#asf writes

“They look like people but they aren’t.” The man told him certainly and Danny felt a chill go up his spine. He did not see the man there when he walked up to stand under the willow tree to observe the peaceful scene. He wasn’t sure why but he felt like an intruder. He looked out at the peaceful lights flying and walking in the distance then back to the seated man. Danny smiled politely.

“They’re not people. They’re ghosts.” He said lightly but where his conversation went, he really wasn’t sure. There was no way the man had lived in Amity Park without knowing about the ghosts that lived here too. The man shook his head, tutted, and crossed his wrinkled arms to his chest. His weathered wood cane shifted against the bench but did not fall.

“They look like that to trick people.” He said with a malice that made Danny recoil.

“That… They’re not tricking anyone. They’re just existing.” He said and the man scoffed at him.

“They look like that to make themselves more palatable for people. These things are evil.”

Danny stared at the man who glared across the scene before them. The ghosts who could only come out at night were harmless. Most of them were Echoes, ghosts that couldn’t do much more than relive a moment in their lives that proved they had existed at all. Danny had tried once to speak to one of these souls and they either didn’t see him or had ignored him completely. He wondered which it was sometimes and what the difference was between him and them. Were they ever at the same power level he was? Able to move freely and follow his own thoughts? Were they evil like the man said?

Was there enough difference between them that he could be sure he wasn’t evil too?

“How do you know they’re really evil? They’re not hurting anyone.”

“They’re biding their time. They’ll behave for now but the other ones,” The man waved a hand at the boy. “Big nasty things, bombing the streets and frightening people.”

Danny frowned and the man kept going.

“Ghosts didn’t used to be a common thing. They were special, peeks at what used to be and now you see them all the time in town. They’re so strong you can see them clearly and they’ll look right at you and cause you pain.” Danny looked at the man who just stared straight ahead. “It’s only a matter of time before these ones start lobbing bombs at people killing us all.”

A hard lump formed in Danny’s throat. “They just-“

“They’re vile.” The man scowled at Danny. “They’re evil creatures- not human anymore and pulling their power from somewhere evil to stay where they don’t belong.”

Danny frowns at the man and it’s tempting to leave. Did other people believe this?

“You don’t think they belong in the human world?”

“Not anymore.” The man uncrossed his arms. “Ghosts can’t be here on the living plane with that much power. Ghosts are what’s leftover from human souls. What these are, they’re not leftover so much as they are repurposed.”

Danny turned toward the bench completely turning his back on the park and the spirits alike. The old man looked at him for the first time and brown eyes were clouded and practically looked through the boy. It was unsettling but the man seemed earnest.

He didn’t even want to ask but he had to know.

“Repurposed into what?”

“Into demons.”

Another chill struck through Danny and something in his core swirled at the word.

Demon…

The vitriol hatred was still there but it simmered under the calm words. “They’re so far from God that their souls turn into something unholy, untouched by light.” The man said solemnly. “They cause pain and suffering to the living and lie about everything. Agents of the devil come to bring hell on earth. All while wearing the face of the dead to make us drop our guard.”

Danny stepped back but didn’t run away. “You think the ghosts in town are all… demons?”

“I know they are.” The man rasped almost sadly. “The way they look, sound, they’re trying to mask what they really are. They’ll trick you into thinking they’re just kids and then drag you into hell themselves.” The man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and coughed into it. Danny watched but the man didn’t continue without prompting which he couldn’t help but do.

“How do you know?” The thoughts began to swirl in his head. “How are you sure that they’re not just ghosts with powers?”

“What do they need powers for exactly? They’re too sturdy. Too strong.” The man tucked the cloth away. Danny peeked at it and half expected to see speckles of blood like a movie but it was clean. The man straightened his posture. “Why would you make a creature strong if you didn’t plan on using it for what power is used for? The strong ones are going fight for dominance to claim this land their own for the devil. The ones that look like us are here to convince us all it’s okay.”

Danny looked out over the ghosts scattered around the park. He wanted to tell the man no and that he was wrong, but what if there was a truth in what he said?

“I- Phantom won’t let that happen.”

The man scoffed.

“Phantom is the worst of them all.”

A pit formed in his stomach so quickly he felt sick.

“He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It’s very existence is wrong.” The man scoffed and he began to stand up. Danny stepped backwards quickly but the man barely looked at him as he continued.

“Phantom… Ghost… It’s still an unholy creature. Damned to earth unable to pass into heaven and apparently kicked out of hell.”

Tears formed in Danny’s eyes. “That’s not true. He’s just a kid-“

“Even if it was a child once, it isn’t anymore. An undead creature of bizarre power fighting for dominance in a damned town while wearing the face of a child,” the man picked up his cane and shook his head. “If that isn’t a demon then Lord help us when it reveals its true face.”

Danny stepped back again onto the grass and further under the weeping willow. He stayed there firmly off the path as the man walked slowly toward the street.

A gloved hand rubbed at green eyes. He grit his teeth and called after the man’s retreating form. “You’re wrong. I’m gonna prove it!”

“Don’t be naïve, child.” The man waved a dismissive hand back at him. “Save your soul while you still can.” He turned around a corner and was out of sight.

Danny felt a rage in him that felt so cold and kicked off the ground launching himself into the air. He saw the man from above but what was there to say? What if the man talked more and that rage solidified and proved him right? What if Phantom was the worst of the ghosts, no, the demons that now inhabited the town.

It made sense. He wasn’t a ghost, he wasn’t human. Both species had told him he didn’t belong in their worlds. If he didn’t belong to either side, maybe the old man was right.

Danny smiled back. “When you’re in my line of work, it’s easier to believe in things. Less surprises.” 

Delicate snow coated them both. It gently touched the grass below and melted with the slight heat left in the earth. It looked like a coating  of powdered sugar and it was so nice to look at, so peaceful.

“So is this your specialty? Snow?”

“What can I say? The kids love it. Ever have a snow day? You’re welcome.” He grinned a toothy grin and Phantom couldn’t help but match it. 

“I have that power too.”

“You probably have lots of powers,” Jack shrugged but a gleam in his eyes gave away his curiosity. “You gonna put me out of the job?” He asked rolling onto his side midair. Phantom shook some of the frost off of his arms and braced in the air. His eyes turned blue and Jack cocked his head intrigued, but not concerned. 

The blast caught him off guard. The boy jumped as the ghost blasted the ground below with harsh ice. It cooled the air with a sharp sting.  Plants died, instantly frozen, the change so sudden and intense that they didn’t stand a chance. Jack snapped his head up and Phantom just smiled wide as he turned the beam of ice along the ground. 

Sheets upon sheets of ice invaded in a solid layer  wiping away everything and killing it all. It was unatural. Everything the beam engulfed was poised to shatter under a harsh touch and even if it was left to thaw, Jack knew it would never come back to life. 

Phantom flew down close in a blink of an eye and kicked out at a tree and it shattered. 

No. His powers and Phantom’s were not the same. 

Jack’s was full of life. 

Phantom, he should have predicted, was of death. 

The ghost looked up at Jack with pride and the boy forced himself to relax. They could save this. Despite the powers and unnerving ability to destroy anything that had water in its system in an instant, Phantom was a kid. Kids believed.

“Wow… That was pretty cool. Probably really useful for combat.” He tried to keep it light and maybe hint that they were less alike than the boy thought.

Phantom picked up on it pretty quickly and frowned.

“It does,” he looked at the ground where the very air stung with the ice that covered the ground. “Not great for a snow day though.”

Jack glided over on a cool breeze. The October air was now cold and Phantom shuddered. 

“You wanna try to channel it? Maybe go for something a little… easier?” He suggested and the boy smiled back at him sheepishly. 

“I take it you have some tips.” Phantom asked and Jack jumped into the air again twirling his staff. 

“This is what I use. Twinetender helps me channel my powers.” Phantom perked up at the idea then turned. The tree lay in shattered pieces on the ground. Even the innermost parts of the trunk were splintered and frozen solid. Phantom approached and there were several limbs of the tree that had not completely shattered with the hit. He picked one up and with a blast of something that smelled of ozone and citrus, bits of the branch shattered into a brilliant mist or simply fell off from the base. 

Danny returned to him a moment later with something not quite like his crook, but he smiled wide and held it out for comparison anyway. 

It was a little longer than his. The branch was gnarled in the middle and had spikes of ice sticking out of it in odd places but it was not off putting. It was delicate with the cold, coated in a layer of permafrost. There was no chance of it breaking from Phantom’s body temperature so he would just have to be careful how he swung it. He sliced it through the air and left a shimmer of tiny ice crystals in its wake.

“So… How do I make it snow all nice instead of blasting everything like Frozone.” 

Jack didn’t get the reference but was ready to help. He slid forward and started easily with a blast of his own causing a patch of ice that was fairly thick, but enough to make a hill slick for sledding rather than to send a train off the rails. 

