghost cat froze. Eyes wide, ears back, it startled, practically leaping to the other end of the bed, and throwing the blob toward Danny. The blob smacked the boy in the face.

"Ew." Danny flinched, wiping at the spot.

Meanwhile the blob let out a sad whoosh, like a balloon deflating. The boy blinked, looking between it and his hand. There… was no residue on his face, none on his hand. It had been cool but… not wet.

Tentatively, he reached, poking at the green mass. It gave under his finger, the surface solid but the inside malleable. Like a balloon filled with cornstarch slime.

Danny muttered. "Weird…."

A flicker of movement, something neon green, grabbed his attention. His eyes snapped up meeting… round, green eyes. The ghost cat.

The animal froze, one paw lifted in mid-step. It tentatively lowered the leg and stretched its neck towards him.

What was it doing?

Ears up and alert, the cat sniffed. Its whiskers quivered, cautiously curious. Slowly, the ear swiveled forward.

Tentatively, Danny put a hand forward. More eagerly, the cat sniffed. Then the furry head bumped his hand.

"Nice kitty." The boy grimaced, unsure.

It head-butted his hand again, then looked up, fixing wide begging eyes on him.

"Alright?" Carefully, Danny patted the head.

A rumble started up and the boy petted the cat, first cautious and slow. "Nice… ghost cat?"

It was just… acting like a normal cat.

Another head-butt to his hand. "Good kitty boy? Girl?" He had no idea…

No answer came, of course. The cat just rubbed against his hand and purred, like any living cat.

Gaining confidence, the boy scratched behind the ears. "Good… Fluffy?... That's stupid."

The purr deepened, rumbling up through his fingers and Danny found himself smiling. "You like that, huh?" He rubbed the back of the head, down the side of the neck. "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

A green paw suddenly batted at his hand. "Alright. Alright." Danny whipped his hand back. "That's enough for now."

The cat stood up, stretching its front paws. It yawned, flashing its teeth. Then its ears twitched. Its head turned, fixed on something Danny couldn't see. It leapt away and ran, taking a lap around Danny's room.

The boy just sat there on the floor, perplexed as the cat started attacking one of his dirty socks on the floor.

"Alright. You're a ghost but you're just a normal cat…."

Said animal batted at the dirty fabric, attacking with its teeth. It jerked its head up, nose wrinkled, mouth slightly open and lips curled in, as if in disgust. Then it went back to playing with the sock.

"How is this my life?"

The cat abandoned the dirty laundry, flopping onto its side.

"Well… I guess you're a girl cat." Danny eyed the visible dark spots running down the cat's belly; he'd seen similar when Sam's cat had been nursing her babies. He frowned, a stab of sadness pricking at him. "What happened to you?" A mama cat, without her kittens…

The cat kneaded at the air, paws reaching towards him. Despite his somber thought, the corner of the boy's lip turned up. "Oh no, I'm not putting my hand down there." He waggled a finger. "I know that's a trap, missy."

A knock sounded at the door. "Danny! Dinner!"

The cat jumped up, form turning misty and then disappearing. Invisible…. That's how she had appeared out of nowhere before and vanished just as fast. But now… the air in front of him swirled, just the slightest bit different from its surroundings. A cool spot lingered at the edge of his consciousness, a clear sign of the ghost's presence…

Huh. That was new.

"Danny!" Another knock.

The boy shook his head. He'd have to figure all this out later.

"Coming!"

So… Danny had a ghost cat now.

When he came back from picking at his dinner, the animal was still there. The cat laid on his bed, half curled into a circle and paws folded against her chest.

"I have to admit that's cute." He muttered.

This past day had been so weird, what with throwing up ghosts…. Danny shivered at the thought… the ghost cat still being there was almost normal.

With a shrug, the boy plopped back into his desk chair. He turned his attention to his computer, determined to not think about ghosts or portals or vomit, and losing himself in video games.

And yet, the cat's soft snores echoed softly. A chill lingered in the back of his mind, swirling softly in his lungs. And the nausea….

The cat jolted awake with a loud meow just before Danny's stomach lurched. He lunged for his trashcan and threw up again. In the can, something chirped and clicked. He peered in, eyes narrowed. Some kind of bird.

