Putting the "Fun" Back in "Funeral" Chapter Three

AO3 | Chapter Two --- Chapter Four

Chapter Three: Emotional Constipation Has Never Been Easier

When Danny made his way out of the swirling green abyss many dimensional beings called home, the sun had long since set. As he was hovering over the Ops Center of his childhood home, he sent a quick text to a chat that was fondly named “Ghostly Therapy Plus Some.” It was a work of love that Tucker had made for the original ghost-fighting trio - a private server so encrypted that even the Guys In White couldn’t get in. The chatroom was home to many summons for late-night calls, memes based around the Amity Park rogues, and various debates between the now-adults who occupied it. Danny knew, even at ass-o’clock in the morning, that his friends would respond to any message he would send.

It was with no small amount of guilt that any sort of late-night text left Danny’s side of the chatroom. His friends, Jazz and Danielle included, had completely normal lives outside of Danny’s whacky one. Each one of them had successfully left Amity Park. They were in college, or out exploring the earth with no care in the world. It was Danny who was stuck, who was stagnant in a haunt that no longer felt like his.

However, the Ghost King also knew that if he just disappeared for a few weeks his friends would freak.

So, a quick text was sent. A completely normal “hey guys can u call rq” which elected an immediate response from Tucker. It made sense, as he was off in California double majoring in computer science and computer programming. It wasn’t quite as late for him, especially compared to Jazz and Sam. Both of them were on the east coast with majors in psychology and social justice respectively - they were an hour ahead of Danny, timezone wise. Ellie was… somewhere in the world. Chances are she would either respond within a few minutes or would not respond at all.

While the local ghost hero was waiting for a response, he was lazily heading south from Fentonworks. Easily drifting on his back above the cloud layer currently overhanging Amity, Danny couldn’t help but rest his heavy gaze upon the millions of twinkling stars before him. It was only twenty-four hours ago that he had fought his last ghost as a semi-normal person. His entire world had shifted, changing completely. Danny now had the ultimate power of the Ghost Zone. It was a startling realization that hit him quickly, and he couldn’t help but grieve his childhood. While he hadn’t really had much of one in the first place, Danny still wished things could have been different. That he was in university with his friends, studying astrophysics, trying to be an astronaut.

But no. He had to step into a portal to a different dimension and have it open up on top of him. He had to die before he even started highschool - and he couldn’t even do that correctly.

A loud groan of annoyance left cold lips, gloved hands coming up to grasp at white hair. The ghost boy flipped around to float on his belly, facing the dark clouds rumbling below him. Grasping on the tingling feeling of intangibility, Danny summoned his power to the forefront of his being before letting gravity take hold of his form. He dropped quickly towards the ground, eyes closed. Powerful winds encased Danny in a mockery of a hug, tugging at him like a plea to stay in the air where he was safer. It was from years of practice that the halfa knew when to allow such a pesky notion of gravity peel away from him, his monochrome shape hovering just above the down-trodden apartment complex he called home.

A bright flash lit the sky behind Danny’s still form, the clap of thunder chasing behind not even a second later. Bright green eyes tracked his shadow as the late-spring lightning storm passed through Amity. He hovered there, for a moment. Allowing the wild winds whip around him as the storm’s power picked up, shaking the leaves of blossomed trees. Distantly, Danny registered that rain began drizzling from the cloudbed he was just so far above. It was with a mournful shake that Danny finally moved to enter his barren apartment.

When his boots lightly tapped his threadbare carpet floors, Danny let the rings of his transformation wash over him. Gone was the royal outfit he had still yet to inspect, and in its place was the slightly dirty clothes the young man had pulled from his floor earlier that very day. Black hair flopped to cover his eyes, no longer snow-white and being kept out of view by his powers. It was with a quiet sigh that Danny moved to push the strands back, pulling his beat-up phone out from his pocket.

With practiced movements, Danny allowed himself to fall back onto the worn couch shoved in the middle of his living room. The halfa didn’t move to turn on the lights around him - there would be no point in it, after all. He could see better than an average human. Just another of the many side-effects of half-dying.

A quick entering of his password had Danny’s cracked phone unlocked, icy blue eyes skimming the two messages of confirmation from Sam and Tucker. Quickly tapping out “jazz?” and smacking the send button allowed Danny to let the device fall onto his lap. He threw his arms back dramatically, face tipping back to eye the water damage on his ceiling critically.

He really should put in a maintenance notice.

A buzz from the top of his thigh had Danny grabbing his phone. He unlocked it, read the message sent by his older sister, before heaving his body from the old couch. Wandering into the single bedroom of the apartment, Danny snatched his laptop from where it was charging on his bed. The man booted up the clunky device, quickly joining the video call where Sam was already waiting.

The sound notifying other members of the call pinged twice, and Danny couldn’t help the grin and automatic “Jinx!” said at the exact same time as Tucker. Laughter filled the cyberspace as Sam rolled her eyes at her two boys.

“Hello to you too.” The goth’s sarcastic voice echoed around Danny’s barren bedroom. With a dramatic sound, Danny turned and flopped himself onto his bed, keeping a steady hold of his laptop the entire time.

“Hi, Sam, Tuck,” Danny said, smiling as he burrowed himself into his pillows. “How’s school going for you guys?”

Tucker’s loud groan caused Danny’s smile to widen. “It’s nothing but studying for finals and finishing up projects, man.”

“That’s what you get for being stupid and wanting two degrees.” Sam’s cutting remark was waylaid by her smile.

The young tech genius smirked at his camera, using a hand to move his glasses up on his nose. “I think you mean being smart?”

“Actually-” whatever friendly argument Sam was about to stir up died before it could live when a loud ping alerted the three friends to another person joining their call. A round of greetings passed in response to Jazz’s tired appearance, and Danny couldn’t help but feel guilty for interrupting his big sister’s sleep.

“Hi, everyone.” Jazz’s smooth voice came through the speakers of Danny’s beat-up laptop. “Is everything okay, Danny?”

Said man had to fight to keep the guilt from showing on his face. Not only was he interrupting Jazz’s sleep but he was also worrying her with late night calls. While it was true that the young man hadn’t been the best at keeping up with his friends (and sister), he had been trying to talk to them more in the few weeks leading up to his coronation. Obviously, if Jazz thought he would only call if something was wrong, Danny wasn’t doing the best job at it.

“Yeah, yeah.” He said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “Clockwork and I were just talking earlier today and I kind of wanted to get you guys’ opinion?” He paused, but quickly rushed out the last part of his weird explanation. “Well I kind of already agreed to it so I guess this is more of a warning? Kind of?”

Silence filled Danny’s bedroom as his three friends cautiously exchanged pixelated looks. “What do you mean by that?” Sam was the one who spoke, sounding exasperated.

“Yeah, man, can we get some context?” Tucker spoke next, looking worried.

The halfa heaved a large sigh, bracing himself to dodge around the truth as he had learned to do. “So, I was in the Ghost Zone, yeah? And Clockwork and I started talking. He asked me if I could go on a long-term time adventure for him in like a different dimension or something?” He paused, pulling air into his lungs in a habit he never could quite break. “He said that it would only be a few weeks that would pass in this dimension, but a few years in the other.”

