#so like maybe now it’s fueled by Danny/the ghost zone or some such? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

phantomrose96 · 3 years

Text

Joyrider

(Welcome to another warm-up writing piece. cw for mild body horror)

...

The mall food court doubled rather nicely as a battle-dome.

It fit the bill: a flat and circular arena, crowned two-stories up by a hemisphere of glass windows which lapsed iridescent in the maelstrom of ecto-fire.

Spectator chairs sat empty, hastily shoved back and knocked over by the Amity Park mall patrons who knew to leg it at the first sound of explosions and the first sign of the atmosphere tipping dark. Admittedly, the patron evacuation took longer than Danny anticipated, and he backed himself into a corner playing defense for the 50 some-odd people who, worn-out on the every-day mundanity of ghost alarms, took their time gathering belongings, or shutting off burners, or working in a few last bites of a burger.

So with the crowd gone and the stage their own, Danny found himself pressed back against a vat of french fry oil, hands braced against the handle of a broom he held out horizontally, which the ghost gripped with equal measure and shoved her full weight against.

“Oh, why not take a little dip, Ghost Boy? I hear the water’s nice.”

“No thanks,” Danny answered, shoving harder. “I never was much of a hot tub guy. You on the other hand—”

Danny set a foot forward and pivoted, body fueling the torque as he spun the broom, and tore the ghost with him, a pirouette to swap their spots and jam the ghost back-pressed to the fryer.

“—you seem like you’d like it hot.”

The ghost barked a laugh, jaw stretching lower and loose than Danny was comfortable with.

“Ha! You sure? Not very heroic of you to deep fry this girl I’m possessing.”

Danny faltered. His grip slipped. His blood chilled to ice as the information clicked in place – as he recognized the sensation of a ghost talking through someone. This wasn’t the ghost’s own form. This was some girl. How had he not felt—

A blast took him by the ribs. Danny doubled over, immediately kicked back. A foot found contact with his face, driving him down, until the girl’s wet and slippery fingers pinned him down by the wrists.

Danny strained. He could pivot his wrist a fraction of an inch left or right, but he could not break the hold.

“Get off me!”

And a voice answered from behind him.

“I can help with that.”

Danny craned his neck. Upside down, vantage point from the floor, he registered Sam’s combat boots slam into focus. She bent to one knee, a bazooka locked on the other. It charged, whined, and erupted with an explosion of green light.

The ghost shrieked. It took only an instant of resistance before the ghost tore cleanly from the girl possessed.

“Now if you don’t mind me—” Tucker, by the voice. Danny heard the whine of a Fenton Thermos heating up. “—I’d officially like to change my order from fries to soup.”

The beam burst forth, and the writhing, shrieking, yelping form of the exorcised ghost clawed and scratched in Danny’s direction before the thermos consumed her in full.

“Really? ‘Fries to soup’? Even Danny can do better than that.”

“Hey,” Danny answered.

“I was thinking on my feet, Sam. I didn’t hear any witty quips from you.”

The conversation fell away from Danny’s focus as the full human weight of the possessed girl dropped down on him. Gently, Danny gripped her by the shoulder, lifting her as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Your parents’ anti-possession gear is getting good. I don’t think I’ve seen an exorcism work that quickly.” Sam’s voice, now at his side. Danny glanced over, finding her kneeling beside him. “Is she hurt?”

Danny gave the girl a once-over. She was pale, cold, lips seeping blue. A mottled, blackish bruise spread across her temple, partially hidden beneath loose red bangs.

“I don’t… totally know. I didn’t land any hits on her, thankfully. But who knows what that ghost might have done. We should call an ambulance.”

“On it,” Tucker, from behind.

“Do you… do you think the bazooka might have hurt her?” Sam asked.

Danny shook his head. “Mom and Dad have blasted each other with that thing a hundred times. Dad got himself possessed by the box ghost for a trial run. It doesn’t hurt people. …Maybe she just needs a minute.”

“Lay her down, maybe?”

“Good idea.”

Danny eased forward, careful in his movements. Something about his grip slipped, sliding loose and rolling forward, and she fell unceremoniously from his arms, shoulder knocking ground as she lay there partially turned on her side.

“Danny!”

“Sorry! I didn’t—something slipped!”

“Well don’t leave her like—” Sam gripped a hand to the girl’s shoulder, weight behind her wrist to roll the girl fully onto her back. Sam’s hand froze, and then yanked away.

“What?” Danny asked.

“That didn’t feel right.” Sam only stared down, her hand hovering, twitching in increments. “Way too cold… and loose.”

“Loose?”

“Danny, look at her hands. What’s wrong with her hands?”

Danny looked. The skin stretched and wrapped the bones of her fingers as if rotated partway around. Her fingernails sat off-center, twisted around and bunched up like a glove. Sam’s hand came back into view, and she clamped it to the girl’s wrist.

“It’s like jelly. Danny it’s like jelly. Why is she this cold? Danny, I don’t think she’s—”

Something new caught Danny’s eye, a purple discoloration peeking out from the bottom ruffles of the girl’s shirt. His hands seemed to move on their own as he reached down, and pinched the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it back.

Black bruising consumed her torso, caving deep and bloating, pruning around the trails of heavy stitching that ran along the tracks of surgical cuts carving through her abdomen.

Danny yanked his hand away as if burned.

“Danny, she’s not breathing.”

The rest of Danny’s thoughts drowned in the swelling wail of the approaching ambulance siren.

…

Outside the Fenton Portal, green lighting doused the only part of Danny’s form not hidden in shadow, and danced with the fire of his glowing green eyes. Danny uncapped the thermos in his hand, and he trailed his thumb along the eject switch.

A new consuming green light belted forth, lasting only a moment until it vanished with a twin-braided ghost in its wake. The ghost blinked, smoothing over her hair and pulling the ends of her braids over her shoulders.

“Oh, it’s the Ghost Boy again. I thought you’d just throw me back in the Ghost Zone. Are you interested in a round 2?”

“No, not interested,” Danny answered, tone colder than ice.

“Yeesh, you’re quite sour. No more puns?”

“Why were you possessing that girl?”

“Hmm?”

“Why were you possessing her?”

The ghost blinked, green portal light mixing murkily with her purple eyes. “No particular reason. It was just a joyride.”

“A joyr—she was dead.”

Another blink. “Yeah I know. She was sitting in the morgue. She was in like a car crash or something and they already took all her organs. They didn’t need her. And I was gonna give her back, but you had to go and make it a whole thing.” The girl swooped forward, eyes wide and roving over Danny. “You seem mad. Wanna call a truce?” She stuck a hand forward. “I’m Melissa, by the way.”

Danny jolted, eyes flashing brighter. “No, you’re not. That girl was Melissa.”

“Oh for real?” Melissa let out a chuckle. “Crazy coincidence. I like don’t even know that many Melissas. Anyway truce?”

“No.” Danny ran his fingers through his hair. “You were possessing the body of a dead girl and you made me fight her! Don’t you see how that’s—that’s so—how fucked up—that you’d even—”

“Well I mean, I didn’t make you fight me. You made that happen. I was minding my business.”

“Doing what?”

“Shopping. Why else would I take a body for a joyride? I stole some cute clothes to wear. Stole some food to eat. Oh! That outfit I was wearing when we were fighting? Yeah I picked that out. She was in like a hospital gown when I found her. Super cute improvement right?”

An ectoblast sounded and connected with the wall behind Melissa, missing her a foot to the right. Danny’s hand glowed, and his eyes focused with a razor sharpness.

“Stop talking like that, okay? It’s pissing me off. I need you to tell me you know this was fucked up.”

Melissa put a finger to her chin. “I mean I guess stealing is kinda wrong. They were all like, big box corporate stores don’t worry.”

“The. Dead. Body.”

And Melissa fell silent a moment, violet eyes probing deep into Danny’s before widening. “Oh. Oh you’re like for-real mad about that. Like actually. I thought you were like, making an ironic joke.”

“Why the hell would I be joking about this??”

Melissa cocked her head to the side. “Well because you’re doing it too, duh. Like, duh.”

A huff of air cut against Danny’s teeth, an involuntary noise, incredulous, a guffaw he didn’t consciously make. The jelly sensation of decomposing flesh was back under his fingers. “I am not—would never—I’ve never even seen a dead body before this thing with you and I’d never in a million years even think for even a fucking second that I’d want to possess a dead body. What’s wrong with you?!”

Melissa bobbed a little in the air, ends of her braids trailing over the straps of her ephemeral sundress. “See this is why I really can’t tell if you’re joking or not. What are you talking about? You’re doing it right now.” She clasped her hands behind her back. “The black-haired boy whose corpse you’re possessing. Why are you allowed to do it?”

Danny froze. He laughed, heavy, with an uncomfortable force. “Myself, you mean? I’m not possessing myself. I am myself. I’m a half-ghost.”

Melissa met his laugh. “Oh what? No way like, that’s your own corpse? How’d you even get back to it in time? That’s crazy lucky like you must have died right near a portal or something.”

An involuntary shiver traced down Danny’s spine.

“…I’m not dead.” His eyes shifted around, and Danny dropped to the floor. He set a hand against the wall, throwing on the lights to the Fenton basement. Rings swept around his form, green iridescent eyes sweeping blue, white hair seeping black. “Look. Literally look at me. I’m not dead.”

And Melissa swooped closer. She set a finger to her bottom lip and hovered a foot in front of Danny, drinking him in. She swept to the side, like a swimmer in the water, sweeping around him in a full arc. She edged closer and pinched her fingers against the exposed skin on Danny’s arm. He flinched.

“Oh wow there’s like, not even any decay or anything. Your human brain even feels like it’s working it’s all like, electro-magnety. How long were you dead before you got back to your body?”

“I didn’t die.”

“Then what did happen?”

“I got shocked by the Fenton Portal, okay? It was just a lab accident and it gave me powers.”

“Oh. Oh.” Melissa’s eyes shot wide. “Oh you didn’t die near a portal… You died in a portal. You didn’t even have to get back to find your body at all. You must have appeared like practically on top of your own body. That’s crazy lucky. That’s so lucky. Your body was like, probably only dead a microsecond before you hopped back in. No wonder it’s so well-preserved.”

Danny swatted her away. “You’re not listening to me.”

“You’re not listening to me.” Melissa floated backwards. “What do you think is more likely? A bajillion ecto-volts somehow gave you superpowers that exactly mirror everything a regular dead ghost can do? …Or you died, and became a regular old ghost, and did what any regular old ghost can do, which is possess a freshly-dead dead body?”

“…I’m half-ghost,” Danny answered, human heart pounding in his chest. “I know what I am.”

Melissa bobbed back, feet pointed backwards until the soles of her feet skimmed the matrix of the portal. “I see you’ve made up your mind. That’s alright. But it was still pretty mean of you to accuse me like a big hypocrite like that.”

“I’ll destroy you if you ever try that again.”

“Oh I’ll try asking permission next time okay? Promise.” Melissa’s feet sank into the surface of the portal. “But, before I go, I’ve just got one more question to leave you with.”

“Go.”

“Why should a lethal accident do anything other than kill you?”

“Go.”

“Maybe you’ll have an answer for me next time I see you. Byeee!”

A spark of white erupted from the portal, consuming, absorbing, and fizzling out as Melissa’s form vanished into the ether beyond.

…

“Hey! Yo! Danny, come check this out!”

Danny rounded the stairs, unsocked feet creaking the floorboards with each step. Danny yawned, and blinked, and rubbed at his bruised eyes with the sleeve of his pajama top.

“Still asleep? That’s fine! You don’t have to do anything. Just come over here and look at what your old pop’s been up to.”

Danny entered the living room, where Jack sat hunched on the couch surrounded by an arsenal of power tools, rags, oil, soldering equipment, and scrap metal. From beside him he hefted a bazooka into view.

“This is the Fentonzooka 3.2.17. Amped up and equipped with all the latest in ghost-busting and human-saving technology.”

Danny blinked. “3.2.17?”

“Yep. This baby’s got 17 bug patches, tweaks, and internal improvements since the 3.2.0. The 3.2.0 was the advent of the snack compartment in the side. Look!” Jack spun a dial, revealing a chamber half-filled with pistachios.

Danny only stared.

Jack hefted the bazooka onto his shoulder. “Even better, Mads and I finally got rid of the last little sting humans feel when it’s fired. It’s now completely 100% harmless to humans. It feels like the breeze from a standing fan when it hits ya.” Jack turned, and he aimed the barrel at Danny. “Wanna try it out?”

Danny stood, and Danny stared, and Danny said nothing.

What might happen when it hit him?

Would it hit like the gentle breeze of a fan? Wash over him like air conditioning? Tingle cool and pleasant against his human fingers, human face, human skin?

Would it do something else?

Why should a lethal accident do anything other than kill you?

Jack eased the bazooka a bit off center, pulling his eyes away from the sight. He stared directly at Danny. “Danny?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to try it out?”

Danny stood.

Danny stared.

Danny wondered if he’d have an answer for Melissa the next time he saw her.

#danny phantom #dp #dp fanfiction #long post #this idea is actually from uhhhhhh probably like 2 years ago #back when i was still in the midst of not being able to write anything so #stuck this idea in the microwave for this warm up fic

616 notes · View notes

datawyrms · 3 years

Text

Ghostly Mystery Tour

For Phic Fight 2021! dey’s lovely prompt c:

On Ao3

Maddie and Jack had fully prepared for their adventure into the Ghost Zone—or so they thought. The fuel on Specter Speeder had fizzled out about a mile in. They're stuck. At least, until Phantom comes by, offering help.

“I just don’t understand it Maddie, I swear I charged it just this morning!” Jack’s voice managed to be louder than his frantic jabbing at the fuel gauge in the enclosed space, the sickly green glow outside making him look ill instead of agitated.

“I’m sure you did honey, but we need to think of a plan.” Maddie was already trying to think of what they could use. They weren’t too far away from the portal home, with how quickly the Speeder ran out of power. They had plenty of gear and weaponry packed in for their research trip, but the Specter Speeder wasn’t powered with something they could just toss in a gas can and bring along. “Maybe we can hook some of the ropes to the floating land masses and tow it?”

“Oh! Great idea!” Jack brightened, shoving the previous problem aside, hands now occupied with measuring the distance of the nearby rocks. “The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get back to work!”

The problem about how safe it actually was to breathe in the air when in the realm of the dead had been accounted for, but if they had to waste the air tanks just to get back- well they wouldn’t get to have nearly the amount of time to actually explore on foot, let alone gathering samples. They could learn so much about the ectoplasmic terrors from the world they clawed out of, weaknesses they didn’t need to fear on Earth even! So to have their expedition, a trip that had been months in the making derailed like this in mere moments hurt. At least Jack could keep his eyes forward, his positive attitude the only thing keeping her from screaming from the absolute unfairness of it all. “Just run the best options past me before you open the hatch, okay darling?”

“You betcha!”

She was still going to enable the Fenton Child Safety Lock as a precaution, he could get a little over eager when he saw an opportunity. It was just a matter of what tools could be repurposed into a makeshift claw or skewer to actually keep hold of the rocks. What would be the smallest loss?

The sound of something hitting the roof of the speeder halted her thoughts, turning to look out of the windows, drawing up her hood in case they’d be fighting so soon. Even Jack had stopped with his mental calculations, pulling a weapon from under the seat. “Company already? Guess we’ll show em what for, eh honey?”

“Well it is the Ghost Zone, they’re probably braver here. Not that it’ll be any problem.” A little boasting could help keep morale up, even if the situation was less than ideal. Stranded with a ghost already trying to take advantage, typical.

“Well one little zap with this baby and it’ll scoot right on back!”

If the ghost could hear them, maybe it would be frightened off just by their voices. Whatever had hit them hadn’t shown itself near the window, or hit their vehicle again. It didn’t feel right. There might be no evidence for whatever it was lurking around, but sometimes you had to follow your intuition. Jack was inquisitive, but didn’t ask out loud as his wife stood to knock the ceiling herself.

“Sooo are we doing knock knock jokes, or do you need a tow?”

She should have known. Of all the ghosts, it would have to be the one that always managed to get her hackles up, pretending to be helpful so people trusted him. A ghost that even tried to have a human name to fit in, not that she’d ever call this thing ‘Danny’. It was an insult to her baby boy, quite frankly. “What are you up to now?”

“Asking you if you need this thing moved. Duh,” the ghost snorted, the metal clanking as he knocked it again. “Talking at you from the roof feels dumb, you gonna shoot if I go to the front?”

“Depends on what you do, ghost scum!” Jack had looked pensive for a moment, but spoke up quickly on spotting Maddie reaching for a notebook. He just had to give her time to think it over, and he was great at distractions.

“Is scum what you call all people who help you out, or am I just your favourite?” A white haired head appeared at the top of their window, looking down with an amused smirk at the pair. Still playing innocent when they were at a disadvantage.

“You’re a ghost ‘claiming’ to want to help.”

That earned a frown, though the ghost stopped half hiding to float in front of their stranded speeder. “Riiiight. Put it that way, whatever,” he paused, as if studying their faces. His green eyes lingered on the weapon, notably so even as he went back to jabbering. “I’ve got some stuff to do, but I can drag the s-that thing back to the portal. So?”

The hunters shared a glance, unsure how to handle it. Phantom liked to claim he liked humans and protecting them, but he was a ghost. There had to be something he wanted out of them in return. Or might get violent if refused in the wrong way. At least he shouldn’t be able to see the quickly scrawled message to Jack. ‘You play the doubtful one, I’ll pretend to trust him- it’ll underestimate us’

“As if, spooky! Jack Fenton doesn’t need any ghost’s help!”

The ghost bought the open hostility without a second thought, eyes rolling to a sky that wasn’t here. “Really? I heard tow trucks were expensive out of state! Can’t imagine the out of dimension costs.”

It was going to be difficult to stay civil when it would be so much easier to just demand the ghost stop playing around. “We’re listening. So what do you want?”

“Awwww Mads, we don’t need this punk’s help! He doesn’t even have toes!”

The passion Jack had put into his moping managed to baffle the ghost. “Wait, what? Of course I do! No, stop, why does that matter? I know tows and toes are different things! I’m not that bad of a student, sheesh.” He seemed quite thrown, which was good. If the ghost forgot what the plan had been he might just get lost.

“Yeah, and you don’t have either Phantom!” Her husband managed to keep from laughing, but the shake in his shoulders showed it was a near thing.

Phantom glanced down at the black wispy tail that made up his legs, muttering something. “Well okay I don’t right now, but I normally do!”

It was a bit fascinating that Jack had distracted the ghost from his goal so completely. They’d have to think about an invention that could replicate the effect. “Can we focus please? I already said I’d listen to what you wanted.”

“Oh! Right, sorry,” he coughed, a strangely human expression of embarrassment. “I don’t actually need anything? I just have some stuff to do so you’d need to wait a bit.”

Oh right. Sure, the most dangerous ghost in town wanted to help the ghost hunters that wanted to destroy him ‘just because’. Just wait here while he goes to get some friends to attack them! Honestly, did ghosts think they were stupid? “Then why not tell us when you’re done? We’re not moving very quickly.”

“Cus he wants to make us think we’re safe before WHAM! Outnumbered by cowardly ghosts!” Jack expressed her true feelings effortlessly. “Not that it’d help em!”

“No way, you think I’d leave you guys here where anyone can try something?” The ghost still seemed confused, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. “You guys are here to study or whatever anyway, right? So you can look around while I get my errands done. And you know, you don’t get attacked. Most of the little guys leave me alone.”

As if that was a surprise! A ghost of Phantom’s strength could destroy smaller and weaker entities without effort. Perhaps it was a subtle threat slipping through his mask of ‘helpful child’. The idea of going deeper into the Ghost Zone, completely at his mercy was...well absolutely idiotic. Even if they could probably overcome him...being able to still get some studies done would make it not a complete waste of a trip. “So you think it’s likely we’ll be attacked here, so close to the portal?”

“Yeah, by him!” Jack looked tempted to grab his weapon, but refrained. “So what if we say no, huh?”

“Then I guess you can float here? Up to you, I guess.”

It was strange, to see the cocky ghost a bit hesitant. Even if there was an obvious threat he wasn’t mentioning. “Well if you could pull the Speeder, you could take it even if we don’t want you to.”

“I think that’s called kidnapping.” Phantom’s cocky smirk returned “Which is weird, you’re not kids! Adultnapping? Nah, that sounds dumb.”

“Ah cut the innocent act, we’re not falling for it!”

“Hey, I said it’s up to you! Either you agree to come along and I get you back home, or I just leave you guys to do whatever you plan to do. Even if yes, I could totally just drag the ship anyway. I’m not, because I’m trying to help, remember?” A hint of frustration slid past the confidence at ‘remember’, but the ghost folding his arms behind his head as if kicking back to relax did defang most of the threat. “I don’t have all day here.”

