#eh fire

Danny didn't mean to get sick, promise.

He didn't even notice it started to come on.

Practically the whole student body had to miss at least some school from it. Even Dash was out sick at some point. Mr. Lancer has been at school with a mask the whole time, he cant afford to take time off for this and no one would be able to cover for him anyway. He must have caught something at school with the newest public school plague going around.

Then.

And then, while he was visiting the Far Frozen, it hit.

He was feeling fine, if a bit more tired than usual, as he had a snowball fight with the other yetis when a sudden bout of dizziness hit him and his legs gave out on him and he fell face first into the snow.

Last thing he heard were the yeti's cries of concern.

How embarrassing.

Danny was out before his face hit the ground.

What happened after that was lost to him.

The Great One collapsed in the center of their village and stirred up quite a tizzy of worry from the whole tribe. He's so small but it's easy to forget most of the time when he's constantly moving and taking up space, so loud and full of bravado and always joking. It hits him just how small and fragile the Great One really is in a moment like this.

To his relief, the young boy was still in his ghost form at the very least. He knows humans wouldn't last very long in the cold his people call home.

He did a cursory check of the Great One and he could tell right away that he was burning up. A worrying sign for any ghost, let alone with their shared core type, but dimming as much or melting in a literal sense.

On top of that, the Great One is half human and seems to be having symptoms he isn't familiar with. He was wracked with chills while feeling so hot to the touch that Frostbite thought his arm would melt, has raspy coughs, and even perspiring to such a degree.

He may be a bit lost with the human side of things, but it won't stop him from helping him the best he can.

Frostbite set up the Great One in a bed of their warmest furs, tucking him in tight enough that no one could escape. The poor boy might not even be strong enough to leave even if he didn't tuck him in.

The Great One was restless when he should be sleeping and seemed to settle when he set his ice arm on his forehead, so he made him a compress out of ice to rest there so he could have use of both of his arms.

The young one seemed to get better, or at least settle, until the nightmares came.

The Great One had such great nightmares that his made him ache to his core. He thrashed enough that the furs were barely staying over him until he used up all his energy.

The young savior weakly called for his sister in the few times he woke, unable to remember where he was. It felt like all he could do was gently stroke his head as the boy subconsciously searched for his hand if he stopped. So young as a human and a ghost, a mere infant who has done so much for them all.

His sister would know what to do in the places he feels lost in, so Frostbite found a fellow doctor who has also treated the boy to momentarily watch the Great One while he used his tribe's precious relic to ask the sister of the Great One for assistance. He could fly all the way to the portal connected to the Great One's residence, but time is of the essence.

Danny came to in snippets.

It was so warm.

His throat burned.

He cant remember where he is.

He thinks he was playing in the snow and having fun, so maybe Tucker brought him inside?

Mom and dad are probably in the lab and he doesn't want to be alone.

Jazz usually doesn't leave him alone when he feels this bad.

Where is she?

He's so warm and it's scary.

His head is pounding and everything is so fuzzy.

And he wants.

He wants Jazz.

He wants his big sister who got him canned soup and made sure he ate and drank and petted his hair. She always did it when she thought he was out but he always knew it was her.

The cold hand on his head was such a relief, especially when he felt a hand carding through his hair. Was that Jazz?

She must be here!

The hand is a bit cold but with how hot he feels anyone else's hand would freeze in comparison, but the gentle carding and soft singing meant it had to be her!

No one else had done that for him, after all.

Sometimes his parents would be distracted in the lab while he was sick. It's not usually this bad and they know he would be resting, but sometimes he just wanted someone nearby.

They try but it never felt right. His mom's method was too scratchy and his dad was never good at controlling his strength, but Jazz seemed to just know the right way to do it.

He knows their parents love them, but they are so busy all the time that they had to rely on each other instead. Sometimes he wondered if they love their work more than them, but he knows that they do. They just have a strange way of showing it.

Danny remembered when Jazz came in to check on him each time. Whether it was before and after school or throughout the day, she still came and sat by him. Sometimes, she even did her homework or ate with him.

He always wondered if she had to teach herself or if someone ever did this for her, she's so strong. She claims to be a grown adult, more than their parents, but she is still only a couple years older than him.

Danny felt a safe kind of warmth as he imagined his sister before sinking into deeper sleep for the moment.

Jazz sat alone in her room feeling at peace for once, a break from all the craziness.

A nice, quiet day for once. Danny was visiting his friend and mentor in the Far Frozen, her parents were in the lab, and she has time to study and maybe even read. This new study came out and shes been looking forward to what it reveals.

On days like this kids like her, should be prepping for college several years early. It's never too early to rush ahead and chase dreams, after all!

And then.

The temperature in the room dropped like it usually does when a ghost is nearby.

Oh boy, here we go again. Goodbye peaceful afternoon study time.

Rolling her eyes and reaching for the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick Danny's friends coated in an anti-ectoplasmic layer, she waits and pounces the second a ghost dares to enter her room.

