#ajility writes

Ch01 Sneak-peek:

Danny knows he’s dreaming in the same way that you know something terrible is going to happen to the protagonist in the beginning of a horror movie; it’s a fact, there’s nothing that can be done about it, but you still flinch when it happens, you still hold yourself back from yelling at the screen and telling the characters ‘no! don’t go in there!’

He’s in a forest, the same forest he always sees in his dreams, with trees too tall and wide to really exist and little dancing lights that flicker at the edges of his vision. There are a lot of things like the lights, that lurk and taunt and exist only until he tries to look at them more directly, but the lights are the most prevalent… and the only ones he doesn’t really mind.

At least they don’t make him feel like he’s being watched, like there’s something silently laughing at him and waiting for him to come just a little bit closer so it can pounce.

Leaves rustle and a stick snaps behind him. Danny spins around, already growling and ready to protect himself, but… there’s nothing there. Nothing he can see, at least.

Danny knows that ghosts aren’t real, when he’s awake — or at least, not real in the way his parents think they are. They don’t go around haunting and killing the living. They don’t hide items that are important to people. They aren’t malevolent, they aren’t the source of all living people’s problems, and they most certainly don’t need to be hunted with special weapons.

Maybe things were different in the past, he doesn’t technically have proof that they’re not real… but despite being from a long line of exorcists, his parents don’t have proof that they are real, either. You would think that a family of exorcists would have some sort of proof, if the things they exorcise actually exist.

But things aren’t as clear-cut, when he’s dreaming. Dream-him isn’t bothered by things like reality and science; he takes note of the little lights dancing just out of focus and thinks ‘will-o-wisps’. He sees strange shadowy shapes creeping between trees and thinks ‘bakemono’.

He does things like growl and bear his teeth at potential threats that never actually turn visible.

It’s probably a good thing he hardly ever remembers the dreams upon waking, because there are a lot of invisible potential threats in the forest, and it’d be really bad if Danny picked up a habit and started reacting to things by growling when he’s awake, too.

A gust of wind. More rustling leaves. A low growl builds in the back of his throat. A shadow starts building up just off to his right side, something growls back, and Danny slaps a paper tag in the direction of the shadow before taking off, twisting and weaving between the trees.

Branches almost seem to reach out for him but he’s gone before they can ever make contact, moving so quickly it’s almost like he’s flying, feet never even touching the ground.

He makes it to a stone path and stops for just a second, orienting himself and choosing a direction before continuing to run. He can just make out a splash of bright red through the trees and he grins — a torii gate. He must be near the entrance, if he can just make it through the gate-

A teasing laugh sounds out, directly next to his ear, and Danny lashes out with sharpened claws even as he’s jumping away. How did one get so close-?

A ripped paper tag drifts to the ground.

“Ohh, your reaction time is getting better,” a voice teases, from directly in front of him.

He growls in frustration, because he still can’t see the speaker. How can he deal with a spirit, if he can’t tell what type it is?

“You don’t want to step through that gate, though,” the speaker continues, either ignoring the fact he can’t see them or unaware of it.

“Why not?” Danny demands, “I want to go home.”

“And so did all of us, at one point or another,” the voice agrees, and it’d almost be sympathetic if the sharp edge of amusement wasn’t still present, “but that doesn’t make it a good idea.”

“So, what? You want me to wander around this forest forever?” Danny says sarcastically.

“No, of course not. This world has much more than a single forest, and you have a whole lot to learn.”

There’s a pause. He thinks that maybe they left or just don’t want to give him any real explanation, but then there’s a soft pressure on the back of his neck and the voice is directly by his ear again.

“We’ll see each other soon, but for now… What I want, is for you to wake up, little fox. Before you forget how.”

-

Danny wakes with a start, only to get pulled back by his seatbelt and to find Jazz staring at him with raised eyebrows. He grasps at the remnants of his dream, trying to hold on to anything at all, but it’s already fading.

