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silentambiance · 6 days

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An Unconventional Way to Get a Cat- Part 2

Summary: It turns out, Danny's bough of nausea after the portal accident was not just the stomach bug going around school. This must be the most horrifying, disgusting way to find himself a new pet owner.

Part 1 here

Word Count: 1,983

Also on AO3

For @wastefulreverie and @silentambiance

Based on wastefulreverie's prompt: Portal AU. Instead of gaining powers in the accident, the portal is fused inside Danny, making him the gateway between worlds and leaving him with the unfortunate ordeal of vomiting up ghosts. Maybe someone catches him in the act. And Chaotic_french_fries's prompt: danny gets a ghost cat Chapter 2 incoming! The warnings for angst, body horror, and vomiting remain, though enjoy the introduction of more kitty adorableness. Happy reading!

For a long moment, Danny stared at the cat.

“There’s a cat in the bathroom….” The animal, just as glowing as it had been since it …appeared…., blinked up at him in kind. “A green cat.” Like the ectoplasm, like in his parents’ lab, like in the defunct portal, like…”A ghost. You’re a ghost.”

Said ghost yawned, flashing needle sharp teeth. The inside of its mouth was completely green too.

“A ghost cat… that I threw up.” He shook his head, wide eyes drifting away in disbelief. “This can’t be happening.” It had to be a dream, some kind of sickness induced hallucination.

Again, he furiously shook his head. Nose wrinkling, he turned back to the toilet. The sour-smelling vomit floated menacingly in the bowl. Eyeing the content suspiciously, he flushed. The disgusting biohazard swirled down the drain and disappeared.

Danny let out a breath, his stomach churning in an oddly cold dread. Tensing, he turned his head back to the floor and… blinked. The ghost cat was gone.

Shakedly, the boy pulled himself to his feet. He rinsed his mouth out, washed his face, and took a long drink of water. All the while, his eyes flickered, on alert for the bathroom’s other recent resident. But there was no sign. No fluffy tail, no quivering whiskers, no sharp toe beans.

Maybe it really was a hallucination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny mindlessly scrolled through his phone. He’d gone downstairs, picked at a sandwich, and sipped a cup of water. Now, he was sat on his bed, trying to distract himself.

His stomach churned, icy unease growing…. No. Nope. He wasn’t going to think about it.

Oh, that’s cool. They were making another Nightmarica Movie. Maybe he could-

He burped and an acidic taste welled in his mouth. “Oh no.” Danny swallowed painfully, sticking out his tongue at the taste. “Not go-”

A popping noise startled him. “Ah!”

“Meow!”

The boy’s head jerked to the side. He blinked, then scowled. The cat, the green ghost cat, sat on the floor beside his bed, tail swishing gently.

“Great.” Danny rolled his eyes. “You ag-”

A gag cut off his words and the boy lunged for the trash can. He scrambled, reaching for the plastic bin and bringing it up to his mouth just in time.

Ectoplasm surged up his throat, thick and slimy as a slug. Something inside squirmed and Danny shivered violently.

He coughed, pounding at his clogged chest. Something wet plotted into the trash can.

Instantly, the nausea ebbed. Danny just sat, panting for a while. His eyes closed, he felt the bed shift with the movement of tiny feet. A fuzzy head brushed his arm. Then the thump of a paw batting at the trash can.

Nose wrinkling, Danny opened his eyes and peered inside. A green blob-shaped mass sat there and the boy let out a breath of relief. At least it was just ectoplasm this time.

Then the ectoplasm blinked. The cat sprang, batting at it.

Danny blinked, stomach churning with dread, while the ghost cat grabbed the blob in its mouth, darted literally through the trash can, and then under his bed.

“What did Mom and Dad’s portal do to me?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, Danny managed to stir himself out of his existential dread. Still eyeing the trash can suspiciously, he placed it on the ground. There was no sign of the blob now, no stain of green. But it had been there, just like the throw up in the toilet earlier. Just like the cat. Thinking of the cat…

The boy lowered himself to the floor, kneeling to look under the bed. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to see but…

Rapid movement. The cat laid on its side, the blob held between its paws. The animal flailed wildly, back legs kicking at its prey. Then the ghost cat froze. Eyes wide, ears back, it startled, practically leaping to the other end of the bed, and throwing the blob toward Danny. The blob smacked the boy in the face.

“Ew.” Danny flinched, wiping at the spot.

Meanwhile the blob let out a sad whoosh, like a balloon deflating. The boy blinked, looking between it and his hand. There… was no residue on his face, none on his hand. It had been cool but… not wet.

Tentatively, he reached, poking at the green mass. It gave under his finger, the surface solid but the inside malleable. Like a balloon filled with cornstarch slime.