The audacity.

The air itself warped and shifted. Long enough to notice, at least for her, yet short enough that it was over before she could truly react.

Within a blink of an eye, a large ghost with large icy horns and arm with the bones showing straight through as if it was clear ice, whose teeth were long and sharp enough to rip her in two without trying. Who... greeted her with a smile and a look of relief.

Dammit Jazz, You can't just assume a ghost's intentions based on looks! You are better than that!

"Sister of the Great One, I come to you for aid." The ghost rumbled in a deep and warm tone.

'Great One'? Hasn't Danny complained about a group of ghosts that worship him for taking down the ghost king all that time ago?

"Uh, yes?" Jazz took a second to reboot her brain and not seem rude while a whirlwind of questions tried to form in her head, "So, um, may I ask why you are barging into my room like this? What kind of aid could I even provide?"

"It is about the Great One." Oh boy, with that kind of seriousness Jazz could only wonder what Danny got himself into now.

"What's wrong with my brother? Did he do something? Or is something wrong with him? He's mentioned before that there are some ghosts who helped him out but I'm afraid he's not very descriptive even when he thinks he is." Jazz shot off question after question about what crazy thing her brother could have gotten into that beings who praise him are coming to her for help, barely pausing to breathe before taking a deep breath. "On that note, I don't think we met. Hi, I'm Jazz Fenton, Danny's big sister. Nice to meet you. And you are?"

After that deep breath, she put on an air of being put together. Formalities are important for a good first impression, after all!

With a big smile, if a bit strained, she held out her hand to her uninvited guest whose hands just so happen to be as big as her head.

"My apologies for not introducing myself," his rumbling voice began, "that was quite rude of me. My name is Frostbite, chief of the Far Frozen and the primary doctor for the Great One's ghostly needs." He stuck his hand out to shake hers, understanding that this is a human custom even if he seems to not fully get it. Seems they both understand respecting each other's customs in a way!

"Well, it's good to finally put a face to a name. My brother has mentioned you before but trying to get more info from him is like pulling teeth." At his confused and off-put expression, Jazz clarified herself. "Oh! I mean that it's very difficult to get him to open up even a little so prodding for details before he's ready is a lot of effort and usually a lot more trouble than it's worth when he can get there at his own pace! Sorry, it's a common turn of phrase in this part of the human realm." 

"Thank you for explaining, the one called 'Jazz', sister of the Great One. I'm afraid the problem the Great One is having is a bit too human for me or my people know how to truly help and we have determined it is not safe to move him. The young one is hot to the touch yet seems so cold at the same time and is raspy like he is dry on the inside. These symptoms are not common among ghosts and we know you would have a better idea what to do for him."

That is concerning. But...

"What gave you the idea to come to me about it? Not to say I would prefer to be in the dark when my brother's health is not so great but..." Jazz trailed off, recounting how Danny had been for the past few days. Heck, how the whole school has been for the past week or so!

"He was calling for you," his answer brought her back out of her own mind. Her head turning to face him so face she thought she would get whiplash. She almost fell down a rabbit hole of 'what-else-did-I-miss' again, when she is needed in the now, "the Great One isn't really awake but when he manages to speak he calls for you. He has mistaken our care for yours, actually."

That brought a tear to her eye.

And a stabbing kind of pain feeling she has learned to shove down.

Danny...

Wiping her eyes, Jazz got to parentified big sister mode. Focus on feelings later, Danny now.

"Alright, let me get some things first. Then, you take me to him." Her eyes were hard and full of stubbornness, letting Frostbite know that he can't come in here and tell her Danny needs her and expect her not to come. Some part of her recognized that he probably wouldn't have asked her to stay even if she didn't do this.

Still out of it, but feeling well enough to sit up, Danny looks around in a daze.

Warm soup nearby feels so comforting even if he can't really do much besides put his hands on the bowl. He doesn't trust his shaky hands just yet with holding hot liquids, not when he feels like he's going to fall back asleep any second now.

He tried to move before his eyes closed on him.

Damn. Thought I could stay awake longer than this.

"Here, have some soup before you pass out again."

Hmm? Sounds like Jazz. Must be hearing things again. 

"Ngh, too tired," he pathetically whined as someone else holding the spoon brought it to his lips. A hand held his head, letting it rest while keeping him sitting up as he was fed. The flavor was familiar in a way that surprised him. 

It tasted like the cheap canned soup Jazz bought for them for when they get sick or ran out of food they could make for themselves before they were big enough to get more themselves when mom and dad were too busy or distracted to remember to buy food or not put samples in the fridge.

It tasted like home.

Jazz must be here after all.

Time off from school, a treasured time for all students. Free from the shackles of graded responsibilities for a short time.

Any would do what they could to take advantage of such a rare respite.