“Why don’t we try this? Name of the game is control.”

Phantom scoffed. “I have control.” His aim was impeccable. 

“You do,” Jack confirmed, “But you’re not in danger. You’re having fun. Hold back because you don’t have to let loose.” He said and something about that made perfect sense. Danny grinned and Jack waved his staff and a burst of sparkling snow appeared in front of him in a dense cloud. 

He blew it right into Danny’s face. 

The ghost sputtered as Jack retreated and just like that, the game was on. The two continued making snow in heavy bursts and into delicate sculptures and rode icy winds. Fun Frost Practice quickly devolved into a snowball fight with no casualties.

Maddie had not been counting how many times her fingers twisted the plastic knob. The digits were stiff and she had sat on the floor leaning against the machine feeling the hum of the delicate parts through her side. She had taken her goggles off and they hung behind her head with the hood to her suit. She couldn’t see through the lenses anymore. Her eyes had watered and the salt had dried making them unusable. Her ears rang in the silence. Compared to the screams and the crackle of electricity, it was almost a deafening quiet. The Phantom laid on its side curled in on itself and the very air was stale and tired. 

She kept her resolve. She asked again, the same question.

"What have you done to my boy?"

The ghost boy had been silent for almost an hour even taking the last two shocks with grit teeth. It no longer tried to lie. The creature had turned its legs into a wispy tail, likely to conserve energy. It floated above the floor like a fog as if not completely stable. 

Another power had manifested a few times. A white ring had appeared blindingly bright but always vanished before it could do any harm even as Phantom seemed to concentrate through the pain whenever it had come up. 

Maddie’s bandages had bled through again. About 40 minutes ago there had been a reprieve to change the wrapping and she would not let her husband see the wound. He did see the way she favored her right side and how her face had begun to pale in the green light. The hunters had been up all night, 2 nights in a row. Her vision blurred but she was just tired. She could keep going as long as it took. Stale adrenaline pumped through them both though Jack had taken to sitting on the floor closer to the ghost but distant.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

Danny couldn't be dead. They were his parents, they should have felt something. It was a cosmic thing, the bond between parent and child was strong. They would have felt if their child had been snuffed out especially if it was done by a malevolent spirit. Would they have noticed? Guilt panged through Jack​'s chest again. How much of Phantom's tale was true? Were they that horrible that Danny had told Phantom stories of them and the ghost really decided he was better off dead?

No. Of course not. Phantom was hiding something.

“Why did he want you to take him away?” Jack asked and Maddie looked at him with bloodshot eyes. Phantom made the first sound it had made in some time with a scoff. It had been long enough that Jack could tell what it meant. 

Why bother? You wouldn’t believe me anyway. 

Useless. “Let’s call a break,” he said and Maddie took a moment then shook her head. “C’mon honey. You’re hurt. You need to get that looked at. If the tissue necr-”

“I’m not going anywhere without my son.” Her voice cracked from the stress, the lack of water and sleep. They were so tired. Phantom may be feeling fatigue from the constant disruption of its form and the pain but that was nothing compared to the days knowing that Danny was somewhere else. It was agony. 

There was nothing in the first aid kit that could help. Disinfect maybe and stay the blood flow but the hospital was close by. The emergency plan for anything more intense than a cut or burn was to call for the quarantine sector to be set up to receive them until they could decontaminate then be treated for the injuries. Letting the wound fester this way was never the plan. 

“Just go.” Jack startled and looked across the floor at the ghost. It’s voice was so young and tired even though it was just a projection. “I’ll probably be here when you get back…” Was that a joke? The man watched a moment longer but the creature did not move. 

“Why do you care?” Maddie scathed but so much of the poison had seeped out of her voice over time. 

“‘Cause that would be an awful way to lose a leg.” The ghost turned its head toward the woman slightly but not enough that it could see her with both dull green eyes. The ghost looked washed out in the light green glow. 

“If you really care about my well-being you would tell me where Danny is.” She couldn’t bring herself to ask where his body might be because there wasn’t a body, there was only her boy and they would bring him back alive if it killed them in the process. 

The ghost was silent for a long moment then did speak again. The words were not a response to the prompt. 

“Danny didn’t pass his testing for college. Or get the scholarships he applied for.” 

“What?” Jack straightened. This was the first time he had heard of Danny having any trouble in school since he was a freshman. Another thing they didn’t know. Phantom really was trying to hurt them while they’re down. Jack clenched his jaw as the monster told them that then instead of answering but he could play along. It needed to keep talking. “Danny’s a bright kid. Those ACT and SAT and whatever-Ts are no match for Fenton intellect.” 

Phantom laughed but it was humorless.

“He got low. Like really low. Then none of the junior scholarships accepted him so there’s no money for him to go to college.” It bit its lip as if the words had slipped out without permission, like it couldn’t help but rub in their face that it knew more and more about their son. Jack shifted from where he sat on the ground and Maddie sat up straighter. The words were solid, no flippant tones and the sentences seemed to ground the ghost boy. The vapor that was Phantom’s legs swirled tighter making a more opaque fog and the legs began to form again, still dull at the edges. Was that why Danny had wanted to go with Phantom? 

“We don’t care about that. Danny can retake those tests and apply for senior scholarships. If nothing else we can pay for it and he’ll get a job.” Jazz had gotten a full ride to Yale and the idea of that much student debt wasn’t ideal but they would make it work. 

“He’s never going to be a real astronaut,” Phantom sounded sad. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the ghost kept talking like it had been waiting to tell them this all night. “His friends are going to college far away and Amity doesn’t have nearly as many ghosts these days.” The sentences didn’t seem to go together to Jack but Phantom carried on. “He doesn’t want to take over Fenton Works and get obsessed with work like you two. There’s no reason for him to stay in the human world where no one needs him.”

“We need him.” Maddie said tightly. 

“No,” Phantom looked back at the ceiling. “You want him around. There’s a difference.”

Neither hunter had anything to say to that. There was a stunned silence and Phantom seemed to take that as having control of the room. It changed the subject to something so out of left field that both of them reeled. 

“Would you still love him if he was a ghost?”

Terror. That icy feeling snaked through Jack’s entire body and his mouth dried out. Phantom kept talking as if not being interrupted was permission to continue.

“If… Imagine Danny as a ghost. Same personality and everything, he can walk through walls, disappear and fly... Would you still care about him?”

“What kind of sick game are you playing?” Maddie’s voice cracked after so long. “Danny would never be a ghost.”

“And what if he was?”

Was it a game? Some horrid thought exercise? No. 

“Danny could never be a ghost. He would have to-” Die in a horrible way, usually violently and have something that kept him here on the physical plane. If Phantom had killed him and he had felt this way, it was possible his spirit remained. 

Both hunters felt sick.

“He knows you hate ghosts.” Phantom pushed itself up on thin arms as if it didn’t hear her. “If I told you I just found his spirit wandering and took him to the ghost zone because he was scared you would find out he came back, would you even want him back because he’s a ghost now?” It sat down heavily on the ground pulling its legs close to the thin chest.

Danny couldn’t bring himself to tell the two people who should have been able to tell anything. Oh God what had they done? If he was carrying that much stress by himself it could strand him here.

“We could-” 

“No you couldn’t. There’s nothing you could do to fix it.” Phantom insisted tightly. “He knows that if he were a ghost, you wouldn’t want him and it’s true, right? What if he hates himself because he can’t ever be alive again? You won’t love him dead, you can’t ever know he’s dead. He’s better off in the Ghost Zone. That’s how he feels.” It sounded so pitiful as if the creature was capable of this emotion- of shame. “Is he wrong?”

“Danny is human, alive and needs to be here with us.”

“He can’t be with you anymore!” Phantom choked out the words. It caught them both off guard as the ghost lost composure again. “He just can’t. He’s a ghost. And he can act like your son and smile and pretend it’s okay but you’ll never be okay with him being your son. He can’t stay in the human world knowing that. You’re cruel, hateful people and he really should have accepted that a long time ago.”

Tears rolled down Phantom’s face as it broke into silent sobs. 

It was fascinating. The ghost really channeled the right gestures and emotions and if it was reflecting what it had learned from Danny about what this felt like, Jack wasn’t sure how they could live with themselves.

“If… If Danny really thinks that way then that’s our fault,” Maddie started slowly. Jack nodded and more than ever he wanted to leave the circle to pull her close. “We never wanted him to feel second in our lives. Sure we get… enthusiastic about ghost hunting but we would give it all up for him and his sister.”

Phantom shook its head and droplets fell to the floor leaving splotches on the silver and steel. It didn’t believe them. Jack Fenton had never been great with words but he was honest, sometimes too honest, and if the ghost had been watching his family he hoped that it had learned that about him.