Danny muttered. “Weird….”

A flicker of movement, something neon green, grabbed his attention. His eyes snapped up meeting… round, green eyes. The ghost cat.

The animal froze, one paw lifted in mid-step. It tentatively lowered the leg and stretched its neck towards him.

What was it doing?

Ears up and alert, the cat sniffed. Its whiskers quivered, cautiously curious. Slowly, the ear swiveled forward.

Tentatively, Danny put a hand forward. More eagerly, the cat sniffed. Then the furry head bumped his hand.

“Nice kitty.” The boy grimaced, unsure.

It head-butted his hand again, then looked up, fixing wide begging eyes on him.

“Alright?” Carefully, Danny patted the head.

A rumble started up and the boy petted the cat, first cautious and slow. “Nice… ghost cat?”

It was just… acting like a normal cat.

Another head-butt to his hand. “Good kitty boy? Girl?” He had no idea…

No answer came, of course. The cat just rubbed against his hand and purred, like any living cat.

Gaining confidence, the boy scratched behind the ears. “Good… Fluffy?.... That’s stupid.”

The purr deepened, rumbling up through his fingers and Danny found himself smiling. “You like that, huh?” He rubbed the back of the head, down the side of the neck. “Feels nice, doesn’t it?”

A green paw suddenly batted at his hand. “Alright. Alright.” Danny whipped his hand back. “That’s enough for now.”

The cat stood up, stretching its front paws. It yawned, flashing its teeth. Then its ears twitched. Its head turned, fixed on something Danny couldn’t see. It leapt away and ran, taking a lap around Danny’s room.

The boy just sat there on the floor, perplexed as the cat started attacking one of his dirty socks on the floor.

“Alright. You’re a ghost but you’re just a normal cat….”

Said animal batted at the dirty fabric, attacking with its teeth. It jerked its head up, nose wrinkled, mouth slightly open and lips curled in, as if in disgust. Then it went back to playing with the sock.

“How is this my life?”

The cat abandoned the dirty laundry, flopping onto its side.

“Well… I guess you’re a girl cat.” Danny eyed the visible dark spots running down the cat’s belly; he’d seen similar when Sam’s cat had been nursing her babies. He frowned, a stab of sadness pricking at him. “What happened to you?” A mama cat, without her kittens…

The cat kneaded at the air, paws reaching towards him. Despite his somber thought, the corner of the boy’s lip turned up. “Oh no, I’m not putting my hand down there.” He waggled a finger. “I know that’s a trap, missy.”

A knock sounded at the door. “Danny! Dinner!”

The cat jumped up, form turning misty and then disappearing. Invisible…. That’s how she had appeared out of nowhere before and vanished just as fast. But now… the air in front of him swirled, just the slightest bit different from its surroundings. A cool spot lingered at the edge of his consciousness, a clear sign of the ghost’s presence…

Huh. That was new.

“Danny!” Another knock.

The boy shook his head. He’d have to figure all this out later.

“Coming!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So… Danny had a ghost cat now.

When he came back from picking at his dinner, the animal was still there. The cat laid on his bed, half curled into a circle and paws folded against her chest.

“I have to admit that’s cute.” He muttered.

This past day had been so weird, what with throwing up ghosts…. Danny shivered at the thought… the ghost cat still being there was almost normal.

With a shrug, the boy plopped back into his desk chair. He turned his attention to his computer, determined to not think about ghosts or portals or vomit, and losing himself in video games.

And yet, the cat’s soft snores echoed softly. A chill lingered in the back of his mind, swirling softly in his lungs. And the nausea….

The cat jolted awake with a loud meow just before Danny’s stomach lurched. He lunged for his trashcan and threw up again. In the can, something chirped and clicked. He peered in, eyes narrowed. Some kind of bird.

The cat sat up, eyes narrowed into slits and ears twitching. Danny eyed the animal suspiciously, gaze flitting between it and the bird thing. But, before the cat could act, the other ghost flapped panickedly. It half-ran, half flew out of the container and across his room, phasing through the wall.

The cat turned tail, silently following after and disappearing into the night.

Danny sighed, head in his hands. Three times was a pattern. This was really happening. And… it would keep happening.

The dread hit him, tears welling in his eyes. What was he going to do?

He sat, legs pulled to his chest. Despair clawed, questions circling. His parents’ invention… the portal did something to him. It must have. But what? How? How was this even possible?

What was he going to do? He… he had to tell someone, right? But… Sam and Tucker were out of town for summer trips. How would he even….