His fingers feel weirdly blunted and tingly, there’s an uncomfortable pressure in his jaw, and even the way he’s sitting feels wrong, like he shouldn’t be able to lean back in a car like this. He’s felt like this after just waking up before but usually it isn’t quite this vivid.

It’d probably help if he could remember what he dreams about — are they even dreams? Maybe it’s nightmares — but all he can call up is the thought of running, needing to run, and an impression of teasing laughter. He sighs.

“We’re almost there, honey,” Maddie says, “and look! There’s the school you two will be attending now. It looks nice.”

“It looks old,” Danny grumbles, crossing his arms. What a way to start a New Year: another weird dream, and an overly long trip because his parents decided they’re going to move to Japan halfway through a school year. “Why couldn’t we at least wait until summer for this?”

“The shrine won’t sit there forever, Danno! Great grandpa Walker left it to us, and it’s our duty to uphold the Fenton family name and hunt down those ghosts!” Jack says, with way more excitement than the situation warrants.

“Spirits, Jack. We have to be respectful,” Maddie reminds him.

Jack nods and brandishes the ecto-gun he’s been polishing since they got off the plane and started driving. “Right! Maybe your school will be haunted, wouldn’t that be exciting? It could be our first job in Japan!” He points the gun in the direction of the school as they drive past.

Jazz puts a bookmark in the book she hasn’t stopped reading since they left, and snaps it shut. “I’ll pass on that, actually. I plan on getting an education at school, not performing exorcisms.”

“Oh come on kids, quit whining. It’s fun to move to a new place, it’ll be an adventure!” Maddie insists, glancing back at them for a second. This leads to them almost missing a turn, and she dramatically spins the wheel to make up for it with a “Whoops!”

Jazz’s book slides into Danny’s leg, and Jazz probably would’ve slid into him too if it weren’t for their seat-belts. The road gets bumpier, then turns into dirt and starts slanting up. Danny suddenly has a very bad feeling about this.

Jazz does too, if the way it looks like she suddenly swallowed a lemon is anything to go by. “...mom? Why are we heading up the mountain now?”

“We’ve talked about this, sweetie. We’re here to take over the upkeep of a shrine.”

“Yes,” Jazz replies slowly, “but that doesn’t explain why we’re heading up a mountain when we’re supposed to be moving into our new living space today.”

“The shrine is our new living space Jazzypants!” Jack booms, “and everyone knows that shrines have to be on mountains! It’ll be great, what better way to learn more about the gho- er, spirits on this side of the world than to live right in a real shrine?”

Danny is pretty sure that isn’t true, that there’s no requirement that says shrines have to be on mountains, but arguing it is probably a moot point. It wouldn’t change the fact that this shrine seems to be on a mountain, and that his parents have, evidently, decided they’re going to live in it. Are you supposed to live in shrines?

He exchanges a glance with Jazz. At least they’re both annoyed about this, and Jazz hasn’t been able to muster up her ‘look on the bright side of things!’ attitude yet. They’re going to have to walk down a mountain every day to get to school, just because their parents are obsessed with ghosts, despite the fact that they’ve never even seen a real ghost — or spirit, as they’ve started insisting ever since they first learned of the shrine great grandfather left them.

Danny never met his great grandfather. He didn’t even know they still had any family living in Japan, but maybe if he’d known, he would’ve been able to beg the man not to leave a shrine to his parents.

Jazz leans over and whispers, “...maybe it won’t be that bad? People probably don’t send spam mail to shrines, and mom and dad can’t attach any weird giant signs to it, right? It’d be too disrespectful.”

When the shrine comes into view, any potential optimism they’ve dredged up disappears just as quickly as Danny’s memories of his dream did.

It might have been beautiful, once upon a time, but now… well. He’s pretty sure their grandfather hadn’t been doing any upkeep for at least a few years now. The paint is cracked and peeling and it looks entirely abandoned, some plants have even started wrapping around the wood and growing up through cracks.

