“Techno!” Phils voice echoed through the house. “You have to see this, mate!”

Sighing Techno got up from his desk, away from his computer. Magazines, Newspapers and printed out pages surrounded his workspace. He was busy researching a museum since it planned to display a famous huge grey diamond. Techno was trying to look up any kind of blueprint he could find for that building, though he had trouble to do so, which made sense. Seems like he had to hit up some of his contacts after all.

But to his dismay apparently something important was going on in the living room, important enough to make Phil interrupt his research.

Techno entered the room and leaned on the door frame “What is it?”

The TV was on and Philza just motioned for to him to move closer to it. Intrigued with what could be so important on the TV Techno didn’t even hesitate to move closer.

“Again! I am calling out to you Blade!” a bearded man spoke. The man wore more down to earth clothing but Technoblade could immediately tell that those were still incredibly expensive. That man had money and he was calling out to the infamous thief “The Blade”?

Interesting indeed.

Noticing Techno’s interest Philza made sure to step more aside so he had a better view of the television.

The man held a microphone in his hand, pointing at the camera “I challenge you to steal my incredibly expensive jewel collection I am going to display in this here mansion! No guards, no security cameras from me! Just you versus the Dream Team Agency! Think you can best the three best detectives in the industry or isn’t The Blade smart enough to deal with them! I give you a whole month to prepare and give me an answer.”

The man disappeared off the screen and instead a news anchor appeared who begun giving a small run down on who The Blade and the Dream Team are.

Phil’s head immediately snapped expectantly towards his partner in crime “What are you thinking about this?”

“Who is that guy?”

“That is Jimmy Donaldson or better known as Mr Beast by his fans. He likes to flaunt around his money by helping out others and donating a ton to charity.”

Techno nodded, his thoughts running a mile an hour “If he is really such a nice guy as he seems to be, no surprise I haven’t heard of him yet. Tend to only steal from the assholes. I am wondering though why he would pit me like that against the Dream Team.”

The blonde brit just shrugged “He seems to enjoy things like that. Puts up things that are entertaining for the public and since the tabloids can’t stop talking about that rivalry of yours and Dream, I’m not surprised. What I am more curious about is if you will take him up on that challenge?”

There was no answer immediately. Instead, Techno closed his eyes and put his hand against his chin, mulling it over if it was a smart thing to do. On one hand grabbing a whole jewel collection seemed like good business, on the other hand though should his luck finally run out it would certainly be more embarrassing.

He opened one of his eyes and stared at Philza who looked as unsure as he himself “How much money is that collection worth?”

“About double than our last heist.”

“Guess I don’t have a choice then.”

Phil raised one of his eyebrows, his arms folded together in front of his chest “So, we are going for it? Is it about the money or the recognition?”

Chuckling Techno turned around to properly look his friend in the face “Why can’t it be both? I was challenged and this is the perfect chance to show that Dream Team that their powers of deduction are inferior to my own intellect.”

“Don’t underestimate them. Their reputation as the best detective agency doesn’t come out of nowhere, Techno.”

His parents were often busy when he was younger and Jazz was kind of an annoying know-it-all, well, that’s still true. Point is, he had always been a quiet child when he wasn’t around his friends. At some point more recently though, he’d started getting even quieter. It was a conscious choice at first, he kept slipping into ghost-speak accidentally and had thought that just not talking all together was probably safer. He started gesturing more to compensate. He doubted anyone at Casper noticed, the teens had no reason to give him a second glance and he wasn’t going to give them one.

His reluctance to use language altered the ways he expressed himself though. One day, Dash knocked Tucker’s PDA out of the boy’s hand, smashing the screen. Ordinarily, Danny would’ve defended his best friend and offered comforting words. He thought he’d simply glared at the blond in response. Sam laughed at him later on, fully convinced that she had heard him hissing at the bully.

He overheard the A-listers talking another time, about how Fenton was creeping them out again. Apparently he’d been stock still and staring at them with “stupidly wide, bright, curious eyes” during class. He’d just quirked a doubtful eyebrow and moved on. His gaze had been unmoving, they’d said, he was probably just daydreaming or had fallen asleep with his eyes open. He didn’t think he had accidentally caused them to have an ominous glow. What was their problem?

One night he’d had a nasty run-in with Nocturne. He wasn’t scared though, not that there’d be anything wrong with it if he was, but he was fine. The ghost boy was half asleep when he got back to Fenton works. Drowsily following the neon lights to home, he’d ended up phasing through Jazz’s window instead. His sister was already sleeping, because, y'know, she has her life together. Her bed was absolutely strewn with pillows, all different sizes and textures. Who even needs that many? At the time though, it looked so cosy. His bed was so far away and would be so cold in comparison. He always had a chill catch up to his human form whenever he used his ice powers.

Jazz was always telling him she was there for him. Surely, she wouldn’t mind if he just- the blankets looked so fuzzy and there was plenty of room for him. Maybe he could guard her? Make sure she didn’t die suddenly in the night?

Ever since he’d taken to fighting ghosts, he never got as much sleep as he’d like. He’d always end up napping at his desk at midday when the sun fluttered through the classroom windows and made the wood so comfortably warm. So, maybe he had curled up into a ball amongst his sister’s pillows one night. She didn’t mind. Told him she’s happy for him to do so in future. She foolishly said he looked cute the next morning, which lead to him denying it had ever happened or would ever happen again. He huffed. He’s not a baby and he’s not cute. Stupid big sister.

