I am working through a looot of IMs so be patient with me. If you do not see your gift, or haven't seen me reblog yours and want to send a link I owe you my soul I'd really appreciate it!
Facing my reflection (by candlelight, half in the shadows)
The clones had been an attempt to finally rid himself of this awful loneliness he refused to acknowledge during the daylight. He’d ashamed to admit the number of nights spent wallowing in his study or lab, nursing the most expensive wine on the market and tasting nothing but ashes.
Danielle had been sweet. Sweet, eager, and all too easy to manipulate.
Dan, on the other hand, was a punch to the throat he’d had no way to brace himself for. Caustic and apathetic, he’d been like looking in a warped funhouse mirror.
I am so, so sorry at how late this is, but @rach-nn here is your truce gift! I combined two of your prompts; “Vlad reflecting on his life choices and choosing to make something nice for others, first steps in his new redemption arc” and “Vlad having a meaningful conversation with Dan about the near future now that Vlad has comprehend from where he (Dan) comes and what he represents, deciding to do better and ending in the lasagna night”.
Warnings: technically underage drinking, references to medical neglect, brief passive suicidal ideation
Self reflection is not something Vlad often finds himself indulging in. Least of which the self-deprecating kind. Vlad is under no delusion that he is a good person, he would even say he relishes in being deceptive and down right villainous.
But now he has a ward under his care, and another that visits at least a few times a month between her travels.
And Vlad Masters is forced to confront himself; to dissect the entire, bloody brush he has painted himself with, and must now reckon with the image left in its wake. He wants to do better for these children he has found in his care. needs, in some respects, to atone for what he has done and what he was going to do in order to do right by these two children so damaged by his actions.
He can hear a distant thump from the basement, and the thrum of the portal powering down signaling Dan returning from a trip to the Fenton’s.
That damn portal. In some respects he still can’t believe he lives with one of the things under his house, when he can still see that all consuming green overtake his nightmares.
Three years. Three years trapped in a blank hospital room with no contact with the outside world. The same parade or nurses day in and day out, smiles glued to their faces like cheap construction paper. Never being asked on his input about his treatment. Never given an option to seek out other methods of care or someone to vent his feelings too.
Within the first year of his stay the doctors had already determined there was nothing to be done about his skin, whatever disease he had contracted had been powerful and fast acting. After the first six months the majority of his symptoms had been treated, but that awful rash had persisted.
Half the nurses still needed to look at the chart to remember his name even after years of treatment.
The same rotation of ten meals, not even a slight variation on the holidays.
For years after getting out he would have nightmares indistinguishable from his former reality.
Wake up at 2:35 for the night rounds, have his catheter removed and replaced.
Try and fail to sleep the rest of the night only to be forcefully awoken by the lights automatically turning on at 6:30 sharp.
Breakfast at 7:15, followed by one of three nurses checking his charts and making a note about his overnight vitals.
8:42, a nurse would come in to remove the remains of his breakfast and apply the first round of cream to his patchmarked skin.
11:23, lunch and an emptying of his catheter.
2, physical therapy.
4:53, second round of ointment treatment.
6:31, dinner.
8:55, a washcloth bath, catheter check, and a final round of ointment.
9:10, lights out.
If he hadn’t found out about his powers he likely would have spent another year at least while he continued to waste away.
It turns out to be remarkably easy to escape when you can turn both invisible and intangible. And at the time there were very few people who cared about him, and the hospital had closed down three months later due to an unfortunate accident, turns out all that white white white burned rather easily.
What he finds out after is that it takes effort to do bad things. Once he figured out he could possess people he had almost immediately gone to a bank to try and get them to give him a lump sum of money.
Turns out, banks had a lot of failsafes in place in the event of a robbery, even internal ones, and possession was a much more finicky thing than tv had led him to believe. He had been lucky that first time, and subsequently had mostly relied upon one on one interaction with affluent individuals rather than dealing with larger institutes.
And at every turn he had made the intentional choice to do the most selfish thing. Even after he’d gotten the hang of possession he’d still made the person he was possessing culpable in his crimes, leaving them to take the fall in order to keep his public persona pristine.
And the clones. It had been an idea borne out of equal parts spite and desperation. Vlad had always avoided dwelling on the fact that he was a once in a billion accident. His care for the human realm had dwindled to apathy in those bleach white hospital walls, and when he’d finally been able to enter the infinite realms he had found himself wholly underwhelmed.
The name he’d made for himself in the human realm had no weight, and even once he honed his powers and made himself something to fear it just ended up isolating himself all over again. Skulker was hardly one for intelligent conversation, spectra always went straight for the throat and never engaged in his banter, and the lest said about the box ghost the better.
The clones had been an attempt to finally rid himself of this awful loneliness he refused to acknowledge during the daylight. He is ashamed to admit the number of nights spent wallowing in his study or lab, nursing the most expensive wine on the market and tasting nothing but ashes.
Danielle had been sweet. Sweet, eager, and all too easy to manipulate.
Dan, on the other hand, was a punch to the throat he’d had no way to brace himself for. Caustic and apathetic, he’d been like looking in a warped funhouse mirror.
And he was now attempting to house both of these children under his roof, while still engaging in petty battles with Phantom, because clearly someone had to keep the boy on his toes.
That night he found Dan raiding his wine cellar, two empty bottles already smashed to the ground and a third already halfway gone.
“Don’t you look at me like that old man,” he spat, curling around the bottle like a security blanket, “it was raiding the cellar or setting this whole ugly mansion ablaze, and I figured you’d like to keep this thing standing.”
“…yes, quite.” Vlad hummed, debating on the merits of fighting a very drunk, very powerful half-ghost.
“S’pose it wouldn’t have been too bad. For all your one foot in the grave you wouldn’t have died in the fire.” Dan’s gaze slid to the powered down portal, “and we at least coulda ridded ourselves of tha’ awful thing.”
“Unfortunately for us both that would do very little in the long run. I do need rather easy access to the realms for my current dealings, so it would have been a temporary fix at best.”
“Shame.”
At that point the bottle Dan had been nursing slipped from numb fingers, cracking against the ground and slowly spinning outwards.
“Well, clearly that’s enough of that, come now, I believe it’s high past your bedtime.”
“Why do you care? It’s not like there’s anyone here for you to pretend for, we both know you hate me and wish I didn’t exist. My only purpose is a living reminder of other people's worst decisions.”
Ah, emotions. The thing Vlad had been desperately avoiding, “I know you don't want it, so I won’t do you the disservice of coddling you. Yes, when you first showed up I cared very little for you as an individual. But, I have found over these past months that you are a unique person, Dan. Utterly insufferable for most of it like most teenagers are, but you exist beyond what you are for others.”
“Shut up! You don’t care! No one cares! I am a monument to your sins, I don’t exist outside of that. I shouldn’t exist at all!”
A sob breaks Dan’s rant, viciously muffled like he can strangle his own weakness. But another sob breaks though, and another, before the cellar is filled with the sounds of a child falling apart.
Vlad fights to find the words, for what fo you say to someone who has already lost everything once?
“You exist for yourself, Dan.” Vlad finally breaks the silence, “Do not allow yourself to be destroyed by the mistakes Daniel and myself made.”
“I mean,” a broken laugh, “I think it’s a bit more your mistakes than mini me.”
“Hmmm, agree to disagree.”
Now that draws a real laugh out of the other halfa, and Vlad decides that’s the end of feelings time.
“Come now, I think it’s high time we both turned in for the night. I made some lasagna that we can reheat for lunch tomorrow.”
“Why in the world would you make me anything? Don’t you have like, three personal chefs?”
“It was… something my mother did for me when I was young. We ate a lot of frozen meals due to her busy schedule and she knew I hated it. So every Saturday evening she’d spend two or so hours making me lasagna.
“I know this is not an ideal situation for you, it is something I am struggling greatly with too, but I promise I will try to make the effort to do better by you.”
“I’m. I’ll try too, can’t have you one upping me old man.”
“Sleep well, Dan.”
There’s no response, and Vlad goes to sleep that night with thoughts of white white white green.
But when he stumbles down for breakfast the next day, it’s to an empty lasagna container in the sink, and a note that says;
Prompt: BLOB!!!!! GHOSTS!!!!!!! that's it that's the prompt! do whatever you want but it MUST feature blob ghosts as the main event
When I saw your prompt, I had a fun worldbuilding idea for some informational posters hung up around amity! (And maybe play a little bit with how well humans and ghosts would actually work together with some translation shenanigans) I hope you like it!
The ghost font is from the novels and free for download here.
Translations are below the cut if you want to see them!
Page 1
Title Text- Ghost Mite
-Mites gather where ectoplasm coalesces
-Not a threat
-If it makes you feel better you can bring it to a portal location
-Mites can form mouths like any other ghost
Approved by the high council for human information guide
Page 2
Title Text- Ghost Mite
-Mites can be upset by real world food
-Unstable ectoplasm is harmful to humans even from low power sources like Ghost Mites
-We keep telling the humans that this is just how ghosts form and not a terrible omen but they will not listen
New ghosts are easily disoriented help them to the nearest portal
Approved by the high council for human information guide
Hiya @jnstudios2, I'm your backup gifter for the @phandomholidaytruce!