The inside isn’t any better. Some of the wood is rotting and there are even more spiderwebs. The only upside is that since their grandfather lived there for so long, there are valid living areas, even if they desperately need to be cleaned and fixed up. Upon seeing the outside, Danny had been half worried that there wouldn’t be a kitchen or bathroom or bedrooms.

...actually, maybe it would’ve been better if there hadn’t been a kitchen. Then they would’ve had to find an alternate living situation, and their parents wouldn’t be excitedly discussing how they’re going to fix up the place and what additions they should add on.

Their parent’s enthusiasm hasn’t wavered at all, despite the state the shrine is in — and worse, the fact this is a shrine doesn’t seem to be stopping them from pulling out plans for a lab and workshop space. Now that it’s happening, he isn’t sure why he and Jazz expected otherwise; their parents are nothing if not predictable. At least the living quarters are separate from the main part of the shrine.

Jazz glances at him and offers a weak smile. “At least we’ll get to learn more about the other half of our heritage?”

Danny isn’t sure that’ll make up for everything else, but he nods. At least Jazz can work up some excitement over learning about the culture.

All he’s thinking about is Amity Park and Nasty Burger and everything else they left behind. He’s interested in learning more about Japan too, of course, but… he would’ve preferred to do it through the internet. Or anime. Or anything less extreme than ‘move to the country with roughly 24 hours of warning.’

The moving truck has already dropped off all their stuff, at least. His parents start bringing in all the larger boxes and furniture, while he and Jazz bring in small boxes and suitcases… then start the arduous task of cleaning.

Danny stops and turns around more than once, quite certain something is watching him from the forest that surrounds the shrine, but nothing is ever there.

They work late into the night, getting rid of all the spiderwebs and dirt first. The next day, they start going through cabinets and counters and shelves, dusting and clearing out any of the random stuff they find.

It’s mostly empty, but Danny finds a few old papers with calligraphy he can’t read and a surprisingly nice teapot. It’s heavy and black, probably cast iron, with a gold flower design going around the outside. It feels strangely warm when he picks it up, but he can’t get the lid off, so it must be a decorative piece.

He sets it down on the counter and goes to get Jazz, intending to show her the teapot and see if she can open it… but it’s gone when they walk back over.

“...so?” Jazz asks, glancing around the room with a raised eyebrow. “I thought you found a fancy teapot.”

Danny goes through the cabinets quickly, but those are empty too. “I left it right there, it was black and had gold designs!”

Jazz stares at the counter that very clearly has nothing on it. “...mhm. I think the dust might be getting to your head. Oh!” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a little rectangular charm. “I picked this up earlier, here. It’s an ‘omamori,’ meant for luck and protection. You can keep it in your pocket or hang it off a bag, and when it gets really dirty or a year passes, you replace it.”

Danny examines the little charm for a second, silk embroidered with gold thread, then puts it in his pocket.

“Shrines usually sell these,” she continues, “so we might end up having a whole bunch here. I have no idea what mom and dad plan on doing besides the exorcism stuff, but… we’ll probably have to start doing some shrine stuff too, right? It’s just a local shrine, but people must still know it’s here, so we might get visitors… I have to research it more.”

Right. The exorcism stuff. Danny wonders if people here will be more open to the idea, or if they’ll get scoffed at and laughed at again — no one in the US ever took them seriously, though they did occasionally get accused of being devil worshipers.

“Thanks for the charm, Jazz,” he replies, instead of addressing any of the other stuff. He has no idea what they’ll end up doing with the shrine, after all, and with how long repairs and fixing everything up is going to take… well. There’s plenty of time for his sister to research.

Jazz smiles and nods. “There’s a bunch of different types, I’ll have to figure out what each is for. For now though, let’s go outside? I think it’s time for some fresh air. We can finish inside once mom and dad decide where they actually want to put everything.”

There’s a loud crash as something is dropped in the other room, quickly followed by Jack shouting, “I’m ok!”

“...yeah, outside sounds like a good plan,” Danny agrees, and they go to sit on the freshly swept steps to the shrine.