The Fentons were always inventing new things. Usually they’d confine it to the lab but whenever that room overflowed with their junk they’d end up moving to the kitchen. It had happened again a week or so ago. Danny went into the kitchen for a snack and saw some giant metallic… thing gently and ornately laid out on the table. The kitchen was deserted of life, still, the ghost boy remained cautious as he padded over to it. He didn’t recognise the invention. Part of the device was hovering just over the edge of the table. It looked shiny and had this incredibly distinctive aura that almost yelled “Do Not Touch”. What else is a halfa to do? It felt like his hand was moving on its own, approaching the other end of the device. Danny wasn’t breathing. Eyes wide, shifting rapidly between the contraption and the door to the lab. His ears rang in the silence, which he ended by letting loose a low growl. A crash sounded throughout the house as the Fenton turned tail and ran from the destruction he had caused. Don’t have to learn what new ghost hunting tech does if gravity smashes it before it can be used on you.

Yesterday was when he first noticed a physical change in himself. His fingernails had seemed longer and sharper. He didn’t think twice about it, though. Everyone’s nails grow, it didn’t even cross his mind that his specifically were more claw like. That is, not until a zombie-like spirit lurched through the floor in the changing room. It somehow surpassed his ghost sense, maybe it was too dead, or so un-dead that it wasn’t dead enough to activate it. Either way he reflexively found himself on Tuckers back, his claw like fingers tore through the human’s gym shirt. The halfa paid it no notice, too busy glaring a hole into the ceiling the spectre had phased through, from his perch behind his friend’s shoulder. Noise bubbled in his throat, daring the spirit to come back and try that again. In the end, he had to have his attention broken and be coaxed down from his spot, to the hilarity of everyone else in the room.

Now here he is. Back at school. Wearing a beanie in April, in hopes of hiding one of the new inhuman differences in his appearance that he found in a mirror that morning. Jaw clenching, he heads to his locker to meet his friends.

“Nice hat.” Sam snorts when she catches sight of him, Tucker turns and holds in a confused giggle at the sight of Danny’s deadpan face. “Cold getting to ya, ghost boy?”

In response Danny just leans against the lockers, crossing his arms and pointedly keeping his head down. Sam and Tucker share a look.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

He raises a fist to his mouth, keeping his fingers tucked in and out of sight.

“I’m really worried guys.” He sighs and continues, “a-about how human I am.” He mumbles into his hand.

Sam scans the area and tentatively takes a step towards him, slowly moving his hat upwards until she can see what he’s covering.

“Oh wow.”

“Can I touch it?” Tucker voices from behind her.

“What? No.” Danny bats Sam’s hand away with the one he was using to hide his mouth.

“Wait. No way.” The goth whispers in awe as she reaches back towards his face. Danny simply leans away from her fingers while Tucker flanks his other side. “That’s not fair! How come you got to grow fangs before I did?”

“Sam.” Danny grinds out, “shut u- Hey! I said you couldn’t touch them.” He slaps his hands over his ears as Tucker rubs his fingers in disbelief.

“Oh my god, they’re real. How did this happen?”

“I don’t know! I just, woke up like this.” He finishes in a hushed voice.

“You just woke up with pointed ears and fangs? Did a vampire bite you in the night?”

“Uh, I sure hope not. I’m dead enough thanks. Are vampires even real?”

Sam shrugs, “Ghosts are. Vlad is.”

Grabbing the edge of his beanie, Danny slowly pulled it over his whole face with a groan. When he speaks it’s muffled again.

“People are gonna start noticing that… I’m becoming less human.”

“Yeah, we thought so too, to be honest.” Tucker quirks a smile and lifts part of his jumper to show off the grazes on his back. “I wouldn’t worry about it though,” the teen continues, “people love cats.”

“That’s not funny.” He deadpans, lifting his beanie to glare at both of his friends for their traitorous laughter.

“D'aww, it’s okay.” Sam draws out the last word, bringing her fingers behind the boys ear to scratch at them.

He pouts at her, looking ready to spend the day sulking. A sound stirs from his chest causing the trio to freeze.

“Did you just purr?” Tucker asks.

“What the- no. That was my core. Oh, sue me. I’m content. Please just shut it.” They were quiet for a moment before he continues, “That doesn’t mean you have to stop…”

Twitching fingers clench around the phone in his pocket as the halfa gasps for air. Stumbling down the street to get further away from the stinging that's encompassing his skin, shaking fingers tap against the buttons of his device.

"What blossoms?" Jazz exclaims, voice laced with concern. A quaint straw hat adorns her head, it's rim is decorated with a sweet floral ribbon. The sun is comfortingly warm on her arms and legs, a light breeze brushes her skin like a soft blanket. It was a beautiful summers day, she'd be happy to be spending it in the garden if her mind wasn't swirling with worry over her little brother.

"Blood Blossoms." Sam replies, reaching down to pick another flower head.

She brushes the petals softly with fingertips that are free of her black lace gloves. The jostle of the plant disturbs the pollen, it shifts upwards in the breeze, seeming to hum and almost glow a soft mesmerising gold.

"They're not harmful to humans at all so you don't need to worry about that. It's just called that because of its deep red colour and the pattern of black droplets near the base." The goth girl raises the black netted veil of her hat so it no longer covers her face, she takes a pinch of petals from the flower and places them into her mouth. Jazz's eyes widen at the sight but she doesn't comment as Sam chews and deposits the rest of the flower into the basket she's holding by her elbow. Swallowing, Sam continues "that and they're known for repelling ghosts. In times of disaster or plague people used to throw Blood Blossoms or their seeds onto the bodies of the dead. It was supposed to deter spirits from coming to the area and making things worse. They grow quite well in corpses," The Fenton girl grimaces while Sams tone continues as though they're simply discussing the weather rather than quite gruesome suffering and the image of death. "Obviously. Like Poppies, blood makes for a good fertiliser, y'know?" "Why are you eating it then?" The ginger interrupts, preferring not to be any more disturbed than she currently is.