Sorry to keep you waiting some extra days, I was trying to understand the lore in order not to mess up too much...
(^～^;)ゞ
While I understood that Jordan/Chosen Warrior has trouble controlling her draconic form, I think that sometimes one of the best way to reconcile to your reptilian self is to nap while sunbathing!
And even if Plasmius is evil, he's the type of man who likes to reward his pawns apprentices when they do a good job, so SunLamp!
Hope I didn't mess up your OC (too much) and you'll enjoy your gift.
Thank you for your patience!
Wrote this for @real-mossysheep using their @phandomholidaytruce prompt: "Old injuries always flare up when it gets cold." And they mentioned Fair Game was fair game, so i rolled with it. i had so much writing this. This is a part 1 of 2 cause i keep ending up wanting to add more, so i broke it off at a good spot i think. There are potential Fair Game spoilers, but doesnt explicitly give much away. Just a tiny hint at the end.
Ao3 link
Chilled to the bones
He always felt it in his finger tips first. It wasn't pain, at least not yet. An early sign of what was to come. He pressed them into his palm, and he glared at the increased tingles the pressure caused.
"Whats up with you?" Dan slid into the booth, pushing Danny into the window. Dani followed in Dan's foot steps, taking the other, much roomier, side of booth for herself.
"Yeah. You look like your hand offended you." She squinted. "Did it offend you?"
"No..." Danny clenched and unclenched his hand. Then shoved Dan to give himself more space. "Dude move. You dont need the whole booth."
"You seemed to be enjoying it. So I wanted to enjoy it too." Dan did give Danny a little bit more space.
"There was a whole open space across from me"
"But it was for Dani."
Dani nodded, saying something that neither could make out over the ridiculous amount of fries in her mouth.
"Dont choke on those." Danny pushed his drink forward.
With a large sip, Danny watched as she downed his drink in nearly one go.
"Why are you guys here?"
"Sam text me saying you were gunna be all pathetic all by yourself tonight." Dani held up her phone to show the message. It really said: Tuck and i are busy 2night. If ur in the area can u check in on him.
"When did you- never mind. I'm not being pathetic. I can do things alone. I just didn't feel like fighting dinner. "
"You kinda are." Dani giggled. "At least being moppy."
Dan nodded. "You don't seem to do anything solo. Can't be healthy. Maybe we should just leave you to it." He made no effort to move and started to unwrap his burger.
"I'm not telling you to leave." Danny grabbed a fry, flinching as gripping it was unpleasant.
"You get injured?" Dani squinted at Danny as though it would help her see.
"No. It's just gunna snow soon."
Dan's age showed on his face. "Ah. I don't miss that." He then began to type away on his phone.
"Miss what?" Dani started to steal from both their fries.
"The pain of living flesh." Dan put his phone down.
"You don't feel it anymore?"
"Nope. Fresh flesh so no wounds. She would be in the same boat. That shitty present from the folks is all yours."
Silence settled over the three. It was a weird lull in the conversation that wasn't quite comfortable. Why would Sam do this to him.
Before the conversation could pick up again a stranger approached the table holding a bag.
"Mister Dan Masters?" She asked.
"I'm he." Dan took the package. "Thanks. I'm impressed with the speed."
"Any time. Feel free to request me again."
Dan nodded. Pressed something on an app and the lady's phone pinged. She gave a salute and took off without a word.
"200$ tip!?" Danny was nosey so he saw when Dan added an extra 100 to an already 100$ tip.
"I like to fuck with Vlad. Here." He pushed the package to Danny.
"We use his card for everything through this app that makes it ridiculously hard to track." Dani held up her version. "I would ask if you'd want in, but you would be too easy to track."
Dan grins. "Child support is for the clones only. Though in the most fucked up way, I technically worked hard for this money. I just got to retire earlier than that bastard."
Dani scowls at Dan. An untold argument on her face before it smoothed out "If he cuts us off, I'm coming for child support from you. Now open the bag. I wanna see what Dan got."
Opening the bag didn't clarify anything. "Gloves?"
"Compression gloves. It'll help with the tingles, and make the ache less. Probably less so since caught it too late. But better a little than not."
"I don't-" Danny stared at the gloves. He hates to admit they looked cool. They were fingerless, and mostly black, some neon green details were overlayed on the sides and back of the hand. "I can't-"
"Just take the damn gloves. Merry Christmas or some shit." Dan grumbled.
"It's the end of January..."
Dan grumbled something, stood up suddenly, and walked out.
"Dude, your trash..." Danny sighed.
Dani took the opportunity to steal Danny's phone. She put her finger on the reader. "Oh! Our finger prints match. Weird. You better be careful when you commit a crime. I dont wanna take the fall for you." She typed something then hands the phone back.
"I put our international numbers in there. Dan and I are going to travel." She made her way to the door and paused. "I'm not as mad at you anymore. Still mad, but...you can text or call I guess. Bye." She caught up with Dan and they both walk off.
The first sign of snow begins to fall. Danny packs up the other twos trash and heads out, putting on his new gloves.
Hi @onlyhalfghost!! I'm sorry to get this to you as late as I have. But, I really hope you enjoy it!!
This is part of the @phandomholidaytruce Truce event. If you haven't, I'd encourage others to take a look at the incredible works that have been submitted as part of this!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Sorry for the delay! I will be posting this on AO3 once I can. Life has been going against me posting this. The formatting is going to be off, so I apologize for that also!
Mixed a few of your prompts together to get this!
---
Amity Park was never normal.
They were some small town in the middle of nowhere that you wouldn't normally bat an eye at, sure. But there was always <i>something</i> happening that would just make anyone from outside of the town question everything. Thankfully, the residents of Amity Park were used to it. It was just another day to them.
That's why when a new teenager suddenly appeared in the small town, everyone paused for a moment but didn't bat an eye. It almost explained itself when everyone realized <i>who</i> the teenager was related to.
Dan Masters was the so-called twin brother of Danny Fenton. The two were splitting images, other than Dan had the most unsettling deep red eyes. They looked like a ruby; in the dark it had a deep dark maroon color but when the light hit his eyes they were a deep blood red. Dan was also an inch taller than Danny with straighter posture. They seemed like two begrudging peas in a pod.
Compared to Danny, Dan had more bite in his voice but was more quiet. The guy tended to act like a shadow to his brother. It didn't help when Danny introduced him to everyone that it came to light how Dan lived with Vlad Masters, the weird rich mayor of the town, and had Vlad as his legal guardian. It seemed to make the situation worse for Dan and Danny somehow.
Danny sighed as he slumped into his desk, his cheek pressing against the cold wood. He looked around at his classmates as they walked into the room. They were talking amongst themselves, not paying him any mind as they found their seat. Danny spotted Valerie walking in with Dan, who was listening to her talk. Danny felt a bubble of his ghost sense move up his throat and he bit it back as Dan looked up.
Every single time Dan reunited with Danny, it was an odd reminder that Dan was a full ghost. Two ghost halves combined to make a whole. Danny wished that his ghost sense would recognize that it was <i>technically him</i> it was recognizing, but sadly his body wouldn't ever get the memo.
“Hey, Danny.” Valerie smiled as she sat down in the seat in front of him. Dan took the seat left of Danny. “Is Tucker sick today?”
“Yeah. He caught a stomach virus and is home miserable.” Danny offered a smile and shrugged. “Sam swears it's from how much meat he eats. She thinks the steak he ate the other day had a parasite.”
“Checks out.” Valerie shook her head as she looked at Dan then back at Danny. “Me and Dan were hoping he'd be here because they're assigning the midterm project today.”
Danny groaned and thumped his head on his desk. Of course the one day that they needed Tucker to be here, he wasn't.
“What's the worst that could happen?” Dan looked mildly amused by Danny's grief. “They put us with Paulina?”
Danny squinted at Dan, ignoring how Paulina sat two seats away and turned to glare at Dan. Dan ignored the girl and shrugged.
“Don't be mean. She's not that bad.” Danny sat up and then switched to ghost speak. <i>”You're being petty again.”</i>
<i>”I'm not being petty. We suck at this class and I know that you don't want the embarrassment of that.”</i> Dan rolled his eyes.
“Oh great. You're doing it again.” Valerie made a face at them. “You know you two look weird to the others when you do that? They don't know you're… y'know.”
“Let them think we're weird. It doesn't bother me.” Dan glanced around before grinning. “What're they going to do? Say something?”
Danny reached his foot out and kicked Dan's shin.
“Dick.” Dan bared his teeth at Danny before kicking back.
“You're the one who is trying to cause problems.” Danny rolled his eyes at Dan.
“I'm not trying to cause any problems. I'm having fun.” Dan looked towards the front of the class as their teacher came in. “I don't have any want for harm going towards them.”
Danny sighed and turned his attention back up to the teacher as she wrote group names on the board. He tapped his foot lightly as he watched their names one by one get assigned. His name was written on the boards, then Valerie and Dan.
Then Paulina.
Of course.
“You jinxed it.” Valerie sounded half amused as Paulina turned towards them with a strained smile.
“Sooo… I guess that means we have to work with each other?” Paulina looked almost pained as she talked to the other three.
