#But not to worry. Jack and Maddie to the rescue!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

xadoheandterra · 2 years

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Series: still waters run deep Title: Transitive Existence Fandom: The Sandman (Netflix + Comics semi-fusion), Danny Phantom Chapters: I | II Enablers: @demigodorion @azthedragon @kbobrian (because you three litereally went “do it” soooooo….) Characters: Death of the Endless | Teleute, Time, Clockwork, Danny Fenton Pairings: Night/Time (historical) Tags: Discovery and Ignorance, Death Is Nosy, Clockwork Is Cryptic, Referenced Dream in the Fishbowl, dichotomy of existence, Death is a good big sister, introspective Summary: A New Endless is born, a new sibling of the Seven, a new child of Night and Time. This, predictably, has consequences. Not that Danny really cares. He’s just here to live his life and maybe make friends with these people who’ve been at this whole ‘Endless’ thing longer than he has. And okay maybe the idea of older siblings that aren’t Jazz is an interesting prospect and maybe being accepted by someone who understands is on that list somewhere.

Oh, and there might be something about rescuing a cosmic entity in there but whose counting?

Danny twisted lightly in the air as he floated in the sea of empty green that made up the Ghost Zone almost aimlessly. He'd been sent off by Jazz with a smile and a bag and a kiss to the forehead. There was the promise and threat to return to Physical once his business in the Zone had been done since Danny knew Tucker, Jazz, and Sam had all planned some sort of birthday celebration. Maddie and Jack weren't home, thank the Ancients, otherwise it would have taken more work for Danny to even get into the Zone for this visit.

With a grin Danny twisted to fly on his back as he stared at the expanse. He wondered what Clockwork had to tell him now that he was seventeen. It'd been almost a full year since Clockwork came into his life, nearly three full years since he'd died and revived in equal measure in the lab accident beneath his home. The older ghost had been a godsend after their initial and rough start; his knowledge helped so much in Danny's own growing grasp of his abilities and then his many questions and ever growing curiosity about the Zone. Now Clockwork specifically asked Danny to visit on 'the day of your arrival as a being in the Physical,' which was Clockwork-speak for birthday, apparently. Compared to, 'the day of your making in the Realms,' which apparently was the day of the lab accident. Danny didn't know why Clockwork phrased it like that, but that was the ancient ghost for you.

Not that Clockwork was actually a ghost; Danny had to be blind to not realize there was nothing 'ghostly' about Clockwork, but he lacked the context for what Clockwork is other than a mysterious time-based entity of unfathomable power who had an extreme fondness for young 'Phantoms' such as Danny. Dani did not find Clockwork so fond, but Danny was certain it was merely a lack of exposure that would correct itself in time. After all Clockwork handled everything in the aftermath of Dani's near de-stabilization and Danny hadn't had to worry about Vlad showing his ugly mug ever since! Danny considered that a win in his book, all things considered.

The sound of a ticking clock drew Danny from his thoughts as he leaned his head back and slowed his flight. He passed by a singular, floating clock as the landscape around him began to darken. Jagged bits of earth and rock formed small pathways that dipped through slight hills into peaks and valleys. Danny drifted over to one that he recognized, marked by a signpost with a night-sky purple clock decorated in little stars that looked vaguely like some sort of art project Danny had made when he was three. He always found it a little odd, but then he chalked it up to something that his parents had accidentally dropped into a natural portal that Clockwork eventually found and took a liking to. It at least served as a decent guidepost to being in the right area of the Zone.

With a twist Danny landed his booted feet upon the path, hiked his travel pack that Jazz had shoved at him a little more centered on his shoulders and began to follow the path on foot. It was rude to fly through another ghost's area of the zone unless you had previous permission, and while Clockwork had long given Danny permission to fly if he needed to, Danny preferred being polite. The first few disastrous meetings of the various denizens of the Zone because of his social faux pax made him more than leery of pissing of a being far more powerful than himself.

The remainder of the walk was rather peaceful as this area of the zone began to darken into something more like twilight, the distant lands looked little more than stars in the night sky. Danny always liked this view of the Zone best, and always found the shift and change from endless green to endless night fascinating. His love of it might have had to do with his love of space, but it wasn't wholly because he once dreamed of being an astronaut. The idea that the various lands in the Zone could be likened to small planets or stars had always appealed to him. The Zone was a lot like Space in that way--vast periods of emptiness, inter spaced with small budding galaxies of landmasses that orbited one another. Of course that implied there was some sort of logic or order to the Zone and there wasn't, but Danny thought the comparison was apt.

In the distance the Clock Tower rose up over the edge of the hill. It stood tall as a skyscraper, but as with most things in the Zone the closer you got the smaller it really appeared. By the time Danny was to reach the front porch the Clock Tower was the size of nothing more than a rather tall and thin house instead of the towering shape it appeared in the distance. Danny tilted his head when the door to the Tower opened and out stepped the rather familiar figure of Grias. The strange Observant-attendant ghost was a weird one, not like the rest of their kind that apparently worked to govern this world in the absence of a caretaker. For one thing Grias was kind, for a given measure of what kind meant.

They wasn't an asshole like the others, Danny amended silently as Grias came to a standstill in front of him. Danny remained quiet and watched as the ghost fidgeted with clawed fingers for a moment before they dipped their head with a short, "Lord Phantom."

Danny put on a smile and waved with a short, "Heya, Grias. 'Sup?" He earned a slightly hesitant fanged grin in response from the ghost before it was wiped away into blankness a second later.

"Forgive me, my Lord," Grias said carefully. "Your time with Clockwork will unfortunately be far more brief than previously hoped."

Danny frowned, fingers tightened on the strap of his backpack. He didn't know what Grias meant; he had no idea how long this entire meeting between him and Clockwork was supposed to go anyway, let alone what Clockwork wanted to tell him about that was so important it had to wait for this day specifically. Cautiously, slowly, Danny drew out a soft, "Okay?" and Grias inclined their head.

"You have four hours, my Lord." Four hours? Danny blinked, surprised at a given length of time for this meeting. There wasn't ever really a time put upon Danny's visits with Clockwork in the past, and if something were to be short Danny would anticipate it at being something closer to thirty minutes and not four hours. If Grias considered that brief Danny wondered how much time Clockwork really wanted to have with him. "After that point I am afraid I cannot keep the news from the Council. I am sorry."

Grias bowed once, and in Danny's stunned silence slipped past him and away. Danny blinked after the other ghost with another, quieter, drawn out, "Okay?" followed by a short, "What the fuck?" because nothing of that interaction made sense. After a second Danny shook his head and decided it didn't matter. He turned, marched up to the Clock Tower's door, and pushed it open with a cheerful call out to its resident.

"Hey, Clockwork!"

Clockwork looked up from where he stood, half bent over his own staff which he grasped tight enough to render his knuckles bone white, and graced Danny with a smile.

"Hello, Daniel."

Yeah, Danny decided as he felt that core in his chest tremble with emotion at the clear fondness from his ghostly mentor, whatever Grias was on about didn't matter.

...

Daniel was a curious and often creative child, Time learned in the years he spent with his gaze on his child. The youngest-oldest of his Endless children was so frighteningly like his third child in many ways that more and more often Time let his gaze drift in the direction of Morpheus. A part of him shattered every time he saw his little dream curled into a ball, ignoring the world around him. A part of him worried about the humans who held onto the drops of Dream's power, who used and abused gifts that were stolen. He may have, silently, tweaked a few bits of timeline in a sense of revenge--aged some, forced others to stay younger...but that was not the point. Time drifted back into the here-now to look at Daniel whose lips were pursed at the bombshell of information Time had just lain at his lap.

You are not alone in this universe, Time had uttered softly. There are seven others just as you are.

"Well I guessed as much," Daniel eventually said into the silence. He peered at Time over his knees and pressed his cheek against the bone there, and Time waited patiently. "I mean...Vlad and Dani exist, right?"

For a long moment, Time stared at his child almost uncomprehendingly. The form of it unfolded beneath his gaze with those simple words--things that Daniel should know but treated as unknowable. Ah, the poor boy feared his nature, didn't he? He kept the knowledge from himself to fit himself into the mold of a human when he wasn't. Time sighed deeply and leaned forward. He placed his hands upon his knees as he looked at Daniel with a narrowed gaze.

"Daniel," Time said, and his voice rumbled in this place with barely constrained power, he knew. This must be delicate; a careful extraction of the truth that Daniel willfully denied as ignorance. "What do you see when you look upon me?"

"An ancient and very powerful ghost," came Daniel's prompt reply, and when Time raised his brow Daniel flushed slightly before he mumbled, "I mean it's easier, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

Time watched as Daniel's brow furrowed, as he tried to think of what Time wanted him to acknowledge, before finally Daniel sighed softly.

"Not always, I guess," Daniel whispered into the air, and his words echoed faintly with something on the edge of his grasp. Daniel looked to him then, eyes a bright teal that overtook even the sclera and pupil. It was like looking into the edge of the aurora borealis, a twist of blues and greens that shimmered almost in the way of galaxies but not quite. A hint toward his cosmic parentage, but evidence toward his own unique nature.

"What do you see, child," Time urged softly, and waited for Daniel to look, to put words into what he truly saw before him. Daniel breathed out slowly, and Time let a smile cross his lips as Daniel looked to him with his nature--with the truth of it in his eyes.

"You are older than ancient," Daniel said slowly, words with that echoey quality to them. "From before a moment when things exist. When there was only darkness, and only time, that stood upon a vastness and an emptiness. You will exist even then, always shifting and moving from one moment to another, to another, to another...." Daniel blinked, and his eyes cleared back into bright green that they took upon this form. "You are Time," he said finally, his voice clear. "All of Time made manifest."

"Yes," Time said, and found himself pleased especially with the wide-eyed, awed way that Daniel now looked to him. It looked as if the child truly saw him for the first time.

"Has your hair always been this red?" Daniel asked, voice suddenly bright as he shifted and dropped his knee down. He leaned forward and grasped at the small bit of braided hair that had fallen from beneath Time's hood.

"When I am this young, yes," Time agreed lightly, smile on his lips.

"Oh," Danny whispered, as his gaze darted to Time's face. "Clock, your eyes...."

Time nodded slowly. "Now, little one, what do you see when you gaze upon yourself?" There is a moment, and then Daniel turned his head to the side for a moment. Time watched as he turned that gaze inwards, and his heart broke a little as the next second Daniel jerked away from him with a stricken expression. "Daniel?" Time asked, leaned forward slowly to place his hand upon one thin shoulder of the teenager before him.

"....I'm not human, am I?" Daniel whispered, and looked at Time with that unfathomably Endless gaze. Time smiled sadly in response. "What...what am I? What are you?"

With the care of a parent, even out of practice as he had been and with only the ability to observe the world around him and rarely to interact with it, Time drew Daniel into an embrace as he spoke in soothing cadence, "You are my son, Daniel, and we are Endless." He stroked a hand down Daniel's back, tried to sooth the teenager whose own truths laid bare before him--they had time to wait until Daniel had processed before Time brought up his siblings once more. There was much they needed to go over, in the moment granted to them. Much Daniel needed to know before--Time closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

It did not matter. None of it mattered in the face of his children.

...

The knowledge that he was something other had always been there, Danny knew. He'd always known in the way that he just knew things and in his boundless curiosity on how each item was put together, the workings behind it. His endless fascination with all things space and expanding--Daniel knew he was different. He and Jazz had spent hours and days just talking about it sometimes. Jazz said he might be something called autistic, or have some other developmental difference that made him just a bit unique compared to everyone else. He might also have been adopted, they speculated, given how vastly different to his parents he looked. He had hair that was as dark as the night sky after all, nothing like Jack's dark brown that bordered on black. His eyes were the complete wrong shape too, and the exact shade of blue was not quite the same as the Fenton's, either.

In the end Danny and Jazz had long concluded it didn't matter because Danny was Jazz's brother and Jazz was Danny's sister and Sam and Tucker were his friends. Even becoming what he was now--not half-ghost, Danny knew that was just a story to tell children, something to clarify the differences between him and the others, to ease the knowledge that Danny was other because Danny was other. Each of his 'powers' could easily be pulled from the reality that he was a child of Time and Night, of cosmic beings older than the universe, older than the oldest of universes by any rights. He had the ability to drift among the Physical because he was Endless, much as apparently the others in this family he didn't know about could. He could be seen if he wanted, or unseen if he didn't, and Danny knew he'd always been able to do that. Had always done that. The invisibility, intangibility, had only been something he'd taken up after the Fenton's various discoveries and his own worry about his nature.

Danny stood on the precipice between different species of being. Humans that he most resembled, that the Endless oft appeared as, and then whatever the Infinite Realms demanded he be. The white, the glow, the 'ghostly abilities' and 'ghostly core' were all aspects that pulled from the Neverborn. They weren't 'ghost's' per se, but manifestations of concepts of events, of common discoveries because the Infinite Realm was an Infinite Realm of Discovery, and it was all Danny's. Every thing discovered or learned and everything lost appeared there in one way or another--and in that way everything in the Realm was Neverborn but not necessarily Ancient like Clockwork--like Time.

It mattered in a way Danny didn't understand, except then Clockwork stood to his feet and offered Danny a hand and spoke in that soft, deep bass of his, that he wanted to show him something important. So Danny accepted the grasp and followed Clockwork down the winding halls of the Tower which grew and shrunk as it was needed. He followed Clockwork with red hair and blue eyes and pale-as-death skin with his core in his throat and his world partially upended. He grasp tight to that hand and felt just the slightest bit unmoored, untethered and so young. Youngest of eight--the idea that Danny had siblings just as strange and different as him made him the slightest bit giddy with everything.

The room Clockwork took Danny to was a bare, blank space filled with colors and small nebulae that resembled the sky untainted by light pollution. Danny gaped at it, spun in a circle as he let go of Clockwork's hand to take in everything. There were columns and pillars that wrapped around the room, and set in the center a series of items placed in a semi-circle.

"Your siblings call such a room their Gallery," Clockwork said softly, and drew Danny's attention over toward where he stood in front of a golden ankh. Danny watched how Clockwork stroked his finger along one of the wristwatches that littered his arms as he looked to it, and gestured Danny to come over. "They've built up rules among themselves, ways to conduct their interactions based upon mine and their mother's opinions of such things, and later to bind themselves as Family when things began to...sour, in our absence."