"It's the best way to get rid of them." Sam responds, plucking more of the plants from their stems. "They were good in times of famine too, they're fibrous and nutritious and totally vegan. Wanna try?"

Jazz was presented the flower as though it wasn't something her brother described as 'Horrible, makes my blood simmer and expand as a super heated gas while my skin tries to peel away from my body. Like being electrocuted to death. Again.'

"I'm good." She forces a smile and gestures for the offending plant to stay away from her, Sam simply shrugs and places it in the basket with the others. "The pollen's quite pretty." Jazz quietly concedes. Sam smiles with gritted teeth.

"The pollen's the bad part." The goth laughs emptily, "It can phase through a ghost's skin, it reacts with the ectoplasm and gets in the way of their powers and, well, any function actually. It makes them seize up and saps at their energy. It's like ectoplasmic hay-fever but instead of making your nose run it'll destabilise ya." She grasps at the plant stems again, harsher, significantly less care than before.

"Thanks so much for your help guys, I never thought mom would choose to spend a summer's day gardening, but of course, if she did it'd be to bite me in the ass specifically." Danny laughs as he enters the back garden later on. It's perimeter is a state, black stems poking out of the soil. Tucker smirks, just glad that he got to hang out with Danny all day rather than deal with a flower that continues to haunt his nightmares. That says a lot considering he hunts ghosts with his friends on the daily.

"Stand back Ghost Boy." Sam smirks, hoisting two overflowing baskets of plant life into the air and edging her way around the house. "Your parents had planted enough for several months worth of salads, or, enough to eject your soul from your body." She makes finger guns as she backs out of the gate to head back to her house.

"You okay Danny?" Jazz asks, brushing her damp palms against her shorts and keeping her distance from the halfa, just in case.

"Yeah, it's barely noticeable at this point. Currently, the most threatening thing about being here is being found at the scene of a pretty horrendous ghost-plant-crime by our parents." He turned to head into their house, "When they notice, do you think we can convince them it was attacked by a local pro-ghost dog?"

Vines slunk towards him from every angle. The once comforting glow of the ghost zone around him became tinted red. Thorns pierced his ankle as a heavy stench of rot assaulted his nose. Vines pulled against him. Thick air surrounded him, weighing down his limbs. A scream tore from his throat while ectoplasm squirted from him. Breath taken away, Phantom looked down his wispy distorted form to see the curled, spiked, black vine protruding out from hi-

Danny's eyelids snap open. Chest heaving ragged gasps as he moves his hand to hover over his heart and core in an attempt to calm himself. Tongue heavy in his mouth, he shakes off the frost that has crystallised in his dark hair and sits up in his bed.

A nightmare? Not uncommon, and considering the relevant theme he doesn't suspect that one of his enemies is behind it. The ghost boy is still freaked from yesterday, part of him can still feel the itch echoing on his skin.

Wait. Oh, you're kidding. Danny rises from his bed on unsteady legs from the adrenaline dying down. He pads over to his window and raises the blinds. Yeah, not kidding. Anxiety surfaces again and he swears stress is going to kill him before any ghost hunter has the chance. Pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes, he stops when he begins to see stars. Quickly phasing his pyjamas off, Danny throws on underwear, a t-shirt and some jeans. He doesn't bother with socks. Grabbing a backpack he keeps phased into the floor under his bed, he turns invisible and creeps out of his bedroom. The stinging wasn't as bad as last time and it was stupid o'clock in the morning, so the ghost boy focuses more on stealth than speed when he slips out of his home. This time leaving the garden isn't nearly as difficult, the sprouting spectral weeds, for the most part, haven't bloomed yet. His skin itches a slight but it's not incapacitating, either way it's better for him to leave now. Checking his phone and texting his sister to let her know what's going on, Danny decides that 5am is a perfectly reasonable time for a patrol. Sleep is for the weak.

"So, what happened to eating them being the best way to get rid of them?" Jazz asked.

"Well, during our last encounter they weren't planted, they were just kinda scattered. Pass me the stuff?" Tucker reaches his hand towards the canister that the older teen is clutching closely to her abdomen. She hands it over with reluctance clearly written on her face.

"And this is the best plan B that you guys have?" Scepticism is clear in her voice as the Fenton backs away. Tucker responds with a smile like there was nothing out of the ordinary about the situation, he moves towards the flower beds and uncaps the hefty container that Jazz had managed to get a hold of that morning.

"Well, the issue must be with the roots, either that or they're able to reproduce ridiculously quickly," he shakes the liquid onto the flower bed and begins to walk around. Keeping to the edge of the garden, he leaves through the fence on one side, a minute or so passes as he re-emerges at the other side of the house, resuming his dousing of the soil. "We could always try weed killer but, Danny's supposed to be able to live here. Weed killer can take a while and even then you have to top it up sometimes. Your parents might be a bit clueless but surely they're going to get suspicious about why he's never home after one week."

"So you thought about chemicals and after careful consideration decided that this was the best bet?" She wrings her hands together as the boy caps the near empty canister and offers it back to her.

"Yeah, basically." Tucker shifts a small cardboard box out of his pocket, Jazz can't help the hands flying to her face in dismay as the boy removes a small match and attempts to light it.