“I guess it does.” Valerie tapped her fingers on her desk before looking at Dan. “How about we work at your place? I'm sure Vlad wouldn't mind.”
“You call Mayor Masters by his name?” Paulina squints at Valerie.
“I'm friends with his kid and godchildren.” Valerie gave a smile towards Paulina that felt sharp. “Kinda comes with that perk.”
Paulina blew air out of her nose before smiling like a shark at Dan, leaning towards him.
“Sooo… your house tonight at 7?” Paulina batted her eyes.
Dan looked to be in a mixture of boredom and amusement. He glanced at Danny and Valerie before shrugging.
“Fine. He will have to deal.” Dan pulled out his phone and sent out a text.
Danny wasn't too surprised. While being half Vlad, Dan was still Danny in the end and would 100% stick it to the fruit loop.
“Great.” Paulina turned back to the front of her desk. “Valerie can text me the deets later.”
Danny and Valerie’s eyes met before they rolled their eyes.
–
Danny sighed as he stepped out of Valerie's car. He pulled his bag over his shoulder and slapped the door shut before turning to Valerie. She was stepping out of the car and picking up her bag by the strap. She looked up and gave a small smile to Danny.
“You ready to get this over with?” Valerie asked with a small laugh behind her words.
“The sooner I can get home and play games with Tuck, the better.” Danny smiled and started to walk up the driveway.
Valerie caught up quickly as they made their way up the driveway. Already parked was a grey Toyota that looked secondhand but well taken care of. Even without the fuzzy pink dice hanging on the rearview mirror, Danny knew it was Paulina’s car.
Danny didn't even bother to knock at the front door. He dug his key out and opened the door without any hesitation. Valerie followed him inside and shut the door behind him, just as she always did when they came over. The foyer welcomed them to the sound of soft classical music and talking in the distance.
The two followed the sound down one of the dim lit hallways all the way to the large dining room. At the table was Paulina and Dan. Their textbooks and notebooks were splayed out in front of them as they discussed the text. Danny swallowed the icy sensation in his throat.
“Took you long enough.” Dan didn't spare a glance as the two sat down.
“Did you get lost on the way?” Paulina's tone lacked the normal venom it held.
“He forgot his backpack the first time.” Valerie threw Danny under the bus, which got her a sharp <i>hey</i> in response.
“Neither of us are good at that, so I don't blame you.” Dan snorted. “Just sit down.”
“Fine, fine.” Danny grumbled and took a seat next to Valerie, which was across from Dan and Paulina.
“So, what'd you guys start with?” Valerie asked as she opened up her textbook.
“Well, since you and me are the better academics of us four, we were talking about us gathering information and then working on the presentation. That way it will go smoother.” Paulina explained as she pointed out her notebook. It had the objectives and tasks listed out neatly with who would do them.
“Wow. I didn't think of doing it like that.” Danny admitted.
“After freshman year you haven't really been the type to do well in school, so I think that's a given.” Paulina gave a flat look at Danny.
“Hey, he did have that accident so you can't be too mad. Plus all of the ghosts. Our parents were probably nightmares to deal with so I don't blame him.” Dan frowned and Danny tried to not smile.
“I guess you are right.” Paulina sighed and looked at Dan. “You don't seem motivated in school much but at least you get decent grades.”
“My dad would kill me if I brought bad grades home.” Dan shrugged. Danny knew that was a lie mostly. It was part of the agreement that Dan would at least try. “I don't care as much about school, though.”
“Bummer.” Paulina motioned her pen between herself and Valerie. “We have to get good grades. Cheer team standards and all.”
“You got back on the cheer team?” Dan's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Valerie.
“Yeah. Just got back on.” Valerie shrugged.
“I'm proud of you. I know it hurt when you got kicked off.” Dan gave a genuine smile at Valerie.
“Thanks…. And yeah it did.” Valerie gave a smile back.
The four fell into a small silence as Danny slowly slid over the assignment to read it. It didn't seem too hard, thankfully. Just more time consuming.
“Hey, Dan.” After 20 minutes of them working on their project, Paulina spoke up again.
“Hmm?” Dan didn't look up.
“We have art together. I know that I'm better at research based assignments, but in art I'm not great. Could you help me one of these days?” Paulina looked up at Dan, who paused.
<i>”You remembering that she's a different person now from when you were in my place?”</i> Danny spoke up in ghost speak. <i>”She's trying to be your friend.”</i>
“Uhg. They're doing it again.” Valerie groaned and turned to Paulina. “Sorry, they have this little secret language code they talk in. A bad habit they have when they don't want people to hear what they're saying.”
“No, it's fine. My brother and I used to pass notes in a made up alphabet we made up. Got a lot of things around our parents.” Paulina didn't seem bothered.
<i>”But what if I do something bad again?”</i> Dan frowned at Danny, looking genuinely worried.
<i>”You won't.”</i> Danny shrugged. <i>”You're doing better. And…. I trust you.”</i>
Dan slowly smiled before turning to Paulina.
“Yeah. I can help. Just let me know when and I will help.” Dan offered.
Paulina lit up and pulled out another notebook. She flipped it open to a page with what looked like ideas.
“Great! Do you know how I could do-” Paulina started and Danny stopped listening as Valerie pulled his attention away.
“Pretty sweet, if you ask me. He's doing better and I'm glad he's willing to make a friend.” Valerie spoke quietly. “Especially with someone… you know.”
“Yeah.” Danny smiled at her and glanced over to the other two. “I'm glad too.”
come and find me (1605 words) by ei_w
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Danny Phantom
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Clockwork (referred) - Character
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Time Travel, Post-Episode: s03e11 D-Stabilized (Danny Phantom), Mystery, Holiday Truce 2025 (Danny Phantom)
Summary:
In an abandoned shack, a child survives on nothing but her own resilience. When she feels there is no anchor in her life, a secret emerges—a riddle that becomes her lifeline. The enigmatic message serves as a breadcrumb, leading her through tough years in the hope of one day finding the person who left it behind.
Elle's new position might finally provide a way to meet the mysterious figure.
Phandom Holiday Truce gift for @hickorydaisy (note: if you have an ao3 account, let me know, so I can gift you there, too^^)
My gift for @meatyhandbag, Happy (late 😞) truce!, I used the prompts: hero stuff and Frostbite fighting against Pariah dark, I hope you like it (again, so sorry for the late posting)
Conquest; Frostbite tells Danny about how he got to know about Pariah Dark (warning for gore)
In another one of Danny's explorations across the Ghost zone to properly trace his own map, he still needs some guidance from the Infi-map, he was always happy to be worshipped by the far frozen and be thought a thing or two from Frostbite so he was never unhappy to do this visits.
As soon as he landed on the eternally soft yet extremely cold land of the local town, several citizen ran straight to him, greeting him by the title "The great one", a civilization of feared warriors turned into happy puppies in the teenager's eyes, he chuckled as he greeted everyone like a celebrity, guards scolted the halfa to their leader's liar.
-----------
-I see your travels have been productive, Great one!-, Frostbite exclaimed in admiration as he checked on Danny's handmade map, Danny smiles proud of himself.
-Thanks, through I know it's not as accurate as the Infi-map but I wanted a map with some annotations on the places to go and not to be as unpredictable as the infi-map-. Frostbite laughed at his words remembering his disadventures he had every time him or the older halfa Vlad held the map.
-We learn from mistakes Great one-, he proceeded to ruffle his hair, -So tell us, if your exploration has been successful without the Infi-map, what gives us the honor to have your presence?-, the yeti finishes with a smile.
Danny seemed thoughtful on that question as if touching something delicate, ending up sighing as there's no bland way to say what he must; -When I was trying to go into Pariah Dark's territory, there's a tower I couldn't get into as if it had an ecto shield, I was wondering if you had some... Less cryptic answer than Clockwork-.
Frostbite's smile faded away, still he didn't seemed surprised as if he knew this time would come, he sighs.
-Long time ago, maybe before you were born...-
-------------- Frostbite's POV---------------
I have been told a menace approaches our territory, the lands of the fire core tribe were taken by an unknown force, the nature core ghost massively exterminated except for the king who managed to escape, I'm not like that coward, I have fought against ice beasts and the abominations of cursed wendigos to exterminate them into extinction, some mad monster is not gonna make me back down.
I waited at the edge of our lands for the beast to manifest, we know it's matter of minutes now before it comes, my commander is mumbling silent prayers in name of our pillars, I just rolled my eyes as he did, as their new leader, I stepped forward, this monster better be willing for some diplomacy or I'm gonna have to just stop this theater right now.
I ordered my army to stay behind, I'm conscious they destroyed other tribes, but none of them were as strong as us, we were never pacifist like them, I didn't need to go far as the famous monster finally arrived... He looks like a human warrior an arrogant one; a fierce look with battle paint on his face, an armor in red, black and grey as if begging to be seen, a broken horn of his head... I could almost bet that battle scar was made by the dragon army he just fought, that enraged me even more.
-Go back from where you came from monster, unlike the others we have been build between battle and ice, if you go away, maybe we shall spare your life!-.
I gave him a chance, a final warning but he began to laugh..., laugh at my mercy, I didn't move, didn't react to his provocations.