“Yeah, Tucker, how’s tech camp? You blowing everyone’s minds? And Sam, how’s your trip? You haven’t killed your parents yet, right? Oh me…” He laughed almost hysterically. “I just walked into my parents’ broken portal, like an idiot. And now…” He giggled. “Now I’m throwing up ghosts. Yeah, yeah. Those ghost’s that Jazz always said didn’t exist.”

Yeah, that conversation would go so well. Danny rolled his eyes. Jazz would think he was crazy… or having some kind of trauma induced hallucination. And his parents…

His eyes widened, hope suddenly flickering. His parents… his parents’ work did this to him. If anyone knew what was happening, how to stop it, it would be them. He could tell them and-

The cold in his belly flipped, rushing to his chest. His skin tingled and he fell through his chair.

The boy landed on the floor with a thud. He stared, eyes wide and terrified. His body shimmered, bluish tinted and immaterial, with the chair sticking through him. He scrambled away, as if burned.

“No. No.” His insides churned, a queasiness that had nothing to do with vomit.

Cold rushed out and he fought back a scream, his body flickering in and out of visibility like a dying light bulb. Like a…

“No. I’m… I’m not…” The tears let go, turning into quiet sobs. “I’m not a ghost.”

Except… all that pain, electricity… how could he not be dead? No one could survive that. He… he couldn’t have. He couldn’t.

“I’m… I’m dead.” His chest heaved, paradoxically straining for breath.

He… he was a ghost. That was the only explanation. That… that stupid “portal” killed him. And… now he was like it. An un-living portal, letting ghosts into the world.

His stomach lurched suddenly and he gagged. Ectoplasm rushed up, dripping down his lips. He spit, mind begging it to stop. Please. No.

“Mrow.”

Paws on his knees. His eyes snapped to round green eyes. The cat stretched his neck forward, rubbing up against his leg. The creature rumbled softly.

Danny panted, trying to catch his breath. His stomach settled.

After a long moment, he whipped his mouth. Tear tracks still stained his face. “Thanks… thanks…. I guess I should think of a name for you.”

The cat just purred, the boy rubbing her head. “Good girl.”

Note: Unsurprisingly, despite planning for 2 chapters, I am still not done. My goal is to wrap this up in to a satisfying conclusion before the month is over and I dive back into my Invisobang story! Wish me luck!

#OOoOOOO #LOVE LOVE LOVE

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silentambiance · 24 days

Text

An Unconventional Way to Get a Cat

Word Count: 1,123

Also on AO3

For @wastefulreverie and @silentambiance

Based on wastefulreverie's prompt: Portal AU. Instead of gaining powers in the accident, the portal is fused inside Danny, making him the gateway between worlds and leaving him with the unfortunate ordeal of vomiting up ghosts. Maybe someone catches him in the act. And Chaotic_french_fries's prompt: danny gets a ghost cat Not me going way to hard on the body horror. 🫣 Definitely not projecting the last time I got a stomach bug and making all of you feel my pain. I hate throwing up so much. 🤢 Seriously though, despite the kitschy summary and title, I did go really hard with the body horror and angst so be warned.

The nausea wouldn’t stop. One moment, Danny had been standing in his parents’ portal, pain searing up his arm and his world flooded with green. The next, he was laying on the floor in the empty tunnel, head throbbing and insides full of a jiggly unease. And the nausea would not go away.

It followed him up the stairs and into his room. With shaking hands, he clawed off the slightly singed hazmat and collapsed onto his bed. His stomach twisted, the unease growing into a chill sick feeling.

He groaned. “What… what’s happening? “

His insides lurched, the taste of bile rising on his tongue. Unfamiliar coldness seemed to quiver in his belly. The feeling radiated up…. Like he was going to hurl.

“No. No.” He pinched his eyes closed, shivering at the thought of throwing up. “Stop.”

The boy panted, trying to force the nausea down. A few breaths through his nose. He rubbed his aching, bloated middle, as if he could coax his stomach to behave. Miraculously, the nausea settled.

Body, at least temporarily, no longer betraying him, Danny stumbled up. He wobbled to the bathroom and clambered through drawers for the Pepto.

“Come on, where… There.” Hissed through his teeth.

He grabbed the bottle, twisted the cap, and poured a generous dose-cup full. The chalky medicine went down thick and viscous, coating his throat.

There. Maybe that would stave the sickness off. Another flip below his ribs and he shivered violently. Please, let it help. Please.

Danny made his way back to his room. And the nausea followed him back to bed. There, under the surface, it lingered. But… slowly, it ebbed.

He was so tired. His eyes drooped, his mind fuzzy. Really, he should be more worried…. Maybe he should tell Jazz… or his parents…

The nausea followed him into his dreams. Dark and murky. Icy coldness twisting, branching fingers invading his veins. Neon green behind his eyes. Rotten limes and pennies on his tongue.