He succeeds, his smile bursts with pride as he looks back towards his best friend's sister and drops the lit match onto the trail of petrol.

The warm days recently mean the soil is reasonably dry, so the flames catch surprisingly quickly. Wind not strong enough to put out the blaze, ends up carrying it across the plant life as a hazy red smoke begins to plume into the air.

"See?" The techno-geek backs away from the fire, "I told you it'd be fine."

"Yah-huh, and what's your plan for when our wooden fence catches fire?"

"When what now?" His head snaps back to where he had been stood a moment ago. Sure enough, the previously white fence is developing a black char at the base. "Uhhhh, fancy a barbecue?" He shrugs his shoulders and smiles in a way that looks terribly similar to a grimace.

"Okay, you head inside and find a bucket, I'll double check that the whole plot is definitely alight." Tucker giggles to himself as the blood red smoke rises from around the corner of the house, clearly the fire has successfully spread to the front garden too. "Ha! Lets see them grow back from that!" He crosses his arms before reaching for his phone as Jazz rolls her eyes and heads into her kitchen.

The teen clicks on Danny's contact info to tell him they've sorted the situation for real this time. It rings twice before the halfa answers him.

"Hey Tuck, how's it going?" The voice sounds from over the line. Before the teen can answer, a sudden angry screech comes from behind him.

"What! On! Earth! Has happened! To my garden!?" Tuckers eyes bulge in his head and his speech into his phone comes out like a spluttering cough.

Danny keeps his knees bent and his stance wide to improve his balance and increase his reaction time whilst still making himself smaller in hopes of appearing less threatening. He moves around the spirit in a circle, not wanting to risk getting any closer. Maybe if he can find a blind spot he can shoot the thermos from there. He's hesitant to put distance between them. Surely the last thing to do when faced with a growling wild animal, is give chase. Would the animal freak if he floated or phased? Was hiding in the air vents a really idiotic plan?

Given the direction he was walking he was about to hit a wall, or rather go through it and into the boys locker room. If he left the wolf's line of sight he had no doubt it would bolt after him. After all, Phantom's the only person the wolf has seen here, if he's going to try to hunt anyone down then it's him. Class is still in session so there's no humans nearby enough for the wolf to go after.

There is a door to the boys locker room which would make entry less hazardous than phasing, he thinks. Going through that entrance however would require moving closer to the beast, which isn't going to happen.

Side hitting the wall, he phases through. From within the plasterboard he kicks upwards into the ceiling as he hears the crash of the animal splintering the wooden door open. Great. More property damage. He floats into the air ducts and regains his solidity. For some reason the crashing sound hasn't stopped. The wolf is yelping, growling, whimpering, the clattering going on sounds almost metallic as it echoes through the vents. Danny tentatively places his fingers onto the walls around him. Tail rippling as he meanders forward, slowly, towards the light leaking in from below, the grates of the vent. If he can aim the thermos through it unnoticed, then that's this confrontation solved.

"Damn it! Pesky mutt!" Danny freezes as a deep voice reverberates from below. "Where did he go?!" It growls as a sickening splat cuts through all other sounds of chaos. Danny's habit of breathing stops as he remains as still as he can. That sound… that wasn't good.

The smell of copper and formaldehyde bites at his nose hairs and he almost chokes. He can taste it at the back of his throat against the rising acid. Ectoplasm.

That wasn't all, Skulker is down there. Quiet settling over them that yelled louder in his ears than anything previously from that room.

The wolf was gone. Must have been. Scent alone told him that much. Smoky as though it's very ectoplasm had been grilled. He knew the smell of destabilisation. Skulker swore. Why could Danny smell pine needles now? And fresh grass? Why did that make the urge to vomit even harder to suppress?

He doesn't want to see, doesn't want to know. Unbidden, his body floats forward without him telling it to. He reaches the grate, can finally see the state of the locker room below him. Pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks, his throat closes at the sight.

Skulker isn't looking at him, fortunately, though it's clear the hunter can sense his prey is still nearby. The wolf, the bait, Danny realises, is barely recognisable. It's clear where it happened, a glowing blue net loose against the wall next to the door. With his enhanced hearing, Phantom can hear the net humming faintly. Was it, supposed to do this? The halfa wonders to himself.

Chunks of green lie below the net, barely touching it. Ectoplasm was usually viscous, think cornstarch in water, able to change between thin liquid and liquid thick enough to stand on its own. The chunks down there looked more like raw lime jello. With lines of black from where it had clearly made contact with the net. Dark smoke continued to rise from it in wisps. None of the discernibly wolf features remained. A light in the pile, a natural forest green compared to the now dark rotting green of the rest, it glowed like a flickering light. Something was oozing from it, but it wasn't ectoplasm, it was something deeper, more important, vital. It evaporated into mist immediately after contact with the air. The wolf's core had ruptured, cracked, shattering, it was bleeding out right in front of them and neither of the ghosts were trying to do anything about it. There wasn't anything they could do. An involuntary shiver wracks Danny's body as another wave of tree bark and pine passes over him.

They shouldn't be so close, this is so incredibly personal. No one should be looking at this, no one should be smelling this. But the animal died with them. It shouldn't be alone for this. It's too much, a new level of suffering and death that no spirit should ever have to go through. It's essence and soul is clinging to the scents in the air around them. Phantom and Skulker are the only people who can accept it, so they must.

It takes another fourteen minutes for the glow to leave the core and the smell around them to disperse. After which time, Skulker lowers his head. Placing a hand against his chest plate, the hunter mumbles an apology in ghost speak before he turns tail and leaves the room through the wall. This was hardly a situation to continue the hunt, so he doesn't.