The cat sat up, eyes narrowed into slits and ears twitching. Danny eyed the animal suspiciously, gaze flitting between it and the bird thing. But, before the cat could act, the other ghost flapped panickedly. It half-ran, half flew out of the container and across his room, phasing through the wall.

The cat turned tail, silently following after and disappearing into the night.

Danny sighed, head in his hands. Three times was a pattern. This was really happening. And… it would keep happening.

The dread hit him, tears welling in his eyes. What was he going to do?

He sat, legs pulled to his chest. Despair clawed, questions circling. His parents' invention… the portal did something to him. It must have. But what? How? How was this even possible?

What was he going to do? He… he had to tell someone, right? But… Sam and Tucker were out of town for summer trips. How would he even….

"Yeah, Tucker, how's tech camp? You blowing everyone's minds? And Sam, how's your trip? You haven't killed your parents yet, right? Oh me…" He laughed almost hysterically. "I just walked into my parents' broken portal, like an idiot. And now…" He giggled. "Now I'm throwing up ghosts. Yeah, yeah. Those ghost's that Jazz always said didn't exist."

Yeah, that conversation would go so well. Danny rolled his eyes. Jazz would think he was crazy… or having some kind of trauma induced hallucination. And his parents…

His eyes widened, hope suddenly flickering. His parents… his parents' work did this to him. If anyone knew what was happening, how to stop it, it would be them. He could tell them and-

The cold in his belly flipped, rushing to his chest. His skin tingled and he fell through his chair.

The boy landed on the floor with a thud. He stared, eyes wide and terrified. His body shimmered, bluish tinted and immaterial, with the chair sticking through him. He scrambled away, as if burned.

"No. No." His insides churned, a queasiness that had nothing to do with vomit.

Cold rushed out and he fought back a scream, his body flickering in and out of visibility like a dying light bulb. Like a…

"No. I'm… I'm not…" The tears let go, turning into quiet sobs. "I'm not a ghost."

Except… all that pain, electricity… how could he not be dead? No one could survive that. He… he couldn't have. He couldn't.

"I'm… I'm dead." His chest heaved, paradoxically straining for breath.

He… he was a ghost. That was the only explanation. That… that stupid "portal" killed him. And… now he was like it. An un-living portal, letting ghosts into the world.

His stomach lurched suddenly and he gagged. Ectoplasm rushed up, dripping down his lips. He spit, mind begging it to stop. Please. No.

"Mrow."

Paws on his knees. His eyes snapped to round green eyes. The cat stretched her neck forward, rubbing up against his leg. The creature rumbled softly.

Danny panted, trying to catch his breath. His stomach settled.

After a long moment, he whipped his mouth. Tear tracks still stained his face. "Thanks… thanks…. I guess I should think of a name for you."

The cat just purred, the boy rubbing her head. "Good girl."

Chapter 3

Note: It's done! Enjoy the last chapter!

"Oh. You're still here." The next morning, Danny woke up to the ghost cat curled up at the foot of his bed. "Morning, missy."

The cat lifted her head, letting out a quiet mrow. She stood and stretched with a yawn. Then, she sat back down, licking one of her front paws.

Danny stretched as well, grabbing for his phone. He scrolled for a while, relieved that his queasiness had settled. Though…

Coldness still swirled in his belly, eerily similar to the chill at the edge of his… mind? He wasn't sure what it was. Not sight or sound nor touch. But something, some new, innate sense told him exactly where his ghostly companion was.

Still, the cat was silent at the edge of his bed.

That is until…

"Meow!"

Danny looked up at the sudden exclamation. "What is it?"

A second later, the nausea surged. He gasped and less than a minute later, had thrown up another ghost blob.

He scowled at the blob on the floor before turning to look at the cat. "This is becoming a pattern. Actually…." His brow furrowed with a realization.

The cat just turned her head innocently, letting out what almost sounded like a curious thrill.

"You get noisy everytime, right before I… you know." Danny frowned at the thought.

The ghost gave no answer, of course. Though she did stand, padding towards him. Her furry side pressed into his side, a low purr starting up.

The rest of the day, a second, a third passed. And sure enough, it was a pattern. The cat was chill and quiet for the most part. She stayed in his room, playing with dirty socks, begging for pets, sleeping on Danny's bed. And blessedly keeping out of sight of Danny's parents.