“Danny is a Fenton. He’s going to be a Fenton whether he’s with us here, somewhere far away… And after he dies.” 

Phantom sniffled and looked up at the words and that green shown in the light, so expressive and raw as if Jack could actually see the soul hidden somewhere inside. He swallowed and his tongue felt heavy. Tears pricked at his eyes. 

“We love Danny no matter what. If he doesn’t know that then we haven’t been the best parents,” he sniffed and Maddie wiped her eyes. “I may hate ghosts, but that could never outweigh the love of my family. No matter what happens, he’s going to be okay. Danny is always welcome home.”

Phantom stared at him then wiped its bleary eyes. Was it moved by the statement or was it just filtering through the feelings of sorrow in the room? It looked at him again and held his gaze.

There was something in there that told Jack that the feelings were real. 

It broke their gaze and Jack held his breath. Green eyes swept over to Maddie and she hugged herself tightly. It stared and for a long moment, Jack wondered if she would stay silent. 

She nodded her head slowly and her eyes shined in the glow as she looked at Phantom. “He’ll always be my baby boy.”

Phantom’s head lulled and the tension seemed to drain out of its body. It was a sudden change and Jack braced his hands on the ground ready to stand up. Maddie froze analyzing the scene and for an eternity nothing happened. 

Then the white ring appeared again.

Jack forced himself to his feet but the pace of the ring was slow. It snapped into reality and then split into two, each sliding over the ghost’s form in the opposite direction. The top ring turned the black suit white as it spread over the narrow torso. The bottom slid down and Jack saw dark blue.

By the time he had stood up the rings had separated, then vanished without a trace. Maddie crouched next to the machine holding on for dear life. 

Kneeling in the middle of the circle was Danny.

He looked at them with tears in his bright blue eyes and smiled at his mother who gaped and collapsed against the machine. Horror filled her eyes with a new flood of tears.

Jack choked on a sob and leaned against the shield for support as his son smiled at him so tired but full of a happiness that didn’t belong, not when they had done so much to him. 

“Guess we have some stuff to talk about.” Danny tried to smile cheekily but it only looked more relieved, more human. How could they not have seen it before?

Jack took purposeful numb steps and the protection circle powered down the moment he crossed the line. They didn’t need it anymore, had never needed it. Once the circuit was broken, the summoning grid glowed brightly, almost white, then faded that left Jack half blind. His movement spurred Maddie and together they half landed on the boy, half held on as if he would disappear again. 

Danny, or maybe Phantom, didn’t phase through their hold. The solid presence of their son caused a new wave of tears and he expanded his grasp. He took hold of both his wife and son tightly as she peppered the boy’s head with kisses and Danny let out a shocked laugh. 

Alive. He could feel the heartbeat against his chest, the warmth of life and safety and it was wonderful. 

They had a lot to talk about. They would have to ask questions and wonder and Danny could give them answers. How did he die? What was it like? What was he made of? Was he stable? Was he safe? They were so sorry and they had done so many things to the boy on purpose and on accident over the years that the sins had piled high enough that Jack couldn't fathom being forgiven. Even as Danny hugged him back best he could from that position, he cried and hoped that love would be enough. It had to be as no words could come to any of them.

Guilt. Anguish. Rage. Confusion. Fear. Unwavering love. All of that could wait.

Danny was home.

They had time to reap what was sown.

--

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Complete on Ao3

Jack stayed in the circle. There had to be someone to complete the circuit, to stay in the summoner circle and they were lucky the entire thing didn’t cease functioning when Maddie broke through. He stayed planted near the center of his glowing ring even as his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. Jack watched through the green tint of the shield. His eyes stayed on his wife and the wavering monster in the cage.  Phantom had lost that pep, but still had a wise mouth. It smiled grimly. "Any chance I can plead the fifth? I feel like everything I say incriminates me."  "Where is Danny?"

Steadfast and calm, it answered. "I can't tell you." 

"So you do know where he is." With the click of a button, the device in Maddie’s hand started to hum. 

The tool that the hunter had chosen was small. It wasn't pretty, but it was powerful. The size of a screwdriver, the weapon could deliver a nasty shock to a ghost using a certain amperage of electricity instead of ectoplasm. The charges had shown to be successful in interacting with petri dishes of the material, perhaps going so far as to say it could disrupt ectoplasm. 

They had yet to use it on a ghost. 

Phantom's jaw tightened watching the thing hum but merely clenched its fists in its lap. 

"Tell me everything or I’ll have to hurt you." 

"Then hurt me.” The echoed words were tight but Maddie scowled at it.

"Don't test me.” 

"I'm not,” the words were tighter out of grit teeth. “Just get it out of your system. You've hurt him for too long. I won’t let you-"

"How dare you," Jack snapped from behind the shield. "You don't know anything about us and Danny." 

Phantom huffed and crossed its arms. "I know more than you think." 

"How?" Her goggles whirred as she glared at him through the glass." Were you stalking my boy?" Maddie's fingers twitched around the device as it buzzed. 

Phantom's ears twitched, a strictly inhuman gesture. "I was his friend."

Jack stiffened. I was ? Did that mean- 

"You have some nerve," Maddie growled. "Danny would never be friends with the likes of you."

"With who? Ghosts?" The thing spat and it glowered at them through white bangs. A thin, sad smile curled its lip. "Figures. You don't know Danny at all."

A shiver went through Jack and he could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. There was a tinge in the air, something dangerous. He watched as Maddie took a deep, cool breath and raised her gloved hand. The Fenton Scrambler pointed and the sight, which was made with a plain old laser pointer, pointed squarely at the ghost's chest.

"If you really knew my son, you would know how much his parents love him. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my boy.”

Phantom smiled again that wry smile that had no place here. "Then let him go."

It was a momentary lapse in judgment. 

A flash. A pained cry broke through the air but it was human. The ghost jerked away from the barrier as if it had been shocked. The device had been fired but the light purple beam seemed to deflect off of the cage wall. Whatever it was that was strong enough to keep Phantom in was powerful enough to keep the beam out. 

It bounced away burying itself in the shin of a blue jumpsuit and the woman crumpled to her knees. 

“Maddie!” Jack screamed and the ghost made a noise he couldn’t hear over his own panicked voice.

“I’m fine,” Maddie’s arms shook where they supported her on the floor. “Don’t leave the circle.”

Jack opened his mouth to retort but stopped getting as close to the edge of the circle as he dared. She was right. The only thing that was separating them from the creature was the summoning grid's containment field. The living person's strength was the grounded connection to the living world. The ghost was being kept in the grid with what they had upgraded to electricity and science with a touch of blood. The grid held strong for now but they hadn't done the experiments, hadn't done the testing and backed up their findings and despite holding strong during Phantom's final attack, who knew what it would take to shatter it. 

Maddie was able to break out of the circle, but she was now vulnerable if the creature escaped. The barrier was strong, but something living had to be in the summoner's circle grounding it to this world. Tired from the horrific display of power or not, Phantom was angry and strong enough that it could kill them both easily. Worse, it could overshadow them and do horrible things with a corporeal body whether they still inhabited it or not. 

Jack would not be able to risk putting one foot over the line. 

The smell of burnt flesh and fire and a sweet acidic aroma tainted the air. He forced himself to be still. “Are you alright?” It was a stupid question. His eyes went to the first aid box on the table.

Maddie’s eyes were unseen through the goggles but Jack was sure there would be tears. “It’s fine. I’m human, the disruptor won’t work on human flesh.” But it did. Even if it had not shaken the molecules apart and dissolved the skin, something was still wrong with her left leg.

Jack looked at the woman but she did not turn to look at him back. She stood up again obviously putting her weight on one side. 

“Use the kit. There are fresh bandages in there-” his words died on his lips. That was the last time he knew for a fact he had spoken to Danny. 

Saturday morning he found the box nearly empty on the lab bench where Maddie must have cleaned it out and thrown out whatever was no longer in date or something. Bandages in particular were always missing and needed replenishing so he knew when he found Danny upstairs on the couch recovering from another late Friday night, the boy would know how to restock it. Jack didn’t even wait for a reply. The last thing he had heard Danny say was “Okay” as he rushed out the door and slammed it shut behind him. 

His eyes went to the bench where the kit had been pulled out before for the lancet. Jack could see where bandages and plastic bottles had been replaced then dislodged where Maddie had ripped it apart to get to the instrument she needed.

Danny was a good boy, he had listened. It was one of the last things he did before he disappeared somewhere only this ghost seemed to know. 

Refilling the first aid kit would not be the last thing Danny did in this house. Jack had to stay put.

He looked at the ghost again at long last as it stared at the wound with wide eyes. 

“I’m fine, Jack. We have bigger things to worry about.” She left the disruptor on the ground and took a step forward kicking it aside. 

Phantom looked up at her from the ground. Even with the scare it didn’t float up to eye level, instead glancing between the wound and her face with its gloved hands on the floor.