“We don’t have all day either Phantom. We have family to get back to, and no idea how long you plan to be ‘on errands’.” Maddie pointed out, still unsure what they should do. Trusting him was stupid, but he had showed his hand. Refusal might be met with the same result anyway, but ‘agreeing’ might trick the ghost into thinking they fell for his ‘trustworthy’ act.

“Like an hour or two? Not too long.”

“Well I’d use my Fenton Stopwatch! So don’t think you can pretend it’s a shorter time than it is, ghost!”

“Yeah yeah, you do that D-Jack,” he stumbled over the ghost hunter’s name, but otherwise didn’t move from relaxing. “It’s not gonna kill you to trust me for a bit.”

Even though it very much could kill them. He really was a smug bit of ectoplasm, thinking he blended in with humans well enough to be considered one. “So only a few hours, and you won’t stop us from researching or taking samples? Or lead us to a trap?”

“If I wanted people to get threatened by ghosts, I could just take some days off. No trouble, cross my heart. I’d swear to die but I got the jump on that bit,” he snorted at his own joke, but otherwise left the family to consider.

It was just safer to say ‘yes’ so the ghost thought they were fools. It had nothing to do with wanting to salvage something out of this disaster of an expedition. “Yes. We’ll accept your help, this time.”

“And you aren’t getting any thanks until we’re home, got it?” Good, ghost hunter, bad ghost hunter. An easy enough trick. Even if she wished Jack was the ‘trusting’ one. Yelling would feel nice.

“Yeeeah, kinda expected that too. Rude.” The ghost only shrugged before flying up and out of sight. She half expected to hear the ghost grab the Speeder, but they only really noticed when they started moving. Moving very, very quickly.

She couldn’t help it, her curiosity tamped down some of the fear she should be feeling, pointing out interesting landmasses as they passed, Jack just as enthusiastic to discuss what caused them, if the ghost built them or they were simply generated when a ghost squirmed into existence. A great castle that seemed familiar, an island with some sort of skull as a decoration and thousands of doors. Most ghosts they only could get sparing glimpses at, even when carrying an entire vehicle the ghost boy was fast. Ridiculously so. She thought it was his small figure that contributed to how quickly the pest could move- how the ghost could just vanish out of range in moments. That most of the power behind his physical attacks came from the speed they were delivered with instead of raw strength. Clearly that was an incorrect hypothesis, moving this quickly and carrying so much extra weight without any real difficulty. They slowed near what seemed to be another castle, though it was much less foreboding looking then the other one.

That sinking dread returned after they landed. She had some landmarks, but this much distance would be a big ask to get back. That, and this castle seemed more...occupied, judging by some humanoid ghosts loitering near the gates. One even waved. To them, or the ghost carrying them?

“Okayyy so. Ground rules? Don’t shoot anyone. None of these guys even go through the portal, they’re not the fighting type. Other than that? Have fun, I guess?” He’d stopped floating, standing on the ground beside their stalled craft. He didn’t look as if preparing to fight, which is what she’d assumed the ghost meant by ‘errands’. So what was he up to?

“We won’t do anything if they don’t.” A lie, honestly, but the ghost nodded.

“Wait, what’s that stuff for?” White gloves pointed at the masks the ghost hunters were pulling from under the seats. “Like you can hear me, there’s air out here.”

“It might be safe for ghosts, but we aren’t ghosts.”

Phantom opened his mouth as if to protest before shutting it with a frown. Strange, it was hard to get him to shut up most of the time.

“Nice try, we’re not gonna choke on ghost air today, Phantom!” Jack chuckled, adjusting his mask before popping open the hatch.

“I wasn’t expecting you to- oh whatever. Just don’t embarrass me,” he sounded like a sulking kid, only glancing at them for a moment before kicking off the ground to fly closer to the castle. Off to fight whoever ‘owned’ this area, perhaps?

“Well look at that! Regular plants!” Jack shook her from her pondering, crouched over what looked like a tended to flower bed near the walls. “Well, ghost plants that aren’t trying to attack. Think we should sketch em for the kids?”

“Well Jazz has been more interested in ghosts lately, I suppose.” It was interesting, but she was more curious about the ghost meandering past the walls. They seemed docile, almost like people just walking and apparently talking with one another. Not attempting to fight for territory or resources. Perhaps they were just repeating the memories of their lives over and over? Yet none of them had reacted badly to Phantom zipping past either. A different breed of ghost, perhaps? Or ghosts often had ‘kings’ that kept the lesser ones from squabbling. The large brute of a ghost that stole the town had claimed to be a king of sorts, and this was another castle...but she didn’t want to test anything by getting their attention. They might only act savagely towards humans, being jealous of those still alive after all.

“Yeah, she has! Danno might not like em, but that goth chick he’s eyeing might like em too!” He was already sketching away, quickly getting the basics. He’d fill in the details from memory back home. “You want to try seeing if those ones talk? Not sure how the ghost kid thinks we could embarrass him, ha!”

“Oh he was probably just trying to insult us. He likes to pretend to be a teenager,” she waved that question away, double checking her weapon was easy to reach in case of an emergency. No reason to make their predicament worse by being unprepared. While still considering to go near those ghosts instead of safely observing from a distance. Jack’s enthusiasm was too infectious, really, but that’s how they made so many discoveries!

The ghosts didn’t object to her moving closer, but she kept off the busier paths to be safe. So many stalls of what seemed to be goods, clothing and paintings, rugs and nick knacks. Well, the ghosts didn’t need anything to live, so it would make sense for them to prioritize other items first, but the art was strange. What did the dead know of creativity? Were these all recreations of something found in life? No, some of the paintings had the green skies of the Ghost Zone, implying at least some ‘new’ thought. They were strange, very unlike the wild animals that often attacked the town, or the showy inhuman mimics that tried to claim world domination. They just looked like greener, more transparent people. Barely any of them even floated much. They’d need new categories, they broke too many rules that stayed true on Earth.

“Oh that’s a lovely shade of blue! I wish I could make something like it.” The voice echoed, but it wasn’t growling or mocking. In fact, the ghost woman who had paused beside the hunter was smiling warmly, despite the dead red eyes. “Are you just visiting for a bit?”

“We’re mostly stuck going wherever the ghost boy is taking us, our ship broke down,” Maddie struggled not to frown, her natural inclination to get away from the still potentially dangerous ghost strong with so many fights. She could tell it the truth, in a sense. Phantom was far more likely to be dangerous then this waif of a woman. How she could move in so many ruffles was baffling.

“Oh dear! Well if he’s any trouble you can let Dorthea know, she’s a caring ruler. A human helped her get her rightful throne back, so I’m sure she’d be happy to help!” The ghost tittered a little, as if expecting that to be obvious.

So the ghost did know she was human? Far more alarming was the idea some other human had been dragged this far from home, possibly trapped. Maybe this would turn into a rescue mission. Unless it was too late for them, a distinct possibility. “Oh really? How did that happen?”

“Oh I don’t really know the details, but it was a human that inspired our good Queen that she didn’t need to fear that tyrant and she could fight back. I wish I’d seen it!”

It was disquieting how human the ghost sounded, a friendly sort of gossip. If only she had a way to record it. “The human got back home after helping, right?”

“Well I assume so, she had no intentions of staying here very long, that’s for sure!” She laughed easily, apparently blind to Maddie’s confusion and apprehension, or just unable to see it past the mask and goggles. “I’m fairly sure Sir Phantom took her back, you could ask him.”

Sir? That town terrorizing scoundrel was respected around here? And had been taking humans out of the ghost zone? Probably because he made whoever it was get here in the first place, just to rescue them. Was that why he was here? To stage some new act with this ghost queen? “Right, I might do that.” Would she? This morning she hadn’t expected to talk to ghosts, let alone multiple.

“Oh! If you see any of those angry blobs you can just run back towards the guards and they’ll deal with it. It’s their job, and they’re quite good at it. I actually considered doing that job for a bit, but I like looking after the plants more. Maybe I’ll switch in a decade or two!” The ghost kept talking, apparently taking Maddie’s lack of further questions as permission to keep chattering.

“Can’t you deal with them yourself?” Attacking ghost blobs was something she knew about, and if this ghost was strong enough to mimic humans, shouldn’t it be able to deal with the much less sophisticated tactics of blobs?

“Me? Oh no, I’m not not trained. Do you still have lions on the other side? It would be like trying to fight one of those with a stick!” She laughed, but not unkindly.

“You’re both ghosts though, aren’t you?” Perhaps they differentiated themselves by name in the Ghost Zone? It would lend some evidence to the ‘different breeds’ of ghost hypothesis she was rapidly stringing together.

She tapped at her chin for a moment at the question. “I suppose we are, but they’re more like animals. They might have always been animals, or never alive at all! It’s perfectly safe here though, they usually fight more among themselves.”

Well that was fascinating. Some ghosts didn’t instinctively know how to fight and had to be taught? Yet didn’t consider themselves completely separated from the more animalistic ectoplasmic terrors. Perhaps the more ‘domestic’ setting here made the ghosts less feral and more reliant on their previous memories. Well, the ghost could be lying, but she couldn’t see the benefit she’d gain from deception here. “So you’re kind of stuck here then? We saw a lot of those outside of this place.”

“No no, we’ve got safer ways to travel than just flying around! Not all of us are that brave, dear. Though I don’t think I’d want to stay somewhere else very long anyway. Here it’s safe, all my friends are here and we have one of the largest markets in the whole Ghost Zone. Other ghosts come to us!” There was a hint of pride as she spoke about her ‘home’, gesturing over to some of the stalls Maddie hadn't had time to look at before getting interrupted. “I was really hoping to get something from the seven armed bloke over there, but he’s not very interested in my clothing. Maybe next time.”

Said ‘bloke’ had far too many eyes to go with the arms, and a collection of honestly terrifying little statues with strange designs that made her head hurt if she looked at it too long. A clear outsider to the more human ones, but not causing a stir. So much for constantly fighting out groups, but they barely had anything in common either! Not to mention engaging in some kind of simplistic trading. “So this happens often?”

“Pretty much. It’s fun to make new things, but you get bored of just your own stuff after a few centuries you know? So we swap and find new things.”

Well of course, it’s not like the ghosts needed to trade for something vital to existence. Swapping ‘things’ made more sense in that context. So why weren’t any trying to trade strength or favours? Or simply taking what they wanted? Was it related to having a queen? She had so many questions that knowing what ones needed to be asked was next to impossible. “I suppose you would. How can you tell if a ghost that comes is peaceful?”

“Asking!” She laughed again, apparently finding the question funny. So they didn’t deal with constant attacks from spectres like Phantom trying to ‘take over?’ Why?

“Oh geeze, I’m so sorry if she said anything about trying to-” Phantom’s voice interrupted her thoughts, the ghost suddenly floating beside the other ghost and sputtering.

“Sorry? She’s been perfectly lovely! Haven’t you- oh I’m so rude, I didn’t even get your name!” the ghost tisked at herself, once again strangely apologetic.

“Wait, she has?” His doubtful tone made the ghost hunter scowl. As if he had any room to judge them.

“We’re scientists, not uncontrollable monsters.” Like him. She was fairly sure he caught the implication when the boy muttered something she couldn’t hear.

“Cool. Anyway, got another stop, then I’ll get you two back home.” He still hovered, glancing between the two of them a few times. “Oh. Maddie, that’s her name.”

“Lovely speaking with you Maddie! Had a good trip back, I’m Guenivier if you’re ever in the area again,” she smiled and gave another wave before somehow drifting back into the crowd without displacing even a bit of that dress.

“Who said you can give out my name?” Maddie hissed, once certain the other ghost was out of earshot.

He leaned back on teenager mannerisms, scoffing and heading away. “Because she wanted to know and thinks you aren’t a total ghost hater? It’s not gonna hurt anything.”

“How can I know you don’t have a way to locate people by name?”

He was rolling his eyes again as if she was being ridiculous. “You live in a house with a giant glowing sign. Not exactly subtle.”

“That isn’t in the ghost zone.”

“It’s attached to the ghost zone, it totally counts.”

It really was like arguing with a teenager when he bantered on like this. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Yes ma’am. Sheesh.” He hopped on top of the speeder, kicking his heels against the side. “Hey Jack, you coming?”

“Coming!” he bellowed back, jogging over from the patch of plants she’d left him at. However, he wasn’t just carrying his notebook, but a folded glowing bit of cloth. Some sort of tapestry judging by all the stitching? “Just wanted to get a few more lines done-” he broke off after spotting his wife, apparently reminded that he shouldn’t be so chummy with the ghost. “I mean I leave when I want to, you can’t boss Fentons around!”

“Oh come onnn, can you pretend you don’t hate me for like five minutes? I’m not even doing anything!” Phantom complained, flopping backwards onto the Speeder. “You were totally having a good time”.

“How did you get that, dear?” Maddie chose to ignore their sulking captor and instead look at what Jack managed to gather besides sketches.

“Oh, one of the ghosties liked my pictures and asked to trade for one! So I gave em a page for this! We can study how they made it back home, neat huh?”

Apparently he hadn’t been too worried about it being a trap, but a picture he’d just sketched wasn’t a big ask for something that could teach them a lot about the ghosts in here, so it was a good trade nonetheless. “You did great sweetie. Just make sure to store it safely, just in case.”

“Already on it sweet cheeks!” He was indeed, already pulling out a large sample bag to store their find before opening the hatch again.

“Ew. I changed my mind, go back to threatening me. Sappy is worse.”

Well, at least the ghost regretted his actions a bit. He’d be more sorry if he tried anything, but this did just seem to be something to sooth that hero complex it had. So far, anyway. She was tempted to ask the ghost what it had been up to at the castle, but it didn’t really matter. He’d just lie anyway, he clearly wasn’t the same sort of ghost as the weaker ones back there.

“Ha, he crumples in the face of our love Madds!” Jack laughed, hugging his wife and they got comfortable back in the speeder. “You think he’d take us back home if I said how much I love ya?”

“I so don’t need to hear this.” He was muffled, apparently still flopped on the speeder. He didn’t add anything before the Speeder lifted from the ground and resumed speeding through the strange green expanse.

“Clearly he buys his own teenager delusion.” Maddie mused, content to rest against Jack and look through his sketches. “Did they seem strangely lifelike to you too?”

“Oh sure! They just talked and didn’t even seem interested in going to the human world! Even though one was very jealous of how bright my jumpsuit is.” He leaned a bit to flick a few pages forward. “I sketched a couple and got their names, so we can see if we can look em up. See if they’re similar to their old selves according to history and all.”

“That’s a good idea. I didn’t get a complete name, but apparently they have jobs? Not like the wilder ghosts, and they do have a queen…” she paused, remembering the ‘human’ Phantom apparently ‘helped home. “Hey! You did help someone home from the ghost zone before, did you?”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, she’s back safe. Wasn’t even a whole day.” He sounded distracted, or at least surprised by the question.

It could be a valuable lead. That, and the human might need help after such an experience. Who knew how ecto contaminated they might be! “Who was it?”

“How should I know? Just because I’m in town a lot doesn’t mean I know everyone’s name.”

She frowned, glancing at Jack who only shrugged. So he hadn’t heard that story, only her. “You know ours.”

“Because you shout them at me and shoot at me a lot? Pretty easy to remember!”

“Ghost kid’s got a point.” Jack admitted, patting her on the shoulder. “We’ll just find who it is ourselves! Just an extra project.”

“What, and just make their life weird again by bringing up ghost stuff? Leave em alone.”

Well now they absolutely had to look into it, if Phantom wasn’t keen on the idea. Better to let him think they agreed though. “True, it could just lead you back to them.”

“Hey! This is all you, not me!”

Jack chuckled. “You’re really good at riling him up. Almost sounds like our Danny like that, getting all touchy about fun family activities!”

“Well he probably copies behaviour from local teenagers,” she didn't like that comparison though. Their children were nothing like life destroying ghosts. It was better to turn her attention to the passing green and how the amount of doors seemed to dwindle as masses of ice started to become the most prominent detail. That made more sense, actually. Phantom had started using ice in addition to ectoblasts, if he came from somewhere with this sort of climate it seemed less out of place with his other abilities. Even if he was otherwise ill suited to snow and ice with how he insisted on looking like a kid.

The next stop felt more like a mistake, with only hills of untouched white powder and ice to see, but the crunch of snow below confirmed they were no longer moving. Good thing they came prepared with heated coats!

“Not a whole lot around here! If it wasn’t for all the green we could pretend we were in Alaska.” Jack chattered as he shrugged a coat on, still apparently too excited to look around to keep his suspicion up. “They don’t all like castles, or maybe it’s a hidden one!”

He better not be thinking Santa had an ice castle. That was probably what he was thinking of, but she didn’t really want to bring up their annual argument at the moment. He could be wrong today, there were more important things to do. “You do realize it’s a frozen wasteland you’ve stranded us on?”

“It’s not that cold.” Phantom objected, circling the Speeder idly.

“Easy for a ghost to say, you’re always cold ghost kid!”

He stopped at that, glancing back at Jack. “It's not that bad, is it?”

“Only because we brought warm clothing. Jumpsuits aren’t enough for the living.” Maddie huffed, looking at the snowfields to find anything worth looking at. The structures of ice were somewhat interesting, but not inherently ghostly.

“Well you guys can stay here, I guess.” The ghost bit at his lip, playing up the concern now that they pointed out a frozen wasteland was cold. Honestly, how did anyone fall for Phantom’s act if he made mistakes like this? “I don’t think Frostbite’s people come out this far…”

“Oh, are they dangerous? We can take any of your little ghostly pals!”

Phantom looked as if Jack suggested exploding a building. “No! Don’t fight any of them! They just look scary, okay? Just ignore them, if any show up.” He didn’t wait for a response before flying off this time, apparently in much more of a hurry this time.

“Sounds like he’s worried about what we can do to his little pals, huh?” Jack elbowed his wife with a grin. “Well, maybe we can find something weird about the ice here!”

It was better to try getting some of the ghost ice instead of doing nothing, though she doubted it would be very different from regular ice, beyond the ectocontamination. Now what would a ghost think is ‘scary looking’? He hadn’t given such a warning when close to all of the other ghosts, after all. It was a bit of a mystery, and none of the ice here had any identifying marks or hints of another odd little ghost ‘civilization’. ‘Frostbite’ wasn’t much of a name either, perhaps they were more like the wild sort that came to Amity?

“Oh hoh! Look at this!” Jack yelled out, pointing to something below him as he waved her over.

A large, clawed footprint left in the snow, and fairly deep. So something monstrous after all, as expected. “Maybe we can get a cast of it?” They had supplies for it, but she wasn’t certain if it would work in the ice correctly. The tracks didn’t go for long, but following them wasn’t a very tantalizing idea. Better to keep a distance and be well armed if they wanted to tangle with whatever left this. It wasn’t as distracting as the previous stop, but the sound of crunches increasing in volume had the couple back on edge and wary.

“Seriously, we should just go-”

It sounded like the ghost boy was near wherever the crunches were coming from, which didn’t improve her mood one iota.

“Nonsense! I have been asking to meet them for how long?” A deep, growling and carrying voice came in response as Maddie readied a weapon.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. You don’t want to, trust me.”

“Seems he doesn’t have a very high opinion of ghost hunters, eh Mads?” Jack was less noticeably readied, still half crouched near the footprint, but his hand hovered where a weapon was concealed. She focused on her breathing as the sound grew louder, eyes narrowed as she spotted a large figure cresting the nearby hill. With the little white haired ghost boy completely at ease near it. Nothing like his regular behaviour, let alone the talking. Why would this huge beast know of them?

“What did I say about not shooting people?” Phantom actually seemed to blush on seeing her holding the weapon, smacking his face. “Okay, you saw them, bye now!”

The large furred creature ignored how the smaller ghost pushed at their shoulder, instead waving with a horrific ice claw, bones gleaming from within as it seemed to rip at the very air. “Well our first meeting was hardly perfect either, I can manage.”

“Yeah but I can’t just pull a ‘won’t shoot a big yeti’ icicle out of their jumpsuits!”

For a human loving ghost, Phantom was certainly very concerned about this giant horned monster being harmed by ‘mere humans’. More proof of his act, at least. Though the large creature did have a cloak of some sort and clothing. He spoke well, if you ignored the fanged mouth and growls. A strange contradiction of appearance and intent. That wasn’t a normal thing for ghosts either, you could gather a decent amount about one by how they looked. So why was this one chatting and apparently interested in seeing two humans? “So, you’re the ‘Frostbite’ he mentioned?” She hazarded a guess, but wasn’t going to put the gun away.

It showed its fangs, maw wide and unnerving. “Yes, I am! It is an honour to meet you” The furry head bowed slightly, as if trying a sort of nod of respect. “Your work assisted the Great One in vanquishing Pariah Dark, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“Please don’t call me that. Especially in front of them!” the green eyed ghost practically squawked, somehow flushing even harder when he didn’t even have blood.