But whenever he started to feel nauseous…

"Meow!"

Danny's head jerked up from the plate he'd been picking at. His eyes widened, face turning green.

"What was that?" His mom's brow crinkled in confusion, head swiveling to look.

The boy stood so quickly, he knocked his chair over. His gaze flittered over the kitchen. No ghost cat…. But a spot near the couch shimmered. His strange new sense stretched and he could feel the chill of his new feline friend.

"Meow!" Another call came

"Was that cat?" His dad asked.

The queasy feeling lurched and Danny shivered "Oh. I… Uh... left my computer on in my room, didn't I? Those cat videos, am I right?" He forced a laugh, pointing a thumb towards the stairs. "I'll just run and turn it off."

His sister's brow furrowed, suspicious. "Danny, it's fine. I'm sure it can wait."

"No. No. Uh." He suddenly hiccuped. The taste of limes and old pennies welled on his tongue. He visibly grimaced, a hand covering his mouth. "I'll turn it.. Hic… off."

Jazz's expression shifted, eyes wide with concern. "Are you okay?"

Danny turned, hurrying off. "Of course… of course I'm fine. Why would you… hic.." Something thick swirled at the base of his esophagus. "I'll be right back." His voice squeaked, more nervously high pitched with each word.

But he had no time to worry about it, nor his family's perplexed gazes, fixed on the back of his head. Instead, he ran up the stairs and tore open the door to the upstairs bathroom.

The boy knelt, barely making it to the toilet bowl in time. He wretched, ectoplasm flowing up. His jaw forced itself wider, something slimy and suction-cupped slinking its way out. The creature plopped into the bowl, letting out a screech. A second later, it darted up into the air, bobbing in front of the boy's lowered head.

Eight tentacles, a bulbous body, large eerily human-like eyes, a mouth that looked like it had been drawn on with crayon. Danny flinched away, nose wrinkling in disgust. "What the hell."

With a pop, Missy reappeared. Yowling, the cat lunged. Sharp claws dug into the other ghost and dragged it through the wall.

The boy grimaced. "Weird squid-octupus thing…" He whipped his mouth, then frowned, a prick of worry. "I hope Missy will be okay." He moved to wash out his mouth, picking up a cup and filling it with water to gurgle. "She'll be fine." He shook his head, reassuring himself. His cat knew how to take care of herself.

His cat…. The thought gave him pause, movement stopping mid-gurgle. His cat… His brow wrinkled, mind flickering to the fluffy green fur curled on his bed, those wide green begging for pets. It seemed like the cat really was his. He had named her Missy, after all.

Danny swished the water in his mouth and spat. He washed his face, his complexion shifting from a sickish green back to its normal pink. He let out a sigh, both relieved and tired.

"I'm getting sick of this." He muttered.

A week of nausea, of interrupted sleep, of running off at inopportune times to throw up. At least it was summer, he sighed. He didn't have to hide this during class. His friends were out of town, so he hadn't seen them in person, hadn't had to run off on them yet but…

His stomach churned, dread at the thought. When they came back… what would he tell them? Could he tell them at all? And-

"Danny?" His sister's hand gently knocked at the bathroom door.

The boy grimaced. He'd completely forgotten about running off on family dinner.

His eyes flickered around the scene, checking the floor, the toilet, his face in the mirror. To his relieve, there was no sign of ectoplasm or ghostly visitors.

"Danny?" Jazz called again, more insistently.

The boy turned, opening the door with his best annoyed-younger-sibling face. "What?"

"I wanted to see if you were coming back." Her brows wrinkled, concerned. "Are you feeling okay? You ran off in a hurry." Her eyes flickered back to the toilet suspiciously.

Danny's stomach flopped nervously but he pushed it down, crossing arms. "Can't a guy just go to the bathroom, jes?"

Jazz's worried gaze didn't waver. "You looked nauseous. Do you need some pepto? There's a bottle-"

"Who are you? Mom?" He sneered, storming past her. "Let's just finish this stupid dinner."

