Whenever Danny changes, it was scary. Sure, Sam and Tucker said they had gotten used to it, and he was sure they had the best intentions at heart and still saw him as their friend, but Danny knew it was better for everyone for him to find a separate room to transform. He would have done that anyway to hide is real identity, but with how he looked as a ghost, he now had to hide from the only people that knew his real identity. Sam and Tucker were usually fine seeing him as a ghost later, but watching their friend transform in to a monster before their very eyes was always going to be a little too much.
The sound of small feet clanging against cold metal echoed throughout the lab.
“I don’t know Danny. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” Sam always was his more cautious friend.
“I agree dude. Shouldn’t we get you’re parents or something?”
“Pfft. My parents gave up after one try. I just don’t think they’re emotionally mature enough for a second one yet. Besides I’ve spent my whole life around tech like this. I’m sure I can figure it out.”
Danny Fenton continued to inspect the empty ghost portal while his two friends anxiously waited for him to get bored. After a few moments of feeling around the lower lit sections of the walls, his hand hit something unlike the rest of the panels.
“Hmmmmm this seems promising.” With that he added a bit more pressure to his hand. Blinding white light then found its way into Danny’s eyes and body, and the whole world stopped.
Danny thought back to when his grandfather died. He was eight, and can only remember brief flashes of memories and feelings. The cold, sterile hospital that made the lab seem cozy. His normally goofy father hunched over on a chair, crying into his palms. Being out of school for a few days while surrounded by family members that he barley knew in suits. The lab being empty for a few weeks because his parents couldn’t bring themselves to think about ghosts.
Danny wondered if that would happen again. Now. Because of him.
Sam has no time to react when she saw Danny’s hand reach for the button. All at once blinding light screeched out of the portal frame, separating her and Tucker and illuminating the whole room. The sound was deafening, from the machinery, to the energy, to the screams of thousands of years, all concentrated into one room. She could hear Danny’s voice mixed in with all the noise. It was distorted and almost drowned out by the cacophony around her, but she could tell it was him. A scream filled with so much pain and agony and fear that it has yet to be matched in the human world, and Sam knew it was coming from her best friend. Even In the chaos of it all, she could still feel the tears on her face.
It must have only been seconds, but after what felt like eons, the portal turned off. The room was left dark and silent again, save for the intense ringing in Sam and Tucker’s ears. The two friends slowly got up and looked at each other, each with eyes red and cheeks wet. They then looked towards the portal. The outer frame and the inner tunnel looked scorched, but not blackened. The burnt areas had a soft glow, something you wouldn’t get from a normal fire. But what hit Sam and Tucker wasn’t what was in the portal, but who wasn’t. There was no sign that Danny Fenton had ever been standing where he was. No footprints, no scraps of torn clothing or flesh. Nothing.
Just as the two became overwhelmed by what just happened, and glow appeared behind them. Sam and Tucker turned around and looked up near the ceiling. Floating there was the monster.
Danny had never felt more energized and frantic that he did right now. This wasn’t helped by the fact that now he was viewing the whole world through distorted lenses. Everything was tinted with turquoise, and anything bright in the room now appeared as blazing white. As he was still adjusting to his new form of sight, his eyes came across two familiar figures in the middle of the room. His two friends looked towards him with horror embedded into their eyes. Danny instinctively moved towards them in an attempt to comfort his friends, but that gesture only lead to terror and shaking bodies. Danny paused for a moment, confused and hurt that his friends were looking at him like this.
“Guys, what’s wrong?” He tried to say, but what came out sounded like distorted computer sounds and faint screams. Even Danny noticed that his voice wasn’t his, and he also finally realized that he was clinging to the top of the wall, well above the floor with nothing supporting him up there. This panicked realization sent his falling/floating into the corner of the room, nearer to the floor. His friends also moved quickly and in a defensive way, trying get as far away from Danny as possible. He was scrunched up in the corner like a scared animal, and he had never felt both more exhausted and energized. Now level with some of the lab equipment, Danny could see his reflection. Or rather, a reflection. This monster made of green whips of energy barley resembled a human figure, with only a misshapen head and long, sharp arms that ended in claw like fingers. The cruel reflection of the monster as well as the horrifying realization of what had happened hit Danny instantly, and he felt like he needed to be anywhere besides the place that he was. As he looked over toward his friends, their horrified faces sent him over the edge. Almost instinctively, Danny fled from the lab, unconsciously phasing through the walls and shooting up into the sky. He knew he couldn’t stay out in the open. Every fiber of his being told him to get somewhere small, somewhere hidden. Without really knowing how he did it, Danny started flying towards the edge of town.
“What on earth was that?!” Tucker and Sam sat trembling on the cold metallic floor, both in awe of what they just witnessed.