“That looks bad. You should go-”

“I’m not going anywhere until you answer me, punk.” She hissed and Phantom shrunk a little then squared its shoulders. 

“Go to a hospital! Your leg is gonna fester and fall off or something.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you.” Maddie glared at him and Phantom bristled as if offended. 

“Why would I want this? God- you’re so stuck in your own heads that me telling you to go to the hospital is an attack!” It did a good job of pretending to be indignant but there was no chance they could leave the ghost alone without some kind of deal being made. There were weapons everywhere but Phantom could escape into the world in a second if they didn’t do this right. At that point, they would never find Danny.

Jack braced himself. They needed this now. “We’re not letting you out of here until we know our boy is alright.”

Phantom let out a laugh but it wasn’t happy, more shocked and annoyed. “Then leave me here because he isn’t. He’s actually pretty upset right now.”

A ball of something dense and sour curdled in Jack’s stomach. Maddie turned away from the grid limping toward the counter against the wall while he kept his attention on the creature. “What did you do to him?” He demanded and Phantom hunched its shoulders up around its head and threw up its gloved hands, a learned gesture broadcasting annoyance. 

“I didn’t do anything to him!”

The ghost boy knew something but was keeping it quiet. It knew where Danny was but refused to say more but why ? 

Maddie’s mouth opened and closed before licking dry lips. There was only one thing that made sense.

“You’re the one who took him.” 

Jack followed the train of thought his wife had laid the tracks for. Of course. The pieces fit. If Phantom had interpreted Danny needing protection then it could have taken him in some misguided attempt to be a hero. It would have been effortless for such a powerful being who by all accounts was obsessed with defending Amity Park and its inhabitants. It seemed especially fond of Danny always showing up near him…Following him.

Phantom’s eyes widened recognizing a shift in the atmosphere. The ghost’s posture changed as it looked between the two humans as their expressions darkened. Broken glass clinked on the floor falling from white hair. “Hold on a second-”

“You took my baby.” Maddie stalked like a lioness around Phantom’s circle. Instead of going toward Jack in the summoner’s circle, she moved the opposite way, the long way toward the computer powering it all.

The ghost rose best it could on shaky legs to watch, anticipate, and Jack’s heart pounded in his chest. How could they not see it before? Danny had talked about the ghost boy before dismissing their talks about how the creature was dangerous, a corrupted soul that could never belong here but it must have convinced their son with that charming tongue and boyish looks. Danny was sweet, trusting, too easy to take advantage of and the ghost must have sensed that when it started manipulating him.

How long did it take for Phantom to convince Danny he was safe around him? 

Did Danny even know to resist when he was literally spirited away?

Maddie walked around the circle and knelt by the machine that ran the whole operation. With calculating hands she unscrewed the hand-tightened bolts and revealed the delicate insides of hastily soldered wiring and parts. She reached in and Jack gasped watching her remove the regulator on the part connected to Phantom’s containment. The device controlled the amount of electricity that flowed into the grid keeping it within the range they had calculated with chicken scratch writing in a notebook that had been tossed aside hours ago. With precise movements, she picked up the disrupter and hefted it in her hand evaluating it then it clattered to the floor. 

Jack shivered. 

There was nothing protecting against the amperage increase that surged through the lines with a tiny twist of the knob. 

The lines glowed brighter. Phantom stumbled but found its feet. Not able to raise into the air just yet, the ghost looked around it watching the lines glow brighter and the borders hummed. 

“Why- what are you doing?” It’s voice pitched slightly. Maddie smiled recognizing it as fear.

“Silver is a wonderful conductor,” she said touching the blue casing on the wires and she pulled one out of the conduit. “Interestingly enough, so is ectoplasm.” The machine whined and Phantom’s throat bobbed. 

“You don’t have to do this.”

“You leave me no choice.” Maddie glared at the ghost and turned the knob again. Electricity stung through the air and the grid lit up brightly as Phantom screamed. 

It was a terrible sound. It wouldn’t surprise him if the ghost had died with a similar scream. Jack closed his eyes but all he could think about was Danny. His boy was out there somewhere and this ghost knew where he was. He steeled himself and glowered down at the scene with cool blue eyes. Seconds ticked by then Maddie turned the knob the opposite way. So much was done with such a simple motion. The electricity was lowered back to the original containment levels and the air stunk of copper.

The screaming cut off as the creature shook on hands and knees. Pitch black smoke piped from its back in random spots. Phantom coughed and spasmed on the ground then flickered once. For a split second Jack feared it would flicker away completely but Phantom’s form still seemed stable as it gasped for air it did not need. He glared at it and squared his large shoulders. 

"There's more where that came from, punk. Now get talkin'." He watched the ghost clench its fingers into fists. 

“T-that hurt.” It gasped and Maddie smiled. 

“Good. You freak…”

The ghost flinched. It tried again. “You can talk to him- you don’t have to hurt me.”

Rage filled her at the confession. All that and the ghost knew exactly where Danny was. All the begging and pleading and it could have gotten Danny at any time. It toyed with them instead. 

“I want to hurt you.” The words hung in the air and green eyes looked properly scared. One of the few things ghosts could actually feel was fear. “Ghosts only want to hurt humans. They cause chaos and spread death anywhere they go. You’re no different.” Jack shuddered at the chilled tone, the steel in her voice was sharp enough to commit the sin. 

“You’re wrong,” Its voice was tight and quiet. “You’ve always been wrong. Not all ghosts are bad.”

“Ghosts are-”

“No!” The cry was tight and desperate and a chill startled through the hunters as Phantom started rapidly. “No! Just please, stop. Some ghosts just wanna be left alone. I don’t wanna fight anymore or hurt or be hurt, I don’t! Just- let me go…” It cut off the words with a sob. Green eyes lowered to the ground and its head dipped down hanging low like a cowed animal. “I don’t wanna live in this world anymore…” White hair covered its face as another sob shook its shoulders. 

It was almost convincing. 

“You took my boy away from me.” She said and the dial clicked as the amperage increased again. The glowing increased in a spill of color and those thin shoulders hunched in on itself.

“Please no…”

“Information, ghost. That’s all I want from you.” The ghost’s resolve seems to have shattered in the short time. Maybe the electricity was a stronger deterrent to ghosts than they thought. Maybe Phantom in particular was vulnerable to the element. Either way, the result was favorable. 

“I can’t tell you where he is-” Electricity spiked through the air but Phantom jerked up, eyes wild and it threw out a hand at Maddie in a gesture that could mean please . “I can’t- really! I can tell you anything else.”

A beat passed then she turned the dial back down. “Why can’t you tell us where Danny is?”

Phantom’s throat bobbed as if searching for the right words to project. It spoke carefully lowering its hand and keeping a nervous gaze between the two hunters.

“I can’t because… It’s against my ghostly nature to tell you anything that could risk his safety. I’m protecting him.” The words were stilted but that could have been on account of the nasty shock. The ghost’s nature, its very core not allowing the action would match with the notes they had compiled on Phantom’s method of operation. If it truly believed that Danny was being protected then it couldn’t betray him. They had to get the information from the ghost slowly from any angle they could. 

Jack looked at his wife and through the red lenses, her eyes told him that they had come to the same hypothesis. Now to put it to the test. The glow faded back to normal levels and the creature shivered, probably in relief. 

Maddie stood up and put a hand on the top of the hard casing for support. “How long have you been watching Danny?”

The question caught the ghost off guard. Maybe it was surprised that they actually took the bait. It looked between the two of them and dared to pull itself up enough to sit on its knees kneeling before them. 

“I haven’t been watching him like some kinda stalker. If you’re asking how long I’ve known about him, it’s been a while.” Phantom said and Jack huffed.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific, ghost.” With his words, Maddie turned the knob slightly and that agonizing glow threatened the air again. Green eyes shot open wide. 

“14! I- he was 14 when I came around.”

Maddie glared at the beast in the circle. “You’ve been haunting Danny for years ?” She asked but it was an accusation, one the ghost denied quickly shaking its head.

“Not haunting. I just knew about him. He’s the son of two ghost hunters and lives in the house with the portal,” the ghost looked down at the sigils and tried to draw a finger over the surface but the gloved digit failed to touch the floor hovering just over the line. “I’m his friend.” 

How could that be? Phantom had said that before but why would that be true? 

“We’ve never seen ghosts be friendly with anyone, ghost or human.” Jack said as his wife simmered with an indignant rage. The ghost boy shrugged at the floor. 

“You haven’t exactly been looking very hard. There are lots of things about ghost behavior that you don’t know about.”

Maddie huffed. “We are the leading researchers in paranormal studies. We’ve studied ghosts for most of our lives.”