-Spare my life?!, When I'm done with your filthy and brute civilization, you shall kneel before me just for the right to be my pet!-, he pulled out a sword, I created one with ice to block his deliberate hit, it shattered...
-Now, beast of ice, you offered your mercy, I shall offer mine; You and your people kneel before me and your death shall be fast as your people only get to serve me!-.
He attempted to slash once more, I blocked the blow with a shield.
-Never!-.
I screamed as I bared my teeth at him, my army began to get closer, taking my scream as a battle cry, from every corner of the frozen tundra, every step surrounded by my people, all ready to fight, all holding up their weapons, pointing at the lone ghost defying us.
-You are surrounded-, I stated with complete confidence in the force of my people but unlike what I expected, a wide grin got painted on his face.
-You want to see your people executed before your eyes as your last wish?, very well...-.
In a blur I didn't have the chance to stop or predict where he was running until a core slid in the snow, then, the lifeless body of my commander...
Screams began to overwhelm the battlefield..., it was happening so fast... Cores, ectoplasm, I roared as I tried to catch on him, shooting ice rays from my eyes, from my palms, attempting to stop him, an ice blade created in my left hand, in a moment he stopped just to grin at me as if knowing I can't stop him, as if knowing he was going to be faster and kill me.
I slashed my blade at him, to my surprise the blow actually landed, sending him flying across the snow, I launched at him and began to tear down his armor with my own claws, to bite his flesh, I was not thinking, no reflecting on honor codes, the more he screamed, the more it angered me!.
The remaining men of my army were speechless, shocked staring at the bodies, crying, no creature, no monster has ever managed to kill one of our own in such a brutal way, their sobs making my head boil, I was about to give one final blow, my left hand surrounded by a blue light to create a spear to pierce his core until a fire ray from him engulfed my arm, making me scream in pain, having to stumble backwards, my bones exposed, the fur and flesh turning in melting ectoplasm, I had to focus my power to cover the bone in ice, when I looked at the spot where this monster was in badly injured seconds ago, I couldn't see him, I looked up, He flew away.
That night I lost more than an arm, family, friends, I swore I would not underestimate this monster or any similar menace ever again.
I looked down at my right hand noticing I had something there, the monster's eye...
-------------------
When the war was over, Pariah Dark finally imprisoned by the pillars for his crimes, I presented along the other leaders of the very few clans standing and I brought in a container that monster's eye, I gifted it to the pillars in gratitude for saving the ghost zone.
The pillar of time said he could guard it in his tower but the pillar of life said it still had some of the defeated king's essence that he could use to scape, so they created a new tower in Pariah's territory surrounded by a shield unable to break unless the other pillars used their power together to get it out.
-So, as you can see Great one, there's nothing in that tower that any of us wants out-, Frostbite finished his story for the young halfa.
-Oh, heck no, I would not even try to get that thing out, besides uh... Ew... It's someone's... Eye-, Frostbite gave an endearing laugh as he ruffled the teenager's hair once more, if he hadn't looked at the Ghost boy do it, he would have never believed this kid managed to seal that monster a second time.
Happy belated Phandom Holiday Truce, @domoquadrant ! Sorry I'm so terribly late—my original fic went "poof" so I had to rewrite it😅
I chose your first prompt: "Danny being hunted down/identity being revealed" and tried to fit in a couple of your likes (alongside prompt 6: "enemies"). Hope you like it!
WC: 5.4~K
Disclaimer for small injuries and destabilization as a weakening tactic but no gore.
{Paulina}
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
It wasn't.
Paulina would've worn better shoes if it was; as it is, her favourite ballet flats are ruined, every sharp stone underfoot jabs her through their thin soles, and she's nearly rolled her ankle twice.
Having stable ankle support while running for Phantom's afterlife would be nice.
"Left," is mumbled into her shoulder, the first word Phantom's deigned to speak from his position on her back for a while. It's the opposite of what Paulina wants to hear.
"Left, of course it's left," she mutters a curse under her breath, abandoning the clear, firm path branching to the right for the increasing overgrown and muddy option to the left. She wishes she could pretend it's just a temporary rough patch on an otherwise well-groomed path to safety, but Paulina's well-aware there's a swamp in the area somewhere ahead.
Phantom so owes me an autograph for this. And the GIW owe me Gucci.
She'd been hesitant when the government agency first approached her with their plan to talk to Phantom, but eventually chose to help on the basis that they were done blindly hunting ghosts. They'd claimed to seek understanding, coexistence, and that all she had to do was act lost in the woods for a bit as someone they knew Phantom would come save. It was supposed to be easy, and she was even allowed to bring a couple friends on the so-called secret mission for moral support.
And really, the whole mission thing for her was ultimately the perfect excuse to have a romantic encounter with the ghost boy. What was the point in telling Phantom to sit through a stuffy peace meeting when she could just relay the GIW's news during a moonlit date? They'd all be happy in the end; she'd get a love confession by morning, Phantom would get amazing news, and the GIW would still have their message reach him. She'd had the evening all planned out.
Maybe that's why she didn't notice the GIW's actual plans.
"Fine, I'll do it—but only if I get his heart."
"Very well," Agent K had looked at her consideringly that afternoon. "We'll help you get his heart."
She realized pretty fast once the shooting started that one of them hadn't meant it as a joke.
She should've known better than to believe the government would accept ghosts so easily, but it was hard to take the agency seriously; Phantom always saving the day had lulled her into a sense of security. Paulina had considered the agents essentially harmless, nothing the ghost boy couldn't handle, until he started literally melting before her eyes. There were none of the quips or artful aerial tricks seen in his previous encounters with them, the GIW emerging from their hiding spots completely unexpected. Most of their shots missed thanks to distance and low hanging branches in the way, but the effect of the shot that grazed him was immediate; one moment he was floating strong, and the next he was slightly-slimy deadweight. He started re-solidifying pretty fast once they left the area, but seeing him falter like that terrified her.
If not for her fellow Phans Dash and Kwan tackling a couple of agents to create an opening, and Paulina's own quick thinking throwing Phantom's unstable form over her shoulder, the world would be one ghost less by now.
"How much longer, Ghost Boy?"
She feels the vibration of speech on her skin, the silk shirt she'd spent hours picking out long-torn by stray branches and brambles, but she can't make out any words over the fast approaching sirens and men yelling.
I hope Kwan and Dash are okay.
Her skin stings with hundreds of little cuts, left thigh aching something fierce after partially running into a stump she didn't see. At least the air is warm, fresh and pleasant if not for the situation. She gulps it in greedily, breathing heavily as her stamina flags. She can't keep this up forever, the gap between them and their pursuers already shrinking.
She could stop; sit down, let the GIW catch up. Worst she'll get is a slap on the wrist, or an accidental blast from one of their guns if they arrive trigger-happy. The guns may pose a threat to her passenger, but they'd have no effect on her.
Phantom tenses on her back, likely realizing they're getting closer as well.
She keeps running, trying to be as quiet as she can, but she can't help the screech that tears itself from her throat when the ground beneath suddenly gives away.
An old yellow sign seen earlier that day flashes through her mind. She'd hardly paid it any attention at the time, busy re-applying her makeup, but it would've been hard to miss it completely. There's little else to do but look around when stuck in the woods for so long. It had felt like she wandered in circles for hours, waiting for Phantom to show.
'Beware of cliffs.'
Impossibly, the fall felt longer.
{Danny}
It isn't easy to sneak up on Danny. Not when he spent his formative years dodging misfiring and imploding Fenton-tech prototypes, and later resurrected dinners, properly aimed Fenton tech, and his fellow dead.
The dead are sometimes successful even with his ghost sense, but still. The dead sneak up on Danny; not the living, and certainly not the GIW.
What on earth possessed (hah) Paulina to be alone in the middle of the woods so close to dark?
Not that she was alone in the end, he recalls bitterly as he drags himself to his feet, relying heavily on his returning imperviousness to gravity to remain upright. Whatever they'd shot at him was annoyingly effective at draining his strength and shutting his powers down. His legs wobble, gradually regaining strength but unreliable. Moving in general feels weird, as if in imperceptible slow motion, and it reminds him of Dani destabilizing in Vlad's lab.
There had been a prototype Fenton blaster that could trigger destabilization, but Danny'd long destroyed all its schematics and notes. It's instantaneous lethality to ghosts, and the likely fatality of a direct hit for halfas, had made it far too dangerous to leave alone.
Maybe the GIW developed their own version?
Fat chance, without a portal to provide an energy source. Someone helped them.
Either way, he's glad Paulina didn't leave him there, even if his current situation's not much better.
They're technically still on the outskirts of the true swamp, but the recent spring rainfall has turned the average forest floor into a disgusting slurry. Great for cushioning their fall a little bit, but several levels of icky and extremely cumbersome to move in without flight.
Listening carefully, he hears the monochromatic jerks continue past where they fell, bits of underbrush falling downward as their collective weight shakes the less stable ground of the cliff edge. Luckily, none of them fall with the underbrush so him and Paulina finally get a chance to rest.