Maddie’s mind almost flipped over from the sheer confusion of what this terrifying ghost said. They had ‘helped’ vanquish something? More likely, Phantom had stolen something. So why did this ghost still give them credit? That wasn’t even starting to touch why the ghost boy would be considered great in any aspect. “Assisted him? Do you mean with that ghost who took our town into the Ghost Zone?” She wasn’t sure if that was what the ‘king’ ghost was called, but it made more sense than anything else she could think of.

“Indeed. The King of All Ghosts would have sent the infinite realms into chaos and conflict. Of course we are grateful for your help in preventing that.”

“That’s when you stole the Ecto Skeleton!” Jack spoke up, no longer tense. “You never brought it back.”

“That’s not my fault, that thing almost wasted me! It was gone once I woke up!” The boy objected, but seemed to settle down when the larger ghost ruffled his hair. “I wanted to bring it back.”

“I’m sure now they understand how vitally important that technology was, for your world and ours.” The ghost’s yellow eyes watched them expectantly, the unnerving void of pointed daggers thankfully closed now.

“Well it did get Amity back where it belonged.” Losing the Ecto Skeleton had been a blow, but an acceptable one to get back to normal. The fact that more ghosts seemed to know and care about their part of it was somewhat unnerving. She very much doubted Phantom just ‘lost’ it either. Jack suffered from the demands of the suit, but the ghost was just ectoplasm and electricity. Quite unlikely he could be drained that much, it wasn’t meant for ghosts to use in the first place.

“Your world? Doesn’t the kid live here?” Jack asked, making his wife blink. She hadn’t noticed that odd phrasing.

“No, no. The Great One prefers the human world and his friends. How are they doing?”

He froze up, eyes flicking to the hunters and back to the yeti. “Fine. They’re great.” He darted closer to the two hunters, gesturing at them to move. “Okay let’s go.”

How much interacting was this ghost doing with humans to have ‘friends’ it told other ghosts about? They could be in danger, or used as targets! “No no, we’d love to hear about your friends.”

“Nope, you don’t, gotta get home right? Big hurry, don’t trust me, remember?” He was practically pleading with them.

Frostbite’s ears twitched as he tilted his head. “Don’t trust you? Surely they’re the ones who taught your friends how to drive that craft of yours?”

Phantom had the gall to turn invisible.

“We were unaware anyone other than us was using it, actually.” Maddie didn’t bother to keep the frost from her voice.

“Ah, well at least the good news is I already knew how to make a replacement battery for it when the Great One came asking for help.” His tail twitched, as one of the great claws scratched at his furry chest. “It should be good as new once you can install it.”

So not only was this ghost stealing technology and bringing humans to the ghost zone, it was teaching other ghosts how it worked! The second that ghost was in their grasp, he’d have some serious answering to do. “Do all of you call him that?” It was the only question she could ask without wishing to spit acid, quite frankly.

“All of the Far Frozen recognize him as such, but not all ghosts are the same. He should be proud of the title, a savour of two worlds.”

“Frostbite I’m begging you, stop! It’s embarrassing!” The ghost dropped his invisibility, still looking more like a flustered kid instead of the heroics seeking fame junkie he was.

“Well if it helps your relationship with these ghost hunters, I think it is important that they know.”

“Yeah no. Let’s not.”

It felt like there was something the two ghosts weren’t saying. That, and the fact Phantom didn’t seem to like being hailed as a hero here in the Ghost Zone didn’t make sense. Why all the grandstanding in Amity then?

“Well we’ll be glad for the lift home. You shouldn’t steal from us, kid.” Jack tried a stern approach, and the ghost actually flinched from the rebuke.

“You’re not the only ones who want to map this place out, that’s all,” he didn’t really seem to be answering them, more talking to himself before launching himself at the Speeder again. “You can shoot at me about it back home or whatever.”

“Travel safely! Do try and explore your other half more often, Great one. You’re always welcome here.” His great furry head watched them all easily, seeking out the ghost hunters eyes as well. "I understand you are less interested, but you are welcome to see the realities of my home as well. It may surprise you, in a good way."

She desperately wanted to ask what that monster of a ghost meant by that, but managed to hold her tongue. If all the ghosts here saw Phantom as some sort of godlike hero, chewing him out here wasn’t safe. Jack’s small nod of agreement and warm hug helped, but it couldn’t stop her mind churning. They’d seen and hurt so much, and none of it made any sense! This Frostbite just threw in several more wrenches in the works with only a few sentences, but with how agitated Phantom was getting now wasn’t the time to push their luck. Perhaps when the shoe was on the other foot, and the boy needed their assistance.

He didn’t speak up or grumble this time as they left the frozen land behind. Though that might be them as well,m sitting close together and considering the notes and samples they had taken. That and the huge list of questions Jack had scrawled down in the margins of a sketch of Frostbite. How could a ghost like Phantom truly manage to stay in the human world most of the time? Did it have to do with this ‘other half’ that ghost had mentioned? Would knowing what it was reveal a weakness in the ghost? So many questions, but no answers. Why had Phantom even let them speak to any ghosts, considering how badly he’d reacted to some of the information given? He couldn’t genuinely be wanting to help.

The inviting glow of the portal appeared sooner than either of them could expect, the ghost dropping the ship on the lab floor with a loud clunk.

“See? Home. No ‘evil plan’” he floated into view, and she was fairly sure he only did so to make those air quotes with his hands.

“So you say, ghost kid. Don’t think we won’t be checking for tricks!”

“Yeah sure,” he shrugged, grinning after a moment. “Oh hey, by the way, you do know what the Speeder is powered with, right?”

Maddie didn’t actually know how to take that question. “Of course we do, we built it!”

“Uh huh.” His grin widened as he kicked back, legs vanishing into that strange tail. “All you had to do was take the cover off. It’s the Ghost Zone! There’s ectoplasm everywhere! I just had Frostbite make a backup.”

...Had they really- They had. They’d been dragged around by a ghost for no reason at all! “Why you little-”

He kept laughing before turning and getting out of the way. “Thanks for flying with Phantom Zone Tours! I’m out.” A jaunty wave and he was gone, leaving two baffled ghost hunters behind.

“I think some fudge is in order after that!”

She couldn’t say he was wrong. Maybe fudge could make sense of that whole affair. All that for a prank? It didn’t add up. They’d have a lot of work to do.

#Danny Phantom #phic fight 2021 #Maddie Fenton #jack fenton #hey look a fun one!#tho they are kinda mean about poor danny-boy #but hey minimal angst! woo!#Team Ghost

249 notes · View notes

ecto-american · 3 years

Text

Stuck (Stubbornly)

Phic Phight Oneshot for @deuynndoodles : Jack and Maddie are stuck in the Ghost Zone. Fortunately for them, Phantom's around and willing to help out. However, they'll rather be arrested by a ghost warden and put in ghost jail before they'd allow some teenage menace to help them. Oh wait...

Read on AO3 or FFN

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Should we call Jazz or Danny?" Jack suggested.

Maddie stared out into the unending void of the Ghost Zone. It hurt to think that their voyage, a trip that they had been planning out for months, would end so soon already, but they had barely made any progress when they realized just how much fuel the Specter Speeder was guzzling. Something was wrong.

"...Not yet," she determined. "We should have emergency fuel. We should be able to get back without any problems. Can you refill?"

"You got it," Jack replied, and he got out of the co-pilot seat. She could hear him go to the back, and shuffling around. He didn't say anything for a while, and that immediately began to unnerve her, but she kept her attention on the dashboard, trying to think of what went wrong when building. Was their fuel lines loose? Was there gas leaking everywhere? "Uh, Mads? I'm not seeing it?"

Her blood froze, but no need to panic. Maybe he just didn't see…

Maddie walked to the back and checked. And checked. Moved some stuff around, checked some more.

They had no emergency fuel.

"Why don't we go outside and check the engine?" Jack suggested. "Maybe we can figure something out." With a dry mouth, she nodded, and they hesitantly went outside to check.

There were no ghosts around, thankfully, just an endless green void. They knew that they would be safe breathing in the GZ air, thanks to their prior tests and experiments. They hooked themselves to a rope using a carabiner clip, the other end tied tightly to the speeder. Floating unnerved her, and she kept a hand on the speeder as they went to the front of the speeder. Jack popped the hood, and smoke floated out, making Maddie's heart sink. This was definitely not a good sign at all, or something that could be a simple fix.

"Need some help?"

Maddie looked over her shoulder to see…

"Absolutely not," she scowled. Phantom was floating nearby.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He floated up a bit higher to glance at their vehicle. "Looks like you got. Well, uh, basically car trouble."

"Leave. Now."

Phantom opened his mouth to say more, but Maddie pulled her ecto-gun out.

"We don't want help from some lowlife ghost!" she hissed. Phantom put his hands up in surrender and flew away.

----------------------------------------------------------------

An hour passed, and they decided to take a break working on the engine. Every possible problem that she could think of had been exhausted, and she had to take a break to both cool down and think. She sat on the steps leading into the speeder, with Jack deciding to lay on the floor of the inside.

"Fuel line wasn't broken, none of the lines were cut or had knicks. There's no reason it should be draining so much gas," Jack thunk aloud. "There shouldn't be anything besides the engine that the gas is going to, and there's no weird random connections to anywhere else. The battery's still good."

"And we forgot the emergency fuel," Maddie slumped over. Jack sighed.

"It's my own fault," he replied. "I should have checked to make sure Jazz and Danny had properly put all the supplies in. A proper exploration team always triple checks before a voyage."

Maddie could only give a low hum of agreement as she stared out into the zone. She felt somebody pat the side of the speeder, and she scowled as she saw Phantom grinning at her, giving a half way.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I brought help this time," Phantom told her, and he jerked a thumb behind him. It was finally then that she noticed the Red Huntress. Maddie raised an eyebrow.

"How in the world…" she murmured, only to trail off as she stared at the two of them. Jack sat up, and he poked his head out of the speeder.

"Oh dope! It's my favorite huntress!" Jack boomed. Red seemed bashful at the comment, shifting her weight onto her other foot and rubbing her upper arm.

"I mean, if you don't trust me or want my help, I figured you'd be willing to let a human help," Phantom explained, motioning towards Red.

"So, do you need help?" Red finally spoke up. She reached down to pat her left calf. "I have some tools with me, but I can always go and fetch more."

Something in Maddie's gut told her that this was very, very odd. Humans and ghosts working together so...willingly like this. She had taken note that Phantom and Red hadn't hunted each other down or fought like they used to, but she just assumed that they didn't quite run into each other that much anymore. Both were unpredictable with odd schedules and routines.

She glanced at Jack, who despite his initial enthusiasm, seemed to share her feelings, and she shook her head no.

"We'll be fine," she insisted. "You two should leave."

Red stared at Phantom, who shrugged his shoulders.

"So, wanna just go get some boba tea?" Phantom asked.

"And just leave them here?" Red scowled, motioning to the Fentons.

"They don't want our help," he replied. Red glanced from Phantom and the Fentons, who studied the two of them. She finally shrugged as well.

The two began to idly chat as they flew off, their conversation becoming more and more distant.

"That was weird," Maddie mused.

"Yeah, I thought she and Phantom were rivals," Jack mused. Maddie shrugged. Right now she wasn't too invested in the mystery. She'd worry about that later when they got home.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Judging by their phones (which they had worriedly learned that they oh-so-helpfully had no reception in the land of the undead), another hour passed since Phantom and Red had left. Jack was deep into the engine, fiddling with a possible solution to the problem as Maddie stood nearby. She continued to think as she looked around. She was surprised that they hadn't been bothered by now.

"Trespassing in an unauthorized vehicle that is also a real world item," a deep southern voice boomed. Well, she absolutely spoke too soon.

They whipped their heads to see a huge, hulking figure, an all white man with a black hat, black gloves and wearing a suit of white.

"Ghost!" Jack squawked. He scrambled to grab his gun, Maddie already having hers drawn. The ghost frowned deeply. Maddie was finally very aware of just how many ghosts were surrounding them. Too many to count, but they all looked exactly like the ghosts that terrorized Amity Park years before, all identical and matching in uniform that resembled a SWAT team. There was also vehicles resembling police cars and police vans.

"Resisting arrest. That's against the rules," he continued. He opened a large green and white book in his hands, flipping to another page. "Assault and battery with a deadly weapon." He glanced up at them with an angry glare. "Y'all are going away for a long, long time."

"We're not going anywhere," Jack frowned. He charged up his weapon.

Maddie looked around, and she shivered anxiously. There was no way they could take on all these ghosts. She nudged Jack, and he side-eyed her curiously. She lowered her weapon, and she used her head to motion around them. Jack blinked as he looked himself, and all of his confidence left him. He also lowered his weapon.

"We'll go," Maddie finally spoke. The ghost smirked, and he knocked on the side of a police van. The back opened up.

"Surrender your weapons," he ordered.

One of the SWAT ghosts came forward with his arms outstretched. Reluctantly, the adults handed their weapons over, detaching themselves from the speeder and getting into the van.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Their cell was a lot like a normal cell, and it was just them. Iron bars, no windows, single toilet, and four bunk beds. Jack was laying on one of the beds, facing the fall, as Maddie laid on the one across from him, staring up at the bunk bed above her.

Of course. Of course they ended up in ghost jail. It was just their luck. Though a scientist part of her was giddy at knowing that ghosts had some kind of legal system! Who would have known!

As she tried to start figuring out what on earth to do, she heard something banging against the jail bars.

She immediately sat up, staring to see Phantom making the noise by banging something in his hand on the bars. He was staring at them with a bright smile, and it only made her mood drop even more.

"Phantom!" Maddie hissed, standing fully and going up to the bars. "How did you find us?"

"We came back to check on you guys and see if you changed your minds," Phantom explained. Jack got up from his own bed to come over, looking surprised to see the infamous ghost teen. "Technus and Skulker were looting your speeder, and they said Walker arrested you. So we came by as quickly as we could."

The Fenton adults could see Red nearby, glancing around the corner. She was keeping watch.

"We're not going with you," Jack replied. Phantom rolled his eyes.

"Okay, and what? Stay here forever? Never see your kids again?" he asked. Their faces instantly dropped. "So do you wanna go home or not?"

Maddie narrowed her eyes at him before noticing that he was holding a metallic-looking cup of boba tea and raising an eyebrow.

"You brought a snack with you," she said. Phantom shrugged, offering it to her.

"Want a sip?"

"No! Just!" Maddie glanced at Jack worriedly, and he mirrored her expression. They, unfortunately, knew that they really...didn't have a choice. "Get us out of here!"

"Danny, you may wanna hurry it up," Red's voice called out softly to them. Maddie did a double take. Oh yeah. Danny Phantom. Huh, she kinda forgot about that.

Phantom nodded, and he dropped the boba tea, letting it float in the air as he phased them out of the jail cell. Maddie stared at him.

"Wait, you can just phase through?" she asked. Phantom shrugged.

"Uh, sorta yes, sorta no," he replied, grabbing his tea.

"Danny!" Red's voice hissed. Phantom glanced to her.

"Okay, so super quick rundown of Ghost Zone rules. In the Ghost Zone, you guys are the ghosts, so you basically can fly and phase through objects, so Red can phase through objects and you guys too, but this is also a human cell that only I can get you out, and speaking out getting out, we need to leave. Now," Phantom quickly explained. As soon as he finished, he motioned for them to follow him.

He began to fly towards Red, and they jogged after him. Phantom peered around the corner before pulling back. Red did too.

"How's our escape route looking?" Phantom asked. He took a sip of his drink as Red pulled up a map on her suit. She studied it for a bit.

"Hmm. We may run into some trouble," Red mused. "Best bet is for me to take Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and phase with them out of here, and…" She gave a weird pause. "We'll uh. Wait for you to escape on your own." Phantom sucked on his drink, and the sound of air coming through as he ran out of boba tea grinded Maddie's nerves.

"Oh would you just!" Maddie scowled, and she slapped the cup out of Phantom's hands.

"Hey! I paid for that!" Phantom cried out. He scrambled to pick it up. "They were having an unlimited refills special if you got that cup!" Red snorted in amusement.

"Danny, they kicked you out for getting too many refills anyway," she reminded him. Phantom made a face.

"Well maybe they shouldn't advertise it as unlimited refills then," he retorted.

"Most people don't drink twelve cups of boba tea," she replied.

"Maybe I should be rewarded for being able to drink that much then."

"Hm, we'll debate it later," Red replied. "Look, I'll get them out and meet you on the other side. Got it?"

"Got it," Phantom replied. To Maddie's horror and shock, Red lifted her visor up, but not all the way. Just enough to expose her lips, and she leaned into Phantom to give him a light peck on the lips.

"Be careful," she told him. Phantom nodded.

"I will," he promised. "If I'm not with you in five minutes. Just." He paused. "Leave without me, get the Fentons home, and then come back for me." Red nodded as her visor went all the way down.

"Grab my hands," Red instructed the Fentons. Maddie blinked, reluctantly taking one of her hands. Jack took the other. Red summoned her board, jumping in the air and allowing it to manifest beneath her. She held onto them tightly and flew through the walls.

Instinctively, Maddie closed her eyes as she flew through. Only to feel no impact. A blur of walls impaired her vision with constant flashes of the darkness of being in a thick jail wall and the light of the prison rooms and hallways. She blinked as the neutral green skies of the Ghost Zone finally greeted her, and Red continued flying until they were a decent distance from the prison. And now that she had a moment to think…

"What the hell are you thinking?" she exclaimed to Red. The huntress snapped her attention to her in confusion.

"What? You would have died if we let you stay in there!" she scowled.

"No, not that!" Maddie clarified. "I mean, thank you so much for helping us, but you? And Phantom?"

"Exactly!" Jack agreed. "He's an absolute menace! He's a danger! Don't you guys fight? What happened to all of that?"

She could see a glimpse of Red's face under her heavily tinted visor, and Maddie was sure that the girl looked embarrassed and was likely turning as red as her suit.

"Oh man, it's a looong story," Red sighed heavily. "Uh, best and easiest and quickest way I can explain it is; a lot of the things that made me angry with him was a misunderstanding, and I found out that he's...actually a really sweet guy. I know it's weird to say, but, um. Well, I've never met a guy who was so kind, thoughtful and romantic. My life's kinda hectic, and he just...he really goes out of his way to make it easier on me."

"How so?" Jack wondered.

"Well, like. He does a lot of my household chores and stuff like laundry, bringing me lunch when I have long shifts at work, listening to me when I have a bad day," she explained. "He makes life a lot easier and better."

How cute. If it wasn't between a dead teenage menace and this poor, obviously manipulated girl. It honestly reminded Maddie a lot of her own Danny and his little girlfriend, Valerie. Valerie told her a few times about Danny doing some of her chores at home since Valerie was so busy working and doing school. It kinda pissed Maddie off, since Danny never seemed to remember his own chores at home, but she never felt like bringing it up to him because, well, at least he was really good to her. She'd be ashamed of him if he was any lesser.

"Hey!" Phantom called out as he zoomed towards them. "Let's go! Quick!"

Red nodded. She passed Jack off to Phantom, and the two teenagers flew the Fentons home.

#phics #my phics #phic phight 2021

165 notes · View notes

apinklion01 · 3 years

Text

Trailing Along the Dark

Day Fifteen and Sixteen: Blessing and Stingy Jack

A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34214308/chapters/86191192

<- Previous Next ->

Warning for mention of death.

Stingy Jack's voice sounds like some weird cross between the Summerween Trickster from Gravity Falls and Barbosa from Pirates of the Caribbean in my head

For being the ghost in charge of keeping track of time, even Clockwork lost track of when he had to leave his lair for a few important dates. Hallow’s Eve was among them.

He had sent a message to Danny a few hours ago advising him to have a bit of fun with his aunt, cousin, and werewolf friend coming over to Amity Park. He didn’t leave a hint about his true intentions behind the letter, since the half ghost could easily get into trouble. And trouble tonight was the last thing he’d need.

Instead of his regular clothes, Clockwork wore a disguise to hide away amongst the few people walking around. He wore a grey-blue coat, a blue beanie to tuck his silvery hair underneath, a scarf to cover his beard, and finally some shades to cover his eyes as well as prevent the glare from the passing cars from blinding him. They were a bit too bright for his liking, especially compared to the more gentle candle lights of his lair.

The Observants never liked it when he wandered away from his lair. Clockwork was certain he’d get an earful of their complaints the moment he crossed into the Ghost Zone. But for all he cared he’d rather stuck a sock over their eyes.

He was waiting at a more secluded part of town where trick or treaters didn’t go. The houses that placed jack-o-lanterns and skeletons outside were for decoration, with only false hopes of candy for children who did knock on their doors.

Clockwork glanced at a silver pocket watch, the clock faintly ticking away. “Any moment now,” he said to himself.

Out of the mist, he spotted someone approaching. They appeared in tattered clothes stained with coffee, wine, and many other foods. On one hand they held a turnip carved with a skeleton-like smile glowing orange from the purple-tinted fire inside. The person limped on one foot, and a crumpled scarecrow hat covered his head.