"I'm allowed to be worried." Jazz stomped after him. "And it's not four of us have barely seen each other since the 'portal' opened." The air quotes were audible. "Maybe I just want us to eat together for once, like a normal family."

"Yeah. Sure." Danny rolled his eyes, the perfect picture of annoyance.

But inside, his stomach flopped guilty. Truthfully, he'd been avoiding his family. Which wasn't too hard with his parents' single minded focus on the miraculously functional portal. But his sister…

"And family dinners are good for building communication skills and strengthening family bonds. We should be invested in each other's lives." Her face softened. "And I want to know what you're up to, what's on your mind, little brother. Even if it is all ranting about video games."

Yeah, great in theory. In practice…. The cold in his stomach twisted. An icy secret threatening to spill at the smaller prod.

Danny said nothing, just sitting down and picking at his food. He couldn't help but feel Jazz's disappointed eyes on him.

The rest of the week passed with Danny still running and hiding, the nausea still always lingering below the surface, his new cat acting as a meowing warning beckon.

He avoided his sister more than ever, refusing every insistence that he join family meals.

"Danny, I made spaghetti." Jazz held up the pot, eyes wide and pleading.

"Oh, I uh… already ate." The boy lied, gaze nervously flitting around the room. A familiar presence shimmered at the edge of his… ghost sense. Out the corner of his eye…. Furry ears just visible on the other side of the living room window. Paws rested on the sill, a cat's head perking in.

His sister's brow furrowed. "What are you looking at-"

"Nothing!" He cut her off. Then forcing himself to sound calmer. "I was going to go for a walk so…" He pointed out the door and turned, half jogging. "Bye Jazz. Have a good dinner."

Danny closed the door, turning to the cat with narrowed eyes.

Missy lowered her paws to sit primly on the lawn. Ears low and flattened, Danny almost imagined she looked guilty. Or maybe just innocently confused.

The boy's face softened. He couldn't stay annoyed with her for long. "Come on then."

Danny took off, the animal following dutifully. Odd behavior for a cat but… Missy was a ghost after all. Some strange behavior could be forgiven.

The pair made their way to the park a few blocks away. The boy found a small, secluded clearing in the small woods. He sat on the grass, pulling a package out of his pocket.

"I picked these out on my last walk." He held out a furry black mouse-shaped toy.

The cat padded forward, daintily sniffing at the object.

"You like the mousy?" With a smile, Danny dropped the toy at Missy's feet. The ghost sniffed more eagerly and he grinned. "Yeah? Figured you'd like that catnip."

The cat lowered into a crouch, batting at the toy once. She watched it for a moment, eyes slitted and ears forward.

Then as quickly as she'd taken interest, the animals sat up, turning away. She licked at her paw, focused on her grooming.

"Seriously?" Danny blinked, disbelieving. "How about this one?" He offered the rest of the pack one at a time. Dark brown, tan, white.

Missy's eyes swiveled, widening as they fixed on him.

The boy perked up. "That's it, girl. Check out your new toys."

The cat crouched, hind counters wiggling. She pounced…

"Oh come on."

Not on one of the toy mice but for a white butterfly, gently flitting between the flowers.

"Typical." Danny rolled his eyes.

Still, he smiled while he watched the cat chase the insect. She leapt, claws just falling short. The butterfly flapped up, out of reach. Missy chased it, attention quickly darting to another insect. For several minutes, she ran, going after her own tail just as often as the various bugs.

A yellow swallow-tail butterfly fluttered passed and Missy pursued, eyes round and eager. She ran for it, swiping but… missed. Instead, the cat got a nose full of black-eyes susan.

Tail whipping, the ghost snapped into a sit. Her head jerked back, eyes pinching closed as she sneezed adorably.

Danny burst out laughing.

After that, Missy settled down, the zoomies thoroughly exhausted. The boy laid down in the grass, surrounded by the flowers. Fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. Danny watched them, smiling softly at the rumbling purr of the cat beside him.

It was almost enough to forget his troubles.

The relaxing excursion eventually had to end though. The sun dipped below the trees and Danny had to go home. He trudged down the street, wary of another night of hiding, of avoiding.

The boy opened the door carefully, eyes on alert for familiar figures in the living room. He let out a sigh, seeing no one.