Sam immediately started protesting after the words left Danny’s mouth. “No. Absolutely not.”

“I’ve already agreed to it!”

“No! You don’t get to just up and disappear on us for years!”

“It won’t be years, Sam! It’ll just be a few weeks! You guys will all be busy with your finals, anyway!”

“It’ll be years for you, though! You would be like what, twenty-six by the time you came back to us?”

“Maybe, yeah, but it’s not like it’ll matter!”

“Of course it matters, you idiot! You’ll be alone, in a different dimension, growing up without us!”

“It’s not like I can grow up, anyways!” Danny finally shouted, hair being pulled by his shaking hands. He didn’t look up from where he was staring at his laptop’s keyboard. He didn’t want to look at his friends as he finally admitted an ugly truth he had been trying to prepare himself for since gaining the knowledge that he was the future Ghost King.

A stunned silence filled the call, the only sounds Danny could hear was the gentle pitter-patter of rain tapping along his window and the distant sound of rolling thunder.

“Danny,” Jazz’s hesitant voice broke the agony whirling throughout the young man’s head. “What do you mean by that?”

Blue eyes flickered back and forth across his keyboard, taking in the broken “enter” key that he never quite got around to fixing, to the dent the old technology had on its lower left side. Danny remembers when he was told that his forms would stop aging. The raging denial that had filled Clockwork’s tower as he argued against his mentor. How his being had filled with absolute betrayal, all aimed towards his own body.

Clockwork had explained, back when Danny was first told about what being the Ruler of the Realms would entail. How all ghosts eventually stopped aging at the top of their prime, how very few of them had changes happen to their forms after only ten years of being a denizen of the Ghost Zone. He had explained to his ward that because Danny was only half of a ghost and still had a human form, usually this means he could continue to age regardless - though at a slower rate. However, because Danny was meant to take the throne and would therefore have to perform the coronation ritual, he would stop aging as soon as the Realm fully accepted him.

When Danny originally questioned what Clockwork meant, the old ghost had gone on to explain to him that being the King of all Ghosts involved gaining new powers on top of his responsibilities. As soon as Danny gained all his new abilities and learned to control them, his aging would halt.

The near-panic attack that the halfa had after that particular information bomb was something the two had silently agreed to never bring up again.

So, yeah. For the past couple of years, Danny had the time to come to terms with not only being the Ghost King, but he also had to learn to accept that he would never be able to grow old. He would never be able to follow his family and friends into death - a rough lesson he had to learn with Dan - and he would be forever alone in a castle surrounded by the dead. It was something Danny did his best to never truly think about, even though his ghostly mentors did their best to support him through his journey of becoming the King of the Zone.

Danny had never brought it up to his friends before. Ghost Writer, after one particularly bad fight with Valerie, had taught him a lesson he would never forget. The halfa had gone to the ghostly author to rant about how his friends had been pushing him into telling Valerie that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one and the same. Typically, whenever Danny needed someone to vent to he often went to anyone except Ghost Writer, but the then sixteen-year-old had honestly been itching for a fight. Instead of a brawl, though, the gray-skinned being had sat Danny down in one of his library’s squishy armchairs and taught him. The halfa had reluctantly listened as Ghost Writer spoke to him about an old legend of a man who’s cunning was his greatest power. Of how this man, adrift from everything he had ever known, had used the knowledge he had gained fighting enemy after enemy to prove everyone around him wrong and get back to his homeland - to his family. Ghost Writer wove words together in a beautiful way, that night, and for a while Danny really thought he had a shot at telling Valerie why he was being such a bad boyfriend to her.

The two of them were not trying to fight, honestly. But the pressure of having to run off at the drop of a hat to take care of a ghost problem had been quickly becoming too much for both of them. Hence, running into the Ghost Zone to pick a fight with someone who would actually be a challenge. It wasn’t his fault that Ghost Writer suddenly decided that teaching Danny was better than fighting him. And, despite it all, Danny had walked away from his time in the library more sure of himself than he had in a while.

However, when he passed through the portal, he saw a small, helpless blob ghost fighting against the restraints being used to hold them down. Danny was shocked still as his parents shot a bright, electric blue beam straight through the helpless being, leaving behind only a smoking spot on the steel table. His parents had cheered, after that, not noticing their greatest failure hovering in front of their greatest success. The two had excitedly talked about how they were sure that test was the best one they’ve had in weeks, about how excited they were to learn more on how to destroy the pesky unfeeling masses of ectoplasm.

It had made Danny sick to his stomach.

The hope that Ghost Writer had given him that day had rapidly turned into a warning Danny always held closely to his heart. Knowledge is power. Don’t let anyone know you, don’t let anyone see you. Don’t be a fool and give them the power to destroy you.

So Danny hadn’t told Valerie about who he really was. He hadn’t told his best friends about being the future Ghost King. He never dared to tell his parents that their invention had killed him before he even made it to highschool.

Knowledge was power, and power killed.

But here he was, ignoring the story of Odysseus, and telling his friends that he would never get to grow old with them. That he was stuck, forever caught in the body of a young adult until someone challenged him for the throne and did him in.

“I mean…” Danny finally croaked out, curling up a little bit as he carefully balanced his laptop on his knees. “I mean that I’m going to stop aging. Soon. Clockwork said. And I-” He broke off, wishing he could hide his head between his ripped jeans and never have to face his friends as he spilled out such a bitter fact. “I won’t be able to grow up with you guys, anyway.”

“Oh, Danny…” Jazz’s soothing voice wasn’t as comforting as one of her hugs, but her familiar cadence still caused him to shudder out a sob. “Little brother, you know we love you no matter what. If you stayed as a scrawny fourteen year old boy we would still stay by your side. You’re still my brother if you’re old and gray, or if you stay as young as you are now.”

“Yeah,” Tucker’s voice had a shaky confidence to it, sounding forced to even someone as socially inept as Danny. “Y’know you’re stuck with us forever, Danny.”

“But it won’t be for forever,” another sob tore out of Danny’s chest, though there were no tears. “I’m going to be forever. You guys will grow up, you guys will die and I’ll be alone!” He spat the last word out, tearing his hands from where they had been buried in his dark hair. His trembling digits were caught in the eerie green glow of his ecto-blasts, body filled with too many emotions but with no way for them to get out. Sharp eyes turned to the screen where his friends’ faces were warily watching him. Danny caught the reflection of his irises, a radiant neon beacon shining in the darkness of his room. Lightning cracked across the sky, and the sound of it filled up the empty space he had created with his confession.

“I’m going on this mission,” Danny said with a confidence he did not feel. “Clockwork said it would help me. I trust him. He- he wouldn’t tell me something that’s not true.”

“Alright,” Tears were spilling from Jazz’s teal eyes. “Alright, Danny. We trust you, we trust Clockwork.”

“No!” Sam also had tears in her eyes, but she didn’t let them spill. “If this is true, then we need to figure out a way to stop it. There’s got to be a way!”

Tucker’s broken voice cut over the last of the resident goth’s. “Sam, Sam no-”

“We can fix this!”