Phantom huffed back, defiance starting to appear again through the pain. “Most of your research is done so you can hunt better. If you were really looking, you would see that there are good ghosts and there are bad ghosts. There are also ghosts who just want to be left alone.” 

Maddie snipped back darkly, “And I suppose you think you’re one of the good ghosts.” The ghost gave her a mild look. 

“Not anymore,” Maddie’s face tightened and Phantom smiled at her tightly. “Ijust wanna be left alone now.” 

“Why did you take him then?” Jack asked with curiosity coloring his tone. “You won’t be alone if you have Danny with you.” Jack tried. Phantom looked at him and the smile turned into something wry. It always looked like it knew something they didn’t and it was infuriating to be mocked like that. He kept trying anyway. 

“What made you take our boy? Why not some other kid?”

“Jack!” 

He shut his mouth. He shouldn’t have said that. The past few days had been a nightmare. He couldn’t wish this on anyone but he had to know. 

The ghost turned the words over looking at the large man then the floor, then answered with its eyes down. “He wanted to go.” 

A chill went down Jack’s back and Maddie growled. “Lies! Danny would never-”

“He would and he did.” This creature, this eternally young boy, had stolen away their son. “He… We’re friends. Close friends.” It said and the delivery wasn’t the smoothest, but the being seemed to believe it. Jack was going to be sick. 

“Stop calling him your friend.” Maddie demanded and the ghost seemed to get stronger as the anger grew. 

“Well what else do you call it? I know more about Danny than either of you.” Phantom snapped back and its jaw twitched as if regretting some of the words. Maddie scoffed at it.

“That’s ridiculous-”

“Did you know he broke his arm last year?”

The hunters froze. Jack stiffened as if the words were a physical blow. “That’s ludicrous. We would have noticed-”

“Well ya didn’t,” Phantom said stiffly and crossed its arms tight against its chest. “He was pretty disappointed about it too but he wasn’t surprised.”

Jack’s stomach sank. What were they working on last year that could have made them so unobservant? There was grant work but nothing that was out of the ordinary. No, it couldn’t be true.

“Jazz had to take him to the hospital,” the monster continued. “His friends signed his cast.”

“He would have told us.” Jack insisted. They would have noticed…

“He was afraid you would be mad. Then you didn’t notice after a few days so he figured he wouldn’t bring it up. You never noticed so he never did.” The ghost’s fingers tightened into its suit. 

Silence bloomed in the room. Jack couldn't even place a time period, couldn't think of anything that had stuck out in the last year that could indicate such an event. Danny was a good kid. He loved them and they loved him. There was no way that something like that could be kept a secret. There were no secrets in this house.

"Jazz would have said something." Maddie shook her head. "She's so responsible, she would have told us immediately."

"Jazz was an adult. 18 and about to move out and go to college." Phantom shrugged. "I dunno why she didn't tell you. Maybe she didn't want to be lecturing you during her last month at home."

Danny would have just turned 16 over the summer. Jazz moved out in August. Still, Jack could not place a specific time that Danny had a cast on. 

"It wouldn't have really made a difference anyway. It's just your nature."

"Nature?" Maddie asked but she saved her tone from becoming a scoff. Angry, sure, but more unsure.

"Well yeah," Phantom continued, sounding all the world like it was stating a sad fact like the oceans were heating up or the sun would explode someday in the far off future. "You get caught up in your work. Always have. It's important but sometimes that means you don't notice things. That's just how it is." 

Was it? The kids didn't do many activities so there weren't exactly dance recitals and ball games to miss, but they had been supportive chaperoning dances and attending PTA meetings when needed. Well some of them. It had been a while since they had been to the school. 

Maybe they weren't as attentive to their children as they could be. They were young but they had lives and friends and Danny was barely home these days anyway. When he was home, he was tired from partying all night or playing games with his friends. He was a teenage boy, they needed space and Danny was basically self sufficient. Jazz had been independent for quite a while herself. 

Jack bit the inside of his cheek. How long had it been since they started thinking of their children that way?

It had been so long he didn't know.

"There had to be a mistake," Maddie started again. "Our boy wouldn't leave home like that, not without saying anything. You must not have understood what he wanted. He wouldn't go willingly." The anger returned and Phantom looked more defeated with each word. 

"He did. Let me go.”

Back to that impossible request. 

Jack shook his head. "Danny wouldn't be able to survive in the zone. He's human." Phantom smiled a grim smile. 

"What if he wasn't? What if he was a ghost too?"

Jack didn't realize how tense his body had become until those words infected the air and he couldn't move a muscle. Maddie gasped, a horrid, choking sound. 

"You monster. You... You killed my son?" 

Green eyes widened and white hair whipped around as the hunters stared at him horrified. 

It made sense. If Danny couldn't be brought here, had to be in the zone, wasn't safe in the human word-

No.

Phantom was telling the truth.

Danny Fenton was dead.

"Wait-"

The expression was back to blank. Some distance had been put back between them but why? Phantom should be overjoyed that it had put the hunters through so much pain. Maddie kneeled again wincing as blood dripped from the wound. The ghost watched flicking its eyes up and down between that stoic face and the injury. It didn't address it, likely put out by the previous response it got when it had suggested a hospital. The monster with a child’s face grimaced and attempted one more time to speak.

"It's not what you think-

It had nothing they wanted to hear. Maddie's fingers tightened around the knob and before the ghost could finish those useless words, she turned it high. 

Chapter 2

Danny Fenton is dead. 

It said the words so casually, almost proud. There was a buzzing starting in their ears and it wasn't just from the grid Phantom was held in or the protective circle they were in. It couldn't be true. 

Jack gathered himself quickly even as his vision blurred. 

“That’s a lie” He swept a hand out  wiping away the words from the tainted air as Maddie seethed at the ghost slamming her fist against the shield. 

Thud

Thud

Thud

But Phantom just shrugged at them and seemed to relax like a weight had lifted off its small shoulders. It was relieved. This creature had been so keen on telling them it smiled peacefully. The audacity, the nerve- 

“It’s true,” the ghost said like it was a confession. “Honestly he’s been dead a long time. You guys just didn’t notice.”

What was that supposed to mean? Danny was such a happy kid. Even if he was busy these days with school and his friends they would have noticed if he was depressed. 

Jack’s head spun and his vision blurred but whether it was shock or adrenaline or fear, he couldn’t tell. Was it an accusation? “We didn’t-”

“He isn’t dead.” Maddie said so stiffly that Jack knew it was because anger was better than tears and he agreed. Steeling himself, he swallowed and shook his head at the ghost finding his voice.

“This isn’t time for games, punk. You want out of there, you’ll tell us where he is.”

“You won’t find him.” Phantom gloated and the Fentons were again reminded of how much they hated ghosts. 

“You’re lying. Tell us the truth or-”

“Or what?” Phantom’s smile fell to a smirk and it was just as bad, if not worse. “You’ll tear me apart molecule by molecule? Rip me to shreds? Torture me?”

Jack was almost ready to agree but the last bit made him stop. It wasn’t torture, really. Was it? If it came down to it, ghosts could feel pain, could scream. Would they be willing to do something like that to the ghost boy?

Maddie was undeterred. 

“I’ll make you wish you were never born.” She warned him and Phantom barked a quick laugh.

“Don’t you mean ‘never died’? Honestly, wasn’t a huge fan of that part myself.” It said so easily and how could that aberration joke right now? The hunter grit her teeth. 

“Phantom I swear to God, I’ll-”

“Then do it,” Phantom snapped at them with more bite than before. “You’ve been threatening me for years. You hate me for what I am. You hate all ghosts just for being ghosts!”

“You’re a monster.” Maddie snarled back.

“I’m also done here.” 

Phantom held out a gloved palm and it glowed forming a ball of power in the center. The scientists tensed but the ghost pointed down at the ground and fired. 

They had seen that blast before. That same burst of energy had blown holes in concrete, cars, but here it just fizzled out as it hit the floor. The grid held. Jack felt a rise of excitement but it wasn’t the time or place. 

Phantom’s eyes widened then narrowed as it charged up again and fired with the same results. A loud growl and for a moment the couple tensed. Phantom grunted shooting more blasts at the ceiling, the floor, but nothing happened and the wards stayed. Theories whirled in Jack’s head and Maddie huffed a relieved laugh.

“You can’t break out.” The words came out as mocking and the creature bristled.

“What is this?” Phantom spun again looking at the containment field. There were no cracks, no weaknesses showing yet. “Let me go! I’m not helping you.”

“Yes you are,” Jack said and his wife stood tall. Together they had created something that could hold the most powerful ghost Amity Park had ever seen and it was not happy. “You’re gonna tell us everything you know about my son.”

“You can’t make me do anything!” Fists clenched and Phantom glared at them with burning green eyes. “I gave the human world a try and it’s not for me. Just let me go!” Two more blasts of green energy puffed against the floor eliciting another growl. Jack put a hand on the unneeded shield and spoke once the crackle of dissipating energy stopped. 