“Tha-that thing killed Danny!” Sam choked through her tears. Even she didn’t know if she was referring to the portal or the monster.
“Maybe, uh, maybe he’s just,um” Tucker nervously tried to find an alternate conclusion, but tears started to fill his eyes as well. Both of them were filled with anger, heartbreak, terror, and confusion. The two friend clung to each other as they started bawling in the empty room, grieving their friend.
It was around sunset when Sam and Tucker stepped out of the Fenton house, their eyes still raw and their cheeks glistening. Any glare from their tears was overshadowed by the glare from the anti-ghost weapons they held. They knew they would have to tell Danny parents what had happened, but before that, they could at least destroy the monster that took their friend from them. While the two tried to get the Fenton Finder to work, they heard an otherworldly wail coming from the abandoned mansion near the woods.
Now the lab sat empty and lifeless, with the only light coming from the faint glow of some inventions. Slowly and quietly, the portal hummed to life again, finally recalibrated from its initial startup. It wasn’t violent or loud or too bright. Neon green illuminated the lab as the gateway opened to another world. Not long after, a figure stepped through the gateway. The ghost resembled a stereotypical cowboy, tricked out with sharp boots and a vest made of (ghost?) leather. The three teens would have probably laughed if they saw him, or if they were under better circumstances. But personality wise, this ghost resembled a ruthless hunter more than a movie cowboy. After taking a few steps out to the portal, the ghost smelled the air of the lab. With one powerful sniff, he was able to tell what creatures had recently been there, and where they were now.
The rotting wood planks offered little cover from the vibrant sunset, but it was good enough. There was still enough isolated spaces where Danny could feel at least somewhat secure. Being out in the open anywhere right now was too much. Nobody wanted to see the monster and the monster very much did not want to be seen. Even though he longed for the cozy blankets and soft lighting of his bedroom, he knew the abandoned mansion on the hill by the woods was the most suitable hiding spot for a thing like him.
What am I gonna do oh my gosh what am I gonna do?! I’m, I’m a monster! A ghost? Maybe? Oh my gosh I don’t even know what I am anymore! Danny’s closed himself in tighter, his long and slender arms wrapping around his fragile body. Sam. Tucker. What did they think? They, they were terrified of it. Of me. Do they even know it’s me? Is it still me? Even though (to the best of his knowledge) ghosts couldn’t breath, Danny started to hyperventilate. He felt so much energy and anxiety in his body that he soon erupted into a ghostly howl that echoed across all of Amity Park. He also felt energy leave from all directions, and the decrepit house around him shook and was illuminated with green and blue light. After he screamed as much as he could, Danny tucked his head down again and began to cry(or at least tried to). He started thinking about his life. Mom. Dad. Jazz. Sam. Tucker. NASA. College. Grandma. Home. All if it was over. He could never see them again, for both his safety and theirs. Danny didn’t know how to control himself, and the lingering fear that he would slowly and slowly lose himself to the monster only made him tense up more. He stayed like that for at least an hour.
When Danny eventually heard footsteps drawing near the mansion, he didn’t have enough energy to react the way he did in the lab. A spark seemed to return as his head popped up when she saw the silhouettes of Sam and Tucker in the doorway. This brief moment of hope was quickly crushed when he saw the weapons in their hands and the hurt in their eyes. He was clearly the monster that stole their friend, and he should be put down accordingly. At this point, Danny didn’t have it in him to argue with that fate, and just prayed it would end quick. Blast away the last remnants of Danny Fenton so that he can fully move on, instead of being trapped inside this monster. Just as he heard the anti-ghost weapons charging for attack, a spurt of cold energy shot up his spine? and he began to look around. He didn’t know for what, but he knew that something was there. As he turned to face Sam and Tucker, he saw a large figure rise up from behind them. This figure seemed to have weapons of his own, the ends glowing a radiant purple. However, the barrel was not just pointed at Danny, but Sam and Tucker as well. On pure human instinct, Danny sprang at the figure to protect his friends.
Their weapons were just about full to charge when the monster leapt forward. Sam and Tucker raised their arms in front of their faces, as for a moment of terror they waited for the attack to hit. But it never did. Instead, in a line of energy and light, the monster wooshed above their heads and continued to fly, clearly not aiming for them. That’s when they saw the imposing dark form behind them, his ghostly pistol pointed directly their way. Before the gun could fire, he was knocked back by the portal monster and went flying about ten feet away from the house. In the light of the setting sun, the figure finally became clear. The ghost had stark white skin and literally blazing purple hair and boots. Sharp steel accessories lined most of the cowboy’s outfit, and his green eyes burned bright from under the brim of his hat. After shaking off the previous attack, the cowboy readied his weapon again, and lunged towards the house. Right at Sam and Tucker.