“There is no fixing it.” Danny distantly noticed his voice was an empty, broken thing. “I’ve asked.”

“We can find a way-”

“Sam, you’re not helping right now,” Tucker cut in. He was scowling, glasses reflecting the light of his laptop. “Like Jazz said, we trust you Danny. If you think this will help, then go for it.”

“We just want you to be safe, to be happy.” Jazz added. Her voice was still shaky, but she was doing her best to be brave in the face of her little brother’s emotions. “If Clockwork says this is something you need to do, then go for it.”

Danny paused, bowing his head. The toxic green glow that had once surrounded him had dimmed, but the pattering of rain only grew louder as the wind picked up. “Clocky said there’s others like me there. That a friend of his would be able to teach me.”

Jazz hummed, the sound barely picked up by her own laptop’s microphone. “That’s good, little brother. Did he say for sure how long you would be gone for?”

“Not really,” Danny said, barely lifting his head. His voice was still devoid of emotion, just a shade of who he was. “He- he said it would be a week or two for you guys. He never really told me how long I would be in the other place.”

A smile that was blinding white despite being forced graced Jazz’s elegant face. “Well, I know for sure Valerie would be more than happy to take care of Amity Park while you’re gone. Thank you for letting us know you’ll be gone!”

Danny was suspicious at Jazz’s sudden acceptance of what he just told her, but brushed off his concerns. At this point, he just wanted to hang up and mope until he felt brave enough to go back into the Ghost Zone. Nor did he want to tell his older sister that calling on his ex-girlfriend was not going to do any good, as he could simply ban travel into Amity Park while the halfa was dealing with this other dimension. That would mean explaining how he could order ghosts around, which was really something he wanted to avoid for the next sixty years.

“Yeah, yeah of course…” Danny said skeptically when Sam and Tucker didn’t say anything. He chanced a glance at his screen, noticing both of them looking down and furiously typing.

“Just- just at least text us before you go.” Emotion coated Jazz’s voice, though Danny wasn’t able to fully pick them apart by the time Jazz kept speaking. “We love you, Danny.”

“Yeah, Danny,” Tucker agreed, his voice still filled with that false confidence. “Maybe see if you can keep us updated every once in a while?”

“I don’t think that would work,” Sam cut through. “So just… keep a journal or something. We all know you have the failing memory of a goldfish.”

Danny couldn’t even muster up the energy to feed into the age-old argument between the two of them. “Y-yeah, okay,” he nodded as he spoke. “I can do that.”

“Good.”

A yawn, obviously fake even to Danny, cracked open Jazz’s jaws. “I need to get back to bed. But, Danny, go get packed and let us know before you go, okay? We’ll keep an eye on Ellie and Amity as much as we can.”

“Sure, Jazz.” Danny agreed, trying to smile at his friends. “I’ll text you guys before I go.”

“You better.” The threat came from Sam, who was no longer angrily typing but was now visibly fuming. “I don’t like this, so you better be safe.”

“Of course, Sam.”

“And get us souvenirs! Take pictures, be a tourist. I expect a lot of stories about everything when you get back.” Tucker cut through the tension created with an easy-going grin.

Danny found it in him to give a small, genuine smile to Tucker. “Yeah, Tuck. I’ll bring you guys back something cool.”

It was then that the four finally said goodbye, and Danny closed his laptop with a definite click. He stared out at his barren room, at the boxes that had never been unpacked.

When Danny originally moved out from his parents’ house, at the ripe age of eighteen, it was with a certain type of excitement. Jazz had helped him house hunt and Vlad - who had long since given up on any attempts at being a major Fruit Loop - was on call to discuss the legal side of things when the siblings got tripped up. He had picked his current apartment because it was on the cheaper side. Because even if Vlad said “no strings attached” with a steady stream of please believe me-this is not a trick-honesty-honesty-hONESTY, Danny couldn’t help but be a bit wary of accepting help.

However, when it came around to actually packing up all his stuff from his childhood home, Danny’s excitement had fled. Packing up his model rockets, he couldn’t help but be surrounded by the memories attached to them. The Saturn V his dad had helped him build when he had come back from his first day of kindergarten crying about his classmates making fun of him from having kooky parents. His dad had helped Danny build it for all of thirty minutes before he was distracted by something down in the lab, and little five-year-old Danny finished it up himself after waiting for his dad to come back. For seven hours, Danny waited for his father to live up to his promise to be back in “just a second”.

His hanging International Space Station had been a gift from his mom, back when he broke his leg fighting off the mutant food in the fridge. Danny had been so scared of the rotted deli ham that had attacked him whenever he was looking for a meal. Jazz had been at a Mathlete meeting or something, so it had been up to Danny to get his own food that day. The sliced ham, old enough to be green without the assistance of ectoplasm, had jumped on him as soon as he opened the fridge. He remembers screaming for his parents to help him, and he tried to climb on top of the kitchen table, away from the mutant meats. They had surrounded him for hours, crying for someone to come save him. When he finally started to gather up the courage to bolt for his room, though, the possessed processed food had finally managed to climb onto his hiding space. Danny had been so scared that he had fallen off the table, twisting his leg in a way that it snapped, the break echoing across the empty house. It was only with the help of adrenaline that he managed to hide himself away in a closet, stuffing random coats under the crack of the door so that the meats couldn’t get to him.

That was how Jazz found him, when she finally made it back from her meeting. She dropped out of Mathletes the next day.

Danny had been seven at the time.

Those memories had haunted him as he packed up the various models he had gotten as birthday presents from his schoolmates, or apology gifts from his parents. It was with a certain sadness that he pulled down the glow in the dark stars lining his walls and ceiling, remembering how Jazz had pestered their parents into helping him put them up.

At the time, it had seemed like every small childhood thing in his room was tainted by the signs of how badly his parents had treated them.

When Danny had finally finished packing up his old room, he couldn’t find the energy to unpack the unlabeled boxes in his new home. So they were stacked hazardously throughout every room. His kitchen, the living room, even his bathroom wasn’t safe.

It was now three years later, and they were still untouched. It had taken his parents six weeks to realize that Danny had moved out. The call he had gotten from them was a furious one - Danny had yelled at them with a type of security he had never felt before. He listed off every reason why he had been so excited to finally move out from under their thumb. Why he was angry at them for not noticing if he just disappeared. How they only ever noticed the bad but never the good. How he couldn’t live in a house where they tortured and experimented on sentient beings.

It was at this point in their argument that his mother hung up. They hadn’t spoken since.

“Get yourself together, Fenton,” Danny mumbled to himself, brushing his laptop off of him. The Ghost King stretched, gazing forlornly at the sealed childhood around him. Shaking himself to get rid of the hazy feeling, the young man started to gather up various important items he might need in a massive blue duffle bag covered in NASA and ghost themed patches.

It was time he packed up, took a nap, and then set off towards Clockwork’s tower, after all.

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Want to keep reading? The rest of the chapter is on ao3 because goDDAMN THIS IS ONE LONG BOI

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Home

The building that housed Fentonworks had never been normal, no matter what neighbors and real estate agents might profess.