"Why have you been absent?" Danny asked as he stood next to Clockwork--he tried valiantly to again ignore that Clockwork had called himself their father in all things. He would rather unpack that little bit of information at another time, when he could properly decompress and hopefully have Jazz there to mitigate the freak out that was bound to happen. The freak out that he was barely able to stop right now as it was.

Clockwork looked to Danny then, just a sideways glance as he spoke. "I am old, Daniel. I am ancient."

"Yeah your basically dust," Danny quipped back and then winced as Clockwork blinked at him slowly. "Sorry."

"I am not offended," Clockwork chuckled. "You are not wrong. Cosmic dust I may be, yes, and yet...my children had their duties, a hand in their affairs. They did not..." Clockwork paused, lips pressed together.

"You felt like they didn't need you," Danny said and for the longest moment Clockwork nodded his head.

"It did not help that your mother and I had a bit of...well, that we chose to go our separate ways," Clockwork placed the words delicately out there before he turned from them completely. "As it was they did not need us, now fully formed and conscious of their actions. They had no need to be coddled or cared for any longer." He paused for a moment, stared at the wristwatches on his wrists--and Danny counted eight of them, when he'd thought once there were only seven. "I am always with my children, Daniel, even if they cannot see me. I am always watching."

"Yeah but...but you need them too, right?"

Clockwork looked to Danny with eyes that were so sad that it hurt and Danny wasn't sure what he could do to make it better. He opened his mouth, but Clockwork interrupted softly, "It is more complicated than that, child." When Danny went to counter the statement Clockwork reached out and grasped his hand and tugged him forward. "Here, grasp this."

Danny closed his mouth, breathed through his nose, and then grasped at the golden ankh with a roll of his eyes as Clockwork began to explain the workings of the Gallery. Why the Gallery was in the Clock Tower Danny didn't know, but he bet it was just some weirdness about the Zone and not that this was actually located in the Clock Tower at all. He wondered if anyone in the Zone could find him here, if he found his way to this place. Were the Observants aware of Danny and Clockwork in this space? Were the Observants aware of what Clockwork was? Danny doubted it; he doubted they would bother to try and order around a literal cosmic entity of Time like Clockwork was if they knew.

"Are you listening to me, Daniel?" Clockwork asked, and Danny blinked and then rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He thought he heard a sound, faint and in the distance that reminded him of wings, but he did not let himself dwell on it as he replied to Clockwork a bit embarrassed.

"No, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts."

"Be careful with that; ones thoughts can be a dangerous place to wander off alone in after all!"

Danny whipped around, surprised enough to drop the ankh in his hand as it clattered to the ground. He did not miss the wince that crossed the woman's face in front of him, the ways she glanced to the ankh and then to Clockwork before finally her gaze landed on Danny. Her lips tugged up into a wide grin, and she seemed for a moment as if she would open her arms before she thought better of it.

"Felt you holding on to that for a while without saying anything and figured I should stop by and see what was what," she said brightly.

Danny looked down to the ankh, and then scrambled to pick it up and place it back on its pedestal with a faint blush and a mumbled, "Sorry."

"It's alright, little brother," Death said with a soft smile. "I'm not busy at the moment." She glanced once more to Clockwork with a raised brow, and Clockwork peered back at her from beneath the hood of his cloak. "Got to say I'm surprised to see you here, father."

Danny looked down and mumbled, "He was showing me this place."

Death arched an eyebrow. "Was he?" For a moment Danny could almost taste the way the air got tense, and then Death stepped forward and smiled reassuringly at Danny and said, "Well then, what has he told you about this place?"

Danny blinked at her, and then looked to each of the pedestals. "This is a...Gallery. A way to contact...contact my siblings." He stumbled over that, calling them siblings because while that is what they were, Danny was still new to the concept of it.

"Yes," Death agreed. "Did he tell you of the rules?"

Clockwork shifted, and then wrapped his arm around Danny's shoulders. Danny could feel the edge of his cloak brush past his knees and almost touch Death with the motion. "I had not gotten that far before you interrupted, daughter."

Death snorted. "Of course not." She righted her own sigil, and Danny watched her do so as she began to speak and explain the rules to him softly. "We are not allowed to interfere in each others business. It helps keep the peace between our sphere's of influence, you know? I wouldn't want Destiny to mess around with the souls I lead to the Sunless Lands, just as I am sure Destiny would not want me to meddle in his affairs, either."

Danny blinked, said cautiously, "Destiny?" and Death smiled at him in response as she gestured to the book on the first pedestal.

"Destiny's sigil," Death said softly. "It leads to his own Realm, The Garden of Forking Ways. Destiny, Potmos, tends to be rather solitary." Death moved on to the ankh. "This is mine, and leads to the Sunless Lands. I am Death, or Teleute," here Teleute winked and Danny flushed faintly even as his eyes widened in realization of her Function. She moved on to the next, a strange mask as she gestured and spoke. "This is my younger brother, your older brother, Dream's sigil. It leads to the Dreaming." She lingered here, and Danny watched her curious before she moved on to the next sigil, a sword, which Death stared at for a long lingered moment before she only said it belonged to Destruction and then moved on.

Following the sword was a glass heart that belonged to Desire, leading to The Threshold. After that was a hooked ring for Despair and a place called The Gray Realm. A swirl of colors apparently belonged to his older sister Delirium and a location known as Madness. Danny took all of this in for the moment before Death looked him up and down and then rocked back on her heels. Clockwork still stood at his back, hand upon his shoulder as a comforting presence in the middle of all of this new knowledge about his life.

"What about you, little brother?" Death asked, and Danny looked up at her in surprise. "I've talked about each of us," and she had, even if she glossed over Destruction rather quickly, "so tell me a bit about you and this place of yours." She smiled reassuringly at him, and Danny scuffed his feet for a moment before he looked to Clockwork who nodded slowly in response.

"I'm..." Danny breathed out slowly and then straightened his back as he looked at Death and said, "I am Discovery, and this is the Infinite Realm."

Death smiled even wider, and with a soft laugh wrapped Danny into a hug as she said, "Welcome to the family, little brother." Hesitantly, surprised at the action, Danny wrapped his own arms back around Death in a hug, and then let a small smile cross his face as his core hummed, rather pleased with the acknowledgement of family.

...

It was hours later, after Death had finished explaining the Rules that she and the others had put together to keep things civil--hours of wandering out of the Gallery and back into the Clock Tower which had left Death a bit surprised by all the time related items here, and then the admission from Clockwork, Time--which Danny was still processing that little revelation--himself that he had been in this Realm for some time now--settled into it, was well known to it--that had resulted in a rather flinty eyed gaze from his--his older sister. Teleute, as she whispered to call him if he felt more comfortable--

"Call me Danny, then. Or Phantom when I'm....like this. Uhm. Unless you prefer Discovery?"

"Any of them is fine, little brother, but what do you mean by 'like this'?"

--and then she made her excuses, that she had some work to do, but she told him not to be a stranger and if he needed help to always ask. The worst she could do was tell him she was too busy in the moment, but she promised if it was dire she would be there. Danny didn't miss the way Clockwork's lips pursed at that, or miss the way Teleute's breath hitched when Danny and switched from being 'Ghost' to 'Human' and that she mouthed a name that made his chest ache. Perhaps it was part of his 'Function' to notice the little things, to put together the secrets that were otherwise attempted to be kept from him. At any rate once she was gone he turned to Clockwork--to Time--who stared at him patiently and waited.

"What was she not telling me?" Danny turned and asked Clockwork, once she was gone. "About...about Destruction and Dream?"

Clockwork sighed heavily, and then gestured for Danny to follow him. They went from the Gallery to the Room of Windows which was an area that opened up viewing portals to various points in time. Danny had been there before, when Clockwork had punted him into the future to learn about--about himself, he supposed. He wondered now about the evil future him, Dan, and how he had been twisted in such a way as to be that.

"Your brother Destruction," Clockwork spoke softly, "grew rather tired of his Function and decided he wanted control of it no longer. So he left, and cut off ties to rest of the family."

"But...but destruction is necessary," Danny frowned. "Without it creation can't exist."

"And I am sure you can see that both exist well and good without your brother actively working," Clockwork pointed out with a small smile, and Danny nodded with a furrowed brow. "Destruction did not truly leave his post, merely....stopped placing his hand in things. There have been consequences, but not near so dire as there could have been."

One of the Windows showed a red haired man in some sort of art class working on a sculpture. Danny blinked and then looked to Clockwork who winked at him for a moment before that Window closed out.

"As for Dream..." Clockwork's lips thinned and he nodded toward another of the Windows. Danny turned to look, and then all of him froze. He felt his core stutter in his chest--felt the burning ache of anger began to boil somewhere deep within him. It was a rage he was familiar with, one he felt when Jazz had been hurt by an ex-boyfriend of hers years and years ago. He clenched his hands into fists as he stared at a dark haired, blue eyed, naked man in a fishbowl. He couldn't articulate himself, just looked to Clockwork whose gaze was focused on the Window and so--sad.

"Your brother has been trapped in this way since the early twentieth century," Clockwork spoke softly. "This has had...consequences, upon the Physical." He motioned toward another Window, a pair of Windows actually set beside each other. One was of a vibrant, almost fantastical land--the other that same land in ruins. "And it has had consequences upon the Dreaming, as well."

Danny swallowed heavily, and then asked, "Why has no one helped him?" almost hoarsely.

Clockwork looked at him, for a long inscrutable moment, and then said, "Because he has not asked," and Danny blinked because--right, the Rules that Death had told him about. The stupid agreements between the siblings. Danny crossed his arms and scowled back.

"Could he ask?" Danny demanded, wanted to know if this older brother of his was stupid enough not to ask for help when he needed it.

"No," Clockwork agreed, and then Danny nodded once, sharply.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him out!"

Clockwork smiled, a slow and sad thing and Danny didn't know what this smile meant except that it made his core curl and twist uncomfortably. It wasn't reassuring, but it also wasn't terrifying. Yet Clockwork still nodded slowly to Danny's request--his demand--and with a twist of the hands of a clock a portal opened for them to step through. Before Danny did so Clockwork placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Stay out of sight," Clockwork said softly. "Do you understand?" For a moment Danny said nothing, then nodded once and slipped into that spectrum of space between that was Invisibility and Intangibility--a step toward Oblivion. Then, both of them stepped through the portal and into the basement of the Burgess Estate in Wych Cross.

#fanfic #fic: still waters run deep #fic: transitive existence #danny phantom #clockwork #time of the endless #death of the endless

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underforeversgrace · 5 months

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healing the wounds we hid - 9

title: healing the wounds we hid

Finally, the sequel to broken trust and the wounds hidden behind! (Refresh here on AO3 or here on Tumblr)

Story Summary: Now that his father knows, Danny's life is changing for the better. Jack encourages him to let his friends and the rest of the family into his small word. Unbeknownst to Danny, Jack is secretly worried about how Maddie will react to the news upon her return to Amity - and how to confront Vlad once Jack learns his true identity. Amidst it all, an enemy lurks and plots their revenge.