"Man, what a waste of a school break. 'Help out the family business, Danny! It'll be a great use of your summer, Danny!' Only my parents would think this would look good on any resume. I'm fielding calls for them, but it's only been the city after they caused yet more property destruction with dad's driving or messing up my ghost fights I already had handled!" Danny grumbled to himself as he did his usual daily chore of cleaning the lab his parents can't be bothered to even try to clean themselves. Mocking their words only slightly helps him stay on task, if doing so a bit aggressively.

All except for Danny Fenton. Son of the infamous ghost 'experts' who only in recent years were proven to be more than just crackpots. Bad grades and missed assignments and skipped classes have not earned him favor with his teachers or parents who only ever hear of the bad stuff. He is not bitter at all.

Nope. Not at all.

From the spills to the beakers to double checking the filtrator, he rants loudly while his parents are gone and has hope that it could stay clean for at least a few hours before they inevitably wreck all of it and blame him for not keeping up. Especially if one goes nuts and doesn't tell the other to let him take the blame. Usually his dad on that front, actually.

"Just 'cause Sam and Tuck are out of town doesn't mean I have a million things I'd rather be doing right now. Not fair that they don't trust me because of my grades and school! Not my fault that some things are a bit more important! Even if I did get my 'priorities straight', the biggest trouble makers would just come for me anyway. Not that I would tell them that in the first place!"

He spent hours ranting and cleaning and chore-ing until his energy up that he could rant no more. It lasted for what felt like hours.

Until he managed to rant his way to finishing just as the clock shows it's now late afternoon. So definitely more than just a few hours he was in the lab and even rage cleaning the rest of the house, including his own room.

How long was I at this? It took forever and not a single ghost trying to leave the portal? Maybe I won't have to deal with pesky ghosts for once. Of course mom and dad didn't call, probably assumed nothing would happen. That or they forgot I was home again. On their orders. Typical.

Frustration seeping away and leaving him more sad than anything as he tried to relax after using all of his energy, the house spotless. With Jazz gone at college, they can focus more on him. But did it have to be like this? With dismissive words and looks of disappointment that his only escape from it is when they are not around.

From his ranting to a more morose mood, he moped around feeling sorry for himself. He stayed like that for a while when the phone rang. Its shrill sound startling the boy, putting him on high alert.

High alert and into customer service mode.

At least that's what his friends have called it. He only truly believed it when Valerie, who also works in customer service, agreed with them.

"Hello, this is Fentonworks." Danny took a breath to calm his startled heart and read the script his parents have for callers. Well, not really a physical one. But more like one he and Jazz have had to memorize when they were little 'just in case'. "Home of the experts on ectobiology, the ghost hunter and inventor dream team, Jack and Maddie Fenton. This is their son, Danny Fenton, speaking. My parents aren't home right now, may I take a message?"

Danny wondered if it was another complaint, his parents have been gone all day after all. Usually that spiel either prompts the complaint or encourages them to hang up, not wanting to bother talking with a child. He hopes the latter just want to yell at his parents without a go-between but he's never been sure and it can be one or the other depending on who it is and what his parents did.

Well, that or scam calls but those are fun to mess with sometimes and he can hang up on them without getting in trouble. Especially if they are bots.

"Actually, you're the one I've been meaning to ask for." Danny shifted in his seat, uneasy even if the voice on the other side couldn't see him. "What I'm calling for is not really something that can be talked about over the phone."

"Ha ha. Good prank, sir, but I don't think I should just meet a stranger at a secondary location given over the phone." Danny let his sassy seep through. Not as professional as he's trying to be but that is creepy, right? Guess this is someone he can mess with. "At least take me to dinner first. Should I tell my parents I'm being courted by a, I assume, grown stranger?" Danny's little shit younger brother mode has activated and he's not sure where to stop now that he's having fun for the first time that day.

"You have connections to spirits, right?" The guy he was trying to mess with cut in, sounding pretty serious now. Danny was just wasting time after all, maybe he's in a hurry? "In a way that wants to help them, not hurt? There's a lot I can't really say over the phone, if you can't do it can you get in touch with Phantom?" Can this guy not sound any more suspicious?

Suspicious but concerning, especially once he name dropped his ghost form. What if his parents were home or walked in on them? They would take the phone from him for sure once they knew it wasn't a complaint or a computer calling.

He doesn't know his secret but name dropping Phantom is risky. Does he know Danny Fenton's on Phantom's side or is he just taking a chance? Is this a trap? He really should say no and just hang up.

If he was smart, he'd hang up right then and there.

If he was smart, he'd block the number and sick his sister on him all the way from college instead of agreeing.

However, Danny is pretty bored and he finished what he needed to do. If he gets in trouble for something while he's not home he could just deal with it later, not like his parents are letting him do much else right now. Danny mulls it over before agreeing to meet in a well lit public area at least to hear him out. Whoever it is.

Too bad he never claimed to be smart.

He really hopes he doesn't regret this.