He scans the area, un-beating heart dropping when he realizes with no small alarm that Paulina is unconscious. He refrains from yelling her name in case it brings their pursuers back, flying over to her side at the bottom of the cliff. She's as covered in grime as he is, and victim to both bruises and scratches, but her chest rises and falls without issue and her pulse beats steady when he presses his fingers to her neck. Nothing seems broken, and the lump he finds when gently feeling her scalp isn't a concerning size. About a typical goose egg situation—enough to keep her down for a little bit, and give her a nasty headache, but so long as she takes it easy she should be fine.
Thank the Ancients, she's alright.
He hiccups mid-motion of moving her into a recovery position, chills running down his spine as frost escapes his lips. He instinctively summons an ectoblast, bracing for a fight as he whirls around, but his ectoplasm scatters faster than he can condense it, only a few sad green sparks flickering in his hands. His quick reflexes however do let him get in a nice, solid kick before he's thrown bodily into a tree.
Though I might not be.
For most ghosts, the kick would've been enough to stun them, or at least give them pause—even weakened as he is, Danny's strong enough for that.
For Vlad, it merely elicits a grunt and punch that Danny narrowly dodges while fumbling to pull the thermos from his side. The odds of getting Vlad in the thermos are low, but the odds of beating him without using it are even lower.
His flight cuts out momentarily when avoiding a particularly nasty swipe of Plasmius's claws, so Danny resists the ghostly urge to take the fight skyward. It's all he can do to play defensive under the constant barrage, accidentally dropping the thermos into the mud when he needs both his hands to block a strike. He isn't given a chance to retrieve it, forced to create distance from the spot or risk Plasmius noticing Paulina.
"What do you want, Plasmius?" Danny sneers with false bravado to cover up his breathlessness. "Something tells me you aren't here to help chase away the GIW."
"Please Daniel—as much as you take after the oaf, you aren't that stupid."
"You think I'm acting stupid? I'm not the one starting a fight in ghost hunter territory!"
"But you are the one who insists on being enemies, aren't you?" Vlad taunts, trading physical hits for ecto-blasts. Danny chills the air in response, frost blooming in his wake to prevent stray energy from setting anything alight.
"This isn't what I—"
"Regardless, Badger," the once annoyingly friendly nickname is altered, said like a confrontation on its own. "You are right. You're no family of mine."
"Wait—" Danny scrambles to make sense of the situation, the reality sinking in as copious Plasmius duplicates spawn into existence. They speak as one, converging on Danny to send him crashing back into a tree near Paulina.
"And I don't let threats live."
By the time Danny's back on his feet, Plasmius's already got him surrounded in a cruel repeat of earlier that night. A ghostly version of the GIW's ambush.
Was he always this strong? How the Zone am I supposed to win?!
In all their fights, Danny's never heard Vlad speak with the cold, detached efficiency that he does now.
"This is what being my enemy really means."
Yeah, that's not good.
Danny barely has time to create an ice shield over himself and the unconscious A-lister before Plasmius and his duplicates wash the forest in flame a vivid violet, opposed to his familiar pink. The energy burns like nothing else, bypassing the ice with ease. Danny collapses, his ectoplasm nearly boiling. It's a small blessing that he is alone in his misery, the forest and Paulina seemingly unaffected.
He fights to remain as Phantom, form starting to droop as the stress and pain exacerbates his destabilization but unwilling to leave his classmate defenseless.
"Handy skill, isn't it?" Plasmius gloats, taking his time to float closer as his duplicates fade. "Waiting for you to join me was holding me back in more ways than one."
He stumbles slightly when he lands, a power that strong taking a toll on Plasmius as well. If it's anything like Danny's wail, he'd be easy prey for the thermos if Danny hadn't lost it.
"Pity the fools in white couldn't finish such an easy job themselves," Vlad continues his monologue with disdain, as if they didn't do half the work driving Danny to this point. "Incompetent as usual."
Danny must've blinked, or blacked out momentarily, because suddenly there's a blaster in Plasmius's hand. It's all smooth metal and fluorescent energy veins, consolidating into a deceptively goofy-looking cone at the end of the usual blaster silhouette.
'To better disperse the destabilization agent,' it'd said in his parents' notes.
'To make it impossible to avoid,' it'd been recorded in his.
The Destabilizer's presence with Vlad solves the mystery of how the Guys In White had similar tech.
"Is there anything in our lives you aren't sticking your nose into, you creepy Fruitloop?" Danny growls, dreading what other deleted schematics Vlad must have copies of.
"Spying is hardly the worst of my sins, Daniel." Plasmius calmly places Danny in the blaster's sights. It whines, unwavering in its position and charging up. Vlad may have pointed weapons at him before, but there are no dramatic gestures or frustrated venting for Danny to take advantage of this time.
"And don't worry about your mother. With my comfort, I'm sure she won't grieve long."
Danny wants to move. He strains, gathering all his willpower and drive to survive as Plasmius pulls the trigger—
But he can't.
Click.
{Paulina}
Paulina is moving before she's fully aware she's awake. Muscle memory from years of ghost attacks and self-defence classes activating despite the thick fog of her thoughts. Like in a series of snapshots, she goes from unconscious on the ground to between the two most powerful ghosts in Amity with only a thermos and hope that Plasmius's weapon doesn't hurt the living.
Scene one: she's struggling for purchase, slipping and hardly able to see in the dim light.
Scene two: there's a thermos clutched tight in her hand, and the two ghosts are a lot closer than before. She can't hear anything, there's no audio beyond a ringing that won't go away and the thundering of her pulse, but their lips are moving. Her beloved Phantom is scared.
Scene three: Phantom is out of sight, a very scary Plasmius taking up the entirety of her vision as she plants herself between him and his target. It's here, a blaster going off in her face, that she starts actually registering the situation.
Paulina may not be sure what's happening exactly, but she's seen enough ghost fights to know what comes next. Taking advantage of Plasmius's surprise and recovering quickly from the essential flashbang thanks to years spent facing sudden camera flashes, Paulina has the thermos up, lid off, and button pressed before the shot's light has time to completely fade. She ditches the thermos the second the lid's back on, chucking it carelessly to the ground to check on Phantom.
She can barely make him out in the gloom; her eyes burn and her stomach churns with dread at what the lack of his ever-present glow could mean. She collapses to her knees at his side, herculean strength courtesy of adrenalin leaving her in the freshly fallen quiet. There are no sirens, no far off demands of surrender, no evil ghost monologues. It's just her, and the boy-shaped weight she clumsily props up against her side, abandoned in the dark. There's no sourceless light, no unnatural cold. Nothing indicates Phantom's presence aside from the body in her hands.
"PhaNtom...?" Her voice cracks with the burden of an unasked question.
Cuddling close, arms wrapped around him best she can in hopes of providing some small comfort, she buries her face in his hair and tries not to read into his silence.
***
It's to a splitting headache and the expected woodland sounds that Paulina wakes up the second time.
There's none of the chaos from the night before, just a soft filter of sunlight through the canopy and the rustling of wind.
Her memory is blank, at first, all mental strength focused on breathing through the pain and trying desperately to reorient herself.
She remembers agreeing to help the GIW meet Phantom for the chance to abscond with him on a date, then spending ages roaming the woods 'in need of rescue'.
It's clearly the next day, and she does not feel very wined and dined, so what happened after that?
Phantom finding her—bright lights and screaming—running terrified in the dark—Plasmius—the memories come back in nightmarish flashes.
Right. The GIW are liars and owe me new shoes.
She groans as her eyes adjust to what must be the afternoon sun. It had to have been up for a while, the ground dry and no longer sludge beneath her.
The worst of her pain gradually fades into something manageable, but she's definitely concussed to some degree.
A warm pressure against her chest, a body in her arms, shifts—movement that would alarm her if not for blurry memories of cradling Phantom's corpse close. Then, making a movement that does alarm her, said 'corpse' shoves at her with ample force.
She doesn't try to keep it —him?— close, happy to let whatever remains of Phantom break free to scamper backwards across their little clearing.
For a hot second, Paulina's too relieved that Phantom lives to register that there's a problem. Then the blatant differences sink in and make it obvious: there's too much life in him.
Dark, shaggy hair frames his face, blue eyes darting from her to the woods and back again. His breath comes fast and shallow, and there's a healthy pink undertone to his skin. The loose dirt has little effect on his jeans, but stains his white shirt wherever it touches.
"Paulina—it's not—I'm—this isn't what it looks like!"
There go any plans of denial, she thinks a bit hysterically, 'Phantom's' frantic dialogue not leaving much room for her to get a word in.
There's an odd flickering around his waist, some sort of ring struggling to become reality, but aside from that he's painfully human. Stumbling over his words and looking anywhere but into her eyes, he rambles about ghosts, accidents, secrets and his parents in an awkward fashion undeniably Danny Fenton.
The context may be new, but he isn't. She knows him as Danny. Loves him, as Phantom.
It gives her an anchor, a semblance of control she sorely needs.
Breathing deeply, she crams all her conflicting feelings into last year's closet and throws it out to better to redirect her shock into something productive. She can reschedule her own freak-out for later. Lead first, fall second, as her mom always says.
I don't like falling, everything hurts, I want to go home, I don't like what this implies—
Be a Sanchez, Paulina; control yourself, control the situation.