Chapter 9 of 11: Rescuing You

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One

(Tumblr Chapter Ten will be here)

~~~~~~

Maddie fidgeted uncomfortably in the passenger seat of the GAV as conversation and last minute preparations swirled around her.

“And you’re sure this will work? You threw it together in ten minutes from scrap.” Vlad asked, holding up a device the size of his palm.

“I’m positive. C’mon, an RFID jammer is one of the easiest things to build, what self respecting techno-geek wouldn’t know how to cobble one together?” Tucker retorted.

“I don’t think ‘self respecting’ and ‘techno-geek’ are ever able to go together,” Sam said. A strained laugh echoed around the GAV at the girl’s attempt to lighten the mood.

“Are there any other questions?” Jazz asked, trying to take charge and seem calm, but the way she repeatedly wrapped and unwrapped a strand of hair around her finger betrayed her anxiety. “Or are we all good on the plan?”

Soft murmurs of agreement went around the vehicle.

Maddie watched Jack as he drove, letting Vlad and the teenagers fall back into bickering behind her. He was dressed in a plain outfit, something she hadn’t seen from him in years. Jack wore brown slacks with a brown button up, a hat of the same color on his head. Even with his bulk, Jack looked like an ordinary everyday Joe, especially if she only glanced at him.

Her head itched under the wig she wore and she picked at the sleeve of the white coat she had on to keep from scratching at it. Why Sam had even had a blonde wig, especially of such high quality, Maddie had no idea. Maddie was similarly dressed plainly, a simple blouse and black slacks covered by a lab coat.

Jack turned the vehicle off the main road, stopping a half mile back from where they knew the facility to be.

“Vlad, Sam. You’re up. Mic check.” Jack said, hooking a Fenton Phone over his ear. Sam and Vlad followed suit. They only had four of these, so Tucker had the fourth one. The four of them flashed thumbs up to each other when they confirmed the Phones worked.

Sam scowled slightly down at her outfit - she’d dressed up in a costume as well, a black pencil skirt with a dusty pink top and light makeup, which, for a girl who Maddie had seen wearing combat boots since age eleven, was quite out of the ordinary. Vlad was the only one who would be interacting with the agents who didn’t have to change into some wildly unusual outfit.

“Be safe,” Jack said as Vlad and Sam clambered out of the vehicle. Both just shared solemn nods and began the trek to the facility.

“Hold on, I think I can patch the Phones into the GAV’s radio so you two can hear as well, Mrs. F, Jazz,” Tucker said, leaning forward and popping open the center console to expose the wires. After less than a minute of fiddling, static began to crackle through the speakers.

“Can you still hear me?” Tucker asked when he finished.

“Yes,” Sam answered as Vlad said “Affirmative.”

“Fuck yeah!” Tucker said with a grin, though he looked sheepish as he remembered who he was talking to. “Uh! I mean! You’re coming through the RV’s speakers, we can all hear you now.”

“Copy that,” Sam said. “We’re in sight of the facility.”

“Gotcha. Mr. F, wanna get us closer? Another quarter mile or so?” Tucker asked.

“Why?” Jazz asked.

“So that Vlad and Sam don’t have to walk as far back and so there isn’t as long of a gap between them leaving and Mr. and Mrs. F. arriving.” Tucker explained. “We don’t want to give them time to calm down.”

The four of them quieted down as the speakers flickered.

“Name and reason for visit?” A bored voice could be heard distantly.

“Vladimir Masters and my assistant, Eliza Jordans, here on behalf of Dalv Co. We have a meeting with some of your agents.” Vlad said smoothly.

“It’s six in the evening.” The agent answered, his boredom audible in his voice.

“Trust me, I am aware. I quite nearly canceled the visit when I was informed that your higher ups refused to meet with us at a more reasonable hour.”

“They were quite adamant this was the best time to meet with them,” Sam added, sounding timid and shy in a way that threw Maddie for a loop. That girl had been hard headed ever since the first time Maddie had met her, demure had certainly never been a word Maddie would describe Sam (or anyone in her family) with.

“No higher ups are here,” the guard grunted. “You’ll have to reschedule.”

“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Vlad said, doing a very good impersonation of a grown man having a tantrum.

“Mr. Masters, I think they don’t respect your time,” Sam added, sighing.

“Who is your manager? I wish to speak to him this instant!” Vlad said, the sound of a hand slamming against metal reverberating through the mic.

“He’s placed the jammer,” Tucker said.

“Sir, I apologize, but there is no one here higher than me at this time. You’ll need to call tomorrow and schedule an appointment.” The agent answered, clearly exasperated.

Maddie had to resist the urge to chuckle as she listened to her old friend absolutely rant and rave at this poor guard, but the stern, serious faces of the other three in the vehicle made her hold her tongue. They still believed Danny was being hurt, after all.

“That is enough!” The agent yelled after over a minute of Vlad screeching at him - a whole fifty seconds longer than Maddie herself would’ve lasted. “Call in the morning and get out of here before I call reinforcements! This is federal property and you are now trespassing!”

Sam sighed. “I’ll add it to my calendar tomorrow, Mr. Masters. But honestly, if they can’t make time to see the CEO of Dalv Co, are they worth your time? There’s other agencies that would grant you the respect you’re due if they want the multi-million dollar funding.”

“The - the what -“ the guard choked out.

“Right you are, Ms. Jordans. Be sure to mention this… lovely agent’s name when you call tomorrow to inform them why we will not be pursuing a partnership with them.”

“Certainly, Mr. Masters.”

They were listening to Sam get the guard’s name - and his stuttering - when Tucker distracted them with a yell. “No!”

“Tucker, what’s happened?” Jack asked, turning to look at him.

Tucker just blinked tears from his eyes, looking away from his PDA and jerking the singular headphone bud he wore out of his ear, leaving the Fenton Phones in his other. “Danny just woke up. He’d been unconscious until now. They’re…” Tucker took a deep breath. “Jazz, you said you were good to do first aid? He may have burns.”

Jazz and Jack both paled at the information. Tucker took a deep breath and returned his attention to the device in his hands. He flinched as he did so but didn’t elaborate further about what he saw as he pressed the headphone back into his ear, pain on his face. “You still have the blueprints I stole from city hall’s archives?”

Jack nodded, fishing the folded up paper from his pocket. “And we’ve got it noted which room you’re showing Danny is being held in.”

“Good. It sounds like Sam and Mr. Masters are done. You’re up.” Tucker said before looking up and making eye contact with Maddie. “Please bring him home.”

Maddie tried to give him a reassuring smile. Even if he didn’t realize this wasn’t really Danny, he clearly thought it was and it warmed her heart to see how much he wanted to help save her son. “I’ll get him,” she said.

“Here, your badges,” Jazz said, grabbing the fake cards from beside Tucker and handing them to Maddie and Jack.

Maddie nodded, tugging the badge into her pocket and straightening her wig, but Jack hesitated behind her.

“Tucker…” Jack started. He breathed shakily before continuing. “How hurt is Danny?”

“Hurt,” was all Tucker said. “Get him out of there. Please. I can’t… I can’t lose him again.” He pleaded.

“Don’t worry, Tucker,” Jack reassured. “I’m not going to lose him again, either.”

Maddie stayed quiet, merely nodding along as Jack finally hopped out of the GAV and they made their way towards the GIW facility.

“Thank you, Mads,” Jack said when they rounded a corner and were out of sight of Tucker and Jazz.

“For what?” Maddie asked.

“Believing our son. I know it’s hard, but… it’s him, Maddie. It really is.” He said, pulling the Fenton Phone out of his ear.

“How did he convince you so fast?” Maddie asked, keeping an eye out for Sam and Vlad.

Jack shrugged. “Same way as you, that video. Once you realize it’s him, it becomes so obvious in everything he does. I saw that video, I saw Danny’s goodbye… and I just knew it was him.”

“So what? He showed you that video and then everything just became fine?”

“Oh, no,” Jack shook his head. “I found the video by accident. I had gone into his room for something and found the USB and medical supplies hidden under his bed. He didn’t even know I’d seen the video. After that… well, you saw how afraid he was of us. I needed to earn his trust. It took a few weeks, but I did. He told me his secret of his own choice.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this, while I was away?” Maddie demanded. How long had her son been missing?

“Maddie, I love you and I always will. But it was… delicate. Tell me you wouldn’t have come home and accused me of being overshadowed and then shot him because you couldn’t believe he was Phantom without proof.”

She didn’t respond, they both knew he was right. She still knew Phantom wasn’t really Danny, after all. “Did he give you that? Proof?” She asked instead.

Even in the slight gloom, Maddie could see Jack’s lips turn up into a small smile. “I’ve seen his transformation a dozen times by now. He’s told me stories, explained things about what he’s hidden from us since this happened. The beakers he kept dropping in freshman year, you remember? Even that was because of being Phantom. He couldn’t control his powers yet.”

Maddie nearly stumbled as Jack kept talking.

Freshman year.

Pain spread in her heart. There was no way Danny was still alive after two years kidnapped by a ghost. Her son was dead and replaced.

And she hadn’t noticed.

Jack was still telling her things he’d learned since ‘discovering’ Danny was Phantom when Sam and Vlad finally came into view.

“Maddie. Jack.” Vlad said, pulling the Fenton Phone out of his ear and handing it towards her. “Is something wrong with your communication device? Mr. Foley and Jasmine have been trying to reach you.”

“Shit,” Jack swore, putting his Phone back in as Maddie followed suit, though her movements were slower and she felt more like she was in a haze.

Danny was dead.

He’d been dead for two years.

“You guys okay?” Tucker asked in her ear.

“We’re fine, sorry Tucker,” Jack apologized. “I was talking to Maddie.”

“Glad you’re fine,” Tucker said. “Remember, the jammer won’t work for long, hurry.”

Jack and Maddie did as they were told, Sam wishing them luck as she and Vlad made their way back to the GAV.

Icy determination fueled her steps as she pushed forward, patting gently at the weapon in her pocket. The jammer Vlad had planted for them would disrupt anything not powered by ecto-energy within fifteen feet, he’d said, so she’d decided to bring the gun just in case, and she was glad she had.

Phantom was not going to escape this night with his afterlife. Of that, Maddie was certain.

Soon, she reassured herself as she tried to bury her feelings as deep as they would go. The plan was still the same - break into the facility and find Phantom. The only thing that had changed was her end goal - she’d have helped free him if it meant saving her son. But she had no son left to save.

The facility came into view - though ‘facility’ was a loose term for it. She’d seen the blueprints so she knew it wasn’t a very big place but she’d definitely been expecting more of a federal building, regardless. It was a squat, square white building with nothing of note to mark it, not even the name of the agency. Maddie looked to Jack and they shared a nod. They’d go in separately, Maddie was up first. Jack, dressed as a janitor, was there to help smuggle Phantom out, a Fenton Thermos tucked into one of his many pockets, and help Maddie fight her way out if it came to it.

“I’m right behind you,” Jack murmured, reaching for her hand and gently squeezing. “Let’s get our son.”

Maddie knew her smile looked strained, she could only hope Jack interpreted it as her being afraid about sneaking into the Ghost Investigation Ward’s base. With a deep breath, Maddie drew herself up to her full height, exuding confidence as she walked forward.

“Good evening!” She said pleasantly, fishing the fake badge out of her inner pocket.

“Evening,” the guard said, looking slightly shell shocked, probably thinking he’s about to lose his job once Dalv Co ‘calls’ tomorrow about the ‘funding meeting’ they were supposed to have.

Maddie just gave him a friendly grin, swiping her card over the access panel, which beeped angrily at her, a red light flashing. “Damn it,” she swore lowly, swiping it again and getting the same response. “Ugh, excuse me?” She asked.

The guard seemed to blink away some of his daze. “Uh, what’s up?”

“The door isn’t letting me in. Are the scanners acting up again? I thought they fixed that.”

“Damn it, again?” He asked, pulling out his own badge and getting the same response.

“Whoever is in charge of fixing this place really doesn’t want to do their job, do they?” Maddie asked, giving the man a sympathetic look.

“No,” he grumbled.

“Can you let me through? I was called in about the… specimen that was obtained today,” she said, glancing to the door in pretend worry. “I can’t miss it or my boss is going to blacklist me!”

The guard mumbled again, trying his badge uselessly. “I’ll put in yet another request about this. Go on in,” he said, buzzing open the door manually. “No one else needs to get fired,” he added so quietly she barely heard him.

“Oh, thank you!” Maddie said, overacting her relief as she hurried through the door, letting out a heavy breath as she did so. That had supposedly been the hard part according to their planning, getting into the building. “I’m in,” she said, pressing on the Phone in her ear.

“Copy that, Mrs. F.” Tucker said, though he sounded more staticky now. “These people really do say everything in their emails. Anyway, their shields are causing some interference but I can hear you loud enough. Mr. F, wait a minute and then follow her. We only have about four minutes left on that jammer.”

“Got it,” Jack answered. “Mads, start looking for Danny. Is he still in the same room, Tucker?”

“Yeah. Room B17, sub level number two. Please hurry, Mrs. Fenton.” Tucker said, his voice breaking slightly as he asked.

“On my way,” Maddie said, pressing at the earpiece again to silence her microphone. The halls were mostly empty - it was after 5pm on a weekday and this was a federal government agency, after all - so Maddie hurried towards the stairs, her hand going back to the blaster hidden beneath her robe, on her hip.

She had to get to Phantom before Jack got inside. He’d never let her do what needs to be done, never accept Phantom had only pretended to be their son, accept Danny was dead and they had been too negligent to notice. She only had a little bit of time to blast that ectoplasmic scum to whatever Hell he had avoided the first time he’d died.

She had no trouble getting down to level two - security really was astonishingly lax here. Tucker had said as much - the emails he’d gotten access to indicated the GIW’s focus was on stopping ghosts, not humans.

“I’m heading in,” she heard Jack say and she swore. He needed to stay out! Maddie desperately scanned around her for an idea, grinning when she saw the sprinklers in the ceiling. Perfect. A fire alarm would keep Jack out and may help clear out whatever scientists were with Phantom. She pulled the prototype Fryer from her waist, aiming it at one of the sprinklers above her.

“Mrs. F, what are you doing?” Tucker yelled in her ear.

“My son is dead,” she answered calmly, pulling the Phones from her ear as she heard Jack begin to scream her name, dropping the device to the floor and crushing it beneath her heel. She lowered the voltage of her weapon and fired, the sprinklers going off instantly as the fire alarm began to echo loudly throughout the halls. She heard scattered shouts of shock as she bolted out into a full run, relying on her memory of the blueprints to lead her to B17. She found the room just as someone jerked the door open and ran out, forcing her to jump to the side to keep from being trampled.

“Get back here!” A voice screeched from the room. The scientists paid the man who spoke no mind, more focused on evacuating.

None of the scientists paid her any mind either as she slipped into the room, Fryer held loosely in one hand.

“Cowards!” The man yelled, furious. It took Maddie a moment to recognize him - Operative O. He appeared more disheveled than she remembered him ever being, also wearing some type of metal prosthetic where his hand had been last time she’d seen him.

Maddie quickly studied the room - it was clearly some sort of surgical theater, full of medical equipment and sterile metal surfaces. Phantom was shackled to a stainless steel table in the center of the room, electrodes connected to various spots on his upper body. She didn’t care to study him too much, noticing the way O was standing beside him, hands on the table as he yelled.