The agreed upon location ended up being the Nasty Burger as a familiar public place in Danny's home turf. He was about to meet the stranger there and all he knows was that he was told that 'he'd know when he saw him', whatever that meant. At least it's currently Valerie's shift because he knows she doesn't take shit and would help him if it went wrong. Perks of going as Fenton.

All he really knew about the guy was that his name was 'Mike' and this concerns suspicious happenings at his old place of work. All the guy said was to look for purple and he'll find him, whatever that means.

Danny is more and more aware of how sketchy this is but knows it's too late to back out now. He's already there and even if he wasn't, he's let his curiosity and boredom take over.

Maybe a little bit of spite as well.

Always a good motivator.

Welp, time to 'look for purple'.

Jazz is going to stick him in the thermos until he's 30 if she finds out he's doing this in the first place. But with his luck, she won't find out or she will when there's something bigger to worry about. Danny dreads and can already picture his sister's stare of disappointment. He's not sure if it would be worse if she was angry or just disappointed. Probably her disappointment, now that he thinks about it.

Heading inside, he scans the booths for purple. Maybe the guy is wearing all purple? Then, he saw him.

A man sitting at the agreed upon booth was wearing a purple vest on a long sleeved black shirt and topped off with a purple hat. With so much skin covered, Danny almost didn't notice his skin tone. As if he was partly rotted, even his skin was a deep purple. Like a deep bruise that covers the whole body.

Yup, that sure is a purple guy.

Taking a seat, he manages to greet the stranger, 'Mike-if-that's-his-real-name' in the most professional way possible.

"Wow, you really are purple!"

And greeted in a very professional way in return.

"Oh shit, you're so young!"

Which was in no way awkward with the following silence of their loud outbursts before they both looked away in shame.

No sir, not at all.

At least that is what I will be telling the others if asked... and beg Valerie to back me up even if she would definitely say no. Can't believe I brought up his skin color, I must have sounded so rude. You can't just point it out in public!

Taking a breath, Danny gets down to business with the purple stranger. He didn't want to wait for him or be stuck in silence, not when he was called and this is his turf.

"So-" his voice squeaked with the lingering awkwardness and he cleared his throat to try again, "So, you have a ghost problem?" Danny putting on his big boy pants started, voice quiet and calm. A public place is good for safety with a stranger but this is Amity Park and they are talking ghosts, you can never be too careful. Especially if he doesn't want his parents in on it.

A nod.

So well spoken.

"That's the working theory." The man takes out a stick of gum and offers one to him before taking one himself. Danny, already making a plethora of 'good' choices, takes one.

Watermelon flavor. Dunno what I expected.

"O-kay? Gonna need more than that if you want my help in any way. What kind of ghosts are you so worried about? Why all the secrecy? And, while I'm asking the questions, is your name really 'Mike', Mr. 'Purple Guy'?" Danny may be stupid, but he isn't dumb. He will at least make sure to ask questions before having it blow up in his face.

"Kid, you have to breathe. To answer one of them, my name really is Mike the same way your's is 'Danny', assuming it's also a nickname like mine." The man's amused smirk at all the questions faded into a grimace. "However, to answer the others I need to know one thing. How much do you know about Fazbear Entertainment?"

Mike leaned across the table a bit, completely serious in a way Danny does not get. At least not yet.

"Well, uh," why does this feel like he's being given a pop quiz, "they are a franchise pizza place that throws birthday parties? I think I remember my friend ranting about their unsafe business practices."

"Heh. 'Unsafe'. Understatement of a century right there." Mike shook his head with a small laugh, thinking of some kind of inside joke.

"She has also mentioned rumors and creepypasta-ish ghost stories about the place." Danny continued to remember what he could while munching on good ol' Nasty Burger fries. Very kind of Mike to get them both something to eat while here, or at least practical. "She liked to read the stories to us at sleepovers as scary stories, my other friend was fascinated by the tales for the animatronic characters."

"Well, your friend seems well researched," the man released a deep sigh, "at least as well researched you can be with all the cover ups and the not-so-easily explained."

"So, are you saying it's actually true?"

"Sort of. Not everything is true, but a lot more than you would like to think is."

Danny doesn't know what this guy was getting at and he has a bad feeling he won't like it when he gets to it.

"That chain is a part of a deep rabbit hole of death and rumored hauntings. Well, more like a few buildings from that chain, most likely. I don't even know the whole story myself, to be honest. Just know that it seems to have started with the two founders of Fredbear's Family Diner, child neglect, and bullying." The man's eyes were somber upon mentioning the bullying. "Yeah, bullying of a poor kid by a bunch of asshole teens who took what they thought was a joke way too far."

"Seems like you know a bit more on that front," Danny is very unsure how to proceed but can tell this is hard to talk about. "Did you know the kid?"

"Yeah," a deep, sad breath and a beat later, "you can say that."