...Hair care was supposed to be meditative, and it's not like hers could be any worse at this point.
She grabs at the ends of her hair, once soft and glossy black now clumped and dull with dried mud, with shaking fists as she feigns seeing it for the first time. She contemplates standing up, but the world spinning and immediate nausea when she snaps her gaze up to Danny nips that part of the performance in the bud.
"My hair! My precious hair is ruined!" She screeches as loud as her sensitive ears can handle, sending Danny jumping back a several paces like a startled cat. He has equally large eyes, blinking slower and slower the longer she rants until he's simply staring. "I refuse to be seen with my hair like this! Do something!"
"...Me?"
"Yes, you! Here, now," she snaps her fingers, staring him down as he inches closer.
"This is stupid," he mutters, agitation beginning to override his wariness. He's still too on edge for her tastes, but he's calmer and hasn't run away yet so she'll count it as a win.
"Excuse you," Paulina hisses because she's committed and she really does hate the state of her hair. "You are not calling my standards stupid."
He rolls his eyes but lowers himself down behind her. "It's hair."
"Hair that's won me Miss Amity three years in a row," she huffs, mourning her loss when she goes to cross her arms and sees hair clinging to her hands instead of her head. Resigned to rocking a bob the next couple months, she sighs and lets the loose hair flutter to the ground. "Just focus on the hair, okay Ghost Boy? Nothing else matters."
She uses her nickname for Phantom deliberately, forgoing Danny or the usual 'Fenton' due to their history. This isn't an elite bossing around a nerd, but a leader looking after someone in their care and Paulina wants him aware of the distinction. Plus, he may somehow be 'Danny' now but that doesn't mean she can ignore his other identity. If she's treating him like Danny, the least she can do is acknowledge him as Phantom.
He begins without another word, hands awkward when they first touch her hair but finding a groove as time passes. Paulina can't see him, but his motions become gentler, more methodical and certain opposed to hesitant and jerky. They settle into place, the quiet between them turning peaceful.
She finds herself relaxing too, breathing in deeply and listening for sounds in the distance. She hears what might be signs of people—a whooshing too constant for wind but perfect for far-off traffic.
Good; we aren't too far from civilization.
Reassured they aren't entirely lost, her thoughts drift to reflection under Danny's steady ministrations.
Her conscious choice earlier to avoid the association between Danny's name and their usual dynamic at school was out of character for her. She didn't consider her behavior as something to shy away from, did she? It's not like she sought him out like Dash, or did any real bullying. She was simply been aware of her place and his in the social order and acted accordingly. An important girl has important things to do, so her treating the persistent boy with some extra attitude was par the course.
And, partially, it had been on him for not getting the clue.
Ghost Boy, though? Phantom existed outside human social norms and petty highschool hierarchies. That was part of the appeal. The mystery. The sparkle. Something new—something her money couldn't buy. He was honest and determined to a fault, character 'other' in the best way possible. He was everything she ever wanted, and she should be ecstatic to know his real identity. So why isn't she?
She feels slightly sick from more than just her concussion as she reconciles her previous thought process with what she now knows is the truth. It's an uncomfortable realization: if the two are the same, she was wrong twice.
Dismissing Danny had been a massive oversight that left them both missing out. Putting Phantom on a pedestal had led to unrealistic expectations and undue pressure to meet them. Their connection is obvious in hindsight, but she'd been too confident that she understood value when she saw it and couldn't be wrong to put the clues together on her own.
She'd wondered why Valerie, an A-lister if in temporary social exile, would so quickly warm up to the Trio that was Danny and his friends.
Did she know the truth too? Paulina hoped she didn't. World view changing or not, she loathes being in second place.
Deciding enough time has passed to subtly check in on Danny, Paulina shares what she'd been noticing for a while.
"You're... surprisingly good at this," she says, feeling his hands move carefully into braiding her hair once most the tangles are gone.
His fingers still for a moment, and when she cranes her neck back to see him there's a slight smile on his face.
"You're pretty good at this," she says again, softer this time.
"Lots of practice I guess," he shrugs off the praise before gently directing her to face forward again and resuming his nimble motions. "My little sister went through a braid phase after a trip to Africa."
"Really?" Paulina couldn't imagine the bookworm that was Jazz putting much effort into her hair. And wasn't Jazz the older sibling? "I didn't know you had a younger sister."
"You wouldn't," he hedges. "We don't advertise Dani much."
With one final adjustment, tucking the end of her braid into itself to stay coiled against the back of her head, he declares himself done.
"Can't do anything about your clothes though."
"Don't expect you too," she grins, feeling playful. "I'll be fine. If anyone asks, 'Hot Mess' is chic again. I'll make it so."
She's mildly disappointed when he doesn't return the energy.
"That's not very A-lister of you," he points out, probably thinking of the stink she made about her hair.
"I'd argue it's the most A-lister thing about me," she sniffs, irritation creeping in. "I'm All-capable. I can handle some dirt and my own problems if the situation calls for it."
I am way more than just a pretty face.
{DANNY}
"Well, when I asked for a date this wasn't what I had in mind." Danny falls back on humour to fix his apparent mis-step, but immediately regrets it. He's doesn't need to be rejected by Vlad and Paulina today. It's bad enough he's stuck here till his powers come back, and for all he knows he only has till Paulina escapes the woods herself till his secret is all over town. He has a runaway bag to pack.
"You want a date, Ghost Boy?" Paulina teases back with a flutter of her eyelashes, catching him off guard. He did not see that response coming, nor the way it'd make his heart ache. He moved on, dated Valerie. He should be over Paulina by now.
We're joking around, it doesn't mean anything. Don't make it a thing.
"I've asked you out a million times, Paulina." Danny's smile falls, sticking his foot in his mouth and making it a thing. She's been receptive of everything so far, and if he needs to leave town he'll never see her again, so why not try to get some closure? Maybe get an apology and heal some old wounds?
"Star called me a lovesick puppy last time."
"Sorry." She winces, a full body cringe, but doesn't elaborate. Not that he expects her to.
Then again, he didn't think he'd actually get an apology either. Is she really sorry for how she treated him?
Why—
Her likely reasoning stabs through his chest like one of Undergrowth's vines when it comes to him. The pain is sharp, insidious, burrowing deeper the longer it stays.
She's apologizing to Phantom for current events, not Danny for the past.
It was stupid to hope for anything else.
Time to deflect till my powers come back.
"Sorry? From the great Paulina Sanchez? Thought I'd never die to see the day."
"I mean it, Danny," she finally uses his name, clearly talking to him and not whatever ideal she's built Phantom to be. "This," she waves her hand in the air, gesturing at the situation, "had me re-evaluate things."
"If this is about participating in the trap last night, you don't have to—"
"It isn't. At least, not completely. It's because I want to," she cuts him off firmly. "I judged you prematurely, and I want to do better. Be better, and actually get to know you."
Danny can hardly believe it when she lightly taps his nose in a gentle boop. He's incredulous, amused and honestly a bit upset it took her so long to see him as his own person.
"That mean I got a chance?" He smirks, choosing amusement over anger. There are too many emotions involved to play it casual.
"Why don't you ask and find out?" Paulina says softly, hand delicately cupping his face. It's nice, but not nice enough.
"That, historically, hasn't ended well," Danny snorts, wrecking the moment building between them. It'd be nice if it was so straightforward, but all the ways asking her out has gone wrong in the past makes that seem impossible.
He takes stock of himself, noting his enhanced healing has kicked in. His powers are back.
He's contemplating changing, turning into Phantom and taking to the skies to escape the situation and get a head start packing, when she hugs him.
It's tight, fierce, and reminds him of when he and Valerie used to date. When they'd cuddle, and she'd swear to protect him from ghosts—except, Paulina isn't scared of ghosts. She knows who, what, Danny is, and isn't running or pulling out a blaster.
With trembling arms, Danny returns the hug, burrowing his face in her neck. It's starting to feel real.
"I really am sorry, Danny. You don't have to ask. I will." She squeezes him even tighter, as if she can sense he wants to flee. "Go out with me?"
"What?" Danny tries to ask, the question coming out strangled as he pulls away from the hug. Paulina meets his gaze with determination, grabbing his hands and not letting go. Keeping him close, staying close herself.
She means it. She genuinely means it.
"I don't expect you to forget the past just because I asked. We can go slow," Paulina continues. "Start off as friends, even. Partners in romance or crime, better yet both, as long as I'm by your side I'll help you any way I can."
"That is so cheesy," Danny breathes, too awed to laugh at it properly.
"I got it from a romance novel Dash lent me," she admits casually, as if that isn't one of the funniest, most out-of-pocket things Danny's heard this year. "Your answer?"
"No one else can know I'm Phantom, Paulina. You'd have to be seen with a loser. I mean it."
"I know, I don't plan on telling anyone. I want to show you off as you are."
"Stupid and clumsy?"
"Kind and dedicated," she's quick to correct, "responsible and independent, if occasionally silly and accident prone. I fell for you, albeit by another name, for a reason, you know. And I fell hard."
"I know," Danny's lips twitch. "You've still got the bruises."
"Careful, ghost boy of mine. Don't push your luck."