Danny takes a moment to actually look at the area surrounding them for the first time. They’re around three fourths of the way up the mountain, and there’s a stone path that splits in two right outside the gate, one side going down the mountain and the other leading farther up, disappearing into the trees. There must be something at the top of the mountain then, right? Besides more trees, since it seems to mostly be forest here.

He turns his attention to the gate, which desperately needs a paint job, and notices a splash of color he hadn’t seen when they first drove up. Spider lilies. Had those been there yesterday?

“Hey Jazz,” he asks, pointing at the flowers, “were the spider lilies there when we drove up yesterday? I didn’t notice them.” Considering they’re the only part of the shrine that’s bright red, what with everything else being so faded, he definitely should’ve noticed them.

“Spider lilies?” Jazz repeats, looking towards the gate. “Oh. Those are red poppies, Danny. I’ll have to get you a book on plants, whenever we find out where the nearest library is… They were there, they just hadn’t been in bloom when we arrived.”

Not being in bloom is a good enough reason for him to miss them, but… Danny is pretty certain those are spider lilies. He might not be great at plants, but even he knows that poppies are small and roundish, and those flowers are large and spindly.

Maybe he’ll get Jazz a book on plants instead.

Whatever.

He stands up and stretches. “I’m gonna go for a walk. Be back soon, ok?”

Jazz sighs and also stands, brushing off her pants. “Ok. I’ll do a little more cleaning, maybe try to convince mom and dad to get our beds set up for tonight. Be careful?”

“Yeah yeah,” Danny replies, already heading towards the forest. “I’ve got the charm you gave me, I’ll be fine!”

As he walks through the gate, he stops for a second to take a closer look at the flowers and determines that yep, they’re definitely spider lilies. He’ll have to make fun of Jazz later, for thinking they’re poppies… Maybe she needs glasses? But for now, he heads up the path. It’s time to find out what’s at the top of the mountain.

-

Valerie has three upcoming tests, two papers, and a never-ending list of homework and practice problems to get through. Despite being part-time, she’s been scheduled to work for five of seven days next week — definitely over 20 hours. And there’s been at least one ghost attack every. single. day. 

She’s running on fumes, but at least she’s doing a good job hiding it. 

…or at least. She thought she was doing a good job hiding it. 

“...what did you just say?” she demands through gritted teeth, her ecto-gun aimed and ready. 

Phantom holds his hands up in mock-surrender. “Nothing!” He says automatically, then pauses and sighs, letting his hands drop. His usual taunting demeanor drops with them. “...just. You look tired.”

She looks tired? Ha! What would he know about that? It’s none of his business, and she has a mask on, and-! 

…and she is tired. 

“Well if you’re worried about my beauty sleep, why don’t you start running?” She scoffs. “The quicker we get this over with, the quicker I can work on my paper and go to bed.” 

Phantom just sighs again. “Or you could skip chasing me and go work on your paper now.” 

Valerie growls and gives a warning shot just a few inches to the left of his head. He doesn’t even flinch. “Nice try, ghost. You’re lucky I’m even talking to you right now, I’m not gonna just let you go.” 

“Yes, you will. Because you always do. Because if you ever actually caught me, you’d have to deal with all the ghosts in this town, by yourself.” Phantom says flatly. “You’re barely keeping up right now. You have tests to study for, papers to write, and work. That’s a lot even without the ghost hunting.” 

What? “How do you-” she starts to say, but he cuts her off. 

“I handled the ectopus today. I handled Kitty and Johnny earlier in the week. I dealt with Boxy and there wasn’t even much property damage this time. You got there late every single time because you’re so tired, you’ve started falling asleep in class. Stop being stubborn and wasting both of our time, and take a break before you get yourself hurt. Your paper is due tomorrow, you’re already not getting sleep tonight.”  

He turns and flies off before she’s even finished processing all that… which unfortunately means he’s gone before she can shoot him for it. 

Who does he think he is, telling her off like that? She’s handling everything perfectly fine, thankyou-very-much! She has plenty of time to- to… tomorrow? 