Things had happened there. Deaths. Wild twists of fate and shocking coincidences. People who lived there heard noises, saw things, felt things. Experienced sicknesses with no cause. Were cured of sicknesses without cause. Survived things that should have killed them.

It was a thin spot between worlds. Reality was a rippling membrane, frayed enough for things to shine through.

The construction of the neighborhood itself had been… strange. It happened much faster than it should have, as if there was a whole extra shift of workers on the project.

The townhouse that would one day become Fentonworks had stood out even in that mystery. Extra rooms, a basement deep enough to cause a nasty fight with regulators, features not approved by the architect.

It was a wonder they hadn’t hit any of the water lines or the sewage systems. A wonder- and an impossibility. So, the matter was ignored and dropped.

Then the next owners expanded that impossible basement, building another, secret basement and putting things in the walls- They were criminals, of course. It was expected for them to do illegal things. (Although exactly what they had done was… oddly uncertain.)

(Drugs, perhaps.)

Then, the lunatics. Then, the tiny cult that collapsed in on itself. Then the empty years, dozens of transient ghosts trying and failing to pass through, and the ghost hunters. So many ghost hunters, none of them particularly successful.

Then, the Fentons.

Then, little Jazz.

Then, little Danny.

Danny with wide eyes that saw too much.

And all the horrors that the Fentons could dream up, from living hotdogs to weapons that burned like stars and doors to places that should not be visited.

And this was Danny Fenton’s home.

.

The Manson estate was an odd case, even for Amity Park. Save for the basement, the entire building they lived in had been transplanted, brick and beam, from Germany.

Rich people were bizarre.

Even the Mansons couldn’t explain it. The man who had done it hadn’t been a Manson. The Mansons, who were relatively new money, all things considered, had purchased it from one of the man’s children. Anything to boost their prestige.

It was fancy, and it was old, a gothic and statuesque mansion worthy of its name. Still, it wasn’t quite fancy or old enough to merit the kind of expenditure moving it had to take.

Hence the rumors, squelched by the Mansons, that the place was haunted.

It wasn’t.

The rumors, however, were enough to get one Samantha Manson interested in the occult. Especially given how hard she saw her parents working to hide the rumors from her.

No. The mansion wasn’t haunted. For all it’s oddities and quirks – which only multiplied as the Mansons added more and more features to it – the building itself was mundane.

(The land it was built on might have been another story.)

And this was Sam Manson’s home.

.

The Foleys didn’t want to know what Tucker got up to in the attic, but liked to think that, with that one exception, their home was a nice one. It was on a nice street, in a nice neighborhood, just far enough away from Fentonworks to keep both sightings of the Ghost Assault Vehicle and resultant property damage and property taxes to a minimum. Within walking distance of the high school, a supermarket, and a park.

They kept the fridge and pantry stocked. Their food might not have always been healthy – red meat was an element of almost every meal – but it was always available and filling. They made an effort for the dietary restrictions of Tucker’s friends of course.

All the rooms were kept clean and neat. Even Tucker’s, by way of bribes. Everything was organized, everything had its place. Except, perhaps, for the stray shoe or piece of schoolwork.

But that attic.

It really hadn’t been anything, before Tucker asked if he could move his computer stuff up there. Just a storage space, one too difficult for either Angela or Maurice to climb up there often. They didn’t consider themselves old, but they couldn’t call themselves young either. Not with a son Tucker’s age.

Once Tucker had realized the attic was there, he had been fascinated. And, well, once he was old enough for them to not worry about him falling off the ladder, they let him go up.

Some days, it seemed, he didn’t come down.

Better than his faintly disturbing Ancient Egypt phase, where he kept bringing pictures of mummified corpses to the table. Or, worse, the werewolf phase.

And this was Tucker Foley’s home.

.

Amity Park had claimed the distinction of ‘most haunted town in America’ long before the Fentons opened their portal. In fact, that was the reason the Fentons had set up shop there, in the first place.

No haunted town was complete without at least one haunted house. Amity Park had several. Not to mention a haunted hospital, a selection of haunted schools, a haunted museum, a haunted pool, a haunted crosswalk, a haunted mall, a haunted football field… The list went on, essentially ad nauseum.

Of course, that list mostly consisted of places that became haunted after the Fentons built their portal. But even before then, some places offered their dubious charms to tourists.

Mostly gullible ones. More than half of the claims of hauntings before the portal opened were fraudulent in their entirety. These places quickly went broke and got abandoned when real ghosts started showing up.

One of these was the ominously named Raven House, which stood in the hills on the west edge of town.

The story the tourists of years gone by had been told was that a widower had lived out here, all by himself and that one day, he stopped coming to town, or paying his bills, or even getting his mail. When the mailbox at the end of the long driveway was full, the mailman decided to go check on the widower. What he found was a flock of ravens and a skeleton, entirely picked clean of flesh.

No such death had occurred there, nor in any part of Amity. No such person had ever lived in the house, either. The last owners, before the company that decided to market the house as haunted, were a couple with two children.

It wasn’t until months after the portal started up that it became haunted in truth.

.

“This place isn’t haunted,” said Danny, panning his flashlight over cobwebbed corners on the ceiling. “I don’t think it ever was.”

“That’s what, strike five?” asked Sam.

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Four, actually,” said Tucker. “We counted the hospital as inconclusive, since we don’t know if anyone was there before Spectra.”

Danny nodded. “It’s weird, though, isn’t it? That no one lives here, I mean. It looks like a perfectly nice house.”

“Décor’s a bit… eh. Trying to hard to be haunted,” said Tucker, poking a raven decal on the wallpaper.

“I like it,” said Sam. “Needs cleaning, though.”

“Hey,” said Tucker, “you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you? Because I’m pretty sure that’d be illegal.”

“It isn’t as if anyone else is using the place,” argued Sam. “It could be a great backup hideout, if we ever had to… you know.” She glanced at Danny. “Plus, we’d be doing them a favor, really, keeping things clean and lived in.”

“I think it’s an okay idea,” said Danny.

“Yeah, but you think lots of dumb things are good ideas. Like showing up at a party hosted by people who publicly humiliate you on a regular basis.”

Danny grumbled something about trauma responses that sounded like a direct quote from Jazz and something else about that incident being ages (aka weeks) ago. Then, he brightened.

“We could get one of the little ectoplasm generators to power everything,” he said. “Remember all that stuff we lifted from Skulker and Technus? We could actually use it. Study and test things without worrying about whether our parents will walk in. I mean, your attic is great, but still.”

“Plus, we can have actual lab safety protocols. No offense, Danny.”

“I am the one that half-died in a lab accident, so… None taken.”

Tucker rubbed his chin. “Alright. I suppose I can see the appeal… But if we have stuff that can trace back to us, we could get in serious trouble."

“We’ll be careful, then,” said Sam.

“Anything I take from Mom and Dad has plausible deniability. They’ll assume ghosts stole it.”

“We also need to clean if we’re being serious about this. And get a fridge. And figure out the pluming situation.”

“Fridge is on the list. We have to be careful about the outside, too. If this place is suddenly well maintained, people will notice.”