Danny didn't like toast already, why the hell would Skulker have a ghost toaster? It was barbaric. Intentional core damage was very taboo, by everyone's standards, not just Walker's. The ghost boy moves through the vent and descends until he drops onto the floor by his toes. Neither of them have moved the net or disturbed the remains. Regular ectoplasm would evaporate naturally over time, he hopes that's able to happen now. He feels a slight territorial growl at the thought of any humans interfering with the animal husk. Glaring at the splintered door, he drags a bench in front of it. Stepping back with his head at a tilt, he uses his ghostly strength to stack another bench on top of it, in hopes that the humans would get the message. Stay Out. Sighing to himself, he mumbles a "good luck" in ghost speak before turning and leaving via the wall.

"Oh good grief." Ms Tetslaff grumbles as she passes the boys locker room on her way to the gym. She doesn't care who did it but if she does find out who then they're in for one hell of a kickboxing match. She slams her fist into her other palm and cracks her knuckles. How could someone cause chaos like this on tonight of all nights!? They needed to have the gym looking it's best! If she discovers even a hint of disturbance in that room too, she just might lose it.

The gym is fine, thankfully. Principal Ishiyama is in there with Mr Falluca, discussing the layout for the room. Tonight was supposed to be prom night, they had around 5 hours to decorate before students were meant to be arriving. Laraine calms herself and marches over to the folded tables to set them up along the wall.

"An Inspector Calls! Laraine!" Edward Lancer poked his head through the doors to the gym, exasperated. "Could you lend us a hand please? It seems that door has been barricaded from the inside, as well as broken into pieces!" Mrs Tetslaff nods and sets down the table she was carrying.

Ghosts then? She huffs. At least that means the students will live to see another day, unless the culprit is still inside. In which case they won't be having anything to do with tonight's celebrations if she gets a say in it. She punches her arm through the wide crack in the wood and grasps tightly onto the edge of whatever's blocking it beneath. Bracing her shoulders against the door, she flicks her wrist and shoves against it. They all hear the clatter of the barrier as she steps back and slams against the door again. This time it gives, they force through into the room.

Mrs Tetslaff's eyes dart around the mess. Yep, definitely ghosts. Wheeling his cleaning cart next to her, the long suffering janitor heaves a huge sigh and grumbles to himself. She shoots him a sympathising look before returning to the gym with Edward.

In the past, proms at Casper had always had themes; Medieval times, Fantasy, 70's night. Some genius on the PTA decided this year's should have a supernatural theme. Oh the hilarity. Some adults were in one corner blowing up black balloons and preparing to decorate the walls with the Halloween supplies, while the librarian and Mr Falluca seemed to have had the idea of putting an orange feather boa on the skeleton from the biology department. As if that could only ever end well. Mrs Tetslaff finished setting the tables up, lined with black plastic table cloths, ready for punch, nibbles and candy.

"Oh for- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!" Laraine marches over to the exasperated English teacher.

"Whatever is it now, Edward?" The man was reaching the end of his tether and responds only by shoving the Halloween bunting into her hands.

"Ah." Or rather, the remains of the Halloween bunting. Disintegration appears to have occurred while it was in the box. Although, upon closer inspection, the plastic maintains an unnatural cold and there are faint scorch marks at the edge of the ribbons. Ghosts, again. So they were going to have a prom in a room with a skeleton and a lot of black balloons, seems more like a particularly gothic funeral than a celebration for teenagers.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Mr Lancer sighed, picking through the box and watching it all turn to dust at his fingertips.

"Quit mopin'," she began, "I'm sure we'll think of something. I'll head to the shops and see if there's anything I can find."

"But it's the middle of May?!" He exclaimed, she simply levelled him a glare and stepped towards the gym doors with heavy feet.

On her way out when she crossed paths with the janitor, something in particular catches her eye. She does a double take, taps the elderly man on the shoulder and points towards the object in question.

"Can I borrow this?" She asks, "I might just have had a really good idea." She remembers the art teacher is stood just a room away, he is going to love this.

The trio had left for prom a tad early, expecting to be caught up in ghost attacks and ending up fashionably late. None of them want to inconvenience any dates so they've decided to go together as friends, just in case. If somehow no ghosts attack and Tucker ends up meeting someone he likes while they're there, then good for him. Danny and Sam will just have to despair at his absence. As if they don't have the pleasure of seeing him everyday.

For once in their lives, however, Amity was actually being pretty quiet tonight. The trio are left to their own excitement for the upcoming party. Tucker is smiling gleefully, pride rolling from his shoulders over his hand-made costume.

"I say we have a contest tonight, see how many girls Danny Phantom can get, versus how many girls the far superior, younger, fresher, finer, Tucker Phantom can get?" He brushes his fingers through his white anime wig and glances over to his friend.

While said friend is undeniably Danny Phantom, at this time he's just Danny Fenton, black hair, red trainers and blue jeans. The only difference being his shirt, while still white, this shirt has black text that reads 'Nobody knows I'm dead.'

"Or you can spend tonight enjoying yourself in ways that don't involve pressuring someone into showing you affection." Sam rolls her eyes playfully at her friend.

"You're just jealous that you couldn't put together a cool ghost cosplay in time!"

"Um- you think I'm a cool ghost?" Danny cracked a smile.

"Hell yeah man, you're friends with me aren't you? That alone makes you the coolest, never mind the awesome super powers and the teen idolisation." The halfa just shakes his head and feels his cheeks heat in response.