“Get away from Phantom,” she ordered, holding up the gun and aiming it at O.

Phantom snapped his head to the side to stare at her. A gag was settled in his mouth, preventing him from talking. Tear streaks ran down his face, tinged with the same glow as ectoplasm. She’d have to be blind to not notice the Lichtenberg scars running across his arms and torso, sickly green that shot over him like lightning, so dark and concentrated over where a human heart would be that it looked like burnt flesh. Small branches of the same design poked out from around the sticky pads connecting the electrodes to him.

His eyes were wide as he stared at her, though she couldn’t bring herself to truly study his face.

What if? Her mind whispered and she stomped the sentiment away.

“Who’re you?” O demanded.

“Doesn’t matter. Phantom is mine. Back off, I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, making a shooing motion with her hands.

“He is mine,” the man hissed, going for the gun on his waist and aiming it at her, one handed.

“He killed my son,” Maddie shot back. “Back off!”

She heard Phantom make a slightly strangled gasp through the gag, but she refused to look at his face again.

“He killed my brother!” O shot back. “He needs to pay!”

“He does,” she agreed. “But he’s tricked humans. They’re coming to save him. He dies now or he escapes!”

That made O stop, even lowering his gun. “Phantom can’t escape again. He can’t.” O’s face crumpled slightly in grief. “He has to pay for what he did to K!”

"He does," Maddie agreed, stepping closer to the table. "But if we don't get rid of him now, he's going to escape."

Maddie ignored the sounds Phantom was making as he struggled on the table, screams muffled by his gag. She accidentally looked at him - she saw the pain and hurt and betrayal in his eyes as tears dripped down his face.

What if? Her mind muttered to her again. No! She insisted, forcing herself to look back at O. She held up the weapon so he could see it. "I think this can destabilize him. It has a high enough electrical current, based on my theories, to unravel a core. We never used it because we wanted a specimen we could study. I’m willing to make an exception,” she said, gesturing towards Phantom with the gun.

Phantom began to actively pull and strain at the metal cuffs binding him to the table. O practically growled, angrily flipping a switch on the machine near him. Maddie jerked away as electricity crackled and sparked along the ghost’s frame.

His entire body seemed to dance with electricity, his back arched so far he’d have broken his spine if he were human and had one. His eyes rolled back into his head, spit dripping from the gag as he screamed so loudly it may as well not even be there. It didn’t last for long, O turning the switch back to its ‘off’ position. Phantom collapsed back down with a thud, fresh tears falling from his eyes as he sobbed, eyes clenched tightly closed.

Good, she determined. He can feel pain.

She did her best to not notice the rise and fall of his chest as he desperately tried to draw in air.

“How high is the voltage on that?” O asked, turning away from the crying ghost. Maddie answered and he frowned. “We’ve shocked him with something higher than that already and he showed no signs of destabilization.”

Maddie frowned slightly, glancing at the watch on her wrist. The fire alarm had delayed Jack, but it wouldn’t keep him away forever. She nor Jack had ever actually destabilized a ghost, all they had was theory.

“We’re running out of time. I’ve got an idea. We may be able to disrupt the core by running two separate currents, so the core can’t find an equilibrium. Meaning - you turn yours on, and I’ll turn mine on,” she explained, dialing the voltage on the prototype as high as it would go.

Operative O’s grin could only be described as sadistic. “You hear that, Phantom?” He asked, clapping his metal hand roughly against Phantom’s shoulder. “Time to ride the lightning! Something you already have experience with, hm?” He added, gesturing to the distinct scarring on the ghost’s chest.

“Goodbye, Phantom,” Maddie murmured. The ghost turned to look at her, wide eyed and afraid as she pressed the gun to his forehead. She didn’t mean to, she really didn’t, but she ended up holding his gaze.

There was no anger, no malice in his eyes. No desire for revenge, no defiant sass.

No, all that she saw was terror - pure, unbridled terror - mixed with agony. Tears tinted green fell freely and a scream that was clearly a plea for help, for mercy, was audible through the gag.

What if I’m wrong? pierced her mind and her grip on the gun loosened slightly, enough that Phantom noticed. Hope filtered into his green gaze, though it didn’t stay there long, as O flicked the machine back on, turning the voltage to max. Again, Phantom’s body seemed to involuntary raise, trying to pull away from the table as he screamed so loudly she wondered if she’d go deaf.

What if I’m wrong? echoed in her head as a memory came to her unbidden. A family vacation down south, to the coast, the first time Danny had ever seen the Atlantic Ocean. He’d been eleven - was it really only five years ago? It felt like a lifetime - and he’d gone too far, getting caught in a riptide. Jack had gotten to him easily, but she’d never forget the look on Danny’s face when Jack had pulled him up out of the water and he’d choked, drawing in breath.

Why was that memory coming up now?

Maddie took a deep breath, steadying her hand, which had begun to shake at some point as the ghost child’s screams continued to fill the air. She could hear O’s laughter as Phantom cried out in wordless agony.

What if you’re wrong, Maddie? kept being screamed inside her mind.

This isn’t my son! she argued with herself, pressing the barrel of the weapon close to Phantom's head.

Before she could fire, a loud crack! sounded around the room and Phantom screamed even louder, his body arching even further in the air. The odd shape he contorted into made her heart skip a beat. That was his spine breaking.

He had a spine to break.

Are you willing to kill your son? was a quiet, tired sentiment in her head, the memory of Danny’s terrified eyes the day at the beach and Phantom’s similar look shoved themselves to her.

Not just similar. The same. It’s the same.

That’s my son!

Maddie made her decision instantaneously once she could no longer deny the proof in front of her. She raised her gun and fired at Operative O - knowing she was shooting hundreds of volts of electricity into a human, more than anyone could survive.

Killing a human to save a ghost.

Killing a human to save her son.

He dropped immediately and Maddie released her grip on the gun, letting it clatter to the floor as she ran to the device, quickly turning it off. His body fell heavily onto the table, unmoving and with closed eyes, even his chest still.

“Danny? Danny!” Maddie screamed, pulling the gag out of his mouth and jerking the sticky pads off his skin, ignoring the nausea that sprung up in her stomach as blackened, charred flesh was exposed with each electrode she removed. “Danny, please!”

A single bleary eye opened, unfocused. “Mom?” He asked, his voice hoarse from screaming.

“I’m right here, Danny, I’m right here,” she reassured, fumbling with the button marked to release the cuffs holding him down. They retracted and disappeared.

“You didn’t kill me?”

“No, no, of course not,” she said, running a hand through his hair, biting her tongue to keep from hissing in pain as he was so cold it burned.

“Dad won’t let you dissect me,” he said softly. “He won’t.”

“Oh, God, sweetie, I’m so sorry, I’m not going to hurt you! I swear! But we need to get out of here! Can you sit up?”

He made a grunting sound but nothing happened. “I can’t,” he said, a panicked edge in his voice. “I… do I have legs right now? I can’t… Mom, I can’t feel my legs!” He said, his panic growing the longer he talked, though his speech was slurred.

“Your back,” Maddie realized and guilt burrowed into her soul. “I think you broke your back!” She was struggling not to panic, not to throw up. Had she just paralyzed her son?

“Fuck,” Danny swore, his voice hitching in pain. “It’ll heal. We need… We need…” He trailed off, gaze again unfocused. Maddie had a strong suspicion he was going to lose consciousness any second now.

Determining she had no other option, Maddie leaned over the table, tucking her arms under Danny, lifting him and holding him close to her.

He was so light.

He was so scarred.

God, what had she done?

#grace writes #danny phantom

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heckinconfusedparade · 1 year

Text

Sonic and Maddie Watch Titanic

It all started when Sonic was having trouble falling asleep. When he went downstairs to grab a glass of water, he noticed Maddie watching a movie.

He climbs up onto the couch and under the blanket she’s wrapped in and snuggles up to his mother “hey, mom.. Whatcha watchin?” Maddie wraps her arm around the hedgehog, gently petting the side of his face. “Hey, baby.. Im watching The Titanic. Why are you up?” “Couldn’t sleep.. can I watch it with you?”

Maddie chuckles “are you sure? It’s got some rough subjects in it.”

Sonic scoffs “how bad can it be?”

Sonic knows about Jack and Rose. He’s heard it before.

When he learns that Rose has a fiancée, he gets confused “why is she hooking up with Jack if she’s gonna get married??” Then he witnesses said fiancée lay his hands on Rose. Sonic gasps “nevermind I get it.”

Sonic watches as Jack and Rose fall in love. He gets attached. His lil eyes widen during the painting scene. “So people just casually paint other people nude?” “Yep. A lot of people paint that way.” “Why?” “Well, why not?”

Then… the car scene. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about. Little man is having so many thoughts and emotions. He hides his face in his mothers side so he doesn’t have to see it. Maddie finds it incredibly funny. Sonic is just. Screaming silently. He looks when he thinks it’s over but oH GOD A HANDPRINT “WHY IS IT SO MISTY-“ logic is not logicing in his head. Maddie let’s him know when it’s done.

Another thing… Sonic doesn’t know the story of the Titanic. He’s unaware of what’s about to happen, and even more unaware that this is something that went down in real life.

So the iceberg catches him off guard. It’s the most stressful thing watching all the panic ensue.

He’s worried sick for Jack who’s chained to a pipe. He breathes a sigh of relief when Rose goes to rescue him.

It gets worse. The water is getting higher and people are getting trapped. Sonic is super upset that the crew is doing nothing to help these poor innocent people. His heart breaks seeing children in the crowd.

When the band keeps playing, Sonic wipes a tear. Those people have accepted that they’re about to die in one of the worst possible ways to go, and they’re still playing.

The ship goes down, and both he and Maddie are near tears. He feels sick watching Jack try to climb onto the door and fail.

As Jack succumbs to the cold and disappears into the ocean, Sonic is clutching his mother so hard. “…he’s gone?” “Yes, Sonic.” “Nobody’s gonna save him?” “They can’t.” “….” He gains some happiness back when Rose spots a lifeboat and blows her whistle. He wonders why she didn’t do that before.

As the camera pans over the bodies, men, women, children, babies, he feels so much despair.

He’s happy Rose is safe and ok, but man.

He iSNT HAPPY THAT THE FIANCÉE SURVIVED.

As the credit rolls he turns and goes “that was depressing! How do they come up with this stuff??” Maddie pauses, realizing that Sonic doesn’t know.

“Sonic.. baby.. the Titanic was a real ship. This movie was based off the real events. Jack and Rose are fictional characters, but the ship really did sink that night, ending hundreds of lives, and traumatizing everyone involved.”

Sonics jaw drops. He needs a second. “Wow.. all.. all those people..?” Maddie nods.

Well, now Sonic for sure isn’t sleeping.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic 2 #sonic the hedghog movie #sonic #movie sonic #pretzel lady

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aikoiya · 2 years

Text

DP - The Bell Tolls For Amity

I'd like to see a fic where Phantom is captured due to the combined efforts of Valerie, the Fentons, the GiW, & Vlad's funding along with what is essentially Master's Blasters.

He's taken in & experimented on for months. Vlad provided a collar that kept Danny from both using his powers & turning back. (This, however, proves to have physical health issues for him.) But during that time, the town & everyone who helped to get him captured, become intimately aware of just how much Danny Phantom did for them.

The ghost attacks are relentless. They come even in the middle of the night. None of them had realized just how devastatingly powerful some ghosts were. Even Vlad is taken aback by the reality of his little badger's workload. Turns out, only a fraction of the baddies that Daniel fought on a daily basis were on the businessman's payroll.

Again, he underestimated the boy & again it'll be his undoing. He's gonna have to figure out that Danny doesn't 'play hero' just for funsies, but because if he didn't, his town would be a fucking crater. Some people have these things called responsibilities & if they don't perform them, bad things happen. It's like plumbers; it's a shitty job, but if someone didn't do it, there'd be piles of the stuff everywhere. Vlad's just gonna have to come to terms with this fact.

The hunters are only able to contain the weaker ghosts & it usually takes multiple hunter teams working together to capture the stronger ones. Red Huntress is the best at containing them, but even she's having great difficulty.

The attacks are brutal & unforgiving. There's much more property damage & an uncomfortable amount of human deaths, but now THE HUNTERS are the ones being blamed for it rather than Phantom, because *gasp* he's not there.

Worse yet, the ghosts (minus Skulker) are actually thanking them for getting rid of the nuisance & mocking them for vilifying their Tutelary Psychopomp, which Maddie scoff at, being convinced that such classifications were just part of superstitious ghost myth. Jack, though, seemed to go pale because he had grown up in a hunter family that often did a lot of research on that type of thing, so he knew that Tutelaries & Psychopomps were real, but didn't say anything due to his wife not believing him when he spoke of such things. Spectra & Bertrand especially enjoyed tormenting them. Always mocking the GiW for their uselessness & being just as much of a hazard to humanity as any ghost. Always hinting at something to the Fenton's that they're never able to fully pinpoint consciously, but subconsciously, shutter to even contemplate. The fact that they keep pointing out just how terrible & neglectful they are as parents really pisses them off too.

Not to mention the fact that Danny Fenton disappeared around the same time as Phantom was taken, convincing the Fentons that he's behind their son's absence. They frequently utilize their deal with the GiW of being allowed to run their own experiments on Phantom to also demand where Danny is & take out their growing worry-fueled frustration & stress on him. I figure the things they discover about Phantom would be similar to the story 'Phantom of Truth.' Very grim, but would absolutely recommend.

The townspeople rally against the hunters & Vlad, even more so than before. They demand that they return Phantom, stating that he was a better protector. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he at least did better than them. Even many of those who had originally opposed his existence in their town, raged for the ghost boy's return. Though, many of them did so for selfish reasons, stating that he had a responsibility to save them.

Stress & fatigue mounts. Vlad wanted to wait until Daniel was broken from his rebellious stage before rescuing him as Plasmius, in hopes that the boy would be more susceptible, but now he's loosing money by the bucket-full trying to contain the problem. People are suing him for endangerment because he had a hand in having Phantom taken away. Sure, he has enough money, power, & lawyers to not have to pay a dime to them, but it's a headache to have to appear in court every few days.

Also, the ghosts were getting to be unmanageable to the point where if Daniel didn't get out soon, Vlad would have to start saving the town himself & we all saw how he fled from Vortex without really even trying to fight him. He didn't even show up to fight Undergrowth or Nocturn. He could possibly negotiate with ghosts like Aragon, but I feel like Vlad doesn't fight battles he doesn't know for sure that he can win & likely prefers fights where he can outright overpower the enemy.

As for Spectra, I hc that she had taken the place of one of Vlad's primary doctors or nurses back when he was in the hospital for ecto-acne & is, at least somewhat, responsible for his extreme decline in mental health. Also, while I do think that Jack & Maddie likely didn't try to visit him as often as they should've because they're oblivious & might be neurodivergent & have object permanence issues like that, I don't think they outright abandoned him like Vlad thinks they did. I figure, they tried to see him maybe once or twice a year or sent him letters, but every time they did, Spectra was there to turn them away or destroy the letters.