“Well well well,” The voice crowed as he stopped right in front of Clockwork. “If it isn’t the ol’ time keeper himself.”

He craned his neck up, his eyes glowing faintly like the fire. “Come to see me again?”

“I know you don’t stop at any place for Hallow’s Eve, Jack,” Clockwork answered, putting his hand into one of his pockets. “What mischief are you up to?”

“Well you tell me,” The other said, leaning on one foot. “Might’ve mosey on over to collect branches from dark birch trees for fuel. Fool a youngster who thinks they can rob me blind if I’m feeling lucky.”

He tilted his head up thoughtfully to the moon. “Or maybe… just maybe…” His mouth opened wide with a grin. “Give that new King of Ghosts a first visit by ol’ Stingy Jack?”

Clockwork’s hand tightened into a fist inside of his pocket.

Jack gave a chuckle as his shoulders shrugged. “Y’know, just been wantin’ to go and greet them. Maybe also see if it’s true that they’re just like me… wanderin’ right between life ‘n death, forever ‘til some sort of judgement comes over all mankind…”

He paused, and gave a toothy grin, most of his teeth either missing or in terrible condition. “Does the boy’s folks know?”

The ghost of time’s brows lowered ever so slightly. “That is the Ghost King’s business, and not yours to know.”

“You know as well as I that my eyes received that same ‘blessing’ that yours did, time keeper,” Jack said, his free hand putting some air quotes. “The day he wandered into his folk’s machine I could sense that lightnin’ shiver down his spine, binding him to the in-between. No ghost, let alone half ghost, has ever died quite like that. Yet I’m surprised you didn’t weave fate to avoid it… Why?”

Clockwork’s gaze averted Jack’s, the ticking of the pocket watch growing louder. The other switched the hand that held the lantern and scratched underneath his hat.

“How old were you and I when them damn Observants first spooked you, around the boy’s age?”

“...”

“Heh, well I’ll be… You didn’t just give the crown a new heir, you let the first half-ghost in more than a century be born. And on the day that the Observants would’ve otherwise ‘blessed’ his eyes.”

“If they blessed him, he would’ve been struggling with that kind of power,” Clockwork replied. “His parents wouldn’t believe any word of his warnings at all.”

“But it didn’t to me,” Jack said nonchalantly.

Clockwork took a few steps closer. “You and I know that the Observants don’t bless anyone’s eyes the same way. And you’re not the best example of what a ‘survivor’ of the blessing looks like.”

“You’re in no position to talk me down either,” the other replied. “You’re still afraid of makin’ a mistake as big as letting Pariah take the-”

A scythe appeared in Clockwork’s hands, a mere inch away from Jack’s neck. But he merely laughed at him.

“Ya see? No matter how powerful you think you are, ‘s long as you fear that mistake, you’ll always be tied to them Observants even though they’re the ones that got you there in the first place.”

“... Do you know who gave me this scar?” Clockwork rumbled.

Jack paused and gave the tiniest nod for him to continue.

“This,” He gestured toward his scar. “Is what happened when I tried to stop Pariah from killing the old King. He was far from the person who I grew up with, and farther from any trace of humanity. I thought my words, my power, was enough to stop him.

“But the Observants were right when they warned me to forget who they were and realize who they are,” He continued. “This is what happened to the person who was the friend of a future tyrant. This is what happened to the young boy whose eyes were filled with so many visions of terrifying timelines. THIS is what happened the one time I thought I could move a string of fate that weighed as heavy as a mountain… And that’s why I couldn’t stop Danny from becoming a half ghost.”

Jack’s eyes lowered to the scythe, his wide grin from before a ghost of a smile. “What about Dan?”

“.. I only managed to slip a few lighter threads before a similar heavy string came.”

“Why didn’t you do the same for the boy?”

“Vlad would’ve eventually tried freeing Pariah, and if he took the throne, he would’ve ushered in yet another dark era upon both the living realm and the Ghost Zone, and even the end of the world.”

“Mmm… I do wonder, time keeper, if you still have a bit of a heart for the boy… If he reminds you of someone from long ago… One having to deal with a heavy crown of his own…”

Clockwork edged away the scythe from Jack, the tip making a clatter as it hit the ground.

“Get out of here, Jack,” He warned. “Don’t come here any time soon.”

“I’ll be back though, time keeper,” Jack remarked. “Don’t think the Ghost King won’t see my face someday. Not tonight, though I may see if I can sneak a treat from his parents… Candy apples aren’t of my liking, but the cookies I will surely enjoy.”

With that the old man began trudging along the road. Clockwork continued to watch until his figure disappeared into the mist, and his lantern soon after. He made his scythe disappear from view. He had a ways to go till he reached the portal, and he was thinking of at least greeting Danny and his friends before the end of Hallow’s Eve.

...He’d never admit it to Jack, but he was right about one thing: Danny did remind him of the friend he lost centuries ago...

#danny phantom #ectober 2021 #ectoberhaunt 2021 #ectoberhaunt treat #mention: death #clockwork #dp clockwork #stingy jack

14 notes · View notes

grimgrinningghoul · 4 years

Text

Nothing as vital as Passion; Nothing as fatal as Obsession

This is based off a headcanon I talked about here. I wanted to explore how different characters from the series were affected by their Passions and whether or not they fell into Obsession. I might continue this with more characters- I haven’t decided, yet. For now, I hope you enjoy my ramblings disguised as writing.

Phantom was Passionate.

Anyone could see that, human and ghost alike. He had drive, arguably more so than any ghost. The way he threw himself in harm’s way without regard for himself, just to save someone else. Despite his weaknesses, he made up for it in plain old willpower.

The Fentons claimed that he was Obsessed. Obsessed with a fantasy, a lie. They said it so factual, like they knew Phantom, like they knew what he was, why he did what he did.

His enemies called him Obsessed. Obsessed with a fantasy, a lie. Their words dripped with envy and malice, because they knew Phantom, they knew what he was, why he did what he did.

Phantom was not Obsessed. Phantom was a boy, a boy named Danny. Danny was a boy who wanted to hang with his friends after school play video games until sunrise. He wanted to get good grades and be an astronaut one day. He wanted his parents to accept him, he wanted to make a difference. He wanted to protect his home and his people.

Phantom was Passionate, but he was never Obsessed.

~0~

Many assumed Skulker was Obsessed. They were wrong.

Skulker has hunted for as long as he could remember. He started small, hunting those lesser. But he had other goals in mind; protection and safety were high priority.

He was frail back then. He remembered looking at the beasts around them, seeing their beauty, their strength. They were amazing in his eyes. He desired to be their equal, to no longer be their prey. The hunted was to become the hunter.

Then he met a man. A man with an annoying laugh and boisterous attitude, but the knowledge and wit to back it up. He gave Skulker a suit, a suit that made him strong. That would have been the end of it. But it wasn’t. The man stuck around, and Skulker let him stay. He’d upgrade his suit without a bargain. Skulker would repay him anyway.

Later, he met a girl. A girl with a fire in her soul and a song on her lips, with a rebel streak to fuel them. They butted heads a few times, but she grew on him.

She stuck around, and Skulker let her stay. She died young and needed guidance, but she didn’t want it. Skulker would guide her anyway.

He hasn’t forgotten his humble beginnings. He’s lost nothing to Obsession because he had nothing to lose.

That’s what he tells himself; it keeps him from slipping. It keeps him Passionate.

~0~

Walker wasn’t Obsessed.

His job was simple: bring order to the chaos. Rules were simple. Follow them, and everything goes smoothly. Break them, and things fall apart. Maybe not now, but they will.

Rules existed for a reason. Disregard for them made his skin crawl and his core ache. Everyone in the Zone thought they were tough, that the rules didn’t apply to them. Criminals, the lot of them, roaming free. And if no one else was to punish the guilty, who was he to ignore them?

So he didn’t.

Every one he could, he locked behind bars. If they broke a rule, he knew; he kept a book. But he wasn’t perfect, sometimes they’d find a loophole, do something he hadn’t considered. So he’d add a new rule. And another. And another.

With every new rule, he’d get a new inmate. And another. And another.

But if you asked him, it was necessary.

It was necessary, the price he paid. It had to be. So what if he couldn’t recall his old friends, if he even had any? What was it worth to remember the color of his old home, or the rank he had earned? That didn’t mean anything. They couldn’t have been that important, and people forget.

So what if he forgot his old eyes, or what color his hair was? Sure, watching the changes was terrifying in the moment, how his nose receded and lost its flesh, how some bones could be seen through his skin, but he got used to it. The changes didn’t hurt him.

He chose not to think about it. It was easy not to with all the work to be done. Dwelling on the past didn’t help him do his job. If he forgot, so be it. It happens.

Walker wasn’t Obsessed. He wasn’t.

#Story Time #Danny Phantom #DP Skulker #DP Walker #I was just really happy with that hc and I couldn't stop thinking about it #I wish I didn't get all my inspiration late at night #I COULD just wait until tomorrow and NOT post this at 2 AM #But nah

76 notes · View notes

duckapus · 5 years

Text

Danny Phantom Ghost Origin Categorization

First, for the sake of my sanity I’ll be limiting this to things shown or said on the show. Widely accepted fanon and wiki knowledge unfortunately do not count, and as usual Butch gets no say.

The categories are as follows: Confirmed Dead, which is self-explanatory; Presumed Dead, since most of the ghosts don’t have defined backstories; Naturally Formed, which were made from the Ghost Zone’s ectoplasm without any spirit attached; Artificial, which is also self-explanatory except for a minor detail that I’ll bring up when it becomes relevant; Concepts, which are the physical manifestation of a particular idea or natural force; and Other, for ghosts that I don’t have enough context to put in the other categories. And also Boxed Lunch. Boxed Lunch is weird.

With all that said, let’s begin.

Confirmed Dead

Desiree (died of old age, trauma of broken heart created ghost form)

Sidney Poindexter (suicide)

The Dairy King (cause of death unknown, confirmed due to picture of his living form in Vlad’s mansion)

Cujo the Ghost Dog (euthanized, the only ghost known to have changed his obsession)

The Lunch Lady (cause of death unknown, confirmed due to her knowledge of Casper High’s cafeteria menu and room layout marking her as having either worked or learned there in the past)

The Flying Dutchman (cause unknown, likely drowning via shipwreck, yes I know he’s a Spongebob character but due to the Nicktoons games he and Danny have technically met, confirmed due to admitting it outright)

Danny Phantom (electrocuted by ghost portal, instantaneous, only half)

Vlad Plasmius (electrocuted by ghost portal, succumbed to wounds in hospital long afterwards, only half)

Half-ghost Jack Fenton (electrocuted by ghost portal, succumbed to wounds in hospital long afterwards, only half, exists in alternate timeline)

Hotep RA (cause unknown, confirmed due to originally serving Tucker’s ancestor/former self, Pharaoh Duulaman)

Presumed Dead

Ember McLain (likely burned to death, fears being forgotten)

The Box Ghost (likely crushed by rectangular containers, considers them powerful weapons)

Penelope Spectra (cause unknown, lives off the misery of others, masquerades as a living human)

Nicolai Technus (probably electrocution, might actually be the Concept Ghost of technology though it’s unlikely)

Youngblood (cause unknown, dislike of and inability to be seen by adults may imply neglect)

Walker and his men (likely law enforcement who fell in the line of duty)

Lydia (cause unknown, loyal to crime lord Freakshow the Ringmaster for reasons unknown)

Elastica (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Goliath (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Green Kid (cause unknown, trapped under Freakshow’s control for an indeterminate amount of time)

Ghost Writer (cause unknown, might actually be Concept Ghost of literature)

Jonny 13 and Kitty (cause unknown, likely a motorcycle accident)

Baby Face Boyle (cause unknown)

Klemper (cause unknown, very lonely)

Some background ghosts

The Kingdom of Aragon (specifically its people)

Naturally Formed

Ectopi

Other ghost animals

Blob Ghosts

Some background ghosts (look at the happy green ghost that shows up sometimes and tell me that he doesn’t look sort of like an advanced ectopus)

Skulker (it just seems that way)

Artificial

Ecto Food (Jack Fenton is making carnivorous green macaroni and cheese and will continue to make carnivorous green macaroni and cheese unless we stop him)

Danny Clones (created by Vlad using Danny’s ghost form DNA, unstable)

Dani Phantom (created by Vlad using Danny’s ghost and human form DNA, stabilized by failed prototype of ghost weakening serum created by Jack Fenton)

Shadow (an extension of Jonny 13’s power, has a will of its own)

Lydia’s tattoos (extensions of Lydia’s power)

Sleepwalkers (extensions of Nocturne’s power, I think)

Nightmerica, Femalien and Terminatra (created by Desiree due to Sam Manson unintentionally “wishing” to hurt Paulina Sanchez)

Sayonara Pussycat (created by Desiree due to Paulina wishing to be as popular as the character, extracted from host by Danny Phantom)

Tucker Phantom (created by Desiree due to Tucker wishing for ghost powers, extracted from host by the Fenton Ghost Catcher)

Dan Plasmius (created by combining Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius after splitting them from their human halves in an alternate timeline, exists in the current timeline due to complicated Time Stuff)

Freakshow (created via the Reality Gauntlet, existed for all of a few minutes)

And now we get into that other part I mentioned. Basically, if something has the ghostly aura (that white outline we all love so much) without being directly affected by a ghost, I register that as the thing having its own ectoplasmic field, and thus technically a ghost itself. The Fenton Exo-suit’s Phantom form doesn’t count, since it only has the aura if a ghost is piloting it. This is mostly just so I can add more things to the list, honestly

Red Huntress 2.0 (created via a combination of the Red Huntress 1.0 suit and Technus’s power, you can pry this idea from my cold dead ectoplasmicly charged hands) (note: this does not make Valerie a ghost, just her suit)

Skulker’s Body (created by Skulker; a robotic suit of armor infused with his ectoplasmic signature; motor functions, sensors, physical projectiles and flight system do not require ectoplasm to function)

Car-Puter (remote controlled robot created by Technus, I know it’s from Phantom Planet but it was really cool guys)

The Sphinx (I think. Maybe. It seemed that way at least)

The Flying Dutchman’s Ship (an echo of his original, currently wrecked ship)

Youngblood’s Ship (possibly an extention of his power, I’m not sure, fueled by manual labor)

Jonny’s Motorcycle (the thing can fly)

Concepts

Clockwork and the Observants (spirits of Time)

Pandora and her kingdom (spirits of Greek Mythology)

Undergrowth (spirit of Vegetation)

Vortex (spirit of Weather and Natural Disasters)

Pariah Dark (the Ghost King, not actually a Concept Ghost but very similar)

Fright Knight (spirit of Fear in general and Halloween in particular, right-hand man of whoever wields the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage, usually Pariah Dark)

Nocturne (spirit of Dreams, far less powerful than the other concept ghosts without aid)

Other

Frostbite and the Yetis of the Far Frozen

Wulf (seriously, he’s cool, but Esperanto-speaking Wolf-man doesn’t exactly give me much to work off of)

Monster Cat

The Behemoth

Vlad’s Vulture Lackeys

Ember’s Band

Poindexter’s Classmates (are they extensions of Poindexter’s power turned inwards or just the ghost versions of themselves, just as consumed by what happened to him as he is?)

Pariah Dark’s Skeleton Army

Youngblood’s Skeleton Crew, especially the Parrot

Bertrand

Amorpho (shapeshifters in general, since I can’t fall back on my Warp Core theory during this)

Boxed Lunch (oh, very much Boxed Lunch)

Most of the background ghosts, especially the butcher with an eyeball for a head

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot the title. I should’ve just gone to bed.

#danny phantom #theory crafting #list #organization #i spent way too much time on this #phandom

337 notes · View notes

phandomphightclub · 5 years

Text

Phinal Round, First Place Match: @reallydumbdannyphantomaus vs. @heyheyitsstillgay

The ring was repaved. Vic and Tali were back in their seats. Tucker had finally gotten some decent food.

Finally, finally, everything was ready for the final battle.

“Bug versus Anri, huh?” Tucker asked. “Is it too late to place bets?”

“Who would you bet for?” Danny asked in return.

“Probably Bug, honestly,” he said after taking a big bite from his burger. “They might be a pain, but they’re apparently pretty good. Not a ton of ghosts can get the whole duplication thing down.”

“I’d still vote for Anri,” Sam argued. “They’ve got more raw power. Plus it looks like they have more abilities than they let on.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out who’s gonna win!” Tali said brightly as the two ghosts once again entered the ring.

“Our phinal match here, pholks! Winner gets all glory, honor, bragging rights, and a year’s supply of free Denny’s pancakes.”

“Really?” Danny perked up at that. The Denny’s might not have the greatest food, but their pancakes were pretty good. And a year’s supply of free ones? He might enter the tournament next time for that.

“Really! So let’s get this phight started! From the Observant’s Keep, a ghost who once tried to eat fake grass out of an escape room, we have Reallydumbdannyphantomaus!”

“That was one time!” They shouted up at Tali, who just laughed.

“And their opponent from Nightmare Valley, a ghost with memes so dank they can’t be seen by the mortal eye, Heyheyitsstillgay!”

They waved to the crowd with a staff made entirely out of Danno faces.

“PHIGHT!”

Bug extended their PowerPoint staff like a lightsaber, red glow and all. “Ready to finish this, binch?”

“I died ready.”

They two ghosts clashed over the freshly-paved center of the ring. The Danno staff squealed each time it made contact with Bug’s PowerSaber.

“Is that, like, gonna burn your face too?” Tucker asked Danny. “Like some kind of voodoo or something?”

“Shut up, Tucker,” Sam said offhand, her entire attention glued to the fight.

Anri brought her Danno staff down in a heavy overhand blow, putting more of their extra-dense weight into the attack. Bug blocked, using all four of their arms to hold up the PowerSaber.

“You… have strength, I’ll give you that,” Bug said through gritted teeth. They couldn’t have blocked that attack if they’d used any of their energy on making duplicates; this was going to be tough.

“I’ve got more than that. I’ve been around longer than you can imagine,” They said, their face inches from Bug’s. “My core is ancient and fueled by things you’ve only seen in your nightmares.”

“Your… core, huh?” Bug asked, getting an idea. Twisting and diverting Anri’s staff, they slipped one hand free to punch them in the gut. Anri grunted and gave Bug an opening to dart away.

“You’re not gonna break my core that easily,” Anri said, spinning her staff and coming back in swinging. Bug snapped theirs into two halves, blocking with one red-glowing half and striking Anri’s side with the other.

“I don’t plan on breaking it.” Bug smirked. Then they plunged one half of the PowerSaber into Anri’s unprotected stomach.

Anri stopped for a moment, stunned at the wound – but then, as Danny knew would happen, the dark energy began coalescing around it.

“What’s Bug thinking?” He asked. “They know Anri can’t be beat like that!”

“Why not?” Sam asked. That’s right, she and Tucker weren’t there for that match.

“They’ve got a special power. Instead of being fueled by ectoplasm, the inside of their form is – well, just watch.”

The memes began to trickle from Anri’s stomach as they pulled out the Power Saber.

“You’re in for it now.” They grinned ominously. But to their surprise, Bug grinned back and stabbed the half of the PowerSaber they had left into the ground. The projector screen unfurled from it, casting blinding light onto Anri.

“That’s not going to—”

But blinding wasn’t what Bug had in mind. The two halves of the saber created a link – one that siphoned the memes from Anri’s form and projected them onto the screen.

“What – no!” Anri shouted, feeling their form begin to droop as it lost its power. Bug folded two hands behind their back, using the other two to point to the presentation.

“And if you’ll look at this diagram, you’ll see the different types of memes that Anri contains broken down by type and percentage. I would draw your attention to this slice of the pie chart, which depicts the percentage of bad Danno edits. It’s unusually high in comparison to the other types of memes, though they are all equally impressive…”

“You can’t just – my memes – my PowerPoint slides – how can you take them from me!?”

Bug pointed to the half of the saber that Anri still held. “You did that to yourself, my good binch. You should’ve kept your hands to yourself.”

“NOOOOO!”

And with that last shout, Anri’s flesh prison deflated completely. We won’t describe what that looked like, because we’re sure it’s already frightening enough, and probably wasn’t suitable for children to watch. However, the Denny’s does not have insurance for psychic and/or emotional damage caused by exposure to any of the phights, so hopefully everyone could deal with it on their own, or had officially-licensed, non-Spectra therapists who could help them cope.

“Dude, are they gonna be okay?” Tucker asked.

“Oh, Anri?” Tali laughed. “Don’t worry, they do that about once a century. They’ll replace those memes with even worse ones and come back stronger than ever. Kind of like molting, or something. But in the meantime everyone can press F to pay respects.”

Danny looked down and saw a tiny button labeled F on the armrest of his chair. He pressed it.

Tali blew her kazoo to the tune of Never Gonna Give You Up. Every verse. All three minutes and fifty-six seconds of it. The crowd listened with their arms raised in a respectful dab. Danny figured he might as well dab too, and eventually even Sam caught on to the mood and obliged.