“We just wanna talk.”

“I’m not talking,” Phantom snipped and crossed its arms. It twirled and legs turned to a whisp and it crossed thin arms like a petulant child. “I’ll just wait here until your Fenton-Whatever fails and you’ll never see me again.” 

A long beat passed and Phantom was resolute. The words stuck in the air and energy buzzed between them. 

Maddie took a shuddering breath. 

“Please, Phantom. I’m a mother. I need to know what happened to my baby.”

That got the ghost to huff but the sound was grating as if it was making fun of the words.

“You don’t care. I already told you he’s dead.”

“He can’t be dead.”

“Then I’m lying,” Phantom snapped bitterly pulling its arms up higher, tighter to the chest. “That’s all I do anyway. I’m a ghost so I lie and cheat and why bother asking me? I’m better off in the zone.”

Jack looked at Maddie but the woman stood firm and refused to break eye contact. 

“You know something. Tell us where Danny is.” 

The ghost boy gave a short, horrid laugh.

“I’ll just lie anyway. I’m a foul, disgusting creature only capable of causing pain and suffering.”

Jack bit the inside of his cheek. Had they said that word for word at some point? Was it often enough for the ghost to memorize it or was that a summary of their thoughts on the matter? Phantom huffed and Madde huffed back. 

“When was the last time you saw him?” Jack tried and Phantom shrugged. 

“A thousand years ago.”

“Phantom-”

But the ghost cut her off, fed up with the same desperate question. 

“It was at the park. That’s when you were chasing me, right?” That mocking tone returned in full force. “I disappeared and suddenly Danny was there but there was no time for him. You had to chase me, right? Too busy for Danny, always chasing after ghosts.”

That wasn’t true. Danny was their son, their baby. They had to chase ghosts to protect him, not to mention the rest of the town. Ghost hunting was a taxing, thankless job and Saturday was no different. 

No.

“That was on Saturday,” Jack said slowly and Maddie was quiet. “That was the last time you saw him?”

“That was the last time you saw him, right?” The ghost turned and its tail puffed with the movement like smoke blown against glass. “Then you waited until Monday afternoon to report it to the police because the school had to tell you that he wasn’t accounted for.”

Guilt panged through them both but anger soon swallowed it. 

“How do you know that?” Maddie snapped and Phantom scoffed. 

“Who knows? Probably read about it in Parent of the Year magazine.” He said flippantly and her gloved fists slammed against the shield again. 

“You son of a bitch-” she started a low growl. Her frame tightened and tensed and she glared at the creature ready to tear into it verbally. 

What they didn’t expect was a laugh in response. 

It was silent at first, a shaking of a previously still chest, then faster until its mouth opened and the ghost doubled over laughing. 

Maddies fingers curled into fists and Jack took her hand in his. The fight drained out of her as he held on tight. Maybe they hadn’t been the most attentive but they would be damned if they didn’t try everything they could to get him back. 

“Phantom,” he started slowly, “We know you want to protect others. That’s what we want too. Danny being safe means the world to us.” 

The laughing slowed but the ghost didn’t seem moved by the plea. Phantom rolled in place leaving that wisp of tail, that inhuman puff curling around its waist. The green in its eyes was less playful but not exactly angry either. 

“Please. Whatever happened we need to know that he’s okay.”

Phantom tilted its head at them studying them as if it could sense a lie or spot a tell. Maybe it could. Phantom has a wide array of powers they had tried to document over the years but both scientists doubted it was conclusive. Nevertheless, if Phantom was looking for honesty then that was what it would find. Jack swallowed tightly and Maddie laced her fingers into her husband’s. Those boyish features softened and the ghost finally asked in a small voice,

“And what if he isn’t okay?” 

Throats dried, tongues froze but Phantom continued in that same voice.

“What if he’s not alright and you don’t want to hear it? Are you gonna shoot the messenger? Carve him up?” 

“He can’t be dead." Jack started but there wasn't more to the sentence. 

"It isn't what you wanna hear so it isn't true. How shocking." Phantom drawled but strengthened as it became defensive again. It frowned and curled its tail higher around its waist and the voice tightened with anger but it was different from before.  "He’s fine. Better than ever and he’ll be home for dinner. Now are you gonna let me go or what? I have preparations to make, people- well, ghosts to see."

Maddie’s breath hitched at the words. It was cruel delivering the exact words she had been praying for in such a way. "Where are you going?" Maddie asked but the words were not as sharp as they could be. 

Phantom smiled at them but it didn't reach those green eyes. "To the zone. It's called the Infinite Realms, ya know. I can spend my whole afterlife in there and never come back. Just me and all the other ghosts like me where they understand what I… Forget it. Point is I belong there." Phantom's mouth pressed closed into a thin line and Jack worked his jaw. 

Maddie blinked back tears and Phantom did not look at her. "I will rip you apart," she said through grit teeth. "I'll destroy you. You don't care about my boy, you never cared about anyone but yourself. You're just-" 

"A manifestation of human subconscious leftover from- blah blah blah, I get it." Phantom glowered at the ground and gloved hands clenched into fists. "I knew you wouldn't bother trying to understand." 

"Understand what?" Maddie snapped back and the creature flinched back. "You're disgusting. An abomination. A freak,” The ghost stiffened and became so still. “You never should have been back in the realm of the living in the first place. When you died you should have stayed dead." The sound of her breathing filled the space as Jack held his breath.

"I know." the voice echoed in the quiet barely audible over the hum of electricity. "That's why you'll never see me or Danny Fenton ever again.” It closed its eyes. “Now let me go." 

"That's not going to happen, ghost." Jack tensed as the air changed. 

Phantom looked at them both and there was no joy there, no teasing or cruel glee as legs reformed and it stood on the grid bracing itself. 

"Fine." 

There was a scream and the world shook. 

It was a horrible noise. It was like screaming, a pained, unearthly and frightening screech but there wasn’t anything human about the noise. Suddenly, glass showered around them. The long lights in the ceiling shattered from the frequency and rained glass. Jack raised an arm to hold over his wife as she recoiled, putting her hands over her ears. 

Jack winced and his other hand went over his ear as he turned his head down away from the shards raining down and metal groaned above them. He grunted trying to block his other ear with his shoulder and leaned in over his wife.

The shrieking noise shook the lab and the foundation of the house. Things fell off of shelves and tables upstairs inaudible over the wailing. The hairs on Jack's arms and neck stood on end as it pitched up and down undulating and vicious. 

It lasted for so long but then stopped with a deafening silence. Maddie ducked out from her husband's arms to find the shield still intact. Their hearts beat in their ears. 

The long fluorescent light bulbs lighting the area were destroyed. Emergency lights embedded in the walls flickered on. Glass beakers and canisters on the lab benches had all shattered letting their contents leak on the counters and down to the floor. 

The hunters straightened watching the scene before them with wide eyes. 

Phantom stood in the middle of the circle not caring about the damage it had caused. Some shattered glass peppered on the black jumpsuit and glinted in white hair but that was the extent of it. The sigils were unbroken. It glared up at them, giving away every ounce of distrust and fury it felt in those eyes.

A delirious laugh surprised both of the hunters as it erupted from Maddie. 

"You can't escape. That was your strongest attack and you can't get out." A smile grew on her face and Phantom looked less like a predator and more like a trapped animal. Visibly tired from the strain, the ghost swayed a little. 

"Let me go to the zone." Came the low demand but it was tired, weaker. 

"Not on your afterlife, punk." Jack felt that courage warm him and he smiled as well. They had done it. The odds had been stacked against them but they had done it. Phantom wasn’t going anywhere without their permission and all parties seemed to realize it in the same instance.

Maddie pulled free from her husband’s grip and stepped out of the circle. 

Jack’s heart leapt in his throat but the woman was confident walking around the shield. She exited the protection circle but the array did not shatter or break. It pulsed with light and Jack felt a buzz of fine, lightning cold energy strike through his core. Their grid held with a bright pulse of light. 

Free of the protection circle, Maddie took long purposeful steps toward the lab bench. She showed her back to Phantom and Jack let loose a breath. It was a show of confidence. They had done the impossible and now they could do whatever they needed to find answers without fear of Phantom getting free.

"I tried asking nicely,” she told the ghost boy. “I begged and you mocked me. Now you see I don't need to be gentle with you." 

She looked over her shoulder and smiled with wild eyes. Phantom shrunk back. Those green eyes always looked so intelligent up close even while the mouth seemed to operate separately. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The question was probably supposed to be biting and harsh but it came out nervous.

Good.

A tool came off the table and she stalked back toward the summoning grid. 

Maddie Fenton, mother of two, smiled at the ghost. She planted her feet squarely and looked at the monster in the cage.