Anyway, sure, against lower-powered ghosts like the Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Klemper, ectopi, & other ghostly animals, the hunters did just fine. They could even manage when under attack from Skulker, Ember, Technus, Desiree, & such provided at least 2 hunter teams were working together.

Though, they usually needed specific aid for the latter. With Ember, the Fentons are able to use their Fenton Phones to negate her sound-based hypnotism. Against Desiree, Jack was able to figure out that he could simply wish her into the thermos, though not before a lot of damage was done. But in situations like Skulker & Technus, they often needed to recruit Tucker Foley to defeat them. Even despite this, every battle was hard won & typically left the hunters gravely injured.

Youngblood just ran free for the most part because none of the hunters could see him. It wasn't until Jazz Fenton mentioned that only kids could see him & the Fentons reinstated the Ghost-kateers that they gained headway.

Even still, most of the hunters were rarely able to capture the stronger ghosts & actually maintain their grip on them. Red Huntress & the Master's Blasters had the most success. The others could only seem to manage to capture ghostly animals when working as individual teams. One time, the GiW caught the Box Ghost & proceeded to experiment on him, but then the Lunch Lady broke in & saved him. This traumatizes the Box Ghost & eventually leads to a version of him more like the one from Ultimate Enemy.

There was also a time when the Fentons caught Ember & did the same to her. Similarly to with the Box Ghost, Skulker saved Ember, but by that point she was in really rough shape. It took a long time for her to fully repair the damage done. Now, Skulker has a personal grudge against the Fentons & he comes specifically for them now. Not because he wants to add them to his collection, but because they fucked up.

Then, the more heavy-hitting ghosts began to show up: Fright Knight, Undergrowth, Vortex, Nocturn & Aragon.

When those more powerful ghosts started to terrorize the town, it was devastating. It was practically a ghost town of crumbling buildings. Luckily, Vortex didn't care for Amity, specifically. Anywhere he could do his art was good for him, so he just left the town for the larger world once he got sufficiently bored enough.

Undergrowth had only been defeated weeks after he appeared. The hunters had all been beaten on the first day & the plant ghost had specifically targeted Sam again, turning her into his plants' mother again. He'd only lost when Sam had snapped out of his mind control & turned the tides on him, discovering that she could control the Blood Blossoms that the Fentons had been experimenting with without trouble. It's possible that getting too close to the flowers caused the mind control to wear off faster. Afterwards, Sam realized that she had retained some control over plants & ghostliness even after Undergrowth's defeat, but it wasn't enough yet to be an effective replacement for Danny. None of the hunters knew why they were suddenly freed because Sam specifically hid her new powers from them so they wouldn't take her away like they did Danny.

Fright Knight only wrecked havock on Halloween & could be contained in a pumpkin. Though, none knew until Sam Manson informed them of such under the guise of goth lore & even then, most of the hunters scoffed at the idea of using a magic spell. Especially Maddie with how scientifically & empirically her mind works. But as 3-4 AM approached, when Fright Knight would be at his most powerful, & the hunters' numbers dwindled; Team Phantom minus Phantom himself came in & proved the incantation's worth, absolutely stunning the hunters. Team Phantom had been waiting for the knightly ghost to get cocky & let his guard down enough for them to make their move.

Only Valerie, Maddie, & Agent O had managed to escape the Soul Shredder's edge that night. It was only good fortune that Jack survived because a few Ghost-kateers, all-but one of the Master's Blasters, & a large portion of the GiW agents that had come to fight had been so seriously injured before getting cut, by either Nightmare or Fright Knight's other powers, that they died afterward.

The Fentons tried to induct the team into the Ghost-kateers & the GiW tried to offer them a spot as official junior GiW, but none accepted. The last remaining Master's Blaster quit, stating that it was bullshit having to deal with all this. He'd been promised an easy job & lots of easy money. Well, it was neither, so he outtie!

Also, there's no way the hunters have any earthly idea how to fight a freaking dragon. Not without a hint as to his power source at least & Team Phantom couldn't allow the amulet into their hands. So, instead, they handled it with the Red Huntess' help.

Also keep in mind that Danny actually had some mixture of help when dealing with Aragon, Fright Knight, & Vortex. He didn't beat them outright, so how could a handfull of mediocre at best hunters hope to do it even all together & with help when Danny couldn't on his own?

Though, it turns out that it wasn't just the regular rogue's gallery causing problems. Due to, as they call it, the residant Tutelary/Psychopomp not being there to guard the Gate, quite a large amount of new enemies have turned up to try their hand. Because of this, Team Phantom doesn't even have any idea how to take them out other than the basics.

And not even just enemies, many non-violent ghosts were appearing in an attempt to satiate their unfinished business to try & finally move on. Whether it has to do with some work they couldn't finish in the Zone or they simply wanted to say goodbye to their loved ones or just see them one last time to be sure they're okay.

As per @lilmia-casand's suggestion, many followers of Duul Aman come to try & take back their pharaoh one way or another & it results in Tucker obtaining some small amount of power himself. However, instead of electrical abilities, he gets dunemancy or sand magic. As well as experiencing flashbacks of his previoius life which is where he learns said dunemancy. This also results in a bit of identity crisis & eventual maturing of his character as he tries to figure out what this means for him as a person. He even learns that the talent for archery that he discovered when helping to usurp Aragon from the throne of Mattingly might've been something left over from when he was Duul Aman.

Anyway, eventually, the team gets desperate & brings in Ellie who helps them bring in Valerie, who takes a whole week to get over the fact that she'd tortured her ex.

Yes, she's traumatized & feels so guilty, but she's also now officially part of Team Phantom.

Afterwards, the team officially becomes a hunter team publically & makes their own suits to fight ghosts in.

Sam wears a purple tunic with black racing stripes down the sides & black tights, black gloves, & a black, bat-shaped domino mask. Finally, she had black combat boots with buckles, spikes, & steel, skull-shaped toes. The black detailing around the neck & at the ends of her gloves & boots have a triangular shape to them. Her belt is black & has a lot of guns because she's the marksman of the group. She & Jazz also have these newly-invented retractable Fenton whips that they're learning to use.

Tucker wears a white hazmat with an orange 'Y' covering his chest, reaching up to his shoulders, which are covered with blue shoulder pads, & down to his belt. The branches of the 'Y' disappear under the shoulder pads that have Danny's DP symbol on them, then reappear to become a pair of racing stripes down the length of the arms before disappearing again under the gloves. The 'Y' on his front is mirrored on his back by an 'X'. He also wears blue elbow pads. He wears a white helmet with a blue visor that covers most of his head except his mouth & chin. His visor provides statistics, can wirelessly access his PDA & Danny's Ghost Files, & has built in Fenton Phones, night vision, infrared & thermographic vision, & a Fenton ectogram so he can see an outline of ghosts when they're invisible. (He learns that as he becomes more liminal, he'll get better at seeing in the dark on his own until he no longer needs his helmet to have a night vision built in, so he takes it out.) His gloves & boots are black with blue spots on his ankles, toes, & fingertips, as well as blue bands for the hems & his pants are orange, camo cargos full of pockets where he keeps his ghost hunting equipment. While Tuck is usually the Software Guy of the group with Danny being the Hardware Guy, he does often assist Danny, so he has enough knowledge to know what he's doing.

Jazz has a tunic the same color as her mom's suit, black tights like Sam's & black boots & gloves. She also wears a basic black domino mask. Her weapons of choice are the Fenton Peeler, the Jack-o-Ninetails, the Boo-Staff which is just an ecto-treated bo staff.

On all of their shoulders is Danny's symbol, showing everyone who they were aligned with.

As they work on finding a way to save Danny, they look into an idea that Sam had. Jazz has more knowledge of biology than the others having originally wanted to be a brain surgeon like her Aunt Ann. And recently, she'd been studying ectology & ectobiology out of necessity to help Danny whenever he gets really hurt &, as much as she hated to admit it, she was pretty good at it.

She tested it & found out that their plan could work, but only on herself. She would say Sam & Tucker too but, she'd get to that later. Anyway, because they had been exposed to & adapted to ectoplasm being present in their bodies enough over the years for it to work.

Jazz had been close to it her whole life & adapted due to proximity much like Danny had. Meanwhile, Sam & Tucker had also started adapting to it since being friends with Danny & spending time at his house, but much more slowly due to not living there. Their adaptation got even quicker after Danny became Phantom. Now, normally, they still wouldn't have been adapted to it enough yet, but Jazz discovered that they still had ecto-acne (though it was mostly dormant, thus making it less ecto-acne & more ecto-herpies). Which Tucker & Sam were both appalled at the thought that Vlad gave them both ecto-herpies.

Ellie looked forward to telling Vlad that Jack had given him ecto-herpies with every fiber of her being & couldn't wait to tell Danny.

Anyway, after Ellie had recovered from falling face-first onto the floor, laughing until her sides hurt & tears ran down her cheeks, Jazz relayed that due to the ecto-herpies (which brought on another chuckle from Ellie) they were now not only compatible, but slowly being turned into Halfas like Vlad had, Sam & Tucker's were happening even more quickly due to their recent repossession by Undergrowth & the encounter with Tucker's subjects of a past life. Because of this, there was no need for either Sam or Tucker to go through with the process because it'd already started for them. They just had to wait for it to crop up again. Thing is, it would be painful & slow, but because they had the soda contamination neutralized, it wouldn't be quite as painful as it had been for Vlad.

Valerie would be unable to go through with the process because she hadn't had any contact with ectoplasm until after her dad lost her job.

Jazz informed her that her new suit was actually slowly making her more compatible, but that it'd still take years for it to get there, which was just fine with Valerie, who was still struggling with her ectophobia. But, she wouldn't become a Halfa like Sam & Tucker would because she didn't contract ecto-herpies. Instead, she was becoming fully Ecto-Liminal.

(Now, this is all just based on Jazz's limited understanding of ectoplasm & how it works in relation to organic material.

The reality is that 99% of the population wouldn't survive the process. Jack & his kids could due to not only being a Legacy to a death diety, as well as a dhampir, & his ancestors getting into regular contact with ghosts as well as living in slightly ecto-contaminated places over the course of at least a century & it's just built up in their system over that long amount of time. Add to that, he & Maddie making ghosts their business, it makes their kids 100% compatible. Meanwhile, Sam similarly is a death diety Legacy & her family has lived in Amity for several generations where there's a thin spot in the Veil as well as a Lazarus Pit hidden somewhere & it mixes with the local water. This is enough for her to become a True Halfa eventually with the help of ecto-herpies. Tucker might also be able to, being descended from a Pharaoh, who are known to be descended from Horus, who, himself, was the son of Osiris, who was a death deity. Valerie, however, was not so lucky. She is not descended from a death diety in any respect, so she will not get the benefits of her body being perfectly adapted to ectoplasm. As such, Valerie won't ever be able to become a perfect 100/100 Halfa, but Sam & Tucker will, though it'll take several years to do so.)

Either way, it took them all a while to set everything up, Jazz being grumpy about having to make a new hazmat tunic so that when she went through with it, it actually looked good.

Sam changed Jazz's tunic to be orange & put a stylized JP in the center of her chest.

Then, they turned off the portal & Jazz stepped into it before turning it back on.

Jazz's eyes turned the same shade of purple as her mother's (who's eyes had originally been the same color as Jazz's but had changed due to ecto-contamination early in her career before the Fenton's wore hazmats; this is actually the reason why they began to wear them at all), her hair became an electric blue, & her skin turned the same shade of tan as Danny as a ghost.

Now there was a new Halfa & though it would take some time to get used to her new powers, they now had an advantage against the oncoming hoard.

After the ecto-herpies resurfaces, Sam & Tucker would slowly become more contaminated over time before dying. At which point, Jazz would bring out a defibrillator & revive them & the final stage of the process would begin.

Either way, they're in a better place than before.

Anyway, while Sam & Tucker were waiting for their ecto-herpies to reappear & advance, Danny had previously been working on streamlining the Fenton Ghost Gloves so they weren't quite so bulky & his team could use them more casually. Tucker completed the design, working the circuitry into the fabric itself. Along with that, he put anti-ecto studs on the knuckles. He also then made a few pairs of boots that would do the same as the gloves.

Sam & Tucker both wore a pair, plus wrist rays. Sam & Jazz also had Fenton Phones. Tucker planned to build them into their masks later.

As you can guess, they are set to start working.

There is shock at the reveal of the new, now public "Team Phantom" as well as these 2 new Phantoms & the fact that the Red Huntress had teamed up with them.

The Fentons expressed pity that the ghosts had managed to take in such young minds, especially the Red Huntess who they thought had had a very promising future as a hunter, while the GiW became suspicious of them.

Jazz Phantom makes it public that they will be taking over while her brother is out of commission. This causes a stir as no one had known that Phantom had had a family.

The Fentons, especially Maddie, rejected this idea, saying ghosts were post-humous impressions & not really people. As such, they had no family even provided the two Phantoms had been related in life, that wouldn't matter now because such relations are determined by biology which is something unique to physical organic bodies. Which ghosts didn't have.

To which, Sam goes on a spiel about how ghosts are as sapient as anyone & deserved as many rights as them.

It quickly becomes apparent who the best hunters are though. Team Phantom is at the top & while many adults, especially parents, are against the idea of kids fighting, they are unable to deny how well they do.

Jazz's powers mainly center around the more psychic aspect. Things like telekinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, limited future sight, psychokinesis, small-scale mind-reading, & psychic empathy. She's actually much like Miss Martian from DC.

She develops a cold core & her element turns out to be water eventually, but that's years down the line & the story will have mostly ended by then.

What happens after all this, I'm not yet sure.

I think that, in the end, Danny will end up saving Amity one final time, but then just never become Phantom again unless it was absolutely necessary.

He'll teach Jazz & Ellie everything he knows about being a halfa & protecting Amity, but after that, he quits.

He's just... so bone tired...

When his parents try to hug him, he refuses to let them touch him. He asks why they were so certain the Phantom took him.