Today is Tuesday, the paper isn’t due until… oh. Oh, no. Today is Thursday. The paper is due tomorrow. 

She lowers her gun and speeds home; she doesn’t have time to figure out where Phantom went tonight or how he knew all that. 

--- 

On the upside, Valerie does get her paper done and manages to turn it in on time… on the downside, Phantom was right: she doesn’t get any sleep. 

It grates on her nerves, but… without him right in front of her, it’s much easier for her to admit he has a point. She is exhausted. She does have too much work to get done. She has been arriving to ghost fights late, and she’s been making stupid mistakes. She’s going to get herself — or someone else — hurt. 

She can’t risk someone else getting hurt. 

…which is also why she can’t just leave the ghost fights to Phantom. He’s a ghost. He clearly doesn’t understand, and isn’t going to protect everyone properly! She can’t trust human lives to a ghost. 

Except… she kind of has been, unintentionally. By showing up late to fights. And no one’s gotten hurt yet. If she’s going to keep being late and keep risking people’s lives… maybe she should take a break. So she can be ready when she’s actually needed. 

Maybe- just for a week? 

Dammit. 

She hates that Phantom has a point. 

---

A week goes by. Then two. 

Valerie doesn’t hunt any ghosts, including Phantom. 

No one gets hurt. 

She gets her papers turned in, passes her tests, catches up on sleep… She feels good. 

Good, but empty. 

Phantom was right, she doesn’t have to exhaust herself chasing ghosts, she doesn’t have to exhaust herself chasing him, and the world keeps turning… Ha. That’s messed up, isn’t it? 

She kind of wishes someone got hurt. Not because she actually wants anyone hurt, of course, but- because it’d prove she’s needed. 

Instead, the exact opposite has been proven: she can put her hoverboard down, leave the ecto-guns hidden away, and Phantom will handle all the ghosts juuuust fine — if anything, things are going better now that she’s not hunting him. She isn’t needed. At all. 

What does she do with that info? 

Now that she doesn’t have a billion normal life things to worry about, now that she’s caught up with school and things have calmed down and she has free time — what does she do? 

Ignore the fact she’s not needed and go back to hunting anyway? 

The few patrols she’s gone on, she hasn’t seen more than a blob. Shooting blobs isn’t any fun, it just makes her feel mean. That’s why she’d been leaving them for Phantom even before this… 

And- she doesn’t think she can go back to just hunting Phantom. As much as she hates him, as much as she wants to… he was right. And he hasn’t let anyone get hurt. It doesn’t matter if she knows he’s awful, as long as he’s keeping people safe and doing just as good a job as she had been. 

But then- what does she do? 

Valerie grits her teeth. She’s not going to start crying in the school library over this. She’s not. 

She’ll find a hobby. Maybe she can start… painting. Or photography. Or something. 

The A-listers are at least neutral towards her again — maybe she can make new friends, now that she has the time and won’t be making excuses to get out of plans because she has to deal with another ghost-bear. 

This line of thought is not helping. She rubs at her eyes and groans, then looks around to make sure no one’s paying attention to her… and spots Danny Fenton hunched over a book, a few tables away. 

She bites her lip. She hasn’t properly talked to Danny in months, he’s one of the people she could potentially try befriending… and he looks exhausted. More than she did a few weeks ago, before she stopped hunting ghosts, which is as worrying as it is impressive. 

She knows he struggles in a lot of classes (everyone knows that) and the portal is in his basement… even if he’s not hunting ghosts, he probably has to deal with them a lot. Honestly, she’s surprised his parents haven’t made him get into ghost hunting yet. 

Maybe- maybe that’s what she can do: help Danny Fenton. It might end up getting her involved with ghosts again— but there’s no guarantee so it’s fine, it doesn’t count. 

Besides, she should pay it forward right? Phantom helped her when she was exhausted, so… she’ll help someone else now. And this could go towards a ‘make new friends’ goal too, so even if she does just end up helping him with studying and school work, it’ll be a success. 