"For the record," Sam spoke up "I don't feel the need to dress up as a ghost, not to infringe on or appropriate the culture of spirits or anything, but I'm dead inside all the time anyway. I can be a creature of the night any old day of the week." she stated with pride. It's not like she isn't making an effort, this year she has a black gothic dress with green and gold detailing, no one questions how she is able to speak so clearly with those fangs in her mouth again.

"Speaking of effort," Tucker redirects his attention, "Hey Danny, what happened to cutting some holes in a bed sheet and layering them over that outfit? You know no one's going to get that t-shirt, right?"

"Firstly, you've met my dad. In what universe is it safe to walk within 9 yards of him with a bed sheet over your head, regardless of species. Secondly, you guys get the t-shirt and I'm not wearing it for any one else, I'm wearing it for me because it is hecking hilarious. I paid good money for this online okay? You can't take this away from me, I won't let you." He pouted exaggeratedly at Tucker while the teen giggled at the imagery of Jack Fenton single handedly destroying a whole bed section of a store.

Turning into Casper High, Sam's heels click against the concrete as they walk towards the back entrance to the gym. An aged looking banner adorns the entryway, the double doors are closed. Nearby stood the ticket stand, the line for which is considerably short, though it makes sense considering how early in the night it is.

The trio slow their pace as they near the queue. A slight chill is in the air, Sam folds her arms into her torso, Tucker's jaw clenches, something like liquid nitrogen tries to crawl up Danny's throat. It's not too unusual, it's early evening but more notably - they live in a ghost town. Usually there's plenty of cold spots dotted around the place, even more so when the halfas are around, which is why he's not particularly off put. That is, until the couple at the front of the queue head inside, the moment the door cracks open.

A sense of foreboding increases tenfold. The first thing that hits him is the smell. It's odd but his head still snaps up and his breathing slows instinctively. He's not sure why it has his attention. It reminds of cheap watered down bleach, or the stuff he uses to clean his parents lab when there's been a particularly bad explosion that demands his attention. It looks fairly dark inside, but there's an unpromising quality to it, a light glow that resonates within him. Eyebrows creasing, Danny remains silent as the three teens take a few steps forwards in line.

Eye contact is maintained with the door the whole wait. If Sam and Tucker notice his examining gaze then they don't comment on it. Next time the door opens it has his full attention. The room, it almost has an aura of its own. His core doesn't poke towards it in curiosity like it would a ghost and obviously his ghost sense hasn't gone off, so what's going on? Maybe there's some kind of giant ghostly relic that's somehow found its way into his school gym. Okay, that sounds stupid. They're almost in anyway, he'll see what's happening for himself then.

When they reach the table the ghost boy doesn't spare a glance for whoever's manning the stall. He simply slams his money down and marches over to the door, arms outstretched. With a tug of the handle he drags the door wide open.

The lights are off, but it's not pitch black. The walls are covered with something that he's certain everyone else here is under the delusion of being glow in the dark paint. It forms shapes that dance across the walls, little characters whose faces are mock attempts of scary, but it's not the smiles that are sinister. His friends are at his side as the realisation settles further. That is not glow in the dark paint.

Yes, it smelt like his parents basement. Ectoplasm mixed with disinfectant. He recognises the smell now there isn't a barrier in the way. His pupils faded from his eyes as realisation dawned, exactly where this ectoplasm was from, who this ectoplasm was from. Green is all he can see, it's swarming his senses, filling his oesophagus, thrashing against his sides.

No, that wasn't the ectoplasm. People had their hands on him, grabbing him, holding him, trying to drag him one way or another. It feels like he's drowning but his mouth is dry, his chest is constricting. Faintly, a part of him is surprised that his soul hasn't left his body yet. His core is flaring, trying to reach out.

He wants to hunt down whoever is responsible, wants to hurt them. Wants to rip the building down by shaping the ectoplasm in his fingers into claws, wants to chase everyone away and carefully peel the remains from the walls and find somewhere safer to put them. Idiot. Leaving someone's final remains in a public school. What were Skulker and himself expecting from humans?

Woah, back up. Stop. He could calm down from this. Blinking, his eyes burn with un-shed tears. He grips the grass between his fingers until his knuckles turned white. He releases a shaky breath and takes another one. Regaining his bearings, it registers that he's sat in the grass a little away from the building but still on school grounds. His head feels too heavy for his neck to hold, so he drops it. Facing down towards his knees, he clasps his eyes shut and focuses on evening his breathing to that of a regular human being. He shoves down the panic that rises as his vision is clouded by eyelids that carry a faint green tinge. His throat feels red raw now that the numbness is leaving his body, like someone had forced him to swallow acid. He hadn't vomited had he? He cracks his eyes open to check his surroundings. Tucker is sat next to him, hovering a hand over Danny's shoulder but hesitant to actually touch him. The techno-geek looks startled, the thumb of his left hand moving swiftly across his PDA as his eyes scan the text. Sam isn't nearby. She's a distance away, closer to the gym than she is to him, waving her hands frantically in the face of one of the chaperones.

Danny rubs the heels of his hands against his eyes and fully raises his head. The movement draws a flinch out of his best friend whose head snaps up to check over him with wide eyes.