“Sure, but that isn’t something they’d call the cops over,” said Danny. “They’ll just assume new people are moving in. If anyone sees it at all. We’re pretty far away from anything. But pluming won’t be too hard. We just need to bring our own water. Like, toilets flush using physics. If you dump more water in, they’ll go, no electricity required.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can’t even tell you how many time Mom and Dad blew out all our breakers with stuff in the lab,” said Danny. “You pick up a few things.”

“Well,” said Tucker, swinging his flashlight over to examine a discolored spot on the ceiling. “Then… Home sweet home, I suppose.”

.

There was a house in the hills in the west hills of Amity Park.

And this was the home of two and a half humans and half a ghost.

danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

The Not So Grim Reaper

Read on A03 Here Pairings: None Trigger Warnings: mild blood and cartoon style violence  Author: @burning-clutch (Team Ghost) Word count: 4291 Prompt by:  All-hail-trash-prince / KitKat Cat  FFN: the-trash-prince

-------

 It was the third anniversary of the half death day of one Daniel Fenton and said teen was not exactly sure how to feel about the matter. He had been contacted by none other than the master of the timeline, Clockwork, to let him know that today was going to be a big important day for him…

 So he was understandably nervous…

 The ancient ghost had taken a vested interest in him, sure, but Danny was pretty sure it was mostly to spite the Observants who had their hands in the old ghost’s work. Regardless of the reason though, when clockwork spoke or rather wrote him a note or some other such thing, he knew well it was important and he needed to heed whatever it was.                  At least it was a Saturday, so he didn’t need to worry about school, however, when his ghost sense went off causing him to exhale a wispy billow of cold air, he silently wished that the ghosts could give him a couple of days off a week as well.

 With a reluctant sigh, Danny transformed in his bedroom before taking off and heading off towards the location he’d felt the strongest pull from the ectoplasmic disruption. It was downtown, a great start overall, though what was odd was as of yet there was no destruction… no running people trying desperately to escape an ethereal threat…

 It was uncomfortably calm actually…

 Danny frowned and spun about trying to focus inwards to locate where the pull was. His eyes flashed open in an instant when he felt it, his ghost sense going off for a second time as he honed into the feeling. Whatever ghost had decided to pay him a visit today was powerful. Scarily so to elicit such a strong reaction from his ghost sense.

 He flew up towards the ghost, he was eager but weary. There was no outright attack yet so he wanted to hold out hope that whatever ghost was up here was peaceful.

 Danny was not prepared for a lanky ghost in a solid black robe looking out over the city from the highest building in Amity. Danny opened his mouth to speak but the stranger beat him to it. “Ah, Phantom… or do you prefer Daniel? Or some other such derivative of that?” the ghost asked, not even shifting in the slightest.

 Danny was unnerved by that. The ghost had a deep voice, gruff but buttery smooth… it had a strange resonance in it that made it sound both soothing and unsettling at the same time. Still, Danny was on guard. Ghosts could go from zero to a hundred really fast, and he’d been bitten by that ruse far too often to have not learned at this point… Still, he was always an optimist and any chance to get out of this without a fight he’d take it.

 “And you are?” Danny asked, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible to this potentially dangerous and powerful spectre.

 “Oh silly me, how rude.” The ghost chuckled out before turning around with a flourish. The ghost was bone white and rail thin, with ruby red eyes that shone with mirth around a deep navy blue iris. With the black cloak closed all Danny could see was the white glow around him and the elongated face of the ghost. As he laughed he revealed a long set of fangs both upper and lower hidden away by bone white lips.

 “My name is Mortimer, Morty for short if you’d rather. Most people prefer it anyway.” the ghost, Morty mused with a small tap of his white slender finger to his lips. “Ah well, that’s not important what is as that you’re a prompt kid, and I like that. Pleasure,” he stuck out a hand to shake.

 Danny eyed the hand suspiciously before grasping the pale appendage into his own. There was a cool and electric feeling radiating from Mortimer, that just screamed of power, but the literal grim grinning ghost before him seemed nice enough.

 “Right, introductions out of the way, now we can get down to brass tax hm?” the pale ghost said releasing Danny’s hand and clapping his own together with a soft and chalky sounding smack.

 “What?” Danny blinked stupidly. “You're a tax collector ghost?” he asked, making a face of confusion.

 “What? Oh Ancients, no! I am a collector of sorts and you Phantom,-”

 “Are going to be the newest thing in your weird collection? No thanks.” Danny scoffed having interrupted the ghost.

 “You don’t even know what the offer is and besides it’s not exactly something you can refuse being what you are, and how you have handled yourself up until now,” Morty said with a flippant wave of his hand. “Your fate was sealed into this the moment Clockwork took an interest in you.”

 “Clockwork? Where does he fit into this? With you?” Danny huffed feeling a little more angered by the second now.

 “Well, it’s your third death day right?” Danny nodded. “Well, today is when you officially transition from a kid to a teen, well from a ghostly standpoint anyway,” Morty said with a tilt of his head revealing a thin whisp of flame like hair that looked to be hardly there at all on his ebony ectoplasmic flesh.

 Danny blinked a few times as his mind caught up with that. This guy had mentioned Clockwork and Clockwork had mentioned today would be important… So…  “You’re who I was supposed to be looking out for today?” Danny asked.

 “I mean maybe? Were you told a reaping recruiter was comin’ to get you?” Morty asked in kind. “Because if you were that makes this a whole lot simpler.”

 “A what?” Danny barely got out before the other ghost grabbed his arm and thrust him forward into a ghost portal. Instantly Danny engaged his flight and rounded on Morty, fists flaring only to stop cold when he saw where he was brought.

 The literal valley of death.

 Morty now had out a scythe as tall as he was, with a blade that was half the length of the pole. The blade, seemingly made of a blinding white plasma dipped into the portal and closed it in an instant. Morty then spun the scythe banishing the weapon to whatever unworld it had come from.

 The weapon itself was impressive enough, but the fact that it matched the exact description shape and apparently portaling powers, from what he remembered the reaper ghosts were usually seen to wield… Danny was very glad he didn’t try to attack this ghost now.

 “You really are a reaper.” Danny gasped out, staring wide eyed at Morty.

 “Yes, I thought I’d mentioned that? No? Eh, well we’re here now and we’ve got work to do boy!” Morty said with a motion aimed at the halfa to get him to follow.

 Reaper ghosts were dangerous, said to kill a living person with just a touch of their hand… Danny’s eyes widened as he stared down at the hand he’d shook Morty’s with earlier. Did that mean…? He rubbed at his neck as he followed, thankful to feel the slow and shallow ‘Ka-thump’ beneath his gloved hand.

 “Wait, you mentioned you were a recruiter?” Danny asked moving quickly to catch up to the other ghost.

 “Yep,” came the simple reply with a popping P. “And you’re here because-.”  he trailed off with a wave of his hand urging Danny to put two and two together.

 “I’m being turned into a reaper?” Danny hazarded out his guess.

         “Got it in one kid. Congrats. Morty said with a nod of approval.

 “Wait… Why me?”

 “Well, the main one is you being a demi-ghost. You’re between the life and death binary system. Meaning, you yourself are the focal point in that scale of life and death,” the reaper responded.