"Yours already, huh?" Danny leans closer, volume lowering as he savors the moment and proof Paulina likes him for him. Maybe he's wrong to do so, but he wants this. Wants to try.
"Mine," Paulina confirms, doing the same.
Their lips nearly brush, Danny able to make out small scars and blemishes on her usually flawless face. She's dirty, her nice clothes absolutely ruined, yet Paulina has never been more beautiful.
They squeeze each others' hands, a silent promise that they aren't going anywhere...then there's yelling from beyond the trees.
"Paulina! Can you hear us? Answer if you're out there!"
They break apart as if repelled, Danny reassured when he sees Paulina's face is as flushed as his.
He takes a moment to create a fan of ice which she accepts with a grateful smile.
"Over here!" She calls once her face cools down, the fan, retrieved thermos and Destabilizer melting invisibly into the shadows with Danny. Damage from the fight aside, there's no sign anyone but her was ever there.
The search and rescue team, complete with Paulina's father and Mr. Lancer, floods into their little space quickly. Mr. Sanchez wastes no time engulfing his daughter in a hug, while people Danny recognizes as other parents start pulling out first aid supplies and care items. It isn't long before the clearing is empty, the group making the trek out of the wood. He flickers into visibility long enough to wave when Paulina glances back, giddy when she sticks a hand behind her to secretly wave farewell too.
Certain she's in good care, and safe with her promise of secrecy, Phantom begins his own journey home. He may have a whole new level of problem in Vlad's recently changed stance on murder, and the GIW's destabilization tech, but he finds himself hopeful for the future none the less. Plasmius can stay in the thermos indefinitely for all he cares, and the GIW should be licking their wounds for a bit after losing the Sanchez's daughter in the wilderness. Knowing Paulina, Danny wouldn't be surprised if she leverages her injuries to issue a lawsuit. Ancients know her parents must be furious at the state of their little princess.
He performs flips in the air, relishing the breeze and freedom of defying gravity.
Whatever comes next, I can't wait for school tomorrow.
Written for the Prompt: reveal: someone with a secret (Danny, Dani, Vlad, or Val) is revealed to someone else (can be angst, fluff, gore, terror, relief, outsider POV, etc--dealer's choice)
I hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing this <3
Shoutout to my friend Karnia for helping rubber duck some of the medical/gore stuff. And the title.
~~~
Valerie Gray fails to catch a Phantom, and runs into a Fenton.
Word Count: 3240
Read on Ao3
Valerie Gray landed in an alleyway in downtown Amity Park in a flurry of anger, dropping out of the night sky between skyscrapers and out of sight of curious onlookers like a dive bombing bird of prey. Her hoverboard folded away, adrenaline still rushing through her as she began pacing the alley.
"He got away," it slipped out in a growl, her frustration bubbling up like a pot left to boil as her ghost hunting suit slipped under her skin.
The fresh air didn't help her calm down.
She had finally had him, Phantom the wannabe hero and persistent monster of Amity Park, a well placed shot with her new speargun while he was distracted with another ghost, and it still wasn't enough.
She had had him in her grasp, the little cockroach, line taut and impossible to phase through, she had ensured that. She had tested it extensively, just to be caught off guard by him cutting through the line with a stupid ice knife! Since when could the ghost boy make knives out of ice!
She dug her hands into her hair, desperate to ground herself before she left the alley to face the world, and—
A shaky gasp behind her startled her out of her thoughts.
She wasn't alone.
And she had just changed out of her suit in front of them.
She turned slowly, maybe they had just walked up, and she'd be able to play it off as her hiding in the alley. Most people would believe a teenage girl was scared of a ghost fight, even if fear wasn't something Valerie let herself face.
Thoughts of lying fled as her eyes landed on Danny, leaning heavily against the brick wall of the building, and half hidden by the shadow of the dumpster and curled in on himself.
His eyes were wide and locked on her, he definitely saw her change out of her ghost hunting suit.
"Danny…" His name escaped her mouth in an unintended gasp, any thoughts of smooth talking evaporating in his stare, she had never wanted to lie to him, but her life had so quickly become bigger than her high school problems and friends.
But his mouth quirked up in a familiar smile, always a hair away from a smirk, and he responded in kind, "Valerie," quiet but clear he breathed out.
"Shit."
He had the gall to laugh at her. "That about sums it up, huh?"
She can't help the overwhelmed chuckle that slipped out of her, his laughter was always contagious, "I don't really feel like this is anything to laugh about."
"It's probably not." He agreed readily, he blinked slowly at her, his eyes wet, "but I think if I don't laugh I'll cry, and that's definitely worse."
"I'm sorry-" for what, for keeping this from him? That would just be another lie. She wanted him safe and she… wasn't. Phantom's lack of hesitation when he destroyed her empty suit had shown that. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. But you understand, right? With everything that's happened in Amity since the ghost portal opened, why I'm always- Danny, I have to fight the ghosts, I can't just stand by after everything they've done!"
He scoffed. "Yeah. I'm sorry too Val." He broke eye contact, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the wall. "You should leave."
"Don't be like that Danny," she stepped towards him, freezing in her tracks when he flinched, his eyes shooting back open to stare at her, but they didn't quite focus on her.
She hesitated. She knew he had a reputation for fear, of being the first to run from every ghost, but she had never seen it herself. And directed at her? He curled further in on himself, his arms wrapped tight around his middle. She…
"I need to hear you say you won't tell anyone. Danny, I-" her jaw clicked shut, unsure where that thought was going but biting it back regardless, "please. For me?"
His shoulders slumped, "oh Val," he cut himself off and just stared at her for a long moment, "you don't have to worry about me telling anyone. Just… Go."
Something was off in his voice, she couldn't place what, and the uncertainty left her unwilling to leave him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms in front of her, part attitude and part defensive comfort, unconsciously mirroring him.
He closed his eyes firmly, seeming to brace himself, but his next breath devolved into a cough before he can answer. He lost his footing, loose gravel skittering out from under him as he slid down the alley wall.
He winced, clutching his core tighter and— a glint of red under his hands— Valerie's eyes widened. He wasn't curled in on himself, he was applying pressure to a wound.
She knelt next to him, her hands hovering above him uncertainly, "shit Danny. What happened?" The extent of her first aid knowledge was to try and stop any bleeding, if he was already doing so what could she do-
He bit his lip and shook his head, refusing to answer.
She bit back her annoyance and rephrased her question, "were you injured in the ghost fight?"
Her mind whirled with possibilities, running through the logistics of when, how long he might have been bleeding for, her racing thoughts cut off by his startled laugh, no warmth in the sound, "yeah, I guess you could say that."
"What are you doing hiding here? You need to get to an ER or-"
"No." Danny's voice was harsher than she expected, startling her gaze back to his eyes, which almost seemed to glow in the shadows of the alleyway, "no hospitals."
"You want to treat it yourself? What if it gets infected or-"
"I already called Jazz, I'll be fine."
"Jazz? What is your sister supposed to do?"
"Just…" Danny gritted out, "just leave Val. I've got this covered."
"Bullshit. Move your hands, let me see- is that green?" He didn't answer, his chin dropping to his chest. She hated his silence, Danny was never quiet, and if he was injured she needed to keep him alert, "hey, at least you managed to dish back some of what you took, right?" She prodded, trying to tease him into response.
He made a sound that was probably supposed to be another laugh, but came out more of a hiss, "oh maybe, but they always give worse than they get."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, waiting with baited breath for him to look at her, "move your hands Danny, I want to help, I need to see."
His eyes locked on her like a drowning man clutching a life preserver.
The tension left his arms in millimeters, his hands falling to his side like a man giving up instead of someone allowing a friend to help them.
Valerie had expected an ecto-burn.
Something that needed to be cleaned, bandaged to prevent any infection, not-
Not the tip of her speargun, hooks unseen, hidden inside of his stomach, distinctive circular hilt poking out.
She had last seen the hook in Phantom, his mouth parted in a soft 'o' of surprise as he looked down at the hook that disappeared inside of him.
She remembered the sound he made when she attempted to retract the hook, more wild shock than pain as he desperately grabbed the line to give himself some slack, a game of tug of war that he should have lost.
She looked between the hook,her hook, in Danny's stomach and Danny's face, his expression trying and failing to be blank, but he just looked scared and in pain.
She didn't understand, she didn't want to understand, it didn't make sense, how-
He placed a hand back on his stomach, as if unsure if he should prioritize not touching it or attempting to stop any bleeding. He winced, the green flash of his eyes clearly visible in the dark alleyway.
Her stomach sank, the pieces clicking together no matter how much she didn't want it to be true.
"You're like Dani."
He laughed. "Technically she's like me, but yeah. I'm like Dani." He looked at her with a sad smile, full of resignation, "if you're going to finish what you started you might want to do so before Jazz gets here."
Valerie wanted to throw up.
The very idea repulsed her.
She was supposed to be stopping monsters not-
Danny's resolve wavered, his breath leaving him in a wheeze.
He reached for the hook, but Valerie grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Stop touching it."
"Valer-"
"Stop moving. We need to-"
"We?" He asked hopefully.