Just as the two stood there stunned, they felt a wave of energy wash over them, and Tucker could tell his feet were no longer on the ground. He knew the cowboy had been close to ending them for good, but looking back he saw the figure fly past where the two teens once stood. Tucker then took the time to notice the bright, turquoise energy that he was surrounded by. And he could almost make out the shape of an arm...... Tucker then felt a thud as he and Sam were dropped back to the floor in a farther corner of the mansion. He looked up to see the monster from the lab staring back at them. It’s wide and hypnotic eyes looked intently at the two teens as it hovered cautiously. Suddenly, the sounds of crackling wood and breaking doors came from behind the monster, and it swiftly turned around and flew straight through the wall. Tucker sat there not knowing what to think. Did that thing just, save us? No, maybe he just wants us all to himself. But he.... Before Tucker could finish that though, a loud screech came from behind the wall. It was filled with pain and sounded like an amalgamation of otherworldly noises. But even in the cacophony, Tucker could hear one recognizable element. One of the many sounds was familiar, and it almost sounded like it was in the “center” of the scream. That the other noises were distortions of this one central noise. Apparently Sam had heard it too, because before Tucker could start to process this information, she just whispered..... “Danny?”
The cowboy ghost had pulled out some sort of high tech glove and used it to crush Danny’s center. The monster let out a loud, anguished howl to the sky, before swinging his hands and clawing at the cowboy’s chest. Danny felt the grip soften, and he slipped away higher into the air above the house. He was exhausted, but knowing that his friends were in danger charged him just enough to keep him going.
After the cowboy had checked himself for wounds, he grabbed the brim of his hat and started to chuckle.
“Ya know, I don’t know what you are, lil’ critter (Danny assumes he was talking about him) but you got quite a bit of life in ya. Too bad I have to rip it out. Same with those meat bags over there. Ya know I don’t much get the chance to hunt humans, but woo we they’re still the best prize a man could get!” Danny was once again inflames with rage and sped towards the ghost, his own claws out in front ready to attack. The cowboy was either to slow or knowingly stayed put, as when Danny flew by him he found himself spiked into the floorboards by the cowboy’s elbow. Knowing he didn’t have time to be dazed and confused, Danny shot a burst of energy up at the ghost(even though he didn’t know how he did) which knocked the cowboy into the nearby wall. As Danny slowly got up, having bought himself at least a few seconds, he could feel ever molecule in his body wraith in pain. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep going, but he knew he had to. As Danny braced himself to launch into the air again, he looked up towards the wall and noticed the ghost was gone. Only microseconds later he felt a large fist hit square on his back, with power that would shatter the spine of a normal human. Danny fell to the ground again, his claws and arms sprawled out along the rotting floorboards. Confident he couldn’t get up again, Danny looked to the sky and saw the cowboy directly above him. The menace of the ghost was only enhanced by the clouds swirling around his intimidating figure, and the bright glow of the barrel of his most powerful weapon.
“Say goodnight, partner.”
Right before the weapon fired, Danny saw an aura of blue light surround the ghost. He could feel the sheer energy of the light on his face, and only stared in awe as the cowboy tried to fight back against its force. The light started to dim, and Danny could see the protesting cowboy being sucked out of the sky towards the floor. As the last of the light faded, Danny turned to see two terrified figures standing in the doorway. Tucker stood trembling as he held the Fenton Thermos with a recently captured ghost inside, and Sam was holding some kind of anti-ghost gun, but her eyes were squared directly on Danny. He was so exhausted and battered from the fight that he didn’t even try to fly away as his friends stepped near. The two were practically standing over him, Fenton gear in hand, and nothing happened. They all just stared. Finally Sam spoke.
“Da-Danny? Is that you in there?” She was on the verge of tears, either from hope or grief or some mixture of the two. At that question Danny’s eyes and head perked up, and he could feel himself levitate just a small bit off the ground. He knew he couldn’t talk, so he just nodded and continued to stare at his friends. Their faces at this revelation were ones of both relief and horror, of joy and dread. Tucker moved in a little closer and he began to outstretch his hand. This motion made Danny tense up again, still feeling like a terrified animal in a cage.
“It’s ok. We’re not gonna hurt you. We’re going to figure this out together buddy”Tucker’s voice was soft and understanding, and Danny finally allowed himself to relax, confident that his friends were not going to hurt him, and didn’t see him as a monster. They still see him as him. Their friend.
The trio just sat there for a moment, before Danny became overwhelmed by both emotional and physical exhaustion and collapsed back into the floor. After passing out, Danny started to glow so brightly that Sam and Tucker had to shield their eyes. When the light subsided and they looked down again, there was their friend. Their human friend. Still breathing. Still alive.........mostly.