 “What about Vlad? He’s a halfa too…” Danny asked, genuinely curious.

 “Indeed he is, but you are not like him in the slightest when it comes to personality. Tell me do you know what we do? What job does a reaper ghost have?” Morty asked, turning to look at Danny over his shoulder.

 “You take the souls of the living, collecting them and forcing them to die…?” Danny asked nervously. “I don’t want to kill people though! Even if they are on some list or however you decide who’s time is up!” he argued to Morty. He really didn’t want to kill people…

 “Ha! No, Why does everyone always think we deal in the living? Life and death are something that can’t be influenced by us.when your number’s up it ain’t us that's coming to kill you, nature does that plenty well on its own.”

 “Then-”

 “We deal in the souls of ghosts,” Morty stated. “When a living thing dies, regardless of whether they become a ghost or not, the souls flow to the ghost zone. If they do become a ghost it means they had an obsession that was stronger then the pull of the zone’s core, the collective.” Morty explained.

 “That much I know… It’s a basic concept.” Danny nodded curiously now as the reaper led him into a catacomb beneath the garden they were standing upon a moment ago.

 “Right, well, what do you think happens to ghosts who’s obsessions get out of hand to the point the ghosts themselves are a danger? Or ghosts that get trapped in the human realm? That’s where we come in. if they’re a danger it’s our job to force them into the collective. And the easiest way is to slice the obsession right out of them, slicing through their core with your scythe. No obsession, no reason to be and the ghost is absorbed into the collective.”

 “That’s still killing people! Even if they’re ghosts I still can’t-” Danny shook his head unable to think of himself potentially killing or ending a ghost… he would be no better than Dan then…

 “Well you’re not killing or ending, you’re returning them to the collective. Alternatively, you can also repair a broken core so long as the ghost isn’t too far gone. Putting down troubled spirits is our main service as a reaper, secondary is that making sure the collective stays as exactly that, a collective. We make sure nothing in the zone ventures too close, and nothing in, comes out.” Morty said with a sharp look about him as he said that.

 Danny offered the reaper a sheepish smile, before turning away from the glowing gaze to look about the catacombs. There were a lot of dirt torches on the walls and doors and really not much beyond that, but suddenly the door to his left was the most interesting thing on the planet.                  “You do not want to know what happens when something comes out of the collective and back into the ghost zone,” the reaper warned in a stern tone.

 Danny flinched his gaze snapping back into the ruby eyes of the reaper.

 “Besides most commonly it’s a reaper’s job to retrieve stranded ghosts from the human realm and lead them home to the zone. A starved ghost is not something to take lightly after all. And that brings us to why we’re recruiting you, and not the other halfa.”

         “Because I’ve been doing that as it is?” Danny tried after a moment of the other ghost looking at him expectantly.

 Morty grinned at that. “HA! Nice once again in one, and they said you were a dunce,” the ghost chuckled as they finally stopped to enter a large wooden door with a golden trim.

 “Who did?” Danny asked as he followed the ghost inside.

 “Don’t worry about it. Just pick out a scythe that calls out to you,” Morty waved him off dismissing the insult on his intelligence easily.

 Danny couldn’t bother to rebuttal though when he laid eyes on the weaponry in the room. They were in a word gorgeous. All glowing with an array of coloured blades and handles and the teen’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

 “Woah…” was about all he could get out as he gently reached out to try to grab a scythe with a bright white handle and a blue blade. As soon as his hand touched the pole Danny recoiled from the shock he’d received from the weapon.

 “Nope, that one didn’t like you kid,” Morty said amused. “A reaper’s blade is special to them, and only one reaper can wield a blade, so much so that if a reaper is destroyed the blade shatters along with them. It’s an extension of yourself,” he explained.

 “So then… how do you know?” Danny asked, trying to grab another one with a black pole and purple blade, only to recoil with a hiss and suck on his now burned finger.

 “You really need me to answer that one kid?” the reaper asked leaning against the door and crossing his arms.

 “...No…” Danny grumbled. The teen sighed looking at all the blades in the rows of weapons. They were all scythes and all slightly different, though some not by much to their neighbours. With a thoughtful frown, Danny explored the shelves.

 Morty watched the teen go eyes shining with mirth as he looked on into the rows and rows of weapons. As a halfa, he would become an angel of rebirth, a force to be reckoned with and eventually a great ruler. Until his one-hundredth death day, he wouldn’t know of that tidbit and instead would remain in their ranks as a reaper.

 Danny sighed after the tenth or so blade zapped him, he decided to try a new tactic. He closed his eyes and focused like he would when normally looking for a ghost with his ghost sense. These weapons felt like more than just average weapons after all perhaps they had a bit of life er, rather death in them?                  And so he focused and walked forward, moving along eyes closed until his hand rested in front of a rack. He blinked his eyes open and scanned the handles in front of him. It was easy to pick out the one that he thought was calling to him after that.

 The handle was deep black with coloured sparkling glowing speckles all along the shaft, swirling and pulsing shifting slowly all along the handle. They looked so much like stars that Danny’s core fluttered eagerly at the sight of that alone. When he grabbed the handle, he felt the sheer burst of power that flowed through him and it was both intoxicating and worrisome.

 He quickly regained his focus to stare at the white blade that pulsed and flickered with just the tiniest bit of blue. It reminded him of a comet’s tail with how it waved along when he moved the weapon. It was gorgeous and he knew it was his.

 “Oh, that’s a beaut’!” Mort said with a low whistle almost right into Danny’s ear, causing the teen to jump into the air and float there staring angrily down at the reaper. “Now you’ve got that I gotta teach ya how to use it, well the basics, then from there you’re to come back here every week til we deem you ready to don a cloak.”

 “I- right… so where do-” Danny didn’t even get the chance to ask as no sooner had he started Morty ripped a hole into space with his own summoned scythe and grabbed Danny dragging him through the portal. “Training…”

 “En- Garde boy!” Morty called, pointing the butt end of his scythe to Danny. “First things first summoning and banishing your blade, then portals, and that should do it for today. I’ve no doubt you’ll figure out fighting with it on your own after that.”

 “Yeah, ghost attacks in my town are far too common…” Danny admitted.

 “Well now you can portal them away,” Morty said with a chuckle. “I think that’s why humans all think us to be bringers of death, we’re often seen bringing newly dead ghosts across the threshold to the zone… but you being a halfa you can stay in the human realm and not have to worry as much about ectoplasm intake. It gives you a huge advantage.”

 With a final amused shake of his head, Morty went into army Sergeant mode. Like the flip of a switch, Danny was suddenly being worked over the proverbial coals. He wasn’t sure how long it took him to be able to summon and banish the scythe, but he was suddenly overly glad that there was only two things the reaper had wanted to work on.

 Once he had successfully done the summon and banish three times in a row they moved on to portaling. And this was where Danny felt the drain.

 He had to push his power into the blade to keep it rigid and allow himself to actually use the thing to cut. That alone was hard, but trying to force his power through the scythe to make the portal… after his third attempt, he was already almost ready to pass out.