When the song was over, Tali finally said the fated words.

“Heyheyitsstillgay is unable to battle! Reallydumbdannyphantomaus wins!”

XXX

“Tucker! Sam! Wait!” A voice called as Danny was about to fly them out of the Denny’s.

“Oh great.” A resigned glare slid over Sam’s face as she turned to the ghost. Of course, it had to be Bug. The one ghost she’d wanted to see get their butt kicked, and it never even happened.

“What do you want?” Tucker grumbled. “Come to make fun of us again?”

“No, well, actually…” Bug ruffled their blue hair with one hand, two others fidgeting in front of them. “I came to make up. Here.”

With their last remaining hand, they held out three CDs, one for each of the friends. Sam took hers with a critical glare.

“Exactly what you think?” She read the title. Bug’s signature was scrawled below it.

“It’s the song I wrote for the phinal. As a friendship gift.”

“If I wanted some lame music, I would’ve gotten something signed by Ember.”

Danny elbowed her, and her she winced. Okay, maybe it wasn’t fair to hold a grudge for something Bug said one time. It wasn’t like they had to go out of the way to give them something.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “Thanks.”

“What song is it?” Tucker asked, a little more brightly. He’d never learned to hold a grudge like she did.

“You’ll see!” They grinned. “But if you want to know just how lame my music is before that, come watch the closing ceremonies of the Phight.”

“Closing ceremonies?” Danny asked.

“What, Tali didn’t tell you? She does forget a lot. Anyway, we’re holding it out in the ring in a few minutes, if you’ve got time! See ya!”

They flew back out of the Denny’s, leaving Danny, Tucker, and Sam confused. They shared a glance, but figured they already knew what they’d be doing.

“So… who’s up for one last blast in the ghost zone?”

XXX

A few minutes later, the stadium was packed again, this time with ghosts holding candles over their heads. As Danny didn’t have a candle himself, he settled for lighting the tip of his finger and swaying it in time with the music that Bug began to sing. Tali backed them up on kazoo, putting her soul into the tune’s melancholy air.

Oh Danno boy The phights, the phights are calling From den to den and through this portal side The show is on and all the blows are falling Tis you tis you must go and I must bide But bring ye back when Denny’s is reopened Or when the ring is hushed and in limbo It’s I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow Oh Danno boy oh Danno boy I love you so.

Danny turned at the sound of sniffling.

“What?” Tucker asked, drying his eyes on his beret. “It’s a very emotional song!”

Sam sighed and patted his shoulder, to which he mumbled a thank you.

Then slowly and more orderly than they had after any of the phights, the ghosts began to filter away. Almost like they too were mourning the end of a tournament that they’d all enjoyed. As they left, Danny pondered the lyrics.

“Does this mean… the Denny’s is closing?”

“Only physically,” Tali said, suddenly appearing beside him. “But in our hearts, the Denny’s is forever.”

“I’m not sure if that was sappy or ominous,” Sam said.

“Both.” Tali smiled. “We’ll still be around, but we’ll be on the downlow until the next Phight.”

“When’s that?” Tucker asked.

“Next year, probably. It’s a lot of work to run a Phight Club on nothing but a few pancakes and the money we conned out of Vlad. But don’t worry, it’ll come sooner than you know it!”

And somehow, in spite of all the crazy things that had happened in the past month of watching the Phight, Danny looked forward to it.

#mod tali #writeup #results #round 6 #phinal round #it's here #it's done #thank you all for the support #you've been a great crowd

82 notes · View notes

dp-pastandpresent · 5 years

Text

Past and Present: Chapter 30

"The screen shows the little clouds exploding! You must have to touch them! Let them Pop!"

"Say that again?" Danny's voice crackled through to Tucker's headset.

"Touch the orbs, let them pop!" Tucker practically yelled back, realizing he was losing his connection.

The three of them were still sitting around the computer, all with headsets on, staring at the screen as Danny's dot disappeared.

Suddenly, Tucker found himself lurching back as the screen went solid green, his headset turning to static.

"Did yours…?"

"Go to static? Yup," Maddie responded.

"So, does that mean?" Jack asked.

"He's out of our range?" she offered. "There is nothing we can do now but hope he survives on his own in there."

"But there has to be SOMETHING we can do!" Tucker said angrily as he turned to the adults behind him. "Anything else integrated into that suit?"

"We put so many things in there, I forgot what half of them do!" Jack replied, then put his head down in frustration.

"Jack, remember, there are parts of the Zone that we haven't even explored. Parts we can't even begin to imagine. We've barely even cracked the surface!" Maddie said, getting up and putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I guess Mads, but I just wish we knew more. We've been studying ghost lore for so long, waiting for this moment, and it feels like we're back to square one."

"It does seem so doesn't it, dear?"

Tucker turned to the adults at this, trying to find a way to bring back the confident ghost researchers he had heard so much about.

"STOP! Both of you. Just. Stop. You are Jack and Maddie Fenton, the two scientists who DISCOVERED THE GHOST ZONE. You have worked too hard to give up now! Yes, Danny is out of reach. No, we don't know what has happened to Sam. BUT we do know that we can't just give up!"

The couple looked at each other, then to the teen in front of them, a bit struck by his confrontation.

"Think guys. Is there ANYTHING in that suit we can use to figure things out. Anything that has a longer range?" Tucker asked, trying again to bring back the heroes he knew they could be.

"GZPS went out already, as did our coms. He's gone too deep into the Zone, we can't communicate," Maddie answered.

"The extra energy boosters won't do any good either, as they only affect him," Jack added.

"And we can't check his vitals because they were connected to the GZPS," Maddie finished.

"His vitals… wait!" Tucker quickly responded, then added, "We were able to check his vitals, his location, his everything, on your computer program!" He turned back to the computer and began pushing keys as the screens changed.

"And?" Jack asked.

"Well, you said yourself you packed a lot into that thing. Maybe TOO MUCH! Maybe if we remotely disable some of it, we'll be able to get enough power to boost the rest!"

"Tucker, that's brilliant!" Maddie exclaimed, giving him a hug from behind. "Turn off the GZPS, since we know where he is now, and play with the coms. See if you can disable the two-way audio."

"Why would we disable that, Mads?" Jack asked, confused.

"Sure, we want to hear what's happening on his end, but I don't think there's anything we can tell him while he's confronting that monster that will really help," Maddie explained.

"OOOOO," Jack said, his mouth in an O shape.

"GZPS. Off." Tucker said as he clicked a few buttons. "Two-way coms, off. Try the audio receiver now!"

Maddie put her headset back on and played with the dial until finally she let out a smile. "It's static, but I can hear a bit. Danny just said something."

She lurched back at this, as if taken aback.

"What!?" Jack and Tucker said together in surprise.

"It's just… I heard another voice. It must be HIM. It's so deep and profound."

Tucker grabbed his set and put it on but frowned in dismay as he messed with his dial.

"The frequency must still be too weak. We can only get through on one set. Maddie it'll have to be yours."

"That's fine Tucker," she replied, before adding, "Can you check his vitals now, or do we need to disable more?"

Tucker looked back at his screen but sadly there was no information about Danny's health.

"I don't get it. We should be able to see how he's doing, I turned off what you said, plus a few of those extras, like the coffee warmer you added Jack…"

Maddie looked at her husband and raised an eyebrow.

"What, no one likes a cold cup of coffee…" Jack replied quietly.

"Wait! I think he… he took off the suit!"

"Why on Earth would he do that!" Jack asked loudly, raising his hands. "He knows he needs his strength!"

"It's Clockwork. I just heard his faint voice say something about Danny benefiting from removing his suit."

"I just hope Danny knows what he's doing," Tucker responded, feeling a bit unsure of their ghostly hero's chances of saving his friend.

"Unfortunately, I can't hear everything. It's fading in and out. And if Danny really took it off, it's not even as close to the speakers as it once was." Maddie replied in dismay.

"But it's better than nothing! Keep listening Mads!" Jack said, regaining his positive attitude.

"Well if you'd stop talking it'd be easier!" she said, walking towards the back of the lab with her head down.

"I think she needs some space," Tucker whispered to Jack as he turned back toward the computer. "Is there anything else on here that may help us?"

"I've got a few folders with ghost information, and there was a bit on Clockwork, but really not much. I can pull them up if you think they'd help," Jack answered.

Tucker looked back at Maddie, who was still deep in thought trying to hear what was happening deep in the Zone, sometimes making a face at what she heard.

"Looks like we'll be here awhile, so go ahead."

Tucker was scanning the files Jack had pulled up, looking for anything that may give them a clue to Clockwork's motives.

"Master of time. Able to control who stays and goes. Helps ghosts move on…" Tucker murmured as he scrolled. "All things you've already told me when I arrived, basically."

"I told you son, I've shared pretty much everything I can already. Me and Maddie, we haven't been able to research individual ghosts much, seeing as we haven't had access to the Zone until recently."

"Wait! Here's something!" Tucker interrupted, squinting at the screen. "It's a scanned document, from your mom I'm guessing?"

Jack looked at it too and nodded. "I've only been able to decipher about half of what it says though, since her handwriting was so frail towards the end."

Tucker kept squinting as he scanned his eyes over it, mouthing the words to himself before turning to Jack and pointing at part of it.

"Is this the part you couldn't read?"

Jack looked and nodded again.

"Jack, I think Sam's in trouble," he gulped, before continuing. "If I'm reading this right, that medallion we have is more than just a trinket. It says here 'Clockwork's medallions allow a being in and out of his lair. Without them they can't find it.'"

"I think we figured that out. After all it's our map now!" Jack said.

"But there's more! This here, in really messy scribbles! She must have been in a hurry or something, I'm only able to piece a few small bits together. But it doesn't look good."

Before Tucker could say more Maddie came running over to the group.

"Boys! We've got a problem!"

While the boys played on the computer, Maddie sat quietly in the corner, concentrating hard on picking up what little she could from her headset.

"You said his powers were fueled by our love…"

A rush of relief took over Maddie as heard Sam's voice this time, clearly still alive.

"He finds himself questioning things… that's when the human emerges."

She gritted her teeth. Clockwork again. And she wasn't even to hear the whole bit of his sentence.

'Think Maddie! Put these pieces together. Clearly Clockwork is telling the kids that they are linked, but we kind of knew that already…'

She stopped as she heard more come through.

"I have not been able to see…. Until it occurred in real time… because of your powers."

Maddie opened her mouth in awe, finally figuring a few things out.

'Clockwork's visions are affected by Danny's powers? But wasn't Clockwork supposed to be all-knowing? Able to control everything and everyone? Ha! We'll see about that!'

She was about to go back to the group and tell them what she had just figured out, to see if they had any ideas about how to use this to their advantage, when she heard more.

"…Let him lay! Let him realize I am right!"

The voice was angry, as if something had just happened to set him off. Maddie was horrified to think what it could have been and what he could have done, but also too intrigued to let herself get distracted by the boys. She glanced over at them to see them peering at the computer intently, and decided to stay and listen, planning to fill them in on it all when she had a more concrete idea.

"I may not have my powers… Tell me what's going on…"

Maddie sighed in relief as she heard his voice, though it was strained and full of crackling static.

"This amulet…"

She felt like she was hearing a soap opera play out as she strained to listen, not wanting to stop even as the static got worse and worse. 'Danny must have gotten further from where his suit landed,' she thought.

"It's linked to your destiny…"

Sam this time, before even more static came, so strong she couldn't hear a word.

'Clearly that amulet Danny has is linked to his powers, his love. And so is Sam. And that power is stronger than Clockwork thought. It's strong enough to overtake him even. If only Danny can find a way to harness it…'

She kept thinking, glancing at the boys again to see them squinting at their screen, while listening intently to the static in her set. She was about to pull it off and give up when something broke through that caught her attention.

"I AM NO ONE'S TOY!" Danny's voice rang through, clearer than it had been before.

"Danny!" Sam's voice now, but not as clear.

Maddie closed her eyes again, straining to hear, knowing it could be important.

"Trust me. Trust us! This will work out...!" Her voice was really weak now, almost completely gone.

She knew something was up, and she knew she needed to share what she had heard. She turned back to the boys, ready to explain when one last bit came through.

"I love you, Danny."

Tears filled Maddie's eyes at this, full knowing that something bad must have happened to Sam. Hoping that maybe the boys could shed some light, she ran over to them, fear in her voice as she said, "Boys. We've got a problem!"

"Jazz's notes say WHAT?" Jack asked again, as Tucker explained what he was able to decipher.

Maddie had just finished frantically filling them in on what she had heard, and was now tapping her toes impatiently, knowing that every second they spent was another one Sam was in trouble.

"Humans. They can't survive for long in the Ghost Zone. Only a few things can fix that, and one of them is Clockwork's medallions. Or at least, that's what her scribbles look like they say," Tucker replied. "And if Maddie is correct in what she heard, I have a feeling Sam took hers off."

"Which means…. She's gone?" Jack asked.

"Now Jack, don't race to any conclusions, we can't know for sure. And even if she did take it off, I bet Danny found a way to save her." She paused, then said, "Unfortunately, my headset is static again and nothing is coming through at all." She frowned, tears forming in her eyes.

Jack put his arm around his wife, trying to comfort her the way she always did him.

"This isn't our fault. This isn't anyone's fault except that low-life ghost, Clockwork. And I promise Maddie, we WILL make him pay!"

"But what can we even do?" Maddie replied, her usual confidence shaken.

"What can't we do? We're family! And family always wins!" Jack replied with a boom in his voice. "Plus, Danny is strong, powerful and in love! And if family doesn't win, love will!"

Tucker listened intently as Jack cheered up his wife, trying to figure things out. It wasn't until Jack mentioned love that he remembered something very important.

"Guys! We should probably fill in Sam's grandma, don't you think?"

With a little coaxing from Maddie, Sarah had decided to take a breather and go for a roll around the block. It had been a rough day and she needed to get some space.

'A few weeks ago, we were all normal. Living at home. Going about our lives. And now? Sam's been abducted by a crazy ghost who can control time!'

'But a few weeks ago, Sam was also depressed and lonely. It was only a matter of time before she took it a step further.'

She really didn't know which was better – returning to life as normal or letting ghosts control their fate. In her mind, they were both bad choices.

'How about something in the middle. Something where Sam is happy, Danny is able to find balance and we all return to life?'

'Danny shouldn't even exist. He died fifty years ago!'

'And yet there he was, standing in front of you earlier today, almost human.'

She couldn't make sense of it all, not really. As much as she wanted normalcy, she also found the idea of her former boyfriend returning intriguing, refreshing almost. It was like they all had been given a second chance.

'Second chance? Ha! You're 50 years older now, it's not like you should be with a teenager!'

'Of course not, but Sammy, she's getting the chance you never had!'

"If only…" She found herself saying out loud as she returned to the Fenton House. So much for a breather. She knew she'd feel better she went back in and tried to help in some way.

She wheeled herself up their ramp and into the house, which had been left unlocked for her, only to find the living room still empty.

'Whatever is going on down there, I sure hope they find their answers sooner rather than later.'

She went back over to the main room and found a TV remote, ready to let the glow of the screen distract her while the real work was done downstairs. But before she could click it on, she found her vision going black and her head getting dizzy as she fell forward and hit the ground.

At the reminder from Tucker that Sam's grandma was still upstairs, patiently waiting for results, Maddie had run up to check on her once more, knowing she'd have to break the news of her granddaughter's fate very gently.

She turned towards the living room and looked around, not seeing Sarah at first and assuming she was still outside. But then she looked again and saw a glimpse of her metal scooter. Eyes wide, she quickly ran into the room, only to find that Sarah was lying on the ground, with nothing so much as a heartbeat or pulse.

#danny phantom #sam manson #tucker foley #dpau #danny phantom fanfiction #phanfiction #danny phantom fanfic #fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

thesoulspulse · 6 years

Text

Regarding The Fright Knight...

The Fright Knight, of all the Danny Phantom villains I have to say not only is one my favorite ones because of his design and voice actor, but he's sadly also the least used which is really a shame and it ties into the whole unanswered question thing about the Crown of Fire and Skeleton Key. Now, what do we know about the Fright Knight? And what don't we know?

Well first and foremost we know that he is known as the Spirit of Halloween, which should be really impressive right? And it was, at least at first. However, once we found out that the Fright Knight is actually the underling of a much more powerful ghost, aka Pariah Dark, and he was reduced to an underling I dunno about you guys but he sort of lost most of his appeal as a formidable foe. To most people anyway as far as I know but speaking for myself I would have liked to see more of him because come on, he's this really awesome looking black ghost-knight and I love his whole poem thing he does at the drop of a hat! Which to me is cool but then again I really like medieval stuff like that.

Now I could be wrong but I was given the impression that the Fright Knight used to be his own separate thing since he is the embodiment of fear and as I said before the Spirit of Halloween so my guess is that the Ghost King either convinced or forced the knight to serve under him a long time ago. Either that or the Fright Knight is like any other evil knight, grabbing for power in the absence of his king. That part makes sense at least. After the “Reign Storm” episode though we learn that Vlad convinced the Fright Knight to join him instead but apart from seeing the knight in a dream Danny had in another episode later down the line I don't remember seeing much of him as more then a background character. Like I said, it's a real shame since we don't get to see many ancient ghosts and the Fright Knight to me is the closest thing we have to the headless horseman in the Danny Phantom universe, and who knows, maybe he was that for awhile which is an idea I might use in my story. Anyway, back to the discussion!

Here's where we get into the deeper stuff combining what we do and don't know about this guy. His first appearance in the show was in episode 15 of season 1, which ironically I never saw back when the show was still on TV but I can't remember why. Anyways, after watching the show again I finally learned a lot more about this black ghost-knight like how his Soul Shredder is his greatest strength and weakness. There's a powerful spell on it that sends anyone it slices into a dimension made of their worse fears, though for some reason I'm not sure if it works on other ghosts and from what I saw in his main episode it didn't work on Danny even when he was holding the blade in his ghost form but again I could be reading too much into this...

To counteract the sword's ability to creating monsters to fuel peoples fears and sending them to this other fear-fueled dimension it must be sheathed in a pumpkin. That makes sense because he's the Spirit of Halloween but WHY is he? And more importantly...how do humans know about him to the point of there being a documented map of his lair in the Ghost Zone? Answer, a human probably somehow ended up in the Ghost Zone at some point in time on the night of Halloween due to that being the night when spectral activity is at its highest meaning more natural portals appear letting ghosts find their way to Earth. And this human, whoever they were, wrote down everything he or she saw, possibly having even been the one who discovered the secret of his sword and used his weakness against the knight to send the ghost back to his world. Who really knows the how and why of it but its a good theory because why else would there be a map if the only two working ghost portals we know of belong to Vlad and Danny's parents...?

Well, I think that's about it for now and I'm really glad you guys seem to enjoy my “Regarding” posts. Heck, that last one I did about Dan and Vlad turned out to be really popular! So if you guys have a request on who you'd like me to talk about next feel free to PM me or comment on the post itself. Until then though, I'll see you next time!

33 notes · View notes

redrobin-detective · 7 years

Text

Danny, Vlad and Half-Ghosts

I've seen many theories on Danny and Vlad's ghost powers so I thought I'd throw my two cents into the ring.

What is a Half Ghost?

To me, a halfa is a human who was exposed to extreme amounts of ectoplasm which became permanently fused to their DNA and led to the creation of a living ghost. It's debatable on the exact cause but I'd say that both Danny and Vlad started the process of becoming ghosts (due partially to the deadly force of the accident but, more importantly, the ectoplasm facilitating the transformation) when the accident ceased and, against all odds, they survived. But part of them has already started to form a ghost and, since they have all this ectoplasm integrated into their DNA, the partially made ghost is now stable. This ghost half is still a part of the living human and therefore influenced by the humans thoughts and actions making it one of the few ghosts to be truly sentient and autonomous, not driven entirely by instinct or obsession. Think of the 'ghost half' as a mindless ball of clay with the still living human mind able to mold and control it.

Now you can't get a half ghost with any old accident, it has to be an accident in which the human is exposed to a certain amount of ectoplasm. Any other accident of that level would kill someone for real. There has to be a balance. And you know what? I bet there have been half ghosts before. Natural ghost portals open up all the time in the human realm, I bet some poor fool has occupied the same spot as a manifesting portal before. But those portals are small bursts of random, unrefined ectoplasm. 9/10 times the person dies because of the imbalance, the other 1/10 survives, maybe even becomes a halfa, but are so unstable they probably don't last much longer anyway. Due to the interference of the Fentons, we have man-made portals that can create massive amounts of pure ectoplasm, enough to create a hybrid that is stable. Plus Danny but also Vlad too I bet had exposure over time to ectoplasm which maybe helped increase their resistance to, y'know, actual death.

