For what it's worth - Chapter one (Danny Phantom fanfiction)
Helloooo! It's been so long since I've written fanfiction, it's crazy! However, I'm sick right now and I went on a random reading spurt for the first time in years and basically inhaled all of liketolaugh's Danny Phantom fanfiction on AO3, which heavily inspired me to write down this idea I've had for a while. So I guess this is also somewhat of a gift for them? I'm struggling a lot to write a fanfiction with OCs, being scared of negative backlash. But I'm too sick right now to care, so let's gooo!
Also, typical: English is not my first language, please let me know if you find any mistakes!(again..also sick as hell right now, so that might make matters worse oops). If you want to read it on AO3, you can do it here!
Summary: Reyka Dup would do anything to get away from her family, that is obsessed with the occult. After having been used for all types of experiments all her life, with the cliché excuse of being "the one", she manages to flee, ending up in the Fenton's residence in Amity Park. However, she has changed in a way that is irreparable and she has to learn how to deal with that, on top of her trauma. The realization that she might not even be from the same dimension only makes matters worse for her.
Tags and Warnings: Mention of Abuse PTSD Swearing Blood mention Heavy Trauma Suicidal Mention
"If you push this button right now-...no one knows what could happen!" "Anything, and I mean anything to be free from this rotten nightmare of a household!"
A click. A moment of silence. Then a flash of green and a bang.
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Amity Park, the Fenton Familie's House. Jazz was there by coincidence, more or less. It was the end of her first Semester, so for her vacation she decided that a family visit would be the best way to kill time. Less because of her parents than for her brother Danny. What wasn't a coincidence however, was the fact, that her parents had to run off for an "urgent task" only a few minutes after Danny sneaked off to fight one of the many ghosts that decided to plague the town today. Almost as if the ghosts could smell it, vacation and holiday time was the ghosts favorite time to be a pest.
Not in the mood for this stress, Jazz decided to stay home. By now she knew that Danny was capable enough of handling these things himself, and if he needed help, he would find a way to contact her. Their parents, even though they knew about his not-so-secret anymore identity, still worried for their son and always followed close too...even though they might not be the biggest help possible. But it's the thought that counts, right? So she was sitting on the living rooms couch, reading one of the few books from the old dusty shelves, when she heard a loud bang coming from the basement. Her mood told her to ignore it and deal with it later. Instinct and experience however, urged her to get up and check out what was going on. Sneaking off to the kitchen, she grabbed a spare Fenton Thermos Can that her parents "hid" right next to the microwave, only to take a deep breath and make her way down to the origin of the noise.
Jazz wasn't sure what exactly she was expecting. A ghost causing havoc? A burglar? Equipment randomly deciding to blow up due to faulty wireing? What she wasn't expecting however, was a girl (or woman? hard to tell in this situation) laying on the floor against the wall, blood running over her neck down to her shoulders. Without a second thought, Jazz put away the Thermos, grabbed the nearest first-aid-kit and ran over to help.
Or well. She tried. The moment her hands got close to the girl, it started to faze in and out - though it looked more like...glitching? That is probably the best way Jazz would describe it. Unsure what to do, Jazz called for drastic measures and pulled out her phone, punching in her moms number, in hopes to get her to pick up on the first try.
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Pushing the button was a last resort. Reyka wanted nothing more than to get away from her crazy family, obsessed with the supernatural. All the experiments done on her for "the greater good", leaving her without food for days, using her blood in hopes to summon a deity...all of that and more. It was just too much. When her oldest Cousin suddenly forbid her from entering the attic, she knew something was off, even more than her whole life had been so far. Usually her family would beg her to go into the attic, to pray and to offer, to study the occult and find even a glimpse of proof. Why now, would they suddenly try to keep her from there? The attic was the only place she could be alone for a while. The place closest to all the weird stuff done to her, but ironically enough her only safe space in the house.
"...the portal..." "...green glow..." "...mystical..." "...scared." Those were only puzzle pieces of a conversation she listened in on. "Portal?" No. More importantly "scared" ? So far in her life Reyka has never heard of any family member being scared of anything. Not even back when they were sure of having summoned Chtulluh. That was a first. Just as much as it was a first for anyone keeping secrets and for Reyka to be curious about whatever her family was up to. If there truly was a portal, then that meant there was a chance for her to get away. She didn't spend a second to think about what might be behind the portal. It didn't matter. Any place must've been better than "home".