"I can indeed say that, even if I don't know it's true. That is how rumors are spread after all," Danny, sympathetic to whatever this man is going through, agrees but knows they need to get back on topic to why he was called in the first place. "but, this story is not why you called me, is it?"

"No. No it isn't," the man glanced around to make sure no one was listening in, "It's something more relatively recent. The place I'm really here to talk about is Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. You know the in-house animatronics? The four timeless characters of the chain that make up the band. Getting right to the point, I'm pretty sure they're haunted. Sure, they only get a bit quirky at night. But, when they do, they don't really tend to have mercy."

"In what way?" Danny took a breath, thankful for Sam's interest in the occult and corrupt business history, "Assuming that this is not a true mechanical malfunction, there are different types of hauntings. A lot of ghosts don't know how feeble humans can be in comparison but that kind aren't usually as aggressive as you are describing, I think. There are others who are practically bound to where they died or a place of great importance to them in life. Those don't tend to like intruders, especially if they think they could be harmful." From pulling a Sam to a Jazz, he remembered what they and his ghostly mentors have said. "Bound spirits in the living realm can be very confused and have trouble separating memories from reality and memories can lie to you. Even living people sometimes remember things wrong. Sometimes the mind hurts and wants to protect itself."

"Definitely the latter, then. I worked as a night guard at the place and the guy who recorded instruction tapes for new night guards left very concerning information. Would have brushed it off if I didn't face them for 6 hours, myself." Mike heaved a sigh before continuing, "don't think he's around anymore from the sound of his night four call, though. Don't even know how long ago it was recorded before I got to hear it."

Mike set some papers on the table, they were old and faded. Dated as far back as 1983, different incidences circled. The ones that stuck out were from '85, with a progression of five missing children over time where they never found the bodies. Led into the backroom by someone in a mascot costume.

Oh shit.

This was real.

This took Danny aback. Sure he's dealt with ghosts and all, but this, if it's true, sounds like a real vengeful haunting.

Yup, that would make for some very powerful hauntings.

A pregnant pause passed between the two, a man whose skin is purple akin to rot and one baby faced secret half ghost talking about ghost stories that may have actually happened.

Danny feels the gravity of this. If these suits really were haunted by children. Scared and hurt and, possibly, angry children. He knows too much to turn away if he wanted to, Danny knows he cannot stomach leaving them to suffer. Even feels a need to help them.

In a way, he is glad that he was the one who answered the phone. It would only be bad news had his parents or the GIW found out first, even if they'd have to contend with corruption. Though, with the GIW, corruption will meet corruption of sorts.

That would be fun to see, at least if it wouldn't be bad news for everyone else. Which is the most likely thing, now that I think about it.

It's good that he's hearing about this first but was this really how he had to find out, universe? Maybe it's better this way, with someone who seems to have been in the thick of it and can give some pointers instead of flailing on his own or just his similarly-aged friends helping him.

But still, he had to ask.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me? Why ask me? The only other person you were willing to talk to about this was the ghost boy. So I need to know... Why me?" His voice cracked a little when he emphasized his last questions. Feeling a little desperate on why he is the one being pulled into this by someone who shouldn't know he'd be able to help. Danny needed to know.

"Who else would even believe me? Or even just give me a chance to explain?" Mike's eyes were sad as he answered. "Who else would be willing to take the time and listen to be about animatronics not moving right? Or that they move from the stage at all? That they hassled the night guard office for all six hours of the shift? Sure, they're in free roam mode at night to protect their servers from locking up, or so they claim, but they for sure aren't programmed to mistake a person they see after dark as an endoskeleton and aim to stuff them in a suit full of crossbeams and wires."

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't they believe you? You're a witness and all, right? You said they kept trying to attack you?"

"A cover up to protect their bottom line if it could damage the company's reputation is not something beneath them. Kid, as soon as they find out I used to work the night shift they'd accuse me of just seeing things from sleep deprivation. I know at least most of what I saw was real and not just in my head like they would accuse. With what Fazbear has done to cover anything shady up, I'd be made into the bad guy no matter what if I went through official channels. One of the things they fired me for was tampering when all I did was look closer with a flashlight. Didn't want to be close to those things longer than necessary. No offense, but a child is not my first choice in this. Just so happens that you are the best choice to reach out to."

"I would take offense to that but honestly, fair. Kind of obvious you're desperate here when your second choice was the ghost boy if the non-anti ghost Fenton living here declined hearing you out, after all." Danny's eyes shifted as he lowered his voice before bringing up Phantom, this outsider knew who he was but not of the danger for him it seems. "Not really safe for him to make house calls with the increased anti-ghost stuff around here to show up in a way you can tell."

"Makes sense," a reply given with a nod and a sigh, "this is not an ideal situation in the first place. Don't think either of us want you involved if you weren't the best option."

"My sister is going to kill me if she finds out, and I might have to tell her just in case something goes wrong. Hope not. Definitely telling my friends while they're out of town, though. They have knowledge of things I'm clueless on. They call me clueless sometimes, after all."