"You okay, man?" The boy asks, voice soft and steady, "Blood Blossoms gone?" "Blood Blossoms?" the halfa croaks, hand clutching at his throat in a vain attempt to fix the cracks. "Yeah, it looked pretty bad. I couldn't see the red lightning like last time though. I was trying to check if there was some other subspecies with slightly different properties, we couldn't see the circle anywhere either. You seemed kind of… mad when we tried to get you away but you started to calm down after a minute or so, so like…" He trails off and smiles reassuringly, Danny pretends not to notice the dark circle beginning to blossom on his friend's jaw or the feeling of drying red blood cracking beneath his own fingernails. The trembling across his form is dying down as he shakes his head slowly. "That wasn't-" His voice creaks and he tries again "wasn't Blood Blossoms. Th-they, um…" biting his cheek to centre himself, he swears, it comes out as a shaky whisper.

"What kind of awful, terrifying creature, lines their walls with the blood and broken soul of the dead and gone?"

"Come on man, are you tryin' to make us late?" Called the tall blond, turning away and leading the group down the corridor.

"I'm sorry," Danny retorted, "did you want to arrive at English early? Personally I don't want to be sat at a desk listening to that voice drone on for a single second more than necessary." He snickered.

A sigh escaped the purple lips of the dark haired girl next to him.

"And you wonder why you're failing English."

"Hey! Don't act like you find it remotely interesting. You were complaining about the poetry he's assigned us for the whole of lunch break."

"That's because it's a billion years old written by fancy white guys who weren't even trying to include any of the symbolism we're supposed to be able to see."

"Maybe you're just not looking for their visions hard enough?" Her girlfriend teased.

Despite their apparent running late for class, Dash felt the need to break apart from the front of the group. Of all the gazes on them currently, it was Nathan's he took issue with specifically. How many times did the girl he was unashamedly drooling over have to say no before the geek got the message? Sooner or later the kid was going to get his glasses broken from being stuffed into his locker at the wrong angle. Serves him right. Two less eyes on them. Two out of hundreds.

Needless to say, Danny didn't focus in class. He took his seat, at the far back right, like always. To get as far away from the teachers scrutinising gaze as possible. To get as far away from everyone's dissecting glare as possible. Of course, that feeling was still there. Something still studied him. It was almost tangible, wind clawing through and ruffling his hair. Externally, boredom seemed to weigh him down, slumping backwards in his chair. In reality he was clenching his jaw and leaning away from the stress biting at his neck. Oh my god, can he spend one second not being torn apart, please?

He can't help that he's 'special' or 'better' or 'skilled'. He was born to successful parents, very well off inventors. They have an… interesting hobby. They just had to rope him and his sister into it. He's a Fenton, that comes with intelligence and precision. His dad's gene pool perfect for muscle development, his mom's skills perfect for fighting. Fentons were supposed to be ghost hunters, he'd been raised to defend, protect and fight from a young age. He enjoyed it, learning 'ghost hunting skills' was about the only time he actually saw his parents because they were so busy with the family business.

The school bell was like a starting horn. Sure he'd been roped into being on the football team, how couldn't he with his athleticism? But track had always been one of his favourites. Over the sound of chairs scraping against the floor, he yelled a "Laters!" to his friends as he threw his bag over his shoulder. He bolted out of the door.

Too many, too many, too many. He weaved through the groups of people beginning to form in the hallways. No way was he spending one more moment than necessary here. Sure he loves the friends he's made but, there's always just, so many eyes. So many people. Looking up to him? Watching him? Another one of the cool teens who could have no imperfections. Having to exist around the sheep who ate at his soul with just their stares, day in, day out. A nightmare. It drains him, makes him feel dead on his feet. Slamming out of the doors, smirking in anticipation, he darts behind a shed.

Why? This wasn't right. It was supposed to go away. If he was truly alone then how can he still feel it? His senses are heightened now, he knows that that's why his school life is so much more difficult than it used to be, ever since the accident. His body can't be lying to him about feeling something nearby, if it is then he may go insane.

"Hey Phantom." He scowls as he finally notices the techno-geek crouched in the dirt.

"I told you not to call me that, especially when I look like this. The hell are you doing here Foley?" Calm washes over Danny as Tucker looks back to his PDA.

"Waiting for you. You realise it's painfully obvious that you always hide behind here-"

"I do not hide."

"-after school at every opportunity and that you're never seen leaving this spot either. Sure morons go to this school but I didn't take you for one of them."

Danny knows Tucker doesn't understand him. Sure, the teen was there when it happened but that was all, he was still a nerd. Tucker wants attention from other people, Danny wants to be left to his friends and hobbies without everyone else's judging looks. Thoughts running through their heads, about him, as though they knew anything about him. He used to want to trade places with Tucker, he came across as kind of a loner but he has the ability to blend into the background, to do what he wants without scrutiny from everyone. When people look at Danny, they could be thinking anything about him; jealousy, loathing, admiration, hatred. When people look at Tucker, their eyes gloss over him, no second thoughts needed. When Danny glares at the people who look at him, it's out of envy that they don't know what it's like to live in a constant spotlight. Being in the A-list is so much, too much, it burns, his skin bubbling and melting under the pressure.

"Then what do you suggest?" Danny folds his arms and stands with his shoulders back.

"Dude, mix it up a bit, there are other places to hide in this school. Or just like, walk off school grounds like a normal person and duck into an alleyway on your way home."

"Yeah? Because normal people duck into alleyways?"

Eyes still locked on his PDA, the boy sighs and shrugs his shoulders.

"You're not normal anymore, man. If you're so insistent on hiding yourself then you should make it so no one will guess where to find you." Tucker stood from his spot on the floor and hoisted his backpack on.

"Tsk, whatever." Danny mumbles as he turns away.

No one is looking at him anymore. Otherworldly energy thrummed from within, Danny grasps at it, pacing forward slowly and increasing his speed, light surrounds him as he envelopes himself in the instinct he'd been suppressing all day. Mid-jump, he vanishes.