Now we know Danny was more or less fine after the accident and, by the first month, was easily able to manifest his ghostly form and use his powers (even though he still had no control at that point). We also know Vlad was in the hospital for years after the accident, fanon seems to say between 2-5 years. I think that's a matter of Vlad being hit only in the face with a small portal while Danny had his whole body encased in a massive portal. The differences in ectoplasm levels, plus how well made the portal was, affected the two hybrids differently. I have 0 proof but I theorize it took Vlad years and years to get a decent hold on his powers. He had to actively work at them, maybe expose himself to more ectoplasm to be able to use them. Danny meanwhile was charged up from the moment of the accident and only needed experience to hone his skills. As the series progressed, we begin to see how much more quickly Danny is gaining/learning about his powers and it adds to my theory that, on a basic level, Danny is a much more powerful hybrid than Vlad due to the differing nature of their accidents.

How Can They be Human and Ghost?

I've read so many different theories on how the human half and the ghost half co-exist. Here's my thoughts that no one asked for.

Remember how I said earlier that in the accident, a hybrid is created when a person starts to die, begins to form a ghost but still lives? Yeah, but that ghost was still created and everything that goes with it. Including a lair somewhere in the Ghost Zone which is where the ghost half "hangs out" when it's not being used. I say "hangs out" because the ghost half isn't really sentient, the soul of the person is aware and awake in the human world. The ghost half is more the raw ectoplasmic energy created from the accident that is stored away until it's needed. When the hybrid does call for the energy, what happens is the human body and the ghost body switch places. So while Phantom or Plasmius go off to do their ghost things, their soulless human body is put in a sort of stasis in their ghostly lair.

So what I'm saying is, I think the ghost half and the human half are separate "bodies" but one mind/spirit, therefore, the mind/spirit switches back and forth between existing in a human body or a ghost body. This happens during the transformation between human and ghost forms. The act of switching also promotes healing and rest, when the ghost form is hurt, it is able to recover much more quickly when it is in stasis in the Ghost Zone. The human half, not sustained on ectoplasm, does not receive much benefit from the switch but may report feeling physically more rested. Because they are basically separate entities, battle wounds on the ghost half usually don't appear on the human and vice versa. Hybrids, still connected to their other form no matter what body they wear, usually will feel the pain from injuries when they switch back even if there's no sign of injury.

How do they Overlap?

There is significant overlap as the human/ghost half are not truly pure. The human body will be much cooler than normal, an effect of the ectoplasm in their DNA, bordering on the hypothermic level but not low enough to disrupt normal human processes. The human body still is alive and trying to maintain itself, despite being separate, the body sees the ghost half as part of itself and tries to maintain it therefore requiring more energy. Hybrids can convert some human energy (food/sleep) into ghost energy but not all. Ghosts are fueled by ectoplasm and emotion. Hybrids are stable and can exist in the human world, absorbing atmospheric ectoplasm. Danny and Vlad's ability to remain stable despite massive energy drain and rely on multiple sources of energy means their powers grow very quickly and, beyond that, can outlast most ghosts in fights. The human has access to some of the basic ghost powers through the small amounts of circulating ectoplasm in their blood. Anything other than the easiest of powers (invisible/intangible/small blasts) requires transitioning to the ghost form. However, while the human body is still mortal, it's much stronger, faster, more durable and heals quicker than a normal human.

Meanwhile, the ghost half is much more solid than a regular ghost. Because it's not fully detatched from the world, a hybrid is more open to true physical injury than a normal ghost which requires more recovery time. Again, because of this, they're also more stable and will not disappear out if too drained but merely revert to human form. The ghost form also does have a heartbeat and does breathe, but not like a human. The human body is in stasis in the Ghost Zone but it's still alive and still needs to function. The ghost body will breathe in air and circulate oxygen for the body in the Ghost Zone but at a much slower rate than a normal human as the body is a lower energy demand as it's "hibernating", for lack of better word. If the ghost is interrupted from these activities (IE prevented from breathing) the hybrid will revert back to it's human form. In fact the ghost body has the basic layout of a human with a semi solid skeleton and organs. They don't quite work as they would in a human but serve as a temporary bridge to maintain function for the human half. Again, despite being in a ghost body, the hybrid is fully cognizant as if alive and not as mindless or obsessive as some ghosts. They are swayed by ghostly instincts but it's something they can override with reason if they truly desire. The hybrid is immediately identifiable by any ghost, they carry a spark of life in them that stands out like a beacon even in ghost form.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Because of this set-up, we have certain advantages/disadvantages to human and ghost forms. For example, the ghost form cannot travel through ghost shields because they carry too much ectoplasm on them to pass. However, once they switch to human form, their level of ectoplasm is low enough that they can slip through. They are also able to phase through objects in the Ghost Zone easily if they switch to human form. One problem is that they do carry just enough ectoplasm on them in human form that they will be affected by ghost hunting equipment. The damage is less severe if they are in human form, and thus, have less ectoplasm in them to react but in ghost form they are very susceptible. Trackers tend to be the most sensitive to ectoplasm and will be able to find the hybrid no matter the form. They are however able to overcome some ghost deterrents (IE Freakshow's Staff) due to their human half.

As the halfa is technically two bodies, it requires much more energy to sustain which can get quite demanding. The human thrives on food, sleep etc while the ghost requires ambient ectoplasm. Some powerful ghosts can even gain energy from human thoughts or emotions. While the hybrid can absorb ectoplasm in both forms, it's more efficient in their ghostly form and even more so in the Ghost Zone. However, the ghost cannot eat or sleep for the human half as they can only 'maintain' the existing biological functions the ghost physically does not have. This energy use is higher when ghost powers are used frequently. Therefore the hybrid must get a good amount of food and sleep as well as ectoplasm in order to maintain their health. Also the very existence of the hybrid is defying nature and balance on a fine line. If a hybrid is made and is stable, they'll generally stay that way but if they slip out of their homeostasis, slip into one half or another too much then there is a chance they'll become unstable and the human part of the hybrid will die.

Other Tidbits

- The human form is made up of mostly blood (~85%) with small amounts of ectoplasm (~15%) circulating at all times. The reverse is true for the ghost form. The difference between normal human/ghost 'blood' is not immediately noticeable if cut but upon closer examination one can find the peculiarities. The hybrid is so specific, they cannot give or receive blood/ectoplasm transfusions but luckily are quick healers so they rarely need one.

- Once a stable Halfa is made, the ghost half is nearly impossible to destroy. It's one reason Halfas are so much stronger than most ghosts and are able to advance their powers more quickly. Most ghosts put most of their energy into maintaining their form, especially when in the real world, and thus have less energy for attacks and such. But a halfa, fundamentally, is built around the organic, solid human and doesn't have to worry about maintaining stability and can put most of their energy into their powers. In addition, Halfas are able to absorb ectoplasm present in the real world and also gain minimal energy from human means (food/sleep) which means, even a newly formed hybrid with no grasp of their powers is more powerful/stable than most ghosts.

- Ectoplasm naturally exists at colder temperatures and therefore makes fevers very dangerous for hybrids. Hybrids are generally more immune to human illnesses due to bacteria/viruses not being able to live in their hypothermic environment but they are capable of becoming ill and it's usually harmful. They'll usually be sick twice as long as a human and, as long as they maintain a higher than normal temperature, are at risk for upsetting the delicate balance that keeps them alive. Hybrid ectoplasm is also special since it needs to maintain a warmer temperature than normal to accommodate the living human. Ectoplasm from the hybrid almost immediately sublimates if separated from the hybrid and it can even damage other ghosts.

- Danielle is not a true hybrid. She's a ghost who can mimic being human. She and the other clones were created from experiments with Danny's ectoplasm. These clones have 'organs' that look like a humans but in reality are just faking it (IE Dani will breathe in oxygen but not use it, she breathes out the same O2 amount). They themselves are a new type of hybrid, a ghost that's been genetically engineered to appear human. As such, Dani won't age unless she wills her body to change and is much less vulnerable to physically injury since she's not technically human. She is, like other ghosts, much more susceptible to destabilization due to not being centered around a stable organic form. Despite her state, she's sentient and aware and could be the start of a new offshoot species of ghost.

- A stable hybrid will grow and die just like any other human. Their physical body will age slightly slower than normal but they'll have approximately a normal human lifespan due to their human brains. Time of death really depends on how well-integrated the human/ghost are for example Vlad's accident was not as complete as Danny's and I feel he would pass on earlier (60-70) due to natural breakdown. A hybrid also has the option of moving on after death. But the residual ectoplasmic energy from the ghost half will be leftover in the Zone but much, much weaker and generally not sentient at all, just a floating blob.

- Expanding further, the hybrid CAN die. They're not immortal or invulnerable or anything. There is a possibility for prolonged (or decreased) lifespan and while the hybrid is more resistant to injury, anything fatal will kill them proper. However, mortal wounds for a human may not be mortal for a hybrid due to their accelerated healing factor. The ghost half heals much more quickly than the human half but the hybrid can recover from near fatal wounds that could kill anyone else.

- Each ghost generally has a unique ghost core, hybrids are the same. No one knows what determines what kind of core a ghost/hybrid will develop. Danny seems to have an ice core while it's speculated Vlad has an electric core. This is what is created during the initial accident to create the hybrid and is what fuels and stabilizes the ghost half. Each core has properties unique to itself, such as Danny's ghost sense/ice powers and Vlad's electrical attacks.

- Hybrids, once created, cannot become fully human again. The human/ghost parts have become fused down to the molecular level. You can separate bits of the energy (Identity Crisis) but the ghost/human halves are still fundamentally connected. Though people may try to completely separate the human from the ectoplasmic components, it would only result in the hybrid dying due to the shock at the loss of part of it's soul.

- Hybrids are 100% alive just not fully human anymore. They are living human beings that grow and consume energy but have become irreversibly bound to ectoplasm which allows them to manifest ghostly powers/forms. They are able to switch back and forth between human and ghost form through the bond created by their human/ectoplasmic DNA.

#danny phantom #danny phantom meta #this has been in my drafts for ages and I just never got around to posting it

78 notes · View notes

scientifically-strange · 7 years

Note

Avengers mess with time and Danny (as clockworks apprentice) has to set them straight? (If that's okay?)

“Daniel.”

Clockwork didn’t bother turning as Daniel, his apprentice, entered the room. He calmly floated over to Clockwork, looking at him expectantly.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Danny asked, popping his gum.

“There is a team of super humans that are time traveling, and ironically enough I don’t have time to intervene. And you need experience. I want you to take care of it.”

It was probably one of the only times he had never been cryptic with Danny (After all, he did love a good riddle), but this was far too important.

Danny tapped his staff on the floor twice and disappeared in a swirl of whatever shade of blue his cloak was. He was very picky about his shades of blue.

------

When Danny landed, his stomach was swimming, and apparently, so was he.

He had landed in some sort of river, slowly going downstream. It was odd seeing no trees or buildings. It kind of reminded him of a desert.

At least, until he was lifted out of the water.

He didn’t notice it at first until he blinked and he was suddenly in the air without having to fly. He looked down and yelped, almost falling off of...

A dinosaur?

His whole body was smaller than its head, and the thing’s neck was freakin’ huge. But that would explain the lack of buildings. And people. But he could see trees further off into the distance, along with something...Smoking? If people weren’t around during this time, and there was no lighting, and it was just cool enough to not cause a fire, then that smoke should in fact not be there.

He lifted off of the dinosaur’s head (it started with a b, he knew, but all he could think of was Long Neck) and flew towards the small trail of smoke, ignoring the way his pants pinched from the water.

He stopped about twenty or thirty yards away, invisible and intangible for convenience, and slowly glided over. He didn’t want them to know he was there just yet.

There was one guy with his head in a ship that had a large red A on it, being griped at by a blonde guy with a bandage on his nose and stitched up gash on his forearm.

“We’ve been here for three days!” He whined. “What about my dog? Even worse, what about my coffee?!”

“Clint, calm down,” the other guy said. “We’ll be out of here in no time, all I have to do is build the whole ship from scrap parts because we’re in freaking dinosaur land!”

So obviously there was a bit of tension between these friends. Probably because they had been stuck in dino land for three days, but hey, Danny wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.

“Will you two knock it off?” A woman with curly red hair approached them, her hips swinging back and forth. She looked beautiful but Danny wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole. Behind her was another blond guy who was taller and broader than the other one, with torn American spandex. Yikes.

“Nat’s right,” he said. “Besides, at least we beat Kang. And this problem is solvable. Right, Tony?”

The guy who was in the ship stuck his head out and wiped his brow, smearing grease across his forehead as he did so. “I don’t know, Steve. We could be here a while. I only have so many materials, and there’s no way I can use any prehistoric thing to make the ship go and time travel. Except for fuel, maybe, but it would take us weeks to get us even that.”

“What about Thor?” Clint asked hopefully.

“He’s MIA in our home time. He ain’t answering anytime soon now,” Steve replied. Clint didn’t put any effort into hiding his disappointment. Danny almost felt sorry for him, but he knew of Kang the Conqueror, and if they beat him, well, they truly are a force to be reckoned with. He stepped through a tree, losing his invisibility half way through it, and greeted them.

“You guys beat Kang? How?”

Okay, so maybe not as politely as he would have thought, but he still wasn’t mean, and that was the important part.

They all immediately hopped into a fighting stance, but nobody tried making a shot. He waved them off.

“Relax, I’m here to take you back to your own time. See the staff with the little hourglass on top?”

They still didn’t back down, and he was pretty sure the guy named Tony was going to throw his wrench at him.

“How?” Nat asked, eyes narrowing.

“I...I don’t know how the power works, I just kind of do it. Now do you want to go home or not?” He put his hand on his hip and gave them an irritated look. Clint was the first to drop his fighting stance, looking utterly exhausted as he did so.

“I do,” he said. He raised his hand and fell onto the ground, sitting cross legged and looking like he wasn’t gonna stand up again unless his life depended on it.

“Close enough.”

Danny tapped his staff on the ground twice, and the whole site disappeared in a swirl of rainbow colors.

-----“Where are we?” Steve asked. “And who are you?”

“I am Phantom, Clockwork’s Apprentice, and you are all in the Ghost Zone. Which is how we knew you guys needed help. This place is kind of the gateway to lots of other dimensions and time because of all of the natural portals that pop up,” he explained. “Anyway, you guys are super heroes, right? What’s your name? The Justice League?”

“Who?” Clint asked.

“We are the Avengers,” Tony but in. Danny made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth, nodding in understanding before he opened his hand and opened a portal with it. In it was their beloved city and Tower. They could see Thor on the roof, looking slightly confused but not dead so that was always a good sign.

“So we just...?” Clint asked, letting his sentence trail off.

“Walk right through, pretty much. Anyway, try not to do any more time travel, please. Deal?”

“We’ll do our best. Thank you,” Steve said, patting his shoulder. He stepped through the portal, and the others followed one by one, leaving Danny by himself. Even though he only knew them for a short time, he kind of missed them.

Maybe he could talk Clockwork into letting him hang out with them more.

163 notes · View notes

skyereminiscing · 7 years

Video

youtube

Hello, fellow Phans! If you haven’t yet seen it, this is @butchhartman‘s “tour of the Ghost Zone” linked straight from his official YouTube channel. The first six minutes (or up to 5:54, to be exact) are mostly a recap of what loyal viewers already know, with a few comments that might be good to take note of. After that, Hartman gets into some interesting ideas that are not seen in the show itself. The key points will be covered below the cut with references to the times they are mentioned in the video, for those of you who can’t watch it right now!

I apologize in advance for being overly wordy, I am very very excited about some of this (most. all?)!

Let’s start off with some of the things Butch Hartman says about in-show canon material.

Several times (at 0:30 and 2:55), Hartman mentions that there are only two successful human-made portals that we know of. This seems to have the pretty obvious implication that there are more human-made portals that are not mentioned in the show. Who could have one? Hopefully, not the Guys in White...

It’s heavily implied that before Pariah Dark was overthrown, the Ghost Zone was at least moderately peaceful, if oppressive (3:27). Ghost society, anyone?

The Ghost Zone is literally endless (3:40).

This one is pretty obvious, but Hartman specifically mentions that there are “a million ghost homes” (3:42). He probably means that there are an incomprehensibly large number of them, but if you want that as an exact number, it’s been said by the Creator of the Show himself. There you go.

Another fairly obvious one that’s worth noting: Danny has only barely scratched the surface of what the Ghost Zone holds (3:47). That means that despite meeting the Ghost of time and an actual goddess, and being in contact with artifacts like the Infi-Map, the Reality Gauntlet, the Crown, and the Ring, Danny has yet to see the VAST majority of what’s out there. This means more enemies and a lot of danger, but it also holds the chance of Danny getting some more allies! Do with that what you will.

Finally, a tidbit about the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. Of course, any Phan who has watched Reign Storm remembers that a person who holds both will gain a massive power boost. But in actuality, they give the user omnipotence, or UNLIMITED power (4:35). There isn’t some deep revelation there that I can see, but the idea that even a simple Ectopus that has access to the Crown and Ring could be literally unbeatable until one is removed? Scary.

Now that that’s all said and done, here’s the rundown on the BRAND NEW MATERIAL Butch gave us after point 5:54.

Each ghostly kingdom is surrounded by its own subtype of ectoplasm (6:18). The ectoplasm near Pariah’s Keep, for example, might have a completely different signature/wavelength/type/color than the ectoplasm over by the Far Frozen! This could be a cause for weather patterns, a ghost’s sphere of lair control, or various other things that you need a convenient ghostly explanation for.

Rarely, two kingdoms will combine (6:25). When they do, their ectoplasm subtypes will become too compacted, and will combust (implode?) into a ghostly black hole that will destroy everything it touches. When these ghostly black holes pop into existence, the word spreads as quickly as the destruction (6:35).

There are some new dimensions! Let’s start with the bad news, shall we?

The Unworld: (start at 6:40) this nightmare realm is something like Limbo, a place between the world of the living and the Ghost Zone. You can get there by building a Ghost Portal. If you make even one tiny calculation error, instead of going to the Zone you’ll end up going to the Unworld. It’s a one-way trip, though, and ALL human abilities AND ghost powers are useless in the Unworld! Be careful with your inter dimensional portals.

Butch is literally asking for fan art and interpretations, guys, don’t let him down like he did to us with Phantom Planet and Livin’ Large.

The Elsewhereness: (start at 7:13) I’m going to save myself some trouble and just call this Elsewhere. Elsewhere is paradise, a place where pain, misery, and fear don’t exist at all. EVERY ghost wants to go there, but only one is even rumored to have found it.

It’s unclear whether or not Half-Ghosts feel the same pull to go to Elsewhere. Hartman does say, however, that Vlad wants to find it to rule over it (7:58) and Danny is, theoretically, the only one stopping him. Someone write a fic.

He didn’t ask for art or interpretations. You know what that means: FLOOD HIM WITH THEM GO GO GO!

Lastly, we have a brand new ghost character!

Sojourn: (start at 7:30) He’s a nomadic ghost who has catalogued every single section of the Ghost Zone. Considering that Hartman confirmed that the GZ is infinite, this means that Sojourn is probably very old, and might be very powerful too. All of his findings were written into a journal insert Gravity Falls suspense music here.

The journal has never been found, but pages of it are scattered around the Ghost Zone (7:45). It’s like a treasure map, since each page holds a bit of a clue about how to reach Elsewhere. Only a few pages have been gathered, and it’s not clear if they have enough information to lead a ghost to Elsewhere. We also don’t know who has those pages.

His name means “a temporary pause or rest, usually during a long journey or task” or “to stay somewhere temporarily” so we have another fitting name here. Additionally, it sounds cool.

In most of his designs, Sojourn looks a lot like Clockwork with his hooded cloak, occasional beard, and even a staff that resembles an Observant. Maybe there’s a connection between the two, the overseer of time and the explorer of space? Connection is unproven but possible.

There are already speculations that he’s also the ghost who created the Infi-map, but Butch never said that. It’s something to think about, though.

That’s everything I could find in this video! If you have anything to add, feel free! (Also if you draw or write something, go ahead and link me to it, that’d be cool).

Thanks for reading, and have fun squeezing every drop of imagination fuel from this post!

#pls enjoy my really detailed work i guess #long post #for the phandom #danny phantom #sojourn #unworld #elsewhere #elsewhereness #ghostly black holes #butch hartman #analysis #important #for later #about the universe

510 notes · View notes

balshumetsbaragouin · 7 years

Text

Beloved: Chapter Three

Summary:

A destabilizing episode, a new space, and a revelation delayed...

Artwork, Stories, and Mishaps

The day was shining up to be a good one. It was bright and clear, the air cool and crisp this late in autumn the first signs of winter were peaking through. Most of the trees were beginning to show bare branches through their changing colors, and there was a soft frost on the ground over night most nights now. Deep in Vlad’s underground lab though, between the depth underground and the equipment giving off heat, it was a toasty near 80. The clone was seated a few feet from his small bunk scribbling quick pictures of the rest of the house as it came to mind.