His insides in revolt, at the edge of retching, had Danny jolting out of bed. He ran for the bathroom.

Below his ribs, the cold writhed violently. Tendrils stabbed to his lungs, his intestines, up his throat.

A surge of panic. What was-

Another wave and Danny heaved, bent over. Arms scrambling for stability. The toilet… his hands brace on the back.

His knees wobbled, waves of sickness, of wrongness clawing from his stomach, up his throat. He panted, trying to keep whatever was inside him in.

This was… something was wrong.

A feeling like choking, his breath caught. His mouth opened without his permission and he was vomiting.

Wet, slimy chunks poured out, filling his mouth, his nose. The taste-smell of acid, pennies, rotten citrus, all consuming

Another retch. Something cold and thick… too thick dribbled past his lips. Long lines trailed into the toilet. Despite his revulsion, Danny couldn’t help but look.

His eyes widened with fear. In the bowl… his throw-up was a sick, neon green. And it was glowing.

His stomach spasmed again and the green slithered up. It ran down his chin, dripped his nose. It coated the inside of his throat, thick and clogging.

He doubled over, curling in on himself. The coldness swirled, deeper, larger, more intense. Another great heave. There was growing pressure in his stomach. Not just sickening green surging to exit but… something else. Something far too big for his esophagus.

The ice stabbed, claws in his stomach. Green light sparked behind his eyes.

“Ah-” Danny tried to scream but the sound choked.

Something… something was in his throat. Not disgusting green goo. But-

He wheezed, the terrible, impossible thing clawing farther. This couldn’t be happening. But… His lungs spasmed uselessly. He couldn’t… couldn’t breathe.

Green light, so like the portal, swelled, a sickening film coating his eyes. Thick, cold gel dripped from his mouth. Another jolt. Something big, too big for his throat, pushed up. His heart pounded, the fluttering wing beats of a trapped bird.

Something was in his throat. And… His mind swam, light headed and panicked. Something was in his throat, inching forward. He couldn’t breathe…

The terrible nausea lashed out again. Icy pain seared his neck, his head, his jaw. It was inching forward, cutting off his airway. And too much. Too much. Too big. This was impossible-

The hateful green floor blurred. Danny’s knees collapsed.

His mind clawing for sense…. The thing was too big. It couldn’t… but it was. And His jaw would crack. His neck would break. His head would shatter. He was going to die.

The green light blinded. And Danny knew no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mrow.”

A sound perforating Danny’s darkness. Far away, he couldn’t make sense….

“Mrow.” A pathetic mewling. A quiet rumble, somewhere close? Where…?

Groaning, Danny fought his way back to consciousness. Where was he?... His head pressed against something cold and hard. Acid and moldy lemons assaulted his nostrils.

He flinched, jolting away and blinking.

For several long seconds, his mind spun, eyes trailing over the scene. The bathroom… he was in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet. A sour smell filled his nose. Throw-up…. Did he get that stomach bug that was going around school? But….

He blinked, staring at the bowl’s contents. Instead of the expected watery yellow-green chunks… it was thick and green and glowing. He didn’t understand. This was impossible. But…

Glowing green… like the ectoplasm in his parents’ lab. His stomach twisted, not with a sick feeling but cold dread.

In the tunnel, his world overcome with green light. That same light… blurring the floor, filling the bathroom.

He’d… he’d thrown up ectoplasm. And not just that…

“Meow.” An insistent noise cut through his thoughts.

His head snapped to the source. His eyes widened.

A fluffy animal, long tailed and four pawed, sat at his side. It rumbled softly. The sound that had cut through the blackness….

“A… cat?”

The cat blinked up at him, ears as perked and eyes as wide as any other he’d seen but…

“You’re green… and glowing?”

The animal let out another mrow. It lowered its head, bumbling furry noggin against Danny’s thigh. Chill radiated from the contact, sinking into his skin.

Slowly, suspiciously, his eyes trailed back to the toilet. To the thick, luminous contents. Ectoplasm, which he’d just throw up.

The cat head-butted his leg again, before sitting down crossly. “Meow!”

“No way.”

A green paw batted at his legs, the same shade of green as the ectoplasm…Something cold clawing at his insides, something too big his throat struggling to escape. “No way.” It was impossible. But….

The cat looked innocently up at him, as if his world wasn’t shattering.

“Did I just… throw up a cat?”

That's it for now. I am planning another part which will be much more light-hearted, including kitty shenanigans. And maybe someone finding out about Danny's predicament. 👀

#wodnekdnwidneidbs WoAH #WHAT #SO COOL #AHHHHH #omg i am invested

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