Mind made up, Valerie stands up and makes her way over to Danny’s table. She’s got this, she doesn’t need ghost hunting, she can help friends with school instead.

Chapter 1

Danny has been in the Ghost Zone for 12 years now. Things were rough for the first few years, when he was freshly dead and didn’t understand what was happening or why, but since then he’s learned how to use his abilities and stabilize his core. He’s got a decently sized Haunt and even if he’s still changing, he can’t be considered freshly formed anymore. Sure, maybe his fangs are still coming in, but he can beat Skulker 4 of 5 times when they fight, and he’s even gotten better at detecting Shadow when he and Johnny spar.

All this to say that his Haunt is being ridiculously overprotective and he should be allowed to visit the Human World with the others.

“You know the restrictions Clockwork put in place as well as I do, Young One,” Frostbite says gently, “I too would prefer if you allow your fangs to grow in before taking a portal to the Human World.”

“I’ve been a ghost for 12 years though! The others only had to wait a few years to pass through portals safely, and besides,” Danny bears his teeth, showing off two sharpened upper canines, “my fangs have started to come in! We don’t even know how many I’ll get, maybe it’s just the two.”

Frostbite levels him with a very unimpressed look, and Danny deflates pretty much instantly. “I’m sure we both know that is not the case. Things are never simple with you, Young One, and we would like to be nearby in case something goes wrong. I am sure you remember the last time we assumed your forming would be like that of a regular ghost’s.”

Danny does remember it, of course he does, because it was the last time they assumed anything about him... and it had also been stupidly painful. It’d been about 6 years after he died and he was finally showing signs of developing a core type. Usually ghosts get a defined core about a year after forming, when their ectoplasm levels first stabilize, but Danny’s were still growing and fluctuating and being generally annoying - according to Pandora, it was because his human side was still so young.

He was showing signs of an ice or wind core, both of which were supposed to be slow-going and build up over time. Instead, he went from racing Ember across the Zone, perfectly fine, to destabilizing and putting off so much cold-energy that Ember couldn’t get near him in seconds. Luckily, they’d been relatively close to the Far Frozen and Ember was able to get some yetis to come help them. The yetis were able to contain his energy until Frostbite showed up, broke through his ice, and overpowered Danny’s core to force it to stabilize.

They spent the next week and a half just draining Danny’s energy to manageable levels, and two more weeks after that teaching him to control and monitor his core. And that didn’t even get into using or controlling any of his new ice abilities... Said new abilities turned out to be substantially stronger than an average ice-core’s, especially considering they were new, and he tended to use them both accidentally and by instinct. It was ok when he accidentally froze a yeti for startling him… not so much when he froze Ember, a fire-core, without so much as a thought.

Fire-cores were supposed to be difficult to overpower, near impossible to freeze, and… tended to do bad, really bad, if they got too cold. Ember was fine, but he wasn’t allowed near other core-types until he got a handle on his powers, and that included pretty much everyone in his Haunt at the time. It was… lonely. He wouldn’t undo it, because Frostbite ended up joining him by the end of it, but Danny also never wants to be kept away from his family again.

That being said, unstable cores are about the most dangerous thing a ghost can go through, and Danny’s core is perfectly stable now. He doesn’t see how his growing-in fangs could mess anything up, which he points out hopefully.

But Frostbite just shrugs. “A few years ago, I would have said only fire and electric cores build up quietly and burgeon all at once. That was before you turned yourself into an iceberg right outside our lair with no intention of doing so. There is little to no precedence for a being as perfectly liminal as yourself, we do not know what will or will not be dangerous for you.

“It is better if you remain within reach of Clockwork, Pandora, and myself until your form stops altering, Young One. Your liminality may allow you to take on a human form, but that does not mean the humans would be able — or willing — to help you, if something goes wrong.”

---

The problem with the elder ghosts, is that they don’t actually leave their lairs the vast majority of the time. This means that Danny, who likes exploring and feels restless if he isn’t finding new things, spends much more time flying around the Zone and existing outside of lairs, which in turn means that he isn’t usually around the elders unless they’re actively teaching him or need him for something.