 Push the power into the blade then past it, force it to burst out of the blade and reach into the human realm, then spin the energy around the blade to pull open the portal. He knew the concept Morty had drilled it into his skull by this point, but for the life of him…

 Danny panted leaning forward using his new weapon to hold himself up. He was almost ready to transform back…

 “Is that all you got?” Morty taunted. “If it is we’ll be here a lot longer. You’re not getting out of here unless you can portal out yourself. Do you have a clear destination in mind?” he asked again for the fifth time.

 “Yes, I do… I -I don’t think I have enough power.” Danny wheezed out.

 Morty shook his head. “You don’t, but your scythe does. You’re only supposed to use your power to supplement and direct that of your weapon. Now try again with that method.”

 Danny sighed and readied himself before standing up once more. With a deep breath, he readied himself and tried to talk with his scythe as weird as it sounded at first to his tired brain.

 “To Fenton works come on now… “ Danny urged. With a force of power from his weapon pulling from his own energy pool he swung his blade and sliced down. The curve went through space and sliced the fabric between dimensions open.

 With a triumphant cheer, Danny whooped out to his teacher. “You’ve done well kid. Now remember, to close it stick the butt of your weapon into the centre of the portal and give a small pulse of energy.” Morty said with a bright grin. “And I’ll see you next week.”

 With that, the Reaper ghost gave Danny a salute before opening a portal of his own and taking off to wherever it was he went when not on duty.

 Danny on the other hand eagerly flew through the portal, dispelled that, banished his scythe and B lined into bed practically collapsing onto the plush surface with a tired and sore groan. It didn’t take him long after that to fall asleep.  

 -.-.-.-

 It was dinner time when Danny woke up, or rather Jazz had brought up some leftovers to him after telling his parents that he was sick… Still, it was an easy win for him to sleep the day away and he’ll take any chance he can get for that.

 Jazz was easy to dissuade from pressuring him too much after he simply said ‘ghost problems’ she dropped it begrudgingly, and he was able to shoo her out of his room to eat his meal in relative peace.

 Or at least half of it since his ghost sense went off not too long into his meal.

 With an angered groan and a forlorn look to the mac and cheese loaf he had been enjoying, he transformed and headed out to knock some annoying ghost sideways… and for once he was almost hoping it would just be the box ghost.

 When a missile came flying towards him a few seconds later he knew that hope was dashed. Even more so when Skulker moved in himself to try to toss a weighted net at him.

 With a quick blast of his plasma the net was no more but the missile he’d dodged before rounded back on him, slamming into his back and launching him down to the ground.

 He pulled himself up with a groan and a small huff of annoyance escaped him when he saw an almost identical him shaped hole right beside the one he’d just pulled himself out from. “Well at least I’m consistent…” he muttered in annoyance, before launching back up towards Skulker.

 “I have you this time whelp!” The robotic hunter called out aiming a blast towards his prey.

 Danny threw up a shield before grinning to himself and summoning his new weapon. “I got something new for my death day and I wanna try it out!” Danny called. “Hope it gives me a new edge.” he offered quickly, swinging the blade around, doing his best to look cool, before pointing the business end of his scythe at Skulker.

 The self proclaimed Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter paused upon seeing the weapon. “That can not be real,” he scoffed out though the worry in his tone was clear as a crystal bell.

 “Like my new toy Skulky? I got myself a new upgrade!” Danny proclaimed channelling a bit of power to solidify the wispy blade into a solid and keen blade. With one two handed strike the thing struck true and sliced Skulker’s hand clean off as if it were butter.

 Skulker would be sweating if he were capable… as it were he could only stare at the halfa in dread and slight awe. “It’s real, isn’t it…” he gulped.

 “Very.” Came Danny’s amused reply as he decided to try something. Focusing hard on the area in the ghost zone just outside Walker’s prison Danny turned and stuck the air right beside Skulker. To the teen’s absolute delight a portal appeared in all it’s spinning glory. “It worked!” He chirped before kicking at Skulker to toss him through it.

 The bewildered robotic ghost hardly stood a chance and sailed through the portal with a yelp of dismay. To think the prey he’d been hunting all this time was a reaper!? It made him all the more valuable… Skulker reoriented himself before trying to zip back the way he’d come only for the portal to suddenly vanish leaving him stranded on this side.

 Danny meanwhile, was elated. This was going to make his job of protecting Amity a whole lot simpler. He wouldn’t need to worry if he forgot his thermos ever again! It was a good feeling. He swirled his scythe around like the leader of a marching band with far too much flare, simply enjoying how natural the weapon felt to him.

 His exceptional high feeling was cut short however when Valerie’s voice hit his ears. “What… What was that?”

 Danny squawked, he didn’t even hear her coming up behind him! He clutched the scythe to his chest, the blade’s wispy form flickering along with his ghostly tail and aura. “What?” Danny blinked stupidly.

 Ever since Danielle Danny had shared a shaky alliance with the huntress, though it was more of a stay out of my way and I won’t shoot directly at you, sort of thing. Still, any sort of relief from attacks, he’ll take.

 “That scythe… it’s new.” Valerie commented suspiciously.

 “Oh, Yeah! I’m three now so I got a cool toy! Apparently, I’m a reaper ghost. Neat huh?” Danny grinned doing his best to keep up his playful hero persona.  He spun his weapon around a few times before vanishing the thing and taking a bow.

 “A reaper?” Valerie asked carefully, floating a little bit further back from the male now.

 “Yep!” Danny exclaimed popping the P and straightening back up to properly face Valerie. “Oh! But I’m a reaper for ghosts, not one for humans,” Phantom added placatingly, hands up in a hopefully soothing manner. “You can still touch me it’s fine!” he added barely making out the frown behind the face shield the huntress wore.

 Valerie grimaced further at that. “I’d really rather not.”

 “No seriously, it’s fine. Come here! Let’s hug it out!” Danny called arms open wide and a shit eating grin in place.

 Valerie called out a curse to him and fired a volley of blasts forcing the halfa to dodge and fly back. “Try that again and I’ll put a hole through your head.” she hissed.

 Danny’s grin never faltered and instead simply used his bodily manipulation powers to do just that. While Valerie shuddered Danny tried again for the hug arms wide.

 “Ugh, you're impossible.” She grumbled, firing a blast with pinpoint accuracy through the hole he’d made in his face.

 “Come on Val~ That’s not nice.” Danny teased smiling brightly, only to yelp and zip off when she brought out her thermos threateningly.

 The citizens of Amity park that night were witness to an hour’s long game of cat and mouse, as the Red Huntress chased the elusive Phantom about. Though if asked about it later Phantom would insist it was all in good fun. Even if the burn on his backside begged to argue otherwise…

 And as Phantom learned more and more from the reaper ghosts, he became a better and more efficient hero to the people of Amity.

 The approval ratings going up felt nice too.