Mike seemed un-enthused at the idea of more children, no matter how helpful, are getting involved but he really has no other option and no room to complain here.

The conversation died down as they dug into the rest of their, now cold, food. Neither really knew how much time passed until a shift change and visit from a friend who worked here.

"Hey, Danny. This guy's not giving you trouble right? You two look awfully serious over here. You're not getting in over your head, are you?"

The tension of the subject matter cut through by a fresh-off-her-shift Valerie Gray who, upon seeing her almost boyfriend with a stranger and needed to see if the nerd isn't getting taken advantage of.

"Hey, Valerie! No, no! Nothing happening here!" He nervously answered back, like a liar. He was touched she still cared enough to ask, though.

Aww, man. There goes any cool points I had with Mike.

Danny feels his face heat up. Why can't he just not be awkward? They were never together and she broke it off a while ago, even if she tends to avoid him for some reason, too. Maybe he did something wrong?

"If you say so," at least she seemed amused with his answer. She still likes Fenton at least even when she shoots first at Phantom but he can't help but miss the time they had together even if it was short. Her soft look hardened when she turned towards Mike, however, "You, on the other hand better watch it. If something happens to him, I know what you look like. Not many who share your description."

After giving the man some type of shovel talk, she heads home. She finally has been released from her shift and looks like she could sleep for a week. Probably gonna use her sled with how helpful flying is when a bed is so inviting.

He wouldn't blame her if she did.

How she does both this and still have it in her to fight ghosts? Danny doesn't know and he respects her for it.

"If Valerie's done, it really is getting late. How' bout we finish up before my parents hunt us down?" Danny is not looking forward to getting home himself.

"You're right. To check if they are you'd have to somehow get inside the building after midnight when they're active. Unless you or your friend," the way he said it had Danny think he meant Phantom but he doubts his own intuition a lot with how many clues he can miss, "can get in during business hours first and somehow check if there are ghosts in the building? There are ways to detect it, right? They aren't an active danger while the sun is up, but you should be careful."

Well, that first step is something Danny can certainly do.

"Me and my friend might have a way to check. If we do go, I'll probably just sneak out with his help so it will have to mostly be at night. A daytime investigation will be tricky but if I could figure out what kept them out all day I could try to get it to happen again. Kind of grounded because I secretly help out my friend instead of focusing on school and my parents are upset about my grades."

"I am in no position to judge." Mike sympathizes as they both get up to leave, "You have some good people looking out for you, by the way. Hope you know not to take them for granted."

Danny, remembering that dark alternate future, agrees. This guy must have lost important people to be so sad and serious saying that.

Now.

Time to plan.

For the spirits, for the ones they have hurt and will if not stopped, and for all the lack of closure the living and dead have in this mystery.

Danny hopes this won't take too long.

Maybe not even five nights... if his luck lasts that long.

Only a matter of time before his parents try to find him and yell at him for something else or whatever. Of course he's going.

"That damn ghost punk!" WHAM! "Can't believe I started to warm up to the spook!" WHAM! "Right when my guard was down, he outed me to my dad! MY DAD!" WHAM! WHAM! "Now I'm grounded and can't put a stop to him and the other ghosts because he confiscated my gear! And he is more beloved to the town than ever!"

Each word emphasized with a punch straight on the specter in question's face via a photo taped to the bag and the sound of the impact. The chain holding the whole thing creaking with each blow.

Valerie vented her frustrations to herself and her punching bag she kept in her room, stuck inside for at least the next week minus school and her paying job. She might get money from it, but it's not nearly as satisfying. Only one job lets her harm what's causing her frustrations, after all.

Not helping the grounding was that she is still injured from the battle with that ghost with the sword and that ghost king. If she was better, than she could have taken him instead of letting the spook get away!

If she was better, she could have… could have… she doesn't know but it would have been something more than just being restrained by her dad as Phantom got away! 

… Even if the Fentons mentioned the suit being potentially fatal.

Her suit and all her gear has even been confiscated by her dad until he is sure she's no longer hurt and not lying to him about it so she is trying to respect her punishment to earn back a bit of her father's trust. Doesn't stop her from hating it and raging against something she can direct that energy to with how unfair this all feels.

'You don't have to trust me, just fight with me!' my ass! It was my fight and he just stood there all smug after he outed me! Only could be worse if the other adults were still awake for that. Ghost punk must have wanted something for himself there. Doing all that to make himself look good! His little spooky friends wanted the king guy gone or something and we just happen to be in the path!

With that last thought, she accidentally added too much force to her next blow and broke the chain off the punching bag.

Great. Now I have to save up to replace that. Right when my arm just healed up, too.

Breathing hard with her throat feeling dry like ash, she starts to do her cool down exercises now that her training has been forcefully cancelled.