Which means he’s usually with the rest of his Haunt, and… Skulker and Ember aren’t very good role models. Kitty and Johnny try to be, but also occasionally fall short. Ember, Kitty, and Johnny all remember what it was like to be alive, and all of them know what it’s like to feel lost. Elder ghosts have a stronger handle on their Obsession and rarely feel listless, whereas Danny… well. Half the time he isn’t even certain his Obsession is ‘curiosity’, like the others say.

He feels better when he’s moving and feels like he’s making progress when he learns something, but he doesn’t know what that progress is for. It’s like he’s missing something, like another piece has yet to drop and he won’t be whole until it does, but he’s never told them that. Ghosts that don’t understand their Obsession tend to fade — Danny isn’t a full ghost, he knows he won’t fade, so he doesn’t want to make everyone worried about him.

He had his talk with Frostbite just yesterday, and although he knows the elder is right and that the yetis are just looking out for him… the yetis aren’t here right now. Skulker, Ember, Johnny, and Kitty are here, and they’re talking about a portal.

Danny… isn’t particularly known for cautious decision making. Really, they only have themselves to blame for this. He slides up next to Ember and flicks his tail at Shadow when it starts trying to sneak up on him.

“Sooo…” he says, drawing out the word and trying (failing) to act nonchalant, “What portal are we talking about?”

Ember, the wonderful fire-core she is, responds without thinking anything of it. “There’s a human-made one, a decent flight from the Clocktower. It’s been there for a few years, but usually fluctuates a lot and makes the nearby ectoplasm all wavy-”

“-except that Skulker is claiming it stopped doing that,” Kitty interrupts impatiently, “which doesn’t make sense, because that means it’s stable now, and humans can’t make stable portals.”

“Humans have made stable portals before, they’re just usually brief and stop working pretty quick. And there was that one that appeared 12 years ago, I know Clockwork put blocks around it but you can still sense the energy from it…” Johnny puts in, but trails off when he looks at Danny, narrowing his eyes.

“Technus went through it already and came back just fine, I’m telling you it stabilized somehow. And it lets out right in a human town, no extra flight required. It’s perfect, Kitty and Johnny can go on their date, I can see if there’s anything worth hunting, and Ember can start working out some concert stuff.”

Danny nods, partially because it sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan to him and partially because Johnny’s the only one that seems to have noticed he shouldn’t be part of this conversation. “So, when are we going?” he asks, smiling innocently.

Johnny rubs a hand over his face and the three other ghosts freeze. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Far Frozen right now?”

Danny goes to shrug, but before he can actually reply, Skulker cuts in. “You wanna come halfa?” He sneers, “Don’t tell me it’s gonna be another Obsession of yours, figuring out how humans work.”

“Don’t be mean, Skulk. Babypop’s never been through a portal before, anyone with a curiosity Obsession would wanna go.” Ember rolls her eyes and wraps an arm around Danny’s shoulders, pulling him closer. They both make pleading faces at the larger ghost, who doesn’t seem to want to budge.

“I dunno guys, humans are… pretty destructive,” Johnny puts in, and immediately holds his hands up when Ember and Danny whip around to glare at him. “I’m just sayin! They get rid of anything that’s different, and ‘different’ doesn’t even begin to describe Phantom.”

“They can’t be that bad!” Danny objects, and though he’ll deny it till he fades, he’s definitely pouting. “If I’m half human, then they’ve gotta half like me, right? I want to meet a human!”

“Johnny is right, Danny,” Kitty shakes her head, “Humans don’t like ghosts to begin with, and they destroy each other over stupid shit like skin color , whaddya think they’d do if they find out about you?”

Danny… pauses at that. Because really? Skin color? Clockwork is blue, Kitty is bright green, Pandora is aqua, and Skulker is either grey or green depending on the situation. Ember is light grey, he himself is a soft blue-ish green color most of the time, but sometimes turns a weird pink-ish human tone too, kind of like Johnny, and Nocturne is the same color as the night skies he’s only seen in his dreams. As far as he knows, humans have a lot less color variety, so what would they even fight over?