He went inside and closed the door. His eyes darted to the stairs. He wanted to just head up stairs but… his stomach rumbled, demanding food.

Danny frowned down at it. He hadn't eaten much the last week, the nausea being so hard to work through but… it was manageable now. Actually… barely noticeable.

He felt a bit of awe at the realization. Maybe this was actually starting to get better.

Mind made up, the boy made his way to the kitchen. He opened the pantry and the fridge, much more confidently than he had any day this past week. Cereal and milk sounded perfect.

At the table, Danny ate one bowl. He noted, half aware as Missy invisibly lounged on the couch. She curled up, falling asleep as he enjoyed a second bowl.

Danny was almost done when Jazz entered.

"I thought you already ate." His sister raised a brow questioningly.

He tensed at the question before swallowing, trying to appear casual. "I wanted a snack. Is that a crime?"

Jazz raised her hands. "I'm just glad you're feeling well enough to eat again."

Danny went for another bite but paused. There was… no hostility, no skepticism in the statement. Just plain relief. "What are you talking about?"

His sister raised a brow. "I'm not deaf, Danny. I know what someone throwing up sounds like. I don't know why you felt the need to hide that you were sick." She shook her head. "I'm just happy you're getting better."

Speaking of getting better…

"Meow! Meow!"

Danny's eyes widened, suddenly panicked. "Not now."

"What was that?" Jazz's head turned, suddenly bewildered.

"I was watching a cat video." The boy lied, looking down at the notable lack of his cell phone .

"But… there isn't…"

He abruptly stood up. That damned queasiness rising. "I forgot. I've gotta.. Thing." The pool of cold in his stomach swirled violently, green and ice rushing up his throat, through his veins. His face was definitely turning green.

Danny ran for the bathroom and Jazz ran after. "You're still feeling sick!?"

"No. I'm…" He gagged, his breath sour and coppery. "Fine."

"No, you're not." The boy ran through the door and turned, just in time to slam it on his sister's face. "Danny!"

"No! I just ate too fast. I'm…" He panted, ectoplasm forcing its way up. "Fine."

"Danny! It's been a week. If you're still feeling sick, you need to see a doctor. I can't believe I didn't…."

Jazz kept talking but Danny couldn't hear her, couldn't focus. He heaved, vomiting ectoplasm into the toilet. It stuck to the inside of his mouth, his throat, as thick, slimy and disgusting as ever.

He faintly registered his cat, rubbing herself against his leg. Her own catty way of comforting him.

Another wave. Danny panted, trying to calm the heaving, easing the upheaval. But… he couldn't breath. Something large pressed against the base of his esophagus.

The size, the dimensions didn't make sense. Much too large for his throat but… still it came. It stretched, it unraveled, it unmade, it… remade.

A flash of green left Danny seeing spots. Shakily, he rose from the ground… and higher. The boy bobbed in the air. He was… floating? Also, glowing, bright light thrown from his skin. Or… not his skin? White gloves, black sleeves. Was this an inverted version of his hazmat suit?

What just happened?

"Danny! I swear, if you don't-" Suddenly, Jazz bursted in.

Shoot! Jazz, he'd completely forgotten….

Like two deer caught in head-lights, the two siblings stared at each other.

"Danny?"

Note:

And that's it. A little rough, since I just wanted to get this posted and didn't have time to proof read.

I hope you enjoyed Danny and Missy's adventures. Writing the kitty was very fun and precious to me. She'd definitely based on my girlie, who basically never meows and had no reaction to catnip.

Also, sorry, not sorry for the cliffhanger. My plan was always to get to the Jazz reveal, though I wasn't interested in writing her reaction. Though, Danny's ghost form finally coming through ate the end there was a surprise for me too. I have some deranged ideas about how Danny's ghost form works in this au though. So if someone wants to send me as ask on tumblr, maybe I'll talk some about that.

Also a note on this AU! Writing a Portal AU was very surreal and exciting for me! This AU was what got me into writing DP fics. Ladylynes' Passageway was the first dp fic I remember reading and being enthralled by. It made me want to start writing my own fics. And I've wanted to write my own Portal AU for years but I've always been too intimidated to. But then, I saw the prompt for phic phight and it reignited that spark. So thank you wastefulreverie for finally getting me to write this!