It was early, nearly 6am, but he couldn’t sleep. He had trouble sleeping for more than a few hours at once, and with nothing else to do, he found ways to keep himself occupied. His Daddy was likely up by now, but he wouldn’t be downstairs in the lab for a few more minutes, and with the ghost portal closed, Ghost Skulker wouldn’t be visiting either. So he did what he usually did when bored, drew. He was getting sorta good at it too, at least in his thoughts. The sketches were starting to actually look like what he’d been trying to draw. Maybe I could get Daddy to look at them later? D27 pondered while finishing off a simple drawing of the dining room from the night before. He set it aside and rubbed at his chest. It still hurt. He was thinking about telling Daddy when he got downstairs. It seemed kinda bad that his chest still hurt after yesterday, even if he did use a whole lot of power. Something told him it still shouldn’t hurt. D27 shrugged it off and walked back towards his bed. He had more art supplies there…

Vlad stretched coffee in hand, as he headed for his private study. The entrance to the lab was in there, and besides that, his secretary was in New York finishing up the merger, which was more like a willing take-over, with the smaller company gladly becoming a subsidiary of Dalvco. New York was a solid time zone ahead, and so despite the hour at his Wisconsin home, he was expecting a call from her. Stupid time zones; how can it already be 7am over there? He wondered blearily. He usually didn’t mind being up early, but the constant supervision the clone required was beginning to take it out of him. He couldn’t wait until this growth phase slowed and stopped completely in another two weeks max, because then he’d be able to get back on a normal sleep schedule. The weary billionaire reached for the phone on his study desk before settling into the plush leather chair behind it. He was about to punch in the few buttons needed to connect him to his secretary in New York, when a clarion alarm rang through the house, loud and urgent. Vlad had his hand on the left football player before his conscious mind had really caught up with him. That alarm only meant one thing, and time was precious for the next few minutes.

The pain was unbearable. In the few seconds it had taken to walk from his comfy spot made of repurposed bed sheets on the floor back towards his bed the pain in his chest had spread everywhere. Before he knew what hit him, D27 was curled up in a ball on the floor, a scream frozen on his still shocked lips. The pain came in waves originating in his chest and moving towards the tips of his fingers and toes, and just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, he felt his toes tingle and burn. Then it felt like someone poured boiling and icy water over them. He cracked a scared eye open and felt absolute fear grip his mind. Where he last saw his toes there was now a growing pool of green slime. Worse, it was traveling up his feet, like the slime was eating more of him as it went. His mind screamed out that he needed to get away from the growing pool of slimy glowing awful stuff eating him, but he was in too much pain to move. Just as the slime reached his ankles, he heard a door upstairs slam closed, and it frightened him out of his terrified stupor enough to scream, “Daddy!” He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew he needed his Daddy now.

Vlad rushed down the last of the stairs, and was half way through the front part of the lab when he heard the clone scream for him. It sounded so pained and terrified, he nearly teleported the last few feet just to save time. He decided against it, knowing he needed to keep a level head to stave off any serious damage. “Maddie, I need a live vital feed on the clone now! And while you’re at it, splice in the information from the Nanites, get some of that stabilizer I made earlier out of the chiller and onto the console in the back room, and make sure you highlight which segments of DNA are going haywire for me, I don’t have the time to waste figuring it out at the moment.” He spoke hastily into the hologram quickly materializing air in front of him. Vlad strode purposefully into the back of the lab and zeroed in on the distraught clone’s position on the floor instantly. It looked like it was trying to crawl away from the growing pool of its own ectoplasm. “D27, stop moving right now! You’re making it worse, so stay still.” He commanded before rushing over to it to hold it still. He got its attention when his hand gripped its arm to root it firmly to the ground. The tear and fear filled gaze that met Vlad’s own made him rethink his position about the clone’s utter lack of personhood. “You have to stay still, it’s very important that you don’t stress yourself out more right now. Stay still for Daddy ok?” Vlad soothed while scanning through the floating work-up of the clone’s system in front of him.

“Clone’s stability at 72% and dropping, the culprit seems to be lack of energy honey bun. Nanites can’t correct, immediate fusion of energy necessary.” The Maddie hologram supplied from across the room near the large computer console on the opposite end of the room. “Genetic Stabilizer would be ineffective in this instance, lamb chops, my suggestion is to give it some of your energy to jump start the stabilization process. Clone’s stability 65% and dropping…”

Vlad’s frown deepened as he skimmed through the information in front of him. Looks like my guess about the melting wasn’t incorrect after all.

The clone’s ghostly core was flickering on and off, barely able to produce enough energy to hold it together at the moment. Unlike normal ghost hybrids, well if a sample size of two counted, the clones were basically balls of willed ectoplasm with human DNA mixed in. If Vlad or Danny ran out of ghost energy, they just couldn’t transform or use their powers for a few hours. They essentially became completely human for a while. Clones, however, were much more like ghosts. They needed a constant supply of spectral energy to remain stable, unlike normal ghosts though, they produced their own, like a regular half ghost.

The older halfa came to a decision as the melting portion of the clone reached mid-shin in height and its stability dropped below 55%. He took a deep breath and summoned a small amount of gentle blue spectral energy, holding it out for the clone in front of him. “Now D27, look at me…” he trailed off as he felt the clone pull against his hold. Vlad squeezed a little harder and said forcefully, “D27. Look. At. Me.” Slowly, much more slowly than he was comfortable with, the clone forced its eyes away from the growing pool of glowing green sludge and towards him.

The pain was getting worse by the second and he was so scared he could barely breathe. Even though he could hear his Daddy talking to him, it was so hard to think or listen through how bad he felt right then…but then it had to be really important, so he tried to focus. Daddy has to be trying to fix it. D27 reasoned before tearing his wide eyes and tear streaked face away from the green stuff currently eating his legs.

“Good boy. Now, I need you to give me one of your hands, it doesn’t matter which one. Reach for the glowing blue ball ok? You’re going to feel a cold tingle, and the blue ball is going to disappear slowly alright?” Vlad explained as simply and slowly as he could manage at the moment. Even he was surprised by the calm cool tone of his voice; inside he was a notch short of full blown panic. The clone was under 50% stable and falling quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was start all over when this one was so promising. He studiously ignored the niggling sense telling him it was something more than scientific pursuit and unwillingness to start over fueling his worry. He felt a wave of relief as the clone reached out for the softly pulsating ball of blue ecto-energy with its hand…

The burning icy boiling feeling was all the way to his knees now, and it took every bit of concentration he had to ignore it and listen to Daddy talk. He said something about a glowing blue ball, and he finally noticed it sitting in his Daddy’s free hand. He would have started if he had the energy, but instead of a gasp all that came out was an aborted cry. He gritted his teeth and reached out for the ball like he was told, and hoped this would make it better. He had just about reached the ball, when the tingling burn started up in his fingers as well. With a scream made of pain and surprise, he watched as his fingers turned into more of the awful green eating stuff as well. “Daddy make it stop please.”

Now more worried about the clone melting than overloading its system, Vlad placed his energy loaded hand onto the clone’s chest and pressed it into its failing core. For a couple breath stealing seconds, the melting process seemed to get faster, but just as he was about to truly panic; the melting stopped and began to reverse.

The pool of green beneath the clone grew thicker and reabsorbed into the creature’s system. The reclaimed ectoplasm quickly reformed limbs, right down to the missing digits on its hands and feet.

Vlad poured a few extra seconds of energy into its body before carefully removing his hand from its chest. He swiftly gave it a once over, checking for any visible damage or changes to its structure, and was relieved to find none. “Maddie, analysis, how’s its vitals look?” He questioned into empty space.

“Clone fully stabilized. Ghost core is producing sufficient energy to remain stable indefinitely pumpkin, and there are no deleterious or neutral changes to the clone’s DNA.” The blue spandex clad Maddie hologram pronounced.

The errant scientist’s shoulder sagged in visible relief. That had been a close one. I suppose it would have been easier if it had just cooperated. Vlad concluded with a small frown, before refocusing on the clone besides him on the floor. He finally noticed he was still fiercely gripping its arm. He let go, and noted with concern the dark purple bruise blossoming across its surface shaped like the palm of his hand. Still more concerning was the lack of noising coming from the clone itself. Despite the fact it had just melted and reformed, something he was sure must be painful, it hadn’t made a peep since it began to solidify again. It hadn’t even reached over for a hug or comfort of some sort, and the continued silence was both unnerving and worrying. “D27?” Vlad ventured softly, reaching out to brush a few stray hairs off of its face.

The pain in his chest was mostly gone now, but even the fading echoes of the hurt didn’t distract him from what just happened. Suddenly, he could remember all the other bad times this had happened, and it was overwhelming. Sometimes his Daddy would inject him with something, something that hurt like crazy, but that made the… the like cheddar cheese wilting on his potatoes last night, stop. Others it would stop on its own after a few hurt filled minutes. All of it was bad and scary, and worse it all happened at different times. There was nothing he could remember that happened right before or that could warn him about it. It just happened, and then…then Daddy fixes it. He felt shivers work up his back and the cold bumps show up on his arms. I need a hug. D27 concluded before he heard his Daddy call out to him. He swiveled fear filled and tear brimmed eyes back towards the only constant in his life. Before he knew it, he was flinging himself into his Daddy’s open arms. There were a more questions than he had fingers and toes he wanted to ask, but they could wait until after he wasn’t so scared anymore.

Vlad relaxed into the now more responsive clone’s arms. He felt it wordlessly practically meld itself into his chest, a ball of fear and insecurity. “Shush, it’s alright D27, there’s nothing to be frightened of.” Now. Vlad added mentally before continuing, “You’re just fine. I’m here; nothing’s going to happen to you.” He reached over and gently patted its back, trying to calm the nearly hysterical combination of wailing and tears the little creature had turned into in an instant.

“Buh Daddy, the green stuff almost eated me, and it really hurt, and it happened before-”

“What did? And no nothing was eating you D27, the green liquid wasn’t eating you. It’s-”

“The green stuff tried to eat me before, and you stopped it.” The young boy insisted.

“D27, I’m telling you, nothing was trying to eat you.” What it is with small children and being terrified of being devoured? “You were destabilizing.” Vlad answered truthfully. It wasn’t as if the clone would understand what it meant, even if he was entirely honest with it.

“Destabilize, to upset the stability or equilibrium of; unbalance.” He quoted dictionary perfect. “Daddy why was I becoming unbalanced? I don’t remember feeling unbalanced, just hurting.”

Vlad was beginning to regret letting it read that dictionary in the first place. “Your ghost core wasn’t making enough energy to keep you stable.” He watched the clone’s already big doe eyes widen even further. “But,” he quickly interrupted the blubbering spilling forth from its trembling lips, “it’s not something you have to worry about.” Vlad started quickly trying to change the subject.

“Why would it? It has you to worry about it for him.” A metallic voice echoed from the fore of the lab.

“Ghost Skulker!” D27 said happily, wriggling out of his Daddy’s arms to go run over to the floating metal specter. With the distraction of the metal covered hunter ghost, he had completely forgotten about the green eating stuff from a few minutes ago.

“Oh alright, just leave me here why don’t you.” Vlad teased before giving his house coat a once over. It was filthy, covered in the remnants of the clone’s green ectoplasm. He barely suppressed a grimace as he worked his way off of the floor. “Ok D27, why don’t you stay here with Skulker for a few minutes while I change?” He watched as the clone’s face dropped from a shy and excited smile to a scared wide eyed look. “Now, now, there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll be just fine here for a few minutes, I promise you won’t do any more melting. Skulker will be right here with you, I just need some clean clothes alright?” Vlad didn’t wait for a real response; he was already walking towards the lab entrance. “Skulker keep the little thing entertained why don’t you?” He offered over his shoulder jogging up the entrance stairs, ready for a quick change of clothes.

Skulker stared uncomfortably at the little ball of cloned ectoplasm in front of him. It was even bigger than the last time he’d seen it, and worse, it looked needy. If his guess was correct, the creature had just tried to melt, and was understandably very unhappy about the whole thing. Unfortunately, Skulker wasn’t the nurturing type. He much preferred to just kill small, and in other beings’ opinions cute, things about the clone’s size to watching over them. They were annoying and required a lot of care, two things that he hated. But Plasmius has charged me with caring for the little whelp, so I might as well distract it or something. At least if it isn’t thinking about how it nearly just died, it’ll stop looking like it wants some kind of affection. Skulker decided before looking down at the still watery eyed creature. “So…” He started only to stop short. He had no idea what the creature was liked or even what it understood, and so had no idea what to talk about. While he was fumbling for a quick idea, the reason for his visit came to mind. “Have you ever heard of the Ghost Dragon King pup?” He noted with triumph the way the creature’s eyes started to shine with interest instead of tears. He took its silence for the ‘no’ it was, before plunging forward with his tale. “Well, you’re in for a real treat, because I was there the day he died. You see your…father, Plasmius, got into a fight on behalf of this female…”

Vlad sighed and sagged into the top of his mattress. That had been the worse melting episode so far. Not because of the severity, but because of the clone’s reaction. Previously, the thing had either been asleep or too small to remember anything from the melting episodes. Now, it seemed like it remembered not only the instance that just occurred, but several from the past he was sure it hadn’t recorded. Looks like it just repressed it. Fantastic. It’s not even a week old and it has repressed memories. You should win ‘Father of the Year’ in no time like this Vlad. He sighed and banished the thought, not least of all for the implications of even being eligible to win an award for fatherhood. All of the stress from the constant attention the clone needed to make it through a single day had just about drained his reserves. Not only did the thing have a habit of destabilizing in the middle of the night and early morning, when he should be asleep instead of tending to it, it was also a rambunctious child, which made watching over it a trial to begin with.

The only good thing to come out of this day so far is the fact this is the final day of accelerated growth at this level. After that, it should be much more stable, and in fact, it should be able to sleep upstairs in its own room tonight. The thought brought some energy back into his system, not only for the relief from the level of vigilance it required of him, but because it marked a serious accomplishment for his cloning work. No other clone had ever stayed this humanoid and stable for this long before. Vlad once again ignored the illogical affectionate warmth spreading through his chest at the thought of the clone’s excitement and joy. It didn’t really matter yet if it was happy; maybe it would in another week or so. With a huff of semi-energized air, he pushed himself off of the bed and finally padded towards his closet. He needed to get back downstairs. Leaving Skulker with small defenseless creatures for any period of time isn’t the best of decisions…

“So then the Dragon King flew down at Plasmius at full speed. I tell you my very core nearly stopped in fear when I saw the malevolent gleam in his eyes. He drew his head back and took a breath so deep, you could feel the air around you moving 100 yards away. Finally, he let out a veritable wall of deep green flames, heading straight for your father. I watched with growing dread as Plasmius didn’t so much as budge from his spot on the arena floor!” Skulker paused for dramatic effect, enjoying the enraptured look on the little clone’s face.

“And then what happened?” He just had to hear the end of this story. It couldn’t stop there; his Daddy might be burnt to a crisp!

Skulker smiled widely before picking up the story where he left off, “the flames came crashing down all around him, engulfing him in their licking tendrils and burning grasp.” He paused once again when he heard the clone gasp and begin to bounce up and down nervously. The hunter spared it the wait, though, and immediately started the story back up. “For a full ten seconds, there was nothing but deep green flames surrounding the whole of the courtyard, and I thought for sure Plasmius was but a cinder of ectoplasm. Then, suddenly, the flames gave way, and inside you could see this swirling hot mass of red ectoplasm shaped like a dome. Your father had constructed a shield of solid red ecto-energy, er if you didn’t know; red energy is both rare and hard to control. I’ve only ever heard of beings wielding it before I saw Plasmius actually do so. In any case,” Skulker moved pasted the little tangent, “the fires were practically eaten away by the strength of the pulsing shield around him, and the Dragon King roared with frustration. He flew around for another pass, willing himself to go even faster, before Plasmius surprisingly dropped his shield.”

“Why?” He didn’t want to interrupt, but putting down the only thing keeping you from being set on fire didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Hold your horses, I’m getting to it!” Skulker bellowed at the impatient child. What is taking Plasmius so long? He wondered before heading towards the end of the battle. “Inside was a double of your father and he had a dark red sphere of energy in his palm. Then I felt a tingle travel through my suit, and the air around me charged with energy. I heard something crackle through the air, and it began to smell like a rain storm. That’s when I realized, Plasmius was charging an electrical attack! The static discharge from the blast grew as the attack grew in power, and quickly several of the female’s hair were practically floating straight up. He charged a second attack with the other version of himself, and the air took on a strong metallic taste and smell. The Dragon King had just flown into position to charge at him at full speed, and was already inhaling what felt like half of the air in the arena. Luckily ghosts don’t need to breathe! The two of them stared each other down for a hair’s breadth, before they threw their attacks at each other. And then-”

“Skulker what in the world are you talking about?” Vlad had just made it back into the lab, and had only caught the tail end of Skulker’s last sentence.

“Why your glorious defeat of the Ghost Dragon King of course! I was about to get to the good part too.”

“Really?” He practically screamed. He didn’t think it could get any better than this.

“Skulker…” Vlad trailed off as he took in the eager and antsy look on the clone’s face. “Don’t you think this is an inappropriate story for a child?” He wasn’t sure why he was even asking. As if Skulker knows what is appropriate behavior around children anyway. Vlad thought with a roll of his eyes.

“What do you mean Plasmius? Is not a tale of your victorious battle not the perfect story for your whelp to hear?”

“Perhaps if it wasn’t so violent and filled with so much gore and death. Couldn’t you have picked something else to talk about?”

“But I wanna hear the end of the story Daddy! Pretty please? You were just about to hit the mean evil Dragon King with a big electreecal attack.” D27 whined up at his Daddy with the biggest saddest looking eyes he could muster.

“Electrical,” Vlad corrected, “and no. The story is about to get very-”

“Aw come on Plasmius, it’s a great story!” Skulker interrupted. He had just about gotten to his favorite part.

“Maybe for a bar full of harden ghosts, or a something, but not for a barely 5 year old child.” Skulker looked about ready to argue the point when Vlad held up a hand. “No Skulker. He’ll be having nightmares for a week, and I’ll be the one dealing with them. I don’t want to be up all night when I don’t have to be.” Vlad said in a voice that brokered no arguments.

Skulker smirked widely before saying, “Why Plasmius, I didn’t know you cared. You’re even calling the clone ‘he’ instead of ‘it’ now. What were you telling me about it being an experiment two days back?” He gloated freely.

The older halfa frowned before retorting, “A slip of the tongue. Now, since you want to talk about the ancient ghosts, I assume you’ve found the location of Pariah’s Keep like I asked.”

“Oh certainly. In fact, it’s the entire reason I’m over here, but are you sure you need that crown?” Skulker wasn’t really comfortable with the thought of waking the ancient King up for any reason, but he trusted Plasmius to keep the situation under control. At least enough to keep him from getting killed, and the payment for the information, in the form of a brand new suit and new weapons, was too much to pass up for just handing over some Intel.

“Of course I am. I’m going to need that-”

Oh no. Not this time. He wasn’t being brushed off again for some stupid conversation with Ghost Skulker about stuff he didn’t care about. He’d waited a whole day to show Daddy his sketch, and he was doing it this time. Now more determined than ever, D27 walked over to his space in the back of the lab and snatched up the nearly finished picture before marching purposefully back into the front of the lab. He stood in between the talking adults with purpose and lifted and wiggled his art project in the air above him. When neither of them reacted, he lowered the paper and called, “Hey!”

“Hm what?” Vlad paused in his conversation with his ghostly associate and looked down at the frowning face of the clone between them. He noticed the piece of paper in its hands and immediately began to brush it off. “Now D27, Daddy is busy. He’ll look at…your picture later.”

“No,” he started emphatically, “now. You’re going to look at it right now. You promised Daddy.” He managed to not whine a bit while saying any of the sentences, settling for an angry tone of voice instead.

The billionaire frowned deeply. He was not about to be commanded by a small child for any reason. “No D27, I will not. I-”

“That’s not fair. You never keep your promises!” Now he was actually upset. Nothing he did seemed to get his Daddy to listen or pay attention to him, and he was sick of being…ignored, that was the word.

He was about to reprimand the little clone when Skulker interrupted.

“Oh come on Plasmius, the sooner you look at the thing’s doodle, the sooner we can get back to our conversation.”

“It’s not a doodle, it’s a sketch, and you promised you’d look at it today. Remembeer? You promised after training last day.”

“Remember, and the word you are looking for is yesterday.” Vlad corrected while contemplating the wisdom of giving into the clone’s childish request. Seeing no reason to put it off any longer, he leaned over and picked up the page from the creature’s grasp. He had been prepared to just dismiss the drawing outright after a quick glance over to satisfy the clone. Instead, he found himself staring intently at the page. The level of skill…

Although the sketch had been made with crayons and colored pencils, not the most sophisticated of artistic instruments; the composition was fairly well made. It was a vivid representation of the Wisconsin sunset from the night before. The sky was a rich combination of bright reds and oranges with hints of purple at the top edge of the page. The sun was the center piece of the picture, and unlike most typical childish representations of the star, it didn’t have any lines coming off of the deep red sphere. It hung low on the horizon, disappearing behind the slowly rising fog common in the evenings of autumn in the area. The ground was an interesting mix of greens, browns and red from the light of the sun collecting in the low hanging fog.