 -.-.-.-.-

 Complete:

 Total word count: 4291

Out of the Bag and Into the Fire

hey it’s me, guy who posts danny phantom drabble guy. another thing from rp, a little over a year ago I had him finally come out to his parents and it goes, and it goes, and it goes a little something like this (hit it)

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Danny clicked his phone off and stood in the dark hallway in silence. Around him closed familiar walls like a blanket that should, by all means, have been reassuring, but instead to him seemed strange. Foreboding, in that this was the last place he ever meant to feel endangered. At least like this. This was it, he thought. His sister had preoccupied his father. Beyond the door was his mother. Here he was, with his eyes on the knob. This would be it. He reached. When his fingers brushed the metal of the doorknob, he faltered, withdrew his hand, and set it instead on the wooden surface of the door. The tips of his fingers turned white at the pressure, and he set his jaw and held himself at arm’s length; wary, as if the wood might not hold him. There was a time it might not have, when he couldn’t have trusted it for long. But things were different now (this he enforced to himself, straightening his back, stiffening his shoulders). Things were different now. He was not in danger. He was not afraid. He was not worried. This he enforced to himself. The thing was, though, he knew he wasn’t in danger. He knew his parents wouldn’t try to kill him, dissect him, disown him. Flaws aside, they were good, honest, accepting people, and he was their son. He wasn’t scared of that, beyond the little bits and pieces that floated through his nightmares. No. What he feared was harder to name. It came in the little glances, the thoughts behind them. He knew his parents would always treat him the same, no matter what. But the more he thought about it, the more he feared what they might hold back. How they might see him, even if they acted just the same. Danny didn’t want to be analyzed. He didn’t want to be studied, observed, scrutinized. He didn’t want to fascinate anybody. For years, for decades, the Fentons had devoted their lives to one thing: Researching ghosts. It was nigh-on obsession at this point, and anyone so much as passing through for the weekend could see as much. Danny knew this as well as everyone else. And he didn’t want to be a subject. The thought terrified him to tears. He couldn’t keep this from his parents anymore, he knew that just as well. College, his future. His inability to hold a job AND homework AND ghost fighting. How long could he blame the cuts and bruises on bullying, on his own clumsiness? Dash had barely even looked at him for at least a year. Danny was at his limit. And things were only getting harder. But what if it would never be the same again? What if this – if knowing – did something to his parents that he could never take back? In typical fashion, Danny forcefully swallowed all of that deep into the ever-widening pit in his stomach and seized the knob. Now or never, he told himself, and repeated it aloud, for emphasis. “Now or never. You can do this, Danny.” “Mom?” he called in, cracking the door as he did. “Can I talk to you about something?” Maddie Fenton hummed an affirmative “Mm-hmm,” in the lyrical tone that meant she was in a good mood. Danny wasn’t sure whether that mattered, but he figured it couldn’t hurt, and stepped in, closing the door behind him. Maddie had been using the computer she kept in the bedroom, and the screen displayed a chart on a white background. Taxes, or some other thing Danny’s econ class hadn’t bothered to cover. Who was in a good mood doing taxes? “What is it, Danny?” she asked, frowning, after he’d fidgeted for the right amount of time, and she swiveled her desk chair out to face him, one arm resting on the chair’s. Danny started and went for his pocket. He’d at least planned this much, over and over deciding what the best way would be to approach this. Twitter had offered help. So had Jazz. So had Sam and Tucker. He’d done it alone, sitting on his bed, turning the silver-grey medal over and over in his hands, while Cujo sat at his feet and sighed. He produced the medal and held it out to his mom. Slowly, confused, she leaned forward and took it. Examined it. Turned it over, and over again, like he had done, but with scrutiny. Trying to understand what she’d been presented. “Danny,” she said, finally, with much curiosity but no comprehension, “where did you get this?” Danny inhaled. “The mayor gave it to me,” he said, voice low, eyes motionless on his mom’s hands. “There was a big speech. Maybe you saw it,” he slipped in, knowing full well the unspoken air of disgust that had filled the Fenton home upon announcement of the town’s decision. A ghost, of all things. Getting an award. Danny chanced a look at his mother’s face. It was searching his, yet confused, unwilling or unable to accept this implication. Danny had expected this. He stepped back. “Please,” he said, just as quiet, “just stay there… and don’t freak out.” He prayed she’d listen, took a breath, and split a ring of light at his waist. The temperature in the room immediately dropped a few degrees. The medal fell to the floor, but, to her credit, Maddie stayed seated. Danny leveled his breathing. There was a certain coolness of head that didn’t come naturally to this form, but that he had, over time, associated with it, and it steadied his nerves now. His eyes, open and trained on his mom the whole time, saw her reflexive hardness, repulsion, that she quickly smoothed over with a guarded expression, looking him up and down, still unsure if this was her son or an impostor in his place. A confession or a ransom. Gotta love having conversations in battle mode, remarked Danny to himself. Maddie’s gun hand twitched at the long silence, and he redoubled himself and spoke before she found words that would hurt him. “Four years ago,” the same voice, with resolve, but hollow, imperceptibly changed, “When the portal started working… I was in it.” Danny said this as directly as possible, trying to avoid the choked affect to his voice, simultaneously keeping his eyes from making contact with hers. He knew what they looked like. Sharp, uninviting, and inhuman. He switched to looking nonspecifically at the wall, waiting for a response, for acceptance or gunfire. Maddie shifted back in her chair, just slightly, and Danny avoided the urge to look. They stood like that for further minutes. Danny’s aura traced particles of dust as they floated through the air. Maddie’s computer clicked on its fan. Danny realized the numbers on the screen were, in fact, ghost hunting data. Definitely not something they taught in econ. “Danny,” whispered Maddie, just when Danny thought he might turn and leave. He glanced up, and down again immediately, too fast to register her leaning towards him, but he caught the sound of her chair rolling forwards. From her seat, her hand just barely cupped his face – cautiously, at first, and then falling into place only a hair shy of its usual vigor – and, when he looked, bent a little to accommodate her, she caught his eye this time. “I’ve shot at you.” Her voice was soft, shaking. Her eyes were full of – what was that? Fear. Horror. Sadness. Whatever it was, it made Danny choke up to look at it, and he swallowed tears with a laugh. “Yeah, well, good thing you missed.” Wait, that sounds awful, Danny started to think, when the door burst open to Jack Fenton, Jazz slipping around him, arguments flying off her tongue. “We could just look again,” she insisted, trying hopelessly to bar his entry, and stopped short when she caught sight of her mother. Maddie looked back to Danny to find him gone, his face still tangible under her hand until he withdrew a second later. Maddie looked at Jack. Jack looked at Maddie. Jazz looked at both of them. Maddie quickly lowered her hand. “Maddie,” Jack said, in his drawn-out starting-an-issue voice, apparently deciding to be mostly unconcerned. “Have you seen the sonic-field wrench?” She was opening her mouth to respond when Danny stepped out of the bedroom closet, as apparently human as the day he was born. “Oh good, you’re all here.” The words flew off his tongue, jittering together as they did under stress, Danny having moved past the roadblock of his one true fear, of total rejection. His parents stared in bewilderment. Jazz looked like she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scream or jump forward and cause a diversion. Jack was the only one to glance at the closet door in confusion. “Can I talk to you guys about something?” “Danny, why were you—” Jack’s voice died in his throat at the same time a ring of white light hit the floor at Danny's feet.