Their answers are less than stellar & he explodes. He tells them everything, showing off all the scars that THEY gave him. This isn't about being accepted anymore, this is about telling them exactly how he feels.

His sister is 18 now, so he asks her if she has the paperwork they filled out for him to get emancipated & when she says yes, he asks her to do it & to adopt him, because he's done.

By the time this happens, the portal is destroyed & Danny is able to blackmail Vlad into making it a law that would make it illegal for anyone to open a permanent portal in Amity or for the Fentons to practice ectology in any capacity, so if the Fentons ever try to do it again, their asses would be in jail.

This doesn't do much as the Veil is so weak in Amity now that temporary portals are now commonplace, so they will likely have to deal with ghosts forever until they figure out how to fix it.

Either way, this isn't about his parents getting justice, it's about them suffering. Ghosts & ectology were what brought them the greatest joy, now that is barred from them forever. Not only that, but his family was Jack's other greatest joy & now he can't even go near his kids due to the restraining order.

That isn't all, Danny tells Jack & Maddie exactly who Vlad is & reveals to Jack that Vlad wants Maddie & had asked her to leave Jack & run away with him. Make it clear that it was also their fault that Vlad was the way he was & then emphasis the fact that Maddie never told Jack about what happened in Colorado.

So, now they will be alone, ostracized, unable to do what gave them greatest joy, & they're marriage is crumbling.

From then on, Danny suffers from intense depression, but he's slowly getting better.

Ellie begins to destabilize again, but Danny then recreates the machine Vlad used on him, but puts Ellie inside & freely gives the mid-morph DNA. She becomes much more stable, but appears to still need something to fully cement herself as a true halfa.

As an adult, he marries Sam, who later dies of ecto-herpies, (so does Tucker) after which she & Tucker are revived via defib, thus becoming halfas. Danny & Sam have kids, Andy & Misty. Then, they take in Ellie who is renamed to Eleanor in order to give her more autonomy over her life.

Sam, as a halfa, has yellow irises, a middle-eastern-type tan, (silvery hair? I'm not sure about this one yet...), & after reaching halfa puberty, her tongue becomes forked (though, it's got the same general human shape, just with a fork, so not long or thin or prehensile; not genguinely snake-like), & grows vampiric fangs. By then, she's married to Danny, so takes the name Phantom. Had she not been at the time, she would've gone with either Manes or Mourner. (Neither of which were originally thought up by me, but they were both good ideas, so here they are.)

Her core is a basic temperature, which is to say, a bit lower than the typical humans body temp. Her primary core element is wood or plant & her secondary is darkness or shadow. She also has a degree of connection to poison & her psyche reacted to her electric revival in a way that allowed her core to form a sort of null reaction to the element. Not only does she have a plant's electroreception which allows her to feel electricity in the air, but she is able to grow vines from her body & she can let one vine become a sort of lightning rod, allow the electricuty to flow down it, into her stomach, then up & out into another vine, which shoots the lightning back out through the end & away much like Iroh's lightning redirection technique, but with vines. She's sorta like if Poison Ivy & Raven from Teen Titans had a clone.

Something about her nature as a ghost makes her anti-gravity core only work half as well & the rest of the team are unsure why as of yet. (A/N: It's specifically because she is an Earth based halfa. Halfas, by default, have anti-gravity cores that only work half as well as true ghosts; however, if their core element is something connected to the sky or weather, then they are allowed 100% anti-grav efficiency. Every other halfa so far has some connection to air, what with Vlad having an electric secondary element, Danny having an ice/starlight primary & wind secondary [thus having an above-average anti-grav control], Ellie having an ice secondary, Jazz having a wind/electric secondary, & Tucker having an electric primary, they all naturally have a higher capacity for anti-grav than Sam, who has a plant/wood primary & a darkness/shadow secondary with some poison alignment.) As a result, Sam can mostly only glide, hover, & slow her falls without assistance. Because of this, she tends to sprout large, leaf-like wings from her back & this allows her true flight. The girlier part of her which she tries her hardest to suppress gets a little giddy at this, her mind telling her she's like a woodland fairy.

However, due to her nature as being specifically a plant-powered halfa, she has immunity to Blood Blossoms & other anti-ghost plants such as Rowan wood. She is also able to control them. It's also of note that she personally adapted to the ecto-herpies in a way that gives her a greater immunity to most poisons & venoms. Not anywhere near to the same degree as Vlad, but still. She also develops venom sacks in her cheeks, but they only activate when frustrated, aggrivated, or in danger, so if she were to bite someone in these situations, she would inject them with a deadly poison. For ghosts, it won't make them fade unless it's severe & they aren't treated. Basic toxicology methods are effective enough to get a ghost to recover within a week. It is, however, very deadly to humans & without a specific antivenom & proper toxicological recovery methods, will result in the individual dying within a few hours of injection.

Because of this, she takes up toxinology, clinical toxinology, & toxicology in order to create an antivenom. She will never forget the time when she was backed into a corner as a human & bit the man who attacked her, despite the fact that he attacked her, she'd never intended to kill him as she believes that all things deserve to live. So, learning that he died because of her was a hard pill to swallow.

Tucker, as a halfa, will get ginger or blood-orange colored irises with really nice espresso/dark, dark chocolate colored skin, like almost 100% raw cocoa dark chocolate, platinum hair with a very metallic sheen, then after reaching halfa puberty, he gets a canid tongue & wolfish/jackal-like teeth. Like, a full-on set, not just canines.

He has a hot core with an electric primary element, a technology secondary, & latent talent for dunemancy with some basic alignment to earth (specifically metal) & poison due to ecto-herpies being what killed him. His psyche reacted to being defibed by interpretting the electricity as being what saved him, this plus his technophilic tendencies leads to him welcoming the electricity as part of him & therefore, he has a much stronger alignment to it than Sam. The poison comes out in a way that allows him to sort of create a computer virus by connecting with technology & willing it.

Tucker is capable of ferrokinesis, but when it's a non-technology sort of metal like pipes or crowbars or manhole covers or hubcaps, it acts as more of an extention of his pre-existing electrokinesis like with Static Shock.

Power-wise, he's much like a clone of Static Shock, Technus, & the Sandbenders from Avatar. He also gets the same power that Danny has that allows him to possess machines & enter games or the internet physically.

Tucker goes by either Tucker Ghouly or Cyber-Tuck. Again, not originally my idea. I don't recall who thought up Tucker Ghouly, but I know that @thesoulspulse came up with Cyber-Tuck & her design for him is fire, so go tell her how smart & creative she is, please.

Anyway, Ellie begins to destabilize again, but much, much slower this time. So, Danny with the help of Dash who has actually really cleaned up his act after going to boot camp & being part of the military as a war medic. He hears about the issue & really begins to buckle into biochemistry, bioengineering, cloning technology, ect.

He discovers that one way to fully stabilize Ellie, not to mention the easiest & most straightforward way, would be to give her a female secondary donor. Sure, another male donor could work, but it's not as viable & would require more scientific fuckery & a whole hell of a lot more money.

Sam volunteers immediately.

With his help, he & Danny build a machine that will house Ellie, take in Sam's DNA, & once Ellie destabilizes, the machine will rebuild her from the ground up with Sam's DNA to help stabilize her around her core. However, due to a lack of quick-aging agent, Ellie will come out as 3-8 years old & will have to grow up the long way.

Interesting, she comes out with more indigo eyes & her ghost form will have more yellow-ish green eyes than Danny's straight Peridot green or Sam's outright yellow.

#Dp #danny phantom #ghost hunters #maddie fenton #Jack Fenton #GiW #Vlad masters #Valerie gray #Consequences #Samanson #Undergrowth #Fright Knight #Vortex #Nocturn #possible halfa au #the bell tolls for amity au #aikoiya au

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five-rivers · 3 years

Note

Hey! So I was reading through your Fae AU here, and I know you only mentioned him once, but I wanted to ask about what Walker's role in this AU would be? Especially since you mentioned him as having something to do with Vlad...

Oh, his counterpart here is the White Warden! Like in canon, he runs a prison. But the prison is for people who break fae law (regardless of whether or not they're fae themselves). He's actually much chiller than canon!Walker, and doesn't have anything against Danny (he's one of the several fae who are, in fact, very worried about Danny's living situation).

Instead of a portal accident, what happened to Vlad was that he broke a faerie law (my current thought is that he sacrificed something he shouldn't have in order to open a door to Faerie). Because of this, he was taken by the White Warden to his prison. One of his punishments was to be forgotten by mortals, which is why Jack and Maddie only remembered him when they saw him on TV.

While in the Warden's prison, Vlad traded away a lot of pieces of himself (among other things) in order to survive, gain power, and eventually free himself. The White Warden considers Vlad to have served his time.

As for Danny's encounter with him... Well, instead of a present, Danny has to find and rescue his parents.

#danny phantom #fae au #dp fae au #ask #answer

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flutteringdreams-matw · 3 years

Text

Out of Time (15)

First/Last Read on AO3 Word Count: 6953

Previously: Dan went after Lancer but thankfully Danny flew in for the rescue. After their latest scrimmage, Lancer manages to save Danny and contact Tucker to put up the shield. Honestly - some very good friendship scenes with Tucker and Lancer.... with a semi-brutal fight in between. I suggest reading it before this.

Now: The final showdown? CW: Brutal fight, graphic descriptions of injuries, blood and ectoplasm up ahead. Please let me know what you think! Feel free to drop a reply or reblog whatever. Posting early cause I'm exhausted and will be equally so next week. Next chapter will be out on Sunday (link will be in the replies!)

Wind whipped at Danny's hair as he knelt on top of the last bits of his shield. He frowned, looking down at the glowing hand as it absorbed more energy. I have to do this he thought, watching his hand shake, the bruises on it a stark contrast to the ripped white gloves. Sighing, he pushed himself up; glancing at the last eighth of the shield that still protected the town. He closed his eyes, using the shield to look for his family in the chaos below. An image of Jazz, his Mom, Valerie and Vlad standing around talking greeted him. No sign of his Dad or Danielle. He wished he got to talk with them too. I'm still here, he thought to them. He sighed deeply, opening his eyes to scan the town. I'll come back.

A grim smile washed across his face as the Fenton Shield finally activated, pulsing through the town up and outward. It completed itself, protecting the town just inches below where he stood. They'll be safe now. He could hear the distant screeches of the shadows being pushed out of the town, the roars of the Far Frozen as they charged forward to the outskirts. He turned to the outer rim of the shield, scanning the skies for Ethelwulf and Sam. Eventually he found the large winged wolf spiralling through the air and cutting through the shadows, making them disappear. Ethelwulf stopped spinning and a small figure landed on his back. Danny chuckled fondly as the figure shot through five ghosts, making them explode and disappear. At least they're okay.

A roar of anger brought him out of his musings. His green eyes found Dan quickly; the future Phantom was clawing at the shield with vigour, red eyes burning with anger and destruction. Danny watched at a distance, stone faced, as Dan continued to attack the shield.

Danny had once asked Clockwork how he could face what he was. He had been naïve then- how could he not face him. All the guilt, fear and self-doubt he felt stemmed from how he saw his future.

A future that will never exist again.

Suddenly he felt determined, feeling green ecto-energy dance around his aura. He glared at the angry spectre, waiting in anticipation until Dan noticed him.

It didn't take long; Dan stopped his onslaught, turning slowly toward his younger self. Blue flames danced in the air as red eyes bore green. The dark clouds overhead swirled, rumbles of thunder off in the distance. On some level, Danny recognized the sign of an Ecto-Storm brewing.

Dan smiled crudely, looking across the shield to his prey. The hatred and loathing for the other almost suffocated them both.

They flew at each other at the same time, clashing with an explosion of green energy above the city.

:-=-:

"It was his idea," Tucker relayed, his breathing was laboured. "If Ethelwulf and Sam are out there, they're going after him. I-I didn't want to do it."

Maddie sighed, looking toward her companions with unease. Jazz sat aboard Valerie's sled, eyes darting over the mother's face for some kind of clue to what was going on. Valerie's expression was unreadable, looking forward to the town and pretending Plasmius didn't exist. The ghost in question looked above, a concerned frown directed at what was left of Danny's shield. "I know Tucker," she told him gently. "We're headed over to the edge now; get some of those Shadow Ghosts out of the way before going after him."

"I'll meet you there," Jack replied instantly. "Danielle and I can fight through the Northwest and meet you. Danny's not going in there alone."

Maddie smiled. "No, no he isn't" she agreed.

"Mrs. Fenton," Tucker started, and then paused. He sighed deeply before he continued. "Do you… do you have a thermos with you?"

Maddie frowned at the question and then mouthed the word 'thermos' to Jazz. Jazz gave her a quizzical look before holding up the object in question. Valerie bristled as she looked in their direction. Plasmius' concerned frown now looked to Maddie. "Yes, Jazz does."

"If… if you see Danny, suck him in," Tucker said quickly, guilt bubbling through his voice. Maddie made a noise of protest but Tucker cut across her. "He's hurt - he's hurt bad Mrs. F. We need to get him back to FentonWorks and I'm not confident my shield will let him in without being in there."

Maddie paled at his words.

Jazz frowned worriedly. "Mom, what is it? What's wrong?"

"How bad," Jack whispered. Maddie couldn't find her voice.

"Like he should have keeled over five hours ago bad."

"Danielle said something happened to his core," Jack said worriedly. "Mads, you have Plasmius there right? He may know."

Violet eyes glanced in Plasmius' direction. "What's wrong with his core?"

Jazz gasped, Valerie's eyes narrowed as Vlad looked sombrely at the woman. "I don't know," he replied softly. "But he's stuck as Phantom for the time being. His core energy is keeping him there."

Maddie gasped softly, hearing Tucker swear and Jack make a pained noise.

The shield shook as something attacked it overhead. Maddie pursed her lips as she looked above. "What are Ecto-Enhancers?" she asked the half-ghost, bringing her eyes back to him in the process. She barely heard Tucker's brief explanation to Jack.

Vlad frowned at the question before looking exasperated. "He didn't tell you?" he asked instead. He sighed when a glare met his eyes. "Basically a power up of energy - I gave them to Daniel so he could heal faster if he needed to. He's taken at least one. It's working, albeit slowly."

Maddie frowned, running through calculations in her head. Valerie scowled in his direction.

"Didn't you also say that Phantom was flying into battle while juiced up?"

Plasmius flinched under the hard glare Jazz and Maddie gave him. "They're not steroids girl; they're like an energy drink. I'm sure you've frequented them with your extra-curriculars." Valerie growled in response. "But yes, he is."

Maddie sighed, locking eyes with Jazz worriedly. "You know him best Jazz. What's his next move?"