Alone with her thoughts and nothing to do about it now, frustrated tears threaten to fall as she catches her breath. She's not getting any freer from her grounding by ignoring her school work. Probably would do the opposite if her dad finds out. Valerie makes the strategic choice to give up for now and attempt her homework while the need for justice burns within her. Her inner fire is not even close to being satisfied.

If only I could turn that ghost punk to ash. Him and every ghost!

Her sour mood stuck with her even when school got back into full swing, hearing everyone praise the ghost boy who they now know goes by 'Phantom'.

Phantom. How creative.

What a lame name. The others are literal, too, but this one is just too on the nose. Not much better than the one the town gave him but still very stupid. If his face didn't make her blood boil on sight she'd tell him herself!

And, as if the world heard her thoughts, an explosion rocked the school. Their first official ghost attack after, things are truly returning to Amity Park 'normal'.

Too bad dad confiscated my suit.

By the sound of it, it's probably on the other side of school. Without her tracker she can only guess, but she can play it by ear.

Suit or no suit, I can't just ignore this!

Dashing away to find some kind of weapon that would work, she worries about what this ghost could be doing. It potentially hurting and ruining lives like hers was. She will take anything instead of sitting on the sidelines and wait for the adults to handle it!

Or worse... Phantom.

Valerie's search continued as she made her way towards the destruction when she was stopped by none other than Fenton's friends. While he may be nice and she might be starting to like him, his friends were a whole 'nother issue.

"Woah! What are you in such a rush for?" That goth's attitude is not something Valerie cares to deal with right now. Arms crossed and scowling, acting like she's all that yet she can't even admit she likes Fenton, even to herself, when everyone can see it.

Her denial only made it more obvious to Valerie herself just the other day almost right after the Ghost Zone town-napping their city.

More like that knight?... Ghost king? Ah, who cares!

"None of your business, Manson." A scoff that was graciously ignored as she continued, Valerie may not have the best relationship with her but she doesn't want her to get caught up in the fight. "Shouldn't you two be hiding? Where's Danny? Being smart about his well-being and hiding unlike you two?"

"Shouldn't you be as well, then?" Tucker chimed in after he shared a look with his friend like there was a joke in what she said that she was unaware of, smirk on his face as he turned back to her, "Or are you just here to skip class and watch? We have our reasons and you have yours, we won't tell if you don't. Right, Sam?" Tucker prodded his friend with a nudging elbow for a response and a scoff and a nod was all he got, but he seemed pleased with it nonetheless.

"Fine! I won't tell, I'm not a snitch, but I am going in there!" Valerie responds with a pointed finger into the gym where the battle ended up, the sounds of fighting just beyond the wall the three are hiding behind. She may not have her suit but she won't just leave it to-

"-Phantom."

What.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What did you just say, Foley?" Valerie asked, more like demanded, he repeat what he said. She wasn't listening to the beginning so maybe she heard wrong, after all. She cant just assume after a-

"Oh," Tucker, unintentionally cutting off her line of thought, began to repeat himself while seemingly not noticing Sam motioning for silence and sounds of fighting in the distance, "I just said that you should probably wait and leave it for Phantom-"

A swift punch to the gut cut him off from finishing his sentence, the boy curling in on himself.

"Thought so."

Valerie runs on in to handle it herself, vaguely hearing the two talk behind her as Manson checks in on her friend.

Sam smirked in an 'I-told-you-so' kind of way as she helped him up, the barest of sympathies given as she did tell him so.

As they were distracted, Valerie got to work even if she might not even know the outcome. She has to try!

Try while the ghost is still in one, easy to access place.

Taking a calming breath, she makes a calculated decision and runs in.

Valerie's ears ring as the dust settles. The ghost destroyed the gym and broke through the wall while she knows they can just go through those. She ran at the creature with what flimsy weapons she had on her and got bodied.

All her training was worthless! She needed her suit, for protection and to fight.

... Maybe daddy would let me have it back when he sees me like this. He has to know he can't just stop me even if I know he means well.

Phantom arrived in time to keep her from breaking the arm that just healed, all bright and glowing in the ashy remains of what used to be the gym.

He may be free from her for now, but she can feel him gloating. That worry look in Phantom's eyes has to be a trick, like the Fentons say! Why wouldn't he be smug still now that she can't hunt him like this? No matter how she feels about that one ghost, the others are still a danger to others and she won't stand for it.

Jazz's stomach felt thick and heavy with unease. 

Something was wrong with her baby brother but she had no idea what it was or what to do about it.

Whatever it was it had something to do with that creepy baby statue in his arms.

“Danny, where did you find that baby?” She asked cautiously. 

“In the park,” he said without taking his eyes off it. “Poor thing was just laying on the ground all alone. Who would abandon a baby like that?”

“I don't know, Danny. Are you sure you didn't see anyone around?”

“No.” He answered but then hesitated, “well Paulina was there. She was going to take him, but I stopped her.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I didn’t want her to get cursed,” he replied automatically.