It's like surfacing from water. He inhales deeply and soars. His hair pushed back by the breeze, body spinning occasionally from the thrill of it all. He doesn't have to look down to know that the earth is moving away from him, or rather, he is pushing free of it. He reaches out his hand above him as the clouds near his fingertips. They don't feel like anything but they were still magnificent. The world morphed to pinks and blues and yellows as he moves through them and drops the invisibility. He doesn't need it anymore. No one could see him up here, he may as well not exist. It's bliss.

The stark green glow of his eyes reflect onto the clouds as he races above them. He can't stop the laugh that escapes his throat, so he doesn't, he doesn't need to.

Time passing is shown by the oranges swarming in the sky. If he pictures the clouds as a couch then he can just lounge among them. It's still too bright out to see the stars but that doesn't bother him much. There's always later, if he awakes at night from the cold again, he can come see the stars then. Some day he's gonna decide to be stupid enough to go further and see how close he can get to touching them without killing himself again like a total imbecile. Is it supposed to be worrying that he looks forward to it? He doesn't think he's meant to. Death has had a strange beauty and grace ever since he became part ghost about four months ago. It's so much happier than he expected it to be when he was human. Times like these, getting away from it all, makes him want to go through another tomorrow, to do it again. He has so much hope, he wants to stay here forever.

He doesn't, obviously. He has to eat at some point. Remind his parents, hilariously, that he's not dead.

He doesn't change back to his other form when he reaches the ground. Just casually strolls around as if the fact that he's glowing shouldn't be a big deal. He curls into himself to keep from being too recognisable as his human counterpart. No one gives him a second glance. It's like he's still invisible. He didn't try this for the first two months after the accident but since the beginning, other ghosts have been popping up everywhere. His parents have been overjoyed with the hunt, regular people give them a wide berth and try to pretend like the dead aren't floating among them.

He loves that. Doesn't even have to be invisible for people to look through him now. A blanket of calm envelops him for the whole walk. Arms hanging loose at his side, he takes in the beauty of the sky and trees from the ground and grins to himself. He doesn't notice any other ghosts on his way back, which is kind of a shame. Danny loves hanging out with the spirits, no one around even stops to wonder what they're doing, too busy backing away attempting to give them as much space as possible. It was Saturday tomorrow, he'd normally meet up with Ember and her friends and mess around on the high-street. He'll have to find something else to do this weekend though, she's been super busy working on an upcoming album for the human world. Danny had promised he'd tell his human friends about it, spread the hype around Casper High. She'd jumped at the idea, offering backstage passes for himself and his friends. He'd had to turn her down of course, there's no way he's being spotted with VIP passes to a concert as Fenton when he could hang from the rafters and prat around as a Phantom instead.

It's odd how he can sense that more people look at him as Fenton than they do when he's Phantom. He could float into Nasty Burger via the wall and the people inside would actually try to avoid his gaze. Thrilling.

His stroll home is quiet, even the voices in his head are calm. There are never more than two pairs of eyes on him at a time. Even then they always look away quickly. Transforming back in the alleyway by the side of his house, he scales the drain pipe to get into his room.

It's funny how much he enjoys being at his house too. There's a basement full of devices being designed to hunt things like him. It doesn't bother him, it's the portal in that room that makes it all worth it.

He's been there before, the first time was about a month after the accident. Spirits live there, they're actual people, a whole manner of shapes, but they all glow, like him. They glance at him with only mild curiosity and then they move on with their afterlives. Understanding is beginning to form for his parents obsession. It's like a whole other world. Green as far as you can see but there's more to it than that. So many greens, so many shapes and textures and things with purposes he can't even begin to comprehend. He really wants to though.

The beings there speak in a strange language too, he's heard them, is somehow able to understand them. Crowded around the portal, he's overheard rumours. Someone said they saw a being that was half ghost half human. It took a moment to think, maybe that's what he was? Everyone around the ghost who spoke about it laughed though.

"A creature of both worlds, you say?" They had been shaking their head in disbelief, "don't be ridiculous, something like that couldn't truly exist."

In a moment of courage and curiosity, Danny had nudged a child at the edge of the group, the boy was dressed like a wizard, a skeletal owl perched upon his shoulder.

"Y'know," Danny whispered, "I'm a human who can make myself look like a ghost, what does that make me?"

The kid who was already holding back giggles about the current topic burst into all out laughter. He curled his knees up into his chest as tears formed in his eyes.

"Stop it! That's so silly!" the boy exclaimed.

"No, I'm serious, I can." Danny smiled.

"Yeah?" said the boy, his eyes shone "Wanna play a game with it?"

The boy, Youngblood he called himself, ended up dressed like an Olympic racer. They spent an hour or so running back and forth across a long floating rock. "Running on our feet of all things!" Youngblood had laughed, both moving as though gravity affected them. Danny even let him win a few times. He made a new friend. The best bit? Anyone who noticed, didn't care. This was his life now, no one back home would figure any of it out just by looking at him.

Ghosts didn't think he was anything special. He could be invisible just like the rest of them. He could be himself and he knew none of them even cared. Didn't even believe he was human, Youngblood had decided he could shape-shift, Danny had shrugged his shoulders and went along with it when the kid told anyone.

His human friends were fun. His ghost friends made him feel free.

Based on GottaCatchGhosts' Prompt - A-lister Danny Fenton likes to relax on his days off by hanging out around town as his nobody counterpart, Danny Phantom. (basically, an AU where fenton is popular and phantom isn't.)