"Oh, you are not out of the woods yet mister. I am very confused. I have so many questions. And I am definitely a little angry with you," but then, anger has always been so much easier than fear, "but you need to be alive to answer my questions. Do you understand?"
He smiled, "yes ma'am."
"Good. For now it's keeping the blood in, so we need to leave it in for now. And we need to try and move it— and you— as little as possible, understand?"
"Yes, but I-"
"Move." Jazz's voice startled Valerie, Danny slumped in relief, the tension evaporating from him as his sister entered the alley way with determined steps.
Valerie moved aside and Jazz looked Danny up and down, before flicking in unspoken question to Valerie.
"She knows."
Jazz nodded. "Why did you transform back?"
Danny swallowed, "I figured it'd be easier to hide as a human, no point in being more durable as a ghost if I just get found and shot again."
"Hmm." Jazz's eyes dart from Danny to her. "I see you only managed one of those two. Valerie. Either you are helping, or you're leaving."
"I want to help."
"Do you? I always thought you wanted vengeance." Jazz knelt beside Danny, "Those aren't the same thing Valerie."
"I know that!"
"Then act like it. Do you really want to help?" Jazz asked with steely eyes, "it's not too late for you to leave, forget you saw anything."
"Yes, I-"
"Hold his hands."
"What?"
"I need him still." Jazz straddled his thighs, opening the bag she brought and slipping a pair of medical gloves on. "He fidgets like a caffeinated catfish on land. Help hold him still, or leave."
Danny held his shaking hands out to her, eyes locked on Jazz's hands as she took out a pair of scissors and began cutting his shirt away.
Valerie took his hands, "grip as tight as you need."
Danny didn't look away from Jazz's hands, "sure, thanks."
Valerie narrowed her eyes and recalled her Red Huntress suit over her arms, the red armor strengthening and reinforcing her grip. "I mean it Danny. Squeeze my hands, it'll help."
Danny's grip on her strengthened, his breath leaving him in a hiss as Jazz pulled the last taters of his shirt away.
It was bad enough seeing the hilt poking out and knowing what was hidden, but a fresh wave off nauseous guilt welled up in Valerie as the wound came properly into view.
His entire stomach was a bruise, ugly swelling around the speargun tip, fresh red blood oozing up over dried green ectoplasm. The hook moved with him as Danny breathed, bobbing slightly in the cool night air.
"Don't suppose you got a good look at this before it went in you?" Jazz asked
Valerie answered at the same time that Danny shook his head, "it's three barbed tines, based off of a 'paralyzer' style spearfishing tip." Valerie didn't look Danny in the eyes, staring down the wound she had caused instead. "Designed to enter as one tine and then spread on impact."
Danny let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Fishing. Fun."
"Hey," Jazz's voice softened and Danny's eyes locked on her the way a ship's captain looks for a lighthouse in a storm, "breathe, it's going to be okay. It's not that bad."
"It's not?" Val asked in surprise, a touch of hope spurring the lapse in her ability to read people.
Both of the siblings' gaze shifted to her, Jazz glaring fiercely and Danny looking unmoored.
"How bad is it?", he turned to Jazz, attempting to put force behind his voice, but it cracked as he spoke, "don't downplay it just… when you get me home, am I sleeping it off or…"
"No. I'm getting you good enough to move, and when we get home we're getting in the speeder and going to Frostbite."
"Shit." Danny sighed.
"What- who's Frostbite?" Valerie asked, feeling like she understood less the more they talked.
"He's my doctor." Danny explained, "if I need to see him it's real bad."
"No," Jazz interjected, "it just means that you have surpassed what I am capable of treating."
"We could call Sam and Tucker? They've been treating me longer than you have."
Jazz bit her lip, "I'll text them when we get to my car, if they can meet us at our place they can come with us to the Far Frozen."
Danny looked up at Valerie, "it's real bad."
Jazz didn't deny him again, and cleaned the wound with sure movements.
She pulled a scalpel from her bag and grabbed the shaft of the hook.
"Wait!" Valerie exclaimed.
Danny tensed below her.
Jazz glared, "what?"
"Aren't you supposed to leave anything embedded in someone in? It's keeping the blood in, right?"
Jazz's expression softened, "typically yes, but Danny isn't typical." She sighed, "the healing factor his ghost half gives him isn't a conscious power, it just is. Normally that's a good thing, but right now he's trying to heal around the hook, and we can't allow that."
"Like needing to rebreak a bone that healed wrong so you can reset it?"
"Exactly. First aid for Danny is… A little weird at times. The most important thing for us to do is get the foreign bits out, keep what is supposed to be inside of him in him, and then close it up as best we can. Anything past that and I'm just thankful he finally befriended a ghost with medical knowledge."
"I remember in the early days we'd use a normal stapler in place of medical staples until we figured out sewing well enough to do stitches." Danny said, as if that was in any way normal.
Jazz smiled, stiff and forced, "I wasn't here for that, and we are not doing that again."
"Hey, if it works it works."
Jazz placed a hand on Danny's stomach, holding him still with one hand while she lowered the other holding a scalpel to his flesh.
Danny inhaled sharply through his nose.
"Hey." Val said firmly, drawing his eyes back to her, and away from what Jazz was doing. "You're going to be okay. If you could get through dying you can handle a little fishing hook."
"You don't," Danny breathed out, Val wondered for a moment if talking during Jazz's surgery was a bad idea, but Jazz hadn't stopped her and it was probably better than him watching as Jazz set to cutting the hook out of him, "you don't even know how I died."
"I know you're going to tell me."
"Oh am I now?"
"Yes."
Her tone brokered no argument, she needed to know, but she had intended it to be a future order. A demand to be involved and get an explanation.
Instead Danny took a shaking breath and said, "it was the portal. I turned it on while I was inside of it. It didn't work before I did. I- Valerie this is all my fault."
"No it's not-"
"You don't know that-"
"Yes I do." She affirmed with a conviction she didn't feel. "You— or at least Phantom— keep telling me so."
He stared at her like a fish out of water for a moment, "but-"
She interrupted him before he could say anything else stupid, "oh I'm sure it's very complicated, and you owe me so many answers. But no matter what, dying wasn't your fault, do you hear me?"
He nodded.
"Good. Now stop moving so your sister can work."
Jazz bit her lip in concentration, fresh blood welling up as she slit the flesh to the sides of the base. She set the scalpel aside and pulled the tip out far enough to see where the three tines separated. Tentatively she tested where the tines spread out, lightly pinching the connection point.
Danny inhaled sharply.
Her eyes darted to Valerie, her eyebrows raised slightly.
She gripped Danny firmly and nodded.
Jazz slowly, but steadily pulled the spear tip out of Danny. A smell like metallic ozone filled the air as Danny's blood and ectoplasm flowed from the hole. Danny convulsed, or attempted too, but Valerie leaned her full body weight on his torso to prevent him from moving and messing Jazz up. And blocking his line of sight to the process. The spear tip didn't come out smoothly, it glistened red and green, seeming so much longer in Jazz's hand than it had when Valerie had been preparing the spear gun. Jazz stopped for a moment with the tips still embedded in Danny, and with her other hand used tweezers to pull something off of the barbs at the end.
Valerie shuddered, and swallowed down the urge to vomit.
Was that his small intestine? Did they need to do something about that? Valerie wasn't about to ask where Danny could hear, but she noted that Jazz was not joking when she said their only goal was to 'get the foreign bits out, keep what is supposed to be inside of him in him, and then close it up as best we can.'
Jazz dropped the spear tip in her bag, Valerie suspected she wouldn't be getting that back, and took a needle from the bag and quickly but efficiently stitched Danny closed. She cleaned the area again and covered it with a compression bandage and taped it down.
She removed her gloves with a snap, "there. All done. Now to get to the professional. Danny?" Valerie leaned back, following Jazz's lead and giving him space.
He didn't respond, breathing shallowly and shaking.
"Danny?" Valerie tried, trying a different track when he didn't respond to his name, "how many stars are in the Pleiades constellation."
His eyes blinked open. "Se- seven."
"How many can you see?"
He took a deep breath, "none. It's too cloudy tonight. But normally six can be seen. And it's not a constellation, it's an asterism."
Valerie rolled her eyes as Jazz laughed at them.
Jazz slid an arm under Danny's shoulder, and helped him stand. She pulled one of his arms over her shoulder and began to walk back to her car.
"I'm coming with you." Valerie put Danny's other arm over her shoulder. Jazz was obviously used to this, and knew how to carry him without help, but Valerie could ease the load.
Jazz looked from Danny to Valerie.
"If you try anything while in the Ghost Zone, I'm not going to help you."
"I'll be sure and save any trouble making for when we're back in Amity." Valerie deadpanned.
Valerie smirked at Danny's laugh, and got into the car next to him.
Jazz drove like a true Fenton back to their house.
Sorry about the delay. I hope this little comic will amuse you. I went for the promts: Actually scary ghosts (including danny), Ghost Puberty (even if it didn't come across that clearly), Ghost Hunger. And Sam and Tucker are the greatest friends ever. I may also have added Wes as he was a like as well as Everlasting Trio.
There is also a bunch of sketches that didn't make the cut I leave them here below as well.
andulkaphoto
germansingergirl