Deciding it's not important right now anyway, Danny crosses his arms. "Then they won't find out about me! I'll stay in my squishy human form the whole time, I bet I'll blend in so well you'll lose track of me."

Kitty and Johnny still look skeptical, so Ember adds on, "He's just gonna follow us if we don't bring him, might as well let him come and keep an eye on him. Right, babypop?" And only then do they give in.

"Fine, but no flying off!" Kitty demands, "Pandora would crush all our cores if something happens to you, and being destabilized is not on my to-do list."

Danny nods reassuringly and high-fives Ember, which… might've ruined the whole 'reassurance' bit if Johnny's sigh is anything to go by, and then the five of them are off. Danny really is glad they gave in because he absolutely would have followed if they hadn't, and he's horrible at sneaking around — the trip would've been miserable. Now he can play ecto-tag with Ember and Shadow as they go, while Skulker pretends to be mature and acts like he doesn't want to play.

Ember is winning when they make it to the portal and for the first time ever, Danny lets it happen instead of dragging the game out. The portal is… somehow both bigger and smaller than he expected. Three of them could easily fit through at once, but the inside is bright green and blends in with the rest of the Ghost Zone, making it very easy to miss if you don't already know it's there. There's a ring of grey metal outlining it, and it looks like the bottom should be connected to something even though it's just floating in open space like a common Lair entrance would. It's… interesting. Interesting, and unsettling.

It feels different from the rest of the Zone, like it’s stagnant. Everything else could keep shifting and changing and flowing, and this ring of metal would still stay right here, unmoving and constant.

Danny flies around it in a half-circle, notes that the other side looks roughly the same, then loops back around to the side they originally approached and flies closer. Something about it… definitely unnerves him.

"Does going through portals hurt?" He asks, reaching his hand out until it's only a few centimeters away but still not touching.

Skulker scoffs. "Of course not, whelp. It's like teleporting. If you're having second thoughts, of course, you can still stay here. We don’t need a halfa slowing us down anyway."

Danny growls at the insult and flies forward instead of replying, going straight through the portal.

---

If Danny had been expecting anything at all, it wouldn’t have been what he finds on the other side of the portal. The first thing he notices is that everything feels heavier. It leads out into a room with a whole lot of metal: metal floors, metal walls, metal tables and cabinets and contraptions. He only has a few seconds to ponder it all before the portal glows and Johnny, Kitty, and Ember all come through at the same time.

They all jump on him immediately, fussing and complaining at him and “Danny you can’t do that holy shit none of us had tested this one, what were you thinking ?!” but they just as quickly leave him to go yell at Skulker, who came through much more slowly while they were fussing. Danny rolls his eyes. They’re all part of his Haunt and he loves them, but sometimes they’re ridiculous.

Tuning them out in favor of looking around the room more, Danny notes that there are jars filled with ectoplasm stacked on some of the shelves. They give off some ambient light, but the room is pretty dark besides that. He floats over to the ectoplasm, wondering how they got it and what humans use ectoplasm for, but is pulled away by Ember seconds later.

“C’mon babypop, don’t get distracted already! We’ve gotta get out there before Clockwork notices you’re not in the GZ.” She phases through the ceiling and then out of the building.

Danny rolls his eyes and follows after her at a slower pace, taking the time to actually look at the house as they phase through walls to get outside. As far as he can tell, it’s abandoned: there are no lights on, no noise, and a thin layer of dust coats everything from the couch to the kitchen counter. The portal is located in the basement and it’s the liveliest room in the house, thanks to the soft glow of ectoplasm and the static hum of electricity.

Why someone would build a portal in an abandoned house, he doesn’t know, but it’s certainly convenient for them — easier access, and Danny can take his time exploring the house later, without worrying about any humans noticing him. Surely even an abandoned house will give him some idea of how humans live.