“That means I can make you tell me. Now,” she glared at it and the ghost finally took them seriously. It sank to its knees. Purposeful or not, the gesture looked like submission. 

Now they were getting somewhere. 

“Where is my son?”

“I don’t think this’ll work, Mads.”

“It has to, honey. If it doesn’t…” 

Neither of them filled the silence as work continued on the Fenton Summoning Grid. Jack soldered hot lead into place as Maddie checked that the Arduino was still in place in case it had burned out. She took her time scrutinizing the processor and where it connected to silver wiring. Her goggles whirled as she compared it to the schematics they had worked on furiously. Usually when they had a job like this they would lose themselves in it for days simply making up the time spent and only taking the time to document when significant discoveries and advancements were made. This time, the Fentons knew exactly how long this project had taken them and it was too long.

6 hours, 37 minutes since the moment they had started to sketch the outline.

She pointed to a spot where the silver lines had melted. Her eyes traced where they had run the initial current and not calibrated the regulator leaving some of the fine lines smoking puddles. Jack followed to lay new silver down. It would still work a little smudged in theory but they couldn’t take the risk. She moved on until she was satisfied.

This needed to work. 

The setup was based on older techniques for communicating with the dead. It was inspired by primitive practice, but what laid in the center of the lab floor was propelled well into the 21st century with technology. Instead of a pentagram, a complex geometric array was painted on the floor and they had opted to use conductive ink instead of blood to mark their intent. The intricate lines and arrays drawn on the floor would bend the energy in the universe to their will. 

Normally there was a sacrifice, an animal or sometimes a human was used in more primitive versions but here they would use what they've learned of the paranormal to do wonders with science instead of blood. The electrical impulses would be provided by wires and circuitry rather than lifeforce and what had long been rumored to be souls. 

Finished with the wiring at last, Jack plugged the computer in. Energy flowed through the conduit and lit up the floor illuminating the two circles. Electricity hummed showing off the delicate designs of the protective summoner’s circle under his feet that started a green glow. A mere meter away, another circle glowed with a similar, if lighter glow. Imbued with the silver, the lines more efficiently carried the charge.  The current was carrying 15 amps at 600 volts. The baseboard was insulated and oriented along the north-south magnetic access and if their calculations were correct, the attractor node would only work on a scale-7 entity instead of just the closest ghost. 

The hunters moved closer both moving inside the summoner's circle together checking the shield. It had been attached to a heavy base built between the protection circle and the summoning grid in case the containment failed. 

They willed it not to fail. 

If they had time, they could guarantee it succeeded. If they had luck, it would be the right scale-7 entity that appeared and they could finally get some information instead of running around in circles while the police did nothing.

 If they just had more time, they could have set it up with lasers for precision and done tests on what little samples they had from the ghost. If they could just hone in on its ecto signature and summon it specifically, could contain it and get answers but they couldn't risk taking that time. 

The first 48 hours were the most critical and they had missed it. Their only option was to go outside the box and into the circle.

Jack looked at his wife as she pressed a button on her hood, ready to fight if the field did not hold. If whatever ghost they did manage to catch found a flaw in their tech and tried to escape because they didn’t have any more time, had wasted that precious window, they would neutralize it and try again and again and again. 

The couple adjusted their stances keeping behind the shield. Everything was in place.

“Ready?” He asked putting his hand over the switch that would allow power to flow into the grid and activate. A tear in the universe would rip right there, drag the being out of its dimension and hold it. It had to hold it. 

They would use the grid over and over if they had to. They would keep rebuilding the fuses and rewire whatever burned out and draw in that intricate design if the ink deteriorated. They would rebuild it again and again until they succeeded even if they had to try all night. They might have to. 

Maddie bit her lip and stared at the grid evaluating it. Her mind, whirling at a million miles an hour, went over the materials, the precautions, the adjustments and what if it wasn’t sufficient? What if it failed? It couldn't. Her eyes narrowed. 

“It isn’t strong enough, is it?” 

Jack sighed and shook his head. “We could test it out? I’ve got an idea about using some-”

“We don’t have time to theorize any more,” Maddie snapped. “We need results, now.” She stepped out of the circle and Jack removed his hand from the switch just in case. The scientist, the mother stalked to the counter and ripped open the first aid kit. She took a lancet from the kit and ripped her glove off with her teeth as her husband followed but it was too late for him to even react. She ripped the sterile packaging apart and with no hesitation and stuck her ring finger on the side of the tip. She hissed then threw the lancet in the direction of the sharps bin. Maddie whirled around holding her hand steady. Her eyes narrowed at the apparatus. 

“Hurry!” She demanded and Jack steeled himself. Adding blood to the mix could do several things. It was a traditional way of completing the circuit, grounding it to the human observer but those were stories. In the stories, the blood had worked but the actual how-to were only theories that had no scientific backing and if they just had time-

But they didn’t. 

Maddie dashed back to the circle. Jack took hold once again of the switch as Maddie stood barely inside of the circle at the edge just beyond the shield. She squeezed her finger causing the red point to swell and grow. 

"Now!" She flicked her hand once and a red bead of blood flung into the grid as Jack hit the switch.

Energy hummed. The single bead of blood flew over the grid then stopped. Ozone began to taint the air and the blood hovered as it caught in the buzzing field. A perfect circle, it drifted to the middle of the grid and hung under the lights while the ink on the floor glowed with electricity. The hair on the back of Jack’s neck stood on end. Overhead the lights flickered. 

Something was coming. 

They braced behind the failing wall. Ozone and iron tinged the air and a sharpness stung at their eyes even through the goggles. Something shimmered in the middle of the grid dragging up and through the floor. Power buzzed both electric and ectoplasmic combining to light up the circuitry and Jack could only pray that the processor held. Then as if reality had snapped into place, the space changed and it was no longer empty, but no longer holding that single drop of blood.

There in the middle of the grid, safely in the containment, was Phantom. 

Green eyes darted back and forth taking in its surroundings. It had been here before, they knew it had. It froze recognizing its surroundings. For a moment no one said anything, too shocked that it had worked and they were able to hold Phantom still at last. It jerked in the direction of the stairs but was halted by the grid, contained successfully. 

They didn’t need to celebrate, didn’t need to contemplate what the addition of blood meant and if it had meant success or not. Jack opened his mouth to speak but the words dried on his tongue. 

The ghost spun to face them so quickly, unnaturally fast. Its eyes were always so expressive, so big and bright and full of power. When it saw them, it straightened and glared at them. 

“Are you kidding me? It’s 2am!”((Or should I stick with “You. What do you want?”))) It complained baring its fangs but not quite threatening to use them yet. The hunters stiffened but stayed calm. They had anticipated anger. Phantom wasn’t used to being locked up and with that power level, it was a feat that they could hold it at all. 

Maddie straightened to look at the ghost behind the barrier.

Phantom’s physical form had not changed since first appearing in Amity Park those years ago. Silver hair, that black and silver outfit, the youthful face and green eyes that held less life and more feral emotion than a real human child could show. 

“We’re not going to hurt you, Phantom.” She started firmly and immediately got a dismissive laugh.

“Yeah. And I’m running for mayor.” The sarcastic sense of humor was still present when under stress. Phantom could be charming which was probably why the ghost was so popular with the impressionable youth.

“We have questions and you’re going to answer them.” Jack’s stern voice got it to frown and put away those awful teeth. 

“Why would I talk to you? Or do I not have a choice?” Phantom asked as it reached out to experimentally poke at the invisible walls. The grid held without even flickering. It frowned deeper and Jack could practically see the gears turning as the ghost tried to put together the pieces and figure out how to escape. Phantom floater higher but jolted back as its head bumped against something about 9 feet up crushing the hair before hitting where the skull should be.

“Because we’re willing to make you a deal." Jack said with a low, authoritative voice. "Anything you want in exchange for information.” He declared and Phantom didn’t even spare them a glance. It floated down head first to check out the symbols drawn on the floor. 

“Sure. It was Professor Plum in the Dining Room with the Lead Pipe. I’ll take a check or credit card.” So sarcastic, so irritating. Maddie snapped at him, lashing out with that worried anger lacing it with desperation.

“Anything! Free passage between here and the ghost zone any time you want,” she gestured behind them where the portal had been locked up tight. “We’ll add you to the genetic lock somehow, get you a key,  something, then you can come and go as you please!” This way the ghost boy didn’t have to wait for natural portals to appear or hide in the human world conserving its energy. Unless provoked, Phantom wasn’t dangerous but offering it access to the Ghost Zone, to the endless energy it needed to keep its strength up, that would change how it operated in Amity Park. It was a risk, but what choice did they have? 

Phantom blinked at that and looked up at the two past the shielding.  “That’s a little hilarious actually.” Its smile tightened. “Why would I wanna come here? This town hates me.”

Jack’s stomach dropped. Did the creature not understand what it was being offered? 