Jazz frowned in thought. "He's going back out there," she said. "Like I said, Dan's jealous of Phantom - meaning Dan's going to be acting irrationally." Her eyes widened. "We need to focus on the shadows Mom; I think with the amount of duplication and shadows his mind is weakening. He's definitely slowing down. If Danny can outsmart him, he might have a chance."

Maddie nodded in consent, looking toward the perimeter of the Fenton Shield again. She glanced at Plasmius. "Will he hold out until then?"

Plasmius scoffed. "If I know anything about that boy, he won't back down easily," he said with fond bitterness. "If we act quickly, he'll be more likely to succeed."

Valerie watched their reactions slowly, fully realizing that she did not know as much as she thought she did. The Fentons had a truce with Phantom, they knew about Vlad but they all can't care about this ghost that much?

"Fine! Destroy ghosts! But can you really take part in destroying a human?"

Her eyes widened at the memory, gaze resting on Mrs. Fenton and Jazz with a thoughtful frown. Did they know he was half human too?

"Hey! What about the Fentons?! Phantom had asked her.

Valerie laughed, inspecting one of her weapons. "Are you kidding?! Before your truce, they couldn't catch a ghost if it was living under their own roof!"

The ghost boy's eyes furrowed slightly, a small twinkle in his eye before he responded. "True."

"We'll find our boy," Maddie vowed softly to Jack on the line. "We'll find Danny."

Valerie's eyes widened further, a small gasp escaping her lips as her eyes darted upward. She called him Danny, she thought widely. The pieces clicked quickly in her mind, guilt and horror rising within her.

Where's he running off to all the time?

"You really risked your neck to save that Fenton kid." Valerie found herself smiling at her Dad's comment. "Yeah. I like him a lot. Maybe even enough to give up ghost hunting."

It was eating her to say it, Danny didn't deserve this. "I've had a lot of fun these last few days, but my life's way too complicated right now for us to be anything other than... friends." He stammered out in disbelief before she pushed through. "There's something important I have to do and I don't want you to get hurt because of it." She wasn't going to let Danny Phantom ruin anyone else's life.

"Are you kidding?! Before your truce, they couldn't catch a ghost if it was living under their own roof!"

I know you, don't I?

A huge explosion of green energy made them all jump, eyes glued to the sky above them. "Danny…?" Valerie breathed. Danny Fenton. Danny Phantom. Guilt filled her chest, realizing for the first time how wrong she had been.

She barely heard Jazz whisper his name behind her. The world as at a standstill, her green eyes watching as two figures clashed overhead.

"Valerie?" She jumped, looking down to Jazz's worried face. The red head's eyes scanned Valerie's face, grimly noticing the silent distress the teen hunter was in. Jazz sighed, shaking her head. "Let's go."

:-=-:

Sam landed gracefully on Ethelwulf's back, watching as more of the shadows explode with a satisfied smirk. "Nice catch Ethelwulf," she said to the ghost. She felt his laugh before she heard it.

"Nice shooting," he replied back. His yellow eye looked back toward her. "The shield's up." An unspoken request passed between them; the ghost flew upward, gliding in the air as Sam looked behind them. Four shadow ghosts gaining on their tail. She made move to shoot, but with a battle cry Skulker crashed into two of them, dragging them below. She shot at the other two as Ethelwulf levelled himself in the air.

Her eyes darted over the shield, anxiously searching until she found him. "Danny," she breathed, relaxing as she saw him standing above the shield. Ethelwulf looked down hastily, yellow eyes scanning the shield below also. "He's okay!"

"Sam," Ethelwulf replied seriously. "He's not alone."

The girl stiffened, skimming the shield again until she saw the other ghost at the shield. Dan and Danny were staring at each other, the air thick with tension as they watched the other's move. Sam frowned as thunder rumbled overhead. He wouldn't…

"I will do whatever it takes to protect the people I care about."

Sam's breath hitched in her throat. He would. "We need to get down there," she said hurriedly. Ethelwulf dove as a reply. Sam grabbed his fur tightly, silently willing him to go faster. He obliged, just as both Phantoms took flight, ecto-blasts at the ready. "No!" she cried, watching with dread as they collided, the shockwaves of the collision blowing back and blocking them from interfering. Ethelwulf grunted, black wings flapping against the wind and stopping him from losing control.

"I'm alright," he assured before Sam got to ask. His normally calm voice was tight with anger. They watched from above as both Danny and Dan flew at each other, equally matched as they traded blows.

The Phantoms moved quickly, neither seemed to notice when an ecto-blast struck their bodies. They rushed forward, both trying to inflict some blow to weaken the other.

Ethelwulf frowned as blue electricity hit into a blue flamed punch. "I don't think he can keep this up for much longer."

Sam bit her lip, watching anxiously as they finally bounced back, floating with chests heaving. Ethelwulf was right; they needed to stop this soon…before… "Can you get close to them?"

Ethelwulf turned his head to her. "I can try, but the amount of power they're using will make it difficult. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

Sam charged the bazooka and turned on her wrist ray. "Let's do this."

Ethelwulf charged with a roar, attempting to get closer as the shockwaves pushed back again. Sam braced herself, taking aim at Dan. Suddenly, they were bombarded by the shadow ghosts, blocking their path as they lunged. Sam gasped, extending her arm and firing her wrist ray, hitting a few. Ethelwulf dove, attempting to lose them but they followed, their low screeches of anger echoing under the explosions of the Phantoms. Sam fired wildly, ignoring how her stomach turned at the sudden descent and speed. They needed to get to Danny.

Ethelwulf glided in the air, growling before he charged for the ghosts again, waves of ecto-energy flying back against them. Sam hit the remaining and soon they were free of them. She let out a small sigh of relief before she turned, coming face to face with more of the shadows. "I'm all about the dark and creepy," Sam yelled frustrated as she fired. "But this is getting ridiculous!"

Ethelwulf and Sam readied themselves before hearing a whine of a guitar, two guitar chords and watched as two giant fists rammed into their nearest foes. Sam looked up and recognized Ember's fiery blue hair, smiling smugly above her.

"Can't let you have all the fun," she said, turning her guitar dial up idly. "Besides, I want some pay back. That clown isn't the only one with an army!" Ember whistled, and up flew many of the ghosts hiding in Amity; Sam recognized Box Ghost, Dora, Wulf as they charged too. She looked up at the floating ghost and nodded in thanks. Ember scowled, scanning the crowd. "Just get the ghost kid - I don't do 'I owe yous'!"

She didn't need to be told twice. "Let's go," Sam muttered to the wolf ghost. He raced upward again, towards the top of the shield as the she heard the crackling electricity of the ecto-blasts. Then all too suddenly, it stopped. Sam paled at the eerie quiet it left behind. Ethelwulf reached the top not long after to find no trace of either Phantom. "Ethelwulf…" Sam said, trailing off.

An explosion away from the city caught both of their attentions. Sam frowned, watching the brilliant green light up the forest, bringing down some of the trees. "They teleported," Ethelwulf said quietly.

They stayed only a moment longer, watching the Far Frozen soldiers race out into battle before they took off after the Phantoms.

:-=-:

He didn't realize they had teleported until his back crashed into a tree.

Danny gasped as he shot upward, dodging a glowing green hand as it swiped from where he once was. A snarl from behind him was the only indication that he was being followed. Danny's hand lit up in green, wildly throwing ecto-blasts at Dan as he flew faster, white hair whipping back.

A ball of blue flames narrowly missed him, making the teen hiss involuntarily as he started to zigzag. Eventually he flipped in the air, his hands a blue-white as two electrical ice blasts aimed directly at Dan hit his mark. Both Phantoms stopped, glaring at each other from across the sky.

Their battles were nothing compared to the sheer desperation to win that currently encompassed every ounce of their bodies. Out of breath, Danny quickly assessed Dan; the evil Phantom was panting, red eyes manic with repressed rage. His suit was tattered, revealing small injuries that he got through their scuffle. Some part of him felt relieved that Dan no longer had the upper hand. Green eyes glanced briefly to the flash of green lightning above, frowning slightly as Dan smiled. Dammit.

Danny barely had time to throw up a hasty shield as Dan teleported in front of him. In one quick movement, the older Phantom punched straight into Danny's shield, pushing the boy backward in the air as it broke. Wasting little time, Dan's hand glowed green with small knives of ecto-energy, stabbing the boys injured leg as he pulled Danny toward the ground. Dan's hand moved down his leg, a trail of ectoplasm in its wake.

Danny bit back scream as Dan brought them toward the ground at an alarming speed. Ignoring all logic, his right eye turned blue, releasing a small ectoplasmic pulse from his core. Dan cried out, letting go as both Phantoms losing control in the air. Shaking his head, Danny regained his bearings, flying at Dan with icicles at the ready. One managed to pierce Dan's shoulder, the older howling in pain. The icicle melted just as Danny tackled him to the ground.

Danny staggered upright, faltering as he stood on his bad leg. He managed to roll further from the downed evil ghost, trying and failing to stand again.

Dan was faster on his feet; he groaned but flew up. He hovered as red eyes darting around looking for his prey. Once found, Dan threw his arm outwards and blasted Danny into the trees behind him with a yelp. The impact of the boy hitting the last tree broke it as he slid lower to the ground.

He tried to voice a small ow, but winced heavily as a set of sparks danced through him. He moved as quickly as he could, grimacing again as he tried to stand. He needed to keep moving, he needed to find Sam and Ethelwulf, he needed -

"There you are." Dan's voice fluttered from above him.

He needed to fight.

Breathing heavily, Danny gripped the tree trunk as he pulled himself upright. Taking inventory of his powers, he realized with disdain that he couldn't keep this up much longer. He had seen what would happen next; he was out of time.

Thunder and lightning rumbled through the sky as Danny met Dan's glare. "You told them." Dan stated coldly.

"I thought we were over that," Danny said sardonically, running his hand through his hair. He winced slightly as he touched a new bruise forming. "Remember - the part where you threw me like a Frisbee into the school?"

Dan growled in response. More lightning above them. Danny frowned, watching the lightning move through the clouds. It was different than last time.

"What's so different about you, Danny?" Dan asked darkly. "Why did Clockwork try so hard for you? Why do our parents get to accept you?"

He was slightly taken aback at the question, brow furrowing as too many thoughts crossed his mind at once.

Dan scoffed at the lack of an answer. "You're still the same selfish asshole that I was," he said. "They died because of you."

Danny had heard it all before - it had been a running commentary in his mind for the better part of a year… and yet something in Dan's tone had him shaking his head. "No," he replied in a low voice. It was a simple answer, and as soon as he said it, there was none of the guilt or anger for himself left in him from the alternate timeline. Dan's face contorted in rage as more lightning streaked across the sky. "No."

Before Dan could react, Danny teleported; disappearing from Dan's wrath to get some sort of distance away. He dropped out of the air, faltering again and took inventory in his surroundings. He had reappeared in the destroyed clearing from their first battle earlier in the day. It's far enough.

Danny heard Dan's roar over the thunder that rumbled overhead. He braced himself, ignoring the throbbing pain of his left leg as he planted himself in place just as Ethelwulf taught him. Dan landed across from him with force, creating a crater around him.

"I'm not done with you boy," Dan snarled, red eyes glowing menacingly. "I want to know what makes you so special that you changed my destiny?"

"Your Vlad is showing," Danny sassed before he could stop himself. "Destiny? Really? You made a choice dumbass. I made different ones." His green eyes glowed in retaliation. "We're not the same, not anymore."

Something in Dan broke. "YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS!" he roared, green ecto-energy whipping up around him. Green eyes snapped at Dan's feet, finally confirming that Dan's Ecto-Storm was coming. "What are you anyway? Human."

Danny's eyes narrowed, feeling his own deep raw energy itching to be released too. This was his last card left to play, and if he timed it right, he could finish this.

"So you're saying raw energy is basically a bomb waiting to go off at any point?"

If it didn't finish him first.

"Actually," Danny said coolly, watching as Dan's entire body shake with emotion. "Yeah, I am. And my friends? My family? They're alive because of it."

An inhumane growl escaped Dan's throat, red eyes shining brightly as green energy whipped around him. Danny's face was grim as he watched Dan's Ecto-Storm finally manifest, interacting with the clouds above. Dan's body was encased in the swirling vortex of energy, his animalistic noises becoming more feral as a red version of the Phantom emblem appeared at his feet. Violent whips of energy tore trees from roots around. Red eyes found green and with a yell released strong waves of energy toward the boy.

Danny was ready for the attack - his right eye turned blue; emblem appeared at his feet in a burst of light, a large shield blocking the onslaught.

:-=-:

Tucker swallowed as the he watched the screens helplessly. Danny and Dan had disappeared into the forest again, the large mass of ecto-energy following. He saw the signs, and hoped desperately for two things; for Danny not to be so stupid, and for Danny to be the one actually creating the storm. The alternative was too scary to imagine.

Clockwork grunted, gripping his staff as the entire lab turned toward him. Tucker frowned, abandoning the console to head toward the Time Master. "What is it?" he asked. When Clockwork made no inclination to answer, Tucker sighed. "It's Danny isn't it? He's the one stopping time?"

Clockwork looked up, red eyes glancing over the teen like he was seeing him for the first time. "We're nearing the paradox," he said gravely, nodding his head. "I can no longer see the present, only the past. The effects of the Time Medallion are affecting him now."

Another flash of light appeared on the screen. Tucker didn't look at it, teal green eyes staring into Clockwork's. "How long?" Tucker asked evenly.

Clockwork did glance at the screen, watching as some of the buttons stopped flashing and then continue at random intervals now that Tucker wasn't at the console. Time was stopping at random.

"Now."

:-=-:

The lightning made it difficult for them to follow by air. Ethelwulf dove into the forest, flying through the trees as he scanned the area for either Phantom.

Sam was stiff on his back, doing the same. She looked up at more of the green lightning danced across the sky. "Ethelwulf," she whispered. Danny wouldn't use the Ecto-Storm like this… would he?

"It's not his," Ethelwulf said quietly.

Her fear only grew at his confirmation. "Dan - Dan has it too!?"

"Clockwork had said Dan used in the last clash these two had," he explained quickly. "Though never to this extent. I'm sure Danny's wail surprised him enough catch him off guard. Danny has the element of surprise again."

Sam bit her lip. "He's hurt."

Ethelwulf flew faster. "I know," he replied. He glanced at her briefly. "I told him I would not let him die. We need to get to him before -"

A giant swirling mass of ecto-energy interrupted him, stopping them in their tracks. Sam gasped as an Ecto-Storm appeared before them.

"Shit," Sam bit out. She reloaded a Fenton Bazooka hastily, watching as power whipped around them. "Ethelwulf we have to hurry."

The wolf ghost took off again.

:-=-:

"NO!" Dan bellowed, shaken as he watched his younger self push back against the attack. Danny ignored him, stopping the raw energy from attacking. "How!?" His disbelief fuelled his anger, which in turn fuelled the attack more.