Then he blinked and looked around frantically as if he had no idea where he was. 

“Danny?”

He locked eyes with her and the terror there tore at her heart.

“I didn't mean to touch it. I don't even remember doing it. One minute I'm in the park and then next I'm here. I don't want to do this. My arms hurt but I can’t put it down or he screams.”

Jazz decided not to comment on how he kept switching from it to he.

Instead she focused on trying to keep him calm.

“Alright we can figure this out. How about I get you some extra pillows to help support the weight and then we can brainstorm. That sound okay?”

Danny nodded and started to take some deep breaths.

“Okay, I'll be right back. Just holler if you need me.”

She didn't want to leave him but it was the only way to get what he needed.

She just wished she knew what to do.

It was bad enough that ghosts were real, but curses? She was so out of her depth.

She found the extra pillows in the hall closet and dashed back to her brother's room.

She was going to ask if he needed anything else but the question died in her throat.

He was fully focused on the fake baby. Rocking it gently and talking softly as if it were a real baby.

She was barely gone a minute. 

Danny must have noticed her staring because he suddenly looked up.

“Oh hey,” he said casually.

“I got those pillows for you.” She said holding them up slightly. 

“Thanks, Jazz.” 

She helped him get more comfortable but didn't say anything.

She didn't know what to say.

He seemed fine now. 

She didn't want to upset him again, but being caught in that delusion wasn't good for him either.

The front door slammed open as their parents loudly announced their return.

Jazz wasn't sure if it was sudden noise or their voices but Danny was scared and aware of reality again.

“What are we going to tell them?” He asked in a panic.

As much as she hated to see him like this, she was so happy he was back.

Unfortunately she was going to have to leave again to deal with their parents.

“I'll go talk to them. Maybe they have some information that can help.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

“Do you not want me to?”

He bit his lip as he thought, “I don't know.”

“I'll try and find out what I can first and we’ll go from there.”

Danny nodded but he still looked so worried.

“I'll try to be quick.”

She left the room before she could change her mind. 

She was halfway down the stairs when her dad saw her.

“Hey Jazz-erinsses! Is your brother home?”

“Yeah, he's in his room. Resting.”

“Aw okay,” her dad pouted for a whole three seconds before getting excited again, “wanna hear about the experiment your mother and I were running today?”

As usual, he went right into the explanation without waiting for her answer.

“We got something that was supposedly cursed. We're trying to figure out if we can use it to our advantage.”

A chill ran down Jazz's spine but she tried not to let it show.

“How are you going to test it?”

“We already did!”

“Oh?” Dread mixed with the unease she already had and it was making her nauseous. She didn’t think she was having a very good poker face anymore. 

“Yeah we set a trap in the park and the ghost boy fell right for it!”

Without thinking Jazz asked, “are you sure it was the ghost boy?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you see him take it?” 

How much did they know?

“Uh I guess not. There was an ice cream truck, but we were only gone a minute or two.”

“If you weren't there, how do you know?”

How could they?

“Because we set our intention.” Her mom added as she exited the kitchen, “I wasn't sure that would work but it did!”

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as her uneasy dread hardened into agitation, “You’re telling me that you found an object that you believed to be dangerous, thought real hard about who you wanted to get the object, and then left it unattended in the middle of a public park?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that dear.”

“Is it, Mom? Are you sure?”

“Now Jasmine what is the meaning of all this attitude? I thought we were past you nitpicking our work?”

Her agitation sharpened into rage, “Go ask Danny.”  

“What?”

“Go. Ask. Danny.” She said again before turning on her heel and going back upstairs.

Her mom let out a annoyed sigh but followed along. Her father followed mostly out of confusion. 

They acted as if she was being a rebellious teenager.

How could they not see what they had done. How they were the cause of all this. Everything bad that had ever happened to her baby brother was all their fault.

She would make them see it.

She would make them fix this.

Jazz took a few quick steps to get to Danny first.

She knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for his answer. 

“Sorry, but they to need know,” she apologized quickly just before they made their way to the doorway.

Jazz stepped aside and watched as her mother's face slipped from annoyance into a slow dawning horror.

“Where did you get that?”

“Go on,” Jazz encouraged, “tell them what you told me.”

Danny looked between from Jazz to their parents a few times before starting, “I was walking home and noticed Paulina. She saw him first but I knew she wouldn't be a good fit. I mean, she gave her flour sack baby to Tucker like everyone else in my class did and all of those babies got turned to cookies. Clearly, she has little to no parental instincts.”

Jazz furrowed her brows. This was not the version he told her earlier. 

“So I sent her away and I brought him home with me. I just couldn’t leave him on the cold hard ground.” He turned his attention back to the stone, “I have to take care of this baby. I have to.”

He had been looking right at them. He was talking directly to them.

The look in his eyes was vacant.

Her baby brother wasn’t here right now.