His jaw tightened as he tried another approach.. “You know that’s not true. You’re powerful, popular, and this whole town has been under your domain since we were taken to the zone a few years ago,” he insisted. “You claimed this territory.”

Phantom slowly twirled in the limited space allowed righting itself. “Maybe I’m giving it back,” it drawled lazily and ice crawled down Jack’s arms. “Even if I wanted to stay, I can just come and go as I please anyway. Great offer. What do you want?” 

Maddie stepped forward, nose almost pressing against the shield. Her voice lowered steady and serious even as every muscle in her body tightened.

“We saw you that day. We know you’re the last one to see Danny, our Danny. We need to know where he is.” 

Phantom looked at them for a long moment and Jack’s arms prickled, goosebumps rising as the boy appraised them blankly. No emotion, nothing appropriate for such an impassioned plea anyway.

As if the ghost was guarding it’s expression instead of just forgetting to project one, it asked,

“What’s it to you?”

“He’s our son!” Maddie snarled and Phantom blinked. In a horrible moment, an expression formed and a smile grew. It was wrong. It didn’t look happy, it looked tight and forced and so very wrong.

“So you really care about him, huh? It’s been what, 4 days? 5?”

59 hours since they reported him missing. They wrote the time at the top of the police report with a shaky pen. They had tried to remember, to guess and approximate but they couldn’t tell the investigator exactly when they had last actually seen their son. 

It had been 11 hours since the same officer had told them there were no leads.

Jack had gone light-headed as the police had explained that they had tried. There was only so much the authorities could do. The first 48 hours of a missing child case were the most crucial and it was possible they had missed the window completely if Danny had been abducted over the weekend. 

Maddie had stormed out of the precinct when they suggested he had just run away or was simply hiding out. A 17-year-old boy was prone to leaving on a whim. There was nothing to prove one way or another Danny didn’t just go to a concert for the week or on a trip with his oddly quiet friends. What if he just went to see his sister at Yale and forgot to tell them? They had called Jazz immediately but she calmly told them that Danny was probably fine. She hadn’t heard from her brother but was very quick to get off the phone with them once she got the news. She was probably trying to keep calm, trying to call his phone which only went to voicemail every time they called it.

As the hunters drove back to the house, they had come to a conclusion. Danny would never run away, never leave without telling them. Sure he had been more withdrawn from them, but that’s what teenagers did. They didn’t see him as much since Fenton Works was always working on new patents and Danny was always doing some kind of after school activity or overnight study. The poor boy was always so tired when they actually saw him at the breakfast table. 

That was why they had to look for him themselves. Something had happened to their boy. Sweet, clumsy little Danny was somewhere helpless and afraid. That was why they went home and went straight to the lab, working all night on something that would summon them their only hope, a witness.

Maddie’s dry throat worked before she opened her mouth.

“Please.” Desperation leaked into her voice but that only caused the smile to grow.

“Please what? You wanna know what’s up with Danny Fenton and then you’ll let me go?” Phantom almost sounded amused behind the humming wards and summoning grid. 

Jack’s hands tightened into fists and Maddie slammed her hand against the green shielding. The sound was dull in the tense quiet and she cried,

“You tell us where he is right now, you creep!”

That terrible smile morphed until those fangs poked out. The expression was so wrong on that young face.

“Easy,” Phantom chirped and for a moment, they believed they would finally have an answer. Their boy was safe. Somewhere warm and dry, fed and ready to come home. 

But that smile grew,

“Danny Fenton is dead.”

And Jack and Maddie Fenton’s heart dropped at once.

It's mostly angst and drama. How about I tag what isn't. Enjoy~

Trick (362) -Ectober @ectoberhaunt Danny's secret is out. This ghost has tricked everyone into thinking it's little Danny Fenton. Luckily his parents know better than to trust a monster.

Laugh- Ao3 link -Ectober

What do people actually think about Phantom? We'd like to think of him as a friend with a nice laugh.

Glitter - Ao3 link (731) -Ectober

Glittering snow appears wherever Phantom does. There was a beauty in the way Phantom felt pain.

Fairy Circle (1166) -Ectober -dramatic with classmates

Danny isn't interested in this nature hike, especially when his friends are back at camp with another group and he's stuck with Dash and some other people. When they find a fairy circle in a clearing, Danny knows the stories and to stay away. Dash doesn't believe him and maybe there is a price to pay.

Twilight (660) -Ectober -oh no what happened in Fairy Circle

Fenton better not be pulling a fast one about that fairy circle business. Dash rationalizes the events of Fairy Circle in what is basically chapter 2 and is awaiting a third chapter.

Swamp- Ao3 link (3225) -Ectober (Horror)

Fenton Works wasn't always a weapons manufacturer. The Fenton's were paranormal investigators. Field studies were done, measurements were taken, tests performed. It was a family business that searched for proof of ghosts. One night, they finally found it. If only their 6-year-old wasn't sleeping in the backseat.

Poison - Ao3 link (428) -Ectober

Danny Phantom was going to be the end of Amity Park as we knew it.

Mask- Ao3 link (640) -Ectober There wasn’t a time after the accident that Danny felt he could be himself. He had a loving family, friends who adored him, a public whose opinion varied on his performance, but he couldn’t bring himself to present all that he was to any of them. So Danny started to wear masks.

Condemned (420) -Ectober

Danny Phantom was a menace at best, at worst an upheaval of the natural order of things. Danny knew better than anyone this sentence was for the best.

Headstone (2434) -Ectober

Why did he have to be remembered? Why didn’t they want him anymore? Did they all wish him a safe passing to the afterlife? What did he do wrong to make all them want him gone?

He was a hero for them wasn’t he?

Insomnia- Ao3 link (1018) -Ectober

What was a little lost sleep if staying awake meant he could keep his city safe?

A Wish List for Danny- Ao3 link (763) -12 Days of Ficmas (Fluff) @12daysficmas

Danny's been so busy fighting ghosts, he forgot to make himself a Wish List before the holidays started and he just doesn't have it in him anymore. Good thing he has two best friends who love him.

With a Little Help- Ao3 Link (645)- 12 Days of Ficmas (Fluff)

Star Thunder has her life together school-wise. It isn't really her problem if Fenton's is falling apart. Lucky for him, Foley comes to plead mercy.

Call me Grandma Ida- Ao3 link (1541) 12 Days of Ficmas (Fluff)

“I don’t eat. I’m a ghost.” Ida Manson could have believed him if it weren’t for his voice or his face or the way his hands moved. She smiled at the ghost boy. “You’ve got a mouth, don't ya?”

She Knew Those Eyes- Ao3 link (2788)- Truce gift for @faedemon / @moipale

Jazz didn’t know as much about ghosts. She didn’t have powers or experience but she was willing to learn and help any way she could. Danny might not want to tell her about every rough time, but the important thing was that he trusted her to be there on the really bad days.

When her brother's skittish clone introduced herself, Jazz braced herself for what could be a very bad night indeed.

A Real Connection- Ao3 link (822)(Cracky fluff) @floralflowerpower

When Danny Fenton is spotted being carried home by the friendly Phantom, the Citizens of Amity Park can't help but wonder what their connection is. The consensus, despite any objections from Fenton, is that it is so very real.

Electric Duet (669) A duet with @floralflowerpower, prompt by @coolclaytony

Maddie experiments with Phantom's aversion to electricity and makes a dire mistake.

This is Only the Beginning- Ao3 link (1581) @danphanwritingprompts

Danny learns the hard way what Vlad already knew. They were both immortal and every human they cared about would die.

You Were Supposed to Be Our Uncle Vlad (1348) @danphanwritingprompts

Clockwork has his reasons when he shows Danny another alternate future. A single second could have made all the difference. Uncle Vlad would have been family.

My Eyes Were Blue (1021)- prompt by @dannyphantompromptgenerator and @all-out-disney

Danny finds out what happened to Sidney Poindexter.

Checking up on the boy (311) Kinda related to My Eyes Were Blue Prompt by @danphanwritingprompts

“Ma’am, you don’t understand. There’s nobody named Sidney Poindexter currently attending this school.”

Conviction (2083)- prompt by @amabsis

This time, instead of making a weapon to hurt ghosts, the Fenton's make a weapon that allows them to “get their feelings back”. Problem is they already have them, so what happens when you take an already emotional ghost teen and amplify it by 10?

Team Work Makes the Dream Work- (1424)- Cracky fun- prompt by @reallydumbdannyphantomaus

kwan: don't look now but we've shifted to another reality again

dash: fuck!!!!! shit!!!!! no!!!!!

kwan: i mean i know it sucks but it's happened before it'll be fine

dash: no idiot we've got an away game tonight how are we supposed to get to brantford from another reality??

kwan: 😱

kwan: we're gonna have to forfeit!

dash: not on my watch