If he had to guess the age of the person who’d the sketch in his hand, he’d have thought at least middle school aged. The attention to detail and specific pieces chosen to be showcased demonstrated a level of artistic talent and practice well beyond the barely five years of age, but literally three day old, clone waiting silently beneath him. “D27, you made this?” It was more a rhetorical question borne from a sensation of being impressed than anything else.

He smiled brightly and nodded his head. “It took me a really long time, but I think it came out pretty. I’m not done with it though.” He finished, his face melding into a small frown. “I still need to, um, sign it. Like all the painting in the house, but…I don’t know how.”

“What do you-” Vlad practically slammed his free hand into his forehead. Of course. I only taught it to read yesterday. “Oh well, writing is easy. Listen, I have to finish talking to Skulker, but right after that, I’ll show you how to write, and you can finish your sketch.” He offered while handing the picture back down to the enthused face of the young clone next to him.

“OK! I’ll go fix my bed so I’ll be ready when you come back.” He barely stopped to grab his sketch from his Daddy’s hand before running back towards his space in the lab.

The older hybrid chuckled as he watched the clone race out of the room. “Now,” he said turning back to the metal clad hunter, “where were we?” He asked before he noticed the odd stare Skulker was giving him. “What?” He snapped impatiently.

“Oh nothing Plasmius, you just seem awfully excited over the creature’s little doodle.”

Vlad had to stop himself from telling Skulker it was a sketch. Instead he just responded, “Did you get a good look at it? It was rather good for someone who’s only been drawing all of three days don’t you think?” He didn’t wait for a reply, but instead plunged right ahead. “Admittedly, the construction materials were childish, but the composition was interesting and displayed-oh shut up Skulker.” Vlad stopped himself from continuing to praise the clone’s picture when the grin on his ally’s face only widened.

“What? I haven’t said a word. In fact, you’ve said enough for the both of us about the pup’s little picture.” Skulker was enjoying rubbing his employer’s obvious affection back into his face. Especially after he’d made the point of being so detached the two days before. It looks like the ghostling is growing on him. He concluded with a few extra internal snickers.

“Nevermind.” Vlad snapped back waspishly. “So you’re sure you have every piece of available information? I don’t want to be surprised when I arrive.” He mentioned quickly changing the subject. I do not care more than necessary for that little ball of ecto-goo.

“I’m sure Plasmius. You’re lucky there’s even this much information around. Heck, he was imprisoned over a millennia ago. Anyway, if that’s all you need, I’ll be heading back home. I saw a golden spotted ecto-bob cat on the way here, and I don’t yet have a matching set of male and female for that species yet.” Skulker said eagerly.

Vlad gestured towards the open ghost portal. “Be my guest. I’ll call on you in another two weeks or so, before I head over to Pariah’s Keep.”

“What for?” Not that he minded Plasmius requesting his help, he was always well compensated for it, but he was frankly curious about what he wanted. He had better not tell me to go with him to that death trap. Skulker considered with worry.

“I don’t want to leave D27 alone for any large period of time, so you’ll be keeping an eye on him for me. Don’t worry; you’ll be compensated of course, but-”

“Plasmius I am not some kind of baby-sitting service. Leave a duplicate of yours here or something to watch it.” The hunter was not about to degrade himself by watching small children.

“It’ll be nearly Daniel’s age by then, so it’s not going to need serious watching over, I just need someone around who knows the technical of working my systems, just in case it tries to destabilize. Besides, I’ll need all my energy for going through Pariah’s Keep, unless you’d like to accompany me?”

“No! I can watch the whelp. You are sure it’ll no longer be so small in two weeks?” When faced with the option of either flying into certain near lethal level danger, or watching some pup for a few hours, the choice was clear.

“Of course. I’m glad we are in agreement.” As if there was ever any other option. Vlad concluded smugly. “I’ll see you in two weeks then. Don’t look so glum, I promise I’ll train the clone to have much better manners than anything Daniel can muster.” With that, he watched the frowning hunter float through the ghost portal, and disappear back into the zone. Now much more curious about what his quickly growing experiment was up to, Vlad turned away from the hypnotic swirling greens of the portal and back towards the back of the lab.

He’d waited as patiently as he could for nearly five minutes, before he’d found something else to do other than staring at the now completely clean floor of the lab. The little blue hologram that showed up sometimes when Daddy talked was floating in front of him now. Chatting happily with D27 about how pretty the sky had been last night, and the few messier scribbles he’d made earlier when he was bored. “I think I’m go to do this one again, but much better.” He said while holding up a picture of his Daddy in ghost form arms crossed, an imagined wind blowing back his white and red cape. He watched the hologram smile and nod, obviously paying attention. “But what I really want to draw is the really cool, um, battle between Daddy in that mean ghost dragon thingy, it’s just…I don’t know what a dragon looks like.” D27 concluded with a huff, a frown marring his previously bright features.

“Oh that’s simple! I have lots of pictures of dragons you can look at.” With that the hologram’s image was replaced with a large collage of various dragons from all over the world. There were East Asian dragons, classic European dragons, and even some pictures of South American dragonish figures.

“If you want to know,” Vlad started from behind the pair, “the Dragon King looks a lot more like this one.” He stated while pointing to an especially impressive black European dragon in the mass of pictures.

“Daddy!” He didn’t know what was better, that his Daddy was actually paying attention to him without him having to cry or scream or something bad, or that he’d actually kept his promise this time. “Mrs. Computer was showing me some dragon pictures, oh and she showed me how to sign my name.” D27 held up the newly completed sketch of the sunset, with a squiggly solitary letter and two numbers at the bottom right corner.

Vlad chuckled at the barely legible script at the bottom of the picture. “Yes that’s very nice. He blinked when the clone practically shoved the sketch back into his hands. “What-”

“It’s for you. I want you to keep it.” He said with a big smile. He hoped Daddy liked it. “I wanna make more, but um, I’m almost out of sketch making stuff.”

“Art supplies,” Vlad offered casually. “Of course I’ll get you some more. In fact, I’ll have someone pick some nice watercolor paints in the morning.” As messy as those are. “And you’re sure you want me to have it? You worked very hard on it, and I was thinking you could keep it in your room.” Vlad said carefully picking the clone up from the floor.

D27 glanced around the lab with an unhappy pout. “Of course I do! That’s why I worked so hard on it. I already have lots of pictures in here with me; I don’t need the good ones to stay here.”

“Ah, but D27, I didn’t mean here.” The older halfa watched as its eyes lit up with curiosity. “There’s a nice space upstairs with your name on it, oh not literally,” he added when the clone began to look confused, “but it is just for you. Would you like to see it?” He carefully balanced the clone on his hip and stalked towards the exit of the lab.

“You mean I don’t have to stay here tonight?” He watched as the space he’d made in the back of the lab disappeared farther from view. It made his tummy feel like there was something wiggling in it. He did want to sleep outside of the lab; it was cold and made lots of beeping noises. On the other hand, he’d never slept anywhere else, as far as he could remember, so the thought of doing so wasn’t as fun as he imagined it would be.

“Not unless you want to.” Vlad added when he noticed the nervous energy coming off of the clone. “But why don’t you take a look at the room before you decide?” Honestly why in the world does it want to sleep in a cold impersonal lab over a nice decorated room, I can’t fathom. He rounded the corner taking him away from the study and back towards the front part of the house. He’d had a room set up after the clone had fully solidified out of its growing pod about five days before. It was generic kid friendly, with enough personality and bright colors to entice most small children. I’m sure it’ll want to make changes as soon as it’s settled.

“Oh, ok I guess.” He decided. During the last part of the walk to the room, something he’d put off before came back to mind. Skulker and Mrs. Computer had called him something weird. And when he thought about it, Daddy did too sometimes. He knew what the word meant; he just didn’t know why they kept calling him that. “Daddy, why does Ghost Skulker and Mrs. Computer keep calling me ‘clone’?”

The elder hybrid nearly dropped the clone in surprise when he heard its question. He hadn’t expected the question for awhile yet, perhaps never if he was honest with himself. It wasn’t something he was keen on explaining. “Oh well, don’t worry about it, it’s not really that important.”

“But it is Daddy. Ghost Skulker keeps saying it, and you do too. If ‘clone’ means to make a copy of, or an individual produced by cloning, then who am I a copy of?” It had been bothering him for the last day or so, and he really wanted an answer.

I definitely hate that dictionary. What was I thinking? “I…” His first instinct was to blatantly lie. To say it wasn’t a clone at all. That it had misunderstood. But the way it was looking at him made it nearly impossible. “I promise, I will tell you later. Just not right now ok? I don’t want you worrying about it, but if it really bothers you, I’ll tell you in a few days.” At least by then it will be much older, so maybe it’ll understand better.

That wasn’t the answer he wanted, and his Daddy didn’t always keep his promises, but he’d kept his last one, so maybe he would this time too. “Ok…” He rested his head against his Daddy’s shoulder right as he stopped in front of a door. The door opened with a slight creak and on the other side was the coolest room he’d ever seen. There were cool colorful pictures on the walls of big bright green lizards, and the bed had red cars all over the sheets. The floor was a bright blue carpet that matched the walls, the ceiling was sky blue with little white clouds on it, and the background of the bed sheets too. D27 started to wiggle, wanting to see the room for himself.

“Oh alright, there.” Vlad set the clone down onto the floor and watched it bolt for the bed. He suppressed laughter as it practically bounced off the walls in excitement. He started when he felt his cell phone buzz, then the reason for it hit him. I was supposed to call Cynthia. In between the near melting episode, and talking with Skulker, he’d forgotten why he’d woken up extra early today in the first place. “Now D27, I have to take this call, but I’ll be back in a little bit so you can tell me what you think of the room.”

“But I already know what I think. Can’t I sleep here tonight?” He wriggled with energy, his whole body practically buzzed he was so happy.

“Certainly.” The occupied business man answered with a flick of his wrist to open the phone.

“Now stay right here until I get back, I don’t want you wandering the halls like yesterday.” Vlad turned from the room, and closed the door behind him, already going over the finalities of his newest acquisition. A few distracted minutes later found him settled behind his private study’s desk, signing off on the last of the faxed over documents, preparing to send them back to Cynthia in New York. He pulled back the second to last page and was about to sign the last page when he noticed that it wasn’t a document at all. Vlad had somehow dragged the clone’s picture back into his study with him, and it was staring back up at him innocuously.

“Mr. Masters?” a disembodied voice asked from the other end of the cell.

“Oh? Yes, I’ve finished signing the last of the documents, and I’m faxing them now. Yes this did go a lot smoother than I thought it would. I’m glad they agreed so readily, to the updated conditions, as well. I’ll talk to you when you get back to Wisconsin, Cynthia, have a great flight.” Vlad clicked the cell shut and stared down at the clone’s gift. He had contemplated pinning it on the fridge, but it didn’t seem right to put it up there. He wanted it somewhere they’d both see it regularly, and he rarely frequented the kitchen, and he doubted the clone would either. On the other hand, his study desk got plenty of use, and both him and the clone would be in here often enough to assuage any guilt about leaving it somewhere supposedly private. A small smile graced his lips as the picture balanced against a square shaped paper weight on the desk. He’d get it a real frame in a day or two. Once again, the squiggly unique, personal, touch on the bottom corner stuck out to him. It was significantly different seeing the clone mark something as his-its own. If it was difficult thinking of it only neutrally or as a scientific curiosity before, those three little symbols made it basically impossible. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I can’t thinking of D27 as an ‘it’ forever if I want to call…him my son one day. Maybe saying ‘he’ won’t cause as many problems as I think. Vlad pondered leaning back in his leather chair. The clone was still small and unstable, but he couldn’t pretend it was just a ball of ectoplasm anymore. If only it-he didn’t have such an endearing personality. Vlad pondered before concluding, but then if he wasn’t so endearing, I wouldn’t want to call D27 a ‘he’ right now, and I suppose that’s a small ‘sacrifice’ to make for finding a way to start thinking of him as Daniel.

#Danny Phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #Phandom #Beloved #Balshumet's Fanfiction #Balshumet's Baragouin #Chapter Three

1 note · View note

nightmareonfilmstreet · 7 years

Text

Happy 70th Birthday Stephen King: The 10 Best Horror Adaptations

New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/happy-70th-stephen-king-heres-10-best/

Happy 70th Birthday Stephen King: The 10 Best Horror Adaptations

Today our father who art in horror Stephen King turns 70! And I for one thank Maturin, that great big turtle in the sky, every single day that Stephen was born. Just ask yourself “Where would we be without him?” In fact, what would horror be without him?

Stephen King was born in 1947 in Portland Maine. He sold his first professional short story “The Glass Floor” In 1967 while working in an industrial laundry. In 1971, King started teaching high school English, while at nights he continued to write short stories and work on his novels. In 1974 Doubleday published Carrie. The resulting income allowed him to leave his teaching job to write full-time. Over the next 40 plus years King went on to shape the horror landscape by releasing many genre defining novels including The Shining, Cujo, IT, Salem’s Lot and many more. King has amassed sales of over 350 million books to date, and thankfully isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Stephen King is also responsible for some of the most horrifying and nightmare inducing movies ever made. Many of his novels have been adapted into some truly iconic and recognisable horror movies in modern cinema; The Shining, It, Carrie, Christine, and countless others. To celebrate his birthday, a sacred day on my horror calendar, lets countdown my our 10 Stephen King horror movie adaptations.

Selection Criteria

a) Only Horror Movies: – I will only be selecting Stephen’s scary sh*t, so there will be no Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption or Stand By Me. We’re a horror site.

b) The rankings are mine, and are based on how much I liked the film- Not the scope of the cinematography or the maturity of the score blah blah bah. My list. My criteria.

c) I have only ranked movies I have seen. For all I know, Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror could be the greatest movie ever based within the King-verse, but I haven’t seen it so it’s not on the list!

And without further ado, The List!

10 – Carrie (1976)

Hi Carrie, rough night?

Carrie White is a shy and sheltered girl, who after a particularly cruel prank unleashes her deadly telekinetic powers to get vengeance at her high school prom.

Let’s face it. This film is bleak. Sissy Spacek plays awkward so well that you grimace at her every interaction. Add to this the fact that she has clearly been systematically domineered and abused by her religious mother whom I’m pretty sure is the most evil character since Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. In fact the most uplifting moment in Carrie is when Mrs. White gets graphically and ironically killed; impaled on her own symbolism.

Anyway, Carrie kills everyone and lives happily ever after or something.

For me this film boils down to three scenes ranked by how much they terrified me as an 8-year-old boy.

3. The prom scene = mildly freaking out.

2. The hand out of the grave scene = big jump scare made me close my little eyes.

1. The pig murder scene = didn’t sleep for a week. Every time I closed my eyes i heard that poor piggy crying.

9 – Secret Window (2004)

Wait, what?

Uh oh, early controversy! This probably won’t be a popular choice, but I loved this movie, and remember: My criteria.

Secret window is a psychological thriller about an author named Mort. Recently divorced, he moves to his upstate New York cabin to work on his writing. While there he meets John Shooter, who accuses him of plagiarism and proceeds to torment him seeking justice.

Johnny Depp and John Turturro are easily two of my favourite actors named John. I will eat anything these two dish up and probably ask for more. Their chemistry really carries this film and Turturro’s accent is just plain fun. The mystery aspect of this movie however is the weak point and by the time the twist is revealed, you’ve probably already guessed it. But the way it’s handled is so entertaining that I didn’t begrudge it at all.

8 – The Dead Zone (1983)

Whoa Chris, Your sex is on fire!

5 years after a car accident leaves him in a coma, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) discovers he has the ability to see people’s secrets through any physical contact. With some deeply unsettling visualizations of his premonitions, we follow Johnny as he attempts to navigate his “Dead Zone” and prevent the untimely deaths of those around him.

If you need more incentive? (ahem, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN) it is also directed by David ‘freaking’ Cronenberg! Don’t even bother with the rest of this list, if you haven’t seen The Dead Zone. Cancel your plans for the evening and watch it now.

7 – 1408 (2007)

Should’ve got the suite upgrade.

*This movie has two endings and while both versions are good, I only have eyes for the darker ending.

Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a paranormal debunker decides to stay in the Dolphin Hotel’s infamous room 1408. Not long after checking in Mike learns that the stories surrounding room 1408 may not be as embellished as he first believed.

SPOILER ALERT! this hotel room is really f**king haunted! After he ignores the hotel manager’s (Samuel L Jackson) extremely convincing and rational speech, it doesn’t take Mike very long to realize his monumental error. This movie is tense and unnerving from start to finish.

6 – Christine (1983)

Dope ride bro!

A nerdy teenager (Arnie) buys a vintage car (Christine) that has supernatural abilities and a sinister, violent nature. As Arnie’s obsession with Christine develops, his friends notice that the car’s not so pleasant nature is starting to influence its owner.

John Carpenter directs a movie about a kick ass red car, that actually seems possessed by a demon, but don’t let this seemingly campy premise put you off. This movie is awesome as Christine is evil. The badass Red Plymouth Fury owns every scene it’s in with its larger than life presence, deep rumbling voice and inherent menace.

5 – Pet Sematary (1989)

I’m never making waffles again.

Behind a family home, in Maine, there is an old cemetery that holds the secret to life and death. When Tragedy strikes the Creed family, the lure of this power becomes too tempting to ignore.

Pet Sematary (spelt wrong on purpose) is a movie about a family who move into a new house that’s on a surprising busy road. Soon after they lose their small child in a tragic accident. Louis (Dale Mikiff) learns of the old pet cemetery and it’s apparent ability to bring the dead back to life (yay!) but they also seem to come back a little evil (boo!). This movie is full of fantastic nightmare fuel. I still cringe every time I think of sweet little, creepy AF child, slicing open poor old Jud’s Achilles tendon.

4 – IT (2017)

So much happiness in one place…

The newest film on the list, and it was only through sheer force of will it wasn’t number 1. For those of you who live under a rock, IT is about a group of kids called ‘The Losers Club’ who are taunted by a monster in the form of an extremely disturbing turn-of-the-century era clown.

This movie is so much fun. Sure, its full of terror. Sure, I haven’t slept in a week. But, it captures the innocence and humour of being a kid so perfectly, it almost made me wish I grew up in Derry….except, of course- for the evil clown trying to eat everyone.

3 – The Mist (2007)

Oh God, no!

You guessed it- This one is about a strange Mist that descends on a small town (probably in, Oh I don’t know- Maine). Along with the unexplained weather pattern come terrible monsters that pick off the town folk one-by-one. No one knows where it came from or how to get rid of it.

We spend the majority of this film in a grocery store, where the monsters outside are not necessarily the biggest threat. A great creature feature, The Mist is fun, action packed and dramatic (especially that ending!). Actually, maybe you should just press stop once they drive into the mist near the end, because the last 5 minutes is so dark, it will definitely break your heart.

2 – Creepshow 2 (1987)

UNCONFIRMED photo of Miley Cyrus at the kids choice awards.

I’m sure this one needs no description, but Creepshow 2 is a horror anthology of tales based on Stephen King stories. The first segment follows a cigar-store Native American statue coming to life to avenge the death of the shop owner and his wife. The Raft features a group of sexy teens travel to a secluded lake to swim and have fun. Problem is there is an evil organism living in the lake that is hungry for some nubile flesh. The final installment follows a woman who hits a hitchhiker with her car and decides to flee the scene, but the victim isn’t inclined to remain dead.

This was my favourite movie growing up! A brilliant collection of twisted, and timeless vignettes. The wrap around animation is a lot of fun too, telling the story of little Billy and his bullies.

1 – The Shining (1980)

You could’ve just knocked, Jack.

There is no other number one.

In The Shining, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer’s block. Psychic premonitions plague his son Danny. As Jack’s writing goes nowhere, young Danny’s visions become more intense. Jack discovers the hotel has dark secrets and he begins to unravel, terrorizing his family as he spirals downward into madness.

The pamphlet for the Overlook Hotel should just read: Overlook Hotel, where a bunch of jerk ghosts live. Poor Danny, his “Shining” ability along with a childish love of exploration, open him up to some serious spectral harassment. This movie builds tension to perfection. In fact one of my favourite characters in the film is Dick Halloran. When Dick is on-screen there is usually a slight respite from the heavy tension.

This movie is a classic that every horror fan needs to see at least once.. no, twice.

Honorable Mentions

Misery, Creepshow, Silver Bullet and Cujo

Thanks for making my life more entertaining Stephen! And please, keep the nightmares coming! Let us know in the comments below your top Horror Adaptations from Stephen King!

#1408 #carrie #christine #creepshow 2 #it #pet semetary #secret window #Stephen King #the dead zone #the mist #the shining

0 notes