The only way for her to get into the attic was stealing the key from her oldest sister, pretend to go to the toilet at dinner and quietly make her way up. Dinner time was the only time she could be sure, that no one was guarding the attic, as it carried a lot of importance to her family, that everyone sat and ate together.
Step one, getting the key, was the hardest part...she thought. As it turned out, her sister really didn't believe in Reyka's intelligence a lot. Carelessly leaving the keys in the unlocked key safe by the main door, thinking that Reyka wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the house, bike, car and attic keys. By evening, she had easily aquired the keys to the attic without anyone noticing. So she put it in the pocket of her lavender blouse, hiding it behind a mint colored handkerchief she neatly put in there as well.
After about 10 minutes, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. Her family were monsters, but at least they didn't question her on having to go to the toilet. “5 minutes...”, she thought, “5 minutes is all I need, to be gone forever.” Slowly, quietly and carefully, she made her way up the stairs, careful not to trigger even the slightest creak. All those years living in this household taught her how to step on those stairs in the perfect way to avoid any extra noise.
“First flight done, another one to go.” It felt like forever. She counted the seconds, the minutes in her head. One steps, two steps, three steps-! Suddenly a shriek, Reyka stumbling down all three steps again. A rat ran past her, startling her far more than it should've. “Reyka?!” “Shit...”, a mumble.
Downstairs, she could hear someone get up while her name was called. And then steps. Slow. Then faster. Suddenly running up the first flight of stairs.
“Shit shit shit!”, now more an exclamation than a mumble. She fumbled the keys out of her pocket, dropping the handkerchief, running up the leftover stairs, struggling to get the door open. “Goddamn old rusty door! Open up, come on!” Turning her head for a split second, she saw her oldest brother dashing up the stairs as if his life depended on it. Behind him her father and her uncle. Just as she was ready to give up, the door clicked, flying open and exposing the attic. It looked so familiar...but also so different. Across the room, at the big window, the curtains were drawn and a ring of metal, softly glowing green, on two stilts were right in her line of sight. Next to the ring of metal, the portal as she assumed, was a little crafted pedestal with a bunch of open cables and electronics connected to the portal and more buttons than she felt was necessary.
“Reyka!” She bolted, running over to the pedestal. Shit. She was no engineer. No electrician. No expert. The only person that could possibly know how to work this was her uncle. As she stood there, her father, brother and uncle stopped in their tracks. “Easy there, honeybun”, almost a whisper from her uncle, “you don't know what you're doing there.” That sentence fired up so much rage in Reyka's chest. So much, that she felt the adrenaline rush through her whole body. “That's what you always say, right before you abuse me for your crazy believes! 'You don't know what you're doing' or 'it's for the sake of a better world' or stupid shit like that! Fuck you! Fuck you all!” She hovered her hand above a random button, and her uncle flinched. “Jackpot”, she whispered, a soft grin rushing over her face, “you've never been scared of using me for your experiments. But now that I'm in the mood for it, you don't want me to? You're a bunch of hypocrites. Always calling me the “chosen one”. What, just because I have grey eyes and the rest of the family doesn't? Ever heard of traits skipping generations? Or maybe, just maybe, HAH now wouldn't that be funny! Maybe Mom was such a whore, that she cheated?” Reyka's body was shaking. She didn't know if it was the adrenaline, fear, excitement or all of the above. Her hand twitched, inching closer to the button.
With a shaky breath she curled her fingers into a fist, ready to smash the button to pieces if she had to, to make it work, and screamed:”I hate you! I hate this family, I hate this world, I hate my life, I hate everything about existing! Guess what! It's a win-win! I push the button and everything blows up, I die and take you all with me, that's a win! I push the button, run through the portal and never see you again, that's also a win!”
“Reyka-”, her brother started, but got interrupted by her father.
“"If you push this button right now, no one knows what could happen!" Another laugh, this time out of desparation. "Anything, and I mean anything to be free from this rotten nightmare of a household!" Her fist flew downwards, hitting the button.