Danny grunted, pushing back against the attack as lightning tried to strike him from the sky. Everything hurt. Everything. The raw energy that now flooded him was only just holding Dan at bay. Focus he told himself. Focus on that line between life and death. Find the balance. Electricity sparked from his shield as he poured energy back into it. If he wanted to survive, he needed to remember his training.

"You can't have this power!" he heard Dan yell over the strong crackles of electricity and howls of the wind. "This is mine. You don't get to have it all!"

Was this what Clockwork warned me of? He thought, ignoring the now burning pain from his side; old wounds started to open again. Is this all I can do? Danny shook his head, gritting his teeth. No, he could do more. He had to do more.

He was tired – run ragged from the day's fights. Danny couldn't let Dan win - it wasn't an option.

Promise me you'll win.

Sam's voice echoed in his mind, reminding him of his promise. She had asked him to come back alive.

He had to try.

Danny let his own powers push outward, feeling not only raw but core energy expend out of him. His aura glowed, ecto-energy swirling around his feet now as it encased him. With his Ecto-Storm released – pain shot through Danny's entire being as electricity from his core mixed in. He faltered slightly before digging in his heels, releasing his own streams of raw blue-white energy toward Dan. He still had control - he could still win.

"The things you need to fight for? That makes you more dangerous too." Ethelwulf had told him that… it was time he believed it.

Their attacks clashed in the middle, both streams of energy pushing back against the other as both Phantoms fought for dominance. Dan was lost in a sea of rage, snarling madly at the young teen with such malice. Danny kept his attack focused, pushing forward, sheer determination and will driving him far beyond his limit.

"Danny!"

Focus broken for a slight moment, he turned at the fear filled voice as Sam and Ethelwulf flew forward from the cover of trees. Even from a distance, Danny could see the terror on her face.

Unfortunately, so did Dan. With a wicked smile, he turned, arm outstretched in their direction. A wave of blue flames and green ecto-energy flew toward them. Ethelwulf stopped advancing, bringing his wings together and shielding them both from the onslaught. Dan laughed, a twist between sadistic and manic laughter as his powers grew, anger and resentment pushing the storm outward toward the town.

Danny's eyes darted to Amity Park, to Ethelwulf and Sam and then back to his older self. Dan had lost sense of control, fully engulfed in the ecstasy of his raw energy. There was no way her could protect them all.

Danny felt himself fading, knees threatening to buckle. I can't win this he thought hopelessly.

You can.

The world slowed drastically, the ecto-energy dancing in the wind. Danny knees gave way, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up and a translucent figure of himself - his human self - stood before him, smiling gently.

"You can do this," Fenton assured. His Ecto-Storm still flowed outward, beautifully painting the world around them with blue, white and green light in slow motion. "What do you want from all this?"

Sam had asked him the same thing earlier. "I can't… I'm not enough…" he said breathlessly. He shook his head. I'm going to die.

Fenton scoffed. "You are," he said fiercely. "You're just afraid to admit it. Danny, you have the power to stop this. You've had it for a year now. You can finally end this." A translucent hand reached out to him. "So let me ask you again: what do we want?"

Danny stared at the offered hand, his mind racing. Fenton looked slighted bemused, watching his counterpart with mismatched eyes. He didn't fear Dan. He didn't even fear himself.

Danny feared power - and what that power would do to him.

To move forward, he needed to embrace Ecto-Storm.

A look of purpose washed across his face as he grabbed the hand, staggering upright. Thoughts of Frostbite and his people, Ethelwulf, Clockwork, Jazz, his parents, Tucker and Sam filled him to the brim, one common theme shaking him to his core. What did he want?

Phantom and Fenton both turned toward Dan, eyes narrowing in determination. "Ready?" he asked Fenton, thinking back to their conversation in his bedroom.

His human half nodded, a small grim smile on his face. "Ready." He confirmed.

Their eyes glowed as time started again. Fenton disappeared, leaving Danny alone within the Ecto-Storm of his own creation. He let his powers flow freely, giving in to the instinctive use of his power, the one he never felt ready to use. His eyes glanced over to Ethelwulf's determined yellow eyes, protecting him and Sam from the onslaught of the ghosts. His shield was holding. Briefly, his blue- green eyes managed to find a pair of fearful violet eyes behind the shield. I'm sorry.

Dan roared, getting the younger Phantom's attention once more. Dan took off in the air, flying at Danny's Ecto-Storm with drive. Danny felt the will of Dan attempting to get to him; slicing through his attack with force. Danny pushed back, watching as Dan's Ecto-Storm battle with his; fire and ice trying to hurt the other.

Danny felt something stir in his core, painfully reminding him of the first time he used this power. He was afraid then; he wasn't anymore. His pupils disappeared, blue and green ecto-energy shining brightly as electricity and ice joined the battle, pushing his emblem outward to rival Dan's. The older Phantom clawed at Danny, beyond reason as he attempted to get to the teen. Blue flames danced at his feet as the two storms started to merge.

What did he want?

Dan made it through Danny's defences, flying to the centre with a vengeful smile. Danny's breathing was too loud in his ears now, realizing it was time.

To see his friends and family alive.

To win.

Danny's eyes shone brightly as the world turned white.

Scorching heat and bitter cold danced around them…

Dan's shocked face just as he reached Danny, arm reaching for the boy's chest…

…The world exploded in pain…

…An explosion…

…Darkness…

:-=-:

Sam gasped, bringing her hands up to shield herself from the bright white light. The explosion pulsed outward, levelling trees and sent small shockwaves throughout the area. Ethelwulf sunk to the ground, breathing hard as the explosion died down.

"Ethelwulf!" Sam cried, looking at the large black wolf.

"I'm alright," he replied, yellow eyes finding her worried ones. "Are you?" She nodded, silently marvelled at Ethelwulf's power to still have his shield around them. "Good," he said softly, standing slowly. "That's …" The ghost trailed off, looking away from her to the destruction beyond her.

Sam followed his gaze, gasping slightly. Debris was everywhere, Sam noticed, as she watched the remnants of the Ecto-Storm disappear. The ground was broken, split apart from the raw power from the fight, the tree trunks cracked and half and blue fire patches danced around large figures of non-melted ice. Sam's eyes scanned the battlefield before she saw it; Danny's emblem, still alight, was shrinking slowly... but her best friend was nowhere in sight.

Dan's red emblem was completely gone.

"Danny," Sam whispered, dread settling into the pit of her stomach. She started running long before she realized Ethelwulf was calling her back. "Danny!" she yelled, hoping he would answer. Her voice echoed in the eerie silence. Sam ran, jumping over tree trunks, occasionally tripping over roots as she tried to find him. It took a few minutes, but she found him just as his emblem finally disappeared.

She paused for a moment, horrified as she took in his appearance from a few feet away.

Danny, still miraculously in his ghost form, lay on his side, limbs askew. Even from this far away, she could see the amount of sickly green ectoplasm that he was covered in. Swallowing the bile in her throat, Sam continued running, faster from before. Once close, she skidded on her knees, slowing her speed and scrambled to him. "Danny," she croaked, eyes wide and disbelief.

He was worse than the last time she saw him. There was a nasty bruise on the side of his head; multiple small cuts up and down his body that made his skin seem even more other worldly than normal. The purple handprint bruise on his neck was more visible now, burned and varying shades of blue. His jumpsuit was ripped across his left shoulder, which appeared to come out of his socket, showed magnificent bruises and large burns from an earlier fight. His left leg was covered in ectoplasm, long gashes from his calf to his knee.

He was barely breathing.

Anything the ecto-enhancer managed to heal had reversed in the last fight. Sam looked down, alarmed at that realization and instinctively put her hands on Danny's side. The injury had reopened, gushing large amounts of ectoplasm. He shuddered beneath her, wheezing erratically.

"Come on Danny, stay with me!" Sam said to him hysterically. She brought one of her hands to his face, smearing it with his own ectoplasm. "You aren't dying today – you promised." No answer. "Eth-" Sam tried to yell, coming out in a half sob. Sam took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat before she tried again. "Ethelwulf!" Sam yelled desperately. She felt a rush of air as Ethelwulf flew to her, hovering slightly before landing.

"Danny," he said gravely, concerned yellow eyes taking in his appearance before coming closer.

Sam paid him no mind as he started inspecting his lower body. "Danny, come on," she said worriedly, trying to rouse the boy in front of her. His face scrunched, shallow wheezing breaths becoming more pronounced. His eyes fluttered, opening ever so slightly.

Sam sighed as she looked down at his electric green eyes. "Thank goodness," she breathed. Her smile fell when she realized his eyes weren't registering her. "Danny?" The fear came back to her in full force in that moment. "Danny, can you hear me? You did it, it's over." The girl turned to Ethelwulf helplessly. "Help him! We can't –" her voice broke in a dry sob as she finally realized the gravity of the situation through her shock.

"We're going to need to move him," Ethelwulf said quickly, curling his body around the two teens. "Sam, keep pressure on that wound, we need to keep him as Phantom for as long as we can. He's losing too much ectoplasm; if he transforms and it turns to blood, I'm not sure if I can save him."

Sam's eyes widened but nodded, holding her hands tighter against his wound. Danny made a raw, strangled noise as he continued to wheeze through the pain. The white ring of light appeared at his waist but sputtered out of existence quickly.

"Hang on!" Ethelwulf said, glowing in a golden light. The next thing Sam realized, they were over Amity Park on Danny's shield staring down the Ghost Shield. He closed his eyes and sighed. "We need to take down the shield!"

Sam shook her head. "No, they were supposed to put his ecto-signature in it," Sam said distractedly. "We don't have time." Danny's arm fell onto his shield limply, the ring of light appearing again at his waist, lingering over him. It didn't move. "Danny no!" she yelled, turning his face toward her. "Hold on okay? Just-Just a little more."

Ethelwulf growled. "I can't teleport us in – it means that they're blocking one of our ecto-signatures. Last I heard, they still couldn't separate Danny's from the Dark Phantom's."

Sam looked down at Danny, swallowing in temporary relief as Danny managed to make his transformation stop again. Green sparks attacked his chest. "Tucker," Sam muttered, eyes widening. She kept one hand on Danny's wound while the other dug into the pocket of her jumpsuit. Crying out triumphantly, Sam found the Fenton phone she pocketed as she left the city. She stuffed it in her ear quickly, ignoring that it wasn't comfortable and moved her hand back to Danny's wound. She pressed down on in firmly, another strangled gasp escaping his lips. "Tucker!" she shouted into the small device.

"Sam!?" Tucker's surprised and relieved voice crackled in her ear. "Thank God! You took your damn time! If it wasn't for Danny-"

"Not now Tuck!" Sam said, cutting him off. "I need you to drop the Ghost Shield."

"Drop it?" he asked. A brief pause before Tucker pressed on. "Do you have Danny?"

Sam turned her gaze back to the boy in front of her. His blinks were slow. "He's… It's bad Tuck" Sam admitted, voice raw. "We need to get back to Fentonworks. Ethelwulf is standing by to teleport us."

"On it," was Tucker's determined reply. "It'll take me a few minutes. We'll be sitting ducks for Dan's forces, so be careful. We don't have Danny's shield like last time."

"As fast as you can Tuck," Sam urged. Ethelwulf nodded in understanding from her words. "Come on Danny," she whispered comfortingly to him. Another strangled noise came through his mouth. "A little longer. Then you can drop the shield. We'll be home soon, okay? Just stay Ghost for a little longer."

Danny shuddered again, closing his eyes. The wheezing became worse and Sam frowned.

"Ancients," Ethelwulf swore quietly. The word slipped out of his mouth like dirt. "Sam!"

Sam looked up in confusion and gasped. Before them, Danny's shield slowly started to repair itself, green electricity flowing through the solid parts of the shield before connecting. She looked down quickly, eyes glued to his hand on top of his shield. It shimmered green through his ripped gloves, green sparks moving through his forearm.

"Sam? What's going on?" Tucker asked anxiously through the Fenton phone.

"Dammit! Danny stop!" Sam pleaded, ignoring her friend in her ear. "Save your energy… please. You're hurt. Don't do this!" The shield continued to repair itself; he couldn't hear her. Sam swore. "Tucker, how much longer?"

"You should see it coming down any second," The teen replied swiftly. Sam could hear the determination in his voice. She wasn't the only one worried.

Danny's hand went limp as the shield finished repairing itself. Blue sparks now wracked the middle of his frame before they disappeared.

Sam only had to wait a very short second before she saw the signs of the ghost shield coming down. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she turned back to the half-ghost in front of her. Her relieved sigh turned to a startled gasp as she watched Danny's white hair turn slowly black and parts of his jumpsuit turning into his regular street clothes. "Ethelwulf!" Sam called to ghost in alarm. Green ectoplasm that stained her hands had turned red gradually and started gushing through her fingers; she hadn't realized the change. There was no ring, no flash of light as he reverted back. Danny Phantom seemingly faded away, leaving the body of Danny Fenton in his place.

"No…. nononono." Tucker's voice rambled through her ear. "Danny, no, stay with me okay?" She tried to get a rise out the friend currently bleeding out in front of her. He gave no inclination he heard her.

Ethelwulf was at their side quickly and with another flash of gold light, the smell of the Fenton's lab greeted Sam's nose. She blocked out the world around her; only focused on keeping pressure on Danny's wounds. She didn't have nearly enough hands; there was so much blood now. She very briefly heard Ethelwulf's cries for something, a flurry of movement as ghosts rushed forward. Lots of rushed whispers, a few barked orders, more blood on her hands. Suddenly, someone was pulling her off him.

"Get off me!" She said, fighting whoever was pulling her off the boy. She managed to elbow them in the gut but they didn't even cry out. "He's bleeding! I have to help -"

"Sam," Tucker's low voice was in her ear. She stopped; turned to lock eyes with her other best friend. Taking his chance, Tucker dragged her away, nodding to someone before swallowing. He looked like he was going to be sick. "Sam - they need to restart his heart."

What.

Sam looked at him with wide eyes, disbelieving his words. She turned back to Danny's lifeless form being hovered over by Ethelwulf in his guise of Dr. Cliff, Frostbite and a few other members of the Far Frozen. At some point, they put a mask over Danny's face to give him air. Ethelwulf's hands were alight with ecto-energy as he put them on the boy's chest. Danny convulsed on the floor for a second, before returning to being completely limp.

She couldn't look away. There was more flurry of activity around him; Ethelwulf charged his hands again, Danny's body arching upward in the air, falling back to the ground.

Ethelwulf brought two fingers to the boy's neck, a grim look over his face. "Where's that stretcher!?" Ethelwulf yelled, the hazel eyes of Dr. Cliff turning more yellow as he grew frustrated.

"There!" Frostbite yelled, watching another one of his followers fly over intangibly with a rolling bed. The ghost flew through the floor and made it tangible under Danny. All ghosts, led by Ethelwulf, pushed the unconscious Danny toward the Fenton infirmary, leaving the stricken friends staring at a pool of Danny's blood.

#danny phantom #cartoons #fanfiction #danny fenton #action #adventure #cross posted on ao3 #no phantom planet #But his parents know #ecto storm series #Out of Time #multichapter #Dan v. Danny #fight scene #this poor boy #or boys #posting early due to busy week #see you sunday

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